Miss Kat came to the mat with a background most instructors don’t have. A former secondary education teacher and administrator, college lacrosse player, and soccer athlete, she spent years in schools before finding her real calling here. She holds a 2nd Degree Black Belt and has been training and teaching martial arts for 11 years. What drives her is straightforward: she has seen, first-hand, what happens when someone finally believes in themselves. And she wants every student who walks through the door to feel that.
Whole-brain teaching strategies, IEP-informed instruction, and adaptive coaching for students of all abilities and learning styles.
Builds confidence in children who struggle with shyness or focus, using visual, verbal and tactile cues
Supports students with special educational needs through individual modifications and patient repetition
Helps adults develop discipline and self-belief at any stage of life
Guides the youngest learners (ages 3-4) through structured play that builds real skills fast
Teaching philosophy
Miss Kat does not teach the same way to every student. That is something she learned long before she ever stepped onto a martial arts mat. In her years as a secondary education teacher working in inclusion classrooms, she got very good at reading what a child actually needs, not just what the lesson plan says. She carries that into every class at Parkwood.
She uses whole-brain teaching strategies, works with IEPs, and adapts her instruction through visual, verbal and tactile cues. So if your child learns differently, that is not a problem here. It is something she has been preparing for her entire career.
Her favourite age group is the Ninja Sharks, the 3 and 4 year olds who arrive full of energy and leave having quietly grown in ways their parents notice at home. She loves how fast they pick things up and how naturally they begin to encourage one another.
Her guiding belief comes from a Gene Dunn quote she keeps close: progress, not perfection. She is not chasing flawless technique. She is building kids, and people, who keep showing up.
