Oldest Martial Arts club in UCD

Our story started in 1977 when the club was first created in UCD.

UCD Karate Club was formed in 1977 and has since enjoyed success as one of the college’s largest and most popular clubs. The club has won the UCD Club of the Year award a number of times and is currently the reigning Intervarsity Champion. The club’s primary aim is to provide an enjoyable and safe environment to equip all of its members with the skills necessary to progress in Shotokan Karate. UCD Karate Club has close ties with many national and international organisations and members get the opportunity to train with not only the club’s own team of highly qualified instructors, but also some of the foremost karate masters in the world.

Who are our members

Complete beginners - Majority of our members joining our club for the first time are beginners. We split the class dedicated for new members so nobody will be left behind.
Intermediate members - For members who have had previous karate or martial arts training, we conduct regular grading sessions 3 times/year and train you to impress.
Non-Shotokan - We train by Shotokan syllabus but you don’t have to change style. Our instructors are knowledgeable in various styles and will be able to guide you.
Seasoned black belts - Notable for our competitive successes, we develop exciting training programs and teams for Dan-grades, including overseas travel to European competitions.
UCD Alumni and Staff - If you have graduated previously from UCD, or currently working in UCD, you can join our trainings! The fee for the year is €100 and you can join in any sessions, as many times as you want.
UCD Students - Our training is available to all UCD students for free. We collect €15 as the standard UCD Sports registration fee for the year. Membership renewal is €20 per year from 2nd year onwards.
JKA Members - If you are not a student, alumni or UCD staff, we have multiple sister dojos under JKA throughout the city in YMCA at Aungier Street, Castleknock, and DCU.