My name is Christian and I am eight years old. I have been learning Karate at Karate Universe since I was four years old. I am going to be a black belt in April. I like Karate and I enjoy practicing it. Learning Karate has changed my life because I know how to control my emotions, protect myself and I am more confidence in the things I do. Also, I am a better boy and I am a better student in my school too. Karate is important in my life because I am learning a lot of things. Karate is also very demanding because I need to follow and pay attention to directions and I need to practice it a lot to learn the proper way to perform and do good forms. Also, at Karate Universe I learn a lot of good things like discipline, focus, respect to my instructors, peers and other people too. Now I know what martial art is and I am so happy for that. Also, Karate is fun for me because I know how to fight, kick, break wood-boards, sparring and to use weapons. Karate helps me to keep my body stronger and healthier through hard exercise. I am lucky to learn karate because I have good time in my class and also it is a great way to spend my time with my karate friends. I would like to say thank my parents for bringing me to Karate Universe and thank my instructors for teaching me this wonderful martial art. I love Karate Universe.

I have been doing Tae-Kwon-Do at Karate Universe since I was 5 years old. I am 8 years old now and preparing to become a black belt. Even though I am still young, martial arts has influenced my life in many ways. First of all, I feel that I am a more confident boy. I have been taught that I can do anything that I put my mind to. I can remember Master Dean telling me that there is no such word as "can't". This confidence has helped me in my school work and other sports that I try. The training I get at Karate Universe has made me stronger. I can even open bottles and jars for my mom! A lot of my friends at school can't believe how good I am at push-ups!! I never really knew the meaning of the word intensity until Master Dean showed me. I saw the difference in doing a form with a lot of intensity versus doing a form with little or no intensity. It makes a big difference. I've learned that to be intense, I need to focus my mind on what I am trying to do. It's a little hard to explain, but I know that when I do anything with intensity, it will always turn out good. Doing Tae-Kwon-Do has helped me to practice self-control. Sometimes it is hard to control myself, but I've learned that it is important. I have to use self-control a lot at school. Some of my friends should do it, maybe they wouldn't get in trouble so much. Adults are always talking about working hard. I know now that hard work is important. It has taken a lot of hard work and dedication to get to where I am today. It sure paid off!! One of the first things you are taught to say when you are a white belt is "I am a future black belt, sir". This is setting a goal. This is the goal that I've been working toward for three years. I know how important it is to finish what I start to reach my goals. Finally, martial arts at Karate Universe has taught me that I can learn many things, and also have a lot of fun working hard to accomplish my goals. All of this could not be possible without my mom and dad. My mom has been taking me every week

I started at Karate Universe when I was a 5-year-old kindergartener. I started martial arts because there was a bully at school that would push people away or off the slide. That is why I started martial arts. Martial arts influenced my life because after I started martial arts, no one was pushed off the slide. It also helps me defend my friends and myself from mean bullies. Martial arts influenced my life by making me not back away from a problem that I am part of. It also helps me build up self-confidence. It helps me defend and attack a physical problem on the street. Karate Universe influences my life by making me try my hardest every day. They have also influenced me to be more respectful to others. The martial arts influence me to defend my family. Martial arts influence me to defend myself at school instead of attacking because I could get in big trouble. It helps me stretch to get a good split so I can kick higher than someone without a split. It influenced me to be stronger so I could kick harder than I used to. Karate Universe influences me to never quit so I won't be a quitter because quitters never win. They have also influence me to be a winner because winners never quit. They have influence me to never smoke or take drugs because it is very unhealthy. They have also influenced me to have faith in my family. Martial arts influenced me to attack a bad person if they attacked me or my family. I would like to thank my mom and dad for taking the time to drive my sister and I back and forth from class and for paying for this helpful program. I would like to thank my grandparents for encouraging me to become a black belt. To my friends for always asking me how I am doing in martial arts. Thanks to my sister for going through the belts with me. Special thanks to everyone at Karate Universe, especially Master Dean and Master Spiros for being so supportive. My future plans in martial arts is to get the last black belt and to have a very good split. My other future plans in martial arts is to become a mart

Tae-Kwon-Do has significantly changed my life in more ways than I can count. For that I am truly grateful. I thank my mom and my dad for enrolling me at Karate Universe where I can study Tae- Kwon - Do. I also thank my sister for helping me achieve my black belt and keeping me motivated when I first started Tae-Kwon-Do. Finally, and most of all, I thank Master Spiros, Master Dean, for helping me along the path to my black belt and teaching me to develop my mental attitude, keep my focus on my goals in life, and practice respect on myself and others. First of all, Tae-Kwon-Do has helped my mental attitude a great deal. Now that I have taken Tae- Kwon - Do for almost four years, I have self- confidence and believe in myself more than when I started. When I first started Tae-Kwon-Do, I didn't have much indomitable spirit, but now I have much more. For example, when I was preparing for the Paleo-Bowl, both of my teammates quit and my school decided not to sponsor our team. Nevertheless, I got two more teammates and competed. I can control my anger better when people insult me. Secondly, Tae-Kwon-Do has helped me achieve a greater level of focus in everything I do, from school to Tae-Kwon-Do to extracurricular activities. From the time I started as a white belt, the Three rules of Concentration have been taught to me hundreds of times. "Focus your eyes, focus your mind, focus your body" has helped me focus on what my teacher is saying in school so I can do well on tests and subsequently have excellent grades in school, and everything I do. Focus has helped me achieve great grades in school, enter and come in fifth place in the Yale Peabody Paleo-bowl, and become a member of the Karate Universe Demonstration Team, because I believed I could and I tried. In life, I follow this rule, "If at once you don't succeed, try, and try again." I almost never get distracted from what I am doing, whether it is writing an essay, doing my homework, or even playing sports. Last but not least, Tae-Kwon-Do h

My life has been greatly influenced being a martial arts student from the moment I had my first class. I first started learning the martial arts at the age of ten. I could understand the physical aspect of karate but was too young to understand the philosophical nature of the art itself. Taekwondo was the first style of self-defense I studied at the local community center. The classes were long and the forms were difficult for me in the beginning. I obtained the rank of yellow belt but had later had to stop training because the karate class was not offered anymore. i did not study martial arts again until I was thirteen and this time it would be Kung Fu. This style consisted of learning the five animal techniques and Chinese Boxing. This was very different from what I had previously learned in taekwondo. From the two schools of self-defense, I gained self-confidence and a strong character at a young age that would later carry me through difficult situations in the military. I am very grateful for being exposed to the martial arts at an early age. At the age of thirty, I went back to studying taekwondo in the summer of 1994. My oldest brother was a fourth-degree black belt instructor at the time along with my nephews who were both first degree black belts. Again, I had started taekwondo but had to stop due to a priority change in my life. I got married and had a child two years later. I could not make the time for classes due to the new responsibility. I did come within six months of testing for my black belt but have no regrets on my decision to stop. I had to deal with a serious health issue twice and other family obligations before I arrived at Karate Universe where again, I am studying taekwondo. It has been a thirty-five year personal journey in the martial arts. The two most important qualities that I have learned from studying martial arts is control of my state of mind in combat and the ability to keep physically fit over the years. I would like to thank my parents for their support early on, my wife, an