2878 34th Street · Lubbock, Texas · Est. March 1968
For 58 years, Lubbock families have walked through the same dojo door on 34th Street to build confidence, discipline and real self-defense skill. Karate and kickboxing for kids, teens, adults and homeschool students, taught by black belts who have been on this floor for decades.
Call or text (806) 701-2978 · Not sure where to start?
Program finder
Pick one. You'll see the class built for that person and exactly what to do next.
What training changes
Karate asks for 100% of your concentration on one task at a time. Students carry that habit into homework, work and every hard conversation.
Every stripe and belt is earned in front of a black belt panel. Kids and adults learn they can set a goal, do the work and hit it.
Good training lets you meet danger calmly. What's foreign to the untrained becomes familiar territory, so you act with control instead of panic.
"Courage is not the absence of fear but the transcendence of it."— Live Like a Black Belt, TKI creed
The lineage
TKI grew from Allen Steen, the "Father of Texas Karate," whose tough, no-shortcuts training built a network of schools across the state in the 1960s. Six Texas Karate Institutes opened. One kept its doors open every year since. It's on 34th Street.
Allen Steen begins training under Jhoon Rhee at the University of Texas. He earns his black belt in 1962 and goes on to found the Southwest Karate Black Belt Association in 1964, later the American Karate Black Belt Association.
Grand Master David Moon teaches an introductory self-defense course here and tells students a new school is coming to take its place.
In March 1968, TKI Lubbock opens its doors as part of Steen's Texas Karate Institute network. It has trained Lubbock and the surrounding communities ever since.
Early Lubbock students earn their black belts under instructors including Bob Potter and Rick Vaughan, with Dallas black belts on the panel.
TKI moves into the dojo it still trains in today.
Tom Downs takes ownership and leads as head instructor for 37 years, earning his place in the Texas Martial Arts Hall of Fame.
The future head instructor begins her journey at TKI in the summer of 1989.
Tom Downs retires and hands the school to Master Kathy Gonzales and Master David Liles. He is promoted to Grandmaster in December 2023.
The last original Texas Karate Institute. Still teaching. Your family's chapter starts here.
Your instructors
Training at TKI since 1989. After 34 years in human resources she turned her full focus to teaching, and she helped build a seated program of blocking and kicking movements for people with Parkinson's through the YMCA in Plainview. She also started an after-school karate program at Oak Grove Elementary. Weapon specialty: the Chinese iron fan.
A TKI member since 2009. He taught theatre in Lubbock ISD for 17 years at Hutchinson Middle School and Lubbock High, and now works in the Texas Tech School of Theatre and Dance.
A second-degree black belt who trains and teaches on the TKI floor. His background includes self-defense, kickboxing and taekwondo.
Stepped onto the dojo floor in 1991 and has tested himself in more than 30 karate tournaments, learning as much from the losses as the wins.
Teaches TKI's kickboxing and self-defense classes. He also serves as Coordinator of Operations, Safety and Security at Women's Protective Services, so his self-defense instruction comes from real-world protection work.
Black belt honor roll
Every name here earned the belt the same way: one class at a time, on this floor or in this lineage. Since 1968, TKI black belts have gone on to teach, compete and carry the school's standard across Texas.
Tom Downs led TKI for 37 years and shaped generations of Lubbock black belts. Parents still describe him the same way: he makes sure the children learn and have fun. He was promoted to Grandmaster in December 2023.
Black belts earned on the TKI floor
Black belts who taught Lubbock's first TKI students, 1968 through the 1970s
Pioneers of the original Texas Karate Institute network
Your name belongs on this wall. Text (806) 701-2978 with your name, rank and the year you earned it.
The path
Get your uniform and start class. Everyone begins here, including every black belt on staff.
Rank exams run through the year. Each level adds new kata, techniques and sparring.
Advanced ranks spar, compete in tournaments and assist with teaching younger students.
Every skill at black belt proficiency, finished with the kata Bassai Dai.
Bassai Dai · "Breaking through the fortress"
The forms on our wall
TKI's curriculum carries both sides of its Texas lineage: the Korean forms Allen Steen learned under Jhoon Rhee, and traditional karate kata. Each form is a lesson in history as well as technique.
Tap any form to watch it performed by TKI students on our YouTube channel.
Community service · Free
Once a month, TKI opens the dojo to women and girls ages 11 and up at no cost. You'll learn striking, awareness and real-world self-defense techniques from black belt instructors. No obligation to sign up for anything afterward.
Second Tuesday of each month · 7:00–7:45 PM.
Save My Spot →women will face some type of violent attack in their lifetime, the statistic TKI cites when explaining why this class is free.
"Having any type of self-defense training can help better the chances of survival during a dangerous or confrontational situation."Master Kathy Gonzales, 7th Dan
From TKI families
We are so proud of her progress but even better is that I see my daughter being proud of herself and as the mother of a girl in this day and age, that makes me happier than anything else.
The Texas Karate Institute of Lubbock is THE place to go if you want to be a great martial artist! This is an old school martial arts school, built on the principles of respect, discipline and hard work.
Visit the dojo
| Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays | |
|---|---|
| Kids ages 4–8 | 5:45–6:30 PM |
| Kids & teens ages 9–17 | 6:30–7:30 PM |
| Adults 18+ | 7:30–8:30 PM |
| Tuesdays | |
| Homeschool ages 4–9 | 11:00 AM–12:00 PM |
| Homeschool ages 10–16 | 1:30–2:30 PM |
| Kickboxing | 6:00–7:00 PM |
| Free Women's Self-Defense 2nd Tuesday of the month | 7:00–7:45 PM |
| Thursdays | |
| Homeschool ages 10–16 | 11:00 AM–12:00 PM |
| Homeschool ages 4–9 | 1:30–2:30 PM |
| Kickboxing | 6:00–7:30 PM |
| Saturdays | |
| Open workout & private lessons | Until 10:30 AM |
| Advanced youth & teens blue & brown belts | 11:30 AM–12:30 PM |
| Kids karate | Call for time |
| Teens & adults karate | Until 3:00 PM |
| Kickboxing & self-defense | 3:00–4:30 PM |
Homeschool tuition: $35/month per student for once a week, $50/month for twice a week (2026–27 school year). Closed Sundays. Text (806) 701-2978 to confirm Saturday times or book a private lesson.
Master Bob is an AI coach. For emergencies call 911. For tuition and enrollment, text (806) 701-2978. Chats are sent to the dojo so they can follow up.
