Frederick W Lohse III
Fred sensei began training Goju Ryu and Matayoshi Kobudo under Kimo Wall sensei in 1986, as a student at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. While living in Kagoshima, Japan in the early 1990s he trained under Sakai Ryugo sensei (a student of Higa and Matayoshi sensei’s in the 1950s and 60s), and periodically visited Okinawa to train with Matayoshi Shinpo and members of Higa sensei’s Shodokan. He has continued kobudo training with Gakiya Yoshiaki sensei and the OKDR® since 2001. He also studies Feeding Crane gong’fu with Liu Chang’I. Other martial arts experience includes a teaching license in Ufuchiku kobudo and some training in Jigen Ryu Hyōhō, in the dojo in Kagoshima.
Fred sensei has taught seminars on Goju Ryu, Matayoshi Kobudo, Feeding Crane, and self-defense in Japan, Holland, Canada, Great Britan, and around the US and has written about historical, social and cultural elements of martial arts training. He continues to visit Japan, Okinawa and Taiwan regularly to train and see friends, and has been ranked roku (6th) dan by Kimo sensei and go (5th) dan by Gakiya sensei. He joined Kodokan Boston in 1993, when he moved back to the Boston area, and acts as our chief instructor. His teaching methodology is influenced not only by his martial arts background and experience in Japan, but also by a graduate degree in education from Harvard University. He does other stuff besides training, but if you want to know about any of that, you have to ask.
Corey Tedrow
Corey sensei was introduced to Goju Ryu karate do in January of 1991, and has been practicing it ever since. She began training under Giles Hopkins sensei while at UMass Amherst. In the fall of 1992 she started training with Kodokan Boston. She has been training kobudo almost as long as karate, and has a deep passion for both arts.
Corey sensei has taught karate, kobudo, and self-defense seminars in the Cambridge area since 1993, and has been ranked Go (5th) dan by Kimo Wall sensei. She has been ranked Yon dan (4th degree black belt) in kobudo by Gakiya Yoshiaki sensei.
She feels so fortunate to be a part of such a wonderful dojo. It is not just her love for the arts that keeps her training, it is also the smart, thoughtful and friendly people she trains with that continue to motivate her.
Mike Larimore
Mike’s first memories of martial arts begin with watching Bruce Lee on a black and white TV as a young boy in some sort of exited amazement, and watching his father try to teach his older brother basic karate moves to defend against the neighborhood bully. At age 11, Mike began training an Americanized karate style and continued until he began training Goju-ryu in 1996 with Giles Hopkins-sensei and the University Massachusetts Amherst Kodokan dojo as a freshman. Mike was amazed at the depth of knowledge, the lineage, and the effective technique that Kodokan maintained as part of their practice. After making the rank of Shodan, Mike graduated and moved to Boston, and began training with the Kodokan Boston dojo. Mike has continued training and teaching, obtaining the rank of Yon dan (4th degree black belt). In addition to training Goju-ryu, Mike trains regularly in Feeding Crane Kung fu with other Kodokan and Meibukan dojo members. Even after years of training, Mike still continues to grow his enjoyment and enthusiasm for training and sharing martial arts.
Kodokan Boston 