On behalf of Sensei Norman and myself, we would like to take the opportunity to express our gratitude to Senpai Miguel Novoa for his contributions to the dojo over the past year. Miguel has accepted a new position with the NYC Department of Corrections. This is a position he applied for many months ago and he had to go through a rigorous process before he was finally accepted.
Senpai Miguel Novoa is a lifelong student of Sensei. He began his karate training in 1991 and has been a teacher assisting Sensei Smith since 2000. Senpai is a veteran of the US Army and has served his country with tours in Japan and Iraq. As a sergeant of the Army he lead many convoy missions and supervised critical maintenance procedures to various military vehicles. He also used his knowledge of martial arts to train members of his unit.
Throughout my martial arts experience, I have found it rare to train with someone who is an exceptional martial artist, and exceptional teacher and an exceptional person at the same time. Miguel is all three and it has been an honor to train with him. Being the person he is, I have no doubt he will be successful in anything he does.
Finally, if you happen to be reading this while locked-up on Rikers Island, I suggest you do what this guy tells you to do.
