The vision we hold for our dojo (school) and practice is to preserve the highest standards and training ideals of traditional karate as a serious martial art while promoting its greater value as a pathway to self-mastery. At Cascade Karate students discover a rewarding training discipline that utilizes the physical aspect of training for self-defense as a tool to forge the body, cultivate the spirit, and free the mind, a  process of self-mastery that leads to freedom from self-imposed limitation and an enhanced sense of personal strength and well being.

Our dojo is a member of Shito-Ryu Seiko-Kai. The Chief Instructor of this prestigious organization is Sensei Akira Sato. Under Sato Sensei’s guidance Seiko-Kai has achieved international prominence as a leading school of traditional karate. Sato Sensei is a highly sought after instructor with a reputation for developing exceptionally strong karate practitioners. He travels extensively throughout the world propagating karate as a means of self-improvement and a tool

by which diverse cultures can find mutual understanding.

John Solheim, Chief Instructor of the Cascade Karate Club has been practicing  karate since 1992 and has been awarded dan (black belt) certification by the Nihon Karate-Do Kai and Shito-Ryu Seiko-Kai. A direct student of Akira Sato Sensei he has been fortunate to train under exceptional instructors that have helped him develop a profound understanding of karate. Bringing this knowledge along with a demanding training discipline to his instruction has helped his students gain an exceptional level of technical precision and practical ability.

Nancy Solheim has been practicing karate since 1992  and serves as the dojo’s senior assistant instructor. In addition, she serves as the Chief Instructor our women’s self-defense program, “Street Smarts for Women”. Noted for her understanding of how to practically apply karate  for self-defense against physically superior adversaries, she has crafted a program of instruction based upon karate that is tailored to specifically address the unique self-defense needs of women.