Main Instructor
Timothy Burns
Timothy J. Burns earned his Black Belt from Kim Yee's Karate West in Fort Collins, Colorado. He has been practicing the martial arts since 1984, and earned his black belt in 1988. In December 1987 he began teaching karate at the Activities Youth Center in Fort Collins. After moving to Monroe, he founded the Ronin Karate program in November, 1991.
He began the formal study of Judo in 2003 at Rock Valley Judo in Janesville, Wisconsin, and currently holds the rank of brown belt.
Mr. Burns is a general practice lawyer in Monroe. He is also the Green County Family Court Commissioner and the primary Judicial Court Commissioner. Students and parents can reach him at Burns Law Office at 1518 11th Street, Suite 1-4, P.O. Box 30, Monroe, WI 53566. His telephone number is (608) 325-5053. You can also email Mr. Burns.
Other Instructors
Colin Burns
Colin originally studied at Kim Yee's Karate West in Fort Collins, Colorado. He earned his Black Belt from Ronin Karate in 1998, and his Black Belt from Rock Valley Judo in 2004. He was active in athletics at Monroe High School, where he was a 3-time qualifier for the Wisconsin State Wrestling Tournament and an All-State running back in football.
He attended the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater, where he was an All-Conference and All-Region running back.
From 2005 to 2006, he was a member of the Texas A&M judo team and a nationally ranked judo player. In the fall of 2006 he moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, to attend the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and to become a resident judo athlete at the United States Olympic Training Center. He is currently ranked 4th in the United States in judo in the 90kg weight class.
Brendan Burns
Brendan originally studied at Kim Yee's Karate West in Fort Collins, Colorado. He earned his Black Belt from Ronin Karate in 1993, and his Black Belt from Rock Valley Judo in 2004. He was active in athletics at Monroe High School, where he received All-State honors as a football lineman.
He attended Lawrence University and the University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, with a Chemistry minor. Brendan played defensive tackle on the UW-Oshkosh football team, and was also well known for his weight lifting ability.
He received his B.S. degree from UW-Oshkosh, and currently lives in Columbus. He works at the University of Wisconsin - Madison and is pursuing a teaching certification at Concordia University in Madison. He remains active in judo and jiu-jitsu and has been a nationally ranked judo player.
Historical Instructors
Mr. Burns studied under Mr. Kim H. Yee of Fort Collins, Colorado. A native of Madison, Wisconsin, Mr. Yee began studying Tae Kwon Do in 1969 under Master J.B. Chung at the Madison Tae Kwon Do School. Mr. Yee earned his Black Belt in Chung Do Kwan Tae Kwon Do in 1973. He taught at the Madison Tae Kwon Do School, and became head instructor of the Madison East YMCA Karate Club and the University of Wisconsin Karate Club. Mr. Yee also studied boxing under Mr. Andy Hollibush of Madison, Wisconsin. Mr. Yee competed in PKA full contact karate, and retired in 1981. At that time he was ranked 10th in the world in the bantamweight division.
Mr. Yee opened Karate West in 1978 and continues to teach there today. In 2006, he was inducted into the Colorado Karate Association Hall of Fame. The announcement can be found here.