M. Marai Jimenez
4th degree Black Belt
Frisco Taekwondo America
(formerly Lacy’s Elite Taekwondo)
Frisco, TX
Ms. Jimenez (or some version of it by students … or “Jimmy” as her Texas school owner friends call her) officially became a school owner January 1, 2019. She purchased the school from Mr. Robby Lacy after teaching with him in his school for a number of years.
According to Ms. Jimenez“I took my first Taekwondo class back in 2008 with Mr. Abbott, because my parents forced me to sign up since they thought I needed new friends and I wasn’t being active. I had just moved to Virginia from Texas and knew no one. I absolutely did not want to go, but after several months of my parents making me go, I started to open up and make new friends. Eventually my best friend signed up, and that became the social go to spot.”
She’s had several amazing Taekwondo America instructors and several cross country trips over the years starting with Mr. Abbott in Virginia, the Mr & Mrs. Lacy in Texas, Mr. Tonete in Virginia and Mr. Lacy in Texas.
Two people who had an impact on her decision to become an instructor were Mr. Chan and Ms. Peck. Each helped her improve her taekwondo skills at a camp and she realized she could do the same for someone else some day.
When Mr. Lacy first asked her if she’d ever thought about becoming a school owner, though, her response was “ Not really, I think I’m going to end up going into engineering school and become an engineer instead.” Life takes funny turns and Ms. Jimenez came back to what she loved … teaching taekwondo.
Her advice to those considering becoming school owners: “Fear is your biggest enemy. Being scared to ask questions, open up, the fear of failure, are all things that hold people back when it comes to being successful. So take the opportunity at events to go talk to someone and ask all the questions you think are “dumb”. And lastly, don’t be afraid to go after something that you’re passionate about- if you love what you do, it will definitely show up in your work. I absolutely love being part of Taekwondo America. I can’t wait to see the organization keep evolving and keep improving!”
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