Beginning Your Journey

[Montana]

My journey began in 1973 while stationed in (West) Germany while in the US Army. There was an enlisted man in my barracks that had a couple of years of TKD training prior to his being drafted into the military and he would work out with a few of us occasionally. The TKD he taught never really thrilled me that much, but it did spark my interests in the arts.

When I got back home in late 1974 there were 2 people teaching in the small (12,000 people) Montana town I lived in. One taught TKD, the other Hawaian Kenpo. Both were well known bullies that went into the bars on weekends looking for fights.

I pretty much forgot any thoughts of learning the arts because I didn't like either of these instructors or their methods.

Then in January of 1975 I called up a friend of mine to see if he wanted to grab some beer and go cruising around town (That was the big thing to do back then...) in my 1968 Plymouth Roadrunner. He said "I can't, I have to go to karate class." Come to find out there was a new sensei in town by the name of Dennis (Denny) Miller teaching Shorin Ryu Matsumura Seito/Orthodox. I went and participated in the class and never left! My friend quit after a few months. Sensei Miller had a life long impact on my life, and if you're reading this Dennis..."THANK YOU!"