October, 2006

The month of October brings thoughts of falling leaves and the beginning of snow. But for Modern Farang Mu Sul® it's signals so much more. For one, it is time for our annual appearance at Hanshi Bruce Juchnik's fantastic Gathering. Well, we did that and much more. We have lots of FMS news from all over the world. Here are some updates:

FMS - WHQ: Here at WHQ, one of our very favorite events to attend and be a part of during the year is hands down: The Gathering, sponsored by Hanshi Bruce Juchnik and the Martial Arts Collective Society (aka: MACS).

MACS embraces all styles, systems and practitioners from all of the Martial Arts with the spirit of unity and the sharing of knowledge. FMS students can relate to that.

The Gathering was created as a venue for martial artists from all disciplines to share their knowledge and experience. The Gathering is focused on exposing the students to many styles of the martial arts in order to promote unity. This was the 19th year this event has taken place. The Gathering has been a event where they have paid tribute to the teachers of old. When you are at the Gathering, you are asked to focus on the similarities in the arts (and not the differences), train hard, meet people (new people, old faces, famous masters, and all types of people) and most importantly, have a good time.

Every year that we have been a part of this awesome event, we have not only been treated so respectfully and honorably, but the graciousness of Hanshi Juchnik and the MACS has earned our love and loyalty. They were one of the main organizations, that despite my reluctance and resistance, they persisted and were responsible for promoting and recognizing me as the founder of our martial art, as well as a genuine 8th Dan Grand Master. It is such an honor to recieve this recognition from such a prestigious organization, populated by some of the most respected masters and grand masters of the martial arts.

It is one of my personal goals for me and my students to meet and train with the diversity of great masters that come to the Gathering every year. We have yet to be disappointed.

This year is was my honor and pleasure to not only teach, share and demonstrate our art, but more importantly to spend quality time with masters such as: Pukulan Pentjak Silat Serak Grand Master Victor De Thouars, Grand Master Mfundishi Tayari Casel, Grand Master Bill Owens, Hanshi Paul Yamaguchi, Prof. Imi Okazaki and many others. I also got to re-visit with some of my good freinds such as Shihan Pat Kelly, Guru George Santana, Master Randy Stigall, Master Glenn Gavin, Grand Master Janet Gee, and Master Ron Estella, among others. Also, as usual, I couldn't wait to hook up and exchange blade and stick work with my Escrima friends: Guru Carlito Bonjoc Jr., Guru Jonathan "Jojo" Sorbien, Guru Saturno and Guru Wade Williams. Too much fun. I live for these opportunities. Count me in for next year.

(Pics: 1- Kuk Sa Nim with Maha Guru Victor De Thouars, 2- Kuk Sa Nim teaching FMS Knife Fighting, 3- Kuk Sa Nim demonstrates Dan Gum Hyung, 4- Instructor for Sifu Owens, Hanshi Bruce Juchnik, Grand Master Bill Owens, Mfundishi Tayari Casel, and Kuk Sa Nim)

FMS Pennsylvania: Inst. Michael Nickels informs me that he finally opened his own allergy practice. Needless to say the work never ends with one's own business and boy has he been very busy with this practice.

Despite all of this he has been steadily going over all of the Modern Farang Mu Sul® 1st Dan material and hopes to be ready to test next year. This sounds great! Count me in.

He is also planning to make a special trip out to San Francisco sometime next spring or summer for training. Now that's a plan. If it works out, let's shoot for the weekend of May 19th 2007, as that will be when we will be having our next Warrior Quest Championships and Black Belt camp here in San Francisco. That would be very cool.

FMS Germany: I received news from Asst. Inst. Juergen Leusch from Germany. The FMS Germany crew have been on a streak of serious training including some special outdoor training. That's awesome. Master Wachsmann has been working on specialized areas of FMS Sulsa training including outdoor training, hiking, climbing, stealth, and of course lots and lots of weapons training. That is one of the great things about our art, which is that it is so multi-faceted with so many areas of training available. It is also so rewarding (and fun) to work on a wide variety of weapons, ranging from traditional weapons such as sword arts (Jang Gum Sul), to more practical weapons for these modern times such as FMS knife combat (Dan Gum Sul) and FMS middle stick fighting (Jung Bong Sul). They have also done a great deal of work on applying FMS techniques to daily life and working on different street oriented scenarios. There is a world of difference in doing your techniques in a spacious dojang, with nice mats and comfortable doboks, and then having to deal with normal street clothes, shoes (you'd be surprised how much shoes can throw you off), real world obstacles such as tables, cars, buildings, etc. Then throw in some scenario training such as ambush attack ("getting jumped"), multiple attackers, and weapons, etc. and you have some serious and stimulating training, which is very necessary for today's world. This is why our art is called MODERN Farang Mu Sul. We embrace our traditions, yet keep our eyes open and tuned into modern times. Keep up the good work you guys. Farang!

Master Klaus Wachsmann is not only a very talented master and teacher, but is also such a dedicated student of the arts. He is a very creative teacher, and is constantly innovating the training sessions for his students. Great work Sir.

(Pics: 1- Special outdoor FMS Sulsa training, 2- Self Defense in street clothes, 3- More outdoor training, 4- Outdoor Weapons Training, 5- Master Wachsmann applies a joint lock throw on Asst. Inst. Leusch)

FMS Puerto Rico : Our annual trip to the enchanting island of Puerto Rico is coming up, and Master Dennis Vega and the FMS-PR family are setting up a wonderful and memorable trip. They have been working very hard for the last few years in not only learning this art, but also in the process, they have been on a determined schedule to spread Modern Farang Mu Sul® all around the island. They have been doing demos, entering tournaments, and attending seminars, and representing FARANG MU SUL. We are so happy and proud of all your hard work, words fail to express our pride and honor. Good work you guys.

This year's trip to Puerto Rico will have a couple twists. First it will be a relatively short visit, and with so many plans, that means it will be an intense visit. We will be doing our normal Open Modern Farang Mu Sul® Seminar, as well as lots of extra training. To take advantage of this trip we decided to have our annual FMS black belt test in Puerto Rico this year. There were quite a few of people that wanted to make this test. We'll see how many are able to make it. As it stands, Master Vega and a couple of the black belts in Puerto Rico are slated to take the test and become officially certified in FMS. Also on tap to test are Inst. King, Inst. Gumina, Inst. McCalla and Asst. Inst. Mark Shekoyan from San Francisco. Master Schleeter and Inst. Beth Matulich from Hollister have been in training for this test, and we hear that a couple of the East coast crew are trying to make it as well. Wow, can you imagine if this all happens? Well, for sure, it will be a memorable experience, no matter what. We will be doing a special black belt lecture on FMS history, theory and technique, as well as a black belt pre-test. So, as we said before, we have a lot to do, so it will be intense. Especially if we squeeze in some fun (that's kinda automatic). I am sooo excited. Can hardly wait.

FMS Portugal: Inst. Nelson Pinto and the FMS Portugal group have been doing great work on the law enforcement and military aspects of Modern Farang Mu Sul®. With the support and guidance of WHQ, they are developing a special Farang STK Sulsa Program for several units in Portugal. Included in this training is a comprehensive CQC/CQB - Hand to Hand - Special Weapons and Tactics program, with up to date, modern blade weapons, impact weapons and fire arms components. Great job Sir! That why Modern Farang Mu Sul® is the martial art for the new millennium. Farang!

As if that were not enough, Inst. Pinto recently traveled up north to conduct an open seminar and the first color belt test for Asst. Inst. Sergio Anes and the FMS Bragança students. They did an awesome job and set the bar for future color belt tests. The seminar was yet another great workshop presented by Inst. Pinto. He is doing such great work in Portugal as well as developing the flourishing FMS programs in Brazil. Keep up the good work Sir. I look forward to seeing you all next year.

(Pics: 1- Inst. Pinto executes a hand gun disarm, 2- Inst. Pinto and Monitor Sergio Anes working on firearm tactics, 3- Group shot after the FMS Bragança color belt test, 4- Inst. Pinto demonstrating FMS-CQC at the open seminar, 5- Inst. Pinto showing knife defense techniques, 6- Group Shot after FMS Open Seminar)

FMS Huntington Beach : The FMS Huntington Beach group are in hardcore training for the upcoming FMS tournament in Hollister, Ca: The 3rd Annual Faultline Warrior Classic. As the name states, this is Master Schleeter and the FMS Hollister crew's third tournament, and it looks to be the biggest and best one yet. This year they have added a couple new divisions including, Kids grappling, Kids Stick Sparring, and three special divisions: Jr. Kick Boxing, Adult Kick Boxing, and Adult Muay Thai Kick Boxing. This should be very exciting. As we said before, the Huntington Beach crew is training very hard, and have their eye on the Jr. Ultimate Warrior Belt. This was won last year by none other than Inst. Dylan Hamilton. It's gonna be a race, and may the best competitor win.

FMS - Hollister : Speaking of the FMS Hollister crew, Master Schleeter recently had a special In-House tournament to tune up his competitors for next month's Faultline Warrior Classic. The In-House tournament was a complete success, and everyone had a great time competing, sharing good times and food together. Simply awesome. Good job everyone. We'll be seeing you all soon for some great competition, and not to forget our special black belt work out on Sunday. It's going to be too much fun. I can hardly wait! Farang!!!

Other News: Asst. Inst. Jeff winters annual Mt. Shasta film festival was a resounding success. They had three venues running films all weekend. They had lots of directors and film makers giving speeches and presentations. Very cool and very classy. Good job 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 October will be: Inst. Nelson Cardona Oct -06th and Inst. John Pantoja Oct -17th.

Next month of November will be: Inst. Cassie Van Doren Nov -10th, Inst. Wyatt Kern Nov -16th, Inst. Katarzyna Klepczyk Nov -17th, Master Klaus Wachsmann Nov -24th and Inst. Patrick Brennan Nov -25th.

Farang!!!

That's all for now. With brotherhood,

Kuk Sa – De Alba

Modern Farang Mu Sul® World HQ – SF

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