About the Instructor

  Thomas "Tmac" McKenney

    Instructor / 5th degree black belt

  New Hampshire DKI representative

        Portrait courtesy of New England Studio

Sensei Thomas McKenney began his martial arts training in 1978 under the direction of Senseis Joseph Hammond and Gary McKenney in Springfield, Vermont.  He has been instructing for over 10 years, and currently is the chief instructor of Monadnock Kempo Kara-te in Marlborough, New Hampshire.  McKenney has been affiliated with the Dillman Karate International organization all throughout his training, and with over 25 years of experience, he has the longest DKI affiliation of any other master in the state of New Hampshire.   

    McKenney has competed in numerous area tournaments, primarily in kata and weapons divisions.  In 1991, he was awarded the rank of first-degree black belt under a board of instructors that included DKI's Ron Richards of Pennsylvania.  It was through Master Richards where McKenney got his start with the study in Kyusho/Tuite jitsu.

    From 1992-1994, McKenney attended Keene State College where he participated and co-instructed the college’s Martial Arts Club.  Following graduation he returned to his home dojo in Springfield and co-instructed with his father until the closing of the dojo in 1999.  In late 2003, Sensei McKenney founded the Monadnock Kempo Kara-te program in Marlborough, New Hampshire.

    Always a "student" of the arts, McKenney's areas of primary study include pressure point self-defense, and how practical self-defense can be seen in traditional kata.  Over the years, Sensei McKenney has studied under many of the DKI’s top instructors, and credits them all in his growth in the arts.  One in particular is former DKI affiliate, Evan Pantazi of Massachusetts.  He met Shihan Pantazi in 1995, and credits Pantazi for his real growth in the art.    Other studies include Small Circle Jujitsu™ and Modern Arnis.