I am a first degree black belt. I started doing martial arts when I was 15 years old to learn how to defend myself and others. I liked how graceful and sharp the katas looked, it made me think of a dance, but better. I idolized Bruce Lee as a kid growing up, my weapon of choice is nunchucks and I wanted to be as good with them as he was.
I started to teach when I became a brown belt. I wasn’t sure of it at first, I had taught gymnastics before ever joining martial arts but it was very different from what I was used to. It grew on me though, and I enjoyed seeing all the happy faces from the achievements being made.
I also saw the faces that were frustrated, struggling to do certain things. By applying my gymnastics teaching to my martial arts teaching, and with help from my instructor Renshi Russ (who put up with years of blood, sweat and tears from me), I have helped many students overcome their obstacles.
I too overcame obstacles when I got my black belt. It’s not impossible to achieve, it just requires years of dedication and a lot of hard work. It comes with the benefit of making a ton of friends, whom are all adopted into the Arashi-Do Family.