Reflections On Students Past & Present

Through the years I have had the pleasure of teaching some wonderful people both children and adults. However only a few have said things on a regular basis that make me reflect on what we do here at the Seijitsu Shin Do Kan dojo and how we do things. Recently a student sent me a text and apologized for venting his personal problems to us and never thinking to take the time to ask how we are and if everything is ok in our lives.

We are here for our students 100% when they need us for shoulder to cry, help with something or just whatever. We always say that students at Okinawa Karate of Twinsburg are like an extended family and we want to help wherever possible. We do so much more than just teach karate as a Sensei one should open themselves up and make themselves available it goes with the territory. It is very rare that someone comes to us and says “Sensei is everything ok in your life, are you well” and that is ok but it is extremely touching when it happens.

I think of the students who have come and gone, some we never hear from and others we do sometimes. We always hope that people will remember us for what we offered to them and we hope that in some small way we affected their lives in a positive everlasting way.

Three separate times since opening the Seijitsu Shin Do Kan Dojo in 2006 in a commercial location we have had students call or stop in that we had not heard from in many years. They had graduated from college some had families of their own, others just working a lot trying to get ahead in life. All three left me with tears in my eyes and total shock on the comments they made on how I personally had made such a positive impact on them. I have not heard from them since that time some now 2 or more years. It is my sincere hope that we are blessed with the opportunity to keep passing on the wonderful gift of karate to those young and old alike to anyone who wishes to learn. We will continue to pass on traditional Okinawan karate has our teachers have done for us and asked us to do to the very best of our ability and we hope that others will come and join our dojo kazoku or dojo family.

Ichariba Chode!!
Brandon L. Fisher
Okinawa Karate of Twinsburg
Okinawa Karatedo Seijitsu Shin Do Kan Kyokai - Kaicho

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