David Tremblay

Reason began Uechi Ryu:

While I attended college I was not physically active, I was out of shape. Once I graduated I wanted to try something different. I checked out all the basic gyms in the area and was not motivated or impressed. I came across Karate in the yellow pages, yes yellow pages. The first ad was Buzz Durkins Karate School. I never took karate and thought that may be interesting. I made my appointment to visit the dojo with Mr Durkin. As soon as I entered to Dojo I was very impressed with the decor and layout. I have never been in a dojo so I didn’t know the difference between Mr Durkins or any other dojos. I was greeted my Mr Durkin himself. Right away I felt great about my decision. After speaking with Mr. D, I was hooked. Within weeks I felt better about my physical fitness and in addition to my confidence raising after every class I attended. Decades later I still consider this dojo a perfect decision. I get that same great feeling every time I step onto the dojo floor.

Current reason for training in Uechi-Ryu:

As a father and Business Owner, there are your everyday obstacles that challenge you. Attending karate on a weekly basis helps me deal with all of these challenges. I feel I can control my emotions and focus on what needs to be done. I have always attended the noon time classes which benefits me throughout the day. Needless to say, karate has kept me in great physical shape.

Best Uechi-Ryu experience:

There are many great experiences I have had here in my years of studying. I have one certain memory that stands out. I was a Shodan(1st degree), thinking I was a bad @##, when I was invited to attend a Thursday night Dojo Owners practice. I have never seen so may high ranking Uechi student. I stayed in the back and was amazed how powerful and strong everyone was. Traci Rose asked me to condition with him, as we were conditioning our legs, not knowing what I was thinking, I kicked his leg so hard I almost broke my ankle. That stunt kept me out of karate for about two weeks. While I was out I just kept thinking of the massive power these black belts have become and someday I may achieve that type of conditioning.
Still working on it!