Alex Gostrer (pictured on the left) is the lead instructor and head of the Arnold Shotokan Dojo.

He began his karate training in 1994 in Rehovot, Israel, at Asher Chen’s dojo (https://karate.org.il/AsherChen). During that time, he participated in three special trainings and earned his brown belt, eventually reaching the highest brown belt rank, Ikkyu.

In 1998, Alex moved to the United States and continued his practice at the Saratoga YMCA with Saratoga Shotokan (https://saratoga.ska.org) under the guidance of Craig Hamman. He earned his first-degree (Shodan) black belt in 2002 and his second-degree (Nidan) black belt in 2006. Over the years, Alex has participated in a total of 27 special trainings, a rigorous tradition within Shotokan Karate.

He continued training and teaching at Saratoga Shotokan until 2022, when he permanently relocated to Arnold, CA, and founded a new dojo at the Sequoia Fitness Club.