About six months ago, my 4 year old niece Olivia started Taekwondo. My sister gave her the option between doing Dance or Karate, and my badass niece chose the latter. I think it mostly had to do with her obsession over the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the fact that she looks up to Mikey--a.k.a. Michaelangelo since the hip new version of the show gives them more chill names versus their original Renaissance counterparts--like it's nobody's business.

My niece has always been a little timid and definitely a careful young lady, but something about Taekwondo has lifted this timid spirit out of her. She is visibly more confident, more disciplined and stronger to boot. I often joke that next thing I know, she'll be stronger than me. Don't let her know, but she probably already is.

I have been to a few of her classes and belt promotion ceremonies where I had to fight welling with tears when she broke the board successfully or did a roll and landed with a strong 'Hy-ya!', yes they really say that and it is adorable.

Today, I attended my niece's first tournament. It was an experience into the world of ATA (The American Taekwondo Association) that really opened my eyes to what an incredible impact this organization has on the self-esteem, strength and confidence of young women.

I watched as countless young girls put on brave and powerful faces to spar, break boards, show off the form they'd been practicing and prove that they can be just as tough, if not tougher, than all of the boys. All those moments of watching Olivia grow in confidence over the past six months and seeing that same confidence in the eyes of these young ladies only made the tears well all over again.

Taekwondo teaches a system of life skills that make the scope of its practices far more than just how to defend against stranger danger or other physical perils a person may face. It teaches the importance of belief, discipline, honesty, self-esteem, communication and respect. By instilling these values at the core of every lesson, students gain a better understanding of how strength is a tool to become a better person, not simply a crutch or intimidation tactic.

To assess the values of these skills is virtually impossible, because for a young girl to attain this level of confidence and respect for not only herself, but those around her at such a young age is truly immeasurable.

I was proud of these girls who I didn't even know. I was proud to the point it made me want to run up to everyone of them and give a high five or an overly enthusiastic thumbs up. I thought of all the times in my life where I have felt weak or intimidated or defeated, and then I thought of these young ladies and knew with certainty that even if these girls encountered those same feelings, they would have the ability to shake it off. To say in the face of adversity "Yes, I can!"