Sensei Day
Matthew Day, 6th degree black belt, has been an instructor with the Washington Karate Association for over 30 years. Active within the karate community as an instructor, athlete, and official, his list of accomplishments include: Former United States National Karate Team Member, National and International Champion, Pan American Official, USA-National Karate-Do Federation Athlete Representative, and Chairman of the International Hayashi-Ha Shito-Ryu Organizing Committee. Outside of martial arts, he enjoys cultivating his fruit and vegetable garden, competing in online chess matches, and playing guitar at local venues with his Seattle hard rock band Crawler.
Sensei Gutierrez
Sheryl Gutierrez Day, 5th degree black belt, has been an instructor with the Washington Karate Association for over 25 years. She also has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Active within the karate community as an instructor, athlete, and official, her list of accomplishments include: Former United States National Karate Team Member, National Champion, International Competitor, and Pan American Official. She holds a PhD in Information Science from the University of Washington School of Information and is President and a Founding Member of the KATA Fund nonprofit organization. Outside of martial arts, she enjoys slow cooking, spending time with family, writing, and finding ways to combine new digital technologies with her traditional fine arts background.
Sempai Ken
Ken Ballenger, 3rd degree black belt, is a prolific actor both on screen and around local comedy improvisation shows. Retired from the insurance industry, amongst his many accomplishments, Ken is a former UW Husky Football Team Captain and is an award-winning competitive chainsaw carver.
Sempai Munya
Munya Chiro, 1st degree black belt, started in the Washington Karate at age 5. He taught the Kinder Karate Program and was an assistant in the After School Karate Program. Munya graduated from WSU, was awarded a prestigious Microsoft Young Entrepreneurs Fellowship, and is currently a Program Manager at Microsoft.
Sempai SJ
SJ Chiro, 1st degree black belt, is an independent film producer. Her first feature-length film, Lane 1974, has garnered much attention during its 2017 premiere at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin TX, and is making its debut with sold-out screenings in the Pacific Northwest at the 2017 Seattle International Film Festival.
Sempai Kinsey
Kinsey Frick, 1st degree black belt, started training with the Washington Karate as one of the original students at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center Karate Club in 2005 taught by Sensei Gutierrez. Kinsey is a scientist and scuba diver at NOAA-NWFSC. She is also a certified First Aid CPR Safety Training Instructor.
Sempai Paul
Paul Gutierrez, 1st degree black belt, is a financial analyst. He holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and is an avid runner. He is also a three-time, award-winning chili cookoff champion. In the summer, he teaches a special Jiu Jitsu seminar to kids in the Karate Summer Camps.
Sensei Hilmoe
Mary Kay, 4th degree black belt, is an acclaimed small animal Veterinarian. Dr. Hilmoe works at The Family Pet. She received the 2016 Veterinarian of the Year Award in recognition of her outstanding career in veterinary medicine and service to her community and profession.
Sempai Juniper
Juniper Kistner, 1st degree black belt, is a former manager of the Washington Karate Ballard Dojo. She is an elementary school teacher and enjoys working with young children helping them to love learning through exploring their creativity.
Sempai Kate
Kate Krawchik, 1st degree black belt, started training at the Washington Karate at age 6. She was an assistant instructor in the Kinder Karate Program and Summer Karate Camps. Kate graduated from Holy Names Academy where she played volleyball for her high school team. She currently attends Carroll College.
Sempai Jim
Jim Larson, 1st degree black belt, owns A Better Clean, an independent window cleaning business in Seattle. He is a longtime Washington Karate Ballard Dojo practitioner and dedicates much of his time and efforts towards volunteer work and community service.
Sempai Hashim
Hashim Mehter, 1st degree black belt, is a critical care physician specializing in pulmonology at Virginia Mason Medical Center. Dr. Mehter received his black belt prior to leaving Washington to pursue his studies in medicine and has since returned and continues to train.
Sempai Zane
Zane Reed, Jr. black belt, started karate in California at age 5 and joined the Washington Karate at age 10. He currently attends Lakeside High School. In addition to assisting with Kinder Karate and the Dojo Summer Camps, he enjoys playing saxophone and writing for the school newspaper.
Sempai Fernando
Fernando Rivero, 1st degree black belt, is a Business Intelligence (BI) engineer at Nordstrom. He holds 3 masters degrees in IT Mgmt., business, and Human & Family Dev., and wrote a book on BI MicroStrategy. 5 of his children train in karate. He enjoys photography and piano.
Sempai Jonathan
Jonathan Rivero, 1st degree black belt, started training at the Washington Karate at age 9. Jonathan is an assistant instructor in the Washington Karate After School Program. He currently attends Seattle Pacific University, enjoys car spotting, and playing soccer with his siblings.
Sempai Nathaniel
Nathaniel Schroeder, 1st degree black belt, started training at the Washington Karate at age 4. He currently attends Shoreline Community College and is studying engineering. Nathaniel was an assistant in the After School Karate Program and has taught the Kinder Karate Program.
Sensei Staiger
Patrice Staiger, 4th degree black belt, is a long-time advanced registered nurse practitioner. She is a founding member of and served as President of the KATA Fund nonprofit organization. She is also a fine artist and can often be found biking in Seattle and around the world.
Sempai Brian Steiner
Brian Steiner, 3rd degree black belt, is a well-established Real Estate Broker in Seattle. He is also an accomplished percussionist playing in several bands, most notably in the successful Seattle band Jr. Cadillac.
