scary karate

We went to Karate International tonight to see our good friend, David, get his black belt. We were so excited to watch him finish some of his testing, some of which included breaking boards, bricks (even with his elbow), fighting an opponent, etc. Supposedly, it was really fun to watch. But I didn't get to see it. Neither did Bennett.

When we arrived, Laura, his wife, greeted us and pointed out where she had saved us front row seats. I thought, "Great. Bennett will have a close view of everything and will be very entertained."

Well, as soon as David took the floor for his first demonstration, he yelled out a loud, "HEE!", during one of his moves, and Bennett started shaking. Then, it happened again. "HAAAA!" Bennett started crying. Loudly. So, I get up and take him to the back row, thinking he would regain his composure. Nope. Instead, with the next, "Yaaaa!", Bennett was screaming! I had to leave the building because no matter where I went, he was still crying and terrified. The audience seemed to be laughing at Bennett more than they were watching the demonstration, so I felt horrible for distracting David during his routine!

I comforted Bennett by holding him tightly, whispering "it's okay, they're just playing" in his ear, and taking him outside to play next to the parking lot (which wasn't safe at all). About fifteen minutes later, I returned to find that David was getting ready to spar with an opponent. As soon as the first "HAAA!" was uttered, Bennett was distraught all over again. The audience again began to laugh, and as I ran for the door, I was also frantically trying to get Paul to understand I needed keys to the car.

Even though Bennett and I spent the evening in the van alone, it wasn't all bad. I sat in front of the Mexican grocery store next door and translated all of their advertisements in my head.

I discovered two things tonight that I won't soon forget. One, my Spanish isn't quite as rusty as I thought. Two, when it comes to extracurricular activites Bennett might be interested in, karate will not be one of them.