Sensei Noelle Nephew

Sensei Noelle Nephew started her journey at Prather Martial Arts in 2020 after her mom encouraged her to try something different. A sophomore in high school at the time, Sensei Nephew began studying with Sensei Prather at a local homeschool coop, CAFE Christian Coop. Although karate did not come easy to Sensei Nephew at first, when she finally started to understand it, her love for the art took off.

After intense training at the dojo and on the competition team, Sensei Nephew earned her rank of Shodan (first-degree) in less than three years, the quickest anyone at Prather Martial Arts has earned their first-degree without a prior martial arts background.

Now, Sensei Nephew competes and coaches on the Prather Martial Arts Competition team and won bronze at the 2024 AAU Karate Nationals in the 18-34 advanced women's collegiate kobudo division. Most recently, she won gold at the 2025 AAU Ohio District Championship in the 18-34 advanced women's kobudo and kata divisions.

She also helps with the same program that started her journey at CAFE Christian Coop, runs the Prather Martial Arts Demonstration team, and just generally loves being at the dojo, surrounded by her dojo family and friends. Sensei Nephew is immensely grateful to Sensei Prather and everyone else at Prather Martial Arts for being there for her in trying times, and now she strives to give back to the dojo in any way possible.