Martial Arts Program Inspires Children to Improve Life Skills

Candace Braun

An educational program incorporating martial arts and group counseling for special needs children will be starting up in Princeton this fall.

InSPIRE, which stands for Integrating Self-control, Perseverance, Integrity, Responsibility, and Excellence, was recently initiated at the Princeton Center For Yoga and Health by Christine Abrahams, a corporate and public school educator for more than 20 years.

The program was piloted a few years ago at a small alternative school for emotionally-disturbed children in Bucks County, Pa. Ms. Abrahams, a Skillman resident, got the idea while working toward a masters degree in counseling at The College of New Jersey. In her free time she was taking martial arts lessons and had observed how it helped control children with behavioral problems: "I just saw what an effect it had on kids walking in there who really seemed to have no sense of self control."

As Ms. Abrahams began to research the idea of incorporating martial arts into a program for emotionally disturbed children, she discovered that the activity had been found to produce positive results.

Through her research she found that the most important aspect of teaching martial arts to special needs children is to find a bridge between the actual activity and the application of it to everyday life, which could be done through counseling and group discussions.

Wanting to bring her ideas to fruition, Ms. Abrahams discussed them with one of her professors at TCNJ who was a counselor at an alternative school in Pennsylvania. Volunteering herself to serve as the supervisor for the program, Ms. Abrahams was able to establish a state-funded program that incorporated martial arts with group, individual, and family counseling.

Children involved in the program were in fourth through tenth grades, and had emotional problems such as anxiety, depression, attention deficit disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, eating disorders, and bi-polar disorder.

"The kids improved across the board," said Ms. Abrahams, adding that she had positive results after performing depression and self-esteem tests on the children before and after they entered the program.

Children who participated in all aspects of the program improved the most, and two even went on to receive mainstream schooling again, she said: "The program really worked because it gave them a lot of discipline, self-confidence, and self-esteem. It really made them feel special, and all the support they got made them feel great."

Subhead: 'Inspiring' A Program

Currently working as a counselor at Hunterdon Central Regional High School, Ms. Abrahams has decided to establish a similar program at the Princeton Center for Yoga and Health for emotionally disturbed children.

"I really felt that kids needed this so I changed the program to include martial arts and group counseling for sixth through ninth graders," said Ms. Abrahams, adding that middle school is the toughest age for many children because of the transition from elementary school, and then from middle school to high school.

After discovering that most families with emotionally disturbed children already have outside counseling, Ms. Abrahams decided not to include individual or family counseling in this program.

InSPIRE, which already has six children enrolled, will have a maximum of 12 students per class. The program will be held on Wednesdays, from 4 to 5:30 p.m., with 40 minutes of martial arts, and 40 minutes of group counseling. Children will discuss common problems such as "hot buttons" that make them angry, and they will work on how to resolve these issues through meditation, group exercises, and discussions.

"My goal is to try to take what they learn in the martial arts and teach them how to apply it to every day life," said Ms. Abrahams, adding that InSPIRE is also a legitimate martial arts program where students can move from white to black belt.

However, she noted, the program will not include sparring or physical fighting: "They get so much more from learning the choreographed movements; there's no need to become aggressive."

While children will have the opportunity to learn self-defense and how to exit a situation to go find help, they will not be taught how to fight back, she said.

"I think the program offers good support," said Ms. Abrahams, adding that if the program is successful, she intends to expand it to include the elementary school level.

InSPIRE will be held in the Montgomery Professional Center, and will be led by Susan Martinez, a yoga master with a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. The cost is $50 to register, and an additional $785 for the 13-week session, which begins on September 21.

For more information, contact Ms. Abrahams at (908) 391-0073, email inspire@patmedia.net, or visit www.InspireInstitute.com.