Back Story

I recently became a Jiu-Jitsu student at Roseberry's Martial Arts Center in Lincoln, NE.  I decided to try and document my journey into the art of Jiu-Jitsu.

Quick History:

I have been involved with martial arts since 1991.  I did Taekwondo for a few years and then mainly practiced Hapkido until now.  I was in the Marines as a Security Guard and then a Machine Gunner from '96-'00.  I came back to Lincoln and worked at the Detox center for 1 year and then the County Jail for 3. I decided I didn't like that kind of work and went to a local community college and got my Associates in computer programming.

I started teaching Hapkido around '04 out of my garage and then a student's basement.  I found a TKD school that I really liked and would visit and they eventually let me teach Hapkido at their school.  My student base fluctuated from 1 or 2 students to 8 and then back down again.  I promoted my first blackbelt student last year, she soon graduated college and left the area to start her career.

I was at a point where I had 2 committed students.  I found myself weighing reasons to keep teaching or starting something new.  I like teaching but I also had reasons to stop.  I had a desire to be a student again.  I also wanted to compete in something and TKD tournaments were not interesting anymore.

I had trained with my new instructor Conan sporadically for several years.  I was always amazed by their skill on the ground and how easily I could be beaten.  I'm also really into the chess match mentality of Jiu-Jitsu.

To clarify, I still love Hapkido and may teach it again in the future.  Going through this process will make my Hapkido better.

I have a wife and 2 boys that I love dearly.  It's awesome watching my boys learn and grow.  I work as a software developer.