I have always been interested in self-defense and as a kid I read many books and articles and tried to learn these skills thru them. At Aquinas High School, I fought in the Mission Bouts, known to many as Golden Gloves. Also while in High School I became interested in The Martial Arts and studied Karate for a few years here in Rochester.
My dad had firearms but we only spent a few times together shooting woodchucks or walking fields hunting pheasants. It was not until after being drafted into the Army in 1967 that I had a serious introduction to firearms.
I was deployed to Taiwan China where I continued with my Martial Arts training and became a Black Belt in Karate. In 1969 I was sent to Vietnam with the 4th Infantry Division and served a 13 month tour. Upon returning to the US I did teach Karate for a while but gave it up due to work and family obligations.
I completed college at SUNY Brockport and really wanted to teach Physical Education. The job market and economy led me elsewhere. I spent 24 years at Eastman Kodak as a Tool and Die Maker, then furthered my education to become an Engineering Technician, and finally a career with General Motors working on the development of Fuel Cells.
Through it all I have been an avid shooter and enjoy hunting and training with my guns. For a long time I was unaware of all of the great opportunities in the area to shoot and especially to train. Then I was introduced to IDPA (International Defensive Pistol Association) and then on to Rochester Personal Defense, LLC with Dave and the guys. It has been a great and fun experience so far and I expect that it will only get better.
With all of this past training I did learn that though training was important, mindset and planning were critical elements for self- defense skills to be effective. I have continued to train in many aspects of firearms and self-defense and believe I will never stop. It is that important to me. I love teaching these skills and find that I always learn something new every time I teach a class.
I believe strongly that the best defense and the best chance that you have to survive a violent encounter is to have a plan and to have practiced that plan, so that you will know how to react and how you will react. Action is always faster than reaction.
