Some sudden and upsetting news

I received an email from my sensei today that our dojo has closed, effective immediately. Apparently, she left her husband--and town. She didn't give any more information.

I'm sad for her personal situation, of course (especially since I was at her house at Christmas and I have to say, they seemed very happy and in love--but of course, you never know what happens behind closed doors), but selfishly, I'm also really sad about the closing of the dojo. Karate students often change lineage/senseis and dojos (and sometimes entire styles)--but I'm a creature of habit and while I have nothing to compare it to, I really LIKED our little dojo. I also appreciated Sensei's style--supportive and firm but not intimidating and too "hard". That approach is sometimes hard to find in the martial arts. Now I have to find a whole new school and possibly a new style of karate, if I can't find a nearby Isshinryu school that I like (and I do NOT want to go to a "commercial" dojo, that much I know already).

I'll start researching a little tonight and more this weekend when I'm back from Atlanta. I certainly wish my sensei nothing but the best. She was my first sensei; she's the reason I ended up getting involved--and STICKING--with karate. I will have other senseis, but I'll always, first and formost, be a student of Sensei Goldwyn's.