I actually got interested in the Martial Arts when I was a kid. At the time a few friends of mine were involved in Okanwa Kenpo. Unfortunately, I couldn't afford the monthly dues so I really wasn't able to get started until I was around 19 year old. At the time David Brock had an American Kenpo Karate studio in Midway City and I started working out there. I think I made it to orange belt before I gave it up. It wasn't long after this though that Mr. Brock closed his studio. A number of years later I noticed that he had opened his studio back up in Orange and I signed up and started working on it again. This time I made it to green belt before the studio closed. I asked a number of people where I could find another Kenpo school because I really wanted to finish what I had started.

Most people suggested that I go to Bob White because he has a great reputation as both an instructor and a Martial Artist. So, I went to work out at his studio in Costa Mesa. I was at Mr. White's studio for about six months before I decided it was time to find another place to work out. Leaving really had nothing to do with Mr. White's instruction he is a fatastic teacher, a great person, and the people working out there are extremely nice. For me personally it was little big which meant you could easily get lost in the crowd. So, while my skills were improving it didn't look like my rank was going to go up in a timely manner.

Bob Harris was suggested to me by a couple of student's who I worked out with at Dave Brock's. One night I went down to the studio to watch a class and before the night was over wrote a check for the first months dues.

Bob Harris is a fantastic teacher and one of the nicest people you will ever meet. As a student I always struggled with foot work which is extremely important in all sports, especially Karate. I only a couple of week of instruction with Mr. Harris my foot work went from mediocre to pretty good. I was improving so much tht I decided it might be best to mix in some private lessons. Private instruction really improved my skill and helped me advance in rank. As a result, I passed a grueling 8 hour black belt test in October of 2000.

I was never one the felt I needed to compete in tournaments to show how good I was but it was one of those things that all students should probably experinec. With Mr. Harris I only competed in two tournaments. The first I got disqualified for too much contact to the head and the second I took first place.

I have to say that my experience with Kenpo Karate and in particular Bob Harris gave me a great deal of confidence in not only the martial arts but everything else in life. I highly recommend the study to anyone.

Sadly Mr. Harris was forced to close his studio. He had been open for somewhere near two decades but the economy took its tole, just like it has on a number of businesses.