My martial rts journey began at the age of 16 at the Shotokan East dojo in York, PA. There, I studied for 2 years under Sensei Don Gladfelter. Unfortunately, my training fell by the wayside in 1989, as I left to attend college. As a “poor college student,” I was unable to continue training in a formal setting, but still practiced what I had learned under Sensei Gladfelter, as well as being exposed to other styles of martial art from my classmates. In my last year, I also got some informal training medieval European weapons from a security and police officer (whose name escapes me now) who was an enthusiast of that period in history.

Upon returning to the York area I was still unable to afford regular training. I was, however, able to take fencing lessons at the local YMCA under Walter “Jack” Hespenheide and the York Fencing Club. After securing more gainful employment, I tried a few other unarmed styles, wanting to broaden my horizons. I found Aikido to be a great art, especially for self-defense, but unfortunately it required a mindset that I was unable to maintain. (Also, the backwards break-roll was my nemesis.) I also tried Isshin-ryu at a school in Red Lion and found it much more to my liking, but after getting married and moving into a new home with my wife, I was again unable to continue due to financial constraints.

Finally, in 2008 I was able to restart my training in earnest. I first went to the location of the Isshin-ryu school in Red Lion, and found that, while that school was no longer there, another dojo had opened in its place. It was Red Lion Karate, a Tang Soo Do school under Master Gene Lau. After observing a few classes, I decided to sign up. Interestingly enough, soon after I joined RLK, they transitioned to both a new building and a new style. That style turned out to be very closely related to Isshin-ryu. Small world, ne? After training for three years, I was awarded the rank of Sho-dan in karate and kobujutsu at Sensei Peter Carbone’s dojo in Michigan. I now continue my training at RLK (and with Sensei Carbone whenever possible) as well as helping teach both children’s and adult classes.

My other interests include computer games and information technology, the culture and history of Japan and medieval to renaissance Europe, reading sci-fi and fantasy stories, and learning to play the guitar.