Welcome to Modern Farang Mu Sul

It's time to officially say goodbye to the year 2005 and welcome in 2006. Let this be a year jam packed with many dreams fulfilled, and never let die the desire to grow and excel. I just know that this will be a stellar year for Modern Farang Mu Sul®. Here are some updates:

FMS - WHQ: We at World Head Quarters have a couple of annual New Year customs. One of which is to bring in the new year with some special training. We like doing something that we don't get the chance to do very often. Well for several months now, our good friend Kaiso Dave Bendigkeight has been inviting me to get together with him for some special sword training. We have been talking about doing some Iaido (Drawing and cutting in one motion) as well as some Tameshigiri (Test Cutting). Inst. Terry King joined me on this special visit, and boy were we in for a treat. We did a complete sword workshop working with live blades, followed by practicing various techniques cutting special rolled bamboo tatami mats. These are not average mats that one buys commercialy, because those type of mats can actually cause damage to your sword. Remember these are very expensive and sharp blades. So, he has a great connection for special cutting mats. They are free of sand grains and other damaging agents. He prepared them overnight, and we got busy slicing them up! Wow, so much fun. It is an incredible experience to focus and apply your sword cutting techniques on actual objects in a safe manner. Thank you soo much Kaiso for this amazing opportunity. I look forward to much more.

(Pictures: 1- Kuk Sa Nim, ready for cutting, 2- Inst. King's 1st cut - PERFECT!, 3- Kuk Sa Nim makes his cut, 4- Awesome High-Speed shot of Kuk Sa Nim's cutting technique, 5- Time to clean and polish the swords, 6- Kuk Sa Nim and Kaiso)

Another one of our annual New Year customs is to start the new year with special outdoor training. Preferably out on a mountain or by the ocean. We generally try to go to one of my farvorite spots just across the Golden Gate Bridge, atop nearby Mt. Tamalpais, as we are able to have both, the forest as well as the ocean, but the weather was just not cooperating. If it was not raining, it was pouring. Fortunately, the microclimates of the San Francisco bay area afford us many options. We were then able to accomplish our goals by going to another one of my favorite training spots right here in our own backyard. The answer was Golden Gate Park. We had a break in the weather, and went to a beautiful spot by one of the many lakes in the park. Anyone who has spent time with us here at WHQ will know this place. Master Schleeter timed a trip up to San Francisco perfectly to be able to join us in this training. Awesome! We did lots of weapon training with a focus on sword training (what a surprise....I sense a trend).

FMS Poland: Inst. Katarzyna Klepczyk informs me that they had another visit from Master Klaus Wachsmann and Katrin from Germany. That is awesome! They got in lots of advanced training, weapons and more. Of course they took time to relax and have some fun too. That is the FMS way for sure. Keep up the good work you guys, we are very happy to see all your hard work. Farang!

(Pictures: 1- Group shot after an intense Seminar, 2- Master Wachsmann, Inst. Klepczyk, Inst. Guszczynski and Inst. Dorobek, 3- Klaus, Katrin, Kaska and Andrzej enjoying some fun time)

FMS Portugal: Portugal has been hit by one of the oddest and coldest winters on record. To compound matters, they were also blasted by a highly unusual spell of snow. Inst. Nelson Pinto has not let this strange weather slow him down. Instead, they have chosen to enjoy the rare abundance of the white stuff and are making the best of it.

Inst. Pinto has notified me that thanks to the constant seminars and travels, they now have a new Modern Frarang Mu Sul® School in the Northern part of Portugal, called Bragança - Trás-os-Montes. The gentleman in charge of the program is Monitor Sérgio Anes, who comes to us with a rich martial arts background, a golden heart, and unwavering dedication and loyalty. That is SOO exciting. Welcome Sir! I look forward to lots of training and good times ahead.

Farang!

Check out new FMS Portugal video clips, including Monitor Sérgio Anes:

Clip # 1 - New Movie : Adfinem, Clip # 2 - Monitor Sérgio Anes, Clip # 3 - Sulsa Program-Police and Military -Arrest and Control Techniques, Clip # 4 -Sulsa Program-Police and Military -Fire Arm Disams and Extra Clip # 5 - The Art of Knife Fighting-Ofensive and Defensive-Portugal- (Dan Gum Sul), Clip # 6 - Jung Bong Sul –The Art of the Middle Stick Fighting #1, Clip # 7 - Jung Bong Sul –The Art of the Middle Stick Fighting #2, Clip # 8 - Staff Techniques - Jang Bong Sul, Clip # 9 - Sword Techniques-Jang Gum Sul, Clip # 10 - FMS Explosive Hand Techniques, Clip # 11 - Highlights of the 1st FMS Demo - Arruda dos Vinhos-Portugal- WMAS Convention and World Cup - May 2003

FMS - Michigan: Inst. Robert Hudson recently conducted another one of his now famous Women's Safety and Self Defense Seminar. As was expected, the turnout was to capacity. It looks like if they keep going like this, he's going to need a larger location. They are scheduled to have another Women's Safety and Defense Seminar on April 30th. Sounds like a plan. Good job, and keep up the good work Sir.

FMS - New York : The date has been set! The Ring Of Combat X is now official. FMS-TVT will be in action in a big way in Atlantic City, NJ in April.

"Join us for Ring of Combat X live at the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Friday, April 14. Featuring the best mixed martial arts fighters around, many Ring of Combat (ROC) fighters have gone on to compete in the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). Two ROC fighters have been featured on the Ultimate Fighter TV reality show and others have received world championship recognition. With seven championship bouts, Ring of Combat X promises to be the very best yet. So, join us in Atlantic City on Friday, April 14 for a night you'll truly remember. The doors open a 7pm and the excitement begins at 8pm."

FMS - TVT will be back in action in a BIG way. As noted, this will be a huge pay-per-view event, with many championship matches. The main event will be "The Battle of Champions".

Our Team Captain, Inst. Marlon Sims will be putting his ROC Champion Title Belt against another ROC Champion: Kurt Pellegrino. Mr. Pellegrino is a very well rounded and highly respected fighter, whose specialty is ground fighting. This fight has dynamite written all over it. Inst. Sims is READY!

Also on this exciting card is none other than Inst. Ken Gibson from FMS Manhattan, NY. He is returning after a doing great job at ROC-9, and leaving quite an impression on everyone. This time out, he is slated to face Nissim Levy. Let’s all be there to support our brave NHB warriors. Sir, we are with you 110%! We are going to have another good amount of FMS personnel coming out from the West coast, including myself. This looks to be an awesome night filled with memorable action.

Other News: As many of you know by now, Master James De Alba is an avid motorcyle rider. In his quest for speed and high performance machinery, he has upgraded his bike. His old bike was a Suzuki GSX-R600 special Telefonica edition, but he couldn't pass up the opportunity to acquire his new baby: a Honda CBR- 1000 -RR Repsol Special edition. This is a SERIOUS high performance sport motorcycle everyone. At a recent day over at the Sears Point Raceway, he got his bike up to 170 mph. WOW, now that's blazing!!! Now he is not only faster, but with the added power, he is enjoying much more exciting bike rides. 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:
Inst. Shayna Merwin Jan -06th, Inst. Sebastian Dorobek Jan -16th and Inst. Chris Mague Jan -28th. Remember, you are an inspiration to so many, and this is your special day!

Next month of Febuary will be: Inst. Anthony Spataro Feb -19th, Inst. Joseph Spataro Feb -19th, and Inst. Joseph Gumina Feb -24th.