There once was a boy, his name was Max, He loved to run and do jumpy jacks. One day his teacher smiled and said, “What brand-new thing’s inside your head?” Max shouted loud, “I’ll kick and chop! I want karate — HIYA! — non-stop!” But all his classmates shook their heads, “We’ll try some cooler stuff instead.” After class, his pals all jeered, “Karate’s boring! That’s just weird! We’re trying cigarettes instead, Way cooler!” all his classmates said. Max wrinkled his nose, “That smells like skunk! I’ll pass on that — no stinky junk! I want to be strong, not cough and hack, No thanks! I’ll take a GI in black.” So off to karate Max did zoom, With lots of kicks and lots of BOOM! At first Max tripped, he bonked his knee, He fell so much — like a wobbly tree! His legs felt wiggly, arms were sore, His butt met mats more times than four! His legs were noodles, arms like springs, He tripped on belts, on shoes, on things! But Max got better, bit by bit, Each week his punches packed more zip! His moves grew strong, his smile grew wide, He earned his orange belt with pride! Then trouble struck — oh no, oh yikes! He tripped over one of his classmate’s Nikes! Doctor said, “No kicks, no chops, For two whole months, karate stops.” His classmates laughed, “Ha! Told you so! Cigarettes are cooler, don’t you know?” But Max just grinned and didn’t pout, He rested up and toughened out. Soon he healed and came back quick, His kicks were sharp, his punches slick! He climbed the belts — blue, green, then red, While his friends just coughed and stayed in bed. Years zipped by like ninja spins, Max stayed strong with mighty grins. But his old friends? Well, not so slick, They wheezed and huffed and looked quite sick. While Max won trophies, big and tall, They leaned and puffed against the wall. One day at the store, guess who appeared? The teacher saw them, scratched her head. Max stood smiling, bright and bold, His friends looked tired, gray and old. The teacher laughed and gave advice, “Max made the smart choice — karate’s nice!”