My journey into karate has been a short one, thus far. I, by trade, am a lactation
    consultant. I never set out to be involved in karate at all, actually, I came to karate
    by way of my then 7 year old son. We had just moved, and he had been having
    trouble adjusting to a new school, a new life, a new home, and new friends. He was
    having problems focusing in school and every day was a new struggle with his self-
    esteem and issues with anxiety and depression. I noticed that he perked up when
    he watched movies that had karate in them, so I thought "what the heck, maybe this
    will help." I never realized how it would change his life, along with mine and the rest
    of the family. I just thought it would be an activity to cheer him up. It was that and so
    very much more.

           After sitting on the side-lines for three years watching my son take karate, I
    had an epiphany. I figured, "I may as well do the classes. I'm here all the time
    anyway." It's now been a while since I started my karate training, and I love it. I call
    karate my life-long journey. I hope to be able to be agile enough and in good
    enough health to be able to do karate for the rest of my life. I have felt stronger,
    healthier, and more confident since I started learning karate. I now understand how
    to defend myself if the situation ever arose. It has also done wonders for my spirit,
    teaching me how to deal with stress in a new, more productive way.

           As for my family, my younger son and husband do karate, now, too. It is an
    activity that has brought my entire family closer by giving us an activity we can all do
    together. We have built friendships that have come to be like family to us here at
    our dojo. I've found the perfect dojo and the perfect Sensei, for me and my family.
    And, I hope that Sensei Sal and the rest of the "dojo family" are part of my life-long
    karate  journey as well.
Calander