#FiveBy12 with Ken B.
#Fiveby12 is a new series where we shine a spotlight on people just like you to discover what you do, where you’re from, and what makes you you— in just 5 questions.
Let’s Get Started!
1. Can you describe the neighborhood you grew up in?
I lived in a working class neighborhood in the Bronx, New York City. It was pretty nicely diverse. When I was 12, I moved to a beach community called Far Rockaway, in the borough of Queens… also a part of NYC.
2. Did you go to university or college? How did you decide what you wanted to study?
I went to college during the war in Vietnam, graduating in 1970. When I went to the Woodstock Festival in 1969, it took me in a different direction, and I became committed to ‘social change’. I got held up in NYC in 1971 and began training in Japanese Karate. I began Social Work school shortly after – getting my First Degree Black Belt in 1976, then got a Masters in Social Work in 1979. I knew I wanted to be a psychotherapist, so I got into a Psychoanalytic training program in 1987. I am now a Psychoanalyst and a Karate Instructor.
3. If you won $1 million tomorrow, what would you do with the money?
I would put much of it aside for the education of my children, my 22 year old daughter and 19 year old son. I would like to help others get a good education; they’ll make the world a better place.
4. What’s the best compliment you ever received?
Hmm… my children have told me that people admire qualities I have nurtured in them:Â sensitivity to others, my daughter dances like me. I know I have helped young people from my community go to college and do good things in the world. They, and their parents, have been grateful… I’m very proud of that.
5. If you could write a message to each of your children and grandchildren and put it in a time capsule for them to read 20 years from now, what would you write?
So, maybe now you understand. 🙂
Learn more about Ken’s karate dojo (school), Moving Zen, here!
