Welcome to Modern Farang Mu Sul

July, 2005
Well, as many know now, July is one of my favorite months of the year. Not only because it symbolizes summer, warm weather and vacations, but because it signals the return of my 25th birthday. But seriously, we have so much exciting Modern Farang Mu Sul® news from all over the globe. Here are some updates:

FMS - WHQ: First off, we just got back from a long overdue family vacation in beautiful Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. It was SOOOO much fun. It was Justine, Thomas, Brandon, Master Dehnert, Inst. Leith and myself, and that worked out perfect. We rented a 5 bedroom house on a cliff with the most spectacular views!!! The house was so beautiful and even had it's own private pool. We rented a car so we were totally able to get around and do our thing....which was to relax and have fun.

The kids really enjoyed the ocean (they body surfed like crazy) and us adults had a blast, eating, drinking and sightseeing. We visited: Playa de Buserias (in Nayarit), Old Vallarta, El Malecon, Playa de Los Muertos, Playa de Mismaloya, and also did a boat cruise that took us to: Mismaloya (much different from the ocean), Swimming at Los Arcos de Mismaloya, Playa Las Animas, Playa Quimixto, Horseback riding to La Cascada de paraiso in Quimixto, and just so much fun.

We discovered many cool spots, restaurants and so on. We ate at the posh Cafe de Artiste. Very nice. We had our table and big umbrella put right on the shore of the ocean with the waves keeping our feet cool, while we sipped margaritas, piña coladas, and tons of buckets of Coronas! Not to mention the amazing seafood. Yum!!! I think we all look forward to returning to Puerto Vallarta again soon.

Our good friend Master Jino Kang recently had his 1st Martial Arts Tournament here in San Francisco. All local FMS family was on hand to support, and what an awesome time. The competition was intense. Also amazing were the master's demonstrations. It was my honor to be invited to display some of our art. It was also very good to see Grand Master Kang (Master Jino Kang's father) enjoying himself, and taking in all the action. He is such a fearsome and awesome martial artist, and at the same time, THE MOST kind and humble person you'll ever meet. It was my honor to take part in this memorable event.

Thank you to EVERYONE for helping me celebrate my birthday once again. You are all amazing. Thank you for the e-mails and calls ranging from NY and LA to Poland, Portugal, Australia and several from Germany. They made my day. It's soo cool to keep turning 25 again.

Master Wachmann, and Inst. Klepczyk, I hope it was OK to play your messages to those at my house. They were too special to keep to myself. (I've never heard Happy Birthday sung in German before) Hearing little Justine's voice was so sweet.

Of course thank you to all those that made the birthday party. It was soo wonderful to feel the genuine love from all of my family and friends. Thank you for the awesome gifts. I am always so humbled by beautiful and personal gifts from you all. I felt everyone's spirit on this weekend, regardless whether you were there in person or not. You were all there for me.

For those that were not able to make the festivities, we went to dinner at Guaymas Restaurant in Tiburon, Ca. It was a perfect day. The weather in San Francisco was around 80, and it was about 89 in Tiburon. The views of the bay and the city behind us were spectacular. We had a fantastic Mexican dinner with plenty of Coronas and top shelf tequila shots. (....Arriba Mexico!!!....). Not to mention awesome cigars later, care of Inst. Boyd. (thank you Sir!). It was a quaint affair with me and 25 of my closest friends.

Actually I was very happy to see Inst. Saindon up from LA. Very cool. Also on hand were Master Schleeter and Inst. Boyd from Hollister. Inst. Leith, Inst. King and Inst. Stenson and Inst. Mague from WHQ were all there. My two brothers were there (Sergio and Master James), as were my mom and sister Leticia. Well, as I said, I felt like everyone was there.

So, from the bottom of my heart thank you all again for making me feel so special. I love you all to pieces. Farang!!!

We recently had color belt testing here at WHQ. We don't have them very often, and it is great to see the students preparing and getting the job done, despite so many distractions and interruptions here in San Francisco. Excellent job everyone, I am very proud of you.

FMS Germany: Master Klaus Wachsmann and company will be off to Portugal very soon for a great seminar trip. This marks Master Wachsmann's first visit to Portugal, and I'm sure Inst. Pinto and the Portugal FMS family will make him feel at home. It is sure to be a great success. (I'm so jealous that I can't be there!!!).

FMS - Hollister: On behalf of Master Schleeter, I just want to thank all the FMS family that made it down to the latest seminar in Hollister. It was such a fun time for sure. We were very pleased to see Inst. Larry Saindon and Inst. Nicole Miller back up from Huntington Beach. Also, it was very nice to finally meet one of our newest members: John Sayer from Modesto. Welcome Sir, it was so much fun training together. I look forward to much more training in the near future. You now know where to go. I was also very impressed to see Michelle from Hollister in action. For those that don't remember she really hurt her knee this year at WQ6, and is in the process of getting some reconstructive surgery on her ACL, yet there she was, training away with all the rest, and just taking care of her knee (as we all were). Good work Michelle.

We did a few great training sessions that included: Boxing basics, bag drills, defensive drills, into trapping drills, into joint locking, take downs, etc. Lots of techniques and lots of fun. After a lunch break, we came back and worked on some staff work, and lots of middle stick work. We did double weapons into single weapon techniques. Again, just too much fun. Inst. Boyd, it was soo good to see your smiling face, and that cigar we enjoyed together later was too cool too.

After a full seminar we did some more black belt test preparation, and then retired to Master Schleeters home where it turns out he just got a new full sized trampoline. Wow, very cool. Inst. Miller, Thomas, Natalie and Brandon were all over it. They even got me to jump with them. They all did high jumping, high spin kicks, kip-ups, split kicks and even somersaults. Inst.. Miller even set the record with over 200 jumping splits kicks in a row. Wow! We had to literally peel the kids off that thing to eat, and later to go to bed. (where do they get that much energy?)

What a great week end, I can't wait for the next one.

Master Schleeter and students recently had their annual board Break-A-Thon. They do it all for charity, and this year's show was one of the best. Congratulations to all who took part and supported this noble cause. Farang!!!

FMS Portugal: I was very pleased to hear that Inst. Pinto recently also took a quick vacation with his girlfriend Vera and her parents to Berlengas Island, which is close to Peniche. The rock formations off the shore are amazing. The are riddled with arches and tunnels. It looks like they all had a great time.

Speaking of Vera, her father recently sponsored an archery competition. Vera worked as an official, and it was a huge success. Congratulations!!

FMS - Michigan: Head Inst. Robert Hudson is preparing a couple groups for color belt testing next month. He is planning to conduct two separate tests at two of his clubs. Good luck everyone. Just focus on all the things you have been working on, and bock out the rest. You'll be fine.

FMS Huntington Beach: Inst. Larry Saindon and the FMS crew in Huntington Beach recently conducted color belt testing, and it was a huge success. Congratulations to all the new belts. Your hard work and perseverance will pay off in so many ways. Never let anything keep you from going for all your dreams and goals.

Speaking of testing, Inst. Saindon, Inst. Miller, as well as Asst. Insts Shayna Merwin, Dylan Hamilton and Matt Wagner are all on the home stretch for their upcoming black belt test next month here at WHQ. Keep up the good work, and we'll be here ready for you.

FMS Chicago : Inst. Jeremy Talbott has been extremely swamped helping out at the dojang and the AKA (American Karate Association) organization. He has been, unofficially, named the organization's director. They will be making the announcement to the promoters in the next few months. This has him running around getting lots of things prepared for the 41st Annual AKA Grand Nationals in October, which has now been sanctioned as a NASKA 4A tournament, one less than the highest rating you can get from NASKA. Also, next month they will have 4 tournaments back to back every weekend. Add to that, running the annual 30 day boot camp as well. Wow, sounds like lots of fun. Good work Sir. You can see some of this at: Sharkeys Karate.

FMS - Brazil : Inst. Adolfo Burgemeister is now very busy in training for his FMS certification. He and his students are jumping right in with both feet. This is very exciting, and surely the beginning of many wonderful things.

They also recently attended a large tournament, and not only competed, but also put on an awesome demo. Great work Sir!

Other News: For those that didn't know, my sister (and Farang In) Norma De Alba, recently relocated to the homeland of her new husband: Australia. They are living in Melbourne, and are very happy. As much as we will miss her here in San Francisco, we are very happy for her and wish them all the best.

Apparently, once down under, Norma and Tennis decided to get in some skiing action (take care of your shoulder and knees Norma!). From the look of things, they had a blast. For several years now, I've been looking for an excuse to make a trip to Australia. Now I have one. Put another shrimp on the barbie for me, I'll be there before not too long.

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:
Grand Master Michael De Alba July -23rd. Wishing you all the best. Remember, you are an inspiration to so many, and this is your special day!

Next month of Aug will be: Inst. Kimberly Leith Aug -15th and Inst. Robert Hudson Aug -27th.