You've got your Atkins Diet, South Beach Diet, the Only Eat Cheeseburgers on Fridays Diet. You name it, there's a diet out there promising to slim your waist line in nothing flat. Some of them promise you can eat all you want and, maybe even, eat your favorite foods - from chocolate cake to buckets of pasta. Of course, if any of these were half as good as promised the others would be out of business.  

The reality is that folks have put on weight today less because of what they eat than because of what they do. Computers and video games just don't burn all that many calories. The best diet is the active diet. And, while a treadmill can help with that it's hard to make a serious commitment to taking long walks that go nowhere.  

AKF Spring Grove Flying Dragons have a better solution - martial arts. Master Bonnie Thiel, who trains students in Kyuki-Do and other forms of martial arts at the school, said the best way to keep your weight down is to stay active.  

"It's hard to stick to a fitness program when the activity involved is basically boring," she said. "Martial arts are not only engaging, they build on motivation. In martial arts, though it's an individual art, we motivate each other; we work together."  

Master Thiel said there are other advantages to martial arts, as well. Participation in the art builds confidence while keeping students and masters fit.  

"What's really great about martial arts is you can do it with other people - friends and family," she said. "A mother can come in to our school, bring her child or children along and, while losing a few pounds, and helping her children develop skills and the kind of attitude that will serve them well in life, she gets to spend time working out with them. We have families, mothers, fathers and their children, who train here together."  

To learn more about AKF Spring Grove Flying Dragons, visit www.sgflyingdragons.com or call 815-675-3504.