Many times when people think of martial arts they think they need to be a black belt to know what to do in a dangerous situation, well that's not true. A few targeted moves practiced over time can really stack the odds in your favor and give you the inner confidence you need for a positive outcome.

Put down your pizza, because we have news for you: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles don’t do martial arts! Splinter and the Ninja Turtles are practitioners of ninjutsu, which doesn’t involve any martial arts.

Have you ever been to the Scottish Games in Woodland CA? Or maybe visited Mission San Juan Bautista during a Native American festival or attended a Cinco De Mayo event? All of these venues are steeped in tradition and culture.

There is a reason why Oprah, Dr Phil, Dr Laura Schlesinger, Jillian Michaels (Biggest Loser), Tony Robbins, pediatricians, child physiologists, and educators the world over all have alluded to the fact that Martial Arts is one of the most valuable things you can involve your child in.

Our martial arts journey began for all of the right reasons, which turned out to be wrong.

Typical childhood anxiety can be broken down into 2 parts, experiencing a fear and not feeling okay about oneself. When our kids have a fear of something, we can help that fear be accepted or we can make that fear get suppressed inside and potentially develop into anxiety.

Another school year is upon us which means students, parents and teachers transitioning away from summer and facing fresh challenges.

The idea of self esteem can sometimes seem nebulous and is a concept that is easily misunderstood. What is it? How do you measure it? Actually there are many things we can do as parents to cultivate positive self esteem in our children.

We know all too well through social media and stories in the news that bullying continues to be a major issue. Research shows that bullying peaks in the 5th, 6th and 7th grades, but can come about at virtually any time.

As our children become more independent, it's important to help them understand the following phrase, "My safety is more important than their feelings." This means that if they ever feel uncomfortable with someone or someplace, they should leave and find help.