Instructors

Lance (top), with DC Judo’s Russell, Dennis, and Nelson after sweeping their division.

Lance Murashige (Shodan) Managing Instructor

Lance Murashige began studying judo in 2016 at DC Judo.  He is proud to be the club’s first fully homegrown black belt.  

Lance’s primary goal is for DC Judo to be an open and inclusive environment where club members help each other achieve their Judo goals, whether that is competition, fitness, camaraderie, or all of the above.

Lance enjoys the sport aspect of Judo and has won his division in a number of regional competitions, including the Shufu Open Judo Championships, the Maryland Open, and the Ken Tamai Memorial Judo Tournament.  While Lance thinks of himself as more of an instructor, coach, and hobbyist these days, he still likes to compete when his schedule allows.

Lance’s instruction is informed first and foremost by the excellent instruction he has received by the many experienced instructors that have taught, and continue to teach, at DC Judo.  He is also a former high school teacher and currently a lawyer at one of the world’s largest law firms.  He applies the techniques he’s learned from his other jobs to teaching Judo, whether those techniques came from teaching Algebra and Calculus to high school students, or presenting complex arguments to federal judges.

Karen Whilden (Rokudan)

Karen Whilden started judo in college in 1970, and has continued practicing ever since.  Karen competed in both shiai and kata at the local and national levels.  She is renowned for her kata accomplishments in particular: she is a Pan American kata champion, a Pan American kata judge, and is a member of USA Judo’s Kata Committee.

Devin Bartolomeo (Shodan)

Devon is a certified coach with USA Judo, the sport’s Olympic governing body in the USA.  They’re also a purple belt in jiujitsu under Relson Gracie.  They’ve earned gold in competitions such as the Keystone Games and Maryland Open and placed in the prestigious Judo Carnaval in Cuba.  In jiujitsu, they earned medals from bronze to gold in competitions such as The Good Fight, PBJJ League and Capitol Classics. They combine a versatile, scalable coaching style with the the philosophy that “judo/jiujitsu is for everybody”, meaning that with the right program, everyone, regardless of strength, age, or ability, can get results from practicing.

Mark Raby (Nidan)

Rick Carter (Shodan)

Geof Meixner (Shodan)

Sebastian Smith (Shodan)

Jason Huang (Shodan)

Additional Instructors:

Chuck Medani (Shichidan)
Nick Madary (Nidan)
Ryan Suto (Nidan)
Thiago Romariz (Shodan)

Terence McPartland (Yondan) Founder and Sensei Emeritus.

Terence McPartland founded DC Judo in 2008 before he handed over management of the club to Lance and took “Sensei Emeritus” status in 2024.

Terence started Judo in 1970 and studied with Noburu Saito as a junior competitor in Michigan.  As a senior competitor, he studied under John Anderson at Baltimore Judo Club.  Terence was most recently a kata competitor and a national silver medalist.

Terence is a certified coach and teacher with USA Judo and is certified to teach Blind and Low-Vision judoka. He is a regional level technical tournament official and a regional referee. He is Guild Certified Practitioner of the Feldenkrais Method of Somatic Education(TM).  He also is a certified Martial Arts Strength and Conditioning Coach and holds First Aid and CPR certificates.