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My Hobbies |
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I began my first model when I was six years old. I lived in Smithsburg, Maryland. My father, Kirt Blattenberger, helped me with it. It was a plastic F-16. My Dad did most of the work, but I watched him. I also glued some of the parts. I did several other airplane models after that, including a Mig 23 and a T-33 Trainer Plane. In the year 1996, I began a ship model, the USS Missouri. It turned out pretty good. I also made model of a Harrier, and after that a model of the USS Yorktown. This ship was sunk by the Japanese submarine I-168. My latest completed model is an SBD Dauntless. This was the kind stationed at Pearl Harbor, after the US declared war on Japan. Notice the detail on the model. The model that I'm working on now is the USS Arizona. This was one of eight old battleships stationed at Pearl Harbor. It was hit with a torpedo and a bomb, and stayed afloat. Contrary to the popular belief that a bomb exploded down the smokestack, the fatal blow came when a Japanese bomb struck the forecastle. The following explosion sent shockwaves through the ship's corridors, igniting the ammunition magazine for the massive 14 inch guns. The result was an explosion of gigantic proportions. It sank in the harbor not long after. The final death toll for the Arizona was over 1,000 men. This American ship now sits upright on the muddy bottom of Pearl harbor, with a memorial built over the superstructure. One of my favorite summer pass-times is fishing. When a family at a lake offered to let us ("us" being my sister Sally and I) try to catch a fish with their fishing pole, and I caught a bluegill, I was immediately hooked. (no pun intended). This all took place at Lake Oberon in Baldwinsville, New York. My record fish was a nineteen inch long largemouth bass, and he weighed two and one half pounds. I caught him in a shady spot next to the shore. I attached a blue and white tube jig to a snap swivel and began "swimming" it around the bass. He totally ignored it. Finally, I drifted it just above his head, and pulled it just in front of him. I made it jiggle like a wounded minnow. My patience was rewarded with a massive tug as he lunged at it. I was close to shore, and I easily pulled him in. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the fish. However, below is a picture of some fish I caught in the summer of '99. When we lived in Syracuse, New York, there were a group of bullies, who shall remain nameless. There were two of them, mainly, although I do recall a third one who kicked be in the ribs. The worst part was, he had roller blades on. It hurt! This and many other little (and not so little) incidents made me want to learn self defense. My dad gave me sort of a crash course in fighting so I could defend myself. I learned how to punch properly, and all that. Although our family soon moved away from the area, I still wanted to learn karate. My parents then looked around in the phone book for karate schools. They reached a place called Tearny's Karate. Well, they let my sister and I try the three introductory lessons. We both loved it, so we began going on Monday nights and Wednesday nights. The owner of the dojo, or school, is Greg Tearny. His son, Carlos Tearny, was a World Champion in the light heavy-weight division for a while. His father is a twelfth degree black belt. We moved from Syracuse (the weather armpit of the continental United States, to quote Albert Colonna) a while later, though; just before we received our third belt, orange belt. We were glad we did move, though. In Colorado Springs, our new home, we found a school about five minutes away. It was called Family Karate Center. The teacher is Jay Hanes; the type of karate was Shoto-kan. We got all the way up to our green belts; then we moved again, this time for Cincinnati, Ohio, where we lived until April of 2000. There, we found a Tae Kwon Do school, Huffstutler's Tae Kwon Do. David Huffstutler, the sensei, or teacher, is a fifth degree black belt. We learned a lot there. We advanced through the ranks - green belt, high green belt (green belt with a black stripe in the middle), blue belt, high blue belt, and now, brown belt. In the summer of '99, my sister and I went to a tournament. I walked away with first place in sparring, one-steps, and forms. I also won the "Best Over All" trophy for my division. I can now break boards easily, and I know many, many different kicks. I switched to another type of Tae Kwon Do in August of that same year. An affiliate of the AAU, the TKD school I attended was really into the Junior Olympics. I practiced there for over a year. On August 18th, 2001, I tested for my 1st Dan (first degree for you who don't know martial arts lingo). We moved to North Carolina not long after, where we now live. I am currently studying San Shin Kai, under Sensei Richard Gilliland. San Shin Kai is an Okinawan form of martial arts, similar in many ways to Shoto-kan. Right now I am working on a brand-new set of katas, namely Sanchin and Naihanchi. On February the second of this year, I competed in Master Larry Isaac's Valentine Classic, an open tournament held in Jacksonville, NC. I placed fourth in kata, third in weapons, and second in sparring. (I'll get the guy next year.) I am now practicing a bo kata, Shima Igiri Bo. I competed with it in the dojo's in-house tournament in March. I placed third. I started my first book in the year 1997. Go to the section marked "My Books" to read further. |
