Instructors

TERRI GIAMARTINO, a fifth-degree black belt, has been training in the martial arts for 32 years. In addition to Cuong Nhu, she has studied Shotokan Karate and Jujitsu. Her energetic and enthusiastic style is contagious to those who train with her. She believes that proper training can not only build stronger and more confident individuals, but provides a background for deeper self-realization.

Her community service activities stretch back to 1980, becoming one of the founding mothers of the Pacific Association of Women Martial Artist (PAWMA), a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of women and girls in the martial arts. Starting as their first President, she continued to serve in various executive capacities from 1980 through 1989. She has served on the board of the Cuong Nhu Oriental Martial Arts Association (CNOMAA), is a member of the American Teachers Association of Martial Artists (ATAMA) and The Association of Women Martial Arts Instructors (AWMAI). She has coordinated and taught at a variety of regional and national martial arts camps.

In 1993, Sensei Terri began Skills for Safe Living, a company dedicated to teaching safety and self-defense skills and opened her school, Hoa Sen Dojo, located in Emeryville, California. In 1999, she was voted Martial Artist of the Year by the Pacific Association of Women Martial Artists. She has been a guest on both radio and televison including segments on KPFA, KISS FM and SF Live.

PAM BOYLE, a third-degree black belt, began training at Karate Women in Los Angeles as part of her work with the Los Angeles County Assaults Against Women rape crisis center in 1987. She moved to Oakland in 1988 and was referred to Berkeley Cuong Nhu Karate where she trained for two years and gained the rank of brown belt. In 1991 she was assigned with the Peace Corps to work in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa. For five years she trained with teachers from a variety of styles and opened two karate schools. In May 1995 Pam returned to Berkeley Cuong Nhu and began training for her black belt test. After black belt she trained for one year in Aikido until formal education took precedence. In January 2005, Sensei Pam moved to Hoa Sen Dojo, where she primarily assists with the children’s program teaching ages four and up.

ANNIE JOHNSTON has been training in the martial arts for over 25 years and holds the rank of nidan or second-degree black belt. Although her primary style is Cuong Nhu, she achieved her first black belt in Shorin Ryu and has also studied Judo, Kung Fu and Kenpo.. Her community work has included providing self-defense classes for low income women and the initiation of a self-defense program at Berkeley High School.

Sensei Annie is primarily responsible for the Saturday sparring classes at Hoa Sen Dojo. She is a full-time social studies teacher and coordinates a small school at Berkeley High She is the mother of two with her partner Judy. Her daughter, JoHanna, is her best training buddy.

CRAIG TYLER began his Cuong Nhu training in 1994 and has been training in Seibukan Jujutsu for almost two years. Sensei Craig has been teaching Cuong Nhu for 12 years and will continue to do so as long as there are children who are interested.