Lex tested for his full black belt this weekend and did amazing! They had a 3+ hour technical exam in the morning, then a brief break for lunch, followed by the presentation and award ceremony. It was indoors and mask-free, which was really nice.
Lex (and the others) showed off a variety of katas (series of moves), including partner katas and weapons katas. He has been going to karate on his own since he got his license and a car, so I don’t get to watch anymore (and I’ve forgotten a lot of the words!). It was really awesome to see how powerful and confident he is in the dojo.
I didn’t have my camera out quick enough for that first video. He was doing the application drill with four “attackers” coming at him, one on each side. Each kata is a series of moves that can be done with a partner (“attacker”) doing the opposite moves, together creating a fight sequence. Katas are learned first on their own, then with a partner.
I’m super proud of Lex. He has really found something he enjoys and stuck with it through the good times and bad (masks!). He is so strong and confident on the floor. He even learned that Sensei Ken (head teacher) has a mentor who runs a dojo in Worcester, MA! We are going to look that up and see if it’s accessible from WPI. Lex had planned on letting karate go once he started college, but upon hearing about Sensei’s mentor, he is reconsidering and might try to continue through college. That would be cool.
