TMAC
Founding Philosophy
When I earned my brown
belt in karate as a 21-year-old in 1988,
I thought that nothing could be more fun
than to have a school to teach martial
arts to others. However, college
graduation, full-time employment,
graduate school, marriage, kids, and
career responsibilities prevented that
dream from becoming a reality.
More than two decades after it first seemed so
appealing, the desire
to begin a martial arts program
presented itself again. And this time, the
perfect combination of timing,
resources, interest, opportunity, and
people were available to make the dream
a reality.
In developing my own program, I looked back over my
training at schools and programs in
Florida, Alabama, and Texas and tried to
draw out the best
experiences from those places to create
a school that is both high-quality and
inviting to all students. I
realized that the programs and classes
that I most enjoyed in my life were
small, caring, uplifting, and possessed
strong senses of community among the
students and teachers. This was
the type of program that I wanted to
develop and share with others--including
my children.
I've trained with teachers who have ISKA world
championships and with the people who
run the ISKA, organize the ISKA championships, and hand
out the ISKA belts. I've learned
from police officers, professional kick
boxers, instructors who studied under
the originator of a style, master
instructors, and from wise and
experienced teachers who are role models
to their students. I consider
myself fortunate to have studied under
so many exceptional teachers and martial
artists--one would be hard pressed to
find a more experienced, skillful, and
knowledgeable group of mentors.
As a martial arts teacher, you will not hear me tell
war stories of fights that I've been in
and people that I've damaged with my
marital arts skills (but the same can't
be said of my training
equipment). In fact, I've
never been in a fight in my life and
really don't intend to ever get into
one. My martial arts training has
given me the confidence and security to
know that I could defend myself if the
"true" need ever arises. I want my
students to feel the same way.
At TMAC, our programs are small and inclusive. We
want to offer training opportunities to
people who might not be able to train at
other schools. We welcome students
and instructors from other styles and
believe that we can all benefit from
sharing our styles with others.
As you look around for a martial arts school, the best
advice that I can give you is to visit a variety of
schools and find one that best fits your
needs and wants. Please put us on
your list of schools to visit, however, you just
might find that ours is the one where
you belong.
--Coleman Patterson,
Ph.D. |