Third time's a charm

We have a name in Puerto Rico for that time between the cane harvest. It is called the "Dead Time." When there is no work. That dead time between the Violeta Dojo and my next dojo experience was relatively long, more than ten years. Although, as I've said, I kept practicing somewhat during that period, I didn't yet have that degree of training and skill to nourish myself alone. But my return to a dojo came in a roundabout way. Curiously enough, it was that same friend that introduced me to karate in the first place who opened the way for my return.

At the time I had my youngest boy, then a teenager, living with me, and I was thinking about getting him into karate. When I mentioned this to my friend, he said that he was on his way to a lunch date with Jaime Acosta sensei, who had a small dojo in downtown San Juan. It was a nice reunion. Jaime had been outside the Island, training in New York with Kow Loon Ong (Chi-I-Do) for several years, which explained why I hadn't seen him in a while. Jaime ran his dojo, under the Chi-I-Do organization ina rented space in a dance studio (typical situation on the Island and elsewhere). He made a counter-offer,that I come and train too. I confess that although I was intrigued in returning, I was also scared and a bit put off about starting in Goju anew for the third time.

When I got home and told my son, he was curious and game, but so was my then wife, and also my sister when she got wind of it. So, much like the first time I walked into a dojo, I went in as part of a group. this time: son, wife, and sister.