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Five years later, as a graduate student in psychology at the University of Michigan, I started studying another Japanese art, karate. I trained hard in it for five years, and receiving a black belt became an important goal for me. Before I could achieve that goal, I obtained my doctorate at the University of Michigan in 1977 and moved to Toledo, Ohio. I continued to prepare for my black belt examination there.

The year before I moved to Toledo, I met Mike Sayama, a fellow graduate student. I learned that he had studied martial arts at a Zen temple named Chozen-Ji in Hawaii. He invited me to practice zazen with him. Still having no interest in Zen and finding unappealing the thought of sitting cross-legged on the floor for long periods of time, I declined his invitation.

Shortly after moving to Toledo, I saw Mike demonstrate a kendo form as practiced at Chozen-Ji. I had never seen such intense concentration before in the martial arts. This was a dimension to the martial arts that was new to me. When he again invited me to train with him, I accepted.