Owen, age 9

One of my hardest challenges was moving from pre-sparring to free-sparring. It was hard because all the people in free-sparring were much bigger than me, and it was hard for me to compete. At the time, I was only eight years old, and I got punched in the face a lot and kicked pretty hard because everyone was so much bigger than me. I wanted to give up on sparring, but I didn’t. I asked Jun Shihan Sarah how should I handle this? She told me to speak up and tell my partner “I need lighter contact,” or “I need to go slower.” I tried this, and it didn’t work at first because I used a softer voice. It was hard to speak up because I was shy, and I had never tried it before. It started to improve the longer I did sparring because I kept trying , and I used a stronger voice. And the more I practiced, the better I got at it. I also got better at speaking up outside of the dojo. Before I started taking karate, if another kid bothered me, I would say stop and he wouldn’t listen. But now, if someone bothers me, I say stop and he listens.

Ella Pei Bruks, age 10

Karate etiquette has shaped my character in many ways. I have learned that observing etiquette is a way that each of us shows respect and courtesy for the Dojo, the Senpais and other students. It has taught me that it is important to respect all people whether they have a higher or lower balt ranking, or whether they are older or younger than me.

In my life, I always tried to be respectful to others, and when I am not, I try to apologize and take responsibility for being disrespectful. I try to show love and compassion to my family and friends (and my dog). I always try to obey the rules of the Dojo as well as what my mom and dad say – although in all honesty, it is much easier obeying the rules of the Dojo.

Charlie Mazzeo, age 10

Karate etiquette has shown me not only how civilized we are, but how civilized our ancestors were, and they did it without our machines and iPods, and Surface Pro 3s. In fact, karate has shown me that with the enhancement of technology, we are becoming less civilized, and more selfish. Our ancestors need to band together to survive and thus created civilization as we know it. But with food, water, and shelter so easy to get, we have started to drift away from selfless, to selfish.

I almost started down that road, until I joined Seido. The etiquette has shown me that civilization, and civilized people still exist, people willing to help people who don’t have the ability to do so themselves. For example, someone who gives bread to a homeless person, or donates blood for a blood drive.

Ethan , age 11

If karate hadn’t found me I would probably have started a lot of fights both at school, and at camp over the summer. I actually still almost did over summer w­hen a kid jammed his thumb into my gut. But, I only pushed him away, told him to stop, and kept him that distance from me. Karate showed me that the way to handle things is to talk your way out, not destroy the place trying to get someone.

Karate is still helping me solve problems too. Why just the other day, I was riding my bike and the chain fell off as I was shifting gears. I lost control of the bike, and the bike toppled over, and my instincts to make me do a forward roll, so I only got a minor injury to the knee.

Joshua Baumstark, age 12

Seido karate has helped me be more confident in situations with strangers. Before I started training at the dojo I felt nervous around strangers. Because I was smaller and I didn’t know a lot about defending myself, I felt like I was a bigger target for an attack. Training taught me that even though I am smaller I can defend myself and get away to safety.

Karate etiquette requires you to say “Osu” when you come into the dojo. That “Osu” when I enter the dojo means to me, I am here and I am proud to be training here, thank you. The “Osu” when I leave the dojo means to me, my day is over, now I can relax, thank you for teaching me. Practicing etiquette at the dojo has helped me be more aware of myself at school and at my family gatherings, to make sure I say thank you for the day.

Michael Youngblood, age 13

One challenge I faced where karate helped me was the first time I went waterskiing. The first five times I tried it, I was able to get up a little bit, but only for a second and was knocked down into a face plant with water. I was ready to give up and watch sadly from the boat as all of my other cousins, second-cousins and family were able to get standing waterskiing. But then, I was reminded that a karateka has “non-quitting spirit”, and I was willing to give it a few more tries. When I did this, I found that with a little more effort, I could trust myself enough to do it correctly and lean back all the way to stand up and stay up! I realized that if I had not remembered the teachings at karate of non-quitting spirit and confidence, I would not have been able to find out just how fun waterskiing is, and it turns out I am now actually pretty good at it.

Isaiah Meadows, age 13

Karate has helped me overcome challenges in life. An example is from last year, when a kid in my class called me a racial slur, not out anger, but just in conversation. I told him not to say that, but he just kept on saying it more and more, trying to make me mad. He then started shoving me. Karate helped me deal with this through the 5 fingers of self-defense. I used think and yell, and he stopped after I yelled. Another challenge happened very recently. What happened was a kid in my class was being made fun of for getting braces. I was nervous to intervene. Karate helped me in this situation by giving me the courage to not be a bystander. So I told the bully to stop, and that the kid did not do anything wrong by getting braces. The bully said whatever, and walked away.

Payton Shearn, age 14

As a teenager, it is often difficult for me to be obedient, at least not without a healthy dose of muttering and scowling. I kid, of course, but it can be hard for me to go along with authority all the time. Karate has helped me to learn the value of obedience towards authority, and that was a valuable lesson for me to learn. The real world has a lot of rules, and it’s important to know how to listen to them.

I think the principle of love is the one that shows up the most often, both in my daily life and in my karate training. My friends and family are my support network. They are always there for me and love me unconditionally, no matter what I do. I could not do without their love and support, and I realize this every day. At the dojo, the teachers and staff shower the students with love and support and help them grow in their karate and as a person. I am so lucky to be surrounded with all this love.