Stephanie has trained with some of the world's most respected and accomplished martial artists.  Since 1991, she has studied Taekwondo under the school of Grandmaster Sihak Henry Cho  (bottom left) who is credited with opening the first commercial Tae Kwon Do studio in the United States and is the only martial artist to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition from President Obama. It was Cho who told Stephanie to always remain a student and encouraged her to pursue her interest in self defense and to share it with others. In San Francisco, she continued her studies with Grandmaster Bill Dewart and participated in the development of his self defense system called "Tiger Defeats the Bull" which was featured in Black Belt Magazine and The Wall Street Journal.  After competing for the last time at Cho’s All American Open tournament (the first mixed martial arts competition in the United States), Stephanie then turned to other martial arts including Brazilian Jiujitsu, American boxing, Muay Thai, Zen Budokai jujitsu, and Krav Maga to refine her self defense skills and deepen her understanding of different techniques and their effectiveness. 

Stephanie maintains and continues to grow her global network to leaders across the different martial arts.