Carjacking At Pathmark -1992

I remember the event very well. A woman was going to the supermarket to do some shopping and was carjacked right in the parking lot.  I was shocked by the news of this event. It was a very unfortunate situation for the shopper. I was touched by the news. What touched me even more was the fact that when I went to Pathmark to do my own shopping, I noticed that the parking lot was practically empty because of the carjacking that took place, the community was afraid to shop in their own backyard. I decided to do something.

I offered to host a free self-defense seminar for anyone in the neighborhood that wanted to learn. Twenty eight people responded to the ad that was run in the local paper. I wanted people in the community to be able to shop at their local market again with confidence.  The course was a five week program that would teach self-defense concepts while moving around the area. Near the end of the course one woman wrote in to the newspaper to express her feelings about the self-defense course, which led to the paper doing a small story about what I had offered. 

At that time I was teaching three young men who asked me about opening up a center for self-defense in the area. I presented this information to the other twenty eight people who took part of my self-defense seminar and they all encouraged and welcomed the idea of such a place to learn. On April 4, 1993 Blue Life Self Defense was born. People were coming from all over the area to take my classes and that was over 19 years ago. My classes grew and grew and then some of the parents asked me to teach their children. The children’s class began to grow. During the years I was able to teach my own children in a Karate school setting and now they are Black Belts. In 1997, the school became Blue Life Karate. By now the school was well known around the country. I had taken students from the Maplewood and South Orange community and brought them to full Martial Arts acceptance by my  peers in the arts, winning championship after championship following in my own footsteps whereas I was twelve time State Champion, three time World and National champion, and I have been inducted into three Halls of Fame.

On April 4, 2013 the now Blue Life Karate and Fitness Centers will be celebrating 20 years of community service. Hundreds and hundreds of families have come through the doors of Blue Life Karate and coming into the year 2013 we are offering a special for all who are not familiar with Blue Life. I teach the Blue Life curriculum with the same care and understanding as always and what has made Blue Life the most preferred school in the area. We build character and the power of a positive attitude to many children in the community. This is the same concept that I have taught my very own children, Ashley and Justin, who have also earned their Black Belts and have won numerous championships during their growth under my instruction.

If you are not familiar with us, I invite you to take advantage of our proven concept and give me one month. I promise you will see a positive change and your child. Please call me directly at 973 803 7323, I am the Founder and Chief Instructor of Blue Life Karate and Fitness Centers. We are a new approach to an old concept.

Best,

Shihan Durand Howard