My Story

Let me lead with the fact that I am a 3rd degree black belt with over 25 years of experience in Goju-ryu karate from the time I was a young child, through high school, college, graduate school, and into adulthood. However, if I am honest, I have never found that to be a convincing argument for why you should come to me for training. Suffice it to say that yes, I do actually know karate.

More useful for you is the fact that I have significant teaching experience at the collegiate level where I was a teaching assistant for six different science courses while completing my PhD – essentially teaching a different course each semester for four years. This culminated in the incredibly rewarding opportunity to propose, develop, and teach a seminar course of my own devising in my final year. I also have extensive experience teaching and tutoring from my undergraduate, again working with science students.

During graduate school I also ran a small karate club, teaching 1-3 students at a time several times a week. My own training in karate also required teaching karate classes as part of the requirements for black belt, meaning that I regularly taught classes for several years before graduate school.

My career since leaving school has focused on communicating complex ideas in a simple yet comprehensive manner, often verbally in presentations to small groups. I have continued to develop strong communication skills, strong listening skills, and the ability to adapt materials to best meet client’s needs.

Altogether this means that not only do I know karate for myself, there is a good chance I can teach it to you too!