Meet Amy Seeling | Martial Arts School Owner & Instructor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amy Seeling and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amy, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
The social impact of North Texas Karate Academy (NTKA) on our community has been profound. 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.

The workouts are great, but the values and character building are even better. The environment naturally encourages strength, discipline, and respect. This is the perfect place for families to build stronger bonds and to meet like-minded people who are in a growth phase. The atmosphere is family-like but still pushes you to bust through limits and jump to a path that you never thought was reachable. Everyone truly cares about the success of others and works to help achieve goals. If you come and train at NTKA you will find confidence, skill, strength, and honor in yourself and those around you.

NTKA was built from the ground up with a consistent and compassionate leadership style that empowers all students; men, women, and children to be the best person they can be. It’s not all about punching and kicking, we live by a creed that includes how you conduct yourself, even while not at the dojo.

Finally, our black belts have gone on to become fire fighters, police officers, schoolteachers, and principals. We practice, repeat, and refine constantly so it is no surprise that these techniques would blend into the student’s personal lives and keep them reaching to be a shining light in their own communities.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My career in the energy industry and in the martial arts helped me to develop and write a women’s fantasy novel titled “The King, the Wyvern, and I”. This novel has won several awards, two silver medals in the 2023 BookFest Awards, and as a finalist in this year’s Book Excellence award program. The book also received a great Kirkus Review. Kirkus described the novel as “Imaginative storytelling that delivers memorable characters, human and otherwise.”

I’m currently putting the finishing touches on a new book, and will hopefully find the right agent or publisher. My 20+ year career teaching martial arts has given me certain insights and wisdom into character building, goal crushing, and reaching outstanding performance. It has also taught me how closely related the mind, body, and spirit are, and how much we need life balance. It is a friendly book on how to circumvent pitfalls, how to quiet the many desires and needs of our body, and why we should avoid the tantalizing dangers of evil. The book contains scriptures to inspire and teach.

Writing is how I share my inner self with the world, so I am always excited to have a work in progress.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend was visiting, of course we would go for pedicures at Venus Nail Salon. Then I would take her to the Hudson House and order limoncello martinis and the chrunchy shrimp roll. Or maybe we would end up at Sushi Tao, the world’s best sushi restaurant. Ever.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My martial arts career began taking classes with my oldest son when he was in elementary school. Once I became a black belt, the encouragement of my family and friends to open a school led to what NTKA is today. Their support has kept the school strong since its inception in 2003. My husband Mel and my sons Troy and Aaron have shown unwavering support for NTKA, even though the school has taken a considerable amount of our free time away, we wouldn’t change it for the world.

NTKA instructors also offer their time freely. Often I think the strongest part of our program is the dynamic skillsets that our instructors bring to the students. The students become the very best of each of the instructors, and then in time, give back to the community as well.

Thank you to my family, friends, students, and instructors for making NTKA the best martial arts school around.

Website: https://northtexaskarate.com/ and https://amyseeling.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-seeling-04956b100/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Amy.Seeling.9/ or https://www.facebook.com/KingandISeries/ or https://www.facebook.com/NorthTexasKarate

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/north-texas-karate-academy-fort-worth

Other: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/amy-seeling/the-king-the-wyvern-and-i/

Image Credits
Josh Ragsdale