Written by I started training at this dojo because of my dad. I did a tumbling class when I was 7 at the Coloma Community Center, and just a few doors down was Zen Martial Arts at the former location. My dad decided to get me started with classes at this dojo, and I’ve been with it ever since. He actually trained at the dojo for a few years after I had joined and made it to green belt before he decided to quit. Even though he is no longer training himself, he has always encouraged me to keep going and to train for my black belt. When we found out that I would be taking this test by myself, unlike all of the other black belts at the dojo, he decided that he would try to take the test with me. Of course, since he is not training at the dojo, he can’t do sparring rounds or kata; however, he is subbing those out for other things. For every 3 rounds of sparring that I do, he walks 500 stairs, and for every kata that I do, he does 30 squats. Having my dad do this test with me has been a really good motivator since I don’t have another person doing this test with me.
Pushups
(21,310 / 50,000)
Situps
(21,475 / 50,000)
Makiwara
(3,070 / 10,000)
Miles
(240 / 1,000)
Kata
(284 / 1,000)
Kumite
(348 / 1,000)
Kindness
(428 / 1,000)
Meditation
(1,963 / 5,000)
Books
(2 / 6)
Blogs
(25 / 52)
Videos
(1 / 12)
That’s awesome that your dad is not only there for moral support but also the exercise support. It really helps to have someone close to you to help you do all the athletic tasks. That’s a beautiful picture of you and your dad.