I was born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and began my martial arts journey at the age of 17 when I started taking classes in Aikido Yoshinkan under the tutelage of Takeshi Kimeda Sensei. I trained diligently and enjoyed it immensely, but I felt something was missing. Although the softer style of Aikido suited my small body type, it left my fiery/aggressive nature unsatisfied. I left after 5 years of training there in search of something different. In retrospect, I was young, and I'm sure that if I had stuck with it, all my questions would have been answered in due time.
I proceeded to join the McMaster Kendo Club under the instruction of Kumagai Sensei and trained with him for 1 year until I suffered severe health complications from my diabetes. It had caused the total loss of eyesight in my right eye, putting a hold on my training.
Eventually, once I had adjusted to my change in vision, I decided to train again. I wanted to try a harder striking based empty-hand style and my search led me to train in Moh Kempo (also in Hamilton) for 3.5 years. At the end of that time, I had gotten engaged, and moved to Oshawa to be with my finance. That was in the year 2000 and my family and I still live here today.
It was in 2004 that I was bitten by the training bug again. Years ago, a friend of mine had introduced me to some Wing Chun and I found it very intriguing. I decided to look for clubs in the Oshawa area, but found that the closest ones were in Scarborough and Markham. After checking out certain clubs in the Scarborough area, I decided to visit Sifu Dominique Emond at Markham Traditional Wing Chun, and signed up for my first class in May 2004. I was immediately hooked.
For me, Wing Chun has the perfect combination of the softness/body movement of Aikido, and the powerful striking and speed of Kempo. It is exquisitely simple on the outside, yet the longer I train, the deeper I go down the proverbial "rabbit-hole", I realize that it is incredibly complex - a never ending winding tunnel of material to study.
In November 2009, I achieved the rank of Black Sash (Level 7 - Junior Instructor) and am currently working towards my Sifu certification. I continue to train in Traditional Wing Chun with Sifu Dominique Emond, attending weekly classes and special intensive seminars held by Master Joe Sayah. I also continue to advance my martial arts skill by cross-training in Modern Arnis under the instruction of Master Brian Johns.
