As far as why I began my training, Sensei John Mirrione was pushing me for months to train with him at his Dojo. I finally gave in and along with my brother in law and a friend, the three of us started training in July of 1991. My friend dropped out after a year or two. He is now the captain of a local First Aid squad in New Jersey. My brother in law and I both followed Sensei John from New Jersey to the Vertical Club at Worldwide Plaza in midtown  and then to the Reebok sports club on the upper west side. We finally had enough of the changes and the catering to the more affluent clients. My brother in law started training with Keith Johnson, who was the senior student of Sensei John and they trained in NJ which worked for both of them.At about this time, I also had to decide whether to stay with Sensei John or take the opportunity to open a commercial photography studio in the Meadowlands. As we know, I opened  the studio, which I continued to run for 10 years.