Golden Hands

10/30/2026

What a special experience welcoming KXAN News to Golden Hands! We are incredibly proud of our student Nikita Devasthale (16y.o, 2nd degree black belt), who started a women’s self-defense club at McNeil High School to share her martial arts knowledge and empower other young women. Self-defense is about so much more than punches and kicks. It’s about awareness, confidence, setting boundaries, and finding your voice.

One of the greatest rewards of teaching is watching students take what they’ve learned and share it with the world. You don’t have to be a lifelong martial artist to benefit from these lessons. If we can inspire one person to become stronger, more confident, and more compassionate, that influence can ripple through an entire community. This is what Golden Hands is all about: Guiding Peaceful Warriors! 💛🥋

Nikita Devasthale is a second-degree black belt who trains at Golden Hands Martial Arts with Holly Holt, who helped her with her Gold Award project.
https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/mcneil-juniors-self-defense-club-earns-her-a-girl-scout-gold-award/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_KXAN_News

10/27/2026

🥋 Regional Black Belt Test | October 24, 2026

What a great day of testing! I’m incredibly proud of all our candidates and instructors. It’s been wonderful to see the growth across all our schools, and each test brings new insights and lessons for the next. Special thanks to SBN Spratt of Hwa Sun Martial Arts for hosting — no easy feat, but it sure felt like home!

7 Cho Dan Candidates:
Viki Parsons, A***n Patel, Richay Acharya, Nivedh Muthukrishnan, Nayomi Anand, Aradhyaranjan Sinha, and Bergen Wood.

A couple of special milestones for Golden Hands! Nayomi is our first Black Belt candidate who began her training at Golden Hands, and Bergen is our first Black Belt candidate from our After School Program!

3 Ee Dan Candidates:
Ray Ryall, Abhinav Kumar, and Anjali Kumar.

Abhinav also tested for his Kyo Sa Nim (Certified Instructor) certification, leading the clinic warm-up and even getting a surprise pop quiz… 😉 he simply crushed it.

We were honored to have my instructor, Master Ben Johnson, with us, sharing his wisdom and reminding us of the importance of ACE — Attitude, Concentration, and Effort. Three things we can always control, regardless of the situation.

Congratulations to everyone who stepped onto the floor and gave their best. There’s always more to learn, and that’s the beauty of the Moo Do journey.

We’ll be celebrating all week long with fun and entertaining classes!! Come join the fun!!
Tang Soo! 👊💛

10/15/2026

09/17/2026

WEEK 7 — TRIALS OF THE HERO ⚔️☀️

We back with another episode!

The week’s theme was Trials of the Hero: learning to use our skills under pressure, developing perseverance, and discovering what happens when things get uncomfortable.

And we definitely put that into practice!

We explored the Austin Central Library with a scavenger hunt, games, plenty of wandering through its amazing floors, and lunch outside on the deck. Then we hopped back on the Golden Hands bus and headed to Barton Springs Pool for a refreshing post-lunch swim.

Easily one of the favorite field trips of the summer. Our kids really do love to learn… especially when learning ends with jumping into Barton Springs!!

Back at training, we took our Tang Soo Do and standing meditation practice outdoors. Working outside in the Texas summer tested our students’ Ineh (endurance and perseverance).

Music brought its own challenge as we practiced improvisation, changing tempos, listening, and adapting on the glockenspiels.

We wrapped up with Wheels Day, a hilarious game of “Can Sa Bom Nim Holt Guess Your Voice?” and one of the best songs we could have possibly chosen for this theme:

“I’m Still Standing” by Elton John. 🎶

The hero isn’t the person who never struggles. It’s the one who keeps showing up and going!

martialarts peacefulwarriors

09/17/2026

WEEK 6 — SHADOW TRAINING 🌑🥋

We’re finally catching up on a few of our summer camp memories, and looking back at these photos has us seriously missing the energy, adventures, and beautiful chaos of summer. ☀️

Week 6 was our short four-day week leading into Nationals, but we still packed it full!

Our theme was Shadow Training: Mastering the Self: exploring solace, space, restraint, and self-awareness. Shadow work isn’t about finding everything “bad” within ourselves. It’s learning to notice the parts we avoid, hide, or react from, then understanding them well enough to choose our response with greater intention.

Rain canceled Rattan Creek, so we adapted and headed to Austin Ninjas, where the kids climbed, jumped, problem-solved, and challenged themselves in all kinds of ways.

The staff may have challenged themselves too. 😂

And because every Golden Hands camp week needs music, the students voted on and learned “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears — somehow the perfect soundtrack for a week about control, awareness, and mastering ourselves.

Missing these summer days. ❤️

“Surprising things will happen when you meet your opponent” and sometimes our greatest opponent — and greatest teacher is ourselves.

mindfulmartialarts peacefulwarriors

09/11/2026

MUSIC LAB: PART 3 — INTO THE STUDIO 🎙️✨

5 days of listening, learning, rehearsing and creating led to this…

Friday morning, we loaded the van and headed to Purple Bee for our first-ever Golden Hands Music Lab recording session!

Our young musicians stepped inside a professional studio (watching their faces light up when we walked in was my favorite part) and recorded THREE tracks—two covers and one original song created during camp. 🎹🥁🎸🎤 

They learned what happens behind the scenes of a real recording session, experienced the patience and focus it takes to capture a performance, learned DonkToss 😂, and got a glimpse into an entirely different side of making music.

And after 6 hours in the studio? We celebrated right down the road from the studio… at Volente Beach. 🌊

Our first Music Lab was an experiment in creativity, courage, collaboration and community, and watching these students grow into a band over the course of one week was something special.

The recordings are currently being mixed and mastered, and we cannot wait to let you hear what they created!

Year One is officially in the books. Music Lab will be back, and we’re already imagining bigger for Summer 2027. 🎶

09/09/2026

NATIONALS 2026 — PART 2: SPARRING ⚡🥋

Sparring day brought plenty of surprises.

Some students who don’t normally love sparring stepped onto the mat, took a chance, and surprised themselves. There were wins, tough matches, close calls, and a whole lot of learning.

We also had our first Men’s Team Sparring debut with KSN Sparsh Palankar, KSN Murphy Sasser, and Mr. Abhinav Kumar! As a team, I couldn’t have imagined a better attitude: focused, supportive, composed, and ready to rise to whatever calls.

People think tournaments are only about performance…They’re also one of our greatest teachers.

A loss is only a loss if you leave without learning from it. Otherwise, it’s preparation for the next round. 🔥

09/09/2026

Our Golden Hands family grew by one! 💙

Congratulations to our wonderful staff member and counselor, Mr. Z (Zachary Sherman), on the birth of his baby boy, Javari Jeremai Sherman!

Mr. Z brings so much patience, kindness, protection, and heart to our students, and we know he’s going to be an incredible father.

We’ve created a GoFundMe for anyone who would like to support him and Baby Javari during this beautiful new chapter. Any little bit, prayer, share, or word of encouragement means a lot. ❤️

Our Golden Hands family has something beautiful to celebrate! Our w… Holly Holt needs your support for Welcome Baby Javari: Support Mr. Z and Family

09/03/2026

NATIONALS 2026 — PART 1: FORMS 🔥🥋

Friday was all about forms + team forms, and what a show it was!! Definitely my favorite day by far.

I had the honor of performing Yong Hyung Cho Dan publicly for the first time — a form created by Master Richard Kopf (K-1) of the Tang Soo Do Mi Guk Kwan. Its history and symbolism are something I’ll keep learning from and continued to be inspired by for years to come.

Our color belt team forms were a HUGE hit:
🟠 The 4 Peaceful Warriors
🟢 The Wavy Greens + The 3 Green Beans
🔴 The Flaming Ninjas + The Elements

And our Black Belt teams:
⚫ The Golden Three
⚫ The Golden Sun Trinity
⚫ The Golden R.A.T.

So proud of the work, creativity and courage every team brought to the event!! I can’t tell you that now (after 2 months…the experience has made them skyrocket!)

Oh… and Golden Hands team, The Golden Three took 1st place in Team Forms for the THIRD year in a row, officially retiring the cup. 🏆🏆🏆

Not a bad way to kick off Nationals.