L E A D E R S H I P

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We have been teaching the benefits of elite martial arts, karate, Taekwondo, self defense, & physical fitness in Houston, Texas for nearly 50 years. Our teaching approach will challenge you to develop the skill and determination needed to succeed in martial arts, self defense, physical fitness, and the world we live in. We are dedicated to sharing the power of martial arts with the community.  

Soldiers For Christ builds character through inner-strength, courage, vision, respect, and discipline guided by the Word of God ( Psalm 119: 105). The spiritual side of the individual is most important. General Philip Plumber is a follower of Jesus Christ.

Everyone is welcome!  Together, we serve in God's army as Soldiers For Christ!

Tyler Sowers is the Colonel of Soldier For Christ Martial Arts (SFCMA) or "Soldiers For Christ".  Soldiers For Christ began as a martial arts ministry specializing in the teachings and traditions of Taekwondo and Hapkido, a self-defense based practical martial art.  Since its creation, Soldiers For Christ has developed into more than a martial arts style and has a greater purpose of spreading Christ's name through the platform of Soldiers For Christ.

Soldiers For Christ to offer the opportunity for any student to learn martial arts in a faith-centered environment. Soldiers For Christ has grown outside the boundaries of the martial arts and grown to be a ministry spreading the mission of Christ.

Sowers commented, "Martial Arts began as a hobby. I never expected and it is only by the grace of God that Soldiers For Christ has rapidly grown the way it has. I once said a prayer, 'God, use me as a tool to touch millions.' Ever since that day, my life has taken unexpected turns which have allowed Soldiers For Christ to continue to grow."

Since 2014, Soldiers For Christ has grown to include five martial arts school locations and has started to receive recognition from the martial arts community and even has grown beyond the martial arts itself. In 2019, Sowers received an invitation from the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame nominating committee to be inducted into the 2020 Hall of Fame in the category of Faith Based Martial Arts Ministry; and also extended Sowers an invite to join the Alliance Martial Arts System and the International Martial Arts Council.   

On the ministry side, Sowers has been asked to be the speaker/presenter on several occasions, including: School Career Day, Personal Safety & Self-Defense Seminars, Harlem Globetrotters Half-Time Demonstration, Elementary/Middle School Martial Arts Demo Team, Boy Scouts Leadership Conference Speaker, and most recently to partner with KSHJ AM 1430 Catholic Radio Men’s Holy League Spiritual & Physical Self-Defense and Radio Guest Speaker. 

Sowers added, "I go where I am sent.  Through the past several years, many doors have opened and many doors have closed; and I do not always understand the reason for either.  God has opened many doors for me which I could have never imagined or opened myself.  As a Soldier For Christ, it is my mission to go where I am sent.  I do not know where my Lord Jesus is taking me but it is not my job to know everything God knows; it is my job to be an obedient servant.  Above all, I am a servant and a soldier for the Lord Jesus Christ.  I have recently been given the martial arts rank and position of 'Master of Soldiers For Christ'.  I tell my students and colleagues to please don't call me 'Master' even though my position states so.  I see it as I have an opportunity to use the Soldiers For Christ system and platform for a greater purpose.  After all, there is only one true Master, The Lord Jesus Christ."

The Soldiers For Christ system was designed to be a militaristic style martial arts system which uses a ranking scale of Sergeant, Captain, Colonel, and General vs the traditional martial arts ranking system of Instructor, Master, and Grandmaster.  As a 5th Dan, Sowers would be the rank of Colonel.   Soldiers For Christ is not a military organization and only utilizes a similar ranking structure.

Sowers is a native Houstonian and received a strong Catholic foundation at home, school, and in the community. Sowers studied at St. Rose of Lima Catholic School, Seton Catholic Jr. High School, and St. Pius X Catholic High School. For nearly eight years, he worked at his home parish, St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, where he worked closely and developed strong relationships with clergy and staff; many of whom often inquired of Sowers joining the priesthood. Needless to say, Sowers was rerouted when he met his future wife at the Catholic Student Center while attending Sam Houston State University. Sowers earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice in 2013 and married Sarah in 2014. Sowers is currently studying his Masters degree in Educational Administration.  Sowers wife, Sarah, is also an educator with her Masters degree in Educational Administration.  They strive to pass on their Christian faith to their children.  By God’s grace, they have continued to grow as a strong Catholic family with four kids and currently reside in Houston, TX.

Sowers has received the certification and endorsement as the Master & Colonel of a new style and system known as 'Soldier For Christ Martial Arts' or 'Soldiers For Christ' with endorsement and approval from the following martial arts masters:

        1) Grandmaster Philip Plumber,  MSK - 10th Dan Tae Kwon Do Grandmaster

        2)  Master Marcus Gillespie, PhD - AIMHI System, 6th Dan Hapkido Master

Sowers humorously added, "I am a married Christian man with lots of kids! Our children are not the 'future of the church', our children ARE the church.  Children and adults alike; we are all united as one body in Christ." 

Iron Sharpens Iron

Ranks acquired by Instructor Sowers to date:

        1) SFCMA - Soldiers For Christ, Hapkido - Endorsed 5th Dan Colonel

        2) International Tae Kwon Do Federation - Certified 5th Degree Black Belt                       

        3)  International Tae Kwon Do Alliance - Level 2, Certified 1st Degree Black Belt          

        4) American Institute of Modern Hapkido Instruction (AIMHI) - 1st Dan Black Belt   

Other Affiliations:

          1)  World KIDO Federation, Han Min Jok Hapkido Association, South Korea

          2)  USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame - Inducted for Faith Based Martial Arts Ministry

          3)  United States Martial Arts Hall of Fame - Inducted for Faith Based Instructor

          4)  American Institute of Modern Hapkido Instruction (AIMHI Group Hapkido)

          5)  Martial Arts of Sam Houston Hapkido (MASH Hapkido)

          6)  International Martial Arts Council

          7)  Alliance Martial Arts System

          8)  International Taekwondo Federation (I.T.F.)

          9)  International Taekwondo Alliance (I.T.A.)

          10)  Troop 40 Houston Scouting Program - www.Troop40Houston.org

          11)  KSHJ AM 1430 Guadalupe Catholic Radio Network Guest Speaker

          12)  Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston Catholic Schools