In 1972, Kung Fu had just come on TV, Bruce Lee was a box office smash and my neighbor, Pete Florin was a Kenpo green belt at Bob White's Karate Studio in Garden Grove, CA.  Pete taught me enough to earn my yellow belt before I ever signed up for classes.  Dave Brock was my first instructor and he was a good one - still is.  Dave Brock was an athlete and a competitor, winning more than a few major karate tournaments.  I earned my yellow, orange and purple belts at Mr. White's studio.  Every Friday night was fight night.   I learned from watching great competitors like Dave Brock and Mark Lennon and then we practiced tournament fighting techniques until we were exhausted.    I competed at Internationals four times and dozens of other smaller tournaments.  I won my share of fights but no trophies.  I'm not sure if I learned more lessons or earned more bruises competing but I know I had fun.

When Dave Brock opened his own studio, I followed him, earning my blue and green belts from him.   Mr. Brock challenged me to learn a few techniques very well and concentrate on them.  I frequently competed above my own rank of green at the brown belt level.  At the time, you could fight above your weight division and above your rank.  As a light-weight green belt I sometimes competed in as many as four divisions.  My last tournament fight was against Steve "Nasty" Anderson.  I scored two quick points against him in the first round before he took me seriously, winning 3-2.  Shortly after that he tested for Black Belt and went on to be the highest rated black belt point fighter in CA and NV for the next two years (Karate Illustrated) .  I might not have won the fight but I felt pretty good about my effort.

When I joined the Air Force in 2001 Kenpo moved to the back burner.  In 1986, we were stationed in Spokane, WA and I was able to train with Skip Hancock for a few months before he moved to Cour de Alene.

I worked out with whoever I could find as we moved all over the country.  I met Marc Sigle in Germany and drove to his studio on the border of France and Germany about once a month for a couple of years to polish my skills.

It wasn't until I returned to Charleston and began training under Bruce Meyer that a black belt seemed within range.  I've trained with him for years earning my 2nd and 1st degree brown belts and then my black belt in Dec 2006.  I earned my 2nd degree black belt on April 25, 2009 and my 3rd in 2011.

I've met a few famous people along the way, including Ed Parker and Chuck Norris.  I've met and trained with some pretty good folk too, including Bob White, Skip Hancock and Lee Wedlake.  My good friend, Nick Dreiling, is also a student of Bruce Meyer and has a studio in Goose Creek.

I have enjoyed teaching kids, watching them learn and improve.  In all the teaching I do, their focus during a kenpo class is special.  Promoting them for their hard work is the best part of the whole deal.