Chairwomen
Diane Ortenzio-Cooling has been training in Isshin-Ryu Karate since 1979 and SMP Arnis since 2009. She has been a competitor and instructor and opened her own dojo in 1999 in Gardnerville, NV.
She was elevated to hachi-dan (8th degree black belt) in Order of Isshin-Ryu Karate in 2015 and dayang anim (6th degree black belt) in SMP Arnis in 2019. Diane claims that she’ll stop training and learning when they put her in a nursing home!
Dee Holmes is a san-dan (3rd degree) in Isshinryu Karate, where she began training in 1985 with Master Carl Martin in Norristown, PA. She was one of the original members of that dojo and one of the first women students able to withstand the rigorous training and demands of the martial arts at that time. In addition to training, competing and teaching, she organizes dojo meetings and events, and is the main coordinator for the annual West Chester Fall Classic Tournament. She is usually in charge of the rings, score- and time-keeping for the Isshinryu Hall of Fame.