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:
Stephen Munford, 3rd Dan
Kyle Reniche, 3rd Dan
Joseph Russillo, 3rd Dan
John Thibodeau, 3rd Dan
Meg Barclay, 1st Dan
Mary Ann Heinzen-Hackett, 1st Dan
Adam Roberson, 1st Dan
John Scholz, 1st Dan