Sensei Tim

I was a sophomore, disabled, in good spirits (for the most part anyway; I was a moody teenager after all) and with no way of realizing my goal of playing high school football. I was working hard taking physical theapy twice a week, stretching, weightlifting. Even though the work enabled me to throw away the support braces and the metal cane, it wasn't enough to turn me into an athlete.

That was when my physical therapist, Carol, showed me an article about this disabled boy who had earned his yellow belt in Tae Two Do. She felt that the martial arts would help me get past the limitations of cerebral palsy, an, a week later, I was observing one of Sensei Doc's classes.

I never thought it would be possible for someone like me to train in the martial arts. I had no balance. I couldn't kick. I was one of the most uncoordinated people you could ever meet. Sensei Doc never let up on me. From day one, he preached to me about modifying every single technique into something that I could do. He never once let me pout about my disability and nobody at the school ever made me feel unwanted. I owe a lot to Sensei Doc. He helped me make my high school football team, but, more importantly, he showed me what the martial arts, and Hapkido, were really about: keeping things simple and effective.

If you stop by, you may notice that there is this 2" space between the paneling and the wall. That's my fault. I would dig my fingers into that paneling, holding onto it for dear life, as I practiced my techniques. All these years later, Doc still can't hammer it back into place, but I do have my black belt!

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