About Us
Shodan Martial Arts Academy, originally opened as Shodan Academy, has been a Greenwood Indiana business since 2009. Our doors originally opened in a small retail space on County Line and Emerson and within 3 years moved into the Gathering Place and Southport in the building that is now Sky Zone. After outgrowing the Southport location, all students were relocated to the Gathering Place and occupied a better part of the second floor for more than 8 years. In 2020, Shodan Academy moved into a new retail space in Greenwood. After being shut down for 2 months Shodan Academy was rebranded with a new logo and new name, Shodan Martial Arts Academy. In March 2021, Shodan Martial Arts celebrated 12 years of business serving the community through traditional Japanese Karate.
In nearly 13 years Shodan has had the privilege of welcoming hundreds of families and students into the world of karate. Multiple students have made Team USA which is an amazing accomplishment but more importantly have become accomplished adults.
The founder of Shodan Martial Arts Academy, Instructional Advisor Sensei Ricardo, is originally from Valencia, Venezuela.
Sensei was a member of the US National Karate Federation Team. He has been practicing karate for more than 35 years.
Instuctor
Sensei Jovanni has over 10 years of teaching and coaching experience both in the US and Venezuela. He currently teaches and coaches students from all over the world virtually and brings his vast knowledge of the sport to Shodan Martial Arts Academy. Sensei Jovanni is proficient in all forms of traditional Shotokan Karate but his main focus in the dojo is always student engagement and bringing his love of Karate to his classes.
Sensei Jovanni traveled to France in June 2021 to compete in the Olympic Qualifier for the Tokyo games.
Shodan Martial Arts welcomed Sensei Jovanni in 2021 as the Lead Instructor.
Jovanni Martinez
Lead Instructor
Black Belt
Venezuelan National Team
Pan-American Medalist
World Championship Finalist
Ranked top 20 in WKF -60kg
*All of our adult instructors and staff (over 18) must pass an Indiana State Police background check in order to teach our students.