In Burlington, he learned that some patrons and employees of the Fresh Ground Coffeehouse on lower Church Street were looking for someone to teach them karate. After several meetings, he was assured that there were about 30 people interested in becoming students. Donnelly began looking for a suitable inexpensive location to conduct classes.

His search led him to a one and a half story, 1200 square foot wood frame building on Taft Corners in Williston, VT. It had an office and a cement floor and was at that time being used for storage. After renting it, he proceeded to remodel it with carpeting, insulation, paneling, lights and a large sign out front, a process that took over two months. He named the school Vermont Academy of Karate II after his former instructor's school in Barre. Finally ready to begin classes, he went back to the Fresh Ground Coffeehouse in Burlington to sign up his student body. Alas, not one of them was still interested. None of them even visited the new location! However, someone driving by the school saw the sign and came in to enroll, leading to the beginnings of a student body.

Today, this school -- with a new name -- is the oldest continuously operating Taekwon-Do school in Vermont. The old name and location lasted until 1974 when the school was moved to Malletts Bay in Colchester and installed in a larger 2000 square foot facility in the Lake Shore Drive Shopping Center. It was renamed Vermont Taekwon-Do and remained in that location until 1976 when it moved to 501 Upper Main Street in Winooski. In reality, the school was just over the border in Colchester and the address was actually 6 Roosevelt Highway, but the road in Colchester had no street signs and most people didn't know where it was, so it was decided to appropriate the Winooski address which, while not strictly correct, made it easier to find.

In 1974, Grandmaster Donnelly started a second school in St. Albans, VT. This school operated for about two years until he sold it to Mr. Morton Greenia. Greenia ran the school for a couple of years, then hired Mr. Richard Dion to run the school while Greenia drove an 18-wheeler across country. Eventually, the school was sold to Richard Dion, and Master Dion still owns and operates this school today.

In 1976 Donnelly met Master Suk Jun Kim through Master Suh Chong Kang (9th Dan), probably the most senior Korean Taekwon-Do instructor in the United States. Master Kim has remained Master Donnelly's instructor since that time. Donnelly earned his 4th and 5th Dan with Master Kim through the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF), and later earned his 6th Dan through the All American Taekwon-Do Federation (AATF).

When Master Donnelly stopped teaching in St. Albans he started a school in Morrisville, VT in the Grange Hall, which lasted for about a year and a half from about 1976 to 1978.

In June, 1980, the school -- now named Kwansai -- had an opportunity to kick down a barn in St. Albans. The television show "That's Incredible" sent a production school to Vermont and filmed the event, producing a show which aired on "That's Incredible" in October, 1980. It was re-aired in the spring of 1981 during a "best-of-1980" show and has since been shown about a dozen or so times in different areas of the country.

After closing down the school in Morrisville, the next school venture was a school in Middlebury, which was started in about 1983. A Vergennes branch was started shortly thereafter and was sold in 1988.

From 1984 to 1987, Kwansai operated branch schools at St. Marks on North Avenue in Burlington and in Milton, as well as Vergennes and Middlebury. In 1987 he decreased the number of branch schools and began expanding the main school and developing a more specific martial arts curriculum to keep more current with the expanding role of martial arts in today's society.

In 1988, the main school in Winooski was remodeled and increased in size to over 3000 square feet. The school in Winooski continued until August, 1993 when the lease expired. This turned into an opportunity to move to a new and better location on Williston Road in South Burlington. This location had better visibility, better parking, air conditioning and was located in a new building. In honor of the new location, the school was renamed Donnelly's Martial Arts Center. The new location led to a doubling of enrollment.

When the Williston Road lease expired and the rent was due to be raised significantly, DMAC moved to a new location at 340 Dorset Street, South Burlington, VT in February, 2006. This site, while somewhat smaller than the previous location, was closer to Burlington's major shopping center, University Mall, and was even more accessible to prospective students. It has proved to be a comfortable location.

Master Donnelly received his 7th Dan from Master Suk Jun Kim through Taekwon-Do International in July, 2006, and his 8th Dan in February, 2010.