Green & (4th Degree) Yellow

Friday night was the Taekwondo holiday party and awards ceremony. Satchel had been counting down the seconds until he got his green belt. He was SO excited. Being a green belt means he can start sparring and going to a different class from his brother.

Of course, Jiro was excited too. He went from being a second degree yellow belt to a fourth degree yellow belt. This means he'll be one of the highest ranking members in his class. They line up by rank, so that means he'll be up front. He'll also get to lead the pledge at the end of class.

He got a certificate along with his belt. He's so cute I can hardly stand it.

The Millers, their instructors, also gave out some other awards. Satchel set a goal for himself at the last awards ceremony two months ago. He wanted to win best attendance. He had some stiff competition because there are four other students in the same family who come to every class. So that meant he too had to come to every class. There were days that Jiro didn't want to go, but Satchel went anyway. There were days that we couldn't give him a ride, but he carpooled. He wasn't playing around! Turns out there was a five way tie for best attendance!

Satchel was thrilled to have met his goal, but he had another surprise. At each testing they choose one person from each ranking who tested the best. And who was the best green belt tester? Satchel! I guess going everyday to up his attendance, also upped his skill level.

I'm so proud of my monkeys. It has been really awesome to watch them move up in the rankings, make new friends, set and meet goals.