Kyoshi Kevin Kline - Bio

Kevin Kline was born on January 22, 1970 in Chardon, Ohio. He currently holds the rank of Hachi-Dan, which he earned in September 2021. Kevin started his study of IsshinRyu Karate in 1999 when he joined the Karate class in which his eldest son was enrolled. While his original intent in enrolling in the class was to spend more time with his 5-year-old son, Kevin soon found that he had a strong interest in learning Karate and training. Under Sensei Bruce Valade in his King George, Virginia dojo, Kevin progressed from white belt through brown belt. As Ik-Kyu sempais, Kevin and his classmate were called upon to help run the class because Sensei Valade’s work obligations conflicted with the scheduled class time. On August 10, 2002, while still studying with Sensei Valade, Kevin earned the rank of Sho-dan from Hanshi Karl Hovey. Soon after this, Kevin began to study and train directly under Hovey Sensei. In late 2002, Sensei Valade turned the King George Dojo over to Kevin and classmate Frank, who have run it continuously since then.

Kevin earned his OIKKA and Hovey’s Kan Dojo Association (HKDA) Instructor Certifications in 2005 and his IsshinRyu Okinawa Traditional Karate-do Association (IOTKA) Instructor Certification in 2008. In addition to teaching in his dojo, he has taught a number of kata and defense seminars in other venues. In his ongoing quest to learn more about the martial arts, Kevin has attended numerous seminars to train with many of todays top martial arts Masters. In 2008, he had the privilege of traveling with Hovey Sensei and some of his students to Okinawa to train with Martial Arts masters there.

Kevin has assumed numerous responsibilities for Hovey Sensei. Leveraging his graphics arts training and skills, Kevin has provided support for artwork for T-shirts, logos, posters, certificates, etc. He also plans and coordinates most Hovey Sensei Events including seminars, all Annual King George open tournaments since 2003, and the 2008 trip to Okinawa for Hovey Sensei and students.

Kevin has been married for 30+ years and has 2 adult sons. Under his direction, his eldest son earned a Black Belt from Sensei Hovey and his youngest son earned his blue belt. Kevin works as a self employed Patent Illustrator in the Washington, DC area. He is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys hunting and fishing, as well as spending time with his family.