January, 2007

Welcome everyone to the first Modern Farang Mu Sul® WHQ news page for the year 2007. Now is the time to give thanks for all of our blessings, and make plans for a prosperous and fulfilling year. Put that good energy out and let's move on with our individual and collective goals. Farang! We have lots of FMS news from around the globe. Here are some updates:

FMS - WHQ: As most of you know, I come from a very LARGE family. There are seven of us brothers and sisters here in San Francisco, and we have literally, 83 first cousins from our aunts and uncles. That's 90 cousins!!! And all of us cousins have an average of about 3 children of our own now, so as you can imagine, weddings, baptisms, and any family type reunion is a large affair, and can get quite hectic. Truthfully, I love it and would have it no other way. This is the way we were raised. It's all about family.

Well, my two brothers Sergio, James and I made a quick trip to Mexico. As you can guess, we had an amazing and memorable time visiting with our (huge) family. We had a sort of family re-union from our mother's side of the family (which are the Villalobos) in the city of Guadalajara. My cousin Luis Fernando baptized his baby daughter: Isabel, and that alone brought together tons of Villalobos, Martin and a few De Alba's in Guadalajara. It was shocking to see how much my nieces and nephews have grown. We also had a special feast in the home town of my parents which is Lagos De Moreno. This is a beautiful city over flowing with old town Mexico charm.

This was indeed a true De Alba family reunion. We filled a "granja" with family members, and only about 3/4ths of my family was able to make it. We also got to visit with some of our family in Leon, Guanajuato. As I said before, LOTS of family. It is always such a fantastic experience to spend quality time with my cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and close friends. We are truly blessed. I almost forgot how amazing the food is back home. My aunt Amparo's posole was to die for. Yummm! I would like to thank my cousins Sebastian, Chema, Alfonso, Lucero, Laura, Gaby, Chavo, and Leoni, as well as my aunts Grace, Licha, Raquel, and uncle Pepe (and all the rest - you know who you are - basically all of the De Alba's and Villalobos') for taking such great care of us. We love you all. I can't wait to go back, and look forward to our next visit to Mexico.

(Pictures: 1- A couple of cousins: Salvador, Pili, Sergio, Amparo, James, Jovita, KSN, and Pepe, 2- A handful of the male cousins at Isabel's baptism, 3- Town square and the towers of the Parroquia Cathedral in Lagos, 4- A few more cousins at one of the BBQ's in Guadalajara)

After such an awesome trip visiting so many people, we got back home to San Francisco pretty tired, BUT, not too tired. Since our Farang Mu Sul group was so busy at the end of last year, we decided to have our annual FMS - WHQ Christmas party in conjunction with a special New Year's Training session here in San Francisco.

Inst. Joseph Gumina secured the use of the main gym facility at the Salesian YMCA Boys and Girls Club in North Beach. To be honest, what a fantastic way to kick off the New Year. We had an awesome time! (Great suggestion Inst. Chris Mague).

Inst. Earl Boyd from Hollister joined Inst. Terry King, Inst. Kim Leith, Inst. Chris Mague, Asst. Inst. Alessandro Padovani, Asst. Inst. Mark Shekoyan, Thomas and Brandon and Inst. Jim Staley was there too.

We did about 3 1/2 hrs of some good old fashion, hardcore training. We worked on the new forms, weapons, kicks, and much more (including an awe inspiring basketball session...ha.ha.).

Afterwards, we went for a great dinner in North Beach, and had a late WHQ Christmas party celebration. We were all so busy and a lot were out of town during the holidays, that we decided to do it after our 2007 New Year work out. Very cool, and loads of fun.

Thank you so much to Inst. Gumina and Inst. Staley for hooking us up with the Salesian club facility. It was perfect. Too bad Inst. Gumina was busy preparing for a test and could not join us. Next time Joey. Also, thank you to all for my wonderful gift. We'll be definitely putting that digital camera to good use very soon.

Farang!

Also, in case you haven't noticed, there are several Modern Farang Mu Sul® video clips constantly popping up in different parts of the web. There are a few new ones on youtube.com. Check them out!

FMS Germany: Asst. Inst. Markus Höhne sent us some very nice pictures from Chamonix, which is the new resort that he is currently working at in France. The vistas are nothing short of spectacular.

I was also informed that Master Wachsmann has recently made another trip to the FMS group in Wroclaw, Poland. Inst. Katarzyna Klepczyk coordinated yet another fantastic series of seminars, dinners and some fun too.

The main seminar focused on free fighting techniques, which was conducted by Asst. Inst. Jurgen Leuch, and Master Wachsmann taught Middle Stick fighting skills. They also had a special black belt session with FMS Dan Jang Sul - Fighting Cane skills. It was a very busy and rewarding weekend indeed. Good work everyone.

FMS Michigan : Inst.Robert Hudson recently conducted color belt testing. He did separate adult and children tests. And it looks like despite some understandable nerves, everyone did a fantastic job. They have spent the last few months preparing for this day, and it finally came. Good work everyone, and a huge congratulations. You are proof that "nothing is impossible, once you set your mind to it" (Jung Shin Il Do, Ha Sa, Pil Sung).

The students are also preparing for some public demos in the very near future. That's great. These are such a wonderful learning experience and so much fun too. Keep up the good work. Farang!

Inst. Hudson also informs me that they are preparing for the next series on Women's self defense seminars in Lansing. This has the potential to be their biggest and best series of women's self defense seminars to date. Interest has been at an all time high, and the buzz is going around what a fantastic, informative, and fun workshop Inst. Hudson presents.

FMS Portugal: Inst. Nelson Pinto recently received a declaration of recognition, from the Portuguese Ministry of the Internal Administration, for the teachings of FMS-CQC (Close Quarter Combat), to Military personnel of the GNR (Republican National Guard-Intervention Force-SWAT).

Teaching of these special FMS Programs, to the Military has facilitated the detention of violent individuals and guaranteed the physical integrity, and well being of the arrested individuals. These programs are in complete harmony with their use of force guidelines.

Chief Inst. Nelson Pinto and the FMS Portuguese students (Tiago Soares, Tiago Silva, Bruno Franco, Marco Freitas, Alexandre Machado e Alexandre Soares), have been taking a series of special Body Guard and Professional Security courses, with the well known and respected Body Guard Instructor Helder Martins, of Geneva, Switzerland which is where his Body Guard Agency headquarters is located.

Instructor Helder Martins has an amazing curriculum. He has provided executive protection to a veritable who's who list of celebrities, with so many famous people such as: USA Ex-President Bill Clinton, Portugal Ex President Jorge Sampaio, actor Bruce Willis, actress Pamela Anderson, even Michael Jackson, several Árabian Royal families, and many, many others.

And lastly, Inst. Pinto was invited to conduct the first ever FMS seminar in the city of Mirandela, which is approx. 50 km from Bragança (where Asst. Inst. Sergio Anes has his dojang). The seminar was a huge success, and they are now looking at starting a permanent FMS program in that area.

Good work Sir, and congratulations gentlemen on a job well done. Farang!!!

Pictures: 1- Executive Protection training, 2- Inst. Pinto and students training in executive protection seminars, 3- Vera Pinto works on FMS knife techniques, 4-Inst. Pinto with students from the FMS Bragança school , 5- Group shot from the FMS Mirandela seminar)

FMS - Poland : The Wroclaw FMS group recently tool part in a special Krav Maga seminar. This was one of the first of it's kind in this area of the country, and our FMS group was ready for action. They fit right in with the training, and are looking forward for the next training seminar.

Also, Inst. Sebastian Dorobek recently took a part in a MMA Open Tournament in Warszawa (aka:Warsaw). As it was his first experience in this kind of tournament. There were a variety of styles represented, and he was proud to represent Modern Farang Mu Sul®. Well, he only got one fight, but it was a great experience. He says he learned a lot. (I think all the FMS-TVT members out there can relate). He is very excited about entering more of these type of events in the near future. It is a very good way to employ the comprehensive skills of our art on an un-cooperative opponent, and to develop the strategies and skills even further.

The Wroclaw students also recently had a special Christmas party and demo. There was lots of food, fun and games and the highlight was an awesome demo.

All of the adults performed a demo for the kids, and the action was awesome. Of course all the family members enjoyed the presentations to the fullest. This was the first demo for most of the students, and it was a wonderful experience for them. There were a bit of nerves, but at the end of the day, they all did great! Everything went pretty much as planned and all the kids and their parents and friends enjoyed the demo tremendously.

Asst. Inst. Andrzej Klepczyk has done a fantastic job with his little warriors. It is amazing to see the physical and emotional transformation, (and in such positive ways) in all of the young students.

They did demonstrations of self defense, grappling, forms, weapons, and breaking (Kyuk Pah Sul). I know he must be very proud of them all. We certainly are. Keep up the good work Sir. And HUGE congratulations to all. Farang!!!

FMS Puerto Rico: Master Dennis Vega informs me that they have recently established a new FMS Dojang in the city of Barcelonetta. That is just fantastic. I know that this is the beginning of a true explosion as FMS will expand throughout the island, under the guidance of Master Vega and all of the loyal FMS Puerto Rico family.

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 January will be: Inst. Shayna Merwin Jan -06th, Inst. Sebastian Dorobek Jan -16th, and Inst. Chris Mague Jan -24th.

Next month of February will be: Inst. Anthony Spataro Feb -19th, Inst. Joseph Spataro Feb -19th, Inst. Beth Matulich Feb -21st, and Inst. Joseph Gumina Feb -24th.

Farang!!!

That's all for now. With brotherhood,

Kuk Sa – De Alba

Modern Farang Mu Sul® World HQ – SF

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