So, it’s 2019 and I am in the desert in northern Los Angeles County, California. My best friend and I choose that it might be cool to examine martial art.
Problem is, which one?
At the period, there weren’t many choices. There was the odd Karate school, some Judo rather than much else. But, not where we lived.
How to proceed?
My buddy suggests that we obtain a well-known fighting style magazine and peruse the articles so that you can choose an art form. What a brilliant idea! We make an expedition to the local bookstore and head right in the magazine section.
There it is! And not only can it be the magazine were trying to find nonetheless it has articles about the two arts we had both been speaking about.
My friend read about Karate and said, “this would it be.” Meanwhile, I find about Aikido and said, “this would it be.” Moot point. At that period, there is nothing available close by for either art. Search over for the present time.
Well, time passes and 2 years have passed by. I had created a case for Aikido plus it looked like recommended. Problem was, there was still nothing nearby; maybe in Los Angeles or San Francisco. Both are not possible.
So, I write correspondence for an Aikido organization in Tokyo, Japan asking where we could study Aikido.
About a month later, I got a large surprise. I had decided that which was that. There can be no chance to study Aikido when a letter came in the mail.
It was from Tokyo. An instructor there had taken time to write if you ask me and told me very directly that there can be an Aikido seminar in Orange County and to “BE THERE!”
The seminar was great. My friend and I met many nice people making contact with a school teacher who become our first Aikido teacher (actually our first fighting techniques instructor).
The story continues from there. But, I would like to tell you that we made the trip from your high desert to some city around the coast which took about two and a half hours one of many ways, three days every week. This lasted about a few months after which we transferred to the place that the school was located and began the latest life.
Sometimes you need to simply go out of the right path to get the best teacher for your needs.
