Start Kids Young at Kim Yee's Karate West in Ft. Collins, Colorado

When I was a young girl, my parents always did everything they could to keep my sister and myself busy over the long summer months away from school. We did everything from ice-skating to jazz dance at the local academy, wall climbing to swimming lessons, and bike rides to the nearest Subway. Keeping us active not only kept us from arguing or bothering my mother while my father was working, but it also gave us the benefit of fun and fit activities, rather than wasting away in front of the television screen as most school children are prone to today. I was seven years old when my dad asked me if I wanted to try karate. I said yes.

Karate West, located at 3725 South Mason Street in Fort Collins, Colorado, is owned and operated by the gentle, kindhearted world-class boxing champion Kim Yee and his lovely wife Lou Anne. They along with their wonderfully over-qualified, highly trained--often black belt--staff, offer classes for children as young as four years old to any age. Every new student begins at the rank of white belt with a series of beginning private lessons with either Mr. or Mrs. Yee themselves. As students progress through the ranks, not only do they gain the knowledge of self-defense while working up a fine sweat, they also are subconsciously training themselves in the elusive art of self-discipline. While Karate West is a family dojo with a family atmosphere, the formalities of the martial arts are still practiced. Instructors are addressed as "sir" or "ma'am" and black belts are respected as much as they are admired.

It is within these formalities that someone beyond the parental figures teaches courtesy and self-discipline to a degree that only a martial artist's practice could inspire into a child. Misbehaving children, under the temperate gaze of wise instructors--usually Mr. Yee, Mrs. Yee, or their son, Adam--are not sent to time-out or made to stick their noses in a corner, but are instead enticed into a stoical karate practice by the sheer amount of respect and authority the instructors subtly demand. While the Yees would not admit it, they run a daily daycare in which they mold youngsters with an artist's finesse into fine, upstanding young people.

A question concerning presenting what appears to be raw violence to children often arises. The question is always answered with the rules of the Karate West dojo. Before warm-ups begin, the students line up according to rank in front of their instructor where they recite the Karate West student creed. The creed is a trilogy of promises meant to imbed themselves deeply into a student's subconscious when faced with a difficult situation. The creeds are listed as they are printed in the student handbook, the Karate West website, and along the walls of the dojo:

1) I promise to develop myself in body, mind, and spirit, and avoid anything that would limit my mental growth or physical health.
2) I promise to develop self-discipline, to bring out the best in myself and those around me.
3) I promise to use the skills I learn in class constructively and defensively; to never be abusive or offensive.

Though all three are equally important and stressed by the Karate West faculty, the third is worth an honorable notation. Karate at the dojo is taught to be used for self-defense only, and even then as a last resort. Students at Karate West are educated into a special power, one that only a small percentage of people pursue. The ability to defend oneself with the hands and feet is priceless and is a lifetime resource of knowledge. Mr. Yee can often be seen in class with his students gathered around him, discussing the importance of "constructive and defensive" utilizations of a martial artist's education, along with the meaning of each creed. This facet is also heavily stressed to the younger students who are more likely to "defend" themselves on the playground.

Every student who passes through the glass double doors and onto the red and blue padded mats of the Karate West dojo is imparted with a workout, a knowledge of self-defense, but most importantly a lifetime of physical and mental self-discipline. I began my education as a martial artist when I was seven years old. I earned "black belt excellence," as the faculty has fondly renamed the achievement, when I was twelve and a half years old, along with my then forty-two year old father. I am now eighteen; I have been through years of other experiences since my training, and I walk the walk of a ballerina and talk the even-toned, stoic talk of a martial artist. I cannot imagine my life without this training. The impact of the Yee family along with the rest of the faculty is inexplicable and beyond essential to the way I now live my life. I should have thanked my instructors after every session, but I didn't. I'm doing it now.

I implore every parent who reads this article: grant your children this one life changing experience. Even if it isn't karate at Karate West, give them something to pour their hearts and souls into, bestow upon them a sense of discipline that comes from a trying practice. The activities that your child is involved in will, without a doubt, affect them for the rest of their lives.