As a child, I was always fascinated by the martial art advertisements in comic books, I even sent away for one of the booklets.

After I started college in the 1960's, I remembered seeing a The Andy Griffith Show episode called "Barney's Uniform."  In the show, after Barney gives a tough guy a ticket for littering, the guy threatens to beat Barney senseless if he ever catches him out of uniform, so Barney wears his uniform continuously. To save Barney from a beating, Andy enlists the aid of Barney's Judo instructor, Mr. Izamoto, played by Yuki Shimota (an Asian-American actor who new little about judo), to teach the tough guy a lesson. The Judo shown in the show was terrible, but the show peaked my interest in Judo and the martial arts. The martial arts fighting scenes in the Batman television show helped push me into joining a Judo dojo.

Trained in Judo with Mr. Merichek at Central Y.M.C.A. in Winston-Salem, NC, affiliated with United States Judo Federation, now the United States Judo Association , late 1960's.

Trained in Shorei-ryu karate with Mr. Drdyk at North Carolina School of Self-Defense in Winston-Salem, NC, affiliated with United States Karate Association and Master Robert Trias, late 1960s.

Trained in Taekwondo with Master Ko at Ko Karate Institute in Chicago, IL., early 1970's.

Trained in Judo with Master Byung Dae Suh at Great Lakes Judo Club in Great Lakes, IL., affiliated with the Armed Forces Judo Association, now the United States Judo Association , early 1970's. Trained with O'Sensei Phil Porter, Master Phyllis Harper, and Master Ryozo Nakamura.

Trained in Seishin-kai Karate in Glynco, GA., early 1970's.

Head Judo instructor at Chase Dojo (a United States Judo Association (USJA) Bronze Star club over 100 members) in Beeville, Texas, early to mid 1970's. In 1972 the club was the 9th largest Judo club in the USJA. Trained with Master Rene Pomerelle.

1st Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo, American Taekwondo Association (ATA # 10641) (the original organization, not the present Songahm organization) (Grandmaster Lee was only a 7th degree at the time), early 1970s.

Instructor Certification in Taekwondo, American Taekwondo Association (ATA), early 1970s.

Taught Taekwondo at Bee County County College, now Costal Bend College in Beeville, Texas, mid 1970s.

Established and taught at a Taekwondo club in Gynco, GA, mid 1970s.

Established and taught at Toraki Taekwondo Studio in Keflavik, Iceland (the first Taekwondo dojang in Iceland), mid to late 1970s.

Trained Judo with Mr. George Morris, 4th degree in Judo, at the Keflavik Judo Club in Keflavik, Iceland, mid 1970s.

1st Degree Black Belt in Judo, United States Judo Association (USJA), late 1970's.

Instructor Certification in Judo, United States Judo Association (USJA), late 1970's.

Taught police tactics course for Keflavik, Iceland branch of Los Angeles City College, mid 1970's.

Took over and taught Keflavik Judo Club in Keflavik, Iceland, late 1970's.

Established and taught at Fallon Taekwondo Club, Fallon, NV, late 1970's to early 1980s.

Taught Judo at Fallon branch of Chapman College, Fallon, NV, late 1970's to early 1980s.

Taught Judo at Western Nevada Community College, Fallon, NV, late 1970s.

Trained in Taekwondo with Mr. Chuck Hawkins at Fitness Achievement Center, San Diego, CA., early 1980s.

Taught Taekwondo at Calvary Baptist Church, Winston- Salem, NC,early 1980s.

Trained in Judo at Y.M.C.A., Cary, NC, early 1980s.

Trained in Taekwondo at Taekwondo Center, Cary, NC, early 1980s.

Taught Taekwondo Club at Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, PA, mid 1980s.

Trained in Judo at Lackland Judo Club, San Antonio, TX, late 1980's to early 1990s.

Certified Instructor on the PR-24 Police Baton (similar to a tonfa), early 1990s.

Taught Taekwondo at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, TX, early 1990s.

Accumulated a 300-volume martial arts library.

Trained in Taekwondo at Dong's Taekwondo International, Kernersville, NC, mid 1990s.

Trained in Uechi-ryu Karate, Charlotte, NC, late 1990s.

Resumed training as a Taekwondo white belt in United States Taekwondo Alliance (USTA) in 1998 at Michael Deese's Taekwondo Plus. In January 2000, the USTA became the International Taekwondo Alliance (ITA). 

1st Degree Black Belt and Instructor Trainee in Taekwondo, International Taekwondo Alliance (ITA), February 2000. Began trainee instructing at Michael Deese's Taekwondo Plus.

In December 2000, five central North Carolina ITA schools, including that of Michael Deese, broke away from the ITA and joined Taekwondo America (TA).

2nd Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo, Taekwondo America (TA), February 2001.

3rd Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo, Taekwondo America (TA), June 2003.

Senior Certified Instructor in Taekwondo, Taekwondo America (TA), August 2003

Currently still training and instructing Taekwondo at Michael Deese's Taekwondo America, Winston-Salem, NC. Competed and placed in forms and sparring in regional and national tournaments for many years but competition and sparring are now limited by Degenerative Disk Disease in neck.

Learning from every source.

Designing martial arts software.

Hiking with my dog, Kuma.

Motorcycle touring and camping. I have rode and camped up and down the East and West coasts and most places in between.

Disc golf. I play course all around NC and neighboring states. I just toss some disc in the motorcycle saddle bags and take off.

• The goal in disc golf is the same as in stickball golf; to place a object into a target in the minimum number of strokes. Unlike stickball golf, you have a direct connection to the object. Rather than having to use a club to strike a ball, you hold the disc directly in your hand, giving you much more control over the "feel" of each shot. Holes are measured in feet, rather than yards, and the target is a metal, chain-draped basket.

• There are over 100 different golf discs, each with somewhat different flight characteristics. The game can be enjoyed with a single, multipurpose disc. However, competitive tournament golfers frequently carry up to twenty discs for a single round.

• There are over 700 disc golf courses in the world, and over 500 in the U.S. The vast majority are free to play, making the initial investment in disc golf the price of a single disc, usually between $5.00 and $10.00.

In-line skating. This is the way I toured cities around the world that I visited while I was in the Navy. I've logged over a 1,000 skating miles.