Wax On... Wax Off

I cant remember when we first started the martial arts thing. Maybe a year ago... a year and a half??? Although I cant remember the time frame, I distinctly remember how I felt when we added it to the line up: stressed. Seamus is our kid who is active in everything. I was not excited to add another sport/hobby to his already hectic schedule. Although I was leery at first, martial arts has turned out to be a really cool activity for our boys. Matt and I enjoy it too. Not doing it. Just watching.

Some backstory: Seamus' friend Ryan is the person who got us started in this activity. He signed up for the class but didnt want to do it alone. His mom gave me a ring and asked if Seamus would want to join too. That was a "no brainer." Of course he wanted to join! Thus... we began martial arts.

Then about 4 months ago, we decided to get Finn involved. Finn has issues with his body. We have called him "the noodle" or "Mr Noodle" for years because he cant seem to control how his body moves. Example 1: He'll sway instead of stand. Or he'll lean against anything - be it person or thing - to steady his standing. Example 2: When sitting, he'll hang one cheek off the seat like a languid cat. Then, within 30 second of doing so, his entire body will have slinked off onto the floor. Last example: When he gives my grandma hugs, I need to caution him (and my grandma) cause he will fling his 50 lb body at her and then hang with all his weight on her small, aging body. The whole phenomena is really strange. I honestly cant say Ive met anyone quite like him.

Matt and I thought karate might be great for Finn cause it would teach him discipline with respect to his body. And in many ways that has happened. He's still wobbly and noodle-esque, but you should see him stand at attention when his sensei commands. He can do it!

On Monday of this week, the boys went up a belt. Seamus is now an orange belt and Finn is a yellow belt. Woot woot! Their martial arts class is not overly strict so its not like they can demonstrate all these crazy ninja skills. But we are proud of their progression none the less. They are McGarvey Karate Kids! HIYA!

*note: these photos were done on Matt's cell phone, hence the poor picture quality