Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Into the octagon



At karate tonight, I watched Liam spar for the first time. With the gloves and the helmet and the mouthpiece, he's a different boy. So focused and determined. I couldn't believe how charged the other kid and started throwing combinations. Mostly punches and a stray kick, but he chained them all together and didn't stop. The other kid, Chase, barely kept up. Liam must have thrown at least five punches for every one that his opponent threw. And when Liam started circling and attacking from odd angles, poor Chase could looked confused.

I was so proud of Liam. I was cheering and smiling the whole time. He'd been training with me for weeks, and finally his work paid off. After five minutes, Liam hadn't even broken a sweat. He wasn't winded. Chase had his hands down by his sides and I could see him breathing through his mouth.

But my boy, Liam, he was golden.