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Meet Lee Feiles of ATA Martial Arts and Karate for Kids of Maricopa

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Lee Feiles.

Lee, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I began martial arts training with the ATA in 1988, earning a Black Belt in 1990. I moved to Tucson in 1990, and received a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Arizona in 1995. While attending school, I began teaching on campus and received my Instructor Certification in 1992. After graduation, I continued to teach on campus a few evenings a week while practicing engineering for a local company. In 2002, I met a senior ATA instructor while traveling to a martial arts event. He explained that he was exploring Tucson as a place to build and open a new school, and he soon thereafter hired my employer to design and oversee the construction of a commercial center, within which he was to open a new martial arts academy. When the project was complete, he asked me to become a full-time professional martial arts instructor, and join him in continuing to grow the business in Arizona. While I enjoyed the practice of civil engineering, martial arts is my passion, and this was an opportunity to make a career out of something I loved. With his guidance and support, I learned the business and worked my way to becoming a Master Instructor. Together, we opened or acquired 7 commercial locations in Arizona. During the next several years, we continued to mentor individual instructors who also were interested in making martial arts their career, and I traveled from Tucson to Phoenix weekly to manage and support the operation, and the instructors began to take ownership of their individual locations. In 2012, I sold the last of my interest in the group of schools and acquired for myself full ownership of our Maricopa location. My wife and I were expecting our first child, and we decided that Maricopa was the right place to begin raising our family, with the opportunity to live within a couple miles of my business. Having the opportunity to focus on one location really allowed me the desired opportunity to spend as much possible quality time with my young children. Ultimately, we wanted some real balance in our lives that would give us decent success and financial freedom, without the familial sacrifice that often comes from having to travel or manage multiple locations. The community embraced my family and our program, and the school continues to grow as my wife and children are also part of the student base. Keeping my focus on one location has also allowed me other opportunities to serve the community as a member of a few different City committees and boards, as a member of the Maricopa Advocates Program, and even making a campaign for a seat on City Council. In the end, I found that having the right mentors and support system, being willing to learn and listen, being driven to seek the right opportunity to fit my needs and having the vision to pursue with the right goals for me, has led to more satisfaction and happiness in my career. Now, I am taking the small steps necessary to broaden my vision and offer new opportunities to young martial artists who may also want to make instruction and business ownership their long term career goals.

Has it been a smooth road?
It has definitely NOT a smooth road. The biggest challenge I faced was not having the proper appreciation of the requirements of business ownership. As martial artists, we focus very much on the quality of our instruction. However, I had no formal business training. Even with the guidance I had available to me, I would often times overestimate my real understanding of what it takes to run a business. Much more, that inexperience proved exponential when dealing with multiple locations. When I thought I had everything under control, I made decisions without consultation and failed to ask for help when it was most needed. This led to financial difficulties which had to be placed on other partners. It also led to lack of trust and more difficult business relationships. Only when I stopped to really listen and take responsibility for learning and understanding what I need to do, did my path to success become stable again. Fortunately, I was able to make the decisions that led to creating a situation I was comfortable with and strengthened my prospects as an entrepreneur.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with ATA Martial Arts and Karate for Kids of Maricopa – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
My business is changing lives, a mission I accomplish through martial arts. I currently operate one full-time commercial school, while still advising other instructors whom I have brought into the business. Additionally, I serve as a Regional Leader to several other independent licensees throughout the state. We teach traditional Taekwondo and self-defense, alongside an International Leadership and Instructor Training program that gives all students, children and adults, the skills necessary to become confident leaders in today’s world. We have a tremendous weapons training program, performance martial art system, and competition circuit to help students challenge themselves to excellence. My personal specialty is the self-defense systems, combining Taekwondo, Krav Maga and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Within this system we teach weapon threat defense, active shooter response training and other modes of personal protection. In my community, I am best known for and most proud our community safety programming: Child Abduction Prevention Training, Bullying Prevention Training and Women’s Self Defense; all classes we offer free to our community several times each year. Our school is “Dedicated to Community Leadership”, and our students reflect this commitment. I have had the opportunity to teach seminars on all these topics to various groups and organizations, and was invited to present a Leadership Seminar to the Arizona Parks and Recreation Association Annual Conference. It is our professionalism and dedication to community service that really sets us apart in our community.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Living in Maricopa is small-town life…one end of town to the other in less than 10 minutes. We have lakes to fish in, wonderful community events like Salsa Festival and July 4th in the park, movies in the park and a great “MultiTainment” Center with a great movie theater, bowling, arcade, laser tag, restaurants and special events.
However, it is so convenient to be close to the Big City, and the weather cannot be beat. I have lived in snowy areas and you can have it. Family is very important to me, and Phoenix offers so many opportunities to enjoy family life. Some of our favorites include the Phoenix Zoo, Phoenix Children’s Museum, Wildlife World Zoo, and OdySea Aquarium. Gardens, hiking, sporting events, multitude of parks and recreation opportunities all over the valley, Tempe Town Lake, shopping malls (Desert Ridge being a great favorite) and so many things happening somewhere in the valley every weekend.

Plus, it is so easy to get away to some great spots, less than 8 hours away: Grand Canyon or the Arizona Mountains, quick trip to L.A (Disneyland, yay!) or San Diego, south to Kartchner Caverns, Pima Air and Space museum or any number of fun sites around southern Arizona. Having spent many years in Tucson, we love to head up to Mt. Lemmon for a day trip of hiking and exploring.

Everything you want or need is right within your grasp when you start in the Valley of the Sun.

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Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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