November 20, 2001
As a child I was always behind the
growth curve and often found myself in scuffles and fights against larger and
stronger kids. I just couldn't understand why people couldn't get along
with each other and why kids seemed to always end up in a fight.
I never had any
real formidable self-defense training as a child.
My Dad showed me a few blocks and punches, but those never seemed to help
me. I enjoyed watching Karate
movies and secretly wished that I could fight and take punches like my heroes
could. I asked my parents if there
was any place that I could go to learn how to defend myself better.
They just couldn’t think of any place to take me.
In Junior High
school my parents finally found a guy teaching self-defense at the High School.
The class was once a week for about an hour.
The only thing that class did was to reinforce my inward desire to pursue
training in martial arts.
A few years
later in college I checked out a Martial Arts school in Arlington Texas.
The last thing I remember hearing before I left the school was “alright
fresh meat”! I didn’t want to
be someone’s punching bag, so I didn’t stay long.
I didn’t think they had my best interest in mind.
I though my dream was hopeless, so I just stopped thinking about it.
About 7 years
later, I started to think about martial arts again.
I was shopping at a grocery store when I saw a movie for sale called
“The Perfect Weapon” starring Jeff Speakman.
I bought the movie on impulse and took it home.
The movie had a standard plot, but I was mesmerized by what I saw.
I wanted to fight like Jeff Speakman.
The moves I saw were phenomenal. It
basically gave me an introduction to Kenpo Karate.
A week later I decided to check the Fort Worth phone book for a Kenpo
school nearby. I saw Keith Gorhams
Kenpo Karate Studio listing and decided to call.
Mr. Gorham scheduled my wife and I to take a private lesson together.
I believe that this turn of events was not just a coincidence.
The class was a
half hour long. Mr. Gorham showed
me how to do an inward block, front snapping ball kick and an outward chop.
He showed me the moves slowly so I could understand.
I guess I had a look on my face that showed my doubts that these three
moves would help me in a fight, so he decided to show the moves to me in real
time. The technique was lightning fast and it totally disabled me.
As I was recovering from the technique when I thought to myself, do I
really want to put up with this every week?
Then before I could answer my own question another thought entered my
mind. What if I could do a
technique like this on an attacker? The technique was simple, but oh so devastating. At that
moment, I made a decision to take classes.
It seems like a
long time ago since I started taking classes on January 3, 1994, and I have no
regrets. Taking Kenpo Karate was
one of the best decisions I ever made. The
guys I train with are like family. Now,
I enjoy the opportunity of training my students at Eastside Kenpo Karate and
helping them achieve the dreams they have of someday earning the coveted Black
Belt.
Kenpo karate
not only teaches you to defend yourself, but also builds your self-confidence.
It’s great knowing you’ve trained hard, and you’ve got a plan that
if all hell breaks loose you know what to do.
I just wish that there had been a Kenpo Karate school in my hometown when
I was just a kid. I wish I could have started when I was younger.
So, if you have
been considering taking martial arts, but are not sure which one is right for
you, come check us out, you’ll be glad you did.
I know you won’t regret it.
Bill Fischer