The Art of Becoming Who You Already Are

I’ve spent my entire life studying movement. First as a dancer and performer, then in the chaotic early days of mobile technology, and finally in martial arts — the place where all of those threads came together and made sense.

Movement is a language, and teaching is an act of service. I learned early on that leadership isn’t about authority; it’s about clarity, awareness, and the courage to be yourself. Whether I was building some of the first iPhone apps or directing creative teams, the lesson was always the same: you connect by being honest, not by performing a role.

Becoming a father deepened all of that. It taught me the most important truth I know: you don’t mold people — you meet them where they are. Children arrive as themselves, and our job is to help them become more of who they already are. I carried that lesson into martial arts, and it completely reshaped how I teach.

Traditional karate often gets trapped in correction culture — a rigid insistence that there is one right way to move. I reject that. In my classes, technique is either effective or less effective; it’s never “right” or “wrong.” Every student has their own history, their own body, their own voice. My job is to help you discover the version of karate that feels true, expressive, and functional for you.

Most adults don’t need tradition for tradition’s sake — they need clarity, agency, and a practice that respects the reality of their body. They need a space where discipline and kindness live side by side. That’s what I build at Good Fight.

And now, after nearly fifty years in California, I’m uprooting my life with my wife to move to Valencia — a city where I don’t speak the language yet, where I’ve never lived, and where I’m choosing to take the biggest risk of my adult life. I’m doing it because I want to model something real for my son: that growth doesn’t end, that adventure still matters, and that reinvention is always possible.

I don’t know exactly what will happen when I land in Valencia. But I know this: I’ve spent my life learning how to teach, how to listen, and how to help people move in ways that build confidence instead of fear. I know there are people in this world who want to train with calm, intelligence, and purpose — and I want to find them.

If you come ready to move, learn, and grow, I’ll meet you where you are — and we’ll build something real together.