what people say about us

Sensei Donald Lord

By way of introduction my name is Donald Lord I am 45 years old and for the last 5 years I ve been a student at Integrity Martial Arts I d like to take a minute to share my experience and observations and conclude with some final thoughts How did I get here When my daughter turned 6 we thought it would be good to introduce her to Martial Arts as an activity and more importantly we thought at the time as a way of her being able to defend herself in the future A very close friend had recommended Integrity Martial Arts so we sent an email and asked for some information Within the week my daughter had started note 5 years later she s still going strong Sitting in the waiting room watching her classes I started to think about how cool this would be to try Then I looked at my stomach saw that I still could not see my toes and thought I ll lose some weight first Now I had not been taking the best care of myself and the weight had been the most difficult part to control I tried and was successful at many well known weight management systems only to have the weight come back So yes I was fooling myself being embarrassed about my appearance and delayed a decision to start for too long But after long and fruitful discussions with Sensei Jon Metcalf and his staff I decided to give it a try My experience Now I ll be the first to admit I ve done many stupid things in my life and for about the first couple of weeks I thought that this might too be added to that list as well I was dreadfully out of shape had little to no balance and still couldn t see my toes There were bright spots though My daughter was thrilled that we had something to do together my wife was thrilled that I was exercising more than leaving the couch to get something to eat and the Gi hid a lot of the reasons that I was uncomfortable starting in the first place But as I began to take more and more classes I began to see the compassion and the care that Jonathan s staff showed me and other adult students There was no judgment and no pressure The students with higher belt ranks took the time to get to know us greenhorns and made us feel like we were indeed part of this bigger family that we yet understood As time went on and I advanced in rank I found that my strength increased I was able to do more than I had ever done before I mean EVER I could balance better I could work out at longer sessions and I was able to better handle the stresses that I experienced every day I could concentrate more I was less easily distracted and I put more pride into everything I do Before starting I found it difficult to express my idea s to my managers not any more Perhaps two of the greatest testaments were that my review ratings at work improved and positive comments from managers I was being recognized in a positive manner where before few knew who I was Oh yeah my Doctor said that my health including my blood work had actually improved I have made great friends and early in 2007 I tested for and was awarded with my Black Belt Final Thoughts As adults I think it s safe to say that our Mid-Life Crisis is usually geared toward a red sports car and a house on the beach Self-Improvement is not usually a catch phrase that follows new Mustang But let me assure you that this experience for me has been life changing I am healthy I am able to focus better and I most often do not allow stress to affect me adversely what can I say I have kids I have made many incredible friends and have achieved goals I never thought possible I have found the word family to be a reoccurring mantra at Integrity Martial Arts Sensei Jonathan Metcalf and his staff have created an environment that is nurturing but still maintains the discipline that has been a mainstay in all Martial Arts Sensei Jon has opened my eyes to so much more by providing me the opportunity to study with some of the greatest Teachers of Martial Arts in the world today without having to leave town to do it He has been my mentor and more importantly my friend He has improved mine and others quality of life on countless levels and I am forever grateful He s been more than my Sensei he s been the greatest Life Coach I could ever have Who knew that the fat old guy who walked into Sensei Jonathan Metcalf s office 5 years ago would now be a Black Belt a teacher and be able to see his toes again