DAVID & ODALYS

Odalys is a 2nd degree black belt who has been practicing Karate since age 9. For her, it was a lasting bond with her instructor that sparked a passion for martial arts and built her confidence. With a positive mentor guiding her, Odalys began teaching martial arts herself. Odalys is still close with her first Karate instructor, even as an adult with her own studio.

David is a 4th degree black belt who, like Odalys, has been practicing Karate since childhood. Through Karate, David was able to forge lifelong friendships and inspire children that he would have never met otherwise. In fact, it’s their shared interest in martial arts that brought David and Odalys together in business and in marriage. Today they are the proud co-founders of Family Martial Arts.

DAVID & ODALYS

our journey

Before there was Family Martial Arts, there were two people with a passion for shaping lives, instilling values and building character in the lives of children. Read about how we came to be where we are

IN THE BEGINNINg...

Not long ago, at the very beginning of our journey to Family Martial Arts, we learned quickly what kind of studio we wanted to have. There were so many studios that were focused on the bottom line by tying up families into long-term contracts, and handing out belts left and right. We knew, from the very beginning, that we wanted to focus on our individual students; helping them build bonds, encouraging growth, and teaching discipline. We wanted to be a studio where families felt welcome and where we could truly make a difference by sharing our passion with our community.

and then...

We knew what kind of studio we wanted to build, but everything had to be done from the ground up. We were no longer just Karate instructors—we had to learn about web design, marketing, and everything else that went into launching a business. There was also the challenge of adapting business practices to fit into our values. We had left the safety net of our former business partner and now we were truly on our own to do it ourselves.

OUR BREAKTHROUGH...

Since our goal was to build a Karate studio that better served our community, that’s exactly where we looked for help. We sought relationships with parents and families who could offer insight and guidance that we could build on. As we started gaining momentum, we found that running our own business was easier than we expected.

but then...

The business side was coming together, but now we needed to grow our practice and find instructors who could impart the lessons we wanted to teach our students. Because we’d had negative experiences in the past, we wanted to build a team we could truly trust and that we knew would stick around.

OUR RESOLUTION

As Family Martial Arts has deepened our roots, we’ve been able to build our own team, hiring internally among our own talented students. This has only supported our mission to put kids and parents first in all that we do.

WE FIRMLY BELIEVE:

Family Martial Arts is a safe haven where kids can feel comfortable and be themselves. Students don’t compete with each other; they strive to do their personal best.

Anyone can choose to be their best self in the face of failure and adversity. Failure is inevitable, but facing it head-on is the only way to grow.

The benefits of martial arts education extend well beyond our studio doors. Long after achieving your black belt, you’ll be left with strong core values in your character.

WE FIRMLY BELIEVE:

Family Martial Arts is a safe haven where kids can feel comfortable and be themselves. Students don’t compete with each other; they strive to do their personal best.

Anyone can choose to be their best self in the face of failure and adversity. Failure is inevitable, but facing it head-on is the only way to grow.

The benefits of martial arts education extend well beyond our studio doors. Long after achieving your black belt, you’ll be left with strong core values in your character.

IT’S NOT JUST PUNCHING AND KICKING.

One of the biggest concerns we hear from parents is “Won’t all that punching and kicking just encourage more violent behavior?”. And yes, Karate will teach your kids to kick and punch. However, martial arts promote values like self-discipline and respect above all else. As a result, the changes we see in our students are overwhelmingly positive. Kids learn to focus, channel their energy into something positive, and express themselves confidently. As an added benefit, they’ll be able to kick butt too!