I am an accidental martial artist. My martial arts career began because I was driving someplace with my then sixteen year old son and we saw a new dojo. I asked him if he wanted to try karate. He said he did, and I said I might try it with him.
“Mom, you’ll never be able to do it.”
And a martial artist was born.
I tried that “mud” art as well as taekwondo, but there was nothing to hold me at either. You see, anyone could test and get a promotion, as long as your check cleared.
Then one of my besties told me about a small martial arts studio that had opened around the corner from her house. Out of the way? You bet. It was in the middle of a neighborhood in a small bank of stores – a deli, a takeout Chinese, a hair salon, and an accountant. Interesting. She and I went over and met the instructor, who had what seemed like a very laid back attitude to everything, so we signed up for a demo lesson.
WOWZA. I was smitten with Kenpo from the moment he showed us Delayed Sword.
So fast forward twenty plus years. I became a Kenpo black belt in August 2005, and was promoted to second degree a few years ago. My instructor, Steve Cordaro, was a longtime student of Sigung LaBounty, and is currently a student of John Sepulveda. Unless you came East for the AKTS camps in Rockland County, NY, you’ve never heard of Steve.
Lately I’m missing the years I taught at Black Dragon, as we moved to Southeast Florida almost four years ago. Funnily enough, Denise wrote to ask me if I wanted to share my Kenpo Journey, and I happened to be on Facebook this morning, where I read her post The Dojo Door on the Kenpo Women’s Symposium page.
Well. That door never does close, does it