Tom Heyman has been practicing Shotokan Karate for over 29 years, receiving his Shodan (1st degree black belt) in August 1978 in New York with another Shotokan style. He subsequently moved to California in 1980 and began practicing with Shotokan Karate of America (SKA) at the Santa Monica Dojo, training with many excellent and talented teachers, including frequent classes with Mr. Tsutomu Ohshima, chief instructor of SKA.

A karate school leader since 1992 in Claremont where he received his B.A. with Honors in Psychology from Pitzer College, Tom also has trained in Aikido for four years.

Now a Yodan (4th degree black belt) with SKA and a resident of Santa Barbara, Tom leads the Santa Barbara Shotokan Karate Club and owns and operates Global Electric, an Electrical Subcontracting Business. Tom lives with his wife and has five children.

Ed Lee is a direct pupil of Mr. Ohshima and began practicing karate with SKA in 1987 at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) where he earned his B.S. degree with honors in computer science.
Ed is a Sandan (3rd degree black belt) with SKA.