Kenpo for Sam

One of the ideas that Hannah and I have been kicking around for a while is the idea of Sam taking Kenpo lessons. For those that don’t know, Kenpo is a form of marital arts. Our thought behind this is that he really needs to learn some discipline, which he is just not getting from our guidance at home.

At women’s retreat a couple of weeks ago Hannah got to know Jeanette, who is the wife of an instructor that attends our church. As they talked about the issues we’ve been having with Sam, and the failed attempts at resolving the issues, she suggested that we give Kenpo a try. She related that she had been having the same issues with her son when he was younger, and that she put him in Kenpo for the same reasons.

On Monday night we finally gave it a try. The school just started the Monday class and this was actually the very first time that they were meeting for this new class. He (Sam) seemed a little nervous and unsure when it first started. Part of that may be that he didn’t really understand what he was getting into. I’d talked with him a little about what Kenpo was, that it was a martial art, a sport, etc, but I’m not sure he really understood.

They started off by doing some stretches and Sam, of course, started loosing focus on what he was supposed to be doing. The instructor, Laurence, brought him right back though and did a wonderful job of keeping him on track and redirecting him. He’s firm and no nonsense when it comes to the class, but also has a lot of fun too.

One of the things they learned was kicking. They started by working on the form and practiced by touching the wall with their foot. After he was sure that everyone understood and had the basic form down, they got out the pads and actually started kicking. Sam lost a little technique in the transition but Laurence put him back on the right track and he was doing the kicks great by the end of class. When it was all over and we were leaving I asked Sam what his favorite part was and he said, “Kicking the bag!” Big surprise

We’re going to keep at it, and they are giving us a discount since we are church members (I’d love to go and learn too and they have a good discount for a family plan but I think I’ll wait until I’m done with school and have a little more time), which really helps. We’ll see how things continue and hopefully it helps Sam learn to control himself.