Whether your child is just learning to walk or is ready for a physical challenge, Empire Arkansas has classes for all skill levels.

The gym, located in Benton, was first known for its cheerleading, gymnastics and tumbling programs but in recent years started offering parkour—movement that developed from military obstacle course training. Now, Empire offers ninja classes based on the popular television show American Ninja Warrior. Empire even has a Ninja director, Josh Harris, who was highlighted in 2019 on Season 11 of the show. 

“We started off the program always with the idea of Ninja Warrior in the back of our head,” Empire program director Daniel Allen said. “But we called it parkour, because there was a craze awhile back where these European guys were jumping from building to building. 

“What we tried to do was take the things I learned from gymnastics and take the technical side of tumbling out of it and just literally challenge them with their long jump, high jump and balance. Things called precision jumps—jumping from one object to another and being able to hold your stance at a certain spot. 

Like in gymnastics, it’s big to learn a skill and stick [the landing]. Without the gymnastics side, we were teaching them how to stick it. Our whole goal at the beginning was to create obstacles and teach life lessons at the same time. If you have an obstacle, how do you get over it? Do you go over it, around it or through it?”

But before kids conquer the ninja obstacles or hit a home run or hit a three-pointer they must master the basics. That’s where the Empire staff can help. Beginner ninja and gymnastics classes focus on coordination and developmental milestones.

“Not only should they be respectful and have good manners and play well with others, they should also be able to stand on one leg and close their eyes,” Allen said. 

Empire has staff that specializes in early childhood development and understands those milestones. Allen said, for example, that many parents don’t know that children at 18 months should be able to walk in a straight line.

“We have it broken down to what each kid should be doing at that age,” Allen said. “Some kids just genetically aren’t inclined to do those things. We offer classes for all of that.”

One of those early childhood offerings is Ninja and Me where children under three exercise with their parents.  Empire also offers pre-school gymnastics.

After kids master the basics, they can advance in the new ninja program headed by the energetic and knowledgeable Harris.

Harris moved to Little Rock from South Carolina several years ago to further his non-profit, Fresh 2 You, a mobile produce stand bus which offers free, fresh produce for the needy around Little Rock. He competed in different obstacle races, and then became interested in American Ninja Warrior. He qualified for the city finals in Oklahoma City and his run was shown on the program and a feature on his non-profit work was showcased on ANW’s social media pages.

Recently, Harris connected with Allen, and the two have worked together to implement the ninja program and add pieces of equipment to aid training.

Harris, who competes in ninja leagues, has taken that experience along with discussions he’s had with other competitors who own and work in gyms around the region while developing the Empire program, which he said is like none other in the Little Rock area. He looks forward to imparting that knowledge on young ninjas as they grow and eventually compete in leagues around the country. 

“A lot of gymnastics and cheer gyms create what they call a ninja program, but it’s pretty rare that they have a coach or director who actually has experience doing that specifically,” Harris said. “As soon as I came in I said, ‘Oh, man we are going to build very specific ninja obstacles that no other gym in this area has, and it is going to take off with kids that need something different.’ We are going to have obstacles that are exciting to get on.”

Allen said two different groups of kids participate in ninja. Half of the kids participate in other sports and are interested in staying active and developing in the offseason. The other half are kids who may not enjoy mainstream sports who are ‘gamers’ and have been coaxed off the couch by their parents. Allen said he has seen several kids who have gotten into shape and have seen significant changes in their bodies and conditioning after enrolling in the program.

“There’s a lot of body awareness in the training we do that will benefit any kid,” Harris said. 

Allen said ninja has been very popular for kids who are developmentally disabled. While the classes are well structured, they are more free-flowing and require constant alertness in comparison to other mainstream sports. 

“We have so many parents whose kids have been diagnosed with ADHD, and they will say, ‘Thank you so much. My kid couldn’t sit still on second base, but with this environment they love it.’”

Empire celebrated its sixth year in March and has grown “exponentially” since owner Brooke Plack began with one red mat in her garage. It offers a plethora of both competitive and non-competitive cheer and gymnastics programs. With the expansion of the Ninja program and the addition of Harris to the staff, Allen expects more and more Saline County kids will be visiting to enhance their coordination and compete in ninja activities.

“From my experience in doing this 15 years, this is one of the fastest-growing programs I have ever seen,” he said. “I work with the governing body of cheerleading, so we stay pretty in tune with these other gyms in what they are offering and how big they are growing. The growth side of things has been crazy.”

Empire Arkansas is located at 3524 Alcoa Road in Benton. For more information visit www.empirecheerleading.com.