Crazy 88 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Receives Visit from Award-Winning National Speaker Julie Marie Carrier to Inspire Students to Personal Greatness

ELKRIDGE, Md., April 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- On April 14, Crazy 88 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academy hosted a motivational talk by Emmy-nominated television personality and national speaker for teens Julie Marie Carrier. Attendees learned Carrier's "ABC: Always Be Confident" strategies for achieving life success.

(Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130419/PH97733)

In addition to being a renowned speaker, Carrier is currently a success coach on MTV's number-one positive goal-setting television show for teenage girls, Made.

"About half of the people at the event were kids ranging in age from five to 15," noted Julius Park, head coach of Crazy 88. "In martial arts, we focus as much on developing self-esteem and a positive, healthy attitude toward life as we do on training the body. So, we want to give kids access to as many constructive role models as possible, not just the instructors at the academy, but also other adults that offer positive messages."

Park continued, "When she was in her early teens, Ms. Carrier overcame the labels of 'nerd,' 'monkey legs' and 'loser' that had been slapped on her. And she did such a great job of rising above those labels that by age 14, she'd started her own company. She went on to be crowned Miss Virginia USA and was a consultant to the Pentagon by the age of 23. She said it all started when she attended a motivational speech, so who better to share the principles of making healthy, positive choices with our students?"

Carrier's own story is featured in the books The Success Principles and The Success Principles for Teens by New York Times bestselling author Jack Canfield, as well as in Chicken Soup for the Twenty-Something's Soul. Carrier also shares her insights on gaining self-confidence, self-esteem and developing personal success in her book BeYOUtiful.

Carrier's high-energy and interactive style as well as her candid "big-sister" approach kept the Crazy 88 audience engrossed. One aspect of her "Always Be Confident" message that Park and the rest of the audience found particularly significant was her advice to act confident even when they did not feel so. Carrier had attendees perform a posture exercise to demonstrate that even if they did not feel confident, they could improve their posture in a specific way that resulted in their instantly feeling physically better and more self-assured.

The Crazy 88's regular children martial arts programs (http://www.crazy88bjj.com/) include classes, an after-school program and a summer camp. "Practicing martial arts is even better than playing team sports for developing children's confidence, discipline and self-esteem," said Park. "Crazy 88 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is the only martial arts school in the area to have produced a world champion, and we are always working to turn all of our students into life champions."

About Crazy 88 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Crazy 88 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu welcomes men, women and children of all ages and physical abilities. The 15,000-sq.-ft. martial arts facility is located conveniently between Baltimore and Columbia, Md. The school boasts the only mid-Atlantic team to have members competing at the highest levels in the following:

• Mixed Martial Arts (Ultimate Fighting Championship -- UFC & World Extreme Cagefighting -- WEC)
• Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation sanctioned events)
• Kids' Martial Arts (Crazy 88 is the only school to produce IBJJF Juvenile World Champions and Medalists.)

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SOURCE Crazy 88 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu