More Than the Next Belt

Kaden and Kace’s stories show how long-term martial arts training builds confidence, leadership, and perseverance.

There is a big difference between a child taking martial arts classes and a child growing up through martial arts.

In the videos below, you will hear from two KarateBuilt parents whose sons are preparing for an important milestone: testing for 2nd Degree Black Belt. Nicole Sall shares the story of her 11-year-old son, Kaden, who started training when he was five. She describes him as once being the quietest child in class. Now, after years of training, he’s confident, loud, proud, and willing to step forward in ways that show up far beyond the school. That confidence even carried over into theater, where he stood on stage with energy and presence.

Nicole also talks about something every parent understands: sometimes kids need more than an activity. They need strong instructors, practical guidance, and a community that helps them handle real challenges, including bullying.

Paul Carollo shares a similar story about his 13-year-old son, Kace. Over several years of training, Paul has seen Kace grow in confidence, leadership, and his sense of accomplishment. He talks about how leadership classes helped Kace get in front of others, teach skills, and feel empowered. He also points out something simple but powerful: Kace has something positive to look forward to several times each week.

That’s what long-term martial arts training does when it’s taught the right way. It builds skills, but it also builds identity. Kaden and Kace aren’t just preparing for their next belt. They are becoming stronger young men.

Kaden Sall

Nicole Sall:

“This is my son’s fifth year in karate. He started when he was five and now he’s eleven. When he started karate, he was the quietest kid in the class, and now I am proud to say that he is by far one of the loudest kids, and he is so confident in everything he does. Karate has helped him both with confidence, leadership, and perseverance that he has never really had in his life beforehand. It’s honestly made him so much of a different kid. He just did theater club for the first time, and on stage he was filled with confidence and he was so loud and so proud, and his moves were so on point, which I can say is all because of karate.

The instructors at Karate Built for Kids have been nothing short of amazing. They have helped us every step of the way. They have helped me every step of the way too. When I have problems with telling Kaden how to best deal with a situation, I often come to Master Sandborn and ask her, “How is the best way to go about this?” She helped Kaden when he was being bullied in school, and honestly, we have built such an amazing community here, and we are so thankful that we found this place, and I’m hoping that Kaden will continue on and be an instructor here one day.”

Kace Corollo

Paul Carollo:

“Okay. Hi, my name is Paul Carollo. My son’s name is Kace. We’ve been at ATA now, I think going on three years. My son is a first-degree black belt, and during this time we have just seen incredible growth in him from some of the things that he’ll do in the studio as well as outside the studio. It’s helped with his confidence.

Some of the leadership classes that he took early on helped him get in front of others and feel empowered to be able to teach others some skills. One of the things that we’ve also gained is he loves to have something to look forward to, and coming here three to four times a week, we’ve been able to do that. Also, sometimes when we can’t physically be here, we’ve had an option of online and that’s also helped balance between some of the times that we can’t get him here.

Another benefit has been, he has a sense of accomplishment every time he takes a class. There are a lot of teachable moments. What I love about the school is that there is a lot of encouragement. He knows what he’s doing right, and we’ve not been able to find a place other than an ATA where he was recognized for things that he’s doing right. A lot of times he was recognized for things that he wasn’t doing right. So we’ve enjoyed our time here and we continue to look forward to his future.”

If you’re looking for the same growth for your child, take the next step today.

Dr. Moody is also a licensed psychotherapist and maintains a practice at Integrated Mental Health Associates (IntegratedMHA.com) where he specializes in couples therapy and men’s issues.