A Brief History of Professor Louie Altamirano and Sunset Family Karate

Louie with a student, Melanie Conway, 1998

Louie was born and raised in San Francisco. An active, arguably "hyperactive," child, Louie was drawn to physical activity, and sports were an important part of his life. At around age 10 he began studying karate with his uncle.

When Louie was in junior high school, his mother, Margaret, married National Martial Arts Champion and innovator Rick Alemany. Louie and his four siblings began studying Shaolin Kenpo Karate with (Grandmaster) Alemany.

Louie enjoyed the martial arts, but he continued to primarily focus on basketball and other school sports until one day, when his little brother came home with a karate trophy twice the size of his basketball trophies! When Louie saw the giant award his brother had won, he decided it was time to make martial arts his priority. Little could anyone have known how one act of sibling competitiveness would shape the course of his future!

Louie thrived under Grandmaster Alemany, mastering the katas and practicing point-sparring. With his sports background, sparring came easily to Louie, and after several years of point-sparring he got more deeply involved in full-contact kickboxing and boxing. He enjoyed the more physical aspects of the full-contact environment versus point-sparring, and he devoted the next several years to training and fighting competitively.

Sifu Louie with Vernon, Katy and Ryan 1999

Throughout his years as a competitive fighter, Louie continued training closely with his step-father, Grandmaster Alemany and his mother, Si-Mo Margaret Alemany, at their school, Alemany Karate School, in the Sunset District of San Francisco. Back then the student body at Alemany Karate School was made up primarily of adults. There were a handful of children and teens, but the bulk of the training was focused on an adult population.

Around this time, Louie was instrumental in developing classes aimed at reaching the children. Having grown up as a "hyperactive" child, Louie instinctively understood the energy of children. He incorporated his own childlike enthusiasm for karate and physical activity to develop a benchmark children's karate program at Alemany Karate. Louie's philosophy was to approach the classes from the viewpoint of the children themselves. "A five year old child is not going to want to sit still and meditate for fifteen to twenty minutes before class."

Louie's natural teaching style resulted in a children's program where the kids were engaged and having fun learning. His innovative use of games and "silliness" blended with repetitive use of the various components of the martial arts, created an environment where children were learning the karate moves without getting bored and tuning out. His instruction included a pilot "kidnap prevention" program which emphasized real-life techniques for children's personal safety, and received notable media coverage for its effectiveness.

With the addition of more classes to the Alemany Karate School schedule, aimed at not just adults, but all members of the family, Louie started up his own school-within-a-school, "Sunset Family Karate," to reflect the all inclusive child and adult friendly nature of the program. He successfully developed and managed a full schedule of classes for children and adults alike, and by the mid 1990s he was ready to branch out and open up his own independent dojo.

In June of 1995, Louie and his wife and kids moved to Sonoma County. That November they started work on the old gas station at 7773 Healdsburg Avenue in Sebastopol, to transform it into the new, North Bay location of Sunset Family Karate. In January 1996, Sunset Family Karate celebrated its grand opening, and welcomed an enthusiastic group of new Sonoma County students (several of whom are still with us today!). January 2007 marks our 11 year anniversary in business in Sebastopol.