Board breaker [video]

I love to watch him kick. 

That was the feeling, and the words I wish I'd had as I watched him flow through his forms and push his heel high into a kid-sized padded target and as he turned, slightly in awe of himself, and ran back to his seat after breaking a board in one fell swoop.

It was his second belt testing in nine months at this Tae Kwon Do studio, the place where we came after sadly and tearfully and apprehensively leaving the comfort zone of our own studio. E was six short months and three belt tests away from being a black belt there. But when the instruction fell into pieces, I had to take my boy's hand and walk out of there. In this studio, he was given a new belt, a much lower rank, and had to re-learn many moves and master a different style of kicking, counting, even standing among his peers. 

He has come far since last September, when I pulled him gently toward the door of the studio, talked with him many nights about building courage, building muscle, having the heart of a lion. 

Now, twice a week, with the same serious face that is framed by hair that is just a little longer, legs that have also stretched out and a uniform that gets smaller by the week, he turns and turns and turns his body in practice for each new form and stance and kick. Now, he's found his place in the line of kids in the studio.

When I read this beautiful, poignant post by Hands Free Mama today, I smiled as I cried. She wrote the words I felt pounding in my mothering pride but hadn't turned into a sentence while I watched my boy glide through his testing. (I am grateful, overwhelmed, at peace having a grasp on the words now. And that they are so simple makes them feel even more true.)

I love to watch him kick.

I love to capture that moment of confidence with my camera.

I love to gasp at how high and fast he can throw his body.

I love to watch his legs and arms in a blur of speed and determination.

I love the look of surprise and accomplishment when he gets where his mind wanted his body to go.

I love that we've made it through these months, that he kept crossing the threshhold to this studio, even when it was hard and scary and new. 

I love that he has earned these belts with the strength in his body and brain, but mostly, with the muscle that is his big, beating heart.

I love to watch him kick.

(And you will hear it here as I cannot keep my exclamation in.)

What do you love to watch your child do?