Martial arts teaches more than self-defense

Martial arts is defined as “any of various fighting sports or skills, mainly of East Asian origin, such as kung fu (Pinyin gongfu), judo, karate, and kendō,” according to Encyclopedia Britannica. With over 180 martial arts styles, forms vary widely from striking or stand-up styles like karate and taekwondo to grappling or ground fighting styles like sumo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. “Martial arts isn’t just about learning forms and doing all these moves together. Martial arts is like one big family. It doesn’t matter who you are; we’re a family. We love each other, and we support each other,” said martial artist Natalia Silk. Silk, 11, holds a second-degree black belt in taekwondo and is working toward her black belt in karate. Her grandparents enrolled her in taekwondo when she was 4 years old, and Silk has been involved ever since. In 2022, she traveled to Wales, UK, to represent Team USA in the WKU World Karate Tournament at the age of 10. Last year, she traveled to the WKU World Tournament in Calgary, Canada, where she won five medals. “We started her with taekwondo because, at that age, she was very small in stature and very shy. So, we wanted...