Makayla Phillips has been involved in martial arts long before her first clear memory.

Her parents own Phillips Tae Kwon Do in Maple Valley and Makayla, now 19, began learning the martial art born in Korea at the tender age of 1 her father John Phillips explained.

John Phillips signed up for tae kwon do while living in San Jose, Calif., training with his friend in a garage for two and a half years.

“I was transferred to Seattle for work,” he said. “I wanted to keep it going. I wanted to train my son and other local kids. Makayla… she started mimicking what we were doing.”

And on Saturday, Jan. 8, Makayla Phillips will be competing for a title in the 57 kilogram division at the national championships at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

“Tae kwon do always seemed to come first,” she said. “I’ve really just been into it. I’ve always been involved in some way or another.”

Her parents opened their tae kwon do studio in 1995. They’ve moved around in to Maple Valley over the years as the classes have grown, John Phillips explained, having settled in Four Corner Square next to Papa Murphy’s that conveniently is where Makayla Phillips now works as an assistant manager.

“We’ve got a pretty good thing going, we’ve got some good athletes, we’ve got a good program, it’s pretty solid,” John Phillips said. “Everyone can excel, even if they don’t want to do the sports side, they can do just the martial arts side. Makayla is lucky enough to excel at both.”

She’s also going to Green River Community College with plans to transfer to the University of Washington where she intends to earn a business degree so she can take over the family business someday.

Right now, though, Makayla Phillips is focused on the tournament this weekend.

She is a third degree black belt, having earned the first rank at 8 years old and her third degree in 2007.

The tournament this weekend is the culmination of nearly 10 years of competing on the national stage.

“I’ve never been too successful at nationals up until this point,” she said. “I did good, I just didn’t win.”

A win in her division against three other young women will earn Makayla Phillips a spot on the senior national team and a trip to the world championships in Korea.

She trains as often as she can while juggling school and her job, “but you make time for it.”

“I train with all the guys that we have,” she said. “None of the girls that I fight will be as strong or as fast as the guys I fight here.”

She also complemented her training at the studio with a program called ProFast at Outpatient Physical Therapy just a few blocks away.

John Phillips described it as a program providing excellent supplemental training for athletes that “helps with explosiveness, strength and general well being.”

She will take on the other young women in her division in a round-robin format sparring tournament.

She would fight at least four times if she beats all of the other qualifiers in her division. Each fight consists of three, two-minute long rounds.

Her father is confident she can win, saying “when she wins nationals” because it’s not a matter of if she can do it. He knows she can.

And in the grand scheme of things, it’s also a stepping stone to another larger goal for Makayla Phillips: a spot on the 2016 Olympic team.

“This weekend is a pretty big deal,” John Phillips said. “Especially for an aspiring Olympic athlete.”