Ethan who was diagnosed with autism at the age of three and had a tough time connecting to others socially. A life changing event happened when he was enrolled in martial arts. Martial arts helped him to become more social which was something he struggled with earlier. With his hard work and training in martial arts, Ethan has proudly earned four world titles and has had some opportunities to travel and appear on television. He aspires to become an actor or stunt double. Ethan is an exceptional talent in various subject areas including engineering, math, and origami. He is running for 8th grade student body officer for next year's class and continues to conquer the martial arts world working to win his 5th world title this year. We want to applaud Ethan’s achievements and dedication.

What do you like about martial arts? How long have you been practicing martial arts?E: I like that martial arts has helped me to learn how to work really hard for something and be patient along the way until I am able to finally get it. I like that it has also helped me learn that achieving really hard goals is possible as long as you are willing to work really hard and listen to what people tell you that know more than you about how to achieve them. I also like to compete and travel and that is maybe one of my favorite things about martial arts. I get to see new places and meet new people and make lots of friends.
I have been learning martial arts for 5 years. I started when I was 7.

Which is your favorite move?E: Well, my favorite move I can do myself is something called a cart wrap swing through cork. My favorite move I want to someday be able to do is called a Cork Crowd Awakener Hyper Hook Shuriken.

What are your other hobbies?E: I love to learn new magic tricks. I like to perform magic tricks with decks of cards on my friends. I also love to make origami. And I really love roller coasters too.

What is your favorite place to visit?E: That's such a hard question. There are so many places I have travelled to that I love and want to go back to often. I guess my favorite three places would be Las Vegas, Orlando, and St. John. I love to visit Las Vegas because there are palm trees, it's warm, there are lots of tall buildings and there are so many fun things you can do like ride roller coasters and eat at great places. I love Orlando because there are palm trees and it's warm and you can go to Disneyworld and Universal Studios and a bunch of my friends live there that I love to do stuff with. I love St. John because its warm and there are palm trees and its so beautiful. The water is aqua green and you can snorkel and see the coolest sea life. I love the sounds the animals make at night. It's so different from where I live. And the sand is super awesome because you can make cool sand sculptures out of it.

What do you like to do when you are with your family?E: My mom and dad are divorced so I am usually with them separately. Plus my sister lives in Japan so I don't see her hardly at all. But when I am with them I like to play cards with them and watch Friends the tv show. And I spend a lot of time training so its fun to play games in the car on the way. I like to travel with my mom a lot when we go to tournaments. And my dad and I like to go on hikes a lot which is fun.

Any special message for our community?E:  I am not sure what you mean by community. What I usually tell people if they ever ask my advice on stuff, is that don't let anyone tell you you can't do something. You can do anything you put your mind to as long as you don't give up and you try and be open to learning from others that know more. And also be patient because some things take a long time to achieve and you have to fail a lot before you succeed. That's not always fun but in the end it is worth it. Oh and one more thing I have learned. Life isn't always fair and you have to learn how to accept that and go on. It's all about your attitude. That is the key.