Martial arts ... It's elementary

It was three years ago that Bella Valentin bounced between rooms of her East County home, showing off her karate moves.

That was strange to her mom, Johanna Valentin, who knew her 3-year-old daughter never had taken any lessons.

Too much television?

Actually, Bella picked up the moves during her time at the Goddard School, her preschool.

Johanna made a quick call to the Goddard School and discovered her daughter was learning martial arts from Chris Jaramillo, the head instructor for Ming Wu Martial Arts in Lakewood Ranch. Jaramillo had periodically visited the Goddard School to teach some basic karate skills. 

At her daughter’s urging, Johanna decided to sign her up at Ming Wu Martial Arts. On their first trip to the martial arts studio, Johanna watched as Bella raced through the door to give Jaramillo a hug.

Bella, now heading into second grade at Freedom Elementary, hasn’t stopped smiling since. 

“Her shyness is completely gone,” Johanna Valentin said. “She was so shy and quiet and now she has amazing discipline, politeness and attention.” 

The Ming Wu Martial Arts’ blue mat has become Bella's second classroom.

“It’s taught me how to be strong,” Bella said. “I’ve done a lot of work with it.” 

Bella now works with her two training partners, Kiki Bullas, 6, and Shanthi Marmash, 7, to learn discipline, respect and overall strength. All three are trying to set themselves apart.

In May, Bella, Kiki and Shanthi earned their black belts. During the process, the girls were tested on 16 basic forms associated with the previous eight belt colors, as well as two advanced forms. In addition, the girls had to show their mastery of falling and kicking techniques. 

Ming Wu Martial Arts instructors also took into consideration how disciplined, respectful and special Bella, Kiki and Shanthi were during class and during testing before presenting them with their black belts. 

“These are my angels,” Sigung (master) Jessie Vi said. “They’ve done amazing and will only keep climbing up. It’s very rewarding to see.” 

The three girls received their coveted black belts during a ceremony May 21. 

“It’s really special because I worked hard for it,” said Shanthi, who will be in second grade at the Center for Montessori School. 

The girls now have nine belts in their collection, but this particular belt means so much more. 

“It’s special to me because it has my name on it,” Kiki said. “The other belts are just the colors.” 

Since joining Ming Wu Martial Arts, Bella, Kiki and Shanthi have proven that girls are capable of thriving in a sport once deemed more of a boy's activity. 

“There’s no such thing as a boy or girl sport,” Shanthi said. 

If anyone tells them otherwise, the girls know just what to say. 

“We have our black belts,” Kiki said. “We can take you down.” 

Bella, Kiki and Shanthi still need help tying their belts, but they are black belts.

And when their instructors step on the mat, the girls slap on their game faces and are all business. 

“We were looking for something to channel her energy because she was pretty lively and it just suits her,” said John Bullas, Kiki’s father. “She has her own martial arts family."

The discipline and respect the girls have for their instructors and fellow martial arts classmates shows up in other aspects of their life, including their schoolwork. 

“She goes into school and listens right away,” Johanna Valentin said of Bella. "People tell me all of the time how well-behaved she is.” 

Starting out as white belts, Bella, Kiki and Shanthi began a specific curriculum designed to efficiently take them through the color belt ranks, so that they would be able to qualify to test for their black belt by the time they were set to turn 7 years old. 

Since earning their first-degree black belts, the girls have begun adding weapons to their training. Over the next four years, Bella, Kiki and Shanthi will continue training in hopes of eventually testing for their second-degree black belt. From there, it’s another three-and-half to four years before they’ll be able to test for their third-degree black belt. The black belt has nine different degrees of difficulty. 

“I like to learn a lot,” said Bella, who has aspirations of becoming an instructor and one day returning to Goddard to teach martial arts. “I like doing lots of different kicks, and now I get to learn lots of black belt stuff.”