No First Attack

A letter from Gavin Fish, co-founder of NoFirstAttack.com:

In 2008, my wife and I decided to take our son out of gymnastics classes and enroll him in karate. He just wasn’t enjoying gymnastics anymore and we had found a karate program that was convenient to our home and we thought we’d give it a try. We didn’t really know how lucky we were to have found this program. We didn’t know what karate was all about and we had no idea what Shotokan Karate was. We were just looking for an inexpensive activity for our son that he’d enjoy.

HE LOVED IT FROM THE BEGINNING!

I guess boys will be boys. They love to pretend fight and they need an outlet for all their energy. But we were impressed at all of the mental discipline and respect he was learning at the same time (in addition to the physical exercise and improvement in coordination). Our two daughters were continuing in gymnastics and would come with us to watch our son’s classes. In no time, they wanted to quit gymnastics and sign up for karate. So that’s what we did. Shortly thereafter, I told my wife that I thought I’d like to give it a try. So we signed me up. A few weeks later my wife signed up. So now all five of us are studying karate as a family and we absolutely love it!

The teachers and students at our dojo have become like a second family to us. We see them at least twice each week and we all share a common interest. We have all learned, or are learning, what it means to be karateka. We understand that the education will never end. There will always be room for improvement. There will always be something to learn.

The reason I decided to publish NoFirstAttack.com on the Internet was so I could enable members of our dojo to seek out others around the world who share our interest. That way, we can all help each other apply the principles, techniques, and life lessons that karate gives us. If you feel the same way, please join our website. Post photos and videos of your dojo and the events that you attend. Better yet, ask you sensei if it is okay to make a group page for your dojo and encourage your fellow karateka to join, too. The site is and always will be free to use.

If you are a young karateka, make sure to ask permission from your parent or guardian before you join the site. We don't ask any personally identifying information such as your age, gender, school, or telephone number. We do ask for your email address when registering, but it is not published on the site at all. Please do your best to remain safe. If someone on the site asks to meet up with them in person, DON'T DO IT without your parent or guardian's permission.

Sincerely,

Gavin Fish
nofirstattack.com/gavn8r