About the WKA Bellevue Dojo
Sensei Katherine Jones Thiry
![photo of Sensei Jones Thiry]()
Sensei “Jones”, as she has been known professionally for the last 30 years, has been a student of Hayashi-ha Shito-Ryu and an instructor for 25 of those years.
Sensei Jones is a sixth degree black belt and began her introduction into karate at the Washington Athletic Club in Seattle, Washington at the age 27. It was there that she first met “Shihan” Julius Thiry. Julius Thiry has been, for the duration of her instruction and karate involvement, her sole instructor.
Accomplishments:
- United States Olympic Athlete of the Year – three times
- AAU Athlete of the year
- United States Olympic Committee Coach of the year and voted one of the best five overall coaches in the United States for all sports.
- 28 WKF sanctioned international medals at World Cup, World Championships, North American Cup, Pan American Championships.
- Founding Member: USA National Karate Federation, the National Governing body for the sport of Karate.
- USA-NKF Membership and Credentials Chair
- Architect: United States Open Championships
- Author: USA-NKF Incentive plan and strategic plan for Team Selection procedures
- The USA-NKF coaching Manual: author
- USA-NKF Technical Committee Executive Committee
- USA-NKF Website content: author
- USA-NKF Coaching Committee Chair
- USOC membership and Pan American membership applications: co-author
- International Olympic committee admittance application: co-author and researcher for legal case in successful acceptance through hearings in the CAS (Court of Sport)
- USA-NKF Protocols and Instructional Manual: Author
- USA-NKF Referee Protocols and Rules and Regulations: Author
- USA-NKF Archives and Board of Directors Archives
- USA-NKF Board of Directors
- USA-NKF Athlete Representative to USOC
- USA-NKF Public Relations Chair
- USA-NKF Board of Directors Code of Conduct: Author
- Coached countless national gold medalists at USA National Championships
- Coached over 400 gold medal teams at USA National Championship levels and coached the winning USA Team at Jr. World Cup with 12 gold medals, 25 medalists at elite international levels sanctioned by WKF and PKF
- Coached countless Jr. Olympic national gold medalists
- Coached 7 USOC athletes of the Year
- Coached 6 US Open Championship gold medal winners in two categories, male and female: Kata and Kumite
- USA National Team Coach: WKF, PKF, WUKO, North American Cup, Woman’s World Cup
- USA National Team Coach Committee/Election and Credentials Committee
- USA-NKF Athlete Protocol and Selection Procedures: Author
- USA-NKF Athlete and Coaches Code of Conduct: Author
- USOC information about the sport of Karate: Author
- USOC library/Karate history, archives, information: Author
- USA-NKF History: Author (TBP)
- National and Pan American Referee: Kata and Kumite
- Member of the USA-NKF Technical Council
- USA-NKF Referee Code of Conduct: Author
- Titan Games: Referee rules and addendum for television
- USA-NKF Referee Code of Conduct: Author
- Board Trustee and Board Director of three educational institutions, three Art Institutions, two charity institutions and acts as a volunteer for many other causes and institutions.
- Family, horseback riding, ballet, theatre, swimming
- International Gold Award winning writer for documentary film.