Staff
Our Staff is a tight-knit group of highly motivated individuals who are dedicated to teaching and leading others down a path of personal success. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a group of individuals from a wide array of backgrounds with a strong sense of unity, family values, respect and courtesy, goal-setting skills, and the character it takes to develop a positive winning attitude within each student.
Our Staff is “Home Grown.” In other words, each and every staff member first started in the Academy as a student…..many of whom began as young children and are now successful adults with children of their own. After reaching strict minimum standard requirements, a student may apply for membership to our Staff / Leadership Team Program. With several years of training in the program, they can finally be considered for an Instructor Position. In other words, we don’t hire people off the streets to teach our students.
Staff members also receive special training and responsibilities that prove to aide each individual Staff Member in his or her own personal growth and development. They aren’t just teaching….they are also continuing their education in the martial arts.

Jonathan Exaros
Head Instructor / Owner & Operator
Jonathan has been training in martial arts since 1973. With fifty years of experience, he holds multiple ranks is several styles of karate and traditional weapons training, including Hachi-Dan / 8th Degree Black Belt in Isshinryu Karate. He is also a Brown Belt in BJJ. He has authored two books, “A Teacher’s Inspiration” and “A Village Murder,” which can currently be found on several platforms like Amazon, Google Play and Itunes.

Kevin Ferguson
Kevin is a 6th Degree Black Belt and Mr. Exaros’ longest-training student. He is a senior instructor of the Academy. He currently works as a computer programmer and software developer.

Neil Zieselman
Neil Zieselman is a 6th Degree Black Belt who has been studying martial arts for over 42 years. He is one of our senior instructors who lives in NJ, works for a major finance company, is married with four children, and travels in to PA to teach black belt classes, seminars and various special events.

Steve Parys
Steve holds a 6th degree Black Belt in Karate and is a Purple Belt in BJJ. He is married with two children and is an Accountant for a local company in Lansdale. Both his children now train in the Academy’s karate program.

Dallas Strachan
Dallas is a 5th degree Black Belt in Karate and a Purple Belt in BJJ. He teaches students of all ages in the Academy and was one of the first students to sign up in the Dojo over 32 years ago. He works in the heating and plumbing field.

Kevin Cunningham
Kevin is a 6th degree Black Belt in Karate and a Brown Belt in BJJ. His wife, Josa also trains and teaches in the Academy and they have two daughters. He currently works as a software engineer in Philadelphia.

Shannon Lynott
Shannon is a 4th degree Black Belt in Karate. She especially likes working with younger kids and is currently the Head Instructor of our Doylestown Rec Karate Program. She was a Goddard School instructor for several years, is a graduate of PSU and is a teacher at Central Bucks South High School.

Kevin Jensen
Kevin Jensen is a 3rd degree black belt in Karate and a Blue Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He is a CPA and works for a firm out of Doylestown and Lansdale.

Diane Pilch
Diane is a 4th degree black belt in Karate and teaches on Monday and Thursday nights at the Horsham Dojo. She is a pediatric physical therapist working with disabled preschoolers in Bucks County, and is married with two grown children.

Metani Exaros
Metani is the daughter of the Head Instructor and has been training in the arts since she was just four years old. She holds a third degree black belt in Karate and is a Blue Belt in BJJ. She owns her own photography and videography company, teaches horseback riding in Souderton, and is also a competitive horseback riding enthusiast.

Alan Exaros
Alan is the son of the head instructor and has been training in the arts since he was just four years old. He is a second degree Black Belt and has studied BJJ. Alan is currently attending Arizona State University Polytechnic Campus to become a commercial pilot. He also has a strong interest in music and the arts.

Paul and Amanda Schmidt
Paul and his daughter, Amanda are co-head instructors at the Springfield Rec Center Martial Arts Program. Paul is a 6th degree Black Belt in Karate and a Blue Belt in BJJ. He is an environmental attorney with a firm in Springfield. Amanda is a second degree black belt in karate and studies BJJ. She is currently attending college at Drexel University.

Eric Enger
Eric is a graduate of PSU and has done a lot of work with childhood education and development. He is a 4th degree black belt in karate and brings a lot of energy to the Academy with his passion for teaching. He is currently a teacher at a middle school in the district, is heading up the marching band program, and is the Saturday 9am instructor at our Academy. You can also often find him attending and assisting in the Monday and Wednesday evening classes.

Brad Umfer
Brad is a 5th degree Black Belt in karate. He lives in NJ, but travels often to train and to cover classes when another instructor is absent. He is also one of our tech support specialists for this website. He is married with two young daughters.

Vinnie Santacroce
Vinnie is a 2nd degree Black Belt in Karate and currently attends PSU. He’s been training with us since he was just six years old and he teaches and assists in various classes throughout the week when he is back from school.

Josa Hanzlik
Josa is a Black Belt in Karate and a Blue Belt in BJJ. Her husband, Kevin, also trains and teaches in the Academy and they have two daughters. She currently works as a Toxicologist for a blood/plasma supplier and services company.

Russel Graef
Russel is a 1st Degree Black Belt in Isshinryu Karate and has been teaching high school science since 2004. He has a B.S. in microbiology from Northwestern State University, and an M.S. in biotechnology from Stephen F. Austin. He is currently a Physics teacher in the School District of Philadelphia. Russel teaches at the Doylestown Rec Center on Saturday mornings and can be found teaching and assisting in the Horsham Dojo throughout the week.

Richard Wren
Richard has a competitive background in both Olympic Weight Lifting and Judo as a Brown Belt. He currently holds the rank of purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-JItsu.. Rich is a graduate of Temple University (Tyler School Of Art) and is a world renowned tattoo artist. He owns and operates the Relic Tattoo Studio in Horsham. Rich’s partner, Gabbie recently gave birth to their newborn daughter.
New Instructors






Congratulations to our latest inductees into our staff as Instructors. Having worked hard in our “Leadership Team / Assistant Instructor” program for over two years, Joey Farzetta, Alexis Doll-young, Caitlyn Doll-Young, Jace Henson, Nate Martinez, and Keethi Mokkarala were recently elevated to instructor status in September 2022. They are outstanding mentors to our young junior students throughout the week in the Dojo, and the older teens and adults look up to them for their dedication, training ethic and exceptional technical skill. We look forward to having them continue to grow as leaders in our Dojo as they continue to advance.