Dorje started karate classes a few months ago, and yesterday was his first grading. He was quite excited about it and it turned out so was I!

He’s a white belt, and the most junior in the class, which consists of two blue belts, a yellow belt and two other white belts, both of whom have “stripes”. In the Karate Jutsu school that Dorje’s attending, they seem to hold gradings every three months. Each time you attend a grading you get one stripe, and it seems, at least at this level, that three stripes is the norm before getting a new colour belt.

The “stripes” system was apparently introduced to make things more child-friendly. A year is an interminable eternity without progress for a child, so by getting a stripe each time you attend a grading, there’s a more regular sense of achievement.

I’ve missed Dorje’s last few classes, and anyway usually spend the time doing tai chi outside, so I haven’t seen him in a formal environment for a while, but settled down to watch his grading.

Generally I’m hard to impress, and don’t compliment very easily, but Dorje’s karate stunned me. It was all I could do to avoid shouting “that’s my boy” or some such cliche while I sat watching. If I had to face him in a dark alley I think I would have run. I’m glad that all the hours beating me up has been put to good use.

The judges seemed to agree, and gave him two stripes instead of one, which added to his excitement levels and led to more of me being beaten up back at home.

Luckily in a bright garden, not a dark alley