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 original hard rock band Crawler and Foreigner tribute band Fever 103.
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.
Sensei Staiger
Patrice Staiger, 4th degree black belt, is a retired family 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.
Sensei Hilmoe
Mary Kay, 4th degree black belt, is an acclaimed small animal Veterinarian. Dr. Hilmoe worked 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 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 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.
Sempai Juniper
Juniper Kistner, 2nd 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 Patty
Patty Hoban, 2nd Degree black belt, is Director of Financial Aid at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. She has a Masters degree in Classical Languages from the University of Texas - Austin. She is an avid dog sports enthusiast, specializing in Flyball and Agility. Her other interests include gardening, canning, and painting.
Sempai Fernando
Fernando Rivero, 2nd degree black belt, is a Lead Business Intelligence (BI) engineer at Disney. He holds three master's degrees in IT Management, an MBA, and Human & Family Development. He wrote a book on BI MicroStrategy. Fernando's six children train in karate, one of whom is a Black Belt. He enjoys photography and piano and is currently learning Kobudo (weapons) as well.
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 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 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.
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 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.
Sempai Grace
Grace A, 1st degree black belt, started in the Washington Karate at age 3. She graduated from Holy Names Academy and currently attends the University of Washington. In her free time, she enjoys working with children at her local community center, writing poetry, and spending time with friends and family.
Sempai Zane
Zane Reed, 1st degree black belt, started karate in California at age 5 and joined the Washington Karate at age 10. He graduated from Lakeside High School and will enter into University of North Carolina in 2025.
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 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 Kate
Kate Krawchik, 1st degree black belt, started in the Washington Karate at age 6. She assisted in the Kinder Karate Program and Summer Karate Camps. Kate graduated from Holy Names Academy, playing volleyball for the team. She currently attends Carroll College.
Sempai MJ
MJ Magallones, Jr. black belt, started in the Washington Karate Association at age 11. She currently attends Shorewood High School. In addition to her regular karate training, MJ trains in kobudo and helps with the summer camps and Kinder Karate classes. Outside of karate, MJ enjoys playing violin in her school orchestra, being involved with school clubs, and spending time with her family.
Sempai Laurie
Laurie Marczak, 1st degree black belt, has a PhD in ecology and works as a research scientist in scientific publishing. She started training in karate at age 27 in Wado-ryu and briefly in Shotokan before joining the WKA. She serves as the current president of KATA Fund. In addition, she trains in kobudo (weapons) at the WKA Bellevue Dojo and teaches kobudo at the Ballard dojo. Outside of karate, Laurie coaches soccer, enjoys skiing, running, long distance hiking, playing piano, violin, and guitar, and hanging out with her cats.
Sempai Melita
Melita Aquino, 1st degree black belt, started training at Washington Karate Association at age 25. She previously studied karate in Chicago and Honolulu. She works in the insurance industry and is a Master level Certified USA Track & Field official, spending her free time officiating meets in the PNW and nationwide. She also serves as treasurer for the KATA Fund nonprofit organization.
