Welcome to Modern Farang Mu Sul

This has been one rollercoaster of a month for Modern Farang Mu Sul®. One thing is for sure, and it is that there's never been a dull moment. With Warrior Quest #7 right around the corner, we have been more than busy. We are proud and hppy to see so much activity in Modern Farang Mu Sul®. Here are some updates:

FMS - WHQ: Kuk Sa Nim and a small army of Modern Farang Mu Sul instructors and students, including Master Patrick Schleeter from Hollister, Ca, and Inst. Bobby Hudson from Lansing,, MI, and many others went to the East coast to support our incredible Farang Mu Sul - Team Vale Tudo (FMS-TVT). More news on this trip in the New York FMS News, but on the way back from Atlantic City, NJ, a few of us made a quick detour to the very beautiful and historic city of Philadelphia.

For Inst. Hudson and myself, this was our first visit to the city of brotherly love, and the center of our independence. As for Inst. Joesph Spataro and Corrie Spataro, well they haven't been to Philly since going on a field trip in elementary school. So it was lots of fun for all of us. We went with one plan: To eat a real Philly cheese steak sandwich, made in the place of it's birth. Well, we did that and much more than we expected. We were treated to a wonderful tour of the old and historical parts of the city, which included visiting Independence National Park, The Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Ben Franklin Library, Washington Square, Betsy Ross House, Ben Franklin's grave, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and Society Hill, among others. Mind you, these are all within a short walking distance of each other. We went for a tour down Delancey Street and the colorful South Street (this is were we ate). What a wonderful time, and what a great treat. I look forward to visiting again and doing even more exploring. Who knows, maybe in the future we'll be visiting a new Modern Farang Mu Sul® student there.

(Pictures: 1- Bobby, Joey and Corrie at Independance Hall, 2- Bobby, KSN and Corrie at the visitor's center in Philadelphia, 3- Bobby, KSN and Corrie strolling down the boardwalk in Atlantic City, NJ, 4- Bobby, Corrie and Joey on the beach in Atlantic City)

Shortly after returning from the East coast, KSN went for some much needed R&R with some of the De Alba family in Sonoma. Ca. where he got rid of some jetlag and stress using Master James De Alba's new motorcycle. Sonoma is apporximately a 45 minute drive North / East of San Francisco in an area known as "The Wine Country" for all of the wonderful California wineries in the Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino areas. For those that have not made a trip to the wine country, it is a sight not to be missed. Beautiful vineyards and sloping hills and valleys all over. Just what the doctor ordered. Next on tap is the 7th Annual Warrior Quest Martial Arts Championships and Modern Farang Mu Sul® black belt camp, here in San Francisco. We'll see you all here.

FMS Portugal: Inst. Nelson Pinto and the Portugal FMS family have been just as busy as always. Somehow, between classes, demos and seminar workshops they recently completed a new film project called: Cross Fire ("Fogo Cruzado" in Portuguese). It is a film directed by the very innovative and popular Paulo Dobreira. This is joint collaboration project with Mr. Dobreira, Militaria and Farang Mu Sul - Portugal. This sounds very exciting! It is an action film with lots of intrigue, drama and of course ACTION! I can't wait to see it. Check out promo trailers and other info at:

CROSS FIRE

(Pictures: 1- Cross Fire poster, 2- Cross Fire poster, 3- Inst. Pinto and the gang ham it up with the director Paulo Dobreira after wrapping up the final shoot)

FMS - Michigan: Inst. Robert Hudson recently conducted another Women's Safety and Self Defense Seminar in April. This is a very popular not to mention, practical and useful workshop. It was another great success, with plenty of ladies taking full advantage of Inst. Hudson's experience and training tips.

He was also invited once again to teach at the 76th Annual Michigan Safety Conference. This was the biggest event yet, and makes several years in a row that he has been invited to teach at this event. His classes were filled to capacity, which indicates lots of desire and appreciation of his material. Keep up the good work Sir!

FMS Germany: Master Klaus Wachsmann informs me that they recently had some great training opportunities in the picturesque city of Winterburg. Asst. Inst. Markus Hohne and Asst. Inst. Thomas Schneider brought him over for a couple of seminars which covered material such as Staff Fighting, as well as Combative Grappling. That sounds like so much fun! While there Master Wachsmann took advantage and conducted color belt testing. Congratulations to all, and especially to the new color belts. For those that have not had the opportunity to meet or train with Master Wachsmann, you are missing out. Keep up the good work Sir, we are with you 110%. Farang!!!

FMS - Puerto Rico: We got a couple more pictures of the Puerto Rico FMS team that Master Dennis Vega recently took to compete at the Annual Mercer County Martial Arts tournament in New Jersey. The FMS-PR group shoud be very proud of their great success coming away with 44 trophies, including two Grand Championship Belts. One was for the Self Defense Division which was won by Inst. Nelson Cardona. The other was for Continous Sparring, and the winner of that honor was Inst. Ismael Roman.

We look forward to seeing you all at next year's Warrior Quest here in San Francisco. Again, I can't begin to tell you how happy and proud I am of all the FMS Puerto Rico family. Big Kudos go to Master Vega for his hard work, leadership, guidence and sacrifices. Good work Sir.

Also, as I mentioned last month, I once again want to remind everyone to try and make it to Master Vega's upcoming seminar on May 27th in Puerto Rico. The focus will be on the variety of options and smooth connection that needs to occur in self defense techniques. Master Vega's fluid skill is something to behold. You will see high level Trapping, Striking, Kicking, Joint Locks, Throws and much more. This will all be presented in the "From Trapping to Grappling Seminar". Don't miss out. Mark this one on your calendar.

FMS New York : Well, for Kuk Sa Nim, Master Schleeter and a group of West coast FMS students, it was off the East coast one more time this year for yet another great night of action for Farang Mu Sul - Team Vale Tudo (FMS-TVT). Joining in on the action were Inst. Bobby Hudson from Michigan, Inst. Pat Brennan from Manhattan, Inst. Mike Iannone and all the East coast FMS crew. We wouldn't have missed it for the world.

The much anticipated fight with Inst. Marlon Sims and Kurt Pelegrino was not to be. Kurt suffered a late injury in training right before the fights, and negociations broke down for another replacement fight. So that was a disapointment.

What was not disappointing was Inst. Ken Gibson's preliminary fight against the very tough Nessim Levy, as these two warriors went right after one another as the bell to round one was still ringing.

Inst. Gibson recieved a nasty cut over his left eye during an early series of brutal exchanges. The attending doctors gave him the green light, much to the delight and appreciation of the crowd. Needles to say, they both went right back at one another. Inst. Gibson ended up taking more than he gave, but he dished out enough punishment to force his opponent to wisely abandon exchanging strikes, and went for a standing guillotine choke. Unfortunately, Inst, Gibson had expended so much energy in the furious begining of the match that the normally managable guillotine proved to be too much, as his opponent sunk it in real tight, and got the win.

They got standing ovations from the crowd for their display of courage and raw ferocity. This was one of the highlight matches of the evening. Congratulations Inst. Gibson on an amazing job. Not to worry Sir, there is always a lesson in everything, and this will only make you much stronger and wiser for the next time. We are all very proud of you. Keep up the good work, and a HUGE Farang!!!

FMS Hollister: Master Schleeter and the Hollister FMS group have keep very busy lately, and recently conducted color belt testing. Congratulations to all the students on their new belts. Be very proud of your hard work and accomplishments. Much deserved.

FMS Brazil : Inst. Nelson Pinto from Portugal has notified me that another gentleman from Brazil will now be working on becoming certified and spreading Modern Farang Mu Sul®. His name is Inst. Athagil Ferreira Filho. He has an extensive Korean martial arts background including Hapkido and Tae Kwon Do. He is currently teaching a very enthusiastic group in the Northern part of Brazil. He also teaches military personnel and is a published author. We are all very excited about his love of the arts and his new dedication to Modern Farang Mu Sul®. This should be the beginning of many wonderful things. We are extremely happy that he has made this commitment as this is a tremendous opportunity for growth on both parts. Inst. Pinto will continue to oversee the development of Modern Farang Mu Sul® in Brazil, so congratulations Sir and keep up the good work. Farang!!!

Other News: Now, with that in mind, I would like to take a moment to welcome another one of our latest IDSC members doing our long distance training program. His name is Inst. Norman Joseph. He comes to us from the city of Upland, in Southern California with solid Korean martial arts background, including a Fourth Dan in Tae Kwon Do. He has training in Aikido and Kung Fu San Soo as well, so that is just awesome, and should really help his advancement in Modern Farang Mu Sul®. One of the goals he has expressed is to begin teaching Modern Farang Mu Sul® very soon. Well, you've come to the right place. We welcome you with open arms and a warm heart. Looking forward to many good things together in the near future.

Now, we have even more great news: During a recent trip to South Korea, sponsored and organized by the World Kido Federation (WKF) and Hanminjok Hapkido Association (HMJHA), our very good freind and huge supporter of many years, Ian A. Cyrus, Headmaster of the International Chosondo Federation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a multidisciplinary Korean Martial Arts organization, was promoted to 9th Dan by Grandmaster Suh In Sun, chairman and president of WKF and HMJHA.

Grandmaster Cyrus, is now only the second non-Korean and the youngest (at age 50) to be promoted to this level in the United States by Grandmaster Suh. Grandmaster Cyrus was also honored with a commendation for his hard work in promoting Korean Martial Arts worldwide. Congratulations Sir.

Birthday News: We are happy to announce the birthdays of our FMS Black Belts from all over the world, so all of you students will know exactly when you can show your gratitude and celebrate with your teachers. FMS Black Belt Birthdays for this month:

This month of April wil be: Inst. Michael Iannone Apr -04th.

Next month of May will be: Inst. John Stenson Jr. May 01st, Inst. Nicole Miller May -14th, Inst. Michael Nickels May -23rd, and Inst. Terry L. King May -30th.