You Can’t Download Confidence

Every September, we see an influx of new students, as well as brothers, sisters and friends who want to experience the benefits of martial arts. At First Choice Martial Arts, our goal has always been to inspire every child to do their best and become a more confident, focused and respectful individual.

This past weekend, a new child came into the school who was clearly a little overwhelmed. Maybe it was the idea of trying something new, a long first week back at school, or simply being tired. Whatever the reason, it was obvious that this child was feeling anxious about giving karate a try.

It’s important to remember that we all have to start somewhere, even I started as a nervous white belt 40 years ago. I still remember walking into my first class, looking around at all the experienced students and wondering how I would ever be able to do what they were doing.

Fortunately, my Sensei reminded me that everyone has to begin somewhere and he took a caring and encouraging approach and simply helped me take that first step. Now forty years later, I found myself watching something very similar happen.

After a brief moment of encouragement, this young student eased into the class and found the confidence to give it a try. Within just a few minutes, you could actually see the change in her body language, as the structure, encouragement and confidence-building aspects of karate started to do their magic. As I watched it was actually pretty inspiring to see as only a few moments earlier, this student looked like she was ready to run out the door. Now she was intensely practising the Star Block Set and yelling “YES, SIR!” with complete confidence!

These are the moments that make us proud to be karate instructors and remind us what martial arts is really all about, but there was another important part of this story, a supportive parent. Had that parent thrown in the towel during those first few difficult moments, this child never would have had the opportunity to experience that success.

When you look across one of our typical classes, you’ll see so many students giving their all. They aren't there simply because they woke up one morning and decided to be committed, but many of those students are there because they have strong, supportive parents who helped create the foundation that allowed them to succeed.

As schedules get busier, we see our amazing parents doing what is necessary to make karate class happen. Whether it be driving back and forth, rearranging schedules, encouraging practice and sometimes giving that little extra push when their child needs it, they continue to step up no matter what and that effort does not go unnoticed.

So let’s have an amazing week as we finish testing and get ready for this Saturday’s Karate Graduation! We want you to keep practising your routines, bring some family and friends to celebrate your success, and be ready to take lots of pictures and videos, as you’ve worked hard to get here, so enjoy the moment!

And lastly. because confidence isn't something our children can find on a screen, and you can’t download confidence; you will have to experience it, practise it and live it!

Sensei Chris