Today we’d like to introduce you to AJ And Annie Saenz.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
AJ and Annie Saenz both started Martial Arts training when they were 10 years old. AJ in Beaumont and Annie in Kingwood. They met when they were apprenticing to open their own schools at the Tiger-Rock Martial Arts Sugar Land location from 2005-2009. Then, their life took them all over the US as AJ joined the Marine Corps and served from 2009-2018. AJ completed his college degree at Texas Southern University while he was active duty, then went on to become an industrial electrician. Annie spent her time as a stay-at-home mom and also found teaching jobs at each duty station and as a Montessori educator for Art, PE, and Coding. After the Marine Corps, they struggled to feel fulfilled at regular jobs so they contacted their mentor, Senior Grand Master Marv Conway, and told him they were interested in resuming their journey to school ownership. Together with Mr. Conway, they looked in different cities for the right location to open their school. In December of 2020, Annie was pregnant with their third daughter and they had just toured an unsuitable location in Prosper, TX when they got a call from Mr. Conway. He told them that his current school manager at Tiger-Rock Martial Arts Sugar Land had decided to pursue a different career path and asked if they would like to take over. Shortly after AJ and Annie took over operation of TRMA Sugar Land, Mr. Conway told them that he would like them to become partners and co-owners with him. Under his mentorship, AJ and Annie were able to help TRMA Sugar Land and it’s students to grow and flourish. Sadly, Mr. Conway passed away of esophageal cancer in 2023, but it is AJ and Annie’s honor to continue his legacy as Tiger-Rock Martial Arts Sugar Land celebrates it’s 30th year of excellence in 2026.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The loss of our mentor and partner, Senior Grand Master Marv Conway, was not only an emotional blow but also a blow to our community.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Our business is not like many others. Since my husband and I began our journeys to owning and operating Tiger-Rock Martial Arts as children and purchased our business directly from our mentor and business partner, we are able to bring a sense of family and belonging to our students. Not only do we teach and train in Martial Arts to help people learn self-discipline and self-defense, but we are also able to share the life skills and lessons we’ve learned ourselves and seen in our own children across our last 30+ years of experience.
How do you think about happiness?
Helping others makes us both happy. This is best summed up by this quote from Robindranath Tagore:
“I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.”
Pricing:
- Unlimited training for the first member for $179 per month.
- Immediate Family members train for half-price.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://trmasugarland.com
- Instagram: tigerrock_sugarland
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/SLTKD
