Senpai Dave began his martial arts training in Chinese Kung Fu in the late eighties in Ventura, CA before a job relocation, career change and kids put his interest in martial arts on the back burner. Always on the back of his mind to one day continue his training, the opportunity presented itself when his wife instructed him to enroll his son in Shotokan karate at Camarillo Shotokan with Sensei Young. After viewing a class and being impressed by the level of training he saw that day, he wrote two checks for introductory lessons, one for his son and one for himself. Five years later, (almost to the day he began), he was awarded the rank of Sho Dan (first degree black belt).
In addition to trying to train regularly and continue the journey he has only just begun in karate, Dave is the sixth generation of his family to farm in Ventura County. He manages his family’s farming operation of lemons and avocados with his father and uncle in Ventura County. In addition, he donates his time by sitting on a number of volunteer boards, including the Mesa Education Foundation, the Ventura County Farm Bureau, the Association of Water Agencies and the Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency. He enjoys water sports of all kinds, fishing, art, good books, a good Zinfandel and cooking for family and friends. He is the proud, but anxious, father of two college-bound children, and considers himself lucky that his wife of eighteen years continues to put up with him.
