Master Instructor Julie Reese is a registered 6th Degree Black Belt with the United Martial Arts Association of America. Gold Coin.

Along with her 6th degree Black Belt, Master Instructor Reese teaches Kung Fu classes and Tai Chi classes with United Kung Fu and United Tai Chi & Wellness. She assists Grandmaster Jerry Dibble and Grandmaster Laurie Ledgerwood in training Instructors, as well as assisting with the Women’s Self-Defense Seminars. She is certified with the NRA and Zen Marksmen as an Instructor in pistol, rifle and shotgun, and is a level 2 Archery Instructor certified by USA Archery.

Master Instructor Reese was born and raised in Bergen, New York. She graduated from Byron-Bergen Central School in 1982, and pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science with a minor in Mathematics/Statistics from the State University of New York at Brockport, graduating in 1986. She started her professional career with Xerox Corporation in Rochester, New York as a programmer/analyst. During her employment with Xerox, she pursued a Master of Science Degree in Software Development and Management, graduating in 1994 from Rochester Institute of Technology. She then transferred to Electronic Data Systems (EDS), and relocated to Phoenix, Arizona. Since moving to Phoenix, Julie has also worked for Accenture, and currently works for American Express as a Senior Information Security Analyst.

Master Instructor Reese has always been active in sports and has enjoyed the extended good weather in Phoenix by playing softball, volleyball, and hiking. She has hiked many local trails, including North Mountain, the White Tanks, Picacho Peak, Oak Creek Canyon, and to Havasupai Falls. Her greatest hiking accomplishment was in the Grand Canyon, hiking from the South Rim to the North Rim – 26 miles in 15 hours! She did this with her husband Chief Instructor Michael Reese, whom she met after moving to Phoenix.

Julie and Michael have been married since 1997, and have two beautiful daughters – Lauren and Kyleigh, born in 1999 and 2002, respectively. Julie and Michael had talked about getting involved in martial arts for several years, and had enrolled their children in karate at the ages of 4 (Lauren) and 5 (Kyleigh). The girls enjoyed karate, and watching them participate intensified Michael & Julie’s desire to enroll in classes as well. With both parents working, family time was becoming more difficult to find – especially activities where they could all participate together. They made the decision to take the girls out of karate, and enroll in a beginning class at United Kung Fu.

The Reese family began their Kung Fu journey in late June 2008 as beginning students. Since starting their training at United Kung Fu, Master Instructor Reese and her family have trained with Grandmaster Jerry Dibble and Grandmaster Laurie Ledgerwood in Southern Shaolin Tiger & Crane, Northern Shaolin Long Fist, Xing Yi, Tai Chi, Wing Tsun, Qigong, Bagua, along with many different weapon forms. In her affiliation with United Kung Fu, she has also trained with Grandmaster Jinheng Li, Grandmaster Jerry Cook, Master Puquan Xiao, Grandmaster Leone, and Master Instructor Jason Campbell.