Michael R. Cantwell

Mike began training at the age of seven in 1982 with Chuck Merriman Sensei in his Karate International Dojo in Niantic, Connecticut. At the time, no children's classes were yet available, therefore Mike was allowed to train with the adult students which proved to be an incredibly difficult endeavor. After several stops and starts due to the arduous and austere nature of the training and his shyness as a child, Mike began training private lessons with Chad Merriman Sensei and Chuck Merriman Sensei at the age of fifteen. 

At the age of sixteen in 1990, Mike joined the adult group classes while maintaining his training in private lessons. A short time later, he started assisting with the children's classes and began learning the fundamentals of teaching others. After the Dojo relocated to a larger space, it began to grow in the number of students rapidly. This afforded Mike to gain more experience in both teaching and training.

Mike took a serious interest in competition participating in dozens of local tournaments and in 1992 won the gold medal at the U.S.A.K.F Regional Championships and both the Amateur Athletic Union (A.A.U.) Connecticut State and Regional Championships, which qualified him to compete in the A.A.U. Junior Olympic Games in Rochester, Minnesota and the A.A.U. National Championships in Cincinnati, Ohio.  

in 1993, Mike took home a gold medal in both the A.A.U. State and Regional Championships, again awarding him the opportunity to compete in the A.A.U. Junior Olympic Games in Knoxville, Tennessee and the A.A.U. National Championships again in Cincinatti, Ohio, where he took home a bronze medal.  

In March of 1994, Mike was promoted to Shodan (1st Level Black Belt) by Chuck Merriman Sensei. 

Mike also won the gold medal in the A.A.U. state championships affording him the opportunity to compete in the A.A.U. National Championships for a third time.

In October of 1994, Mike was chosen to represent the United States as a member of the U.S. Karate team at the Miyagi Chojun Festival World Championships featuring 27 countries. Mike took home the gold medal in the light heavyweight division in Indvidual fighting, defeating Lars Pederson of Denmark in a shutout. He also took home a second gold medal with the U.S.A Team by defeating the Denmark World Karate Team in the finals.

In 1996, Mike planned to compete in the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. Unfortunately, at the time, karate was not yet admitted into the games as a sport. 

Mike took a step back from competition to focus on coaching, teaching, and an in-depth study of the Kata (Forms) and Bunkai (Analyzation of the Kata). From that time to the present, he has mentored many hundreds of students, from beginners to advanced levels, reach their goals in the true spirit of true Karate Do.