Professor Zahalea Anderson

Heavy is her crown yet; she wears it like a feather. Zahalea carries her African spirit and glory wherever she goes. 

She embraces her ancestral heritage with every breath she takes. She gives thanks.

Force of Divine Flow (MWO)

Step into the sacred rhythm of Force of Divine Flow — a 90-minute transformative self-defense experience that teaches warriors how to move with, not against, the energy of attack. This class embodies the spiritual science of energy redirection, guiding students to transform incoming force into empowerment, clarity, and control.

Sa Bum Nim Jennifer Berg

Jennifer started training under Sa Bum Nim Thomas Zoppi in Tae Kwon Do and Modern Arnis in 1995. She started teaching in 1998, in both fitness kickboxing and as an assistant instructor in Tae Kwon Do. She was promoted to full instructor and school manager in August 2000 and have continued to teach and train ever since. When SBN Zoppi passed away in 2001, Jennifer continued my training under Gwan Ja Nim David Barrett, who inherited our American Chang Moo Kwon style from SBN Zoppi. In 2021, she was promoted to Yuk Dan (6th degree black belt) in American Chang Moo Kwon Tae Kwon Do. Jennifer loves to learn about all sorts of martial arts and to share my knowledge with others.

Teaching our Youngest Students - Games and Strategies

We will learn games that engage the youngest students and that are fun for students of all ages. We will practice and share drills and strategies that keep students engaged and active - and explore ways to make class fun!

Shihan Darlene DeFour

Shihan Darlene DeFour, PhD received the 2016 NWMAF Award of Excellence and has been inducted into the AWMAI Hall of Fame. She holds a 9th degree black belt in San Yama Bushi Ryu Ju-Jutsu and a 6th degree black belt in Kushinda Ryu Shotokan karate. She co-founded the NWMAF Anti-Racism Council. At SDIC starting in 2010, she introduced a course on Applied Microaggressions Defense to the martial arts and self-defense instructors communities, designed to address the subtle forms of racism that often permeate classroom settings. This class as well as the classes that she has given over the last decade were designed to highlight the need for anti-oppression training as a core competency for all self-defense teachers and other professionals committed to social justice. A social/community psychologist, she is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Hunter College. Her research explores violence, racism and sexism and their impact on everyday life experiences.

Beyond Techniques: Fostering Cultural Awareness & Creating a Culture of Safety in the Dojo - MC

Fostering Cultural Awareness & Creating a Culture of Safety in the Dojo is an interactive 90-minute session designed for martial arts instructors who want to deepen inclusion, psychological safety, and cultural responsiveness within their training spaces. Through scenario-based drills, embodied activities, and reflective dialogue, instructors will explore how culture shapes communication, boundaries, feedback, and student engagement. Participants leave with concrete strategies for building dojos where every student—regardless of background, identity, or experience—feels safe, respected, and fully empowered to learn.

back to table of contents

Master MyTien Duong

Master MyTien Duong has trained in martial arts for over 30 years and holds the rank of 5th Degree Black Belt in Moogong-Ryu (Guardians of Peace) Taekwondo. She currently resides in Canada where she owns and operates Martial Arts 360°. She has competed, coached, and refereed in local tournaments. In addition to Taekwondo, she has trained in aikido, judo, iaido, qigong, kung fu, Brazilian jujitsu, and Kajukenbo. She enjoys training with people from diverse backgrounds, abilities, and gender expressions.

Teaching Forms:  Whys, Ways, and Whether It’s Even Worth It! (MC)

As advanced martial arts practitioners, we have learned many forms (aka katas, poomsae, sets). What values do they hold and do we want to continue teaching forms? Let’s explore why we practice forms, share ways to make learning forms more accessible, and entertain the idea of whether we even want to continue teaching forms.

Testing One’s LImits (LD)

How do you run your promotions? Are they designed to test your students’ limits or are they more like demonstrations? Let’s discuss the parameters you feel are important when challenging your students and showcasing their successes.

Soke Nahid Farzinzad

Soke Nahid Farzinzad is one of a select few women to have successfully completed the formidable 30-man kumite as part of her 3rd Dan test at the IKO Honbu under Sosai Mas Oyama on May 22, 1993—a historic accomplishment that established her as a pioneering figure in Kyokushin Karate.

A pivotal force in the evolution of modern Kyokushin, Soke Farzinzad is the co-founder of the International Kyokushin Union (IKU) and serves as the Chief Instructor of the IKU Honbu. In these roles, she has been instrumental in shaping organizational standards, preserving traditional Kyokushin principles, and promoting a unified global approach to the art.

Calm Within the Storm (MWO/EMWO)

In this session, we will begin with gentle stretching and a warm-up designed to center the body and prepare the mind. From there, we will move into fundamental techniques and gradually build toward practicing a full kata, focusing on flow, breath, and grounded movement.

After the physical practice, I will close the class by sharing a brief overview of my background and the philosophy behind Calm Within the Storm—how we can cultivate inner peace, strength, and clarity even in challenging moments.

back to table of contents

Master Terri Giamartino

I began my training in 1978. After a year of studying an eclectic martial arts/self defense program with Marti Meserli, I began to hone my studies in Shotokan Karate with Valeria Ramirez and Jujitsu with Nancy Grey, a former student of the late Wally Jay.

I continued my study of Shotokan Karate with Thomas White in Oakland until 1983. Eventually, I found Cuong Nhu, an eclectic style combining hard and soft martial arts together under the primary tutalege of John Burns. With a strong base in hard style, I expanded my study into the softer influences of Judo and Aikido, adding Wing Chun and Tai Chi to the mix. 

In 1993 I opened my first school which was known as Emeryville Martial Arts located in Emeryville California. EMA served a student base from ages 4 through adult. Producing strong black belt teens and adults has been a joy for me and I am grateful that I have been able to make a living doing something that helps make people strong and the world around them a safer place.

Creating Self Defense Demos (MWO)

Create and practice multiple attacker self defense applications that can be used for mini demonstrations. Use blocking, trapping, striking, off balancing and shielding to control your opponent. Combinations will include empty hand and disarms against weapons.

Building a Legacy through Succession Planning (LD)

If you want your students and style to continue into the future, you need to plan. Whether you pass on your school to a senior student, or sell your business to an interested party, planning is key to success. We'll discuss establishing value, repeatable plans to pass on to a new owner and options for continued involvement.

Master Didi Goodman

Master Didi Goodman holds the rank of Hachidan (8th degree black belt) in Cuong Nhu, a Vietnamese eclectic style that blends “hard” and “soft.” She founded Redwood Dojo in Oakland, California, in 1992, and has since taught many hundreds of children, teens and adults. She began her martial arts training in college in 1976, in a student-run Taekwondo class. She then trained under women’s martial arts pioneer Pauline Short at Karate for Women in Portland, Oregon, before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area and continuing in Taekwondo. In 1986, she joined the Pacific Association of Women Martial Artists, and through PAWMA Camp was inspired to take up Aikido, then Cuong Nhu, which later became her full-time focus. A writer, editor, and poet, Master Goodman has written often on martial arts topics for books, newsletters and blogs. She is the author of The Kids’ Karate Workbook: A Take-Home Training Guide for Young Martial Artists, from North Atlantic/Blue Snake books, and of two volumes of poetry. In 2014, she was inducted into the Association of Women Martial Arts Instructors Hall of Fame. She served on the AWMAI Board of Directors in from 2017 to 2023. In 2018, Master Didiawarded head instructorship of Redwood Dojo to Sensei Lara Tribe-Jones, and has since then served as co-head instructor at Berkeley Cuong Nhu Karate, in Berkeley, CA, alongside Grandmaster John Burns.

Five Dimensions of Kata (Forms) Practice (MC)

Kata practice (to use the Japanese term) is a central part of many—if not most—traditional martial arts styles. It is the source, or the reinforcer, of many of the deepest lessons of martial arts. In this class, we consider our forms practice as having five levels or dimensions: Memorization, Consolidation, Application, Expression, and Meditation. In each level we find a whole host of drills, concepts and practices that serve to broaden and deepen understanding – as well as performance – in our own and our students’ training. The class will make use of a short kata created for the purpose, as well as examples from participants’ own arts; and there will be opportunities for participants to share their own training methods if time allows.

Hanshi Zosia Gorbaty

Zosia Gorbaty is a 9th degree Black Belt in the martial art of Zujitsu. She has been training since 1976. She has conducted martial arts seminars at over 50 events and schools in twenty states. She served as Board Chair for the NWMAF 2002-4, and as Executive Director for the AWMAI 2008-14. Zosia has a Masters Degree in physical education from New York University, and worked as a fitness professional for many years. In September 2025, she published In Black & White, a memoir of her life with her husband, GM Chaka Zulu. 

Teaching Your Students to be Creative (MC)

Why? Because we are martial artists, not martial scientists, and artists create. Creativity also expands a student’s horizon, relieves the boredom of repetition, and introduces new variations of techniques. In this class we will explore a few different ways to inspire creativity in your students, and yourself!

Senior Grandmaster Sunny Graff

I love the martial arts and how seamlessly it blends with my passion of empowering women and girls through feminist self-defense. I‘ve trained for over 50 years, am ranked Grandmaster in Taekwondo and Lapunti Arnis, have 29 black belt levels in 6 arts and am a certified posture/alignment specialist. I have been fighting for women’s rights since the early 70’s when I founded the Columbus Rape Crisis Center, Feminists in Self-Defense Training, did federally funded feminist research on Community Action Strategies to Stop Rape, wrote self-defense curriculum and organized the first national conferences on Rape Prevention Theory and the Self-defense Teaching Practicum. I co-founded NWMAF, served on the first steering committee, Self-defense Certification Committee, AWMAI Rank Committee and am a PAWMA lifetime member. I’ve been a Taekwondo champion, written books on violence and self-defense, produced hundreds of black belts, trained more than 360 feminist anti-racist self-defense instructors and received countless awards and honors for my work. 

In 1985 I founded Women in Movement, a non-profit martial arts/self-defense school for women and girls in Frankfurt. I am a fulltime martial artist, teaching all levels, ages, genders, abilities, ethnicities. 

All the reasons we started PAWMA, NWMAF, AWMAI are unfortunately still valid today. I feel most at home in the women’s martial arts community and come to AWMAI to recharge and get inspiration from all of you.

Opening Session

Kali Knife Reaction Drills (MWO)

A knife attack is dangerous and liffe threatening because it can happen so quickly, with little notice.  Defense must be instinctual and fast.  We will drill improving reaction time in three scenarios:  empty hand against knife, knife against knife, and knife against empty hand.

Shifu/Sensei Koré Grate

Founded in 1989- Shifu/Sensei Koré Grate is the Executive Director and Head Instructor of FEMA-Five Element Martial Arts & Healing Center (formerly Feminist Eclectic Martial Arts) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She loves teaching and loves learning! 

Training since she was 16, she holds an 8th degree black belt in Wu Chien Pai, and two 2nd degree black belts in Iaido.
She is a devoted lifetime member of AWMAI, PAWMA, NWMAF and has served on all three board of directors. In 2012 she was inducted into the very first AWMAI Hall of Fame for 40 years of training, and in 2022 she was, honored as a FIFTY-YEAR inductee. She served on the AWMAI Board of Directors from 2013 to 2022.

The Eight Styles of Learning -LD

Based upon Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences-The Eight Styles of Learning are: Visual, Verbal, Kinetic, Mathematic/Logical, Inter-personal, Intra-personal, Musical & Natural.

Sometimes we focus and teach based on “How We Like to Learn” and often see our students struggling to understand. 

We can expand our knowledge and awareness of the styles in which we present material and how people naturally learn to have a broader reach in our teachings.

back to table of contents

Master MIchelle Golino

Master G is a second-generation Taekwon-Do practitioner with 46 years of training and 38 years of teaching experience. Beginning her journey in New Haven, Connecticut and now based in Orlando, Florida, she leads a long-standing nonprofit martial arts organization dedicated to empowering souls and transforming lives for “the anyones”—including students with disabilities and those often overlooked in traditional martial spaces.

She is the first and one of only three female Masters in the Unified International Taekwon-Do Federation and a two-time ITF World Champion from the era when General Choi presided over competition. Her school, now 28 years strong, has produced 25 World Champions, reflecting her commitment to excellence, inclusion, and opportunity for all.

Strength & Stretch Through the Taekwon-Do Theory of Power (EMWO)

This Strength & Stretch class is rooted in the Taekwon-Do Theory of Power, blending martial arts philosophy with functional movement to enhance strength, flexibility, balance, and body awareness. Traditional Taekwon-Do principles are adapted into a low-impact, inclusive format suitable for adults of all ages, abilities, and fitness levels.

The class emphasizes functional strength, safe mobility, mindful breathing, and intentional movement, making it ideal for beginners, older adults, individuals with disabilities, and those returning to movement after injury.

Sifu Gina Kurtz 

Conditioning for Martial Artists (EMWO)

This class is designed to give you ideas to help your students improve their fitness levels to support their martial arts training path. We’ll explore movements (cardio and conditioning exercises) that can be applied to your style that will help your students deepen their stances, power their techniques, support balance and stability, cultivate body connection, and help with endurance for testing. We will also discuss and apply methods to scale and modify exercises so they can work for all body types/all abilities.

Developing a Curriculum Modifications Framework for your Martial Arts Program (MC)

There are many reasons why we may need to help our students find modifications to the curriculum we teach--injuries, disabilities, pregnancy, neurodiversity, aging bodies, and so much more. In this class, we will outline a framework and approach to help you develop your own modification protocols that will offer consistency to your teaching staff and students, while maintaining the integrity of your art. We will use examples from Seven Star’s Kajukenbo program and the approach we have implemented over time. You’ll work in small groups to workshop specific examples and challenges you have encountered at your school. Prepare to move! This is both a discussion and workout class.

Sa Bom Kimberly Miller

Kim is the chief instructor/owner of Soaring Phoenix Martial Arts since November 2013. She holds a Fourth Degree Black Belt in Sang Hwal Tae Kwon Do, a modern TKD style from Oregon. Sang Hwal stands for the 'living way" and encompasses other martial arts skills in its forms and self defense techniques. In addition to Soaring Phoenix, Kim is K-12 educator for over 20 years. When she isn't supporting education or Soaring Phoenix, she enjoys time with family, knitting, reading and playing with her 11 year old Corgi/Terrier rescue.

Teaching While Having Fun with Pre-K Students (MC) 

This class will include some instructional techniques/games/activities for teaching martial arts skills to Pre-K students. Time will be provided for questions, problem of practice discussions, and sharing with class participants.

Master Michele Montag 

Michele holds a 5th Degree Black Belt in Shaolin Kempo, and she is the Chief Instructor and Co-Owner of Shaolin Studios in Pittsburgh, PA. She is also the co-founder of SETpoint Empowerment Self-Defense. Prior to taking over the studio full-time in 2023, Michele had a 20+ year career in higher education administration that included oversight of staff operations, implementation of DEI initiatives, and strategic planning. She holds a PhD in Anthropology from SUNY-Binghamton.

How Do We Get Them to Stay? Student Retention Strategies for Martial Arts Schools - LD

Once a student makes a commitment to your school, getting them to stay engaged can be a serious challenge. In this session, we’ll start by defining retention and discussing what it might look like to have a “good” retention rate. We’ll then look at some key strategies to improve student retention, including regular data collection and analysis; curricular initiatives; tuition and enrollment policies; communication; and events.

Kelly Muir 

Kelly Muir began her martial arts journey in 1982, training in traditional Okinawan karate. In pursuit of Olympic competition, she shifted her focus to Taekwondo before ultimately returning to her roots in Matsubayashi-ryu Karate-do, the art she continues to practice and teach today.

She opened her first martial arts center in California in 1991, later selling that school and establishing her second dojo in Columbus, Ohio in 2002. She has owned and operated that dojo continuously for more than two decades, teaching a traditional Matsubayashi-ryu curriculum to a thriving student body. Today, her school maintains approximately 170 active students and a waitlist that often stretches across 12 months.

In 2025, she launched the Martial Art MBA program, a comprehensive initiative designed to help school owners build sustainable, profitable academies without sacrificing the integrity of their art. Her mission remains clear: empower martial artists to make a living doing what they love, while elevating the professionalism of the entire industry.

Back to Basics: Build Your Business Plan in 90 Minutes (LD)

Whether a school owner has been operating for years or is just beginning the journey of opening a dojo, many do not have a clear, active business plan to guide their decisions. Just as excellent martial art instructors rely on a structured foundational curriculum, every business needs its own guiding framework to ensure clarity, stability, and strong decision-making. In this session, participants will follow a step-by-step guide to creating, or renewing, their own business plan, leaving with a thought-provoking, actionable blueprint for the martial art programs.

Senior Master Lisa Nakamura

Senior Master Lisa Nakamura has studied Shaolin Kempo for the past 43 years and is currently ranked as an 8th Degree Black Belt. She was awarded the honorific title of Go Inkyo Sama in 2023 for her decades of instruction and student leadership. She is also certified as an Empowerment Self Defense instructor by NWMAF. Lisa has actively taught martial arts and ESD for greater than 4 decades. She is also a certified Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) practitioner as well as a certified Mental Health First Aider. Lisa is a Senior Advisor to Shaolin Studios in Pittsburgh, PA, continuing to support the studio that she and her husband originally founded in 2004.

Trauma-Informed Sparring Drills to Build Confidence, Control, and Skills (MC)

Many of our martial practices include some form of “sparring”, ranging from Sticky Palms to Push Hands to Rolling to Point Sparring to Continuous Full Contact. There are many benefits to sparring including coordination, proprioception, cardiovascular conditioning, and building self-control. As instructors, however, we must recognize that these foundational activities may inherently feel uncomfortable (and even unsafe) for students who have experienced and/or witnessed violence. Providing options can facilitate a more-inclusive school environment.

This Moving Classroom will explore, demonstrate and adapt different strategies for teaching students how to spar in a trauma-informed manner. Participants will have the option to “try and apply” as well as to observe without hands-on application.

back to table of contents

Majikan Nancy Rothenberg

Nancy Rothenberg is celebrating her 40th year in the martial arts this year! She has been running her own studio since 1993 in Northampton, Mass. Nancy's passion is fueled by her commitment to the positive empowerment of all humans and has a special place in her heart for the young ones. Nancy has enjoyed teaching in colleges in Western Mass and in many local organizations. Some of her fondest memories is of training and teaching at Special Trainings and PAWMA camps throughout the years. Today Nancy is busy growing her school and is proud to have grown to over 200 students, 150 of which are children.

How to Create a Leadership Training Program for Your Students (LD)

This workshop will guide you step-by-step in designing a powerful leadership training program for your martial arts students. You’ll learn how to develop age-appropriate lessons that build confidence, empathy, responsibility, and communication skills. Leave with a clear framework and ready-to-use activities to inspire the next generation of student leaders.

Sensei Jamie Zimron

Jamie Leno Zimron Sensei is a co-founder of AWMAI. She began training at Stanford University in 1976 and is a Somatic Psychotherapist, Master Bodyworker, LPGA Golf Pro, Corporate Speaker-Trainer, and international Citizen’s Diplomat. She established the Women’s Aikido School / Aikido Arts Center of San Francisco 1980-1994, and continues to guest instruct at Aikido and other martial arts schools nationally and worldwide. Jamie Sensei has been a lifelong pioneer and champion for women’s empowerment, and extending Aikido beyond the dojo into sports, business, leadership, holistic healing, and peacemaking. A longtime active Board member of Aiki Extensions, she co-founded the Middle East Aikido Project and has worked closely with Training Across Borders, Aikido Ethiopia, Budo For Peace and PeaceCamp Initiative since their inception, and Aikido in Ukraine since the 2022 Russian invasion. She received the 2016 NWMAF Award of Excellence and the 2018 PAWMA Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her outstanding contributions to Aikido, instruction, and peace through the martial arts. The creator of KiAi Golf, Jamie Sensei is thrilled to launch her new book The Centered Way, a comprehensive guide to bringing mind-body unity, Peaceful Power, and harmonious relationship to mainstream society. Known for her dynamic teaching style, she generously shares a vast synthesis of knowledge and experience in all her seminars, healing sessions and peace projects. May Peace Prevail!

Breathe Power:  Re-Training Respiration (EMWO)

"The Center is both a sweet-spot place in space and a core organizing principle, setting all parts into dynamic alignment and coherence so that systems work as a whole, smoothly and dependably. 

Heaven and Earth co-mingle inside our bodies, concentrated in our Center and cells. We are united in the same all-pervasive, brilliant, abundant life-source of which we are each inexorably made and inextricably a part. By orienting in The Center, you and I establish a fundamental balance that is requisite, humane, and sustainable. Our personal lives, socio-political-economics, and the earth’s environment overlap and intertwine. The shifts and changes needed for well-being in every realm intelligently interpenetrate—and are urgently calling out to us."

Trauma Healing & Recovery Through The Martial Arts (LD)

Experienced somatically (in the body), trauma impacts us all, reducing our sense of security and agency. Because martial arts are so somatic and deal directly with safety and power, our dojos are primed to be places of empowering recovery – or conversely, of re-traumatization. Teaching techniques is not enough. Jamie Sensei will share the Trauma Recovery Handbook she recently co-authored, emphasizing how crucial it is for dojo leaders and members to:

1. know how trauma and triggers show up in people 
2. be sensitive to the many roads we and our students have travelled in life
3. prevent harm and support healing as we teach, train, and shape dojo culture.
Together we will bring forth best practices for our dojos to be healthy, empowering spaces for everyone who comes in the door!