Kim began her study of Self Defense in 1996, while a student at Berkshire Community College. She began her training in both T'ai chi and Aikido in 1997. She was invited by her instructor to assist in teaching self-defense workshops and courses in 2000 while continuing her martial arts studies. Kim became the lead instructor for the Self Defense course at Berkshire Community College in 2006, where she still currently teaches. She was awarded her Senior Instructor certification from Berkshire Hills Aikido in 2010 and currently holds the rank of 6th-degree black belt. She continues her training in martial arts with an emphasis on Aikido and T'ai chi. Kim participated in ESD Global's Level 1 training 2018 in Huguenot, NY., was certified as a self-defense instructor by NWMAF, and recently attended ESD Global's Master Instructor training and Violence Prevention Education Conference in Jerusalem Israel in 2020. She currently serves as the lead mentor for 13 women from Albania, who completed ESD Global’s level 1 training in November of 2020. In addition, Kim is a 3rd level Reiki master.