About
Okinawan Karate Club of Dallas offers youth karate and adult karate classes that include traditional Okinawan Shorin Ryu Karate, Okinawan Shorin Ryu karate-do, Shobayashi Shorin Ryu, Shudokan karate, Shudokan karate-do, and Okinawan Shudokan Karate. The program also offers training in Okinawan weapons (kobudo), Arnis, Toei Jujutsu, and self-defense.
• Ages: 7–18 years old
• Schedule: Class options Monday–Saturday, with afternoon and evening hours on weekdays and daytime hours on Saturday
• Price: There are monthly dues for all youth and adult karate classes; no contracts; dues cover all applicable classes; family/household discounts; discounts for quarterly pre-payments; discounts for electronic funds payment; one-time student uniform fee of $15 added to the first month’s dues; more than 3 persons add $60.00 per person.
Okinawan Karate Club of Dallas was founded in 1984 and has been in the Dallas area since 1984 as one of North Texas’ oldest traditional karate dojo. The dojo is a traditional Okinawan karate dojo with its own space in North Dallas about twice the size of the prior Farmers Branch dojo, and previous locations included The Hockaday School in Dallas, two dance studios, an aerobics studio, and a space in Farmers Branch, Texas. The club has promoted over 80 black belts throughout the years and has four affiliated or sister dojos in Atlanta, Lantana (TX), Frisco (TX), and San Francisco.
The leadership team includes Donna Mullett, Head Instructor, Renshi; Cody Rogers, Co-Executive Director, Yondan; Chris Sopithakul, Co-Executive Director, Yondan; and Ilene J. Smoger, Director of Training for the OKC dojos. Ilene J. Smoger, Sensei was the Head Instructor of OKCD from 1984–2019 and holds the rank of Nanadan, 7th dan black belt, given to her directly by Shimabukuro O'Sensei in the Shorin Ryu Karate system, as well as Sandan (3rd dan) in Toei Jujutsu awarded by O’Sensei, and Godan directly given to her by Todd Sensei; in 2004, she was awarded 7th dan in Shudokan Karate by the Todd family. Many of the senior instructors earned rank directly from Eizo Shimabukuro Sensei and Walter Todd Sensei, and the vast majority of yudansha (black belts) in the school have been promoted by Shimabukuro O’Sensei himself.
Ilene J. Smoger has been honored by the World Martial Arts Hall of Fame as “The Woman of the Year in the Martial Arts” and received the Sensei of Merit award at the International Martial Arts Symposium in South Carolina. The dojo’s mission statement is that at the OKCD, they strive to maintain the styles and teachings passed down from the heads of their lineage. The dojo has both hosted and attended many workshops and seminars around the country, including traveling to Connecticut to train with Bill Funk Sensei and training with Christian Bellina Sensei from Austria at Okinawan Karate Fall Training in Florida, and many of the yudansha are teaching seminars throughout the country passing on Shorin Ryu and Shudokan karatedo to others. The program offers separate adult and youth classes, teaches Okinawan weapons (kobudo) to advanced students, and offers training in Arnis and Toei Jujutsu, with no contracts or testing fees and low monthly dues, family and household discounts, and a one-time student uniform fee of $15.
Last updated January 5, 2026.
• Ages: 7–18 years old
• Schedule: Class options Monday–Saturday, with afternoon and evening hours on weekdays and daytime hours on Saturday
• Price: There are monthly dues for all youth and adult karate classes; no contracts; dues cover all applicable classes; family/household discounts; discounts for quarterly pre-payments; discounts for electronic funds payment; one-time student uniform fee of $15 added to the first month’s dues; more than 3 persons add $60.00 per person.
Okinawan Karate Club of Dallas was founded in 1984 and has been in the Dallas area since 1984 as one of North Texas’ oldest traditional karate dojo. The dojo is a traditional Okinawan karate dojo with its own space in North Dallas about twice the size of the prior Farmers Branch dojo, and previous locations included The Hockaday School in Dallas, two dance studios, an aerobics studio, and a space in Farmers Branch, Texas. The club has promoted over 80 black belts throughout the years and has four affiliated or sister dojos in Atlanta, Lantana (TX), Frisco (TX), and San Francisco.
The leadership team includes Donna Mullett, Head Instructor, Renshi; Cody Rogers, Co-Executive Director, Yondan; Chris Sopithakul, Co-Executive Director, Yondan; and Ilene J. Smoger, Director of Training for the OKC dojos. Ilene J. Smoger, Sensei was the Head Instructor of OKCD from 1984–2019 and holds the rank of Nanadan, 7th dan black belt, given to her directly by Shimabukuro O'Sensei in the Shorin Ryu Karate system, as well as Sandan (3rd dan) in Toei Jujutsu awarded by O’Sensei, and Godan directly given to her by Todd Sensei; in 2004, she was awarded 7th dan in Shudokan Karate by the Todd family. Many of the senior instructors earned rank directly from Eizo Shimabukuro Sensei and Walter Todd Sensei, and the vast majority of yudansha (black belts) in the school have been promoted by Shimabukuro O’Sensei himself.
Ilene J. Smoger has been honored by the World Martial Arts Hall of Fame as “The Woman of the Year in the Martial Arts” and received the Sensei of Merit award at the International Martial Arts Symposium in South Carolina. The dojo’s mission statement is that at the OKCD, they strive to maintain the styles and teachings passed down from the heads of their lineage. The dojo has both hosted and attended many workshops and seminars around the country, including traveling to Connecticut to train with Bill Funk Sensei and training with Christian Bellina Sensei from Austria at Okinawan Karate Fall Training in Florida, and many of the yudansha are teaching seminars throughout the country passing on Shorin Ryu and Shudokan karatedo to others. The program offers separate adult and youth classes, teaches Okinawan weapons (kobudo) to advanced students, and offers training in Arnis and Toei Jujutsu, with no contracts or testing fees and low monthly dues, family and household discounts, and a one-time student uniform fee of $15.
Last updated January 5, 2026.
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