David Troup Sensei holds the rank of Godan (5th-degree Black Belt) in the WMKA and owns a current WMKA-issued dojo-owner’s license. Troup received his Godan in November of 2022 from a board composed of the three highest-ranked teachers in the WMKA: President Yoshitaka Taira, Hanshi, 10th Dan; Vice President Toshimitsu Arakaki, Hanshi, 10th Dan; and Iwao Tome, Hanshi, 9th Dan.
He was tested for his 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Dans by the late Soke Takayoshi Nagamine (1945–2012), 10th Dan Hanshisei, the son of Matsubayashi-ryu’s founder Grandmaster Shoshin Nagamine.
David Troup Sensei trained from 1987 through 2005 under Owen Masters Sensei, Renshi, Rokudan (6th-degree black belt) in the WMKA, and the late Max Crevani Sensei, Kyoshi, Hachidan (8th-degree black belt) in the WMKA, at the Shorin-Ji Bushido on West 72nd Street in New York City. Both Owen Masters and Max Crevani Senseis were students of Zenko Heshiki Sensei, Kyoshi, who had been a student of the late founder of Matsubayashi Shorin-Ryu, Grandmaster Shoshin Nagamine.
He currently continues his training in Okinawa with Toshimitsu Arakaki Sensei.
Dojo Yudansha:
Lyn Cathryn Donnelly, 3rd Dan
Becka Fletcher, 3rd Dan
Stephen Munford, 3rd Dan
Joseph Russillo, 3rd Dan
John Thibodeau, 3rd Dan
Meg Barclay, 1st Dan
Patrick Dole, 1st Dan
Mary Ann Heinzen-Hackett, 1st Dan
Haydee Temple, 1st Dan
John Scholz, 1st Dan