been another class in Maple Valley taught by Terry George. 
Tom Blaschko moved from Boulder to the Seattle area in May of 1980 and was practicing with Ron Thom at the Bainbridge Island Dojo for the first few months after he moved there. When he moved to Renton, he started the South King County Dojo on January 12, 1981 through the East Valley Branch of the Seattle-King County YWCA, and later the dojo continued under the King County Parks and Recreation Department.
Among the first members were Nihad Khalaf, Kerry Copeland, and Jerry Bentler. A kids' class was added by Jerry in late 1984. He handled it so well (so the legend goes) that Tom went into semi-retirement around 1990, leaving Jerry to lead all of the classes. Since 1993, there has often been another class in Maple Valley taught by Terry George.
Practices have been held in beautiful wood-floored gymnasiums and on (very hard) vinyl-tiled concrete. Summers on the grass were blessed with more sun than rain. Sometimes there were one or two students. Occasionally there were over thirty (about the time "Karate Kid" came out). The class never stayed that large for very long, but there have always been serious students working to make their practice better. Over the years, many Seattle area karatekas have made the trip south to gather and to practice with this dojo.
Copyright © 1996 by John Gosink