A parent, whose child has been training with us for a couple of years, sent me this essay written by her son as part of his middle school application process.

It floored me that I had so much in common with a 10 year old's training experience. I too have changed a lot and  have had many wonderful teachers to whom I owe a great deal for their patience, perseverance, wisdom, and humour. Ironically,  the people that I learn the most from these days are my students. Thanks to all the kids at World Kanreikai Karate NYC dojo!

Tell us about a person who has been important to you.

Sensei Michelle has been an important person to me because she influenced me a lot. Sensei is my karate teacher. She has influenced me in and out of karate.
Sensei tells us to work harder in and out of karate class. In karate, Sensei tells us to kick higher. When I kick higher I advance in karate belts. That’s why I get to lead the end of the class sometimes. When I worked harder in writing class I got better at writing. Now I am happy because I like to write in a journal.

Sensei tells us to be self-aware. She tells us to be self-aware because she doesn’t want us to kick people or step on cats and dogs. She also tells us to watch out for people on the street. She also tells us to be careful of people smaller than us.

Sensei tells us to be helpful. In class I do the moves to show white belts how to do them. Outside of karate I helped my grandmother find the campsite sign and find the quickest way to the campsite with all the camping gear. I also helped find the way to all the children’s programs. It is fun being helpful, it makes me feel important, Sensei also tells us to be nice to people. In karate I am nice to all the people there. Outside karate I am nice to friends and family. In all, Sensei influenced me a lot inside and outside of karate. Sensei tells us that karate is only allowed in the karate school because it is only used in self-defense. But I have learned a lot of things from learning karate that I use both inside and outside karate. 

- by Alex Caceres-Wright