| In the 80's I was a short, skinny eight-year old. | | | | studying. I considered a career in Occupational |
| You know the type. Always picked on but never | | | | TherapyFinally, one day at a party, I asked |
| picked for the team. When I started high school, | | | | someone who I knew had studied the martial |
| things didn't get much better. We had just moved | | | | arts, whether they could recommend a good |
| to central New Jersey and I was the new kid on | | | | school. That person recommended "Stephen's |
| the block with no friends. My grades dipped. My | | | | Karate and Fitness Center" in Boca Raton. |
| guidance counselor thought I was so weird that | | | | I tried a few classes and loved it. It was a |
| he measured my head. In those days, they had | | | | workout I had never experienced. In my teens |
| never heard of Attention Deficit Disorder or ADD. | | | | years, I had lifted weights but found that boring. |
| Because of my disability I attended classes with | | | | At Stephen's Karate, I learned a unique style of |
| no more than six students. These "special classes" | | | | mixed martial arts that combines traditional Tae |
| helped me get through high school but I still had | | | | Kwon Do with boxing. |
| trouble focusing. I didn't make the baseball team | | | | There was also the exposure to the group |
| because of this. I felt I lacked something internally, | | | | dynamic that I enjoyed. As I slowly but surely |
| even though I managed to get my driver's license | | | | moved up through the ranks, my instructor Barry |
| which increased my social opportunities. Whey my | | | | Stephen asked me if I wanted to become an |
| family moved to South Florida in 1992, I was | | | | assistant instructor. I said yes without hesitation. |
| ready for a new life. I was able to get into a | | | | At the time I was a red belt, which in our school, |
| college, but was still having trouble focusing and | | | | is half-way to black belt. |