• Our Instructors:

Sensei James Jakelwicz was born on July 24, 1964 in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. With his father in the military, he traveled and lived in several cities across the country: Fort Knox Ky., Fort Hood TX., Germany, Fort Lewis WA., and Fort Bliss where his father retired in 1976. In 1982 he graduated from Andress High School and went on to attend El Paso Community College in search for a degree in Accounting. After completing one year of college James moved to Dallas Texas where he worked as an aircraft refueler to raise enough money to continue his education.

In 1986 he returned to his hometown of El Paso Texas and started his career in the trucking business. This is where he met the love of his life, Michelle, in 1990 and on April 20, 1991 they were married. In August 1992 they were blessed with the birth of their daughter Krystal. In 1994 his wife asked that he partake in the family business where he took on the job as the operations manager. James works full time now as a freight and warehouse broker in the family business during the day and in the evening he trains and teaches martial arts at Performance Karate.

In 2001 James and his family started taking martial arts under the direction of Jennifer Robles owner of Martial Arts America. In 2003 he was the EPKA(El Paso Karate Alliance) Grand Champion in the 35 and older Point Sparring Division and also took 2nd place in Kata. He also took over as a trainer and coach of the Sun City International Karate team. With this busy task he was unable to compete anymore. In June of 2004 James and his daughter Krystal both received their Black Belts.

November 2004, James and his wife decided to take on the task of opening their own school, Performance Karate, under the direction of Master Benard F. Samuel, founder of Third Generation Martial Arts Association. In September 2005 he became affiliated with the Black Knight Karate Association through The Third Generation Martial Arts Association. Currently he is the Vice President of the Southwest Karate League for the 2006 season, and for the 2007 season he will take on the job as being the President of the league. James has dedicated his life to the martial arts and is happy to be able to share it with all his students.

Mr. Miguel Luzunaris has over 15 years experience with a background in Tae Kwon Do, Go-Ju, Shotokan, Hapkido, Grappling and Self Defense. He's a European's National Champion in Kumite and traditional forms, 2004 SWKA Heavyweight Champion and was ranked in the top 4 of the WSKF Super Weight Point Sparring and Continuous Sparring.

Mrs. Francesca Flowers has over 20 years experience in the martial arts, with a background in Tae Kwon Do, Kung Fu, and Karate-Do Go Ju. She is a certified Kick Boxing instructor and personal trainer with the International Fitness Association. She is also a certified Special Ed Instructor for the past 14 years. In 1988 she placed 1st in point sparring at the 4th International GO - JU Karate DO Tournament in Mexico. Receiving her black belt was one of the biggest accomplishments she has ever experienced in her life. She has a lot of patience in teaching and would love to share her knowledge with you!

• Local Competition Tournament:

Performance Karate gives the students a chance to go out to local tournaments and compete with other students in El Paso. Competition is an important learning tool and is a way to engage whether or not what you have been studying in class will work for you in application and under pressure. Being successful at competitions means learning from it. Many students think that the person standing across them in competition is their enemy; this is a misconception. Your true opponents are your own fears and anxieties; the person standing across from you in competition is your partner and your teacher, not your enemy. From that person you will learn to be a better martial artist.