Luke Milam, Irving,Texas, MMA

    Born in Dallas, Texas, I started kicking and punching in a karate class at the local YMCA.Once I received my yellow belt I moved to Irving, Texas. By second grade, my cousin,who was a Black belt, showed me this Korean Tae Kwon Do school, and soon I joined. Almost two years went by and I was now a Brown Belt. I had to move again and a year in a half went by, before I moved back to Irving. I waited a year to get my life on track, and then I went back to the same martial arts school. I continued to train, and competein many tournaments. Three months away from receiving my Black Belt, I found out I had to have surgery, and ended up quitting all together. After my surgery, I spent a year of doing nothing but school work. One day I was driving by some stores behind my neighborhood and saw a sign that said �Martial Arts� this caught my attention. Not to long after that I went in and talked about taking classes, and soon I was in class, back in my Gi. I then went through the most fun and interesting classes. I was learning more in one year than I did in three years at my old school.
I spent most of my freshmen year taking classes with Master Raymond Cagle. I took a little time off during the summer, but came back strong the fall of 2005 as a sophomore and a red belt. I trained a lot, and began teaching more and more. He began to pick me up from school every Tuesday and Thursday, and we continued doing private lessons, preparing for my Black Belt test, which would be a huge event for the both of us. I got the privilege to become Dojoku�s first Black Belt on May 6, 2006. The day finally came, and the test went great! Master Cagle surprised me by giving me his fourth degree Black Belt, and his sword that was given to him by his second instructor. It was a very challenging, yet emotional and satisfying test. Now I am a Black Belt, and I feel great! I will always continue to train in the martial arts, under Dojoku, and hopefully I will progress in the higher degrees, and will become half the instructor Master Cagle was to me.

Update: Nov. 2007
      It has been over two years since I was sitting in the round circle in discussion after class at Grand Master Shepperd's (Master Cagle�s TKD Instructor) Tae Kwon Do class. I was weeks away from testing for my 1st Dan. It was my turn to speak, "I know most of you are white belts, and it seems like it will take forever to get your Black Belt. You probably feel like receiving your Black Belt will be the end of your study, but it's not, it's just the beginning.�   After that, I realized that my journey as a Martial Artist had just begun. It's a constant dedication in life. Some say it's a hobby, a sport, a workout, and a way of life. It's up to you as to how you want to view the Martial Arts, yet once it becomes part of your life, then you'll realize, just as I did, that this is just the beginning.

Update: Jan. 2008
     In August of 2007 I tested for my 2^nd Degree Black Belt in Dojoku Martial Arts.
Below are a few pictures from that test. Receiving my 2nd Degree was my greatest accomplishment to date. I appreciate Master Cagle for making the effort to test me just two weeks before his Kidney transplant. It was exciting to learn all the new styles and techniques for that test. I was required to learn the crane style, one of the animal styles studied in the art of Kung Fu. When I created my own form, I got to understand the purpose of the swift movements used in the crane style. There's a huge difference from learning a form and creating your own form. When you learn a form, most people focus on the routine of the whole kata, instead of the step-by-step meanings of fighting off multiple attackers. When you create a form, you choose the techniques and transitions, and then further learn why that strike or block is effective. This is one of many things I've come to learn when studying for my 2nd Dan.