If as a parent, I left this world tomorrow, would I be comfortable with the knowledge and lessons that I have passed on to my daughter? Would I be satisfied that I have equipped her with the skills and knowledge to get through life with me no longer there to guide her? A confronting situation no doubt. But one that I have personally come to terms with over the years. Arakan has helped me discover my responsibility as a parent, and has given me the insight to understand the benefits that Arakan offers its junior students.

To give you a brief context of who I am, I’m in my 7th year of Arakan training. This is the first testimonial I have written in that time. My daughter, Kiara, is 10 years old and has been training Arakan for the last 2 years.

Since Kiara began her training, clear improvements have been developed in a number of key areas. First and foremost, there has been noticeable improvements in her physical capabilities, including; strength, coordination, cardio capacity and dexterity. However, the prevalent non-physical benefits are the most interesting to discern.

Kiara’s school grades have been steadily improving over the last 2 years, with rapid growth in her ability to comprehend information and complex problem solve. Her word recognition ability and memory have improved to advanced levels and she now reads well and truly above her age. I feel comfortable in saying that Arakan has strongly contributed to these outcomes and if anything, have taught Kiara how to learn, and be a true student of knowledge. She even completes her homework without complaint most nights.

In a social sense, Kiara has learnt about the fact that we don’t live in a perfect world and there are unfortunate circumstances that she may have to endure at some point in her life. Furthermore, through training, Kiara has been able to deal with her internal emotions, including, how to understand and respond to fear. This culminated when Kiara recently participated in an anti-abduction seminar where she was taken through a number of realistic scenarios which were confronting, yet empowering for both her and I. Even though I train myself and my natural way of thinking is ‘she’s my daughter, she’ll be fine in this type of situation,’ I quickly realised that I hadn’t passed on the necessary tools to her in relation to an abduction scenario.

The experience gave me a new appreciation for my role as a parent. Yes, there were times when she found it difficult and emotionally demanding. But make no mistake about it, a real child abduction would produce the exact same responses only to a greater level.

After the seminar in the car on the way home, I could see that she was questioning why I would make her endure an emotionally confronting seminar. I told her that it was because I care about her and I don’t want anything bad to happen to her. Yes, that may sound terribly cliché, but I make no false assumptions about being able to protect her from all of the negative things in this world. She then understood the meaning of my actions.

I highly recommend that any parent considering Arakan for their child or having them participate in seminars such as the anti-abduction seminar, do not have reservations about the authenticity of its benefits. You will grow as a parent and your child will take an essential skill with them for the rest of their life.

Tim Cummins