Richard Clarke

I first studied Tae Kwon Do in 1975 in order to satisfy the phys ed requirement at U.C. Berkeley. The school offered classes under a Mr. Kim (big surprise), who was a former Korean national champion. I was 21 and practiced it for two years. I tried a bit of Shotokan after graduating but didn't like the macho attitude in the two dojos I tried, so I dropped it. I don't recall the names of those dojos, but I only went a couple of times.
When I was 40, my daughter Jessica wanted to do karate because some kids at Carolina Friends School were, Django Rogers and his sister, I believe. My older daughter Alison also started with us, in the summer of 1994. When they left home, they dropped out and I just kept on plugging away at it, on my twice-a-week schedule.
I am quite dedicated to Kevin and CMAC for two reasons. First, karate is a good regime for me, providing a workout with a mental discipline and endless new material that keeps in interesting. Second, and probably more importantly is Kevin himself and the community he has built up at CMAC. As I said above, I am turned off by the macho approach and really appreciate Kevin's combination of a relaxed fun attitude with rigorous standards for himself and his students. I also appreciate his patience and how he works within my physical limitations like my bad knee. It has been a great experience for me, helping me lose a lot of weight, increase my self-esteem and confidence and probably prolong my life. Finally, the CMAC people are a great group which I wouldn't want to lose.
As for myself, I am 52 years old, a computer programmer working remotely from home for a small systems software company in Florida. I have been married for 27 years and have two girls, Alison, 25, and Jessica, 22, both living in Washington D.C.

Debbera Carson

I started training with Shihan Kevin Gurganus at CMAC 10 years ago when I was 34. I started training because I was in graduate school at the time and wanted to do something that would offer a break and some relief from graduate studies, something physical, interesting and engaging. I chose CMAC from looking in the yellow pages because the ad said the school taught traditional Okinawan karate and that it was a non-commercial atmosphere, also it was not far from where I lived. So I just got lucky and ended up in what turned out to be a great martial arts school with a great teacher.
With Shihan Gurganus, I have been training in Shito-ryu for 10 years now, in Ryukyu Kobudo for about 6 years, and in Hakko-ryu Jiu-jitsu off-and-on over the past 10 years. I also trained in Hakko-ryu Jiu-jistu with Hanshi Clayton Tucker of Wilson, NC from the spring of 2001 to the winter of 2003. I have been training with Tashi Troy Price in Shuri-te Jiu-jitsu for the past 2 years.
I continue to train at CMAC with because I love it and because Shihan Gurganus is an excellent teacher.

Navin Mahabir

I first started training in the martial arts when I was 22 (if you ignore imitating Bruce Lee movies when I was younger). It was one of those things that I had always imagined would be cool, but never thought I would be capable of doing. My room mate at the time, Ericka Frederick, had injured her hip and had been searching for something other than running to do as a work out. One of her best friends from college, Cinnamon Rogers (Sempai's step-daughter) suggested that she try karate. Well, Ericka came home after her first day and told me that it was something I had to try. So I watched a jiu-jitsu class and was immediately hooked; I realized that this really cool thing was something that I could do. That was November 1996, and I've been with Sensei Gurganus ever since. I think all of us who train with Sensei are very fortunate. Over the last nine and a half years I've been able to train with a lot of different instructors through seminars, and visit and observe schools all over when I've travelled. Sensei Gurganus' combination of positive attitude, well-roundedness, skill, dedication, ability to continue learning, and ability to apply the martial arts to the real world is unmatched. I've just moved to Chicago, and trying to find any one instructor or school which equals what I had at Carolina Martial Arts Center is impossible. In addition to karate at CMAC, I've also studied kobudo. I've somehow managed to attain the rank of San-Kyu in that art under Sensei Dometrich. I was fortunate for a couple of years to be able to train in the Cheng Man-ch'ing school of the Yang style of Tai Chi with Howard Anderson in Durham, the principles from which I've always tried to incorporate into my karate.