Busto’s Martial Arts Testimonials & Success Stories

Sensei Matt,

I decided to sign my daughter up at Busto's Martial Arts to help her become more confident since she is very shy and petite. Students in her school began picking on her because of those attributes. Gianna began her karate lessons at the age of five and a half. I could immediately see that she took a liking to it and she looked forward to the afternoons that she spent at Busto’s. 

It has been almost a year since Gianna has been attending the karate school and I see a great improvement in her confidence. She has become more comfortable in an environment with kids that she doesn’t know. Gianna has also become more vocal in uncomfortable situations, while still continuing to be a well-mannered child.

Recently, we attended a children’s birthday party. A few older and bigger girls began picking on Gianna. One of the girls was aggressively waving a party favor (a toy attached to a stick) over Gianna’s head. Then, with the other girls watching, the aggressive girl started tapping Gianna’s face with the toy. Gianna nicely asked the girl to stop, but she continued.

The same girl continued to attempt to touch Gianna’s face with the toy. After this happened several times, Gianna had enough of the aggressive girl’s antics. Gianna bravely blocked the girl’s action with a strong block. The girl was in shock.

Gianna then calmly said “I told you to stop”. She then smiled as she walked away as a survivor and a winner, feeling good about herself for standing up in an uncomfortable situation.

When I asked Gianna what happened, she told me about the situation and that she used the “outward block” that she learned from Sensei Matt and Sempai Jesse. 

I am extremely proud of my little girl for gaining confidence through her karate lessons at Busto's while still retaining her respectful and kind ways toward others.

Your instructors are compassionate and extremely knowledgeable in what they do. My daughter continues to learn and improve. She just recently moved onto her next belt: purple! Thank you, Busto's!

Sensei Matt,

While at camp at the YMCA, Ryan experienced a bullying incident with an older and bigger child. He let me know when we got home, and we had a conversation about it. I told him that it clearly wasn’t his fault, although I was curious about why Ryan didn’t try to protect himself. My husband and I reminded him that Sensei has taught him about ways that he can protect himself. Ry had originally thought that he could only use karate to protect himself against adults, so we let him know that this is not the case. I also let him know that it is not for situations where he is verbally teased, but for times where someone is trying to physically harm him.

The next day, I asked him if he was still bothered by the situation. He told me that he was over it, and that he would defend himself if there were another incident. I still made the decision to let the counselors know.

When my husband picked him up today, Ryan told him that something happened again. The older child had gotten up from his chair, which Ryan did not notice, so he sat down in this chair. The child came back and tried to hit Ryan when he noticed that his chair was taken. Ryan blocked it, stood up, and yelled, “don’t touch me!” at this child. This got the attention of the counselors and the other child got into trouble. Ryan was super proud of himself!

I’m very happy that he was able to protect himself effectively. I worry when I hear that kids get physical with him while I’m not there to protect him. 

The fact that Ryan is confident enough to protect himself is due to the wonderful coaching from the Busto's staff. You all give the kids so much power and confidence to protect themselves against bullies! That’s a life changer. Thank you for all that you do! I just want you all to know how much you all are appreciated. Having confidence when others are trying to hurt you and bring you down is very difficult. He took his power back and we are very proud of him for that!