From Instructor Charles

When I began my training the physical rush - the release of endorphins - was the most satisfying aspect of the nightly classes I attended as I continued to learn the new and compound ways my body could move. The coordination of these movements was extremely challenging and rewarding at the same time. The ability to move repeatedly through unique postures began to have the intended effect: strengthening my body and increasing my flexibility while learning how these movements applied in self defense. It took a while, but somewhere along the path, instead of just surviving the physical lesson, I began to challenge my ability to control my breathing while doing the movements.

Like a snowball barreling down a hill I began to notice how this enhanced the awareness I had of my body. I started paying attention to my manner (how I carried myself), and was pleasantly surprised when people in my work-a-day world started to comment that something seemed different about me. They thought I seemed happier. Well, something was different, I was striving to gain control over myself in many different ways. I was seeing the success (winning over myself) that comes with a concentrated and focused effort, guided by practitioners who had clearly achieved a fantastic level of skill - one that I hoped to reach. Their skill was apparent not only in their physical ability, but in their confidence level, their focus, and their determination. I wanted to emulate their serenity, how they carried themselves, and their strength of mind as well as body.  

I began practicing every day while balancing my role as a single parent. Often my children would do their homework or read a book in the waiting room while I participated in the nightly lessons.  As each month of my initial year of training passed, I could do more with body and breath control. These physical abilities allowed me to begin putting more of my mental energy into the desired result of each lesson.  This mental focus, or mind, compounded the changes in my biology. I was sleeping less, I was more energized, I noticed greater mental acuity, and control over my emotions was increasing in great strides. 

Early on in my training, one of my Instructors advocated washing my uniforms separately from other laundry. As I did this I started to notice the level of toxins (murkiness of the water) decreasing. This further confirmed in my mind the change in my biology. I wondered about the veracity of this finding and started strictly controlling the wash cycle of my 3 uniforms to privately challenge what I saw before my very eyes.  The need for 3 uniforms in rotation was due to the time it took for them to air dry; I found the dryer was very harsh on their life expectancy.  By the culmination of my 2nd year of training I was absolutely convinced that I had changed my biology through my practice. I believe it to this day, and teach it to my students.