Harvey Leighton (Jay) Trombley

Harvey Leighton (Jay) Trombley died on November 23, 2022, at the age of 84 in Richland Hills Texas, after succumbing to kidney failure.



Jay Trombley lived a full life, born in Bellows Falls, Vermont to parents Harvey and Ruth Trombley on November 2, 1938. In the summer of 1955, he joined the Marine Corps and was soon shipped overseas to Camp Hauge in Okinawa. It was here that he started taking karate classes at the nearby Shoreikan Dojo of Seikichi Toguchi and traditional weapons (kobudo) from Hohan Soken. In 1960, he received his black belt and teaching certificate from Toguchi and soon after, returned to the US.



In the 1960’s he spent five years in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, where he taught karate out of Johnny Joca’s gym. It was in this gym that he learned boxing from former boxer Jackie Simpson. Next, he moved to Tuscon, Arizona, and in 1970 moved to Springtown, Texas. He taught karate out of his house in Springtown, and later moved to Fort Worth where he met his wife Karen Kitto in 1972. They were married on February 17, 1973. He put together his own style of karate named United Goju-Ryu (later re-named Ketsugo Goju-Ryu), which was a combination of what he learned in Okinawa with the boxing elements he learned in Jacksonville Beach, along with Jiu Jitsu self-defense moves, and kicks he picked up from his friend Roy Kurban.



In the years that followed, Trombley, later called Shodai (founder), promoted kickboxing tournaments and trained full contact fighters, but his foundation was always in his karate classes. He had a school (dojo) on Seminary Drive in Fort Worth, several dojos in Hurst, and his last dojo was in Watauga. He trained thousands of students, but only promoted 29 students to senior black belt. In 2016 he closed his dojo in Watauga and retired from karate. He leaves behind a legacy of strong karate; his principles never wavered from the first time he started teaching karate until he closed his last dojo. Karate begins and ends with respect: he didn’t just teach people how to defend themselves, Shodai taught the core principles of karate for over six decades.



He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Karen, who was as much a part of United/Ketsugo Goju-Ryu as Shodai. She was his greatest supporter, staunchest ally, and his emotional rock. It simply couldn’t have happened without her. He is also survived by his sister Evelyn, daughters Mary Elizabeth Edenfield and Michelle Ann Trombley. He is preceded in death by his daughter Marcell and brother Dalton.