Welcome to Tyajun Dojo – The Schroader Family Dojo – Catskill, NY
In the late 80’s, at 22 years old, I walked into my first Dojo in Oneonta NY. I absolutely fell in love with it. Although I only attended for a few years, I relished my time there. As life often does, it forces some activities to take a back seat to the priorities of a family. Eventually my kids wanted to learn karate and tried several schools through the years. I could not help but notice that none of the schools were teaching real karate. I’m sorry for saying so, but some of these places were a joke. Eventually my kids walked into a dojo in which I immediately recognized as genuine traditional karate, and wild horses could not keep me from walking onto the dojo floor once again. It had been over 20 years. Being in my early 40s, I quickly realized that I was in the worst shape of my life. I could not even kneel down all the way. Nine years later, I am not only in the best shape of my life, but I have obtained my 2nd degree Black Belt. To me, my belt means that I have to strive every day to try to be worthy of it. I never assume I will achieve perfection, nor do I really strive for it. I never want to consider my karate path as finished. I only try to improve each day, to continue learning from my Sensei. I hold my Sensei in high regard, and have much appreciation for everything he has taught me. My hope is that as I teach, one of my students will feel the same about me.