Sara Senst liked Rocky Mountain Marital Arts so much she decided to buy the company.
The Columbia Falls native recently purchased the Taekwondo school from Master Jim Miller. The school is located by the Longfellow Softball Complex at 3233 Kennedy Ave. in Butte.
“It’s an amazing honor,” Senst, 35, said of taking over the school during a “changing of the guard” luncheon on Saturday. “Master Miller has built a beautiful legacy and hopefully I can continue it. I know I have a lot of support, and I’m going to need it.”
Miller has owned the school since he bought it from Con Healy in 1996. He taught at the school dating back to its beginning at the Butte YMCA on Park Street in 1990.
Senst moved to Butte in January 2011 with a yellow belt she earned studying at the American Karate Academy in Whitefish. She quickly ascended up the ladder and earned her black belt last October.
“I was doing as many classes as and gaining as much as I could,” Senst said. She also has a purple belt in jujitsu that she earned under the tutelage of Master Chad Armstrong, who teaches classes on Fridays at the RMMA.
Senst said she’s been working with Miller to buy the school for more than a year. She said she plans to expand the after-school program started by Miller.
During the luncheon with a group of friends, students and colleagues, Miller thanked his wife, Karen, for the support she has given him throughout the years.
“What a wonderful trip this has been and is going to be,” Miller said. “I want to thank the one person who made this all possible, this beautiful lady right here.”
Miller, 76, will still teach classes at the school. He currently teaches classes Monday through Thursday and on Saturdays. He will be involved with Friday field trips throughout the summer.
“I will still be around,” Miller said. “I can’t imagine being anywhere else. Now I just don’t have to buy the toilet paper.”
For more information on RMMA, call 494-2754, visit rmma-butte.com or check out the RMMA Facebook page.
