“I have loved Martial Arts since I was a young girl. Growing up I “played” at Karate and Kung Fu just like many kids do today. In 1981, I joined the United States Army and received my first experience in martial training. After fulfilling my term of service in the military and moving to Minnesota, I studied Judo in college and trained in Tae Kwon Do with another organization in the area.

In 1990, I walked into the Excelsior National Karate School and found my martial arts home. The program approached all the aspects of Martial Arts that I believe are important: practical self-defense, sparring, and classical martial arts. I found, in National Karate, instructors and students who were dedicated and passionate about learning and developing themselves to their highest potential. I have always been a person who likes to understand things deeply, and I was fortunate enough to have instructors, in particular Mr. Zaragoza, who were knowledgeable and patient enough to answer my questions.

As a teacher, I am deeply committed to continue the tradition of quality training for my students as my teachers provided for me. The day I tested for my First Degree Black Belt with National Karate was one of my most rewarding experiences. I knew that I had achieved something special that would benefit me for the rest of my life. The physical skills gained were matched by the internal qualities that long term study of martial arts brings: Confidence, Respect, Resolve, and Self-motivation to name a few. When a student walks in the door, I know that I have a responsibility to that person to help them develop into people with true grit and character.”

Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.

~ Aristotle