The Martial Arts Kid

The Martial Arts Kid is a 2015 martial arts film directed by Michael Baumgarten and starring Don 'The Dragon' Wilson and Cynthia Rothrock as a couple who take in their nephew Jansen Panettiere, and teach him martial arts when he is bullied. The film has been given major rave for its anti-bullying message. Most of the supporting cast of the film are actual martial artists, some of whom appear as themselves in the film.

Robbie Oakes is a Cleveland high schooler who after losing his mother, finds himself constantly in trouble with the law. When his grandmother has had enough after his latest arrest, Robbie is sent to Cocoa Beach, Florida to live with his aunt Cindy and uncle Glen. The night of his arrival, Robbie sneaks out of the house and goes to a local convenience store. There, he sees a young girl, Rina, sitting in a car. When he talks to her, Rina's boyfriend Bo harasses and punches Robbie in the face.

The next day at school, Robbie finds himself again harassed and embarrassed by Bo, who pushes him into the girls' restroom. At lunch, Robbie meets his first friend, Lenny, who sees the black eye and suggests that Robbie should learn self-defense or it will be the longest two months of his life. When Cindy invites him to lunch at her local restaurant, they are confronted by a thug. When Robbie confronts the thug verbally, the thug pulls out a knife. Cindy takes on the thug and uses martial arts to stop him. The police arrive and Robbie, in a state of shock, asks Cindy where she learned martial arts.

The following day, Robbie goes to the Space Coast Dojo, which is run by Glen. Robbie asks Glen to teach him martial arts and at first Glen refuses but then asks why. Robbie tells Glen that he is tired of being the person he has become and wants to do something about it. Glen takes Robbie in as a student and Robbie begins to change slowly. When Glen takes Robbie to a local bike shop to buy one for Robbie, Glen takes on a bully harassing the bike shop owner, who turns out to be Rina's father.

On his first bike ride, Robbie finds another local school, Dojo Extreme. There, he meets Coach Laurent Kaine, who unlike Glen believes that martial arts are for winning and destroying opponents. Robbie also learns that Bo is a student of Kaine's and leaves. Robbie continues his training with Glen and Cindy and begins to slowly change his ways. He becomes more friendly and begins to respect Glen and Cindy as if they were his real parents. Robbie even gets a job at the bike shop under the condition that he can attempt to steal Rina away from Bo. When Bo finds Robbie one day, he starts his verbal attack on Robbie but this time, Robbie doesn't budge. Glen, worried something dangerous happens, goes to Dojo Extreme to talk to Kaine. Kaine and Glen used to be friends, but their opposing views of martial arts have them rivals. When Kaine learns that Bo was the one who has been bullying Robbie, he tells Glen there's not much he can do because Bo's father has a lot of pull in town.