Howdy, ya'll! If you know me, you know how obsessed I've been with karate since joining Sun Dragon in April 2014. In the last four and a half years I've become a completely different person. It's all thanks to this community and the hard self-reflection and physical work they've inspired me to do. They've given me the gift of mindfulness, helped me heal from trauma, and have held me accountable to being a better person.

As I approach my black belt test at the end of the year, I'm humbled by the grace, patience, knowledge, and guidance the instructors offer to our people, as well as the support and camaraderie my classmates display. While black belt is only the start of a new chapter, it's given me the time to analyze and ponder the meaning of giving, and how in order to learn to be a good person, you must surround yourself with good people. These are good people.

This summer Sun Dragon hired me as a teacher and professional fundraiser, and am now on a journey to make the healing art of karate part of my lifelong career. Every year I give Kickathon, our annual fundraiser, everything I've got in order to ensure that other people can find the community and purpose I've found the last few years.

All funds donated to Kickathon go back into our violence prevention and scholarship programs - this allows us to offer cost-free workshops and seminars to underserved populations and local organizations, and allows martial arts students to start and continue training regardless of their demographic, life circumstances, or ability to pay.

Please help us grow our community so we can continue to provide valuable skills, spiritual growth, and physical empowerment to Austin in the years to come. Any donation, big or small, will help another student protect themselves and feel empowered to tackle the world ahead of them.

Much Love,

Wil