Shito-Ryu

If you’re looking to study traditional karate with someone who has dedicated his life to martial arts, you should check out this diamond in the rough. Sensei Lopez has been teaching Shito Ryu in Dallas for years and has a loyal following of children and adults who train rigorously every Monday, Wednesday and Friday night. This is no frills, old –school karate training.
I enrolled my 8 year-​old here when we moved to Dallas in August and was really pleased at how welcomed and supported he was by his fellow students and Sensei Lopez. After watching classes for about a month, I finally got up the nerve and signed up for the adult class and am so happy I did so.
There’s a serious emphasis on conditioning and each class starts off with a very intense workout. It’s very challenging unless you’re already in really good shape, and even then, it’s designed to push you harder.
As Sensei Lopez frequently reminds us, «This is pure karate. I’m not adding anything or changing anything to the style we practice. Our mission is to preserve the postions and movements that were designed by Shito Ryu’s founder, Kenwa Mabuni.» As such, we learn the Japanese terminology for everything we do and are expected to have good attendance and train our hardest. That is, the standards for effort are high without being unrealistic. Each of us works at a level commensurate with our age and physical abilities.
I like the feeling of camaraderie and it’s nice that this is small, «family-​oriented», neighborhood dojo. We feel really at home here.
Sensei Lopez doesn’t do this for money (literally). Shito Ryu is a lifestyle for him (seriously). His passion is contagious (highly). I strongly reccommend you come check out a class.