Julie earned her 1st degree Black Belt in 1977 at the age of 15 and has been teaching ever since. She earned her 2nd degree Black Belt in 1979. In addition to winning numerous local and national tournaments, she has been featured in a Karate commercial, a self defense book and even given interviews for all the major television stations as well as newspapers. In 1980, Julie was ranked 5th in the nation in free sparring and was the U.S. Women's Karate Kata Champion. More recently, Julie has competed and placed 1st in katas and fighting, including Grand Champion during 1998 to 1999. In December 2001, Julie was promoted to 5th Degree Black Belt.