Our History

The Martinsburg Western Masters Karate System Dojo grew out of a small Western Masters Karate System program run out of the local Martinsburg-Berkeley County Boys and Girls Club. The program started as a way for area youth to give martial arts a try. The program eventually outgrew the facilities of the club. This led program head instructor Mr. Henry to seek out other facilities. Eventually, Mr. Henry spoke with an acquaintance of his, Becky Rose, owner and operator of Academy of Dance in Martinsburg and a deal was worked out. Western Masters Karate ran classes out of the Academy of Dance for a year, then moved to 108 N. Queen St. for two years. The current location is 224 West King Street in  Martinsburg.

The Western Masters Karate System was founded in 1979 by Master Dane S. Harden in an attempt to provide superior karate training by including skills and techniques from various styles which seemed to compliment each other and placing them in a logical order so that students learn the maximum quantity of material while maintaining the highest quality of skill at each belt level. He also made sure to present the material so that it could be useful in the street, on the tournament floor, or for the purpose of general health. The system was successful, and produced many top quality martial artists, and for a short while, several schools were in operation.
After many years of success martial arts were in decline. Master Harden decided to leave commercial martial arts to further his career in healthcare and closed his schools. But in 2000, Greg Peters, a talented Black Belt trained by Master Harden, began teaching the system once again, originally at the request of several close friends. This class grew to become the West Virginia Wesleyan College Martial Arts Club/Buckhannon, WV Western Masters Karate System School. Eventually, This school produced Black Belts of its own, promoted by Sensei Peters himself, the Western Masters Karate System now is being spread around the United States.

The Western Masters Karate System also has a new dojo in Abingdon, VA headed up by Master Harden himself. This school grew out of a program Emory and Henry College, also started by Master Harden.