Local martial arts instructor featured in Woman’s World

Published 7:30 am Tuesday, September 9, 2025

Mercer Island Martial Arts has been serving the island community since 1997. Krista Wells is the owner and founder of the studio. Wells is also a fifth-degree instructor in taekwondo.

The program offers training for adults, children, and teens, and includes a self-defense class. The studio also provides children and their parents with training in a class together. Wells said the type of teaching technique is unique in the community.

“My focus is on community,” said Wells. “What I really want for the school is to have that environment where families can not only bond together, but kids and families can learn various skills such as self-defense, physical skills, you know … getting a nice workout.”

Wells is a longtime resident of the Mercer Island community. She has been a part of the Island since 1997 and has been teaching martial arts for almost 30 years.

“I have families that are off to college now,” said Wells. “And they have kids of their own at this point that have brought them back to me.”

In July, Wells was featured in Woman’s World magazine for the impact that martial arts can have on families.

“Sometimes I say it’s just sort of a silly saying like a family that kicks together, sticks together,” said Wells. “ Through martial arts, I was able to build my own self-confidence … I think that there are many levels that benefit parents in the martial arts and this particular environment.”

Christopher Robbs trains at the martial arts studio with his 10-year-old son named Jack Robbs. Their journey began with Jack attending the Little Dragons program in 2018. After about a year of watching his son, he started taking classes himself.

“I realized they had a family class,” said Robbs. “And when Jack had progressed enough, grown enough, and was disciplined enough, we switched to their family class … so instead of watching him do it, I got to do it with him.”

Since joining, Robbs has entered various matches, such as with teenagers or other parents in the program. “He’ll frequently like to cheer on with the person I would get paired against, you know,” said Robbs of his son. “He would say, yea, go get my dad, jokingly, I think he just has fun with it … We’ll often get paired up together when we’re trying to learn part of a new form.”

Now, Robbs and his son are both at the black belt rank.

According to Mercer Island Martial Arts programs, in the children’s classes, students will learn active listening skills and techniques, along with discipline and following directions. While in the adult class, it can increase self confidence and increase fitness techniques.

“They’re learning how to physically build habits that are really good in terms of their physical activity,” said Wells. “They’re also having opportunities for the kids to be successful through our reward systems, such as rewarding them for behaviors that we want to see more of, such as doing their homework or doing their chores.”

Students will also learn traditional techniques of martial arts, such as following a structured curriculum that includes a combination of kicks, strikes, blocks and grappling techniques. They also exploring modern techniques, including a more flexible and dynamic curriculum that encourages students to think critically and adapt their techniques to suit various scenarios. This type of training involves a blend of striking, grappling, and ground-fighting techniques.

“I feel more qualified to actually give him feedback and be part of the discussion with him because I actually do this rather than just observe it like other sports that he’s done in the past,” said Robbs. “I tried to help him practice goal blocking with lacrosse, and so I’m throwing balls at him and he’s blocking, I’m getting hit by a couple, and then he says, it’s your turn … starts throwing balls at me and I don’t know what I’m doing.”

Ben Warrick is another parent who is a trainee at the Mercer Island Martial Arts. He and his two sons, Faraday Warrick and Maxwell Warrick, have been a part of the program for a year and a half.

“Sometimes I would wait in the car and watch them,” said Warrick. “One day when Master Wells was talking to me about how my sons are doing, she talked to me about if I would be interested in joining and I said well, that certainly sounds interesting … I didn’t know what I would wear and then she went over and got me a uniform … the next time I showed up, I had a white belt and I joined in with.”

Now, Faraday Warrick, who is 10 years old, is a brown belt, and Maxwell Warrick, who is 8 years old, is a purple belt, while their father is a yellow belt with a black stripe.

“It’s very empowering,” said Ben Warrick. “When an instructor who has several degrees in black belt is showing you a spinning kick that you would normally just see in ‘The Matrix,’ and then it’s your turn to do that, and then you can do it … it’s a really cool feeling.”