George Grimes Sensei’s influence in the world of Wado Ryu Karate extends beyond his teaching. He began his practice in 1966 under Tatsuo Suzuki Hanshi 8th Dan, and in 1976 under both Sensei Tatsuo Suzuki and Masafumi Shiomitsu Hanshi 9th Dan.  In 1989, he was a founding member of Sensei Masafumi Shiomitsu’s Wado-Ryu Karate-Do Academy. He was the first non-Japanese student to join the Wado Academy Dan grading panel. In 2011, he left the Wado Academy to become the Chief Instructor of the Wado Karate Federation, a role that reflects his leadership and influence in the martial arts community. The Hombu Dojo of the Wado Karate Federation is in Bristol, England, U.K., where he is known for frequently teaching and hosting joint courses in Great Britain and abroad.

He began practicing Wado Ryu Karate in 1974 under Yutaka Toyama Sensei until 1984 until his teacher returned to Japan. In 1984 he began training under Sensei Tatsuo Suzuki and later joined Shiomitsu Sensei in the Wado Ryu Karate Do Academy. In 2005, he earned his 6th Dan from the International Karate Wado Federation Ren Mei and a PhD/M.S. in Martial Arts Sciences 2009. He competed internationally with the Italian team (1995–2010) and organized the 2010 European Wado Championships in Rome. He received his 7th Dan in 2010 and his 8th Dan in 2019. Founder and President of AIKAM (2012), he published his book Karate Wado Ryu Kaizen (2015) and represents Wado Ryu internationally with TKAW’s Shihan Kai (2018).

Karate pioneer, Sensei Jepperson founded the USA Wado Organization, uniting diverse Wado groups. He served on the boards of the WIKF-USA, USA Wado, and the USANKF Technical Committee. A highly respected figure, he’s a USANKF National Referee and Certified Coach, having trained with legendary masters like Hironori Otsuka and Tatsuo Suzuki. Jepperson began his martial arts journey under Ed Parker and transitioned to Wado Ryu under the esteemed Toshio Osaka Sensei. He’s a seasoned competitor, having won a Bronze medal at the 1995 WIKF Pan Am Championships. He also coached the USA Wado Team at the 1992 WIKF World Championships in Tokyo. With over 35 years of teaching experience, he’s instructed the US Army Special Forces, the Tennessee Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Salt Lake City Police Academy.

Sensei Pardue is a Founding Member of the Wado Karate Coalition. Sensei Pardue has been practicing Wado-Ryu since 1974, when he began training at the All-Ireland Karate-Do Wado-Kai under Yoshihiko Iwasaki Sensei and Tatsuo Suzuki Sensei in Dublin, Ireland, where he became Assistant Chief Instructor in 1982. He has held national and international competition titles, including the Federation of European Wado-Kai, All-Ireland Karate-Do Wado-Kai, and US Eastern Karate Masters. He became the Chief Instructor of the American Wado-Ryu Karate-Do Academy under Masafumi Shiomitsu Sensei in 2003. In 2005, Masafumi Shiomitsu and Hironori Otsuka II recognized Tyrone as a fully qualified and certified Wado-Ryu (Shidoin) instructor, acknowledging his technical ability and granting him permission and authority to teach Wado-Ryu internationally. He established the Wado-Ryu Karate-Do Academy in Florida, Massachusetts, and Los Angeles during this period. He is an advertising consultant and lives in Co. Kildare, Ireland.

Besides holding a licentiate degree in Economics and a postgraduate degree in Risk Management and Derivatives, Henrique is a professional in the capital markets area of credit and finance. Henrique started Wado Ryu in Portugal in 1981 and continued in Canada in 2009 with Sensei Alex Waith. He is a 4th Dan.

Robyn Hamilton started practicing Wado Ryu in 2001 with Sensei Alex Waith, and hasn’t stopped since, proceeding through the ranks to her current status of 3rd Dan. In 2015 she started refereeing with Karate Ontario, and in 2019 she went national. She has twice been awarded as the Ontario female referee of the year. With a passionate interest in how the human body moves, she is always looking for new strength and flexibility possibilities.

​Ramy is a Professional Engineer who holds an M.Sc. in Computer Science, MBA and he is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). Ramy has been practicing different forms of martial arts for the past 40 years in including Taekwondo, Judo and TaiChi. Ramy actively practices Wado Ryu Karate and successfully challenged the 1st Dan.

John is a 1st Dan, and has been in the insurance industry since 1985 handling Major Case Construction Defect. John earned a J.D. in Law at Stetson, and soon after passed the Florida bar exam. He is a licensed Circuit Court Mediator and Attorney in the State of Florida. John Bronga started practicing Wado Ryu in 1981 with Sensei Kaufman and Flowers at University of South Florida. He started training with Sensei Tyrone Pardue in 2003, and received his 1st Dan from Shiomitsu Sensei.

Natineal Wondwosen is a 1st Dan and began his Wado journey since 2010 under Greg Rubinson. He teaches Wado in Los Angeles, California, and also works as a fitness coach for both the youth and adults. In 2020, he committed to teaching children Wado-Ryu during the pandemic lockdown and is working towards growing the presence of Wado in California under the guidance of Sensei Pardue.