"I first walked into the studios at Mountainside almost fourteen years ago to watch my brother take karate lessons, unaware that karate would have a dramatic impact on my life every year since then. At one point, my whole family was taking lessons from Sensei Rick Savagian; we followed his dojo to the home it is today, Mountainside Martial Arts Center.

Not only did karate give me the opportunity to compete physically in a challenging athletic activity that kept me healthy, but it taught me to take pride in all that I do both in and out of the ring.

The confidence and moral courage karate gave me to step into the ring has shaped my life outside the ring. One of the greatest honors of my life was to earn a black belt, compete as a member of the Wado-Ryu American National Team at the World Cup in Tokyo, Japan and receive a coveted Merit of Competition Award from a board of esteemed karate masters.

The only other honor in my life that supersedes this is the opportunity to study at the US Air Force Academy and become a commissioned officer in the United States Air Force in May 2007. Without the strength I earned under Sensei Rick's guidance and my parent's tremendous example and support, I would not have been able to compete Basic Cadet Training, Combat Survival Training, or the Academy Flight Screening program. The sense of competition I learned in karate has allowed me to walk on the USAFA Intercollegiate Division I Fencing team and compete at the Varsity level with the best athletes in the country. Training at MMAC not only afforded me the opportunity to develop a martial arts career, but training under Sensei Rick's leadership has taught me valuable lessons in pride and hard work that helped me reach the fantastic opportunities I face today.

It has been one of the greatest blessings in my life that my parents signed me up for such an incredible education with such a high quality, traditional karate dojo. "