My Journey
As most of you have figured out by now, life is a journey. Each milestone,
each achievement and, yes, each failure is not an end in itself but one
more step along the way. On my journey, martial arts has played a big
part.
The following narration is not an effort to brag or even espouse one style
over another. It is merely to provide my friends and family an
explanation of my background. Since most people don't even know I "play"
martial arts this is a big break in my normal reticence to speak of
myself.
It all started with wanting to try something different. I had to pick a
freshman PE class. Instead of the usual basketball or bad mitten, I picked
beginning karate. That was August 1976. The actual style was Shudo Kan
Karate. And ,no, I didn't spell it wrong, it's not Shoto Kan but an offshoot of
that style with many modifications. My instructor was Dr. Barry Berube. In this
class is where I met my life partner, Bob. Bob being the eclectic that he is
introduced me to George Arrington's Danzan Ryu JuJitsu class
which we also attended.
After a couple of years, my educational pursuits took me to Tennessee. Not
wanting to stop my
training, I sought out a karate school. A local YMCA offered classes in
Ishinryu. It was very different than Shudo Kan but I decided it would be
good to get a taste of something new. I was right. I enjoyed the students
and instructors there immensely and received my first degree black belt in
November of 1978. I returned to Washington, DC to marry and continue my
education.
I began graduate school and took a two year hiatus from anything but work
and school. Once I finished school, I was ready to practice again with a
vengence. This break made me realize how much I missed martial arts and
how important it was to me. I returned to Shudo Kan class and achieved
first brown/black belt candidate status. Unfortunately, Dr. Berube
was not authorized to confer black belts. After a couple of years
something else lured me away, Hapkido.
A friend told me about a class that was held after work in another
building on campus (I work at Gallaudet
University) He invited me to
attend. I began classes there in American Hapkido. I shall not name the
instructor in this instance since his mental illness caused the closing of
the dojang. Suffice to say until his break with reality, I enjoyed the
class and learned many things related to martial arts and to life. I was
awarded a second degree black belt in this style.
For about a year, Bob and I tried several different schools and styles looking
for a replacement for our lost style. Tai Chi and Aikido were among some of the
classes we took. Finally, Bob discovered a phone number for Rim's Hapkido school
in Annapolis. We went to visit and fell in love. That was the summer of 1988.
Except for a brief break to have a baby... I've been there ever since.
Currently, I hold a third degree black belt in this
style. By the way, I tested for first brown when I was 3 months pregnant.
Alexander is called the "Hapkido Baby" by our
master instructor Joe Sheya. Here is a link to
Sheya's Hapkido