Shihan Diane Wallander's passion for martial arts and self-defense began in college, where she trained in and taught jujutsu and women's self-defense classes. Over her 43+ martial arts career, Shihan Diane has taught thousands of people to defend themselves. She holds the ranks of Kaiden [8th dan] in Miyama Ryu Combat Jujutsu, Yondan [4th dan] in judo, 3rd dan in Traditional Korean Hapkido, and 2nd dan in WTF Taekwondo.

Shihan Diane is the founder of and Chief Instructor at Chicago Minami Dojo in Flossmoor, IL. She holds a B.A. in Biology, and both an M.A. and Ph.D. in Anthropology from Northwestern University, where she studied primate aggressive behavior. The unique combination of her expertise in practical and effective self-defense skills, paired with a deep understanding of behavioral signals, allows her to teach self-defense rooted in reality-based scenarios of assault.