Sensei Matt Hogan
Matt has 35 years of experience training in martial arts starting with Okinawan Shorin Ryu at the age of 13. Matt holds the rank of Yondan (4th degree black) in Matsumora Orthodox Shorin Ryu and Nidan (2nd degree black) in Hakutsuru (White Crane) through Hanshi Larry Vellucci. Additionally, he holds teaching grade of Waka-Renshi issued through Hanshi Bernard and the ShidokanUSA Federation.
Relocating multiple times for work, Matt had the opportunity to train in Chinese Kenpo for 4 years in Albuquerue, New Mexico under Sifu Jacob Stuyvesant. Additionally, he spent 3 years studying Okinawan Kempo with Shihan Rich Pelletier and 4 years studying American Kenpo under Sensei Elain Chauvin. Matt teaches the Matsumura Seito Shorin Ryu kata passed down by Hanshi Vellucci. He is a member of and Regional Northeast Director for Kobukan Karate Federation. Crane Karate Academy is a proud member with licensure through the ShidokanUSA Federation.
Matt founded Crane Karate Academy to build a stronger community by sharing the physical, spiritual, and mental benefits of traditional Okinawan karate. Classes and enrollment are flexible, do not require a yearly commitment or contract, and are offered on a sliding scale to ensure availability for all who wish to learn.
At Crane Karate Academy, we teach using traditional methods and ask a lot of our students with the goal of helping each person become the best they can be. We offer modifications wherever necessary as we all have different bodies and abilities. We believe in an integrated approach to teaching with both adults and children in the same class. We treat children as full humans and hold them to the same standards as adults.
Sempai John Schulman
John Schulman serves as a Sempai (assistant instructor) at Crane Karate Academy under the ShidokanUSA Federation. His martial arts journey spans five decades and reflects a lifelong dedication to disciplined study across multiple traditions.
John began his training in 1974 in Japanese Goju-Ryu at the MIT Goju-Ryu Club, under the leadership of Dr. Shawn Buckley, a direct student of Gosei Yamaguchi, son of the legendary Gogen Yamaguchi (10th dan). He went on to earn his Shodan (black belt) rank in Okinawan Uechi-Ryu Karate with Renshi Buzz Durkin, training actively from 1978 to 1985 and again from 1998 to 1999.
Throughout his martial arts career, John has pursued a broad exploration of both Okinawan and Chinese systems, including:
Long Fist, White Crane Kung-Fu, and Tai Chi at Yang’s Martial Arts Association, Andover, MA (1992–1994)
Matsubayashi Shorin-Ryu with Senseis Steve Ianetti and Thomas Wirtanen, Andover, MA (2000–2002)
Chinese external and internal martial arts (Kung-fu, Tai Chi, Xingyi, Bagua) with Sifu Rick Wong (2004–2024)
Daoist Tai Chi with Sifu Zhou Xuan Yun at the Chinese Culture Connection, Malden, MA (2012–2013)
In 2024, John joined Crane Karate Academy in Newburyport, MA, where he continues his training in orthodox Shorin-Ryu and Okinawan White Crane Karate under Waka Renshi Matt Hogan.
Outside the dojo, John brings a wide range of talents and credentials. He is an Electrical Engineering Technician at Triton Systems Inc. in Chelmsford, MA, and a staff musician at St. Catherine’s Catholic Church in Westford, MA. He holds a Bachelor of Music from Berklee College of Music and an Associate of Electrical Engineering from Merrimack College. John is also a licensed Amateur Extra ham radio operator (W1MVD), a member of Mensa, and maintains current CPR, AED, First Aid, and Blood Borne Pathogens certification (through April 2025), and current CORI certification. He is also a devoted grandfather.
Dan Mello serves as a Shidoin at Crane Karate Academy under the ShidokanUSA Federation. His martial arts journey reflects a lifelong dedication to discipline, resilience, and personal growth.
He began training in International Taekwon-Do in 1990, studying under Jeff Curry in the Southcoast of Massachusetts and achieving the rank of red belt. After a long-standing commitment to disciplined study across athletics and education, he resumed his formal martial arts path in 2023, joining Crane Karate Academy in Newburyport, MA, where he continues his training in orthodox Matsumura Seito Shorin Ryu and Okinawan White Crane Karate under Waka Renshi Matt Hogan.
Outside the dojo, Dan is an education consultant with a bachelor of science in mathematics, graduating with honors from Northeastern University in 2008. He has taught yoga at the Newburyport YWCA, contributed to the community as a member of the Newburyport Waterfront Trust, and remains passionate about sailing, golf, photography, and learning music (guitar and piano).
As a father of young children, he is especially committed to nurturing the values martial arts instills—humility, perseverance, self-discipline, and indomitable spirit—both in his family and in the next generation of students at Crane Karate Academy.
He approaches both his personal practice and his teaching with humility, discipline, and a welcoming spirit.
