Paul Willoughby - Chief Instructor:
Paul began his training in 1982 at the age of 14 in Okinawan Shorin-ryu Matsumura Orthodox Karate. In 1983 he began studying Shotokan Karate under Irv Smoot at the Southern Maryland Karate Club. Paul has also trained at the Shotokan Karate Club of Maryland under Najib Amin, Farid Amin, John Elliot and others. Paul has been the main instructor for the Southern Maryland Shotokan Karate Club since 1998 and is a graduate of the ISKF's Instructor Training Institute under Teruyuki Okazaki Shihan. Paul is a godan (5th degree black belt), a certified Instructor (rank B), Examiner (rank C) and Tournament Judge (rank B) and is trained in Adult/AED, child and infant CPR.
John Jabara - Instructor:
John began training in 1988 in New Jersey with Sensei Robin Rielly. He earned Shodan rank in 1992 and Nidan rank in 1994. In 1998, his career took him to Southern Maryland and he began training with Sensei Paul Willoughby. John earned Sandan rank in 2014.
Benjamin Hance - Instructor:
Ben began his martial arts training in 1995. He has previously trained in American Kenpo Karate and Tang Soo Do. He began training in Shotokan Karate in 2019 under Sensei Paul Willoughby. Ben earned the rank of Shodan (1st degree black belt) in 2022, holds a National Alliance for Youth Sports certification, and is Red Cross first aid certified.
Joy Belcher – Instructor:
Joy began training in karate in 1993, studying traditional Okinawan karate under Sensei Glenn Brazzel in Texas, and continued to train in various martial arts while active duty in the U.S. Air Force and then as a military spouse. She has studied Uechi Ryu karate in Okinawa, Shotokan karate under Sensei Joe Cayer in Florida, and Japanese Ju Jitsu under Sensei Ireneusz Druciarek in the Netherlands. When her family moved to Maryland in 2021, she joined SOMD Shotokan Karate under Sensei Paul Willoughby and received Shodan through ISKF in 2022, her third black belt. In addition to assisting in the dojo, Joy also runs the youth Karate Camp for Recreation and Parks.