My name is Ashley, I am 13 years old right now, and I started taking martial arts and kung fu classes here in Bellevue when I was eight years old.

I originally joined this Kung Fu martial arts school because family friends of mine were black belts here, and they brought us to a Saturday class, and let us try out the class after it, which was a beginner class. But it was really fun to me, so I decided just to keep coming.

Now that I’m older, what I really enjoy most about Kung Fu is the forms, because they’re really interesting, and you don’t really get them in places anywhere else. Not even other martial arts places. Because it’s Kung Fu, it’s different than other places.

I think I’d definitely encourage other girls, other people to do martial arts here at this school in Bellevue near Omaha because it really did kind of change my life.

Because I came here after my mom died, and it kind of helped me get out of that grief, and it really gave me something that I could do, and it was different, and it was fun, and I felt prepared. I can defend myself now.