Anointed Fighters in Trainin’
Lots of things happening in the Anointed Fighter world! Isaac earned his yellow belt in October. Nolan earned his transitional orange belt a week following that. Ethan joined the Defenders ranks and earned his reverse skunk belt the first week of November, and I belt tested just before Thanksgiving, earning my yellow belt.
Isaac is on the radar for gold belt testing this month. I'm kinda hoping Master Kruger will keep him at orange another month so I can belt test for gold with him as Nolan does his solid orange belt test February. It's no guarantee to test every 3 months, but that is the average at our dojo. I'm on radar for next month and Nolan should be too, given he does well adjusting to the new class he's joined recently. So, the hope is that I test with Isaac and Nolan, as it could potentially be our last month with our current family given Paul's new job position could begin around the end of first quarter.
Ethan is on a different schedule than myself and the elder man cubs so belt testing with him is not a possibility. His is on a 6 month program versus a year at a time. This program is quite similar to the one Nolan was promoted out of recently. The difference is simply an age group level lower.
Depending on fine motor skills and different learning rates, Ethan could go through more than one belt in a 6 month period, but 6 months is the average to fine tune each of the 6 skills Master Kruger implements into his curriculum for the Defenders class (2-3 year olds). The elders and I, on average will do 4 belts a year. And Master Kruger does not have the little ones (2-5 depending on which class they're in), do the "Big Kid" belt test that the rest of us do.
I cannot stress enough how great this program has been for our family. Generally, Martial Arts studios are not Christian based. Maybe Christian owned, but often they do not implement Biblical curriculum into their physical training. This studio does. Which is amazing. Because, more often than not, nobody has enough Come to Jesus meetings during the week. So this helps (ME) the kids, so much. This requires me to be more accountable for my actions, as well as the man cubs being held accountable for their actions by more than just myself and their dad. And, because Paul travels so much, it's great to have male role models in their life who put forth a legitimate effort to teach them the ways of the Force in all aspects of life.
If you know anything about Martial Arts tenets, you understand the need to demonstrate each of those in a physical and mental aspect. But this studio takes that a step further, and teaches the kids what that means from a Biblical standpoint, adding memory verses to reinforce those tenets.
My man cubs have flourished. They love their classes. There's a physical and mental challenge in every class even if it's a review day. And the most important thing to our instructor is not that you quickly climb the belt rank, but that you demonstrate the tenets he teaches. He is not the instructor who gives belts away. He is not the instructor who teaches his students to be mean. He stresses being courteous, in control, to be selfless, to persevere, to have integrity, and to have an indomitable spirit. He teaches that these tenets are not only for use on his mats. They are for the real world, outside the studio doors.
The Anointed Fighter Family is one we never dreamed of existing. To be shown respect and support from the owners as a family with a life and goals outside the studio, and to see that same support reciprocated to the families within our group is such a blessing. The owners are loving people, and the families within our group extend that love and support to one another both as individuals, and individual families. In as little as the 8 months we've been a part of the Anointed Fighters, we have certainly felt like family with people we know little of.
We all cheer one another's kids in their classes, and belt tests. We see the occasional Come to Jesus meeting with Master Kruger when a kid (sometimes my own) gets their toe to far outta line during class or at home. We see the ups and downs, and we understand life happens. And sometimes you simply need to be told by someone in your village to take some time off.
We are a village. As parents, we use the other parents and kids, and Master Kruger to push ourselves in the right direction. That loving support is what makes the Anointed Fighter Family one you will not find anywhere else. We are blessed to be a part of it, even if it is so short lived.
***If you take one thing from this post, let it bet this: Find yourself a good place, with an amazing village to support you and your family in whatever journey you're on, and learn some self defense techniques. My hope is, you NEVER have to use those techniques. But if you do, you will stand a better chance at keeping yourself and those around you safe. Some serious self discipline goes a long way as well.***