After Little Boy Finally Breaks Board in Karate, Class Celebrates by Giving Him Giant Hug
Imagine being a young karate student, white belt tied around your tiny waist as you try to earn your next karate belt.
Inexperienced and unsure, you go through the motions modeled by your instructor, unaware that he is building much more into your character than an aptitude for physical movement.
Parents and caregivers surround the periphery of the karate studio, watching and waiting.
Older students take their turns in front of the instructor, successfully kicking through breaking boards with strength and confidence.
But when you become the one kid who cannot break a board like everyone else, suddenly, feelings of inadequacy and fear begin to emerge.
All those adult eyes who had been paying attention to other things suddenly fixate on you.
A little boy named Phoenix Swonger from Orlando, Florida, was in tears when he found himself in this exact situation, unable to successfully kick through a breaking board.
After failing to kick through the board to pass his belt test, the boy was told he would spend six more months as a white belt. After other older children were successful, his instructor, Erik Gianini, decided to give Phoenix another chance to advance to a yellow belt.
Gianini told the boy to strike the board with a strong kick, but when he tried, Phoenix slipped and fell.
Hot, angry tears fell from his face as he stood in front of the board, defeated.
But nobody came to Phoenix’s rescue — not a parent, not the instructor, not his classmates — he was going to have to break that board on his own.
Confident in his student’s ability, the instructor told Phoenix again to kick the board.
He made a weak attempt to comply, crying that he could not do it.
Everything about Phoenix’s composure suggested he was ready to throw in the towel. He repeatedly wiped tears out of his eyes while Gianini pushed him to keep trying.
The instructor continued to coach the boy on proper technique, bringing no attention to the fact that he was crying, very young, and ready to quit.
Phoenix’s teammates would not let him quit, either. They began to rally around the boy, chanting his name and giving him support as he tried, over and over, to break the board.
After a few decent attempts, he gave one final, iron-clad kick into the board, breaking it perfectly into two halves.
The karate studio erupted into cheers and applause, as Gianini and his teammates surrounded him with a huge hug.
The boy seemed startled that he had actually been successful, learning a valuable lesson that he likely will not forget.
It can be tempting to rescue children from potentially painful and embarrassing situations, but the thrill of accomplishment made this boy’s tears completely worth it.
Phoenix appeared on “Fox and Friends” with his dad, Tom Swonger, and karate instructor Gianini, to say he felt “very good” about his viral board-breaking moment.
“He went from not thinking he could do it to really going in there and getting his belt and breaking that board,” Gianini said.
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