Ted Tabura Karate Do

My son has been going to this Dojo for a few years now and has thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Sensei Russell is great at teaching the kid the arts while still making it fun and entertaining to keep the kids engaged. My son has learned not only how to protect himself but the self confidence not to use it blindly. The personnel running this dojo are class act people that care about their students and their families. This dojo is extremely family orientated.

I have studied various martial arts throughout my life, most recently when I became a police officer, and have had the privilege of studying under some amazingly talented masters. About a year ago I was ready to train at a new school, so two of my good friends, both of whom hold black belts in several different martial arts and have about 60 years of martial arts experience between them, recommended I train with Sensei Russel at Ted Tabura Karate Do. In all honesty, at the time I was rather ambivalent about doing so; having studied Kung Fu and Escrima for several years, starting all over in Karate seemed somewhat counter intuitive. However, I trusted my friends and am extremely glad that I did. I very soon learned that Ted Tabura Karate Do is a very special dojo, run by an equally special instructor. Sensei Russel’s teaching combines traditional Okinawan Karate (Okinawa Te) with Lima Lama, traditional martial art from Hawaii, and also Kung Fu. When a new student comes to the dojo for the first time they instantly witness the high degree of skill from the instructors and students as well as the friendliness. I would come to learn that the spirit of Ohana permeates everything that is done at this dojo, so it’s an amazing place to bring your entire family. The katas are presented with great reverence and respect for tradition, and Senei Russel has great knowledge of how these movements evolved from a cultural and historical perspective. He also understands we aren’t today living in feudal Japan, so he teaches practical fighting to keep students safe on the street. I find that The dojo is very well balanced; it offers traditional katas for empty hand plus an array of traditional weapons, training in competitive sparring, and most importantly for me, honest, reality-​based fighting techniques that will really work when they need to. Sensei Russel truly takes an interest in each and every one of his students. He wants everyone to succeed and reach their potential not only in martial arts but at school, work and at home. He is very intelligent and articulate, he enjoys being a mentor and is very good at it. From this dojo students gain confidence which seeps into every aspect of their life. I can tell you absolutely that I am more confident and focused both in my professional life and in my personal life because of my association with this dojo. I could not endorse Ted Tabura Karate Do any more highly to anyone who had an interest in learning martial arts.