With her legs moving quickly and some rhythmic arm movements, my little girl implored me, “Check out my karate moves, Mommy!” For the past year, Quinn’s been taking dance at The Little Gym but has been asking about taking karate for months. So when I saw that it was being offered this summer, I thought, “Why not?” Her dance class was all girls, which was fine, but I wasn’t too sure if she would be the only girl in her karate class and if the boys would be a little too rough for her since the age range was from four to six, meaning that she would be one of the youngest having just turned four nearly two months ago.

Last Wednesday was her very first class, and the anticipation was building for the both of us. She was excited to wear her karategi, and I, being the proud mommy, was excited to take pictures and offer praise. As we waited for class to start, I was pleasantly surprised to see that her karate class was a nice mix of boys and girls, and Quinn was able to hold her own even with some of the boys who were a bit rough at times. The Little Gym offers a good balance of instruction and fun as my daughter learns to “block, kick, and punch her way through this positive, noncompetitive twist on the ancient martial art.”

After class ended, Quinn came out smiling, “Did you see me, Mommy?” I responded, “Yes, I saw you, sweetheart.” Though I knew the answer, I asked, “Did you have fun?” “Yes, I had a lot of fun! I can’t wait to show Daddy some of my karate moves I learned.” I always get a “kick” out of seeing my daughter not just learn something new but to have fun along the way.

All the best,

Tanya