Stealthy, agile, coordinated, and with cool costumes, ninjas make the perfect fitness role models –and one Canberra crew is sharing their skills at secret training camps. The Secret Ninja School is a movement program for kids aged three to seven and delivered in two formats: face-to-face lessons and a school program.  

Aiming to build a love of movement in new generations, founder of the program, Kieran ‘Ninja Kicks’ Deck wants to see more kids flexing their muscles, both cognitive and physical.

“What we’re trying to do is provide kids with this epic experience of movement early on and, without them realising it, get them to do 100 planks in two years to build their core strength. So that when they get to school and a friend kicks them a soccer ball, they can kick that ball back,” says Mr Deck.

Appalled by the fact that three-quarters of Australian children get less than their recommended exercise intake each week, Mr Deck wanted to help do something about it. He says it is more than the physical benefits.

“If you think about how good it feels after you exercise and how clear your brain is and how much more tolerant you are of other people, our society is better when people are moving.”

With a love of taekwondo and third degree international black belt, Mr Deck decided to leave his successful media career in 2017 and set up his own school. He felt he could better help the community there. During Covid, the classes moved online, and he noticed kids were struggling.

While watching a Disney production with his partner, Mr Deck had the idea of putting the movements to a story in hopes of keeping children more engaged.

“Instead of going ‘let’s kick’, I wrote a story and I performed those moves and got them to follow along and it wasn’t as good as like a strict class in terms of learning new skills, but at least they kept up what they’ve learned,” he says.

Being introduced to taekwondo as a shy child who was dealing with bullying, Mr Deck and his father entered the sport together. The class sparked a love of movement and as he grew more confident, he became involved in other sports. Mr Deck hopes the program will help other kids like him, those who would have fallen through the cracks of organised sports.

“I think we have a really important responsibility as coaches of any sport to make or break their relationship with movement at that age. If they go to a soccer camp or something and the coach is really strict, they’ve got to do it right at four years old then they’re going to associate any type of organised sport with pain,” he says.

Wanting to target that younger age bracket, Mr Deck feels a deep connection with the children, and says it is a vital time in their development. He wants to help ensure that they grow up not regarding exercise as a chore to be ticked off a list.  

“If you have a really positive relationship with movement as a kid, when you become an adult it just is natural. You look for those opportunities,” he says. Starting off in his loungeroom, Mr Deck now has someone to help with filming his secret ninja episodes, and does all the post editing himself. With no baddies, each story has a beginning, a conflict and conclusion, and a social lesson.

Alongside Mr Deck in the videos is Nimble Numbut, who has an acting degree and is the perfect ninja partner. Returning from a year in London, she realised the ninja school program is where her passion lies.

The pair not only make the videos to be watched at home and in schools, they also make in-person visits. Surprising students who think they are getting their usual video break, then Ninja Kicks and Nimble Numbut jump out from behind curtains, having “teleported” there.

Aligning with Sporting Schools, a Federal Government program, and Taekwondo Australia who assigns the team schools to visit. Their program has spread across multiple states. Currently their biggest market is Queensland with 30 schools on board, and 18 here in the ACT use a mix of videos and in-person programs. In Western Australia, there are 10 schools on board and the WA Government has advised that they want to list them as a recommended school program.

They have found their presence has been so welcomed that when the funding ends, parents or the school then provides the funding for the program to continue.

“The thing that teachers really love is that we don’t leave fully, they get the videos so they can continue to develop their skills,” says Mr Deck.

According to Mr Deck, the teachers’ motivation to continue the program is to assist with regulating emotions. After the excitement of lunch, the teachers pop on a Secret Ninja School episode and by the time they have finished the meditation, the students are ready to focus.

The positive feedback from teachers say that children are using the movement in their own time. Some of Mr Deck’s favourite feedback has been that children are also flexing their brain muscle more.

“Teachers that we’ve worked with last year were saying that after a term with us and doing face-to-face stories as well, kids were out doing imaginary [activities] at a level they hadn’t done for ages,” he says.

Parents can also opt to take their kids to classes outside of the school system.

And what is the outfit for a secret ninja? A black one, of course! A black shirt is recommended and at in-person classes, students each receive a belt to complete the look.

Hoping they can help be a tool to get kids to cut down on screen time, the ninja school has started their own game complete with trading cards, with moves translated into 59 cards.

“Those powers, they’re attached to movements, so if you want to use your firepower, you have to learn how to slow your breath,” Mr Deck explains.

Offering classes at different locations, the school has brought another coach on board, and Mr Deck hopes to employ others as they continue to grow.

To expand access to the Secret Ninja School episodes, Mr Deck is hoping to fundraise enough money to produce an app.

“We’re strapping it together with whatever we can because we just believe that it’s going to be good. We’ve got Wiggles visions for it, we’re not holding back,” he smiles.

Get your kids moving with the Secret Ninja School; secretninjaschool.com

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