Idean Salehyan

The Professor

You are not a Professor, but Dean Salehyan certainly is.

Idean “Dean” Salehyan began his martial arts training in Tang Soo Do Karate while he was an undergraduate student at UC San Diego.  He eventually earned a second-degree Black Belt and competed in national and international tournaments.  However, while at UCSD he decided to cross-train with the university Judo club and hasn’t looked back since.

After receiving his PhD in 2006, Dean moved to Denton and began teaching at the University of North Texas.   He trained at, and still visits, the Denton Junior Optimist Judo club–one of the very first Judo schools in Texas–under the direction of Mike Woodson.  He received the rank of Shodan, 1st degree Black Black belt, and began teaching both kids and adults, and was known for his brutal warm-ups.  He has competed in numerous tournaments, where he won some and lost some.  He has also served as a technical official and coach at several USA Judo tournaments.

Dean sometimes steps on the mat at Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu clubs for fun and does a bit of kickboxing to make sure he still has a mean roundhouse kick.

When Dean moved to The Colony and started teaching at the University of Texas at Dallas in 2015, and wanted to find a place to train closer to home.  He’s glad he found The Judokai where they still practice classic Judo, they way it ought to be.  Dean has become a valuable asset as an Assistant Coach.

Idean Salehyan has credentials recognized in all major United States Judo organizations.  He is a member of USA Judo and he is a active supporter of the International Freestyle Judo Alliance (IFJA) / AAU Judo.