Master Kristin Waterman started martial arts in 1992 in Indianapolis, Indiana, at North Indy Taekwondo Club under Master Duncan Williams.  She was only eight years old, and got interested after attending a YMCA camp where the special offered was Taekwondo.  She was hooked!  

She trained under Master Williams for 20 years, and in 2012 left North Indy to start her own school with her husband.  This is when Midwest Taekwondo Academy was formed in Westfield, Indiana, where they resided.  MTA moved to Kirklin, Indiana, in 2022 after a change in ownership of the building they rented, and rent in Westfield had sky-rocketed so they looked to surrounding cities and towns to move to.

Master Waterman is currently a 6th degree black belt in Taekwondo, and trains under Master Andrew Trento (who is also the founder of Combat Taekwondo).  She has been a fierce competitor for many years.  She competed in Olympic style sparring for approximately 20 years at the local levels up through national levels, earning many awards including gold at nationals.  She also has competed in point style sparring sporadically over the years, grass roots up through national level as well.  She has trained competitors in olympic and point style sparring up through national level, and has had a student on the AAU National Olympic Sparring team mutiple times, along with the Master Olympic Sparring team, who have competed internationally over the years.

Master Waterman has been a traditional forms competitor for many years as well.  She was on the AAU National Traditional Forms team every year since the year it started, for four years, until she stepped aside from cometition in 2026 due to having hip surgery.  She was AAU Traditional Forms Athlete of the Year twice.  She has trained students up through international level competition in forms, and had students on the team a few years as well.

Aside from an extensive history of competing in Taekwondo, she has also trained in other martial arts.  She is currently a certified instructor in the Combat Taekwondo System.  She has done Hapkido, Jujitsu, and currently also studies Hung Ga Kung Fu.  She loves working with people and sharing her martial arts to her students.  When she started MTA the goal was simple: create a space where anyone could come and forget their everyday stress and share time on the mat learning and training together.  After battling bullying and depression as a kid, she has a zero tolerance rule at the school, and wants everyone who walks through the doors to feel welcome.