Robert Webre wants to make the world a safer place. As a fifth-degree black belt and the owner of Cypress Martial Arts and Fitness, he does so by teaching self-defense to the Cy-Fair community.
Robert and his wife, Valerie, have run the martial arts school for the past eight years, and Robert has been teaching taekwondo in Cypress since 2004.
Prior to opening CMAF, the couple ran an office equipment business in the area. When the business began to struggle, the Webres decided to turn Robert’s passion for self-defense into a career by teaching taekwondo.
Taekwondo classes are offered for both children and adults in all levels.[/caption]
Before opening a physical location, Robert taught classes to children at a few Kids ‘R’ Kids schools in the area. What started out as two taekwondo classes per week turned into eight classes per week. The couple rented out the Barker Cypress Road studio in 2007 as one of few tenants in the area.
Today, Taekwondo classes are offered to students starting at age 4 all the way up to adults.
The Webres began offering kickboxing classes for clients who wanted a workout class.[/caption]
Five years ago, CMAF started offering kickboxing fitness classes as well after receiving a customer request for a workout class.
“We started offering the class for parents who wanted to get in shape but didn’t want to learn traditional taekwondo,” Valerie said. “People find kickboxing to be a great stress reliever. That class has become really popular.”
Character lessons are offered based on courtesy, integrity, perseverance and self-control.[/caption]
Last year, an additional self-defense class, krav maga, was added to the mix. Krav maga, which means “combat contact” in Hebrew, is hand-to-hand combat that is aimed to provide protection through self-defense.
In February, Cypress Martial Arts and Fitness held an active shooter seminar to teach self-defense in an active shooter situation, Robert said.
“Unfortunately the world we live in is getting more dangerous,” he said. “We don’t teach for sport; we teach for real-world situations.”
Valerie said she takes pride in truly changing customer’s lives—whether it is a weight loss transformation or a boost in confidence in a young child.
“The difference we make in people’s lives is mind-boggling,” she said.
11688 Barker Cypress Road, Ste. B-1, Cypress 713-894-6102 www.cypressmaf.com Hours: Mon.-Thu. 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Fri. 9 a.m.-7 p.m., Sat. 8 a.m.-9 a.m., Closed Sundays
