While I’m capable of being a thought-out planner, I find that some of the best things happen spontaneously – when you try something in a general direction and just see what happens. I took my boys to the Lunar fest last year and we stumbled upon a Karate dojo offering free training in exchange for reading. What?!? I was sure there was some sort of catch. I had looked into martial arts lessons of all types and in despair surrendered to the belief that they were out of my budget, especially for three kids. But there they were – insisting that I wouldn’t pay a cent. So -we had to check it out. And – let me tell you – it’s REAL! My boys and I are one year in and we love our dojo! Sensei Will has been teaching Shotokan Karate for years and founded this visionary program to encourage people to become disciplined athletes as well as habitual readers. He was quickly joined by Sensei Kenny and Sensei Phil and together they have trained dozens of people in Shotokan. The quality of the training does not suffer due to it’s non-existent cost. Instead, those who have stuck with it the longest have truly earned their belts— no paying to test here. I have had the great privilege of looking up to these advanced belts over the past year and recently had the opportunity to convince them to come “play” photoshoot with me. You can tell from the photos that these guys know their stuff. If you want to join us, look up more info: readingforkicks.org.
emily rickard PHOTO 