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Leaders for Life Martial Arts proudly serving Houston since 2014
Leaders for Life Martial Arts has Classes in Houston, Perfect for Kids, Teens, and Adults Martial Arts Lessons.
Who we Are And why You Should Train Here
Since we’ve opened, we’ve been dedicated to changing the lives of people one person at a time, through martial arts, education and coaching. We strive to provide a safe, comfortable and welcoming atmosphere for all students and family members. We take pride in creating an environment for individuals to achieve, develop and succeed in their personal goals.
We strongly believe that martial arts can be for everyone, regardless of age, gender or experience levels. Throughout all of our programs, students will not only learn the necessary skill sets to protect themselves, we stand behind our realistic and practical approach, confident it will enable every member to achieve greatness and live their best life..
Get To Know Our World Class Instructors
Chief Master Tina Newberry
Chief Master Tina Newberry is an 8th Degree Black Belt and the Founder and CEO of Leaders for Life Martial Arts. She also is the creator of all the leadership curriculum utilized in Leaders for Life academies nationwide. Over the years, Chief Master Newberry has garnered over 40 years of martial arts experience, become a multi-time World Champion, and held 2 world records for Women’s Board Breaking.
As a young girl, Chief Master Newberry was bullied and struggled with dyslexia. When she came into martial arts and realized how she could use it to empower other kids just like her to walk with confidence and conquer life’s challenges, she developed a deep love for teaching. Now, Chief Master Newberry has spent 35 years using taekwondo as a medium to teach kids important life skills, like confidence, discipline, and leadership, as well as how to defend themselves against bullies. Despite still struggling with dyslexia, she is also now an author, having written and independently published her own book on intentional parenting, titled Raising a Leader for Life. Teaching is still her passion though, so she always makes time to get back on the floor and teach, and you will often see her leading in classes!
Personal Mission Statement: To partner with parents to raise independent human beings who are ready for life’s challenges. To help parents raise their kids to be leaders in all areas of life.
Senior Master Jeff Newberry
Senior Master Jeff Newberry is a 8th Degree Black Belt and the Co-Founder and Director of Training for Leaders for Life Martial Arts. Sr. Master Newberry has over 46 years of martial arts experience in several different martial arts and oversees the Black Belt program.
Standing 5 foot 3 inches tall and being a former police officer, Sr. Master Newberry knows firsthand how important it is to teach realistic and practical self defense, desiring to see that everybody has the ability to defend themselves. Because of this, he has developed all of our self defense curriculum as well as our Integrated Martial Arts program. He is recognized as an expert in the field of self defense, having taught police officer defensive tactics for many years. Now that he is retired, he loves to do community and corporate self defense classes.
Personal Mission Statement: To continually provide a safe place through acceptance and unconditional love for all whom I have contact with. To assist people flourish toward their potential through servant leadership by empowering, edifying, and helping them to become greater than they thought possible.
Ms. Destani Newberry
Ms. Destani Newberry is a 4th Degree Black Belt, a Level 3 Certified Instructor, and our school’s Facility Manager.
As she is the youngest daughter of the founders, she has witnessed and experienced the L4L culture all her life. Her confidence and leadership is a product of this culture, and, having grown up in the academy, she is passionate about how the L4L way of teaching martial arts connects families and changes lives. She aspires to hold both staff and the L4L community to a high standard, encouraging Black Belt excellence and discouraging complacency and mediocrity. She now has over 18 years of martial arts experience and is a multi-time State and District Champion. She has also finished in the top 3 competitors in the world many times.
Personal Mission Statement: Loving people and planting seeds to change lives one person at a time.
Ms. Emily Willis
Ms. Emily Willis is a 2nd Degree Black Belt, a Level 2 Certified Instructor, and the school’s Program Director. She has over 11 years of martial arts experience and teaches all our private introductory lessons and orientations. You will also see her running the front desk and taking care of our families during classes.
Ms. Emily came to us from an ATA school in Arizona. She started martial arts at age 11 because she was severely bullied at school. Although she loved it as a child, she unfortunately had to cut her Black Belt journey short as a Red Senior. It wasn’t until she was in college that she found an opportunity to return to martial arts. Her love was instantly reignited, and, a decade after starting taekwondo, she followed through with her commitment and finally got her Black Belt. She later found herself in Houston to pursue her Ph.D in Electrical and Computer Engineering but was deeply unsatisfied with her lack of passion for her career path. Through the Houston community, she heard about Leaders for Life and immediately felt connected to their mission and vision. Within a week, she completely switched career paths and began working for L4L. To this day, Ms. Emily has never felt more fulfilled and purposed to do anything than pursue a career in martial arts, and she loves what she does every day. She is currently working towards opening her own L4L school in Oceanside, CA within the next couple years.
Personal Mission Statement: To positively impact as many lives as possible. To help foster greatness in the next generation and harness their vast potential through mentorship and leading by example.
