Purple Belt

On Saturday Ashley tested for her next belt in her karate school. She was so excited to do the testing and not nervous at all which surprised me. Since I had to work John texted me when she was about to do her sparring so I could get there in time to see her break her boards and her belt ceremony. I didn't want to miss anything so I headed out a little early and was able to catch her doing her last few katas and see her spar with 5 separate opponents. It's amazing to see how much she has learned and to see how skilled she has become. We also figured out why she doesn't fight as strong when doing her test sparring. She usually is up against one of her senseis and seems intimidated. Well Saturday she was up against another student who is a black belt and about her size. She fought so hard and so well - we were so proud! Then after the katas and sparring was over they lined up to break their boards. When she tested for her green belt she only had to break one board but for her purple belt she had to break two. They had the option to break one at a time or both at the same time. She opted to break one at a time. The first one she broke with her foot and the second she broke with her fist. She's one strong girl! Once all the boards were broken it was time for the belt ceremony. All the kids take off their existing belts and then the Senseis call them up one at a time to put their new belt on and give them their certificate. I love when Ashley gets her new belts, she always has such a grin of acheivement on her face!