This site is organized into three columns. If you're starting on the home page the center column is for my primary content, which includes general information, class scheduling, with the occasionally news item thrown in.. when something martial arts-related hits the news... To the left you will see blog section , which contain content of a more personal nature; what it's like to follow the way of karate-do. The aformentioned categories are local to this site. The far right column includes news from other sites. Since that column is external content, I have little control over exactly what is posted. I try to syndicate content relative to martial arts, including nutrition and fitness, and links to other karate blogs. You'll note that I don't post fees or anything on this site. My intent is to provide a resource for my students and for you. I am a karate instructor but also a programmer. This site is a hobby of mine. However, if you *are* interested in martial arts classes, whether in Tampa or elsewhere, please drop me a note via the contact form, or post a comment somewhere.

Finally, I set a captcha up on the email form. While I turned off most comments, I left at least that route open, but I probably missed some messages amongst all the spam coming in on that form. With the captcha in place, the personal spam should go way down, at least until spammers add image processing to their repertoire. Thanks

The comment spam and trackbacks have become excessive. I'd like to keep commentary open, and I would fight the spam, but as karate is often practiced by kids, it is likely that kids will visit this website. Due to the generally obscene nature of most link spam, I am disabling commentary. To anybody who was subjected to it, you have my sincere apologies. If you would like to rant and rave, you may still contact me directly.

I can't believe I'm posting another one of these... First off, since this keeps happening, I've been hearing alot of people saying the law needs to be toughened. I'm not going to discuss that subject here, but I will say this: Toughening the law will not bring a child back to life. Nor will it undo the effects of an assault. A sociopath, by definition, does not consider the outcomes of their actions. If the sociopath did that, he would not commit the crime to begin with. We're not talking a thief here, who, on one hand, has no money, but on the other, fear the repercussions of being caught. We're talking about someone whose brain is malfunctioning. This is something you must keep track of in taking care of your family. When you are crossing an intersection, you don't assume the other car will stop, because it might not. You cannot assume your kids are safe, because they might not be. A popular saying in our ryu is expect the unexpected. It's a riddle, for how can you? But this is exactly what you must do. If you really tried to handle every case, you'd drive yourself crazy. Instead, it's best to follow rules of thumb, and to have backups, when those rules fail. Stay aware of your surroundings, your community, who you spend time with, and adapt to those circumstances. Some notes about Sarah:

• It appears she kidnapped while home alone. Her brother came home to find she was gone.
• She was 13 years old. Too young to be on her own, but old enough to memorize some things to do in an emergency, and large enough that if she had struggled, it could have deterred her kidnapper.
• She was kidnapped by someone known to her.
• She spent some time hospitalized so she would not hurt herself.

One thing I've noticed about the unexpected, is that it often should be expected! This is yet another case of someone known to the child doing the kidnapping. Chances are good Sarah let this guy right into the house. Logically one thinks "friends and family should be ok", but this expectation has been proven wrong again and again. It's not that you cannot trust family, family is all we have. Rather, you should have a plan at all times.

• Children should not be left alone.
• Children should be taught to make decisions.
• Children should be taught to have confidence in their decisions.

When I say children should be taught to make decisions, I don't mean they should be burdened with them, rather, the art of discernment should be taught early. Given the chance, kids are good at this. They learn to look both ways before crossing the street. They can also learn to say "No" when somebody tells them to do something they don't think they should do. As it always will be, this list is incomplete, but I mention these items according to the case. I hope these ideas help you at home, because we cannot wait for Law Enforcement and Legislation to make us safe.