Building a better community through martial arts and self-defense training!
We are a non-profit Dojo located in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, providing fun, quality and affordable martial arts training. Our focus is on our students; helping them to build self-defense skills while also growing their character to make a positive difference in our community. Join us for keiki and adult classes, EMPOWER classes for young women, self-defense training sessions, and our other fun community and fundraising events.
Sensei Mark Vickers
Sensei Mark started training in martial arts at the age of 8. His first instructor, Bill Parent was a direct student of Chuck Norris. Mark went on to get his first black belt in the Chuck Norris style of Tang Soo Do Karate. His experience includes vast tournament participation, including winning the 1985 National Middle Weight Championship in Tang Soo Do. He also holds a black belt in Ninjutsu, Japanese Karate and has been trained extensively in Aikido.
Mark has a passion for working with children. He has taught martial arts to children for over 30 years and his desire to see them grow led him to earn a Ph.D. in Education specializing in mentoring. He currently holds seminars for parents titled Understanding Your Child’s Communication Style and Strategies for Parenting. He has taken his expertise in martial arts and pedagogy and developed a unique style of Karate called Aiki Ryu. Aiki Ryu is founded on the principle that every child has a unique set of skills that can flourish in a loving and safe training environment.
Co-Director Tara Brown
Tara is the initiating director of 'Ohana Martial Arts and is passionate about helping children and adults become stronger and healthier. She has a Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Studies and earned a Master of Occupational Therapy. She has worked as an Occupational Therapist with all age groups and in many settings during her 10 year career. She also is an athlete participating in varsity level sports throughout high school and since then has learned as many new sports as she has time for - surfing, rock climbing, kayaking, SUP boarding, triathlons and running. She is a developing martial artist and is most interested in practical self-defense and training those who want learn self-protection skills.
