Hi everyone! I'm new here and wanted to introduce myself.
I started studying Iaido (under Nicole Cardiello) in the summer of 2000, I was 15 and it was the summer before my 10th grade of HS at the time. When the school year started back up, the karate students at the school convinced me to stay for karate class at World Karate Academy in Center Moriches, NY (under Chris Lohwasser), and so I did and started studying karate there as well. I left for college in the summer of 2003 but kept studying and testing when I returned home each break, and so in December of 2004 I tested for my first degree black belt at the school. Between 2000 and 2003 when I was still in HS I used to compete at every tournament I could get my hands on in Long Island, I ended up with 33 trophies over those three years.
I started teaching beginner martial arts at the university I attended to keep my studies up while I was away and did that for a few years as part of the university's intramural program.
I ended up graduating from college in 2006 and staying in Indiana, where I'd gone to college. In 2007 I decided to try something new and joined a tae kwon do school out there in October of 2007, Tiger Martial Arts in Chesterton, IN (under Deborah Grimaldi). That school offered both tae kwon do and small circle jujitsu so I studied both there. I got my first degree black belt in may of 2009 from the school and got up to purple in small circle jujitsu (the school owner wasn't high enough rank in small circle jujitsu to promote us, so we could only test when an instructor, whose school was several hours away, visited us, otherwise I probably could have been a rank or two higher when I left, we just didn't test very frequently there).
In July of 2010 I moved to a town just south of San Francisco, CA as part of a relocation for my job. It took me a little while to settle in and visit schools but in February I finally decided to enroll at a kenpo school out here. I've now been at Bill Grossman's School of Kenpo Karate since February and so far I'm up to my yellow belt there. One thing that really made me want to sign up at the school on top of the intrigue of kenpo I had after attending a class, was the fact that Mr. Grossman is also an Iaido instructor, so it was the perfect place to learn a really neat new style (Kenpo) and get back into Iaido again. I've been very pleased with this school, the style is extremely interesting and challenging, and the atmosphere of the school is great. I go four days a week after work at the school currently.
My biggest goal of the year is to get back into competing. I haven't competed ever as an adult or as a black belt since I last competed in 2003 when I was a senior in HS, and still an underbelt. So I'm really looking forward to getting back into competitions out here now as an adult in the black belt division. There's a tournament coming up in June which is my target for starting competing again.
My longer term goal is to get to 2nd degree and above in a style (kenpo most likely since I really love my new school) and one day own my own dojo.
So that's my history! Started when I was 15 with no experience, and now I'm 25 with ranks in several styles and loving every minute of it. I'm definitely in martial arts for life
I started studying Iaido (under Nicole Cardiello) in the summer of 2000, I was 15 and it was the summer before my 10th grade of HS at the time. When the school year started back up, the karate students at the school convinced me to stay for karate class at World Karate Academy in Center Moriches, NY (under Chris Lohwasser), and so I did and started studying karate there as well. I left for college in the summer of 2003 but kept studying and testing when I returned home each break, and so in December of 2004 I tested for my first degree black belt at the school. Between 2000 and 2003 when I was still in HS I used to compete at every tournament I could get my hands on in Long Island, I ended up with 33 trophies over those three years.
I started teaching beginner martial arts at the university I attended to keep my studies up while I was away and did that for a few years as part of the university's intramural program.
I ended up graduating from college in 2006 and staying in Indiana, where I'd gone to college. In 2007 I decided to try something new and joined a tae kwon do school out there in October of 2007, Tiger Martial Arts in Chesterton, IN (under Deborah Grimaldi). That school offered both tae kwon do and small circle jujitsu so I studied both there. I got my first degree black belt in may of 2009 from the school and got up to purple in small circle jujitsu (the school owner wasn't high enough rank in small circle jujitsu to promote us, so we could only test when an instructor, whose school was several hours away, visited us, otherwise I probably could have been a rank or two higher when I left, we just didn't test very frequently there).
In July of 2010 I moved to a town just south of San Francisco, CA as part of a relocation for my job. It took me a little while to settle in and visit schools but in February I finally decided to enroll at a kenpo school out here. I've now been at Bill Grossman's School of Kenpo Karate since February and so far I'm up to my yellow belt there. One thing that really made me want to sign up at the school on top of the intrigue of kenpo I had after attending a class, was the fact that Mr. Grossman is also an Iaido instructor, so it was the perfect place to learn a really neat new style (Kenpo) and get back into Iaido again. I've been very pleased with this school, the style is extremely interesting and challenging, and the atmosphere of the school is great. I go four days a week after work at the school currently.
My biggest goal of the year is to get back into competing. I haven't competed ever as an adult or as a black belt since I last competed in 2003 when I was a senior in HS, and still an underbelt. So I'm really looking forward to getting back into competitions out here now as an adult in the black belt division. There's a tournament coming up in June which is my target for starting competing again.
My longer term goal is to get to 2nd degree and above in a style (kenpo most likely since I really love my new school) and one day own my own dojo.
So that's my history! Started when I was 15 with no experience, and now I'm 25 with ranks in several styles and loving every minute of it. I'm definitely in martial arts for life
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