Mike Squatrito is one of my home-grown Florida black belts. Many of you have seen Mike in my book, Kenpo Karate 301. He and his wife, Renee, now own and operate Gulf Coast Kenpo Karate in Cape Coral, FL. It's right across the river from Ft. Myers.
Last month, they raised around $2000 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association with an event at their school. One result of that was that they were invited to be on local television as part of the MDA Labor Day telethon. Mike and a few of his students were on the tube on that Sunday.
This makes me happy and proud for a few reasons. One is that I try to instill in my students a sense of giving back to the community. These sort of events, women's self-defense courses, etc. are a way to do that. The other reason is that MDA is a big deal to me, and I've worked with them since the 70's. Why? Because one of my childhood friends was stricken with MD. While he lived much longer than most at the time, he didn't make it through his teens. Danny Tozydlo was one of the brightest and disciplined people I've known. He did remote schooling, a feat back in the late 60's and early 70's, as it wasn't as easy to get connected back them. He was top of his class. Dan knew he was going to lose the battle but fought it all the way. MD attacks the muscles and he forced himself to stand as much as possible. I believe that lengthened his life. I often wonder what sort of contributions a guy like him would have made, gifted with the smarts he had, as he aged. I like to think they would have been significant.
So thank you to everyone at Gulf Coast Kenpo for your efforts, and to everyone who has participated at the Ft. Myers studio in the past as well as those who help out MDA whenever possible.
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