 Creating a home for over four millions students In the city of Pasadena alone, there are 27 martial arts schools and only three McDonalds Restaurants. In California, there are over 13,000 martial arts studios. Some are listed as full businesses, some are garage studios, some are in YMCA's some are part of healthclubs and some are just taught by way of a friend. According to the statistics gathered by Martialinfo.com, the leading martial arts website, there are over 30,000 schools across the United States alone. Some schools have over 300 students, others with 100. Here is a brief list of statistics provided by MAC (Martial Arts Channel) and Martialinfo.com, the largest martial arts resource center: 21.7 million adults have participated in some form of a martial arts program over their lifetime 17 million have participated in Yoga (a popular form of martial arts) 100+ colleges have martial arts programs There are over 600 tournaments a year in America 85% of martial arts students are under 13 years of age Videogames is a $23 billion dollar business with martial arts playing a large role in its content Over 93 million people attended martial arts movies in 2002-2003 Currently, there are over 1,500 martial arts businesses including supply stores, photography, teachers associations, books and more. |
 Understanding the influence of Asian cultures and traditions through the martial arts As the Gold Rush era brought in hundreds of Chinese to work in the mines and on the railroad, they brought along with them their art, tradition, culture and of course, Chinese boxing also called Kung Fu. In the early 1900s, the Japanese art of Judo became the first martial arts to make its "public" appearance on American soil. Since then, Korean arts such as Tae Kwon Do, Phillipine arts such as Arnis, Thailand kickboxing and many others were brought to America. Today, we enjoy a variety of different artforms which help us to appreciate the culture and traditions from where each art came from. Bowing, respect, honor are just a few of the things that are incorporated into every martial arts school. Understanding Asian philosophy, Asian traditions is another. |
 Changing a Community A martial arts school is one of the only places where every race, nationality and even religion come together, as fellow students, to learn a martial art. It is a place where everyone has the same goal: improving themselves in one way or another. Martial arts schools are made up of young people: kids and teenagers. Though mixed with a variety of adults, the age range is from six to 13. Students are students and not one race versus another. Students learn from the instructor as well as each other. Changing a Neighborhood Through the martial arts, young kids will be able to channel their energy into a more productive goal. Instead of hanging around with nothing to do, kids have the opportunity to learn an artform, develop endurance, improve their wellness and be taught discipline, honor and humility. In addition, many students are required to take part in a variety of volunteer programs. Impacting Schools Through the martial arts, kids learn to become more involved. They learn to raise their hands and ask questions, they learn how to focus their energy but most of all, they learn to set goals such as striving for their next belt level. These are things that they carry with them in school and in life. |