Confidence Explosion

As I mentioned in a previous post, Cohen is now taking martial arts: tae kwon do to be exact. It is rather hilarious how he cannot properly pronounce tae kwon do. He says something like "tike wonk to". HAHA!

 

Anyway, since being in "karate", he has had an explosion of confidence. I am pleased to see the "yes I can" attitude, even out of the studio.

 

This past Thursday, in class, he received a medal. Now, this is a huge deal for this boy--especially since he has been quite jealous of Chyenne's medal for reading/sight word mastery. His Grand Master stopped class, mid-instruction, to present this medal to Cohen. Cohen was the only one to receive the medal and apparently it's quite a high honor. The Grand Master stopped class and asked Cohen to come to him. Cohen quickly walked over while shouting "yes sir!". The Grand Master gave a spill about how Cohen is very determined and how he works so hard. He said that he puts in great effort and he is advancing very quickly. He commented on his eagerness to learn and his excitement when he gets things. He said that although Cohen is the smallest and youngest in the class, that he is always the loudest and the most determined.

 

Cohen beamed with pride. He quickly thanked his Grand Master and asked to be excused. He rushed over to me with the biggest smile on his face, showing me his precious medal.

 

 

I really could not be more proud of him than I am now. His Grand Master says that he is pretty much ready for testing which gives him the ability to get a yellow belt in place of his white belt. Testing isn't for another two months though, so I hope he continues to work as hard as he has.

 

The next day at "karate", he broke his very first WOODEN board! He has been breaking the folding plastic boards this entire time. He shouted "YES I CANNNN!" and broke the board with one hit of his hammer fist. This boy is going places, I am sure of it.

I am so glad I was able to capture this moment on camera. He was shocked at himself and shyly asked if he was able to keep his broken board.

 

Now, for being confident outside of the martial arts studio:

Cohen has always just gone with the flow. Although he can be hardheaded, he likes to make others happy, so he doesn't offer much confrontation. Until recently. He has been a lot pickier against Chyenne, forcing me to play referee a lot more, but it is such a welcoming experience. He is actually standing up to her and realizing that he does not always have to do things her way. He knows his voice and he is now willing to use it.

He has also been excelling in the classroom and his teachers have commented often how great of a leader he is.

He is even more confident with me and Colt. Just today, Colt took him to a potential deer hunting property to set out deer cameras and scout the land. Cohen was a champ and trudged through knee-deep mud and muck, unwilling to let his daddy carry him. Again, he presented his "yes I can" attitude and truly showed how much of a big boy he can be.

He has even been attempting to ride his dirt bike without training wheels in small spurts.

 

He has always been an amazing boy, but with his newfound confidence, he truly believes that he is unstoppable and I have no doubt that he is.