We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Amy Seeling. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Amy below.

Amy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you have any advice regarding quality control and maintaining quality as your brand grows?

As North Texas Karate Academy grew, we managed quality by having strict belt test standards and high expectations that remain the same for all students.

We rely on these standards to continue to produce very successful black belt leaders and to set expectations for behavior on the mat. Yes, it has been tough at times to keep our high standards, but they are what make our program successful.

Schools that reduce their standards to make belt promotions and classes easier become watered-down programs that will not thrive over a certain number of years. People want good quality for their money and time, as long as you deliver consistently good quality to your members, you are going to be successful.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

During the day I am blessed to work in the energy industry as a Data Architect/Sr Business Analyst. Using my creativity to solve business problems has been a rewarding career. I work with many talented people and learn new things every day.

I am the owner and chief instructor of North Texas Karate Academy in Fort Worth, Texas. My martial arts journey began in 1995 and I am one of a handful of females to have earned an 8th Degree Black Belt in American Tae Kwon Do. I get to train with my family and my dojo families 5 days a week. We learn and grow together.

The martial arts aspect of my life has been an incredible journey. One that began when I was watching my 5-year-old son Troy take lessons from Trey Hanrahan at the Benbrook Community Center. One of the other parents said, “Hey do you want to try this?” And I remember laughing, thinking she was nuts. But once I was on the mat, I was hooked.
Martial arts has given me, and my family, such a blessed and enriched life. Because of this, I would like to say thank you to every single person I have been on a mat with. If our feet were in proximity to one another, I am grateful to you for this incredible journey. If I have ever laid my hands on your belt, know that you have touched my life in ways that I cannot explain with words. It is like the closeness you feel when you spar someone, it is a higher level of knowing someone and if I ever had the honor to tie your belt, you will always be a part of who I am, and I hope I will be a small part of who you are.

I look out at the landscape of today and I see people suffering, I hear reports on how our busy American lives are affecting our mental health. It seems the word suffer is on top of the mix of everything. But then as an athlete I also know that you do have to suffer to be on top. You must make choices; the time spent training has an opportunity cost as you give up something that you could be doing during that time. If you have a choice of suffering through a boring day or suffering through a lecture, which is the better choice of suffering? I suppose I am trying to say that if the world is suffering anyway, maybe we can instead choose suffering that leads to the top!

From the Grand Masters, I learned that kindness, vulnerability and giving of yourself is not a weakness, nor will it take away from your reserves of strength. I began to see a way of adapting my leadership style to one that was more warm, competent, and friendly. I began to read books about sharing credit, thanking, listening, and acknowledging the efforts of others. Giving to others is highly motivational! As you get better at it a beautiful thing begins to happen in your world, as you compliment others, they begin to become even more courageous and motivated, and it passes back to you tenfold.

I am most proud of the social impact that North Texas Karate Academy (NTKA) has had on our community. Our school motto is “to build a strong and happy community”, and that is exactly what we have done for over 20 years.

NTKA has brought together hundreds of people in the community of varying ages, beliefs, ethnicities, and cultures. The martial arts school aids in the growth and development of character, strength, discipline, and leadership. Students come intending to learn martial arts, not realizing they will also learn greater confidence, respect for others, deeper love for their community, and unmatched mental and physical strength.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Many people have asked me how I can maintain a career in the energy industry and a world-class martial arts academy. This often means 12-hour workdays. The secret is that work is not really work, to me. I view work as an opportunity for growth, it is a possibility for potential.

My career provides me security and a sense of purpose which is the key to better mental health. The martial arts school allows me to be surrounded by people who are in a growth phase, which is truly a blessing. I build relationships at both places that shape my identity and allow me to follow my passion for personal growth.

Both places require me to be adaptable in the face of challenges and I am never alone when facing setbacks. I have a strong team at work and especially at the martial arts school, that help me keep moving forward and coming up with creative solutions and ideas.

My faith helps me maintain optimism and helps me persevere and manage stress.

Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?

In 2023, our lease for the martial arts school was up and the owner had sold the building. We were given 90 days to move out. At that time, there was a commercial land boom and everything to lease was very expensive and there was nothing to purchase. We looked everywhere for a new home and finally knew we had to close, we were out of time. I was going to announce that our school was closing to the advanced class that night. These students had been with me the longest; I was devastated. During the earlier beginner class, I looked at one very special little boy (he loves hearing me tell this story) and I said, “God, if you want me to teach this young man, you are going to have to step in, I don’t know what to do.” I immediately got a call from my commercial realtor and a banker. A property that was absolutely perfect, good parking, bigger, near my home, near the current school became available. The banker to loan money from, who supports women owned small business just appeared. We now have our own location and I am forever changed by this experience!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://northtexaskarate.com/
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/NorthTexasKarate
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/amy-seeling-04956b100

Image Credits

Gillian Bear