Skip to content
318 S Main St, Spring Lake, NC 28390Monday to Thursday: 5:30 to 8:30 pm(910) 555-0109
Dojokun Karate and Kobudo
Try a class
Try a class
CallTry a class

Okinawan karate and kobudo

Karate and kobudo in one quiet room

Classes for children aged 8 and up, teens and adults in a plain dojo with a wooden front desk and a bench by the window. Come in, take off your shoes and see where you would start.

Try a classRead the dojo rules
  • Ages 8 to adult
  • A family class on Saturday
A quiet karate dojo with a polished floor, a wooden front desk with a plant, and white uniforms hanging on a rack beside a tall window

Dojo rules

Five lines, said at the end of every class

Isao Tengan wrote these lines for the dojo, and the line says them together before the last bow. They are short enough to remember on the way home.

  • Bow when you come in and when you leave.

  • Leave your shoes and your hurry at the door.

  • Train at your own pace, and let your partner train at theirs.

  • Ask when you don't understand, and say so when something is too much.

  • Leave the room as you found it.

Read the rules in full
A bench and a plant beside a viewing window onto an empty mat room

Weekly classes

A quiet week of classes

Find a day, then narrow by age. Each class has its own level and instructor.

Fall session

Showing 10 of 10

  • Monday

    • 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm

      Children's class

      Karmen Dodson

      Ages 8 to 12All beltsOpenTry a class

    • 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

      Adult class

      Isao Tengan

      AdultsAll beltsOpenTry a class

  • Tuesday

    • 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm

      Teen class

      Karmen Dodson

      Ages 13 to 17All beltsOpenTry a class

    • 7:00 pm – 8:15 pm

      Kobudo

      Isao Tengan

      Ages 13 and upGreen belt and upOpenTry a class

  • Wednesday

    • 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm

      Children's class

      Karmen Dodson

      Ages 8 to 12All beltsWaitlistJoin the waitlist

    • 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

      Adult class

      Isao Tengan

      AdultsAll beltsOpenTry a class

  • Thursday

    • 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm

      Teen class

      Karmen Dodson

      Ages 13 to 17All beltsOpenTry a class

    • 6:45 pm – 8:00 pm

      Adult beginners

      Isao Tengan

      AdultsWhite beltOpenTry a class

  • Saturday

    • 9:00 am – 10:00 am

      Family class

      Isao Tengan and Karmen Dodson

      Parent and child, 8 and upAll beltsOpenTry a class

    • 10:15 am – 11:45 am

      Saturday practice

      Isao Tengan

      Teens and adultsAll beltsOpenTry a class

Sample classes.

Children's and teen classes hold up to 12 students, adult and kobudo classes up to 16, and the family class up to 10.

Belts

From white belt to black

Each color adds a few skills. A student tests when the instructor sees them, and every student moves at their own pace.

  1. White belt

    Everyone starts here
    Skills

    • Bowing in and out of the room

    • A front stance and a straight punch

    • The first short form

  2. Green belt

    Skills

    • Longer forms with a change of direction

    • Slow partner drills in set steps

    • The first staff drill, with the bo

    Moving up

    When the instructor sees the skills, at a belt test

  3. Brown belt

    Skills

    • Forms from memory, in order

    • Partner drills at a steady pace

    • The sai, in a short form

    Moving up

    When the instructor sees the skills, at a belt test

  4. Black belt

    Skills

    • Every form, and the reason for each step

    • Helping newer students on the floor

    • Teaching part of a class, with an instructor beside you

    Moving up

    When the instructor sees the skills, at a belt test

Where to startTry a class

Sample levels.

No belt comes with a date.

For families on a posting

Moving with a posting?

Many of our families are here for a few years. Tell us when you arrive and when you expect to go, and we will find the class that fits the time you have. When you leave, we write down what each student has worked on, to hand to the next instructor.

Tell us your datesHow tuition ends

Instructors

Two instructors, every class

Families meet the same faces every week.

  • Isao Tengan, owner and head instructor, kneeling on the wooden dojo floor

    Isao Tengan

    Owner and head instructor

    I grew up in Okinawa and learned karate and kobudo there as a boy. I teach them the way they were taught to me: stance first, then the form, then the partner. I lead the adult, kobudo and family classes, and I sit down with every student before a belt test. I speak English, and Japanese when a student asks.

  • Karmen Dodson, senior student and instructor, in a ready stance in a white karate uniform

    Karmen Dodson

    Senior student and instructor

    Karmen teaches the children's and teen classes. She moved here with a posting, joined as an adult white belt and stayed. She keeps the warm-up moving and the line straight, and she is the first face most new families meet at the door.

Families

What students and parents say

“We moved here with a posting and wanted something we could do together. The Saturday family class is that, and nobody is rushed.”

Marisol V.Parent of a ten-year-old

“I started at 46 and worried about being the oldest white belt. Tengan Sensei bowed, said good evening and showed me where to stand. That was the whole speech.”

Everett L.Adult student

“My daughter counts the stairs in Japanese now. Classes start on time, the room is quiet, and the instructors tell us what she is working on.”

Dolores A.Parent of a nine-year-old

Sample reviews.

Questions people ask first

Starting late, a first class and moving on.

I'm over 40 and have never trained. Is that all right?

Yes. The adult beginner class on Thursday evening is for exactly that. Everyone starts as a white belt, and the instructor adjusts each technique to what your body can do.

How old do children have to be?

The youngest students are 8, in a class with others their age. Teens have their own class, and a parent and child can train together on Saturday morning.

What should I wear to my first class?

A plain t-shirt and loose pants, with bare feet. If you decide to stay, we fit you for a uniform after that first class.

We move with a posting. Can we still join?

Yes. Tell us when you arrive and when you expect to go, and we will find the class that fits the time you have. Ask us how to pause or end the term when orders come.

How long until the next belt?

There is no timetable. The instructor invites a student to test when the skills are there.

Come and see the room

Choose a class and we will hold a place. Wear a plain t-shirt and loose pants, and leave your shoes at the door.

Try a classSee the schedule