JKA Chicago Sugiyama Dojo

JKA Chicago Sugiyama Dojo is a traditional Japan Karate Association school on the second floor of 1016 W Belmont in Lake View East, one of the oldest continuously operating karate dojos in the Midwest. The school was originally founded in 1962 as the Chicago Karate Club by Walter Nakamoto and was reorganized in 1963 when Shihan Shojiro Sugiyama was invited from Japan to take over as head instructor, planting the JKA Shotokan lineage in Chicago that the dojo still honors today. The line of transmission runs from Gichin Funakoshi (founder of modern Shotokan karate) through Masatoshi Nakayama, Hidetaka Nishiyama, and Shojiro Sugiyama directly to the current instructor staff, which means students train in the same kihon, kata, and kumite curriculum recognized by JKA dojos worldwide. Kids classes start at age 7 and train alongside adults under one syllabus - basics (stances, blocks, strikes, kicks), the classic Heian kata progression, partnered drills, and structured light kumite as students rank up through the kyu belts toward shodan. The atmosphere is formal and old-school: gi worn correctly, proper bows in and out, repetition until movement is clean. The Belmont location is steps from the Red Line and CTA buses serving Lake View, Lincoln Park, Boys Town, Roscoe Village, and the Near North side. Trial classes are available for new students considering whether traditional Shotokan is the right path before committing to a syllabus that rewards patient, multi-year practice.