instructors

Shihan Marinus Hook

Name: Shihan Marinus Hook - Master Instructor

Training Since: 1970

Bio: Shihan Marinus Hook began his martial arts career at the tender age of four. In 1970 he was enrolled in a Tae Kwon Do based school located in a church in Wayne, New Jersey. The instructor (Mr. Kim) was not accustomed in taking in such a young student, for this was not normal for this era. Some convincing and maybe a few heart strings allowed Marinus to begin, for you see Marinus was without parents. An Uncle was the one convincing and helping Marinus to begin his journey. Read More

Sensei Mark Turner

Name: Sensei Mark Turner - Senior Instructor

Training Since: 1979

Bio: Sensei Mark Turner began his martial arts career in 1979 with the British Amateur Martial Association in a small Wado Ryu Karate school on the Isle of Wight, just off the south coast of England. Mark was awarded his first black belt (Wado - 1st Dan) in 1984 at the National College of Karate in King's Cross, London. He went on to teach Wado Ryu in a number of schools throughout the UK, while practicing the relatively new art of Tōshido with Sensei Colin Clegg throughout the 1980s. Read More

Sempi Byron Ruth

Name: Sempi Byron Ruth - Instructor

Training Since: 1992

Bio: Out of curiousity and the love for martial art TV shows, Byron J. Ruth began training at the age of six under Shihan Marinus Hook. Byron received his black belt in 1999 by "The Way of the Family Tree". He has been training and expanding his knowledge ever since in the arts of Wado Ryu and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Sempi Eric Ruth

Name: Sempi Eric Ruth - Instructor

Training Since: 1992

Bio: Sempi Eric J. Ruth, the Managing Director of the Dojo, started training at the young age of 38. He started soon after his son had begun training. Eric and Byron have grown an unbreakable bond and respect for one another from training together.

Eric continues to train and is the lead instructor at Family Tree Karate. Eric is also the CEO and Co-Founder of the Kellyn Foundation, a 501c3, which focuses on family wellness and fighting the obesity epidemic.