June, 2007

Welcome again to another month filled with tons of great news. Now that we are recovering from the fun we had at our Annual Warrior Quest Championship and black belt camp, we can now move on to other things. This month we have quite a bit of tournament competition in FMS to report. That is just awesome. We have lots of Modern Farang Mu Sul® news from all around the globe. Here are some updates:

FMS - WHQ: As many of you know, we have a very warm friendship with Great Grand Master Wally Jay and Jujitsu America. Prof. Wally Jay has been such a tremendous friend a support to us in FMS for decades.

Well, he recently celebrated his 90th birthday, and we were extremely honored to be invited to the celebration party and to also do a demo and take part in the instruction seminars on the following day. Some of you may remember the awesome time we had at the Wally Jay 2000 event. Well his 90th birthday was an even greater occasion.

This certainly was one for the history books. Inst. Nelson Pinto came up from LA to join me, and boy were we in for some fun. How often do you get to sit and talk, hang out, train and hear war stories from a 90 yr old martial arts legend? There were also a host of many other very renown martial artists there that we had the privilege to spend time with. Notables such as James DeMile (one of Bruce Lee's original students), the great Ernie Reyes, Ernie Boggs, and Prof. Don Jacob to name but a few. There were also many of our close friends such as Prof. Carlos Navarro, Grand Master Bob Meshmeier, Sifu Janet Gee, Grand Master Crimi, Prof. James Muro, Grand Master Ming Lum and so many others. To say it was a who's who would not be an exaggeration. We were very pleased and surprised to find out that sitting at the table right next to us was none other than Bruce Lee's older sister: Phoebe. We had a chance to talk, get to know one another and even discussed the finer points of Tai Chi Chuan, sword forms and other martial arts topics. What an honor and treat indeed. This one was not to be missed. We were incredibly privileged to be invited, and wouldn't have missed it for the world. Congratulations Prof. Jay and family.

I'm not sure if any of you notice this odd looking statue off the I280 freeway. We see it on every trip to Hollister. Well, after our last black belt workshop, we decided to stop and visit this attraction. It turns out to be a monument that pays tribute to the various missions established by the Spanish monks as they came up California. There are nine missions, which are: San Diego-1769, San Carlos Carmel-1770, San Antonio-1771, San Gabriel, L.A.-1771, San Luis Obisbo-1772, San Juan Capistrano-1776, San Francisco Dolores-1776, Santa Clara-1777, and San Buenaventura-1782. This is a great piece of history, which is right in our own backyard. FMS visitors to San Francisco usually see the Mission Dolores as part of the famous "De Alba tour". I think I've visited about five of these Missions. Now I want to visit all the rest. Let's see how long that takes.

FMS Puerto Rico : Huge congratulations to the FMS Puerto Rico family on their induction into the prestigious Latin American Martial Arts Society Hall of Fame.

The Latin American Martial Arts Society Hall of Fame was founded in 1993 by Hanshi William “Bill” Solano. It is dedicated to the Recognition of the True Martial Artist World-Wide, and to those that have dedicated themselves to the development and continuous improvement of the Martial Arts in their country and community.

This year's event was celebrated on June 1st, 2007 at the fabulous Embassy Suites Hotel & Casino of Isla Verde, Puerto Rico USA. The Modern Farang Mu Sul® representatives inducted into the Hall of Fame for this year of 2007 were:

Master Dennis Vega, Inst. Eduardo Soberal, Inst. Nelson Cardona, Inst. Inocensio Molina and Inst. Luis Soto.

This is a great honor, and magnificent accomplishment. We are very proud of you all. Well deserved congratulations again. Farang!!!

FMS Michigan : Inst. Robert Hudson informs me that he and a couple students took part in recent tournament. It turns out that one of his students John Hummel had no one to fight in his color belt division, so he was asked if he would fight in the advanced division. Without batting an eye, he wanted to give it a shot. He did himself and his teacher proud by fighting well, and placing. Wow, that is a tremendous accomplishment. Good job John. We know this was an incredible learning experience, and that's what it's all about. Surpassing your own limitations, and to constantly learn and grow. Congratulations! Farang!!!

(Pictures: 1- John Hummel with his son Sam, 2- and a very proud Inst. Robert Hudson)

FMS - Hollister : We recently had another FMS black belt workshop down in Hollister. We have been doing a series of them in preparation for the upcoming 32nd FMS black belt test in October. So, for once we knew exactly what we would be working on at this workshop. We decided to make it a "Fighting Techniques Day". We reviewed and filmed a TON of techniques and forms. They included Cane tech, Dan Bong Tech, Staff Tech, Sword Tech, Tiger Claw Tech. Fan Tech, and much more. This was not only fun, but also gave plenty of technique examples for those preparing for their tests. Thank you so much to Master Schleeter and the FMS Hollister family for making these workshops a success.

(Pictures: 1 and 2, Kuk Sa Nim and Inst. Kim Leith work on the 2nd Dan Long Form - Su Rang Hyung, 3 and 4, Kuk Sa Nim and Inst. Kim Leith work on the 2nd Dan self defense set: Defense from Choking Techniques)

FMS Portugal: Well, the FMS Portugal group has not skipped a beat since Inst. Pinto's recent relocation to the USA. They have been very busy training hard, preparing for color belt testing, as well as putting on a few seminars. Inst. Tiago Silva and Thiago Suares from Cadaval joined Inst. Sergio Anes in Braganca for their first open seminar and FMS color belt test.

Needless to say, they did a fantastic job teaching, and the students who tested, also rose to the occasion, and earned their next belts by the way of great technique and true warrior spirit. Great job everyone.

I was also informed that the FMS Braganca crew recently took part in a full contact tournament. Several students competed and came away victorious. This was their first outing in this type of competition, but it will not be the last. They impressed everyone with their clean techniques, indomitable spirit, and great sportsmanship. Once again, congratulations to all. We are all so proud of you. Way to represent. Farang!!!

FMS Germany : I got word from Inst. Michael Klockner from FMS Köln that he and his group are in some real serious training. Inst. Klockner is preparing for the 32nd FMS black belt test here in the USA. At a recent class they worked on some advanced, aerial training, which included flying rolls and break falls over a variety of obstacles, as well as advanced high flying kicks. That is awesome. Good work everyone. I only wish I could have joined you. We will have to make that up on our next trip to Germany. Farang!!!

Other News: And now for some more fun news. As most of you may know by now Master James De Alba loves to ride his sport motorcycle. And he's actually pretty darn good at it too. Well, one of the reasons why is he takes a track day periodically at the Infineon Raceway. This is an opportunity to work on and improve upon his skills in an environment that is conducive to the serious motorcyclist. Master De Alba certainly falls into that category. He tells me that this really helps his awareness and reflexes, as well as prove to be a very stimulating, yet strangely relaxing endeavor. Congratulations Sir. Stay safe out there.

And speaking of extra curricular activities, Michael De Alba Jr., along with his cousins Salvador and Christopher had a bug to hit the slopes one more time before all the snow melts away. Mike Jr. and his cousins are familiar to all FMS family, as they have been students since they were in diapers. Well, I heard they got some serious air on their snow boards, and just had a blast up in Lake Tahoe. Nothing like some healthy fun to re-energize and release the stress of daily life. Also, spending time in the mountains is always a great way of enjoying natures beauty, as well as work on other athletic attributes, that only snow boarding affords. Not to forget all of the fun too. You know, sometimes, you've just gotta go for it. Farang!

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 June will be: Master David Dehnert June 11th, Master Patrick Schleeter June 13th, Master James De Alba June 21st, and Inst. Matthew Wagner June -22nd.

Next month of July will be: Inst. Dylan Hamilton July - 12th, and Kuk Sa Nim July - 23rd.

Farang!!!

That's all for now. With brotherhood,

Kuk Sa – De Alba

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