What We Do
We work with martial arts instructors, juvenile and family court judges, probation officers, children's attorneys, social workers, teachers and other professionals to make special after-school programs available to at-risk children.
The Karate for Kids program is a unique intervention that offers children an exciting physical activity while providing them with positive role models, a structured and disciplined after-school environment, and incentives and rewards for self-improvement in all arenas of their lives. We bring these benefits to low-income children who stand to benefit more than anyone from such programs but who are generally excluded from the commercial martial arts market. Working with parents, educators, probation officers, juvenile attorneys, and other child service professionals, Team PRIDE will help children set--and reach--goals that meet their individual educational and behavioral needs.
Team PRIDE's programs and services combine disciplined martial arts training, mentorship, leadership development, and close cooperation with the court and educational systems. This combination will enable Team PRIDE to identify "at risk" children and intervene positively in their lives. For adolescents in the PRIDE Leadership Career program, this intervention can lead to a career as martial arts instructors. For other children, it can provide the focus and support necessary to complete high school and find productive employment. And for others it can teach the self-control and self-respect needed to avoid substance abuse. For all of these children, it will help them develop PRIDE -- Perseverance, Respect, Integrity, Discipline and Enthusiasm. By addressing the risk factors for criminal behavior and by offering a training program proven to reduce aggression, Team PRIDE will combat juvenile delinquency in communities nationwide.