My name is Brit Tatum-Flores, 3rd Dan Black, daughter of GM Larry Tatum and Master Jill Tatum. My Kenpo journey began at an early age, with my first memories of “home” being the smell of musty carpet, gi sweat, and feet, from Ed Parker’s Santa Monica school, where my father managed. Throughout the years I trained, took breaks, played sports, and then at 29, came back to Kenpo full-time to manage my father, Larry Tatum’s Kenpo Karate Green Street Dojo, from 2008 to 2016. During that time I managed the dojo, helped to manage the LTKKA, and became a head teacher of the school while also managing the marketing and PR of my parents and the association.
In 2011, I became a mom, proudly nursing my firstborn daughter between private lessons, while running to trade places with my mom to teach the teen classes…what an era!
In 2016, after the birth of my second daughter, I took extended “Kenpo Maternity Leave” to pursue my passion for marketing, PR, and writing. I now have over 120 articles published in The Daily Courier newspaper and am a guest writer for Prescott Woman Magazine.
Most recently, I came out of “Kenpo Maternity Leave,” after 7 years, to partner with The Launch Pad Teen Center, an all-inclusive, diversity-centered teen center, dedicated to lifting teen voices in our community and raising awareness for women’s and LGBTQ rights and teaching their self-defense course for WEBB (Women’s Empowerment Breakthrough Conference) in the Mingus Mountains. I am pleased to continue to donate teaching hours to instructing self-defense club at the center as a free community class for our diverse teens!
My marketing/PR business – The Practice of Self Care – www.thepracticeofselfcare.com empowers individuals to prioritize self-care and master the art of personal branding and features my consulting services, my podcast “Good Advice” and my articles.
My work in the Kenpo world also continues as I continue to train with my Dad, launching a new YouTube channel to archive our lessons, dedicated to sharing the heart of Kenpo with the world, across patches, and hopefully through this, lifting up the talent, dedication, and wisdom of my fellow sisters in Kenpo. I am committed to being a student of and teaching the Kenpo, showcasing strength, power, speed, and knowledge of the Art, not just as a woman, but as a practitioner of Kenpo.
I currently reside with my two daughters (both of whom I train), 3 cats, 1 dog, and 5 fish, in Prescott, AZ, and am PROUD to be a member of the International Women of Kenpo Facebook Group. **salute