Kickin' it at the Beach

Last week our Martial Arts school took our kicks and high energy to the beach.  

We made a short stop in Riverside to visit the beautiful garden of our instructor, Farai Muchenje.  We have been hearing about his garden for so long, and we weren't disappointed.  He loves his garden and drives all the way to Riverside almost everyday to work on it. He has worked so hard, and has so many plans.  It was amazing - a tropical paradise in the middle of a barren landscape.  Well done, Mr. Muchenje!

The kids each got a chance to throw a ninja star into a tree stump.

 Of all the kids, only Alex and Nathan got their stars into the stump.  Maybe we should invest in a few ninja stars - NOT!

A group picture in the garden before hitting the road.

We drove to Crystal Cove State Beach on the Newport coast.  It was a great beach with relatively few people.  We set up our shade structures and gave the kids the boundaries - right in front.  The kids were all so good.  They all stayed right where they were told, and they all played so nicely together - all ages, boys and girls - with no problems at all.  I was so proud of how good everyone was.  They are well trained, obviously. 

Just a cute picture of Luke.

Later we got down to business.  First there was the throw each other our of the big circle game.  Derek was one of the last two standing.  Then they did some soft sword fighting.

And of course a bit of board breaking.  I think the kids got a kick out of it!

Kiap gang!  What a day!