1997: I received my Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do from Kwan Jang Nim Veronica DeSantos of the DeSantos Martial Arts Studio in Toronto, Ontario in June of 1997 at the age of 47. She is a wonderful and tireless teacher who will shortly have her own web site. Outside the dojo she is a strong presence in The National Women's Martial Arts Federation as well as running self-defense courses for many local schools and organizations. Our style is a rich blend reflecting Kwan Jang Nim's eclectic background. Our school practices the ITF forms using the low Shotokan stances, kobudo for the higher belts, and both points style and WTF style sparring. We now have 6 Black Belts over the age of 45 so I have a rather vested interest in the experiences of the silver set in gaining their Black Belts at an advanced age. Drop me a line if you or your parents fall into this category.

Most recently Kwan Jang Nim has introduced Te-Geri classes in the newly renovated area upstairs from the main dojo.

1999: My how time passes. In November of 1999, I received my 2nd Dan. I'll be putting up the graduation pictures soon. Through a quirk of fate this leaves me as the oldest senior dan. But I'm just the leader of the geriatric pack. Some promising youngsters in the 43-48 range will be grading shortly.