KFMA Earns State Titles and Qualifies for Worlds!
Kowkabany’s Family Martial Arts (KFMA) congratulates Ms. Amy Harris and Ms. Karen Lafond on earning a combination of five state titles for the 2016-2017 tournament year!
Ms. Harris has now earned Florida State titles in sparring and traditional forms, and Ms. Lafond has earned titles in sparring, traditional forms and traditional weapons. While KFMA focuses on teaching traditional martial arts, including a focus on fitness and self-defense, many of our students enjoy competing on the ATA International tournament circuit. (ATAonline.com)
During the week of June 19th, we anticipate three of KFMA’s Black Belts to be competing for World Champion titles (two have already been confirmed as qualifying) at the ATA World Championships held in Little Rock, Arkansas. This competition will draw thousands of competitors from Australia, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Czech Republic, Paraguay, Venezuela, Ecuador, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Portugal, Peru, Netherlands, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Mexico, Sweden and the United States.
The ATA tournament circuit prides itself on a family atmosphere where the life skills taught in our school (courtesy, respect, integrity and self-discipline) are evident on the competition floor. Competitors range in age from pre-schoolers who perform in a non-competitive division to develop confidence, to experienced Black Belt Masters in their 70s. In addition to the traditional events of sparring, forms and weapons, students can also compete in team sparring, weapons sparring, and creative forms/weapons.
Chief Master Laura Kowkabany and Senior Master David Kowkabany have been teaching in the northwest Tampa area since 1996, serving families from Westchase, Oldsmar and Safety Harbor. During the past 20 years, our students have earned World Champion titles in sparring, traditional forms and traditional weapons, as well as numerous Southeast District and Florida State titles.
While no one is required to compete in order to advance in rank, there are many positive benefits that are enhanced by competing. Regular competitors naturally train harder and more often, work on visualization skills, and hone their self-discipline as they prepare to compete. Students learn how to win with humility and how to work harder after experiencing a loss, and many will develop lifelong friendships with their fellow competitors.
How To Get Started…
Students begin training in the martial arts at KFMA for a variety of reasons: self-defense, fitness, confidence, stress relief, weight-loss, competition and even fellowship. It is never too late to begin training, so feel free to give us a call at 813-540-5528 and we can get you started! We are conveniently located off Racetrack Road just down the street from the Tampa Bay Brewing Company.