In which Piers sees a heartbreaking episode

At Jonathan's karate class tonight, one of the newer boys had an episode that was painful to watch.  He is a bit of a free spirit, and shows a marked lack of self-control--i.e., he finds it hard to remember to stand still, to follow directions, etc.  Well, tonight was his belt graduation night.  However, he got off to a really rough start in the drills for the day.  By the time his "test" came up, he had already used up all the chances the instructor was going to give.  During a sparring round, he started to kick and punch, caught up in the pleasure and excitement of the moment.  Instructor R made him sit down and informed him that he was not going to graduate to the next belt tonight.  The poor kid begged for yet another chance, but Instructor R was implacable.  He cried and cried, and called himself a loser.  Instructor R said, "no.  You just need to follow instructions.  No one can do that for you but you." 

At the end of the class, Instructor R had the little boy go apologize to his parents and tell them that he would do better next time.  The dad didn't move a muscle--didn't even change expression.  That was the part that broke my heart.  That little boy desperately wants his father's approval and maybe a glimmer of encouragement.  He got nothing.


I'm not perfect, but even I can tell when a little boy needs a dad's hug or pat on the back.  Anything.  Life will beat the boy down in time anyway--why not give him a boost while you still can?