DENVER — Youth sports can be expensive. A Denver martial arts program believes every child should have access to training, no matter their family's financial abilities.
“If finances are preventing your children from training, we want to make sure we change that," said Alisha Bielak, an ambassador for the Martial Arts Moves program at the Easton Training Center in Centennial. "We never want that to be the reason you’re not giving this power to your children.”
Bieliak experienced the impact of self-defense training first-hand when she enrolled her daughter in classes at 4 years old.
"I have a wonderful, strong-willed child," said Bielak. "About a month in, we almost quit because she tackled a kid at school."
Eleven years later, Bielak and her daughter have become symbols of the positive benefits martial arts training can have in the lives of Colorado kids.
“You carry yourself in a different way when you know you can defend yourself, when you know you can defend others, when you see something wrong happening and you know you can put a stop to it," said Bielak.
For almost a decade, in association with Easton Training Centers all over the Front Range, Bielak and Martial Arts Moves has opened doors for kids interested in or in need of self-defense training.
“It’s not a charity program," said Bielak. "We’re not treating them any differently. They’re here, we want them here, and we’re able to share that so we do.”
Martial Arts Moves provides scholarships so kids can attend training classes, but that money requires commitment.
"The kids promise to be the best examples in class and a future leader," Bielak explained. “The goal at the end of the three-year scholarship is that they become a coach and then they share their gift with the next generation of students.”
At the moment, the program serves roughly 35 students, but Bielak said they're always looking for opportunities to grow.
“Giving kids a way up that they own, that they control, that they’re in charge of, it's so empowering and it’s something I wish we could give every child," said Bielak.
If you're interested in applying to the Martial Arts Moves program, click here. You can also donate to the program through this link.
