In 2008 I had joined Long’s Shotokan Karate Academy. That was my first step into a fascination of Japanese Culture. My sister and I shared this earnest respect and curiosity. We learned about it, studied it’s culture, and in 2010, she visited Japan for two weeks courtesy of our city’s Japanese Sister City Association. I was too young to go, but her talk of how beautiful the country was and how wonderful it’s people were made me want to go myself.

I signed on for 2011, the first year available for someone of my age. However, when the catastrophes of the earthquake and tsunami struck Japan, my trip was effectively canceled. While assembling a donation for the survivors, I realized something. I had known almost none of the Japanese Language. I just hadn’t learned the Language. So, several weeks before today, a friend managed to acquire a “less-than-legal” copy of Rosetta Stone.

That was short-lived; a password was required to go further into the system, and I didn’t have that password. So, while looking for suitable language learning softwares, I found something better than any software. Tofugu.com got me interested in Textfugu, and this is where I am at today.

Hopefully you haven’t fallen asleep by now, but aside from that, I am glad to have discovered this site, and I will use it earnestly and effectively for a looong time now.

I hope you get that trip to Japan sometime soon.

Good luck!

I came to be interested in Japanese and the culture through martial arts as well. I have been training and teaching for over 20 years now.