FOR OVER 17 YEARS
It was actually over 17 years ago when I started my training in Taekwondo. I started taking Taekwondo on the date of January 1984 at a school in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. (I was in my 3rd year with U.S. Air Force.) As I stood there looking through the window, the man whom would become my new instructor, Mr. Chick Mathis invited me in. Something told me right away that this would be the school for me. I had the chance to try other schools, but they were very inconvenient for me. One was closed at the time that I stopped by to check it out. Plus the windows were blackened. Question, "What was there to hide". The other schools were not visible. I could not find them. Probably in someone's basement or garage.
I received my 1st Degree Black belt 22 months after I
started my Taekwondo career. Many dedicated hours and days put me there at such
an early stage. I wanted to be like my mentor. All I had on my mind was to be
an instructor. 
A few
months later I tested for my Instructor Trainee Title. When you become an
Instructor Trainee, a red stripe is sewn on to the collar of your your uniform.
That red stripe was one of my greatest accomplishments in my Taekwondo Career.
After I earned the title of Instructor Trainee, I moved back to Connecticut. This would be the beginning of my instructor career. This would be a hard venture for me, because I was the only ATA Instructor in Connecticut at the time, and that I would have to learn the hard way of being a good instructor.
As I said before, it was much harder for me to obtain the certification as an instructor, but with perseverance and loyalty to my art, I received my certification as an instructor on 9/16/89.
From 1991 until 1993 I taught at New London Subbase in Groton Ct. From 1993 thru 1998 I ran Murphy's Taekwondo in Derby Ct. I reopened my school in Hamden Ct. (Wayfaring Ministries) in 1998, where I currently reside today.
