Shihan Duval Hamilton shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Duval, really appreciate you sharing your stories and insights with us. The world would have so much more understanding and empathy if we all were a bit more open about our stories and how they have helped shaped our journey and worldview. Let’s jump in with a fun one: What do you think is misunderstood about your business?
The biggest misunderstanding is that people focus entirely on the intensity of what we do and miss the humanity of why we do it.
It’s true that we teach one of the hardest, strongest forms of martial arts on the planet. We don’t hide that. But people often mistake that toughness for aggression. They think we are just training people to fight.
What they don’t understand is that the physical rigor is actually a tool to build better people. The training has to be hard so the growth can be real. We use that intensity to forge our students not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. We are breaking down egos and building up character, so that our students walk out of the dojo kinder, calmer, and more resilient than when they walked in.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am Shihan Duval Hamilton, Head Instructor of Dallas Kyokushin Karate. My life’s work is rooted in the ‘Ultimate Truth’—the discipline and full-contact spirit of Kyokushin. What makes our organization unique is our ability to honor tradition while staying relevant to the modern world. To that end, I am currently spearheading the Urban Budo project. This initiative is designed to apply the core principles of Budo—courage, respect, and self-mastery—to the challenges of modern urban living. We aren’t just teaching people how to kick and punch; we are teaching them how to navigate the world with strength and awareness.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
Before the world tried to define me, I was a quiet, observant kid growing up in the New York City projects during the 70s. Back then, the streets had a loud, aggressive way of telling you where you belonged.
I was naturally shy—the kind of kid who stayed under the radar to avoid trouble. But inside, I was a firebrand. I was that kid captivated by Bruce Lee on the screen, seeing in him a level of control and power that I didn’t feel I had in my own environment. I didn’t just want to learn how to fight; I wanted to learn how to stand up. I wanted to find the version of myself that didn’t have to shrink when a bully walked by or when the city got too loud.
Before the world told me I had to be a statistic or just another face in the crowd, I was a seeker. I was looking for a way to turn my silence into strength and my fear into focus.
That search eventually led me to the path of the warrior, and it’s what drives me today as the Head Instructor of Dallas Kyokushin Karate. My Urban Budo project is really a gift to that shy kid I used to be. It’s my way of taking the hard-earned lessons from the 70s NYC streets and the discipline of the Japanese dojo to help others find their voice before the world tries to take it away. I’m still that kid who believes in the power of standing up—now, I just have the tools to help others do the same
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
If I could sit down next to that shy kid on the project steps in 70s New York, I’d look him in the eye and say: ‘Your quietness isn’t a weakness; it’s the soil where your strength is growing.’
I’d tell him that it’s okay to feel the weight of the world around him, and it’s okay that he doesn’t have the loudest voice in the room yet. I’d tell him, ‘Duval, keep watching those Bruce Lee movies and keep dreaming of the mat. That fire you’re feeling—the one that wants to stand up to the bullies and find a better way—that fire is going to light the path for thousands of other people one day.’
I would tell him not to rush the process. Every time he felt small, he was actually learning the value of humility. Every time he had to navigate a dangerous block, he was developing the ‘Urban Budo’ awareness that would become his life’s work.
Most importantly, I’d tell him: ‘You don’t have to become someone else to be powerful. You just have to become more of who you already are. Keep your head up.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
They’d tell you I value ‘Real Talk’ over fluff. They see me late at the dojo or working on my projects, and they know I’m driven by a promise I made to my younger self: to create a world where being ‘quiet’ or ‘different’ doesn’t make you a target, but a warrior in training. At the end of the day, they’d say I care about legacy—not my own name, but the strength I leave behind in my students.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I can say with absolute certainty that I am doing exactly what I was born to do. When I found the martial arts, when I saw that Bruce Lee wasn’t just fighting, but was free—I realized I was born for something else. I was born to be a bridge. I was born to take the hardness of those New York streets and the discipline of Kyokushin and melt them together into something that could save people.
Today, when I’m on the mat at Dallas Kyokushin or building out the Urban Budo project, I’m not following a script. I’m fulfilling a destiny. I took the very things the world used to try to keep me down—the ‘urban’ struggle and my own ‘quiet’ nature—, and I turned them into my greatest strengths.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Texaskyokushin.com
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- Facebook: Dallaskyokushin
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