I began my study of martial arts with Dr. Y.C. Chiang at the Wen Wu School in Berkley, California in 1972. Sifu Chiang, who had arrived in the U.S. the previous year, taught me Guang Ping Yang Taiji and several Shaolin forms. An injury, multiple moves and a demanding career derailed my practice, but the desire to return to it burned on. In 2010, I moved to Washington, D.C. and immediately discovered Sifu Larry Hawkins’s Wu Style Academy. A complete system combining health, self-defense, philosophy, meditation, and qi gong was beyond my imagination in 1972! Under Sifu Hawkins, I’ve studied the hand forms and weapons including saber, sword and spear and enjoyed teaching beginners and intermediates. I was made a disciple of Sifu Hawkins in 2023 at a ceremony in Ferndale presided over by Grandmaster Eddie Wu Kong Yu. While immortality — physical or metaphysical — seems out of reach, as I age, I am grateful that my physical and mental condition is defined by our practice.