Karate Competition

Yesterday Ava and Lola competed in their second ever karate competition. 

Back in December the girls competed in their first competition, a sparring competition, and they've been eager to compete more. This weekend's competition was a kata competition. Kata is the choreographed moves that karate, and other martial arts are based on. So rather than sparring against other competitors like their previous competition, the girls performed their moves in front of the judges and were awarded points.

Orange & Green Karate Belts

My two karate kids, Ava and Lola, had another belt test yesterday and I'm happy to say that they both passed. Hooray! Ava is now a green belt and Lola is an orange belt. These kids are accruing karate belts faster than I ever imagined.

The girls and their classmates did such a good job. Everyone passed the test and we now have three green belts and three orange belts in the class. The test was held in the park where we meet for classes. There were quite a few other people around but the kids were so good at staying focused and weren't bothered by all the people watching them or the kids and dogs playing nearby. As you can see, it was quite late in the day so the sun was starting to set as the test progressed. It made for the most beautiful light.

52 Weeks: Week 50

Week 50: Karate Belt Test

This past week both Ava and Lola took karate belt tests - and passed!

I'm so proud of my little karate kids! Ava is now an orange belt and Lola is now a yellow belt.

Here's a look at my karate kids in action...

52 Weeks: Week 43

Week 43: Halloween Karate Party

This week the girls' karate class had a fun Halloween party. The kids all came dressed in costumes, they karate kicked a pinata, they wrapped each other in toilet paper like mummies, there was lots of candy, and, of course, there was karate.

The kids looked so cute practicing karate in their costumes. Ava and Lola wore old costumes rather than this year's Halloween costumes - mostly because I hadn't finished making them yet! But also, because I wanted them to save their real costumes for Halloween (and the Halloween celebrations at school today). Ava wore her vampire costume from 2013 (you can see it with full hair and make up here) and Lola wore a fairy dress and tiara from the girls' dress up drawer.

52 Weeks: Week 22

Week 22: After Karate Fun

Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon Ava and Lola take karate classes in a park near our home. I love that their karate class is outdoors rather than inside. It gives Mathilde a chance to run around and play while the big girls practice their karate chops, and it gives me a chance to just sit and relax for a while - in between chasing after Mathilde, of course! Friends often drop by to catch up and watch the class. We can talk, laugh and eat without having to worry about disturbing the class or making a mess. It's just lovely all round. And because it hardly ever rains here we rarely need to come up with a back up plan. The one advantage to being in a drought! 

If you were to ask Ava and Lola the best thing about having karate classes in the park they would no doubt tell you that it's the play equipment. After every class, without fail, the girls are on the play equipment within a matter of seconds. In fact, the whole class is. Even Mathilde. Or at least, she tries. There are several climbing structures next to where the class takes place and they are a huge hit with the kids. They climb to the top. They play tag. They hang upside down. They jump from as high as possible. Ok, that last one is just Ava. There's always at least one kid calling out "Look at me, look at me, look at me!" as they hang upside down or balance on one foot from the top of the play structure. 

It's a pretty fun place to hang out so let's take a look at what the girls got up to after class this week...

52 Weeks: Week 1

This year I have decided to take part in a 52 Week Project.

Each Wednesday I'll be posting a photo (or a few photos) showing a moment of our family life from that particular week. Ava, Lola and Mathilde will be the main focus and I love the idea of having a year's worth of their every day moments to look back on at the end of the year.

I look forward to sharing our lives with you over the next 52 weeks.

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Week 1: Karate class

Every Tuesday and Thursday Ava and Lola attend karate class after school. Their karate class is held in a park a few blocks from our home. I love that they get to practice their karate outside in the sun rather than in a studio. At this time of year the sun sets quite early so the park has a lovely golden glow.

Right now the girls are practicing for their next belt test. Ava is working towards her yellow belt and Lola is working towards her white belt with one black stripe.

Mathilde is working on boosting her immunity by sucking on the playground equipment as she watches her big sisters!

Hooray for karate girls!

My Karate Kids

If you've been reading Little Hiccups for a while you'll know that Ava has been taking karate lessons for just over a year now. Over the Summer Lola joined in the karate class so now I have two karate girls.

This week the girls took part in a belt test. For Lola this was her first test (for her white belt) and for Ava it was her third (white belt with two black stripes).

Karate Kid 2... Another Belt Test

Last week Ava had another belt test with her karate class.

This time the kids have been working towards their white belt with one black stripe. The black stripe signifies that they are slowly working their way towards becoming a black belt. Very, very slowly!

After individually introducing themselves ("I am Karate Ava. I am learning the spirit of karate.") it was time to get to work.

 

Karate Kid

For the last few months Ava has been taking karate classes with a small group of kids in a nearby park. Yesterday was the day for her official white belt test. The rest of Ava's class actually had their test back when we were in New York so yesterday's test was just all for Ava.

It was a pretty cold day, probably no more than 6 degrees celcius, but the sun was out so it was quite pleasant in the park. Of course, when the wind blew it was pretty chilly but luckily the wind stayed at bay for most of Ava's test.

Ava takes herself pretty seriously when she does her activities, especially when she sees it as a competition so she was very focused during her test and put in a lot of effort. She even did a good job of ignoring Lola who was making a lot of noise trying to copy Ava off to the side. It all paid off in the end when she was awarded her white belt and a certificate. She's all about the certificates, our girl. Certificates and trophies. If there's a certificate or trophy on offer Ava is in!

Here's a look at Ava in action during her test with her teacher Sensei Julia...