Taekwondo training has improved confidence – and leadership skills

Karate Kid Abbie Best, 6, says: "In my first class I was shy. Not now." And Stephen Maybee, 15, notes that his shyness was helped by the class format: "You always have a new practice partner." This gives kids a chance to talk to new people in every Taekwondo class, Stephen says, which helps everyone get comfortable. Eva Fournier, 17, also used to be shy, she says, but now is seen by friends as "more talkative," and more likely to "stand up for other people." And then there's Nina Shouse, 15. Nina says her Taekwondo training has improved her confidence - and her leadership skills. For example, training has made it easier for her to talk to new people and teach the younger kids at her school. It also helped her notice that her friends sometimes "didn't include other people." As a leader, she knew she needed to be different - to "step outside of that; to talk to everybody and to make sure everybody is included."