When I was a kid, my father ran a small karate school in our garage at home. It was a place where I learned things that have stuck with me for my whole life and helped me become who I am. After I graduated high school my family moved to a new city and that little school closed. It was the only one of it's style in Austin and I was just entering college, I didn't have the time or the money to find a new school and more importantly, I didn't want to have to start all over in a new style.

It was over a decade later when I found Sun Dragon and started training again. And I quickly learned that there is more here than just a place to train or a new style of martial arts. Sun Dragon is a community first and it is one that I am proud to be a part of. We work hard to make sure that this is a place that anyone can come train, regardless of who they are, their age, their limitations, and regardless of their ability to pay. As someone who once lost their school, I can't imagine ever losing it again, especially because of any of these reasons.

Kick-a-thon is our annual fund raiser and it goes to support both Sun Dragon's Karate scholarship and self-defense outreach programs. Our scholarships ensure that everyone can come train at Sun Dragon in non-violent martial arts, no matter what their finacial situation is. And our self-defense program is critical to our mission, teaching our community the skills it needs to help end violence through an empowerment mentality, teaching awareness, social, physical skills to prevent and survive violence. Both of these programs are a core part of our mission at Sun Dragon, so please, consider donating what you can. We greatly appreciate it.