About Us
Meet Shihan Ehab Ahmed
Founder & Master Instructor
Shihan Ehab Ahmed
8th Degree Black Belt (GoJu-Ryu Karate) · Brown Belt (BJJ)
He was 15, in Cairo, when he first bowed onto a mat under Japanese Karate Ambassador Mr. Akomoto. The training was hard and the standards were real, and it gave a teenager something he would carry across an ocean.
In 1988 he moved to the United States and kept training in traditional Karate and Jiu-Jitsu under Sensei Romulo Arroyo, and in 2001 he opened Samurai Dojo on South Dairy Ashford: fully matted floors, climate control, locker rooms, and the same respect-first rules he learned as a boy.
More than 25 years later he holds an 8th-degree black belt in GoJu-Ryu Karate and a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and thousands of Houston kids and adults have learned to stand a little taller in his classes. Many of them now teach here.
A Partnership Built On Decades Of Friendship
Two Masters. One Dojo.
One learned Karate in Cairo. The other learned Kung Fu at the Shaolin Temple. For years they ran their own schools just minutes apart in West Houston, and stayed friends the whole time. In February 2025 they put two lifetimes of training under one roof, so your family gets both.
Senior Chief Instructor
Wallace Cupp
8th Degree Black Belt (Kenpo Karate) · Northern Praying Mantis Kung Fu
Born in Boston, Sifu Wallace Cupp has spent more than four decades in traditional martial arts. He trained privately for 12 years under the legendary Grandmaster Chan Pui of Wah Lum Northern Praying Mantis Kung Fu, studied with the monks at the Shaolin Temple in China, and holds an 8th-degree black belt in Kenpo Karate under Master Zamora. A five-time judge at the U.S. National Chinese Martial Arts Competition, he is known for his Iron Palm demonstrations and command of more than 24 classical weapons. For years he ran American Martial Arts Academy on Westheimer, where many of today's Samurai instructors earned their belts. In February 2025 he brought his school under one roof with his longtime friend Shihan Ehab.
Trusted By Houston Families
Training The Mind, Body & Soul
Respect
Every class starts and ends with a bow. Students learn to honor their teachers, their parents and themselves.
Discipline
Real standards, real testing, earned belts. Effort is what moves you forward.
Confidence
Built through challenge, not praise alone, so it holds up on and off the mat.
Community
Families across West Houston have trained here together for more than two decades.