Give us a little background of your life outside of PAMA.

I'm married with 4 kids (2 of my own & 2 stepchildren) and live in Robbinsville about 15 minutes from PAMA (no excuse for coming late!). I have a small packaging supply company based right across the street from PAMA in Carnegie Center (even less of an excuse for coming late!!).

What was your pre-PAMA martial arts history? What made you first interested in Martial Arts?

When I was 11, I took Judo for about 1-1/2 yrs and when I became 19, I took Tae Kwon Do for a little over 3 years. I first became interested in martial arts as a teenager while watching Bruce Lee movies, and growing up in South Queens, NY, I watched a lot of street fights. As a child I was a very fast runner so I did a lot more spectating and running than actual fighting!

When did you first start training at PAMA and how did you hear about PAMA?

I started training in Oct. 2008. I did research on the Web and discovered that PAMA was right across the street from where I work. I was also looking into going back to Tae Kwon Do or taking Jiu-Jitsu at a school in Hamilton. Glad I made the right choice!

What does martial arts mean to you and what are some of the key things that it has taught you?

Martial Arts more than anything else has taught me discipline. In previous jobs that I had I excelled mostly because of my discipline. It has also taught me not to quit. I might move slow sometimes but I try not to give up. I owe these two attributes that I acquired to Martial Arts training.

How has training at PAMA helped you in other areas of your life?

PAMA has helped me with getting back into shape. I limp sometimes when the class is over and am sore for a couple of days, but I have way more energy than I had a year ago. Last year I felt like I was deteriorating so PAMA turned out to be a great find for me. My wife also thanks you!

Your sons also train at PAMA. What benefits do you think they are getting from their training? How does it feel to train as a family?

Abdiel and Cole train at PAMA as well although Abdiel hasn't been training lately due to school and work; he hopes to start training again in January when his schedule changes. It's great to train with the family. We get to spend more time together and talk about the class. We should also practice at home more, something we haven't done much of. Hopefully that will change! Both Cole and Abdiel have benefited tremendously from PAMA. Coincidentally both of their school grades went up a lot last year, or is it a coincidence? I know it's directly related to their training at PAMA!

What is your favorite thing about class and PAMA?

I really like the structure of the classes and the differences of the styles. It's interesting the amount of disciplines being taught under one roof and amazing how they are all taught at a very high level! I hope to get more involved with the other styles being taught at PAMA. The instructors at PAMA are great!

Any additional comments?

Thanks PAMA for making me student of the month. To all the instructors at PAMA, thank you for your diligence, hard work, patience and passing on your knowledge. It is greatly appreciated!!!