Like a lot of kids growing up in the 80s, Shawn Harvey spent a lot of time standing on one leg inspired to try this martial arts move after watching the 1984 'Karate Kid' movie starring Ralph Macchio and Pat Morito.

Today he runs the Bermuda Small Circle Jujitsu Academy in the Berkeley Arts Centre in Pembroke.

With a Karate Kid movie remake coming out this month starring Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan, Sensei Harvey hopes to see another generation similarly inspired by the movie.

That is why Bermuda Small Circle Jujitsu Academy will be holding two exclusive showings of the new movie at the Liberty Theatre tomorrow and Saturday.

Fans of the first movie will be relieved to know that the plotline of the remake closely follows the first movie. It takes place in China, and is about an American boy who learns to stand up for himself with the help of a martial arts teacher.

"Karate Kid is a movie about how a mentor teaches a child to overcome personal obstacles and improve his self-esteem and confidence," said Sensei Harvey. "It is a great movie for parents to get a more holistic approach to how martial arts can benefit their child."

Sensei Harvey has been running his martial arts school for seven years. He first started martial arts at the age of 13.

"After the first Karate Kid movie, every child was trying to balance on one foot," said Sensei Harvey. (There's a scene in the movie when Ralph Macchio's character is taught to do this.)

"But that movie taught more of a family side of martial arts," said Sensei Harvey. "It was about what martial arts can do for people."

He said that learning martial arts can help a child to also learn self-discipline and focus.

Sensei Harvey teaches students as young as four years old and with the younger age group they focus more on self-defence than on fighting.

"You have to train the mind and then you can train the body," he said. "We also work on our negotiation skills. We teach our students to try to figure out why this person is doing what they are doing. Once you get behind the facade you can more likely solve the problem before it escalates."

He said that having the right mentor can shortcut a lot of the barriers that a child can encounter.

"Our programme is probably 60 percent girls, maybe more," said Sensei Harvey. "A lot of ladies take it up, because Jujitsu is a softer style of martial arts.

"You are using leveraging so you are using the other person's momentum against them. You are learning how to be smarter and analyse your opponent. It is one thing to learn a technique and another thing to think it."

Although there are roundhouse kicks and strikes in jujitsu, the focus is on self-defence.

"In the young age groups we definitely want them to learn how to protect themselves without having to use strikes," he said. "It is all age appropriate techniques.

"Judo holds and judo throws play a safer part in the school yard. It is important that we are not teaching children to punch someone in the face.

"In judo you can hold someone down without having to destroy their face. That is where character development comes in. They are making better choices under stress and duress.

"They can tell that child 'leave me alone' without getting into a fight."

He said learning martial arts instills confidence, and confidence is a natural deterrent to bullies.

"They leave you alone, once they sense you have confidence," he said. "It has saved my life many a time."

Sensei Harvey was taught by Sensei Ed Melaugh in Boston.

"He has been inducted into the Black Belt Hall of Fame," Sensei Harvey said. "I had an instructor in Bermuda who was teaching me martial arts. Then I found out from Sensei Melaugh that he wasn't authorised to teach.

"That is something that has to be looked into. Just because a person has reached a black belt doesn't automatically make them an instructor. You need to go through a rigorous instructor programme. It's like saying that someone graduating from high school can automatically teach other kids."

He said the aim of his school was to teach children how to be winners in life. "We are making a better world," he said.

The first exclusive showing of Karate Kid (2010) will be tomorrow at the Liberty Theatre. This night is already sold out. The next exclusive showing will be on Saturday at 6.30 p.m.

Tickets are $10 and can be obtained through the Bermuda Small Circle Jujitsu Academy at 292-9234.

"The movie is a family outing to showcase the benefits of the martial arts and to help Liberty Theatre promote the movie," said Mr. Harvey.

For more information e-mail bscja@tbinet.bm or go to their website at www. free jujitsu.info.