James O’Connor jumped in front of the girl to break her concentration. It didn’t work.

“Little ninjas, this takes incredible black belt control,” O’Connor yelled to his class of 4-, 5- and 6-year-old students. “You can’t be distracted. Laserlike focus. Eyes forward. Even if somebody surprises you right in front of your face!”

The young kids stood statue-like still.

“If you’re standing super strong like a black belt, do you will wiggle your body, or turn your head, or scratch your hair?” O’Connor asked.

“No, sir!” they yelled in unison.

“Who feels like they’re a black belt?” he asked.

“Me, sir!” they replied.

Welcome to the “Little Ninjas” class at Team O’Connor, an award-winning martial arts school in Chesterton. Here, students of all ages learn taekwondo, Brazilian jujitsu, and traditional martial arts techniques through discipline, self-defense and confidence building. (Go to www.team-oconnor.com)

“Who’s feeling strong today?” O’Connor asked his class on a recent weekday evening.

“Me, sir!” they replied.

A tripod camera set up in the corner of his dojo recorded a video for TikTok, where O’Connor reaches thousands of more eager students virtually. At his Chesterton academy, his tiny-tot pupils obey his every directive without hesitance. (Watch a video on my Facebook page.)

“This is hard,” one boy sighed while running through a “ninja mission” obstacle course.

“No it’s not!” another boy yelled out.

This is the “Keep Moving Forward” mantra that O’Connor, 40, is trying to drill into these young, impressionable minds and bodies. He remembers being a young boy in middle school who was bullied by other kids. He felt weak. Introverted. Victimized.

“I was probably the weakest kid you ever saw,” O’Connor told me.

His mother enrolled him in a martial arts class, where he learned taekwondo in his instructor’s basement dojo. O’Connor’s life changed immediately.

“It transformed my life 180 degrees,” he said. “I learned when I pushed myself hard, I got stronger. I had never worked hard for anything until the martial arts came along. It became addictive.”

O’Connor earned his black belt at 14, when he began teaching other kids.

“I was totally committed,” he said. “I still am. I found my purpose in life.”

He’s turned pain into results, first through his own life then through other kids’ lives.

Chase the pain, he tells his students. Just. Don’t. Quit.

“Who’s never giving up?” he yelled.

“Me, sir,” they yelled back.

“Never ever?” he asked.

“Never ever!” they replied. “Never! Give! Up! Perseverance!”

That moment was likely the first time they ever used that word, thanks to one of O’Connor’s ninja missions.

This is how O’Connor is empowering today’s youth, through character-building, martial arts disciplines dating back centuries. Unlike many sporting or academic pursuits, the martial arts require no prerequisites for height, strength, flexibility or high intelligence quotient.

“The youngest kids don’t complain or ask for water breaks,” O’Connor said before class began. “They have this inner spirit that’s running through their brains like software.”

O’Connor has taught thousands of students over the past 28 years. He’s noticed that today’s kids are more overstimulated by digital devices. They get bored more easily, with shorter attention spans. He’s also learned this in his personal life, with five children of his own, ages 2 to 16, two of them with his wife, Tera.

Parents may not routinely thank him for teaching their kids martial arts skills, but they do thank him for teaching life skills. Such as this message from one mother.

“The kids are helping me with spring cleaning chores,” she wrote. “Sebastian just said, ‘Mr. O’Connor would be proud of me if he saw me working so hard!’ You are making an impact!”

One day as O’Connor locked up his dojo, a former student noticed him from across the parking lot. The young boy is now a young man. “Mr. O’Connor, I was never more motivated in my life than when I was training with you,” he told O’Connor.

“This made my day,” he told me.

O’Connor is now attempting to scale up his martial arts training to a wider audience through social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, where he has 300,000 viewers.

He recently recorded sponsored videos for Orange Crush, the soda drink.

“I feel I’m on an unstoppable mission to transform kids’ lives by empowering them,” O’Connor said.

When he bows to students, with the Korean word “Kyun-get,” his class replies with themed greetings of personal empowerment. This week’s theme: self-control.

“OK, little ninjas, show me your next moves,” he told students. “Elbow! Front kick! Punch! Chop!”

The kids emulated his every move. Their high energy level mirrored his in front of a large mirror, reflecting themselves in action. Their 30-minute class was rigorous yet fun. They tapped into his message.

“What happens if you quit? Are you strong?” O’Connor asked.

“No, you’re weak!” the kids replied.

jdavich@post-trib.com