I was born in Berkeley, California, and grew up in
the San Francisco Bay Area. After high school, I joined the
Navy for four years (one year
with the Marine Corps as a field medical corpsman in Vietnam). About a
year after release from the Navy, I started to attend college with
emphasis in psychology and sociology. At the same time I attended Gestalt and
other personal development groups and workshops, and also started therapy.
Having discovered meditation and metaphysics, I became
totally fascinated and deeply interested in this area. I then proceeded
to seriously study different yogic, metaphysical, meditative, and
spiritual-development systems for the next few years. This process led me
to my present and long-standing (30 years) Tai Chi Chuan teacher,
Lo Pang Jeng (Mr. Ben Lo). Intuatively and after several months of studying,
I began to realize this seemingly simple, but arduous, Tai Chi system
embodied the essence of all my various studies. It was a somewhat
esoteric or hidden path to the development of one's complete being.
I discovered through this training system that
one is taught the process of gaining deeper and
deeper access to the Essential experience and wisdom of the Body,
Heart, Mind, and Spirit. I had to some degree accessed some of these
qualities in my previous work, but now I was asked or challenged to
access them in the martial (Warriorship) context; and, even more, to
access and apply these Principles and related experiences to my daily
life. I knew this was my Gifted Work. With diligence, integrity, patience,
perserverence, and passion I have been quite fortunate to continue
to grow and develop in this Art throughout my thirty years of study and
practice.
Over the years I have also visited and taken workshops with other
high-level Tai Chi and martial art instructors, in an attempt to begin
to understand the full dimensions of the Art.
I have also participated in Tai Chi Chuan push hands tournaments in the
U.S. and Taiwan. I have won or placed in most of these. Most notable was
the Taste of China Tournament held in Winchester, Virginia, where I won
the Push Hands Grand Championship in 1988 and 1990.
Of important value has been the multi-level lesson of winning and
success, and also learning the multi-level lesson of losing and
non-success.
With deep Appreciation and Gratitude I continue to train
with my teacher, Laoshi Ben Lo, working with my continually
developing and changing self, and with my beloved students
whom I feel so thankful to have, and with my larger Tai Chi Chuan
community, nationally and internationally.
