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Julio Anta has made it his mission to teach the next
generation values, manners and self-confidence. Anta and wife Elena,
both certified martial artists, have developed a curriculum integrating
methods from several martial arts disciplines, all of which they use in
their school, Anta's Fitness and Self Defense.
Julio Anta with some of his top student prizewinners
"I love children and believe it takes a village to
raise them, but today's village is not like the one of long ago,"
he said. "Today we have to educate our kids to become streetwise,
teach them about crime, drug awareness, to know about stranger danger
and to motivate them to defuse anything confrontational, in short to be
non-violent."
To that end, the Antas conduct child safety seminars in
the Miami area. The most recent, on June 9, was held at John I. Smith
Elementary School.
Anta said, "Summer vacation is a prime time for
predators; children are out of school and a lot more visible. I wanted
the kids in Doral to be aware of the potential danger out there."
They open each seminar with traditional Kung Fu moves we
have seen in movies, but Anta said, "These moves are great for a
show, but they don't save you from danger."
Afterwards they use students from their school to
perform skits dealing with child safety issues.
They teach kids to know and identify strangers and to
recognize and respond to threatening situations--the Antas present
straightforward techniques.
One is the secret password, which only a child and his
parents know. If a stranger approaches a child and can't identify the
password then the child knows to run away.
Along with this idea comes that of a getaway plan--the
Antas insist that children must have a feasible getaway plan should the
need arise.
"We teach kids more than to kick and punch. We want
them to feel self-confident in any situation. Fear is like fire: it
spreads quickly. Being a corrections officer I know that criminals can
read fear. They know all the body language associated with fear and can
mark an easy target. We teach our students how not to give themselves
away to fear."
Anta recalled how he got into the Martial Arts, "I
was a very sickly and shy child and I wanted to be a wrestler, so my dad
enrolled me in a judo class. I worked hard at it, but I also got some
broken bones along the way. I learned that the martial arts emerge from
non-violence, and I want to teach my students that situations can be
defused in a non-violent manner. I know the street is not a controlled
environment, but I want them to know their enemy. We teach passive
self-defense rather than aggression."
Speaking of those broken bones, Anta reduces the risk to
his students by teaching them the correct way to kick, which is
something he claims many schools approach lackadaisically.
Besides martial arts instruction for children, Anta's
Fitness also gives classes in Fitness Kickboxing. It is a combination of
kickboxing, a great overall calorie burner, and circuit training, which
homes in on fat. Another course offered is called EZ Defense, geared for
adults.
Anta also believes that today's black belt is watered
down. He explained, "I have a hard conceiving of a nine year-old
earning a black belt. It has become a mere status symbol. When you are
awarded a black belt, you are recognized as a master at the level of
teacher. A black belt is an attitude; it's the whole dezvelopment of a
person. I can see a twelve-year-old, perhaps, attaining junior black
belt status. At our school we believe in total development of the
student. I'd love for all of my kids to win in tournaments and we strive
for that, but that's not all there is to our program."
Not only have the Antas taught in Doral for two years.
now, they also live in Doral and love the area.
"We believe in giving back to the community," he said,
"you get blessed when you give back."
And they will have yet another chance during the coming
school year, because they will take charge of the before and
after-school care programs at the new Doral Academy. Not surprisingly,
they are very excited about the opportunity.
Anta exclaimed, "We believe in motivation and
praise. That's critical to what we give our students. They come to us
expecting only to learn martial arts techniques but they go away with a
stronger character and an enhanced self-image.
To reach Anta about any of his classes, you can reach
him at 305 599 3649.
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