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Greetings! I am also a late starter...
For several years, my son, a serious Power Rangers devotee, begged to start martial arts lessons. He had sat on the sidelines as his older step-brothers took lessons through the Houston Park District. I told him repeatedly that he could start when he was 6. When I went to sign him up for lessons, one of his brothers decided to re-start as well. There was a small TKD school near our house, and we went in to watch a few classes and talk to the instructor. He has been giving lessons in ITF-style TKD in Houston since 1982, and really works well with kids. We really liked what we saw, and by signing up for a family plan, I was told that I could take lessons for free. At the age of 40, in desperate need of exercise, and believing it might be fun to take lessons with the boys, I agreed, figuring that I'd probably last until maybe green belt. As we advanced, through the ranks together, I embarked on a bit of a quest. Most of the techniques came easy to the boys, but required a lot of effort from me, as I had never been very athletic, and have been cursed with poor balance. But, I felt that by continuing the lessons, and working hard, it could provide something of a life lesson in perseverance and goal setting for the kids.
In December of 2002, all three of us tested for black belts. Derek narrowly missed earning his, as he was unable to perform one of the required breaks. He took the test again in July, and passed, becoming Master CAM's youngest student to have earned a black belt. Derek has since enrolled at Mousel's to study JKD.
For several years, my son, a serious Power Rangers devotee, begged to start martial arts lessons. He had sat on the sidelines as his older step-brothers took lessons through the Houston Park District. I told him repeatedly that he could start when he was 6. When I went to sign him up for lessons, one of his brothers decided to re-start as well. There was a small TKD school near our house, and we went in to watch a few classes and talk to the instructor. He has been giving lessons in ITF-style TKD in Houston since 1982, and really works well with kids. We really liked what we saw, and by signing up for a family plan, I was told that I could take lessons for free. At the age of 40, in desperate need of exercise, and believing it might be fun to take lessons with the boys, I agreed, figuring that I'd probably last until maybe green belt. As we advanced, through the ranks together, I embarked on a bit of a quest. Most of the techniques came easy to the boys, but required a lot of effort from me, as I had never been very athletic, and have been cursed with poor balance. But, I felt that by continuing the lessons, and working hard, it could provide something of a life lesson in perseverance and goal setting for the kids.
In December of 2002, all three of us tested for black belts. Derek narrowly missed earning his, as he was unable to perform one of the required breaks. He took the test again in July, and passed, becoming Master CAM's youngest student to have earned a black belt. Derek has since enrolled at Mousel's to study JKD.
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