LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Teaching kids self-discipline, self-respect, confidence, and self-defense in an effort to keep them off the streets is what The Arabian Federation Martial Arts Academy is about. However, the pandemic is making that increasingly difficult, according to its founder Grandmaster Khalid Raheem. 

“We are fighting, you know, because I know the need of what we do in this community is vast. It’s very important, and the absence, the absence of us, our team in this community, it’s a void. It would be a deep void, and they couldn’t fill it because we reach people that nobody else gets,” Raheem said. 

The dojo is located in Louisville’s West End, an area west of the city’s downtown that sees higher rates of poverty and crime. 

“If they are in here, they are not out there. If they are in here learning some discipline and some respect and some honor, they are not breaking in houses or breaking in cars or even just hanging on the corner doing nothing,” Raheem explained. “Martial arts is a very important part of growing; it’s a very important part of life.”

Raheem said The Arabian Federation Martial Arts Academy has produced 14 world champions and 48 national champions because his students compete nationally and internationally.

“And these kids go and represent Louisville, Kentucky, the state of Kentucky, the West End of Louisville, and they go, and they’re not even clapped home. There’s nobody to bring them home to say, ‘A job well done.’ But if they were out there doing something wrong, they would be all over the newspaper,” Raheem told Spectrum News 1. 

The numerous trophies in the dojo and in the homes of its students haven’t come without struggle. Raheem relies on tuition and donations to keep the lights on, and when he can’t, he digs into his own pocket. 

However, the pandemic has further burdened the already cash-strapped studio. Raheem said he has lost over 50 percent of his students and donations are down. Regular tuition is $65 per month for class twice a week, but Raheem said no student pays that right now because he works with families based on their income.

One of the students benefitting from all that Raheem’s dojo offers is 13-year-old Harris Middleton, who started karate for the first time at the academy over the summer. 

“I have a lot of friends; plus, Grandmaster Khalid, he’s the best Grandmaster that I’ve met,” Middleton told Spectrum News 1.

Harris’ mom, Belissa Middleton, said The Arabian Federation Martial Arts Academy is about more than just martial arts for her son.

“He’s learning to be more independent, and he’s learning to speak up better,” she explained. “He’s high-functioning autistic so he has trouble where he doesn’t necessarily want to make eye contact or he doesn’t necessarily like to speak up. So he’s learning actually to find his own voice.”

Belissa said Harris also benefits from having Raheem as a positive male role model, and, beyond teaching him karate, she said the dojo helps Harris with his school work and also gave him a pair of new shoes. 

“He’s also teaching Harris about giving back to the community, and going out and helping people,” Belissa said about the positive impact Raheem and the dojo are having on her son. “He’s learning a valuable lesson right now, especially at 13…there’s so many different ways these kids could go, and I just think that’s really important for him.”

Raheem said 2021 looks scary right now for The Arabian Federation Martial Arts Academy because it’s in dire straits financially. In addition to karate lessons, Raheem said the dojo feeds 35 families per week and often does food and clothing drives for the community. Right now, the students practice in winter coats because Raheem can’t afford to heat the academy. 

Despite the financial constraints, Raheem said closing down isn’t an option. 

“Y’all look, it’s rough. If this was easy everybody would do it. You know, it’s easy to walk off and go do something else, but this is what I have to do. This is my job. This is my plight,” Raheem explained.

Raheem said he’s motivated to keep fighting to keep his dojo open because he’s seen what martial arts have done for the kids that have walked through The Arabian Federation Martial Arts Academy’s doors, and he’s also seen what it has done for him.

“All of this makes a difference, it does, and we make a difference. Like I said, we are a solution, and we are solutionists,” Raheem said. “We can help make this world a better place from the dojo, one kick at a time, one punch at a time, one stance of the time, one child at a time.”

The Arabian Federation Martial Arts Academy has set up a GoFundMe page. For donations and inquiries about classes, more information is available on The Arabian Federation Martial Arts Academy Facebook page.