ADHD day

I know they say that martial arts are good for people with ADHD. But today, everyone seemed to be very hyper and/or distractable.

Robbie's been having a tough spring in terms of getting out of control. He gets too loud too fast. He pushes too hard, teases too much, and is way too rough with Eli and just about everyone else. I blame it on testosterone poisoning--I read somewhere that about age 10, boys get their first does of adolescent hormones.

Or it could be that even-numbered-age thing. My sister-in-law once told me that, oh yeah, my kids were going through a difficult phase because they were 2 and 4, even-numbered ages. "So it's not just terrible 2's?" I asked. "Which even-numbered ages are bad?"

"All of them," she replied.

Anyway, Robbie's not the only one today. Before class starts, the other boys are hyper and not focused, running after each other with pads, flailing nun-chucks, and playing hockey with a broken piece of free-weight. Eli cavorts among them.

Even Mr. Houtz seems a bit ADD--or perhaps it's the opposite. At any rate, his focus is not completely on TKD. We greet each other and chat for a while about his car situation (no new car yet) and somehow our conversation wanders over various topics while the hockey game goes on, unnoticed, around us. Well, unnoticed by Mr. Houtz. His calmness and ability to ignore bad behavior is amazing. I'm feeling a bit antsy myself, ready to start.

We do get to our workout, eventually. We do the usual moves and stretches, then switch to sparring. I spar with Eli, and then with Patrick, who chatters the entire time.

Luckily the kids get to practice their break techniques, but not with a real board--with that strange slate-like practice board. I hope the breaking goes OK at the test.