Okinawan Karate Club of Dallas

Okinawan Karate Club of Dallas offers training in traditional Okinawan Shorin Ryu Karate, including Shobayashi Shorin Ryu and Shudokan karate. Students also train in Okinawan Shudokan Karate, Okinawan weapons (kobudo), Arnis, Toei Jujutsu, and self-defense. The program offers separate adult and youth classes, and youth must be 7 years old to start training, while students must be 16 years old to train in the adult class.

• Ages: 7–18 years old
• Schedule: Class options Monday through Saturday during evening hours on weekdays and daytime hours on Saturdays
• Price: There are monthly dues for all youth and adult karate classes. If a student attends a class any part of that month, the student pays his or her entire monthly dues. If a student is an active Club member, the student must pay his or her monthly dues. There are family/household discounts, discounts for quarterly pre-payments, discounts for electronic funds payment, and a one-time student uniform fee of $15 added to the first month’s dues. More than 3 persons add $60.00 per person.

The Okinawan Karate Club of Dallas was founded in 1984 and has been in the Dallas area since 1984, and it is described as one of North Texas’s oldest traditional karate dojo. The dojo teaches both Shobayashi Shorin Ryu and Shudokan karate, and many senior instructors earned rank directly from Eizo Shimabukuro Sensei and Walter Todd Sensei. Over 80 black belts have been promoted under Ilene J. Smoger’s leadership, and there are four affiliated or sister dojos in Atlanta, Lantana (or Latana), Frisco, and San Francisco.

The leadership team includes Donna Mullett as Head Instructor, Renshi; Cody Rogers as Co-Executive Director, Yondan; Chris Sopithakul as Co-Executive Director, Yondan; and Ilene J. Smoger as Director of Training for the OKC dojos and former Head Instructor from 1984 to 2019. Ilene J. Smoger began her martial arts training in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1975 and holds the rank of Hanshi, 9th dan black belt, and Nanadan, 7th dan black belt, in the Shorin Ryu Karate system, both given directly by Shimabukuro Eiko O’Sensei. O’Sensei also awarded her the rank of Sandan (3rd dan) in Toei Jujutsu. She holds the rank of Godan directly given to her by Walter Todd Sensei and was awarded 7th dan in Shudokan Karate by the Todd family at the expressed wishes of the late Shibucho Walter Todd.

The mission of the Okinawan Karate Club of Dallas is to maintain the styles and teachings passed down from the heads of its lineage. It is a traditional martial arts school that practices Okinawan Shorin Ryu karate-do as taught by Eizo Shimabukuro, Grandmaster. The club emphasizes a strong foundation laid by its teachers, respect for its history, traditional teaching methods, practical and effective self-defense, a diverse group of students and teachers, and a community of members helping one another improve.

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 has hosted and attended many workshops and seminars around the country, including AWMAI, NWMAF, PAWMA Seminars, Shorinkan Karate & Kobudo Seminars, White Crane Seminar, OKC Special Training, and the International Martial Arts Symposium. Smoger Sensei has instructed at Pacific Association of Women Martial Artists (PAWMA), National Women’s Martial Arts Federation (NWMAF), Association of Women Martial Arts Instructors (AWMAI) conferences, and all of the Okinawan Karate Club national seminars. OKCD has traveled to Connecticut to train with Bill Funk Sensei and has trained at annual training in Michigan with the North American Beikoku Shido-kan Association.

Last updated July 17, 2026.