I started my Kenpo journey back in 2003 when I was 8 years old. My mom picked me up from gymnastics and we went to go watch my brother at his first karate class. Everything that I saw in class looked so cool and when we got home, I asked if I could try it too. So, a week later I took an introductory class with Mr. Panting in North Spokane and I fell in love with Kenpo. After about 3 months of doing Kenpo and gymnastics together, I made the decision to leave gymnastics due to multiple ankle injuries, and poured all of my focus and dedication into Kenpo.
In 2007 I tested for and earned my Jr. Black under Mr. Cassella and Mr. Panting before moving to Asotin, WA. that summer. There wasn’t a Kenpo school that we could find in Asotin, Clarkson or Lewiston, so from the summer of 2007-2008, my parents enrolled my brothers and myself into a Mixed Martial Arts school where we kept up on our Martial Arts. When we moved back to Spokane, WA. in the summer of 2008, I went back to Mr. Cassella’s school in North Spokane.
When Mr. Cassella closed the school, I was in the middle of competing nationally in snowboarding, enrolling into running start (High School and Associates together), working a part-time job, and battling with some self-discovery and I forced Kenpo to take a back seat while I navigated the world into becoming a young adult. When I moved to Salt Lake City for College, I stumbled upon a Taekwondo school and practiced for about 6 months before studying, collegiate snowboarding, work, and bills began to overwhelm me. I realized that I had joined because I was searching for that freedom and empowerment that Kenpo had always provided for me. I was searching for my home. After this, I put together a binder of everything Kenpo that I could and continued to practice as much as possible.
Fast forward 10 years to December of 2022, I’d moved back to Spokane with my family and I had just finished watching my kid’s test for their orange belts in Taekwondo. Kenpo had been on my mind non-stop since I’d signed them up, but I was pretty sure everything local was closed. I decided to just check and typed in Spokane Kenpo Karate into google and was shocked to see Northwest Kenpo Karate pop up a few sections down. I messaged Mr. Becker and gave him a little background on myself, came to the next class and of course, had a blast! When Mr. Becker asked me where I felt like I was belt level wise, I asked that we just start back at white so I could take my time re-familiarizing myself with the techniques and forms. Now, 3 years later, I’ve earned my blue belt and have both my kids enrolled as well.