The Next Instalment

Teachers, Students and Teammates

In my first ‘journey poster’, I talked about the journey to black belt being ultimately one of self-examination and self-discovery which requires guidance and support.

What follows is a revisiting of some of the descriptions of my past and present teachers from my first ‘journey poster’. I wanted to share them with you again since I’ve come to value their impact on my life even more so in the past two years as I’ve stepped into the role of instructor here at DeSantos.

I also want people to realize how much I value my students, teammates and training partners. As much as some of them think they are taking from me, they should realize how much I depend on them for support and motivation.

I want to thank all of my team: Ian (wouldn’t be here without you), Toni (heart of a lion), Ray, Elizabeth, Tina, Connor, Aaron, Arianna (welcome to the morning crew), Owen, Aidan, Evan, Sean, Cole, John, Jon, Alyssa, Monique, Kaelan, Christine, Cheyanne, Serena and Christie. I’m proud to be doing this with all of you.

(a few more of these and then we get to my 'Lessons From The Mat' section, which is actually my favorite.)