CLUB HISTORY

Our club held it’s first class on Saturday, September 19, 1987, at a small dance studio in Bensalem, PA. Since then, we've held classes at many locations including the Pennsbury Public Schools (Oxford Valley Elementary), Neshaminy Public Schools (Herbert Hoover Elementary), Bensalem Public Schools (Benjamin Rush Elementary), The Salvation Army Community Center and The Levittown Public Recreation Association (LPRA) in Levittown, PA, The Pen Ryn School and The Fraternal Order of Eagles community center in Fairless Hills, PA, the Newtown Swim Club in Newtown, PA, and our own 6,000 square foot facility in Tullytown, PA. We've run programs at Temple University in Philadelphia and coached the collegiate karate clubs at Mercer County Community College, Rider College, and Stockton University in New Jersey.

Over the past 38 years, more than 6,000 students have trained with our club. Our yudansha (black belts) have practiced and competed with other Shotokan karate organizations all over the United States and throughout the world, and the rank they have earned with our club has been recognized and respected wherever their travels, education, or careers have taken them.

The Shotokan Karate Association

Bucks County Shotokan is a proud member of the Shotokan Karate Association (SKA).

Founded in 1968 at the Lower Bucks County YMCA by Sensei William (Bill) Hodgkiss, the Shotokan Karate Association is one of the oldest traditional martial arts organizations in the United States. For more information about our organization, please visit www.ShotokanKarateAssociation.org.

Bucks County Shotokan (BCS) Founder and Club Director

Kevin Hawley has studied Shotokan karate-dō with Sensei Gary Campbell of the Lower Bucks County Karate Club (LBCKC) since 1978. He was awarded the rank of nanadan (7th degree black belt) by The Shotokan Karate Association (SKA) in 2010.

Kevin teaches all BCS classes with assistance from senior club members and visiting instructors. 

From 1989 to 1997 he competed at the US Amateur Athletic Union’s National Karate Championships, medaling in both kata and kumite events. Kevin has also been a successful coach, with his students capturing 11 individual AAU National Championships and one Junior Olympic Gold Medal over the same period.

In addition to karate, Kevin enjoys kendo (Japanese fencing) and served as the Executive Secretary of the Eastern United States Kendo Federation from 1996 to 1997. In 1997, he and Titus Schleyer of the Philadelphia Tan Shin Kai kendo club demonstrated kendo for over 300 participants at the ISKF Master Camp at the personal invitation of Master Teruyuki Okazaki.

He has been fortunate to practice with nearly all of the major Shotokan organizations and senior Shotokan instructors around the world, including trips to Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia, and South America. He has traveled to Japan extensively over the past thirty years, augmenting his training in both karate and kendo, expanding his Japanese language skills, and improving his understanding of Japanese culture.

Kevin earned a BA at Rider College in Lawrenceville, NJ, and a MBA at the Wharton School. Professionally, Kevin served as Executive Vice President of Group Strategy for CRH plc (NYSE:CRH), headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Academically, he has taught at the Wharton Small Business Development Center, was a visiting lecturer at the Rutgers University MBA Program, and was a faculty member at Stockton University's Galloway and Atlantic City campuses. He's served as an Undergraduate Admissions Interviewer for the University of Pennsylvania and he remains actively involved as a Penn Alumni Ambassador.   

Along with Sensei Campbell, Sensei Hodgkiss, and my many mentors, fellow instructors, and lifelong friends within the SKA, I've been very fortunate to meet and train with some of the top karate and kendo instructors in the world. Here are some of my favorites: