50 Years of Tradition
Excelsior Springs, Missouri · Established 1972
Home of Lung Fu Do Kenpo Karate — the Way of the Dragon and the Tiger.
A family school for self-defense and character.
Parents train free until yellow belt
“The Tiger’s strength seeks the Dragon’s wisdom, but the Pearl remains just beyond reach to ensure the student never stops growing.
We teach that true mastery is found in the relentless pursuit, not in the final capture.”
Our Roots
Tiger Dragon Karate Club opened in 1972, teaching Lung Fu Do Kenpo in the Kansas City area. In 1979 the school moved to Excelsior Springs, and since 1982 we’ve been at our current address on Thompson Avenue.
We’re not a chain gym and we’re not chasing trophies. Families train here for real self-defense, good habits, and a little more confidence than they walked in with.
The Art
Lung Fu Do means “the Way of the Dragon and Tiger.” It is a Chinese-influenced hard/soft system of Kenpo Karate, passed down from Grand Master Charles K. “Chuck” Conley to a small number of dedicated schools, and it is taught here.
The dragon is the master — the one who has reached the height of knowledge possible in a lifetime. The soft half of the art flows from the dragon: circular motion, redirection, serpent-head and crane strikes, and the dragon’s-mouth hand drawn from classical kung fu.
The tiger is the student — climbing to take the dragon’s high ground and capture the pearl of mastery. The tiger is the hard half: direct linear power, tiger-paw palm strikes, and the practical Kenpo backbone of punches, blocks, and kicks.
More than fighting, Lung Fu Do is a discipline of character: courtesy, perseverance, self-control, and respect for those who carried the art before us. The Way is walked one class at a time, for a lifetime.
Lung Fu Do is a rare art. Only a handful of schools in the world still teach it, and Tiger Dragon Karate Club is proud to keep the art alive here. Advanced training also draws on Kyusho Jitsu (pressure-point) and Tuite Jitsu (joint-manipulation) study.
Our Principles
Ten banners hang over our training floor. Every student trains beneath them, and we expect them to follow our students out the door.
Our Instructors
Head of Lung Fu Do Kenpo System
Sensei Ray Stapleton has devoted more than fifty years to the martial arts and is the Grand Master of the Lung Fu Do Kenpo Karate system. He has led Tiger Dragon Karate Club for decades, teaching with the same patience, dedication, and high standards the style was handed down with.
Under his guidance, generations of students in Excelsior Springs have earned their belts the old way, through sweat, repetition, and respect. His door is open to anyone, from school-age children starting in first grade to adults returning to training after decades away.
“The dragon teaches the soft. The tiger teaches the hard. The student learns to carry both.”
10th Dan, Lung Fu Do · 1st Dan, Bushidokan
Sensei Bob Amos is a 10th-degree black belt in the Lung Fu Do Kenpo system and a cornerstone instructor at Tiger Dragon Karate Club. He is responsible for training the adults, with an emphasis on practical, direct applications, conditioning, and real-world self-defense.
He is also a 1st Dan in Bushidokan, the hard-hitting system founded in the Kansas City area by Jim Harrison, and trained in that tradition where it originated. Widely regarded as one of the Midwest’s great martial arts fighters of his era, Sensei Amos brings that competitive fire and decades of experience to every class on the floor.
Programs
Youth and teens, with parents welcome. Classes include drills, forms, techniques, and fun games, along with the principles of martial arts and how they pertain to individual growth.
Parents train free until yellow belt.
Adults train with Sensei Bob in the traditional hall. Classes refine basic drills and stances, with deeper conditioning and a tighter focus on mastering core techniques. All levels welcome.
Rank comes from showing up and doing the work. Open a belt below to see what that stage focuses on. Sensei Ray likes to ask: what’s the most important belt? White belt. Foundations never stop mattering.
Why it matters: The most important belt. White-belt basics and forms stay with you for life. They are as important as anything you will learn later.
You’ll work on: Foundations of balance, basic stances (horse, bow), core blocking angles, grab releases, and learning how to fall safely.
You’ll work on: Linear hand strikes (reverse punches), basic front and side kicks, and simple self-defense combinations.
You’ll work on: Rotational body power, combination drills, and practical street-level self-defense techniques.
You’ll work on: Fluid combination blocks, circular hand strikes, and introduction to traditional kata (forms).
You’ll work on: Fluid combination strikes, redirection and parries, and basic joint-manipulation locks (Tuite).
You’ll work on: Hard/soft integration, circular entry methods, and introduction to controlled sparring.
You’ll work on: Advanced kata, intensive self-defense technique strings, and assistant teaching practice.
Why it matters: Not the end. The start of understanding what the white belt was always about. The student has the basics; now the real study deepens.
You’ll work on: Integration of hard/soft principles, character on and off the floor, and advanced study as assigned under the instructors.
Rank order shown is typical of Kenpo systems. The exact Lung Fu Do progression is verified and passed down under Grand Master Stapleton.
Our Dojo
Two full training floors in our dojo: a matted main floor for classes and sparring, and a traditional hall for weapons and forms. Scroll through the historic action and dojo photos.
Visit the Dojo
Stop by a class, watch from the side, and ask questions. Family and adult training run the same nights.
Questions
Understanding the history, age guidelines, and characteristics of Lung Fu Do Kenpo Karate.
Many modern martial arts focus heavily on sport competition. Taekwondo is a Korean sport known for its high, fast kicks, while Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is a ground-grappling sport centered on rolling and submissions.
In contrast, Lung Fu Do Kenpo is a traditional system of practical self-defense. We focus on standing self-defense: hand-and-foot combinations, joint manipulation (Tuite), circular redirection, and pressure-point targets (Kyusho). We do not train for sports trophies or point-sparring; our focus is real-world protection, physical conditioning, and building a strong, respectful character.
Kenpo is a historic bridge between Okinawan Karate and Chinese Kung Fu. The linear blocks, punches, and kicks trace back to Okinawan Karate, while the soft, circular hand shapes, sweeps, and redirection trace to Chinese Kung Fu. This balance is why our system is called Lung Fu Do: “the Way of the Dragon (soft/circular) and the Tiger (hard/linear).”
No. Training is designed to meet you where you are physically. Over weeks and months, the practice naturally builds flexibility, core strength, stamina, and coordination. Everyone in our school works at their own pace.
We typically recommend that children be in first grade (around age 6 or 7) to begin. Training requires a basic level of focus, motor control, and the ability to follow structured instruction in class. We invite you to bring your child to watch a class first to see if they are ready to step onto the floor.
There’s no fixed clock. Some people move faster; some take longer. Showing up and building a solid base is what counts. Sensei Ray will tell you the white belt is the most important rank, and that black belt is when you start to understand what that foundation was for.
Dojo Legacy
This school has always been a family thing. Grand Master Charles K. “Chuck” Conley, pictured here with his son, started that. For more than fifty years, parents and kids have trained on this same floor in Excelsior Springs.
This site is dedicated to his memory.