Why did you want to get into MA???
Actually, I was born into it. My father was a Professional Wrestler in the 1950s and 60s, and became the Chief of Police in the village of Stevensville, MI. His brother (my uncle) was a former U.S. Marine, and a 3rd Degree Black Belt in Judo. I was born in January of 1960 wearing a red belt (turns out, it was my umbilical cord!).
I was exposed to various aspects of combat techniques from the time I was born (my mom and dad were at a Professional Wrestling Match the night I was born, but had to leave for the hospital), but it all came to a point of personal instruction when I was five years old in Kindergarten (1965). I had a bully who picked on me
every -
single -
day! He was mean, and he was relentless.
Before school started,
at recess,
after school - - he was a
nightmare! I usually ran and hid in the bathroom till the teacher arrived. On the playground, he would grab me in a bear hug from behind, pick me up and throw me down. He was a kindergartener just like me, but he was nasty.
One day, I told my dad about it, and he started showing me things to do. the next day at recess, the bully grabbed me from behind. I looked down, saw his foot, and buried my heel in his instep. He ran away limping, and never touched me again!
(man that felt good to vent that!
)
From that day on, I continued to learn techniques from my dad, my uncle, and any books on karate, jujutsu, ninjutus, and anything else I could find (mind you, this was in the 1960s so I did not have the internet, or many other resources). In 1975, I joined the only Martial Art school in my town - a Judo Institute. The next year, I switched to Taekwondo when a class opened up a the YMCA. The instructor opened a new school nearby. I became a student in 1976, and the rest is history (or at least my life story!) :ultracool
CM D.J. Eisenhart
