Results of the Friday Surprise

On Friday, I had Kira get in some shorts, grab a towel and her water bottle and said we were going some place.  Of course the first question was "Where" followed by "With who?"  Since I wanted this to be a surprise I just told her to hop in the car and she would see.  We drove about 20 minutes and pulled up in front of this strip mall in front of a martial arts building.  No where on the building did it say "karate" but it listed Jiu Jitzu, kickboxing, and a number of other things.  She had no clue what any of them were and was still a little confused.  Then I told her.  The look of surprise and appreciation just melted my heart.

So my not so little munchkin went to her first Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class.  I wasn't sure what to expect but it was great and she really enjoyed it.  The first instructor that worked with her was T.J.  We got there early and he worked with her on some rolls and other things that they would be doing in class, just to get her comfortable.  Mondays and Fridays they have strength training so she didn't need a Gi.

When class started, her main instructor, Logan, worked with her on different exercises to help build up her muscles.  They had an different stations that they worked through involving push-ups, sprints, lifting a kettle bell, dumb bells, jumps and a couple of others.

My little monkey was the only girl and also the only one doing a trial visit.  She has had no experience and the instructors made sure not to leave her behind.  Even when Logan saw she was falling behind in push-ups he told her to use her knees or to only do 3 or so.  She refused.  She didn't want the special treatment.  She wanted to do it just like the boys!

They ended up doing sprints, hitting the punching bag, and then running back to do some sort of activity - push-ups was one of them.  Kira did great with the punching and kicking after a little guidance from either T.J. or Logan.  Even when she got frustrated and I noticed her eyes welling up with tears she stepped away, took a deep breath, and then went back stronger than ever.  I have to say I was really impressed.

After the class, T.J. was talking to us and said he started this when he was 15 years old and she reminded him of himself.  He said got frustrated easily and he was proud of her that she stuck with it and didn't let it get her down.

As we got ready to leave, I asked about the cost for the classes after our 3 day trial was over...I about fell over with sticker shock.  I was really hoping that we could afford this because it would be good for her but at $177 for the first month and then $157 each month after that, we just can't afford it.

I got in the car devastated.  On one hand I was glad she got to experience this and had 2 more classes she could take but on the other hand I was looking forward to giving something she had been wanting for some time.  Plus it would fulfill exercise requirements, help her with focus and confidence and quite possibly help relieve some of the stress school was causing her.

Logan working one-on-one with Kira.

Just like my daughter, I'm not to give up.  I will look elsewhere for classes with a more affordable price tag.