Rank: 1st Dan
School: Bayonne AOKA Inc
Diane Deptula began her Isshinryu training in her early 20's in 1983 at Don Nagle's school on 18th Street and Broadway. During that time she trained mostly under Joe Mazza. She took time off for schooling and to start a family. She returned to Isshinryu in 1996 when her daughter, Kaitlin, then age 9 wanted to take karate. She registered her daughter in 1996 at Don Nagle's AOKA when it was located on 42nd Street & Broadway school. That is when Master Passero talked her into coming back to the school. After being away for 13 years, she restarted her training and has been training every since. Back in January 2000, Diane was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma, a benign brain tumor on her 8th cranial nerve affecting her hearing and balance. She credits her excellent physical condition from her karate training as the primary reason she was able to recover as quickly as she did. She states that karate was the best thing she could have ever done especially since the tumor affected her balance. All the karate exercises and techniques for balance were the main reasons why she was able to get back on track after her surgery. She took some time off to recover from her surgery and resumed her training again. She received her Black Belt on June 14th, 2003. She is a strong advocate for karate training for all especially children, and she advocates the usefulness of karate not only for self-defense but also for health and exercise. Diane has also been involved in other sports and coached basketball and softball. She is employed as a Human Resources Specialist with the U.S. Army, Corps of Engineers in New York. She was named Professional Employee of the year for the New York District in 2000. She is married to Anthony Deptula and they have two children Kaitlin and Jennifer. Her daughter Kaitlin is also a Brown Belt, Ik-Kyu, and hopes to be tested for her Black Belt in December 2004. It would be the first time there was a Mother, Daughter black belt team in the school.