CURRENT MISSION

My first passion is teaching martial arts. My focus is on protection of self and others. I am also an author with several non-fiction, martial arts related items published, and am now branching into fiction.

ABOUT ME

My primary passion/vocation/calling is teaching martial arts. Nearly all of the things in my life that I label as "positive" can be attributed either directly or indirectly to my training in martial arts. I love helping other people find similar benefits in their lives through martial arts.

I began writing fiction seriously in March. These days, when I'm not teaching martial arts, sleeping, or eating, I'm writing.

My wife, Margaret, is a long distance trail runner.

At this point, we are full-time RVers and total nomads.

PHILOSOPHY

The only time we have is now. The only way to be is awesome. Circumstances may suck at times but being awesome in those circumstances is *always* a choice.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've done *a lot* of couch surfing in my life. Mostly related to my martial arts. I travel to teach and train and often crash at people's houses.

Interests

Martial arts
Writing
Reading
Movies
Hiking

• arts
• writing
• dancing
• dining
• instructor
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• hiking
• surfing
• trail running
• martial arts
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

I have very diverse tastes in all of these areas.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Just one? Really?

OK. I'll have to go with attending a Native American Sun Dance ceremony. It was hosted by Chief Tayac of the Piscataway tribe in Maryland. My primary instructor, Ken Pannell, was invited (and allowed to bring some close, trusted guests) by an elder in the native community (I don't know if he'd want me using his name so I won't).

The ceremony was incredible. It was originally a Lakota ceremony but, as I understand it, a Lakota spiritual leader named Fools Crow decided that it should be spread to the wider community and started teaching it to other tribes. It's a powerful ceremony for communal healing and was one of the most significant spiritual events in my life.

Teach, Learn, Share

General martial arts knowledge (practicing since 1978).

Quite a bit of knowledge about Filipino & Indonesian martial arts (these have been my primary focus since 1995).

Buddhist philosophy - not really the religious aspects/ceremonies/etc, but the philosophy that underlies all of it. I've been studying it to one degree or another since 2004.

I have a basic understanding of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) and Ericksonian Hypnosis (I researched these to become a better communicator and, in turn, a better martial arts instructor).

I have just started delving into Taoism and have found a lot of food for thought there, too.

I know a bit about computer programming, too (started with BASIC in 1980 and have worked with a variety of other languages over the years). Since 2000 I've specialized in PHP/MySQL for web application development.

I'm a fledgling fiction author. Most of what I've written so far in the field has been in the horror genre.

I'm interested in learning more or sharing info on any of these topics ... and I'm also open to pretty much any type of discussion.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Greece, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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