Salt City Karate Classes Are Taught By Highly Experienced & Trained Instructors.



Mr. Jeffrey C. Bertolo, Sensei-Dojo Cho 7th Dan.

Traditional Japanese Karate-Do

Affiliated with A.I.K.I.A (American Independent karate Instructors Association)

Bertolo-Sensei (pronounced Sen-Say) has lived in Mattydale, NY all of his life. He opened the city’s first multiplex school and since then has been a leader in promoting Karate-Do in Central New York.

He currently holds the rank of Black Belt 7th Dan and has more than 50 years of training and instructions in his credit.

He has also trained with numerous world champions including Bill “SuperFoot” Wallace, Master Hidy Ochiai, the late Joe “The Golden Boy” Lewis, Benny “The Jet” Urquidez and 10 time world champion John Chung.

Bertolo-Sensei was a P.K.C. Super Middle Weight kick-boxer and has promoted Pro Kickboxing events in Central New York, along with World Class Seminars.

Jeffrey Bertolo operates a successful program for all ages and types of people including teaching children in local school programs.

Mr. David Jakubowski- Fourth Degree Black Belt (Yon-Dan)

Mr. David Jakubowski has 25 years of experience in the Martial Arts specializing in Shotokan Karate and American Kenpo.

His experience and tenure at Salt City Karate has earned Mr. David the title of Kohai (junior student).

Mr. David competes in tournaments in the Syracuse area and has also assisted in after school karate programs in various schools.

Mr. David believes in conducting classes that are fun, but still disciplined.

Mr. David is committed to teaching the students of Salt City Karate to not only be great Martial Artists, but also to be responsible and outstanding members of society.

Mr. David lives in Liverpool, NY. Apart from being successful in the Dojo, Mr. David has also been successful academically. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology (2009) and his Master of Science in Education specializing in Adolescence Education (2012) from Le Moyne College.

Mr. Paul Snyder- Third Degree Black Belt (San-Dan)

Mr. Paul Snyder has been a student at Salt City Karate for 26 years and is 72 years old. His experience and tenure at Salt City Karate has earned him the title of Sempai (senior student/mentor). In recent years, Mr. Paul has been concentrating his Martial Arts training in Judo and Tai Chi. He sees the health and spiritual benefits of Tai Chi as a major driver in his continued studies of that particular art.

Mr. Paul lives in Oswego, NY and is a graduate of Notre Dame University. He has worked in healthcare finance for 44 years, including 34 years as CFO of Oswego Hospital. He is married with two children and four grandchildren.

Mr. Dan Culican- Second Degree Black Belt (Ni-Dan)

Mr. Dan Culican has been a student at Salt City Karate for 22 years. He studied Bkido-Kan Karate-Do. Mr. Dan lives in Cape May, NJ and holds a Masters in engineering from Rowan University. For the past eleven years, Mr. Dan has worked as a regional engineer on high profile projects throughout the northeast. He is married with three daughters and one son.

Mr. Joey Rydelek- Second Degree Black Belt (Ni-Dan)

Mr. Joey Rydelek currently resides in North Syracuse, NY. Mr. Joey is a graduate of Cicero-North Syracuse High School and is currently employed by Wal-Mart. Mr. Joey is a true warrior of heart and tenacity, and shows great loyalty.

Mr. Ryan Laws- Second Degree Black Belt (Ni-Dan)

Mr. Ryan Laws has been training at Salt City Karate for more than 15 years and currently resides in North Syracuse, NY. He is a graduate of Cicero-North Syracuse High School. Mr. Ryan is currently employed at Rite Aid as a pharmacy tech.

Ms. Maria Tran- First Degree Black Belt (Sho-Dan)

Ms. Maria Tran currently resides in Liverpool, NY

Mr. R.J. Spink- First Degree Black Belt (Sho-Dan)

Mr. R.J. Spink currently resides in Aberdeen, MD. He has a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Syracuse University and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Johns Hopkins University. Mr. R.J. currently works for the U.S. Army Research Laboratory in the area of soldier protection. Mr. R.J. is married.

Mr. Dane Johnson- Second Degree Black Belt (Ni-Dan)- Judo

Mr. Dane Johnson has been training judo at Salt City Karate for more than 13 years. He can attest to the health benefits of Martial Arts training in that training judo has caused him to improve his health tremendously. Mr. Dane obtained his MBA from SUNY Oswego in 2002 and currently works as a Regional Claims Supervisor for a local insurance company. Mr. Dane spent 10 years coaching soccer at Fulton Youth Soccer. He is married to his wife, Patience and has a daughter, Megan.

Dr. Bastian Tenbergen, PhD- Second Degree Black Belt (Ni-Dan)- Judo

Dr. Bastian Tenbergen, PhD is an avid martial artist with more than 15 years of experience in Judo. A native of Germany, Dr. Bastian trained in his home town until he moved to the US, where he joined Salt City Karate in 2016. In the past, Dr. Bastian has competed with good success in tournaments on the state level and beyond. He has been working as an instructor for martial arts, among other things, for children with behavioral challenges, and he has significant experience teaching Judo-based situational self-defense for women. During his social service, Dr. Bastian worked in a residence for humans with disabilities. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Cognitive Science from the University of Osnabrück (Germany), a Master’s degree in Human Computer Interaction from the State University of New York at Oswego, and a PhD in Software Engineering from the University of Duisburg-Essen (Germany). He is currently an Assistant Professor for Software Engineering at the State University of New York at Oswego.

Dr. Brad Pawlikowski, PhD- First Degree Black Belt (Sho-Dan)

Dr. Brad Pawlikowski, PhD currently resides in Boulder, CO.

Mr. Dominick La Parne- First Degree Black Belt (Sho-Dan)

Mr. Dominick La Parne currently resides in Jamesville, NY

Ms. Geraldine (Gerri) Gabriel- First Degree Black Belt (Sho-Dan)

Ms. Geraldine (Gerri) Gabriel began her training in 1992 and currently resides in Red Creek, NY.

Mr. Ken Nichols- Sifu

Sifu Ken Nichols began his training in 1981. He is the Tai Chi instructor at Salt City Karate. He currently resides in Liverpool, NY.

Mrs. Malessa Sweet

Malessa has been practicing and teaching Tai Chi for the past 20 years. She has taught both individuals and groups in New York State and Montreal and formerly owned the Syracuse Tai Chi Chuan Academy.

Her training was conducted by Tao Heng, a visiting scholar from China, and she became certified to instruct Tai Chi by the Tai Chi Quan Association of Kunming, China in 2002. Malessa is familiar with 7, 24, 40 and 42 forms of Tai Chi as well as Tai Chi Sword. She currently teaches 7 and 24 forms.

“Balance” is the number one word that comes to mind when she thinks of Tai Chi. She believes that its benefits are numerous and can be lifelong when practiced regularly. It “defrags” our minds and bodies, which is crucial in today’s society.

Malessa holds a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design. She resides locally with her husband, daughter and family pets.

Mr. Richard Mosley- First Degree Black Belt (Sho-Dan)- Honorary

Mr. Richard Mosley is an honorary Black Belt and currently resides in Liverpool, NY.