the evidence

eighteen black belts.

every one started as a beginner.

Few of them could throw a real punch on their first night. What they shared wasn't talent; it was that they kept turning up after the night they wanted to quit. Roughly half are women. This is the proof the rest of this site rests on.

black belts

~1,000

days to shodan

years of this dojo

50%

are women

dojo leaders

sandan and nidan

ralph bullock

sensei · sandan

I'd trained on and off in a half-dozen arts since 1973, but at fifty, the full-contact, no-pad sparring was the one thing I wasn't sure about. Shihan told me to take it as far as I felt comfortable. Years on, it's the longest continuous stretch of training in my life.

staci hasegawa

senpai · nidan

I started at nine to connect with my half-Japanese ancestry, then left the martial arts for years. What brought me back, and holds me, is "osu" - the spirit of never giving up. It carried me up a 2,000-foot pass in Peru, tears and all, when my knees wanted to quit.

annika nieber

senpai · nidan

I started in Germany at fourteen, where my strength was kata, not fighting, so the kumite frustrated me and I walked in anxious. My curiosity was greater than my fear, and I kept going. Years later I fought for the U.S. National Team in Japan and graded for nidan at the Honbu dojo.

junior instructors

shodan

tomoko tanikawa

senpai · shodan

I was one of the original four students in the Central Kyokushin dojo - there from the very first days on the mat. I went on to fight in the World Tournament in Japan as part of the United States knockdown team. Away from the mat, I'm also a master calligrapher in Japanese kanji.

les peratovich

senpai · shodan

I came from a career in law enforcement and a black belt in another style, and at fifty-seven I wasn't sure about full contact or the risk of injury. Shihan told me it would be on my terms. Past seventy now, I've learned the reward isn't the belt; it's what you put in.

scott ellis

senpai · shodan

I trained in the Ellensburg dojo for years, then moved all the way to Alaska but I came back to go to college and keep training, because I couldn't leave it behind. For a few years I taught the kids' class, and I've competed in multiple regional tournaments.

christine maxwell

senpai · shodan

I came in 2014, back in Washington for a family crisis and needing a focus of my own — and as an older woman, "why am I doing this?" crossed my mind. Later I brought my injured adult son in for the rehab. Every time I head to class out of sorts, I leave better.

jesse maxwell

senpai · shodan

After a grave Navy injury - broken bones, a shattered arm, a brain injury that cost me vision and memory - I was medically retired and could barely kick shin-high. Kata after kata, week after week, did more for my body and mind than words can express. Shihan taught me how to get back up.

ryan higdon

senpai · shodan

I was one of the original heavy hitters in the Ellensburg dojo, and I competed in the first World Tournament in Maine. Later I went on to train in Muay Thai and MMA, but I've never forgotten my Kyokushin roots. This is where I learned what I'm made of.

michael jaime

senpai · shodan

I'd trained since I was six and earned a black belt in another system, but my training had stagnated and I was quietly losing interest. From my very first week in the Ellensburg dojo, the spirit of the place reignited everything. It gave me a strength of will I now use every day.

andrew wiggin

senpai · shodan

I started in 2003, and even when I cross-trained in MMA and found I was good at jiu-jitsu, I still wasn't getting the workout - or the feeling of family - that I got in Kyokushin. So I made it my focus above all else. On graduation day, I wore my black belt around my neck.

melissa bennight

senpai · shodan

I was intimidated by the full-contact sparring and first tried it just for fun. But after a few weeks I knew I wanted to keep going, and it taught me to face my fears and push past my limits. I've become stronger - physically, mentally, and emotionally - in ways I never imagined.

braden Bennight

senpai · shodan

I'd always been the fat kid with skinny arms, and I'd been missing karate for 15 years when I found the club table. Our first day was full-contact - these guys were actually hitting each other - and I knew it would change me. I want to master everything it offers, and myself as well.

an pham

senpai · shodan

I was a Taekwondo black belt on Vietnam's national team when a Kyokushin clip made me swear I'd train this style no matter what. My first day sparring, I learned what it is to fall after one punch and stand back up - wrecked, and satisfied like never before.

shelby teachout

senpai · shodan

I trained in the WSU dojo for years before moving to Ellensburg to pursue a graduate degree in nutrition. The Ellensburg dojo welcomed me with open arms, and I began training under Shihan Ian Quitadamo. It's where I earned my Kyokushin black belt - and found a second home on the mat.

fisher bachman-rhodes

senpai · shodan

After my first day I was exhausted and sure Kyokushin was too hard for me, until my dad said, "You started something, you're going to finish it." I pushed through the brown belt test until my skin felt inside out. Now I'm one of the youngest black belts in dojo history - a very rare feat.

jonathan hoff

senpai · shodan

I came to my first class depressed and scared; my mother signed me up to distract me. Born fifteen weeks premature with lifelong health issues, just overcoming my shyness and my body was a battle. In time my sorrows faded, and Kyokushin gave me a peace I never dreamed could be possible.

jonathan arthur

senpai · shodan

I walked in expecting to stand around punching the air for an hour - then found out I couldn't even throw a punch, and got beaten by a set of sit-ups. The students kept encouraging me, and I've surpassed limits I never thought I could. A black belt isn't mastery; it's where the journey begins.

the journey

Three viewpoints, in their own words.

A bio proves nothing. A before-and-after proves everything. The single highest-value writing left on this site is one honest paragraph from each person above - and none of it can be written by anyone but them. Three questions do it: