Thomas Key

JP...Thanks for the Kudos, but the one who needs to be thanked is Tony Spezio. When I got started Tony invited me to his home and offered to teach me - of course he had no idea I live in California. As a result he offered to help me through emails until one day he got so frustrated with progress that he wrote "OK newbie, I see it's going to take more than emails to get you through this so send me your phone number." That started what was to become a good friendship and all Tony asked in return was that I "pay it forward" and help another "newbie" - that was you. For those of you who are still reading, what JP failed to mention was when Mr. Akimaru first agreed to take him on as a student he had JP split bamboo for weeks before being allowed to touch a plane to it. I told JP it was like "wax on, wax off" from The Karate Kid movie. No speed building allowed. I hope that someday JP and I will be able to rip a few lips on North American waters with our cane rods. Newbie Tom