Local Columbia Martial Arts School Introduces New Karate Program for Autistic Children

Columbia, SC, June 14, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Samurai Karate Studio, located in Columbia Northeast, is pleased to announce a new special program that is being offered for children with broad spectrum disorders. Classes will be held twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 3:30pm to 4:00pm.

The idea for offering a specific program for a broad spectrum of Autistic children, came from one of the parents that trains under Sensei Feldt, who has an Autistic son who is entering his teen years and is non verbal.

Sensei Feldt commented, "One day my student dropped by my school with her son and she walked around the studio with him. He was very excited and interested in the mirror and the pictures. We asked him to do a couple of basic kicks and he did really well. The next time she brought him to the studio, she had him put on a karate uniform, and he was laughing and couldn't wait to get into the car and come to the studio. This is when the idea hit us; why couldn't we tailor a program of martial art's for kids with Autism?"

After a few visits, the boy's ABA board certified therapist started coming to the studio, rather than the boys house, to help develop a curriculum and structure for him.

"The goal of this program," commented Sensei Feldt, "is to help these children find an outlet for their pent up energy. I know some parents are going to be concerned about their child learning how to kick or punch, therefore think they will be more aggressive, but we believe giving the child an opportunity to exercise, will actually help them to relax. Just like any normal child, these kids have a lot of energy and they don't have a way to use it. In addition, the martial art's is all about learning self discipline, focus and concentration and I do not believe we should treat our Autistic children any differently. Lastly, we hope that these classes will provide a social setting for these children to meet and have fun with other children."

Sensei Feldt has experience working with children that have Asberger syndrone and severe ADD or ADHD. The parents of these children have seen wonderful results since training with Sensei Feldt.

"The goal of this new program is to tailor the curriculum to each child and target the areas they need the most help with. I also understand that I will need to be flexible with each child and work with the parents to make this a successful program!"

Initially, classes will be limited to a small number of students and one of the requirements will be each child will need a "shadow" with them during their class. This can be a parent, an adult sibling or therapist. The classes are scheduled for 30 minutes and will be a combination of exercise along with learning basic martial art's techniques.

Feldt commented, "We are offering a risk free trial program for prospective clients that will include two weeks of classes and an official karate uniform for $49.50. This will give parents or caregivers the opportunity to meet me and to experience our classes before making a commitment to our program."

If you are interested in learning more about this new program, please contact Sensei Chris Feldt at 803-462-9425.

Samurai Karate Studio teaches a traditional style of karate to children and adults, beginning at age 3. Their programs include self defense, anger managment, diabetes awareness, peace education leadership by acts of kindness and environmental self defense.

###