Hanabi Judo

We speak with the student - and their parent if they are younger - and listen to the reason they are considering our classes. Based upon our discussion we decide what would be the best program for them.

I have taught children and adults in classrooms, day camps, judo schools and professional situations since 1980.  

I have a Master's Degree in Educational Administration.

I was an elementary school teacher in New York and California. I taught English as a Foreign Language in Japan.  I taught bilingual Spanish classes here in the Bay Area.

I have been teaching judo part time since 1990 and full time since 2010. I am a nationally certified coach.

Pre-JudoOnce per week$99/monthTwice per week$119/monthUnlimited$139/monthBeginning JudoTwice per week$119/monthUnlimited$139/monthIntermediate/Advanced JudoUnlimited (11 and under)$139/monthUnlimited (12 and over)$149/monthFamily SpecialFor three or more people in the same family, save 15%Single Class (Drop-In)$30/Class

I always wanted to teach children.  I studied to be an Elementary teacher at San Francisco State and when I graduated, I moved to New York City in 1984 and taught in East (Spanish) Harlem.  I wanted to speak Spanish better so I moved to Mexico and lived in the Olympic Training Center there were I trained with the Mexican national judo team.  My Spanish improved and I moved back to Berkeley where I taught a bilingual Spanish class.  

But I wanted to go to train for the Olympics so I moved to Tokyo where I taught English as a Second Language and trained.  Three years later I returned home and continued teaching elementary school for another year before forming my own company that did educational programs with Japan and other countries around the world. 

I ran that company for 20 years. I realized my dream of opening an independent judo club, Hanabi, in 2011.

I have worked with children as young as 2 and adults into their 70's.  We have students who are developmentally disabled and We have a good group of visually impaired students.  

We have a great woman's class and a wonderful adult Beginning class with both men and women.  

We national level competitors and a few who have competed internationally.  

We also have some academically gifted young people. At 18 our students earn their black belt as well as their high school diploma.  We have had our young black belts attend Duke University, Columbia, John's Hopkins, Cal, UCLA and Boston College - to name a few.

Every month we have in-class tournaments.  This past week we had a 5 year old girl who tried it out for the first time.  While she didn't win any of her matches, she tried very hard, and earned the "Most Inspirational Competitor."

We believe that effort is important. Not everyone will win every time.  But all of us can learn and achieve and we want to celebrate the effort to improve.

Sit down and watch and listen. Do you respect how this person teaches? Do you like the way they interact with others?  If you had a child, would this person be a good role model? Based upon the answers to these questions you will know if this teaher is a good fit for you or your child.

What do they want? What is the goal? 

Sometimes students don't have clear answers to these questions. Talking to others, sometimes even the potential teacher, can help clarify them.

But you don't always need to have clear questions. You can even ask the teacher what questions the teacher thinks students should ask.