This fun Podcast highlights four women who share how collegiate karate improved their college years and their lives.

Listen by clicking below:

These women share why collegiate karate is important and why their instructor, Sensei Swanson, is instrumental in their love and participation in this martial art. They show a perspective rarely discussed, how practicing karate during their college years helped them achieve and grow into the accomplished women they are today.

Each practitioner explores why she began martial arts and how it formed her collegiate years and life. These fresh perspectives frame the importance of karate for young women who are beginning their professional careers and their futures in martial arts.

Tune in for this interesting interview about karate in college and how these women’s achievements and their future link to their martial art practice. See their biographies below as well as links and information in which you may be interested.

Bio’s: 

Gabrielle Grilo’s martial arts journey began at a later stage in life than many of her colleagues. As a freshman at SRU (Spring 2015) she began training under the instruction of Sensei JD Swanson (6th dan) as a member of the International Shotokan Karate Federation (ISKF), without prior experience in any martial art. Gabrielle attended weekly trainings held by her Sensei at Salve Regina University, Brown University, and private trainings for higher ranking students. In the spring of 2017, Gabrielle earned her shodan (1st dan) and shortly thereafter became a co-interim instructor of the SRU Karate Club during her senior year of college. Alongside her instructing partner, Gabrielle had the honor of preparing her students for kyu exams, as well as regional and national tournaments. Additionally, Gabrielle has attended several camps hosted by the ISKF and was selected to try out for the East Coast Women’s Team, as well as attended an all-women shiai hosted by the Shotokan Karate Club of Maryland (SKCM). These opportunities allowed Gabrielle to meet and train with some of the world’s most talented karate-ka, ultimately shaping her experience and passion for karate. After graduating from Salve, Gabrielle continued to train with and instruct both the SRU Karate Club and the Brown University Karate Club on a weekly basis. This fall, Gabrielle will be assuming the role of full-time coach for the Salve Regina University Karate Club.

Cameron Mas hails from a small town in Connecticut and holds the rank of shodan (1st dan) in Shotokan karate. She has been training for 6 years, and got her start by joining the Salve Regina University Shotokan Karate Club in Newport, Rhode Island. Prior to her Shotokan training, Cameron had over a decade of training in Tae Kwon Do under her belt (no pun intended) and holds a shodan in that style as well. During her time at Salve, Cameron also participated in the joint weekly trainings that her sensei, JD Swanson (6th dan), held with the Brown University Shotokan Karate Club. Cameron possesses several years of instructing experience in Tae Kwon Do, and had the opportunity to serve as a co-interim instructor for the Salve Regina Shotokan Karate Club for a year. During this time, she helped train and prepare the club for kyu exams as well as in achieving multiple medals at local, regional, and national tournaments. Cameron has been previously selected to try out for the East Coast women’s team, and has had the opportunity to meet and train with some of the best karate-ka from all over the country and the world through participating in ISKF training camps. After graduating from Salve, Cameron trained in Rhode Island for another year before moving on to pursue a Master of Social Work degree at the University of Pennsylvania. During this time, she has had the opportunity to train with the Penn Shotokan Karate Club and with ISKF Headquarters in Philadelphia on multiple occasions. Most recently, Cameron has graduated with her Masters degree this past May amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and has earned her Licensed Social Worker certification.

Links & Info:

Sensei J.D. Swanson’s Book: Karate Science (Dynamic Movement) book by Sensei J.D. Swanson, Ph.D: https://www.amazon.com/Karate-Science-Dynamic-Movement-Martial/dp/1594394598/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=karate+science&qid=1595695747&s=books&sr=1-1

Andrea’s Motivational Books: