30th Anniversary of Kowkabany’s Family Martial Arts!
KFMA Celebrates Our 30th Anniversary!
This October marks the 30th Anniversary of Kowkabany’s Family Martial Arts in Tampa, Florida! Chief Masters Laura and David Kowkabany grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, and after much prayer and guidance, found a location on West Hillsborough Avenue in NW Tampa to open their school in 1996.
Our Philosophy
KFMA has maintained a fairly simple philosophy since first opening its doors in Tampa. We believe that the job of true martial arts instructors is to help every student to develop the specific gifts they have been given by God so that they can become their best, physically and mentally. Our Chief Masters work hard to help their students to be successful, not just on the training floor, but also at home, in school and in the community. Over the past 30 years, KFMA has been blessed with the most amazing students and families, from children as young as 3 to adults in their 70s.
The Original Goal of KFMA
Our original goal, and still our mindset at KFMA, was to teach traditional family martial arts that would benefit every member of the family, from the children getting ready to start school, to the kids who need to develop discipline and focus, to the teens and adults who require more challenging workouts for physical fitness, self-defense and stress relief.
The goal was never to have a mega-school with so many members you can’t recall their names or where you can’t spend a few extra minutes after class working with a student who needs a bit more help. Both Chief Masters LOVE to teach, and both still teach side-by-side five days a week. This allows us to teach and serve our students on a personal level, and to ensure that each individual receives the training they need to reach their full potential, physically and mentally.
Our Early Years
KFMA’s original location was in a strip mall located on West Hillsborough Avenue, and we taught in that location for the next 12 years. In 2008, KFMA moved to its current location in Monroes Business Park, just off Race Track Road. This newly built facility provided us with a much larger training floor and served as a better location for our students from Westchase, Oldsmar and Palm Harbor.
KFMA Legacy Continues to Grow on our 30th Anniversary
After teaching for 30 years in the Tampa area, we are very blessed to have many ‘legacy’ members in our academy, students who came to us because we originally trained their parents many years ago. Their parents know the benefits of the life skills they learned when they were kids training at KFMA and want to instill these same traditional family values in their children. There is a reason that we say KFMA is “Training You for Life.” The skills that you will acquire in our academy will help lead to success in all areas of your life – home, school, work and in your community. And once these skills are truly earned, they can always be used!
Over the years we have seen many of our students go off to college and begin great professions, including teachers, engineers, doctors and attorneys, as well as going into the military. These students will always be part of our KFMA family, and many of them still keep in touch with us from afar and come to visit when they are in town.
For more insight into how we prepare our students for college, please see this article:
https://teamkowkabany.com/kfma-prepares-teens-for-college/
Being Grateful for God’s Blessings on our 30th Anniversary
From the very beginning, our KFMA school was founded on the belief that God would provide what we need, and that He would bring the right students into our door at the right time. As we reflect on our 30th Anniversary, it is amazing how many of our students have become lifelong friends with those they first met in our school. Some of these students have trained with us for just a ‘season’ of their lives, while others we continue to teach even after 25+ years!
The Lord has truly blessed our school, and we are eternally grateful for His help!
If you would like more information regarding Kowkabany’s Family Martial arts and our preschool program or family classes, just give us a call at 813-540-5528. KFMA is located at 13910 Monroes Business Park, just two doors down from the Tampa Bay Brewing Company off Racetrack Road.
Kowkabany’s Family Martial Arts is chartered with the American Taekwondo Association: https://atamartialarts.com/