William "Iron Monkey" Gifford - September 14, 2010
It was the beginning of February 2009, at 39 I had been complacent in
keeping up with my physical fitness. It had been 8- 10 years since I
had been active in martial arts and I had gotten in effect lazy. I had
decided to correct that to be healthier, not only for myself but for my
family as well.
I began looking at martial arts schools and the few I had visited were
either not what I was looking for in a school or the schedule did not
fit my own. My wife came to me in that early February and told me that
a new school had opened in the building she worked in. I came in on an
afternoon soon after and after talking to Master Cooper for over an
hour I knew I had not only found a new school that I wanted to be part
of, I had found a kindred spirit in the way of the martial arts.
I began training a couple days later and have been at Cooper's New England Martial Arts (NEMA) ever since.
Master Cooper has a sense of when to push and when not to, and he knew
as a martial artist who had been away for a time he needed to push me.
For the first month I was sore and exhausted, and I had not been
happier with myself in years. I quickly began to shed the weight I had
gained and began putting on muscle, I quickly lost 20 plus pounds and
began to be in fighting shape.
|
Now a year and half later, I am 41 years
old, my stamina is excellent, I have grown much stronger than I was and
my skills have grown steadily.
For me, NEMA has become more than a
school or dojo to train in. Master Cooper has become a good friend, I
have great respect for him and I am honored to be his student. I have
come to view my fellow students as a family of sorts, we are there not
only to help ourselves be better but each other as well. The people who
train at NEMA seem to have the same view as well, which makes NEMA all
the better.
I intend to continue at NEMA for as long as possible,
and to eventually repay Master Cooper and the school by becoming an
instructor, a position I would be honored to hold.
- William "Iron Monkey" Gifford
(Member since February, 2009) |
