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Special "K"

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                              Special K Karissa Choquette came into her first introductory class with a port in her chest for her chemotherapy treatment.  Her Mom only asked that partners take care not to damage it during training because it had to stay in during her chemo treatments for her cancer. Karissa trained alongside all the teens and adults in each class with no worries about whatever special needs she might need or be entitled to because of her condition. Her training was always enthusiastic and the smile on her face was always there.  For a long time, no one even knew of her medical condition and we always treated her just like all the other students. As her training progressed she really connected with many of the students instructors and teens in the school.  It was a pleasure to see how great she did.  Karissa was able to go through the rigorous Black Belt training and achieved first dan in Tang Soo Do.  The support the entire school showed was outstanding Thanks for lett
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Grandmaster Nick Cerio

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 Back in the 80’s we ventured out on the tournament trail across New England in the pursuit of higher levels of karate competition.  The karate king of Rhode Island, Grandmaster Nick Cerio, had the largest contingent of students and ran the biggest tournaments.  Being a student of Mr. Cheezic opened a lot of doors for us so GM Cerio welcomed us with open arms. Over the years we spent a lot of time together and got very friendly.  One of my fondest memories is having a dinner that lasted late into the night with Mr. Cheezic, Nick Cerio and Chuck Merriman.  Oh the stories that they told.  What rich history.
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Our Black Belt Hero.

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This video may be disturbing and contains violence  Tom Castonguay and his mom Chris began karate back in the 80's.  Tom was about ten.  His Mom watched in the back intently until one day one of the Black Belts asked if she wanted to join.   They have both achieved the rank of 2nd dan. Tom, or TC as I call him was a quiet boy who always showed up and dedicated himself to martial arts.  After getting his Black Belt he and his mother, both became instructors in the school.  Once Tom became a young adult and graduated from high school, he decided to follow his passion for the military and joined the army where he excelled.  He aways mentioned how our karate school's demand for excellence and hard training prepared him for life as a military man.  He went on to serve for several years and was involved in the gulf war. After leaving the military he followed his next dream of becoming a sheriff in Austin, Texas where he married a lovely woman and is the father of two girls.  He is a
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Grandmaster Ed Parker

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Grandmaster Ed Parker, founder of American Kempo was a legend in the martial arts world. This is my day with the Grandmaster. Several years ago I attended a KRANE tournament hosted by Tony Cogliandro up in the Boston area.  Tony had been training with Ed Parker for a few years and hosted him as a special guest.  Parker was to be a judge in my black belt rings that day.  As usual at that time I had a pretty good day and was able to chat with him after the event.  As you might think he was heavily in demand.  We took this photo and we went our separate ways. Over the course of the year Master Parker traveled all over the world teaching and meeting thousands of new people.  It was again time for Tony’s event and I was looking forward to attending. As soon as I entered the gym I turned to see Master Parker was again in attendance.  He walked over to me, shook my hand and said “Hi Mike, competing again this year?” I was floored.  With all the people he knows and meets every year he remember
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Have some fun

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  Several years ago a local nursing home was creating an ad campaign to show the vitality of their patrons. They chose our school to do some fun shots that ended up in several of their ads  This was one of many great photos.  The lady “breaking” the board was a hot ticket.   She asked if I would take her on a date and I told her I was married.  She replied “I don’t care”!
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Bouncer Chronicles - 5- Listen to the jungle sounds

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Listen to the jungle sounds. It was three months since we opened Michael's Place.  We had gotten the kinks out and the nightclub was really cooking.  We were off to a great start.  Anyone who did not arrive before 9 pm usually had to wait in line to get in, we were that kind of busy. Being a new club we had the drinks flowing, the music blasting  and the crowd was revved up.  Week after week we had picked up steam and business did not seem like it could not get any better.  The dress code was keeping the clientele civilized and we met so many nice people.  And just then my college roommate who was also bartending jinxed us. "You know we have been open for three months and we have not had even one fight yet"  And then it just exploded.  Across the room a crowd of patrons had come together in a close group.  With the darkly lit atmosphere and the loud music we had not seen the conditions change.  The crowd in that area appeared to sway back and forth kind of like a school
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My Olympics

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 No I never went to the olympics!    Watching the Olympics this summer made me reminisce on my international competition days.  In the early 90’s we traveled to Tatabanya, Hungary to compete with teams from several countries.  I was lucky enough to win several medals and world cups that day. The best part was not just the tournament, but the sightseeing of Budapest and Vienna.  The very best part was meeting new friends from Australia and our long friendship and travel there. I competed in several events with Australian team member Robby Jameson.  On our departure he said to me-come to Australia and we will show you a good time!
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8 Hour martial arts show

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The Asian world of self defense Eight hours of martial arts notables in the historic Felt Forum in Madison Square Garden in New York City.  This was one of the showcase bouts available.  I still have the brochure from the event and will post more information.  This was put on by legend Aaron Banks.
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