Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen Banes.
Hi Karen, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
If you would have asked 9 year old me, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I would have said a police officer. I would have said a police officer every year of my life until, at the age of 19, I realized how much I enjoy working with children. I was an energetic child, hyper active and accident prone. I have always enjoyed adventure, outdoors and extreme sports. I could never choose just one. I played six different sports each year in high school, balancing two at a time each season. I finally settled on track and field in college where I participated in the heptathlon. I completed my freshman year as MVP of the team at Taleton State University.
My last two years of college I finished out at University of Texas in Arlington where I focused on early childhood development and worked as a kindergarten teacher for Arlington ISD.
At thirty years of age I had two children; a five year old son named Dillinger and a newborn daughter named Noah Kate. Dillinger started showing an interest in martial arts. He was enrolled in karate, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and MMA. I spent much time at the gym with him so I started training myself. If my son was going to go this route I wanted to experience it for myself. Stepping into a cage where they lock it behind you and you fight for your life sounded terrifying and exciting at the same time. I wanted to face my fears and leave an example for my son. If his mother could do it then he could too.
At the age of 35 I decided to take my first cage fight. I finished my opponent in the first round with a rear naked choke (RNC). I took two more fights in the same year finishing each one by TKO and another RNC. I was voted TXMMA Rookie fighter of the year. The next year the boxing commission required EKGs and MRIs for all athletes over 35. That was a good indicator to move on. I decided to focus on Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. There I had many successes and accomplishments:
Bronze Medalist in IBJJF Worlds
6x Gold Medalist in IBJJF Master Worlds
Multiple pro-fights along with numerous other competitions along the way.
My MMA Coach, UFC Veteran Johnny Bedford gave me the opportunity to help coach kids classes and my ex husband invested in his gym, Fitness Fight Factory. They opened a second location in Azle. In the same year it opened, it closed, and my marriage was ending. While training MMA, we would cross train at Genesis Jiu Jitsu River Oaks under Albert Hughes. I went to Albert and worked out an arrangement to affiliate under Genesis Jiu Jitsu and continue to coach the children in Azle.
In 2014 I opened Genesis Azle as a sole proprietor. My divorce was finalized in 2015 and I continued to make sacrifices to maintain my gym and care for my children. The first three years of any business is always the most vulnerable and I was doing it as a single mother. I would cook my children breakfast and take them to school. I would go do my personal training, then run home and prepare dinner. Most of the time it would be a crockpot meal and my daughter would say, “Not the crock!”, when she would see it in the vehicle at school pick up. We would go to the gym where my children would eat dinner and do their homework before training jiu jitsu. We would get home late, with just enough time to shower and go straight to bed.
2020 brought many changes to all of us, but for our family it was a time of celebration. It was a year of marriage to my current husband, Fort Worth Police Sgt. Scott Banes. I now have four children; Dillinger, Noah Kate, Hunter and Katie. We were able to purchase a new location for the gym just in time to open up after the Covid restrictions were lifted.
Today, Genesis Jiu Jitsu Azle has a full coaching staff that includes my first home grown black belt, Kari Summers. Kari has become an excellent ambassador for females in the jiu jitsu community. She has developed our ladies program, coaching “ladies only” classes at all three of our Genesis Jiu Jitsu locations. She is also a multi-time master world champion. Eli Guardiola is another one of our head coaches. He started in our program as a teenager at the age of 15. Eli is now 27 years old and does an excellent job leading our kids and adults. One more notable assistant is my very own daughter and Texas State High School Wresting Champion, Noah Kate Kovach.
In September 2025, my husband adopted my son, Dillinger Banes. Dillinger just got accepted into the Fort Worth Police academy where he plans on continuing to leave a Banes legacy in the department. All the years of sacrifice is starting to pay off. The years of raising my children in our gym has given them perseverance, dedication and discipline to become state wrestling champions and giving them the confidence to protect and serve others.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Shortly after opening in 2021 we experienced a terrible flood. Our gym was engulfed in two feet of water and became apart of the creek that flows next to it. Although I was devastated, I had no choice but to put on my boots and deal with it. We went to work right away. (This event was covered by every news outlet. Channel 4, 5, 8 and 11 came out to cover this event). It was a disaster. Walls had to be torn out, thick mud scrapped off of everything the flood touched, debris removed and everything scrubbed before we could even begin to put it back together. I felt emotionless, I was in shock more than anything. It wasn’t until I pulled up to the gym on the third day to see the out pour of support was still coming. I broke into tears. I realized what I have spent so many years building was not mine but the community of Azle. They wanted to see us open again, just as much as I wanted to open back up. Our gym was fully restored and back in session in one week. We received helped from citizens in Azle that weren’t even members. They just see the impact we have been making in our youth and young adults.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Being a female gym owner and instructor in a combat sport has had its challenges but I have learned to embrace my strengths. The things that set my program apart from other gyms is my background in early childhood development and being a female gym owner. The retention rate at Genesis Jiu Jitsu is amazing. I have got to watch my “Wee Warriors” grow into strong, confident teenagers.
As far as growing a male population, I could not ask for a better group of men that train with us. They see the value of learning from a woman because we have to rely heavily on technique over strength. I’m not going to out muscle most men. I have to develop strategy and timing. The men are extremely supportive of each other and demonstrate strength, humility, confidence and encourage each other on and off the mat. I do feel it is important for men to not only learn from me but from each other as well. I’m thankful we now have several male instructors at our gym; Eli Guardiola, black belts Joe Bryant, Tom Schrage, Austin Torres, Lee Carson and Bryan White. They all have their own coaching style to offer. I could never give a single person credit for all the jiu jitsu I have learned over the years. It takes many different perspectives.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
I’m so thankful for my family who supported me in pursuing a dream that required a great sacrifice of time, money, and resources up front to make it successful. I’m so thankful for the support of my parents. My mother would help me every Monday by picking up my children from the gym early to help feed them dinner, make sure they completed their homework, and taken their showers. It was nice to see them cared for and ready for bed when I got off work. My father allowed me and my children to live with him for several years until I could afford a place of my own. He helped provide the stability of a loving home. My sisters and brother were continually cheering me on in my matches and even traveling to California and Vegas to watch. Around the holidays I often worried about how I could afford the extra money for Christmas gifts for my children because many of my members would put their accounts on hold to save money and travel over the holidays. My four siblings would often surprise us by sending extra Christmas and birthday gifts to my children.
I have had so much support around me from the beginning. Including all the parents of the children I originally taught. I had to find a way to continue to teach them Brazilian Jiu Jitsu after our first attempt failed. To me it has always been more than just teaching them a martial art. It is a way to instill discipline, perseverance, self confidence, and solid character. I owe the greatest thank you to my professor Albert Hughes for believing in me to represent his brand of Genesis Jiu Jitsu. I could not have done it without “Coach Bert” pouring knowledge into me daily and sharing his business strategies. My goal has always been to add to his brand and never take away from the reputation he has worked hard to build.
There are many gyms in the DFW area that have allowed me to cross train, especially with their female students because there weren’t many of us 14 years ago. I was one of the first 500 female black belts in all of North and South America.
My closest friend that has shown endless support along the way is Melinda Woodward. Our children grew up together training jiu jitsu. She and her family have been my support group offering help physically, emotionally and spiritually. Along the way Melinda started helping me with videos and photography. She realized she had a love and talent for it and started Melinda Kay Photography and now takes family photos and photos for other businesses.
Another friend who has her own amazing story is Christy Ledesma. I met Christy while teaching her sister in Jiu Jitsu. Christy started training with us intensely, not even realizing her second bout with cancer was in full effect and she was operating with only 1/3 of her lung capacity. She is a true warrior and friend. Even through her own struggles, she has been there showing love and support. Her story is amazing and full of perseverance. The cancer came back for a third time and she still continues to fight it off.
It is very easy to get completely wrapped up in a sport like jiu jitsu. It is addicting because you will never master it all and the more you give your time the more improvements and success you see. It is extremely challenging mentally and physically. However Christy is a constant reminder that there is more to life. There are friends, family, and the rest of the world that you can easily lose touch with. It is important to develop and maintain a balance in life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://genesisjiujitsuazle.com/
- Instagram: @genesisjiujitsuazle
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/trainatgenesis
