Monday, June 29, 2009

The realisation of a big dream

When i was 13 years old i was hugely impressed with our new VCR.... My mom let me rent a couple of videos pr week and i quickly got into the mysterious and captivating world of martial arts. Dubbed movies from Hong Kong, horribly ninja-sagas, vengeful samurais, Bruce Lee and similar characters all impressed me and i could not wait to start training. At the same time my mom was working far from home and my babysitter was a highly accomplished martial artist so i took her advice bout what to practice very seriously.... (she was a shotokan 6th kyu.... hihi)

However, as we were gonna move clear across southern norway i postponed starting until i was 14. At my new home there was a very solid Kyokushin dojo about 3 km away, but as i said; my expert friend had recommended shotokan so i had to ride my bicycle 17 km each way to train at closest the shotokan dojo.... (it was run by an awesome 3rd kyu, btw.... hihi)

This was a huge turning point in my life; i suddenly had passion and desire to accomplish something and even though i had failed at any other sport i tried, karate was patient with me. The fact that everyone just did their best and that no-one was ever ridiculed or looked down upon was enough to get me completely hooked.

The next part of my way is not a part i am proud of, nor do i recommend it; I did, however, drop out of school and devoted as much brainpower and physical effort into improving as i could muster. This singular focus made going through the beginning ranks of shotokan a rather swift affair. Speaking of ranks; the highest ranked karateka in norway at that time was an old gentleman called Egon Solem. He was a 5th dan and i was pretty sure he could fly.... Passing shodan just before my 18th birthday and getting my sandan only 5 years after that was two very proud moments in my life.

The 27th of june 2009 i passed my 5th dan test and it really makes my head spin.... 2 weeks after i turned 40, i had the extreme pleasure of fighting Tom Kompier sensei (among others), show my Gojushiho Sho, Heian Shodan and Meikyo. The fact that the audience included some of my peers from when i started training, some of my current committed students and friends from all over the world made it a very emotional moment for me.

I will strive even harder to improve my karate in the years to come.

To my main teachers, from the bottom of my heart, thanks for all your help and support:

(in alphabetical order)
Richard Amos
Enoeda Keinosuke
Kawasoe Masao
Geir Larsen

My biggest hope is that i can inspire someone in the way that you guys inspired me.
 
Google+