Exciting times for us Sorensens -- we've enrolled Joshua in a karate class! He is taking to karate quite well and I am not surprised. Joshua is a very focused, deliberate person and it seems to suit him nicely. It was so fun because he specifically invited me to come to his class today to watch him, whereas Jake has taken him previously. As I watched, I could see the wheels turning in his head as he practiced a sequence of moves. He always thought before he acted, and he always got the sequence right. I also got to see him practice the block he learned from last time, learn a punch and a kick, and just have a lot of fun in general. I was impressed throughout the class by the discipline and obedience being taught. The teacher really expects something of them, and the kids (4 and 5 year olds) are rising to the occasion.


I have to say that having Joshua in karate is a dream come true for me. One summer while I was home from BYU working various temp jobs, I worked with a lady who had her 6 year old son enrolled in a karate class. She told me all the things she loved about having him in karate, and my interest was piqued. At one point I kind of wondered aloud if her son ever used his karate moves on his older sister, but she said he would never do that because of the discipline that is so much a part of karate. His teacher had taught them never to fool around or hurt anyone deliberately using their karate, and she said that her son took it very seriously. I was very impressed and decided then and there that if I ever had any boys, I wanted them to be involved in karate. I just really liked the idea.


As things have turned out, I now have two terrific boys and I am so happy about this opportunity! I didn't think we would be able to get our kids into karate until Jake was done with grad school, but my good friend Isa reminded me about UCSD's Recreation Center. They offer all kinds of classes at a discount for students and their families. Joshua took a great gymnastics class through the Rec Center a couple years ago, but then I had Daniel a few weeks after the class ended, and we temporarily relocated for the first time shortly thereafter, so I'd just kind of forgotten about it.


Daniel really wants to start taking karate too. I so wish he could because I know he'll be great at it, but typically the requirement is 4 years of age. My friend Lisa from back home has a little boy who really wants to take karate, and she says that some places will go as young as 3 years old, but she hasn't seen any younger. Hang in there, Daniel -- your time will come!


Just to close, Joshua's teacher has them practice a "mean karate face" and he does a really good one that I thought you all might like to see. It is so fun to see him learning something new, and to see his energy and enthusiasm for it. He does a great job and we're so proud of him!