Karate did not start out as a burning passion. It just looked interesting and fun as I watched my sonbegin his training. After a month of watching, I decided that I wanted to try it, and it was fun. It became one of the only forms of exercise that I truly enjoyed. As I progressed in my own training, I started to develop a stronger sense of myself as I accomplished things that I never imagined I could. Even though I was in the class with my son, I had to learn how to focus on my own training and improvement and not watch him. As I came home from the stresses of my job, I had to learn how to re-focus my attention on my karate and let the tension of the workday go. This has been extremely helpful to me over the last 3 years and has been very good to my mental state.

Karate is not easy. It involves serious training, and sometimes injuries happen, especially when you’re beginning in your 40’s, but part of Yoshukai Karate is perseverance, and you do not give up just because you’re injured. You work through it, and one day you realize that you’re stronger for having continued. That success has carried over into all aspects of my life, as I accomplished more than I ever thought I could. Learning how to defend myself has given me more self-confidence, and while I would still prefer not to get into a fight, I know that I am capable of defending myself and those around me if necessary. That confidence has led me to remember to hold my head up and face difficult situations head on without fear.