Sifu Lee Yokota began his martial arts training in Kempo karate at the age of 10. Even at such a young age he felt something was missing from the martial arts and focused his efforts away from training. He did not return to the martial arts until the age of 18, when he saw his first Shaw brothers kung fu film and fell in love with the arts again. He looked for a kung fu school in his area, but could not find one. Not one to be discouraged, he ordered books and videos from kung fu magazines and began his practice. He practiced everyday this way and felt he was making some progress. One day while in a high school class he saw chinese characters on the book cover of his classmate in front of him. He asked his classmate what the characters meant and was delighted to hear that they were a style of kung fu. The classmate explained that the style was called Eight Step Preying Mantis. After doing some research on this very website, Sifu Yokota went to the Lake Park school in Florida and began his training under Sifu Tomas Sumbera. In February 2005, Sifu Yokota acheived his teaching certification in 8 Step Preying Mantis Kung Fu and Shyun Tai Chi. Sifu Yokota's highest point of his kung fu career came when Sifu Sumbera gave him the Lake Park school. Sifu Yokota teaches at the Lake Park school with Sifu David Hughes and is continuing his education in Eight Step Preying Mantis Kung Fu and Shyun Tai chi.