Aranami Dojo started as an open-air dojo operating at the Makiki District Park in Honolulu every Sunday morning and is run by Ryan Layman. Originally named Mochida Dojo, it was started by Yuri Taniguchi, who had moved to Japan and had started as a Hawai’i branch of Mochida Dojo. Ryan Layman had joined the dojo shortly after its founding, bringing with him 12 years of experience in Kyokushin karate from his time in Kanazawa and Vermont. When Taniguchi-sensei returned to Japan, he entrusted the dojo’s students to Ryan, who then continued to teach karate under the name of Aranami Dojo, in reference to the often hard training of Kyokushin karate and its location by the ocean in Honolulu, Hawai’i.

What used to be only every Sunday morning in the park now runs on four separate days in the week with both inside and outside classes, with a 4-5 year old class, a 6-12 year old class, and a 13-year and up class for teenagers and adults.