In 1993,
saying that Sensei Doug Davis was a focused child, with self
confidence and a healthy respect for himself as well as
others would be like saying that a hurricane will never
strike the Gulf Coast; he was a mess and the people around
him were beginning to give up hope.
"I had no
respect for authority, basically." Davis said. "I was
disrespectful towards anyone and everyone; teachers, family…
people like that. I was a real handful for everyone."
His grades
were less than stellar and his home life was tumultuous, "We
had a lot of fights," Davis recalls, "My mother and I didn't
get along. My dad and I never talked." and his sour attitude
inevitably led to fights at school and numerous scrapes with
the law after school. In fact, it got so bad that Davis
dropped out of school after his sophomore year, only to be
left with more idle time with which to cause trouble. "I
really fell in with the wrong crowd; we were all a bunch of
punks." He would only elaborate to the point of saying that
this was a group of kids which was “less than kind” to the
surrounding community of Amelia, Ohio.
Davis and
his family underwent professional counseling with little
success and he continued his slide into delinquency.
"The police
chief told my mother that he had observed positive,
life-changing results in other troubled teens who had been
enrolled in martial arts classes." Davis said. "Upon his
very strong advice, my only Christmas present that year was
twelve months of martial arts classes." He began the study
of Ryukyu Kempo, a traditional form of Karate from Okinawa,
at the U.S. Martial Arts Academy in Amelia.
Master David
Tester, owner of the academy, took Davis under his wing and
surrounded him with positive role models. "With a little
bit of guidance, a heavy dose of exercise and something
positive and constructive to do with my time, my parents
noted an improvement in my focus, concentration and respect
for others." Davis went back to school and his grades
improved almost immediately.
"It was like
a big family at the Academy." he said. "My instructor became
a father figure to me. He inspired me to grow up and was
there for support and guidance; a little tough love now and
then when I needed it didn’t hurt either.”
"An
instructor who really cares has a lot of sway and influence
over the students and will have a profound effect on those
he or she mentors; kind of like a great sports coach." he
said. Consequently, his home life began to resemble the
atmosphere he found in his martial arts classes, too.
His was the
kind of complete turn around martial arts very often has on
young people and parents of wayward children dream about.
Davis began
to develop his purpose and certainly found his passion when
he was promoted by Master Tester to chief instructor at the
U.S. Martial Arts Academy in 1997, where he in turn
flourished in his role as a mentor to others. "Looking
back, I remember back when I was a little monster," he says.
"I wonder where I would be today if Mr. Tester, or any of
the other instructors at the academy, had turned their backs
on me. This single principle compels me to help these kids
today as much as I can."
Fast forward
now, through years of teaching the martial arts, developing
his own leadership skills and touching lives where we arrive
at the inception of Seikou Martial Arts Academy in
Pensacola, Florida on September 8th of 2006 and
Davis has finally realized his dream of creating his own
academy.
“It hasn’t
been without its challenges,” he says, “but we have been
blessed from the very start with great people within our
organization who are all committed to a cause. I really
appreciate our clients and their support.”
Davis points
out that the first thing he likes to bring to a new
student’s attention is importance to understand our school’s
name, Seikou Martial Arts Academy. “The word Seikou (pronounced
say-koo) is the Japanese word meaning SUCCESS!
We chose this name since the core concept of our program is
to instill in our clients, both young and old, the skills,
character traits, and habits necessary to be successful in
all areas of life. Our motto is:
“Success Through
Martial Arts”™
Today,
Sensei Doug Davis continues to progress in his own art of
teaching while sharing in the experiences of his students.
His contributions to the art Ryukyu Kempo and his creation
of an innovative age-specific curriculum are quickly earning
him a place amongst martial art’s elite mentors.
Davis ended
on this note, “Success can be achieved though smiling,
sweating, and learning… And of course, a little tough love
now and then, when a student needs it, doesn’t hurt either.”
To your
success!
Rabiah
Elaawar
Seikou
Martial Arts Academy