Well, sports does more than just bring in money and entertain crowds.

For one Charlotte man who grew up in a rough neighborhood, it was his way to stay on the right path.

Martial Arts not only gave him something positive to do, but it gave him the skills he needed to be a mentor and run his own martial arts company.

Carolina Impact's Dara Khaalid and videographer Marcellus Jones explore how he's fighting to steer kids in the right direction.

- [Instructor] Ready and move.

(kids shouting) - [Instructor] Ready and move.

(kids shouting) - [Instructor] I need everybody- - [Dara] no matter which night of the week you stop by Legacy Martial Arts And Fitness, there's always some intense action.

- You need to put in a lot of hard work and effort.

- [Dara] Whether they're kicking their legs fiercely, defending or punching like pros, you'll find these young people fighting to develop their martial arts skills.

- You just have to put in the work and that's what they do in here.

They come in, hit get the work, they get work in here.

- [Dara] That's founder Jay Henderson, but on the mat, he's Arjan Jay, which means teacher in Thai.

(instructor and students grunting) And if you look at the precision of his moves and listen to the sturdiness in his voice, you can tell it's a job he takes seriously.

- No better place to be than on that mat because it's real world hand to hand.

You actually, the emotions, everything is right there real time.

So you get to share in all the happiness.

- [Dara] Jay's been experiencing that happiness since he was 10 years old.

- You didn't see many of the kids in my neighborhood being able to actually go and train in karate and martial arts.

The opportunity, you know, came about and you know, my dad was like, "All right, cool.

Let's do it."

- [Dara] From there, he was all in and immediately began to soar as a martial artist.

But the West Charlotte native saw himself change in other ways too.

- Your interactions with other kids and other people sometimes aren't the best, especially over here at that time.

So, you know, it was very often that I would have, you know, fights when I was a kid and once I started training in martial arts, I would say maybe about a month, two months in, I started to notice that there was a change in my interaction with people.

I was a little more patient, a whole lot more patient.

- [Dara] Ultimately this helped him make better decisions and stay out of trouble.

But that wasn't always the case for other kids in his neighborhood.

- I have a lot of buddies that took a different route, you know, and while all of them weren't too bad, some of them ended up, you know, incarcerated, different things like that, but it was based on the influence that they had around them at the time.

- [Dara] This harsh reality showed Jay just how impactful environments can be.

So when he opened the doors of his gym in 2015, he wanted it to be a positive place for young people.

- I love the environment.

It teaches me a lot about self-defense a lot.

It keeps me in a good state of mind.

It allows me to calm myself in a way.

- [Dara] Maximus is just one of about 100 kids who train here at Legacy each year.

They learn the Lotus Self-defense system that was founded in Ubon, Thailand in 1969.

It combines different elements of martial arts like Muay Thai Kickboxing, Kenpo Karate, and judo.

- Walk in a bit and hit it, walk in and hit.

(kid shouting) - [Dara] It doesn't come easy, but Jay's little brother and co-owner of the gym, Shelton takes pride in helping people perfect the craft.

- I'm always looking for the the next best thing within my students.

I get goosebumps when I see the students actually picking up the material that we've given them in previous weeks.

So it's just a pleasure to see them learn.

- [Dara] He isn't the only one in the family working here.

Jay's wife, Maisha, greets students with a smile.

She does everything from customer service, admin work to social media and to her it's all worth it.

- When he's not here, he's doing nothing but martial arts.

He watches it on YouTube, he gets videos, DVDs, he studies it.

He has a true passion for it.

Whatever I can do to help drive and continue to make the load a little lighter for him, I do just that.

(pleasant music) (student shouting) - [Dara] With strong support behind him, it makes it easier for Jay to be a strong support for his students.

- He's like a big brother, father, and an uncle all in one.

You know, just a great male role model in my life.

Yeah, he just made me a better man overall just teaching me determination and focus and drive.

- It's so nice to see everybody.

Who's happy?

I'm happy.

Me too.

- [Dara] And for Melinda Gutierrez, who only planned to be a martial arts mom.

- And then I became a student.

- [Dara] Soon found herself on the mat learning, then teaching others.

- Oh, it's the best feeling in the world because you get to see them in their element, you know?

They get to really learn and express themselves and more importantly, it's their own unique way.

- [Dara] And to Jay, that's what it's all about.

- That's the purpose behind us, to carry on and build legacies.

- Keep going.

- What is that?

- You did that real easy.

That was real light.

- [Dara] And that legacy isn't just for his students, it's for his family too.

(students cheering) For Carolina Impact, I'm Dara Khaalid.