Bedford ATA Offers 'Character Building Through Martial Arts'

When Mark and Suzy Harbinson and Emily Seymour decided against purchasing the American Taekwondo Association (ATA) school in Goffstown five years ago, they knew they had to find a location where they could start fresh and make an immediate and lasting impact in the community.

Bedford offered just such a location.

Though the school is one of more than 1,500 under the ATA umbrella, the Bedford location is family owned and directed, and that translates directly to the loyal following the school has developed in a relatively short five-year period.

"I think to get loyalty, you really have to show loyalty," said Mark Harbinson, who also serves as the school's chief instructor. "What we do here is we really try to go the extra mile with people that come in the door. We don't look at our customers as people who are just paying for martial arts, we look at people who are really trying to better themselves in life."

Harbinson said he and his wife decided right from the start to maintain their passion for martial arts through focusing on helping others through life skills.

"One of the things that I tell all my potential new students is we don't teach martial arts, we teach character building through martial arts," he continued, "so our focus is really more in trying to get kids to have the confidence to be able to take on challenges, to be able to succeed and overcome them here and then teach them how they can take that skill set out of the school and into their own classroom and into their own daily lives so they can actually make healthy choices in life."

The school offers several different types of programs, including a taekwondo black belt club and a leadership program, in addition to cardio kickboxing and Zumba. Free programs such as women's self-defense courses and child safety classes are also provided.

"The programs kind of speak for themselves," said Harbinson, "but what I'd like to see is if there's anyone out there who would like to try to find an outlet where they can build confidence, where they can ... feel like they can deal with things out in the world that are bothering them ... I think we give people that opportunity."

For more information on the Bedford location, or the Derry ATA school, which is also owned and directed by the Harbinson's and Seymour, visit ATA Martial Arts of Southern N.H.