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Celebrating Differences

Celebrating Differences

Here at True Balance Karate in Downers Grove, Illinois, we have a social-emotional learning program called True Character. I’m Master H, the owner and chief instructor here at the studio. I have two master’s degrees in education, and we’ve developed this program to meet the needs of our youngest students who are three or four, and our oldest student who is 85.

And this month, we have been talking about friendship. We have been talking about it in terms of how we show respect and trust in each other, how we communicate our kindness, how we show friendship, how we receive friendship, what that looks like. And today, to finish the month, we are talking about celebrating our differences.

Understanding Others

Just because we are friends does not mean that we all have to like the same things, do the same things, enjoy the same things. In fact, it’s those differences between us that really make us unique. It’s the differences between us that really open our minds to other possibilities and things like that. When we’ve got a trusted friend, a friend that we respect and admire, and we come to them with a problem that we’re having difficulty solving, it’s our differences that can help us solve those problems.

And so, as you’re thinking back to some of your close friends, your dear friends, how you became friends, embrace those differences. Take a look and see what actually caused you to become friends in the first place. It might be a common situation, it might be something that you do have the same, but then over the course of time, you realize that it’s the differences that have kept you guys together as friends.

And for our young kids, our three-year-olds or four-year-olds or five-year-olds, even into our early third grade age group, we are working on those differences and what that means. Right? “He didn’t want to play soccer with me, so he’s not my friend anymore.” Does that really mean that? Or does it mean that they actually had something else that they were interested in, and maybe tomorrow you guys will play soccer together again. So it’s pointing out those differences and educating those younger students that those differences are okay. We need to celebrate them. We need to embrace them so that we can make our friendships even stronger.

Appreciating Others

What does celebrating those differences look like? Well, maybe you’re going to thank them for other ideas. You came to your friend with a problem and they had a different way of looking at it that you wouldn’t necessarily have thought of. So you’re going to use your thank you words and you’re going to say, “Hey, thanks for helping me through that problem. That really helped.” Maybe you’re going to give them a compliment. I have friends that like to have really long nails, or stuff that they’re really good at that I am not interested in. One of my friends really enjoys dance, and is really quite good at it. And so I see them and I compliment them on how great it is that they’re doing something that they love. And I can show my support for my friend by complimenting them on what I see, even if it isn’t something that I like, what I see as their strength and their being in my life. They bring something to my life, so I can complement them, and I can thank them for that.

Supporting Others

And of course, showing support. Right? We’ve talked about that when we’ve talked about showing excellence. We’ve talked about it when we’ve talked about kindness and respect. Showing support is making eye contact, listening intently, repeating back what you hear, showing up to things that matter to them so that you are demonstrating support for what they enjoy and are engaged in. So, as we are celebrating our differences and seeing how much our friends have value in our lives and all the things that they bring to us, because we make them better and they make us better.

I hope you’ve enjoyed our talk about friendship. Thanks, and I’ll see you on the mat.

 


True Balance Karate was founded in 2012 by Master Sue and Paul Helsdon.

We offer kids karate lessons for pre-school children ages 3-6 and elementary age kids ages 7 and up. These lessons are designed to develop the critical building blocks kids need — specialized for their age group — for school excellence and later success in life.

Our adult martial arts training is a complete adult fitness and conditioning program for adults who want to lose weight, get (and stay) in shape, or learn self-defense in a supportive environment.

Instructors can answer questions or be contacted 24 hours of the day, 7 days a week at 630-663-2000. You can also contact us here. True Balance Karate is at 406 Ogden Ave Downers Grove Illinois, 60515 (next to CVS) Check out our Facebook!