Nowakowski's ATA Family Martial Arts

It is with mixed emotions that we announce to you that our location of ATA Martial Arts will be closing February 28th.

As many of you know, Mrs. Nowakowski has struggled with significant health issues over the past two years. Our desire to put her health and well-being first, along with the current economic climate, has prompted our decision.

In 1999, we started a class in a small room at the Westover Hills Tennis Club. After we married in 2000, Mrs. Nowakowski left her job as the head instructor at Master Niblock's ATA to grow that single club into something larger. With hard work and persistence, Nowakowski's ATA Martial Arts was born in April 2002 – we had realized the dream of opening our own school.

The past 6 years have been both challenging and rewarding. As school owners, we have enjoyed the opportunity to share the principles of self-defense, leadership, and respect with our community. As instructors, we have been blessed to walk along side many, many students in their journey to grow in strength and character. We cherish those memories and the love we have for each of our students.

Our top priority as we close our location is that we do so with the utmost honor and integrity. Our desire is for each student to continue training in the martial arts. In order to help each of our students accomplish this, we have made arrangements for our students to transfer to other ATA schools in the area as seamlessly as possible. After personally speaking with each of the other school owners, we are confident that each of you will be received with open arms and that they too will do what's necessary to make this transition a success for you.

We would like to thank all of you for your support and the trust you have placed in us. Though we are saddened to see an end to this season of our lives, we are excited and hopeful about the future. After an extended time of rest, it is our hope and prayer that Mrs. Now recover will recover fully and have the opportunity to pursue her passion for art. This change also brings us the opportunity to answer the call we feel to minister to the people of Latin America.

As for our participation in the martial arts, we plan to continue our training “back home” with Senior Master Michael and Marilyn Niblock. We will do a small amount of teaching, and Mrs. Now will still hold her outstanding Summer Camps with Purpose at that location.

Our sincerest gratitude goes to our instructors for their steadfast dedication: Earl Carter, Tolunay Orkun, Robert Doyer, Alicia Carter, and Becky Robertson. We are grateful to our Black Belts for their years of loyalty and commitment, and to our color belts for the trust they have placed in our instruction. Finally, we thank the parents of our students who chose us to be a part of shaping their children's lives.

In Leadership classes, we talk about vision, passion, and action. Though this chapter in the life of Nowakowski's ATA is coming to a close, our vision and passion for our students and their success does not wane. We are committed to taking each of you by hand to ensure your goals can be achieved. Because it is not the building or the instructor that makes a Black Belt. It is your sweat, your work, your heart. We ask you for one thing as we enter the next chapter of our lives - lease allow us to help each of you continue in your journey by giving us the opportunity to introduce you to a new location and instructor that will be as dedicated to your success as we are.

Respectfully,

Ryan and Courtney Nowakowski

We are sure that you will all have questions and we've done our best to address them below. In addition, Mrs. Now plans to meet with each student/family personally to discuss your future plans and address any additional questions.

What is the schedule going forward?
Our class schedule will stay the same all the way through the end of February.
Our last Black Belt Testing as a school will be on Saturday, Feb 21st. The results of that testing will be given at the Color Belt Graduation we will hold on Feb 28th. We will follow this event with a small celebration for all our families, students, and friends.

When can I talk to you about my options?
Mrs. Now will be available next week during regular class times to meet with you. There will also be time in the mornings and on the weekend for families who want to make appointments for non class times.

Where will I train?
There are 4 locations with instructors waiting to take over your training in March. You can see the other locations we've posted on the website to find out which one is the most convenient for you.

Will the material and training be the same?
ATA has a specific curriculum for students that we adhere to as ATA certified instructors, so the techniques and the forms will be familiar to you. While these Instructors may have different personalities or teaching styles from what you are used to, you can be assured that they are just as dedicated to your success as we are.

What about my membership agreement?
Mrs. Now will address each membership specifically in one on one meetings. All local instructors have agreed to honor our current memberships, including those that are paid in full. If you choose to discontinue your training, your final tuition payment will be in February.

What if I have an outstanding order?
We are doing our absolute best to be sure that all of our outstanding orders are fulfilled by the middle of January. This is also something that we will discuss in our one on one meetings.