Officially a Yellow Belt Black Stripe

Another amazing surprise from the incredible family I have at Harmony By Karate, my yellow belt. This week is promotion week at Harmony by Karate. It is exciting for the Sensei's, Sempais, the kids and the parents, as all their hard work and dedication is recognized with the promotion ceremony. While I was helping with the kids class, teaching them some yoga stretches, Sensei Joseph asked me to confirm the spelling of my last night. He is so sneaky and casual, I just told him no "s" at the end of my last name, and carried on with the jumping jacks that we were going into. When the ceremony time commenced, I stood on the side of Sensei John, passing the new belts to Sensei Joseph, and watched as the kids classes stood awaiting their belts and certificates. Finally, after everyone was awarded, and applauded, Sensei John called my name! Since I was awarded my yellow belt black stripe awhile back, Sensei John made it official with my certificate, and reintroduced me to the parents and caregivers who stood by watching. I have been awarded My Yellow Belt Black Stripe Certificate of promotion in Chowakai Karatedo of Japanese Origin. What an incredible honor! I know that I am blessed to be in the company of Harmony by Karate because of the regular compassion, kindness and genuine dedication I witness every week. As a former NYS teacher, I look for excellence in fellow educators. Regardless of if you teach in a school, yoga studio, martial arts, wherever the venue, it is important that you connect to the spirit of the student. When I look for a teacher, a colleague, or a team I want to be working with, I always search for people who share the same qualities and standards of excellence I strive to adhere to, and people who inspire me to be better. I look for people who inspire, have creativity, have fun, understand students, practice what they teach, create classes with relevance to humanity, have humility, and most importantly have compassion, and these are qualities I see in all the staff at Harmony By Karate. Sensei John himself teaches such relevant philosophies to his students, and has been part of a national Anti-Bullying campaign that has recently been featured on the Oprah Radio Show. Thank you to everyone at Harmony by Karate for being part of my journey, for teaching me so much, and for promoting me to Yellow Belt Black Stripe, it truly is an honor. Once again, I left the dojo full of smiles!
Picture: Sensei John awarding me with my Certificate of Promotion