My journey in Karate has been quite long. First entered a class in 1981 in Ft. St. John BC. Within 6 months the instructor skipped town, leaving his students high and dry.
1982, the local college had arranged for a Shotokan instructor named Perry Foster from the neighboring town of Dawson Creek to come and teach. The drive each way was about an hour, so we were very lucky to get him. Wisely, he split the teaching with the senior student from his club in the other town.
A bit over a year later, his assistant had had enough, and Foster Sensei asked me as his senior student in Ft. St. John to take over half of the sessions. Senior student? I had just reached Green Belt, which put me all of one exam higher than the 30 or so Orange and Yellow Belts. How did I get ahead. Our club shut down for July and August, so I went once a week down to Dawson to train with the other guys. At summer's end I asked if I could test, and passed.
Managed to keep one belt ahead of the others until 1985, when Foster Sensei went to live in Japan. I inherited the Sensei role. My rank? Brown Belt. Very impressive.
How does a Brown Belt run a Karate Club? I had no authority to do exams, and a level of knowledge only a couple of millimeters thick, but Sensei I became.
I am a 68 year old retired teacher living on the west coast of Canada. I spent over 30 years as a student of Karate until my knees stopped liking it. My current passionate activity is Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, which I've been at for about 13 years.
You forgot to mention that in 1981, you were choosing between taking ball room dancing lessons or karate lessons that winter. Did you make the right decision?
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