blue water woman--fall 2013

passion
mary weir, port huron
Strong-willed
determination
by Patti Samar
4 fall 2013 BlueWaterWoman.com
JJust inside the front entrance of the PKSA Karate School in
downtown Port Huron there hangs a pair of sparkly ruby red slippers
just like Dorothy wore in the Wizard of Oz.
In the movie, Dorothy thought the ruby red slippers were magical,
but in the end, she discovered they were just another pair of shoes and
everything she accomplished came about as a result of her own will and
hard work.
The ruby red slippers hang in the karate studio as a daily reminder to
Mary Weir, co-owner of the karate school, and to all of her students,
that just as Dorothy discovered, everyone has exactly what they need
in life inside of them. Accomplishing goals is just a matter of exercising
personal will.
Weir is no stranger to accomplishing goals as a result of strong-willed
determination. Just a few short years ago, she and her husband might
have laughed if someone had suggested they would someday own a
karate school.
But what started as a family-oriented goal turned into a business
opportunity that began when her son, then just nine-years-old,
expressed an interest in taking a six-week karate class. Weir and
her husband thought it would be good for him to get involved in a
confidence-building activity, so they enrolled him. Parents were allowed
to learn alongside their children, and Weir became hooked.
“I looked at my husband and said, ‘What if we did this and we got
our black belts as a family? That would be cool,’” she said.
Almost immediately, Weir, her husband Mike, and their son and
daughter were all enrolled in karate and on their way to earning black
belts. That eventually led to Weir and her husband opening their Port
Huron and St. Clair karate studios, PKSA, which is a karate school
franchise.
Deciding to start the business was not difficult because Weir knew she
had the passion for karate and a strong desire to teach others all that she
had learned from it. Additionally, as a franchise, PKSA –Professional
Karate Schools of America – provided a structure that helped the
business establish itself in the community slowly, which allowed Weir
and her husband/business partner to learn about running the business.
“He’s the best person I’ve ever known in my entire life,” Weir said of
her husband, “but working together has been the biggest challenge of
our marriage. But there’s nobody else I would rather do this with.”
Weir, who met her husband while both were enlisted in the Air
Force, adapted well to the structure provided by the study of karate and
found she enjoyed teaching others about the martial arts in a positive
environment that also provided the usefulness of self protection.
“Watching their sense of accomplishment is just unbelievable,” said
Weir of her students. “I really enjoy helping people feel safe. My whole
passion is I want to be safe myself and I want my family to be safe and I
want to teach others to be safe.
“My goal is this: I want every person with ill will or bad intentions to
think twice before trying to hurt someone because the person they are
targeting might know karate.”