The Academy started out as a humble recreation program in Tewksbury with 35 students enrolling on the first night in September 1989. Ten students were turned away that night, many of which joined as the program expanded. The Tewksbury Karate Academy, as it was known, outgrew its first location within eight months, moving across the street to the basement of the United Methodist Church on Rt. 38 in Tewksbury.

Through strong word-of-mouth in the community, the program had grown to 85 students by the end of the first year. It was clear that the program filled a void in the community for a traditional Karate program, stressing focus, respect, effort, positive values, and achievement. Todd Keane went about looking for space to build a world-class dojo.

On the birthday of Shoshin Nagamine, the founder of the style studied at the Academy of Traditional Karate, July 15, in 1991, the Academy was renamed and moved to Wilmington, MA. The Academy has gone through numerous renovations through the years, the most recent in 2005, when the Academy was expanded to it’s current facility of over 6,000 SF with state-of-the-art amenities.