play hard work hard
When I first came to the Asian Arts Center, I originaly thought that I was going to come to train, leave sweaty, and wake up the next day feeling like I had just came home from war. What I didn’t know and soon came to find is that my training was my passion, the people I train with are my family and while the next day was still riddled with aches and pains, I found myself looking at the AAC as home. I now teach almost everyday and while, at times, the classes might be tough and my body may hate me later, I learn something new that I can use everyday; life skills that can get me to where I want to go, tools on how to stay focused even when it seems trivial to do so, and, of course, a swift kick in the face if I ever get off track. In short, I came to play hard but I found that I stayed to work even harder.
Alex Tienda, third Dan from the Asian Arts Center Dayton, Ohio
