My intellectual friend Aiden is currently in second grade. He radiates joy. I find his sweet, gentle spirit to be intoxicating. With the goal of increasing his confidence and self-discipline, Mom enrolled him in martial arts. Recently, Aiden was matched with a sparring partner at Tai Kwon Do class. First, he was to practice his new techniques on his partner. He enthusiastically approached his partner, confidently using powerful jabs and kicks recently learned in class. When "time" was called, partners switched. Those that were making contact now received. As his partner approached, Aiden began taking steady steps backward in order to avoid oncoming jabs and punches, which, I have to admit, sounded pretty smart to me.
Unfortunately, Mom was not impressed with his moves.
After class Mom had a chat with Aiden. She explained to him that each sparring partner has to take a turn "receiving" blows to be fair. There is no reason to be scared. He looked right at her and said with a twinkle in his eye, "I wasn't scared. I was implementing strategies I learned the first day about making a distance when approached."
What Mom took away from this... It is seriously hard to win a "throw down" with an intellectual!
Unfortunately, Mom was not impressed with his moves.
After class Mom had a chat with Aiden. She explained to him that each sparring partner has to take a turn "receiving" blows to be fair. There is no reason to be scared. He looked right at her and said with a twinkle in his eye, "I wasn't scared. I was implementing strategies I learned the first day about making a distance when approached."
What Mom took away from this... It is seriously hard to win a "throw down" with an intellectual!
