My 功夫 Gōngfū Beginnings

10 January 1976, I began training at the 太極健身學院 Taiji Health Academy (TJHA). I had to be accepted for training and the process was one where I thought I would not be accepted.

My first contact with the school was through a search of the Yellow Pages of the telephone book. Interestingly, all martial arts were categorized under Judo. I guess every thing was "Judo" to the ignorami who created the listings in the Yellow Pages. Most of the martial arts schools had full page, half page, or quarter page ads. The TJHA had only its name, address, and telephone number. I had a good feeling about that. So, I called and spoke to the owner of the school by the name of 吳百忍 Wú Bǎirěn. We chatted briefly and set up an appointment.

I actually made the appointment on time. The school wasn't so easy to find, the parking wasn't the best, but I cared more about learning real 功夫 Gōngfū and learning from good teachers. The school was on South Byrne Road in Toledo, Ohio, at the time. (The school later moved to a shopping strip on the corner of Heatherdowns Boulevard and Key Street.) The floor was carpeted. When I went there for the first time, all I saw were older people doing Taiji. I was not a happy camper, at my young age to see people only 30 years old and above training super slow Taiji. I thought I would never find the kind of 功夫 Gōngfū school I wanted in Toledo.