When the professor married with his student

[Gerry Seymour]

We dated for nine years before we married. Outside of a couple of the instructors who were long time training partners, nobody had any idea. Some thought I had something against her as I trained her harder than anyone else.
When word got out that we were marrying, some asked, "when did that start?" The usual reply was "when you were about eleven."

You know, when Maria and I first worked together (she was part of a client's project team), people in the LOOOONG information gathering meetings with us sometimes thought we didn't like each other. Maybe those old movies (where the leads seemed to be at odds until they declared their love) were onto something, after all.

 

[Seizan]

I married my student. She was my student for three years, had achieved Shodan, and was one month from her Nidan test when we both enrolled under our last teacher. Up to that time we had a strict teacher-student relationship though there was always a magnetism. Once we were BOTH just students again, we pursued a closer relationship and got married.

Toyama Sensei and Mrs. Toyama signed in lieu of my parents (since my parents are deceased). Parental permission is required for a male foreigner marrying a Japanese woman, so essentially the Toyamas adopted me as their son.

Sumako and I both teach dojo now, though she takes more of an assistant role. She also works full-time with the joint US-Japan Forces, teaches yoga three times weekly, and runs a Taco Rice shop (her hobby) on weekends. I teach middle school full-time, and dojo 5 times weekly (Friday and Sunday off).

Life is good...