Why TRAIN with us?
Because we care. At Karate West in Fort Collins we believe that our purpose is to share with others how much fun it is to learn something new each day and to continually strive for excellence; to understand how life is better for everyone when we demonstrate respect for ourselves and others.
We do this through well-rounded training in our martial arts classes for kids and adults. By well-rounded, we mean that there must be balance in the study of different aspects of martial arts, as for a good life there must be balance in development of body, mind, and spirit; and balance in spiritual life, family, career and play. |
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All of our instructors have trained with us for many years, all are black belt adults (some teens may assist, but anyone in charge of class is an adult). We care about our students; we care about our martial art and passing it on; we care about attention to detail. We are an established business, as we have been here since 1978. We are active in giving back to the community and we are now training the 3rd generation of students in some families. We are a family business, and a family-oriented business, with students ranging in age from 4 years through retired adults. The different age groups train separately in karate, Tae Kwon Do, Jiu-Jitsu and Kickboxing so that we can better meet the unique needs of each age and experience level, but we do encourage entire families to be involved, and many are. |
Meet your instructors
Lou Anne and Kim Yee
Karate West was Kim Yee's dream that grew through his college years and that he started to take action on in the summer of 1978. After college graduation, Kim and Lou Anne married and moved to Fort Collins, CO for Lou Anne to attend graduate school and Kim started Karate West. Lou Anne had plans for a different career, but as Karate West grew, Kim and Lou Anne found that their teamwork made the dream work.
Karate West was born in 1978, and has continued as the family business for over 40 years now. Kim has studied under many teachers, in numerous styles. His primary instructors since moving to Colorado have been Mr. Steve Fisher of Hawthorne, CA, Mr. Richard Bustillo of Torrance, CA, Mr. Roy Kurban of Strawn, TX, and Mr. Amal Easton of Boulder, CO. Kim earned his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu under Mr. Easton, and has reached 7th degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do under Mr. Kurban. Lou Anne has reached 6th degree black belt in TaeKwon Do under Mr. Kurban, also. Adam Yee, their son, has returned to begin taking over as chief instructor. He has his 4th degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. |