Meet the Kids Karate Instructors at Victory Karate in Silver Spring, MD

Great martial arts training starts with instructors who know how to teach, encourage, and challenge students.



At Victory Karate, kids, teens, and adults learn in a positive, family-friendly environment focused on martial arts skills, confidence, discipline, fitness, flexibility, and focus.

Decades of Martial Arts Experience

Victory Karate was established in 2016, but the experience behind our school goes back decades.



Our approach draws from extensive martial arts experience, with training focused on effective technique, physical conditioning, flexibility, mental focus, and personal development. Students are encouraged to challenge themselves and make steady progress at an appropriate pace.

Our kids karate program is built to make martial arts engaging for children while maintaining the structure they need to develop focus and discipline. For younger students, children's martial arts is about far more than technique—it's about building confidence, respect, and self-control that carry over into everyday life. Teens and adults, meanwhile, receive training that challenges both body and mind.

Ms. Rachel brings patience, energy, and an engaging teaching style to Victory Karate’s younger students.

She helps children become comfortable on the training floor while introducing foundational martial arts skills, coordination, focus, listening, and discipline.

Rachel Sonenshine (Ms. Rachel) is the Program Director of Victory Karate. A third-degree black belt and nationally ranked sport karate competitor, she began training in martial arts at age 12 and started teaching as an assistant instructor at 15.

Ms. Rachel competed extensively on the NASKA sport karate circuit for many years, including in the women’s black belt AA divisions. She was ranked among NASKA’s Top 5 national fighters, and earned numerous first-place and Grand Champion titles throughout her competitive career. Her experience as both a competitor and instructor has shaped a teaching approach that emphasizes strong technique, athleticism, confidence, adaptability, and effective performance under pressure.

Rachel is also very experienced teaching martial arts to kids of all ages.  She is especially talented in teaching younger kids as she works in games, a positive attitude and discipline into her classes.  For older kids her approach is similar but she adds forms, the mechanics of kicking and punching, and other aspects of karate such as footwork.

More recently, Mrs. Rachel has developed a particular interest in martial arts performance research, including biomechanics, motor learning, training methodology, and sports performance. She enjoys exploring how research in these areas can be applied to martial arts training and instruction to help students move more efficiently, train more effectively, and perform at their best.

When she isn’t teaching, Mrs. Rachel enjoys spending time with her four children and four dogs, training in karate, rock climbing, hiking, and spending as much time outdoors as possible.

Ralph has trained in martial arts for roughly 15 years.  Ralph has also been teaching economics in universities for over 20 years.  As such, he brings a wealth of experience to teaching, both in martial arts and economics.  In every class, Ralph seeks to create a fun, exhilarating environment, where students work hard to accomplish their goals.

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