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"Martial" means "war," but martial arts give you the confidence to avoid fighting.

Have you ever thought about studying martial arts?

Start now! The sooner you start the more time you have to develop the skill and strength the martial arts requires.

Why martial arts?

There are five reasons to practice martial arts:

• Physical fitness. Don't be a couch potato!

Couch Potato?

Being overweight when you're young leads to many health problems when you are an adult.

How can martial arts fight obesity? Exercise! Watch a martial arts movie and you'll see!

Here are some great ones:

• Enter the Dragon—the late Bruce Lee's masterpiece;
• Master Killer—you'll see unbelievable, seemingly impossible training techniques filmed without tricks;
• Marked For Death—check out the fight scene.

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• Life skills. Develop discipline, confidence, self-control, and courage.

• Self-defense. Classes stress personal responsibility, conflict resolution, and avoidance. 

• Discipline. The overall message of the martial arts is self-control.

• Recreation. Martial arts give you something to look forward to every day after school.

What's your style?

Meet Annie Pietenpol.

Annie Pietenpol

Annie got her black belt at age 13.

Annie Pietenpol began training in karate when she was eight years old. She got her black belt when she was thirteen.

"When I started, I only went twice a week, but as I became a high brown belt, I began going three and four times a week in preparation for my black belt test," says Pietenpol.

She adds, "I like karate because it's really fun—you meet a lot of cool people. It gives me confidence because I can take care of myself too."

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There are many forms of martial arts. Learn about the different martial arts styles and pick the one that attracts you the most.

When you get real good at it, no one style has an advantage over the others.

Most schools offer free introductory lessons, or a reduced fee. That way you can see if you like it or not.

The main styles are: 

• Karate (pronounce it kuh-RA-tee) and Tae Kwon Do (pronounce it TIE-KWAN-doe). Both stress hand and foot strikes. All martial arts are strenuous, but karate is probably the most strenuous.

Meet Kyle Ojima.


Kyle Ojima


Kyle got his black belt when he was 16.

Kyle Ojima began training in karate when he was eight years old. It helped that both his mother and father also trained at Karate West, in Fort Collins, Colorado. He got his black belt when he was sixteen.

Ojima says, "I probably would have gotten it sooner, but I was only going twice a week. I go whenever I have free time, and especially when my dad's here. We go together."

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• Kung fu (pronouce it KUNG-FOO), emphasizes graceful, circular maneuvers. It often uses techniques that mimic animals, such as White Crane Style Kung Fu.
• Judo (pronounce it JOO-doe) is the Japanese martial art that turns an opponent's strength against him through grappling, chokes, and strikes.
• Aikido (pronouce it eye-KEY-doe) is another Japanese form that emphasizes non-combativeness, through throws and joint manipulation.
• Boxing is a Western art form. Training in boxing is far more dangerous than any of the other martial arts.

There are many other styles, but most students choose karate.

Start early

There are a lot of outstanding martial arts champions who are kids.

You go, girls!

You Go Girls!

Girls who begin martial arts while in elementary school might have an advantage.

"At that age, girls are ten times better than little boys," karate instructor Yee observes. "They've been brought up to help out and listen."

So girls, if you sign up, don't be surprised if there are more of you than in an all-boy class. You listen better.

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You can find these young masters on the sports channels.

High school wrestling also provides an excellent introduction to safe martial arts.

Younger students have a flexibility advantage over students who start later. The earlier you start stretching, the more flexible you become.

Start training now to become a martial arts master! Here's how...