The Tearney legacy.
For more than fifty years, one family has kept the same teaching system alive in Central New York. This is the story of Greg Tearney — and the school he built.
The man who started
it all.
Greg Tearney grew up in Syracuse's 15th Ward — by his own telling, a street fighter long before he ever bowed onto a mat. He found karate in the 1960s, earned his black belt, and in 1969 opened a small school of his own.
Through the 1970s and 80s, Greg and his wife Judy — herself a 10th-degree black belt — built Tearney's into one of the most respected karate schools in Central New York. At its height, hundreds of students moved across the floor each week, and the competition trophies stopped fitting on the shelf.
He taught traditional Okinawan karate the way it was meant to be taught: slower than most, heavier on the basics, and harder on character than on flash. Generations of students learned more than how to fight there — they learned how to carry themselves.
Both Greg and Judy Tearney were inducted into the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame.
When Greg stepped back, the floor didn't go quiet. His daughter, Kyoshi Alexis Tearney Kuhl — a black belt and instructor for 20 years — picked up the work she'd been raised in, and carries the family name at the head of the mat today.
Five decades,
one floor.
1969
Founded
Hanshi Greg Tearney opens his first dojo in Syracuse in a local community center — but the standard is set on day one: traditional Okinawan karate, taught the hard, honest way. This was where Hanshi Tearney developed his core group of Black Belts, all nationally ranked in Karate Illustrated for their strong competition placings.
1984
The Karate Kid boomThe Karate Kid hits theatres and karate is now spotlighted as a great activity for kids. For the first time ever, children flooded into the dojo to learn discipline, respect, and self-defense.
1985
The competition era
Greg and Judy (10th-dan) run the dojo together. Hundreds of students rotate through the floor each week, and the trophies stop fitting on the shelf — Tearney's becomes one of the most respected schools in Central New York.
1986
The first kids programGreg and Judy move their dojo to the Fairmount/Camillus area and are tasked with creating a children's curriculum. Judy starts the first karate program specifically for children ages 4–6. That program is still the foundational program of the dojo today!
2020
Second generation
Alexis Tearney-Kuhl forms Tearney's Martial Arts LLC — her own entity. Due to Covid restrictions, she shifts instruction to Zoom from a basement studio, and grows the program under a virtual format.
2021
Back in personAlexis finds space for in-person instruction at St. Ann's School, where she grows the school back to what it always was.
2023
Township 5 — today
Alexis opens and operates her first commercial space in Township 5 in Camillus, where the school thrives today — taught two generations deep, and still bowing in the same way.
Team Tearney.
From a basement studio to a wall of championship trophies — Team Tearney competes across the region under coach Mel Hordies. Competition is never required, but any student who wants to test themselves is welcome to earn a spot.