Proud (and scary) mummy moments

I had an amazing day with my boys yesterday. We were out of the house at 7.45am to take the older boys to their very first kickboxing competition. I didn't have a clue what to expect, and neither did the boys. The first thing we realised when we got there was that it was a huge event. Not that the boys seemed phased by it at all. They just took it all in their stride.

I'm not a very competitive person so I really wasn't sure how the boys would react to being scored , but the good thing about this is that it's designed to build the little ones confidence.  Everyone gets medals for taking part, which the boys were extremely happy about.  Though I must admit, Ethan had a bit of a tantrum over not getting a trophy for doing the team form! :-)

   

He did eventually agree to having his photo taken with his medal though!















Zac is very happy with his winnings.












There was a lot of hanging around as so many were competing and I was really concerned about how Ollie was going to handle it, but he totally enjoyed it.  I think he wanted to join in!

Next came the individual form, and none of us had realised that our babies would have to get up and do their form on their own in front of the judges.  My heart was in my mouth.  It would have been my idea of a nightmare when I was little (and still would be now if I'm completely honest).  They were one of the last to take part and I watched with trepidation when Zac was called.  But, apart from refusing to do the form that his teacher asked of him and instead doing one he barely knew, he was great.  I was so proud.

Then it was Ethan's turn.  Ethan still seems so young to me.  He hasn't got the masses of confidence that his older brother has and I was really concerned that this would be too much for him.  But again I was proven wrong.  

My boys are stars and it was the proudest I've ever been.

Then came the scary moment.  It was time for the sparring.  By this time we'd been there for 3 hours.  The boys were getting tired and Zac started getting a bit upset.  He didn't want to fight and was worried about getting hurt.  I explained that he would be wearing body armour but that it was entirely up to him.  He kept saying no, but then his name was called and off he went!  I sat close to him while he waited to fight and watched in case he couldn't go through with it.  

There were a few fights before his and I was quite shocked by the way some parents were behaving.  Children being told to 'get angry' with the other child (they were all 5 years old!!) and really encouraged to hit harder.  I know it's a competition but I thought this was a bit too much! 

It came around to Zac's turn and up he got and tried his very best.  He didn't win but it was very close (and I was sort of glad he didn't win as it meant he didn't have to fight again).

Ethan was also brilliant in his fight.  He smiled all the way through it and I think with a bit more practise he'll be fantastic.  The main thing was that he enjoyed every minute of it and wanted to stay and do more!

I had three tired, but happy, boys by the end of the competition so it was straight home to relax for us.  Zac and Ethan have got three medals each for being so brave and taking part.  They are already looking forward to the next competition and talking about when they'll get their first trophy.  I'm looking forward to a nice long break before having to watch them fight again!