Sincerely Grateful,

Carolyn P

We parents know what it is like to take the time and money to enroll their child into a class just to drag them (sometimes literally) to that class. It has been nothing short of amazing to see the eagerness with which Elyse comes to Karate. She has a goal and that black belt is in her sights! The sense of accomplishment when she masters a certain move or is given a compliment from her instructor is clear on her face. Elyse is also a member of the Girl Scouts and I feel that these two activities are truly complimentary to each other.

Not only is she becoming an accomplished martial artist (that's the proud Mom talking); the values and character that she is developing are a welcome change! When she is told to do a chore, the majority of the time it will be completed in the time frame that I have set and with a minimal amount of grumbling. She is taking pride in all the tasks that she does including her school work. Before, the minimal would be done to finish the job, but now I find she is going that extra mile. "Black Belt Effort" is a mantra that Master Ken drills into them and it shows. She uses this saying frequently with reference to many different things and applies it! The respect that she shows to others is refreshing and I can see her thinking about a situation that makes her upset before she reacts…maybe that will get us through the teen years!

It is my hope that she continues in the martial arts not only for the physical goals, but also for the person that I see her becoming. I will always lover her s she is my daughter, but I also really LIKE into whom she is evolving!

Thank you!

Cambria L

Shaolin Kempo Karate has helped me a lot ever since I started. It helped me because I used to have a girl in my class and she didn't like me so I learned how to defend myself. So I really think it's working. And the best thing about it is that I'm learning while I'm having fun!

Karina E

Master Ken has a 5th degree black belt in the martial arts. He is my favorite teacher of all. I think he and those above him are to be very well respected.

Joey G

Overall, Martial Arts has given me a great gift-that of looking within myself and loving what I see. The focus on my own abilities, without the worldly need to compete with any one but myself, has given me a freedom I had not known. The freedom is to simply be me-acknowledging my abilities as well s my limitations, without having to wear society's 'mask'. Martial Arts for me has been a wonderful success-I can walk into the dojo feeling tense and stressed from the workday, and after an hour, walk out feeling absolutely at peace with myself.

Martial Arts has given me a great deal, but only because Villari's curriculum offers such a variety of themes-mental and physical well being, challenging myself to give my best and teaching methods that make learning fun. I know that each time I test for a new belt, I am ready to move forward and I have earned the privilege to wear it.

Thank you!

Katie B
Age 27
Purple Belt

My name is Curtis. My entire family and I are attending your school in Royal Palm Beach Florida. My kids started in October of 2000. My wife is taking Tai Chi. She has been involved in this for about one month. I started in January of 2002. When I started taking the class I truly enjoyed it although I was very much out of shape.

About 8 years ago I as involved in a car accident. I was rear ended by someone going approximately 45 miles per hour. Although the day of the accident I felt fine, the following day I could not get out of bed. I spent the next few years going to doctors and chiropractors. None of these things helped. I was given cortisone shots which simply masked the pain, and I knew that things were not right with my body. I could still feel numbness in the outer three toes of my left foot, and the left side of my buttocks always gave me pain, even after the shots.

Upon starting in January, we began to do a type of stretching that I had never done before. These stretches were for the meridians of the body. Although when doing the stretches in class they seemed difficult, I felt better the next day. We kept doing these stretches and began to combine them with exercises called Chi Kong. Again I did not feel great the day of the exercise but the day after seemed to always be a better day. This went on for about a month. One day in class, Mr. Ken was putting one person in front and they would do some type of movement either a specific kick or punch. The rest of the class had to do the same movement. The trick was that if the person in the front of the class was faster the class had to do 15 push ups. If the class was faster then the person in the front would have to do the pushups. Sure enough, as the class went on my name was called. I was told to do side kicks. After about 6 kicks in each direction, I threw another kick to the left and experienced a popping sensation and intense muscle pain. I thought I had really hurt myself. I relaxed for a moment and found that the pain began to subside. The next day I experienced stiffness and muscle pain although the muscle pain was more of the type of pain you'd get from doing a lot of stretching. As the days went on, I began to notice that the numbness in my toes was going away and the pain in my buttocks was much less. My left leg which had been one half inch shorter than my right was now the same length. I am continuing to attend classes and continuing to feel better and better. This school has done for me what the doctors could not. I'm very glad the my family and I are involved in such a worth while venture.

Sincerely,

Curtis M

It is with sincere thanks that we send this letter to you, Master Ken Smith, Stacy Pastore and all the other capable and devoted teachers and student teachers of Villari's Martial Arts Center.

Our daughter, Claire, has been a student at the Royal Palm Beach dojo for eight months. Back in August, we really weren't sure how serious she would be or for how long she would remain interested. We only thought this might be an extracurricular activity that seemed a worthwhile use of her time and energy. However, Claire has been consistently enthusiastic, taking part in all aspects of her martial arts training from classes that are challenging and fun to tournaments and belt tests that motivate her to do her very best. She never wants to miss a class even on days that she is sick. Claire has a serious respect for Master Ken. His humor and consistent positive attitude continue to draw her to class. Claire is also motivated and impressed by the members of the storm team, who not only help her with her forms in class, but also provide such fine role models that appear to be within her reach. She likes to envision herself a member of the storm team one day.

As parents we appreciate the discipline and goal setting this program stills both at home and school and we look forward to the benefits of Claire's continued participation in this program.

With sincere gratitude,

Leslie and Fred S

Purple Belt
Sean K

As a student of Villari's Martial Arts, I find that the combination of Shaolin, Kempo and Karate make an unbeatable fighting style, a great work out and a fun time.

Through Villari's Marital Arts, I've learned that it is important to give your "best effort"; indeed- thanks to my marital arts classes, I've learned to give my best effort in everything I do.

I've been a student of other martial arts before but the experience which I've received at Villari's is superior to any of those other schools.

-Scott S, DC

Although I have only been studying here for a couple of months, I have already benefited from my training. I have learned to focus and cut out all the extraneous noise so I can apply myself to the task at hand. I have also learned from Master Smith, as well as observed in one of his advanced students, that doing the right things well at the right time is much more effective than doing many tings poorly or acting at the wrong time. This lesson obviously has applications in everyday life as well. I can see that I am at the beginning of a very interesting and enlightening journey.`

Tony B

Dear Master Villari,

When I started Karate about 9 months ago, I was not in good shape. I couldn't run fast or far, I could not even do one push up. I didn't go our much either. But once I started, it was hard but I pushed myself quite a bit. Now I have a better understanding of the world around me. I am also doing much better in school because I have more focus and concentration that I did not have before. I also can run faster and longer. I also go out more because I have more energy. I also believe that I am healthier than I was before. Yet I must thank Master Ken because he makes it fun to learn. I have been at a different Dojo and the teacher was always strict and not very fun. So I also think that a dojo is only as good as the teacher (I am glad Mr. Ken is my teacher)

Virginia B
Purple Belt