Sensei Bob Thivierge
When I was a teenager I guess I was karate crazy. I trained two nights and Saturday with my karate teacher. A friend of mine had karate classes two nights a week in Jewett City so I trained there also. If we had free time we went to Chuck Merriman's school in New London and watched class. There was a Pai Lum Kung Fu instructor in Ledyard so we checked him out. We could not get enough karate. In the Jewett City school, under Rusty James, I met Bob Thivierge. He came early, stayed late and was always perfecting one technique or another. When he received his green belt I started to notice him more because of his hard work and dedication to the school. His teacher eventually moved on and he took over the training and became the resident Sensei. My life had moved on with working and family but I always kept my connection with Bob. His teacher, Rusty sponsored a small competition in Voluntown. We got...