Sensei McKenzie started teaching in 1991 in his front yard. He named his Dojo Southern Defense Martial Arts. During the first year a building was donated for the schools use. Sensei McKenzie Worked with many students and the school won many tournaments before closing in 1995. Will Clark trained under Sensei McKenzie and started teaching family & others that started coming by wanting to learn in October of 2011. When they started Tournament participation Will asked and received permission to use the Old school name and logo from Sensei McKenzie. Kyla reworked the logo to the one we currently use.

Southern Defense Martial Arts classes is located at Diamonds Phone center & Tax service in the back room at 106 Yates Hill Rd. Rockingham, NC. Beginner classes start at 6:00 PM on Mondays. Southern Defense Martial Arts class agenda's vary depending on what areas need work. It can range from getting ready for Tournament, Streching, Exercises, Kata, Sparring, self-defense, footwork, balance, and weapons. Focus & Control are always present in whatever we are working on.

The outer rope border stands for Okinawa, which means "Rope in the offring" and is said to resemble a piece of rope tossed in the sea.

Shorin-ryu is spelled out in english on the patch, this is the main branch style of karate we practice.

The closed Fist represents the hardness of the style and is also a symbol of readiness to defend.

The Kanji reads Karate and it's meaning of "empty hand."

The crossed Sai represents Okinawan Kobudo. It also has a representation of defense between the crossing of the sai like one would do in a block. It is a good representation for Okinawan defense as the Sai was created(From a similar Chinese weapon) to defend against the sword after the Okinawan people were banned from having weapons.

The trees at the bottom of the patch represents the meaning of Shorin-ryu. Translated it has the meaning of Shaolin. It also translates to "Small forest way" or also "Small Pine Style."

Though it should not need discussion, we use the American flag patch because we are American, and also because there are differences that have been integrated in our karate that started here in the USA. It is also an show of respect for the soldiers who fight and defend us. There are 50 stars on the American flag, a star representing each state. There are 13 stripes on the flag representing the 13 colonies that declared independence from Britain and formed to create the United States of America. The colors meanings are White to signify purity and innocence, Red to signify hardiness & valour, and Blue signifies vigilance, perseverance & justice.

The Okinawan prefecture flag is used instead of the Japanese flag because there is a difference between the styles of Karate from Okinawa and Japan. It also is a show of respect to Okinawa as alot of Okinawan's say they are not Japanese, they are Okinawan. As our style of karate Originates from Okinawa, and was crafted before it became a part of Japan this is another reason we use this patch.

POW/MIA stands for Prisoners of war, Missing in Action. It was created during the Vietnam War. We wear the POW MIA patch to honor those soldiers who have not returned home to their families and to show them and their brothers in arms respect and that they are not forgotten, we still care.

Other Patches and our logo

Will Instructor Age: 40 Degree: Rokudan in Karate Nidan in Shorin-Ryu

When I was about 11-12 years old I was getting bullied and coming home with bruises every day. Always having an interest in the Martial Arts, my parents thought it would be a good time for me to learn to defend myself. In 1992 I met Sensei McKenzie and started my training. I was in the dojo more than probably most the others always wanting to train and get better. I obtained my green belt before the school closed. After that I started training on my own. During this time I took about a year off in 1996 and about another year in 2000. Sensei McKenzie tested me for my belts and I finally received my shodan in 2003. In 2005 I started driving Tractor-Trailers and the like. In 2011 I wanted to get back in shape and my sisters enjoyed training with me. Not long after a few of our friends wanted to come train and learn Karate. So with Sensei McKenzie's blessing I started teaching. By March we had reached our limits of space. To encourage everyones training we started visiting the tournaments in Febuary of 2012. In June 2012 I started competing in the Traditional Kata Divsion of Tournaments. In April of 2012 I received my Nidan from Sensei McKenzie. In December of 2013 I received my Sandan from Dr. Vic Moore. In December of 2014 I received my Yondan from Dr. Vic Moore. I have also done through the years very basic study in other arts and areas such as Tae kwon do, Aikido, Kung fu, Judo, Jujitsu, Ninjitsu, Krav Maga, kenjutsu, Muey Thai, Jeet Kune Do, Baston, & hand gun training.

Member of the Traditional World Karate Association.

Worked security for the 2013 Dungeon Rockingham Explosion.

Tournament results:

1993 Winter Classic	3rd in 11-13 Underbelt Novice Weapons
1993 US Capitol Classics	3rd in 11-13 Underbelt Novice Sparring
1994 Azalea Open National Championships	Finalist 11-13 Underbelt Novice Sparring
2012 Mountain View Open	1st in 18+ Black Belt Traditional Forms
2012 Battle of the Border	2nd In 18+ Black Belt Traditional Forms
2012 Discover The Champion	2nd in 18+ Black Belt Traditional Forms
2012 Race City Classics	1st in 18+ Black Belt traditional Forms
	2nd In 18+ Black Belt Open Forms
2012 Enter The Dragons	1st in 18+ Black Belt Open forms
	2nd in 18+ Black Belt Traditional Forms
2013 War Angel Challenge	2nd in 18+ Black Belt Open Forms
	3rd in 18+ Black Belt Traditional Forms
	5th in 18+ Black Belt Weapons
2013 The best of the Carolinas Martial Arts Challenge	2nd in 18+ Black Belt Self-Defense
	5th in 18+ Black Belt Traditional Forms
	3rd in 18+ Black Belt Weapons
	2nd in 18+ Black Belt Open Forms
	2nd in 18+ Grappling
	4rd in 30-39 Black Belt Heavyweight Sparring
2013 Kang Sha-bang Classic	2nd in 18+ Black Belt Weapons
	1st in 18+ Black Belt Open Forms
2013 Phoenix in the Burg	1st in 18+ Black Belt Self Defense
	3rd in 18+ Black Belt Open Forms
	4th in 18+ Black Belt Weapons
2013 Battle of the Border	1st in 18+ Black Belt Open Forms
2013 Discovering a Champion	1st in 18+ Black Belt Open Forms
2013 Enter the Dragons	1st in 18+ Black Belt Open Forms
2013 Dojo Knights Dragons Challenge	1st in 18+ Black Belt Open Forms
2015 War Angel's Challenge	2nd in 30-39 Black Belt Heavy Weight Sparring
	3rd in 18+ Black Belt Traditional Forms

Circuit Results:

2012 PPKF Circuit	2nd in 18+ Black Belt Open forms
	4th in 18+ Black Belt Traditional Forms
2012 NBL Blueridge conference	1st in 18+ Black Belt Traditional Forms
	4th In 18+ Black Belt open forms
2013 PPKF Circuit	1st in 18+ Black Belt Open forms
	2nd in 18+ Black Belt Self Defense
	4th in 18+ Black Belt Heavyweight Sparring
	5th in 18+ Black Belt Weapons Forms
	7th in 18+ Black Belt Traditional Forms
	Tied 10th in 18+ Grappling

Charlie Assistant Instructor Age: 27 Degree: Nidan in Shorin-ryu, Green Belt in TKD, Purple Belt in BJJ.

Kenny Student Age: 26 Degree: Nikyu in Shorin-ryu

Tracy Student Age: 45 Degree: Shikyu in Shorin-ryu