Welcome to Modern Farang Mu Sul

April, 2005
It's kind of cliché, but sometimes I wish there were two of me, in order to do all the things and be in all the places that I want to be. There has been so much going on in Modern Farang Mu Sul® that I only wish I could be involved in them all. Alas, this is not possible, but for sure I am there in spirit. Here are some updates:

FMS - WHQ: As some of you may know, we recently moved our website to a new server with a much larger platform. This should allow us to do much more things on the site. Unfortunately, the transfer process was not as smooth as we were expecting, but we survived all the headaches and downtime. And now we are back in action!

Other news, Inst. McCalla and myself were honored to support Grand Master Navarro with their latest in-house tournament. We helped judge most all the action, including the Muay Thai fights at the end. What a blast!

We also were very happy to recently take part in ATAMA San Francisco's latest workshop. The presenter's this time around were Grand Master A. Mohamed, Shihan Romero, Prof. Art Buckley and Prof. Harry Sherman. It was a full day of training and spending quality time with good friends. Grand Master A. Mohamed dedicated his seminar to his late teacher: Professor Moses Powell. We got in some good training together and also took full advantage to hang out afterwards taking in a tasty Chinese dinner and getting caught up with our lives.

Now, we have some fantastic news: My right hand man, Chief Inst. Terry King recently got engaged with the lovely (now fiancée) Heather. It was a gala dinner affair, held at Le Colonial (thank you Justine), and their closest friends and family were there to take part. I was honored to accept being his best man, and they are still setting a tentative date around June of next year to tie the knot. Congratulations Sir!

And lastly, FMS - TVT team captain, Inst. Marlon Sims decided to try out for the new and very popular TV show "The Ultimate Fighter" (TUF). He needed to fill out their application as well as provide a video with fight / training footage as well as an interview. Enter Kuk Sa Nim, the video wiz. We made him an awesome promo tape. Hopefully, it catches UFC president and TUF producer Dana White's eye. Inst. Sims is a natural, not only to win the six figure contract of the show because of his immense skill, or his incredible good looks, but his personality is tailor made for a show just like this (he's such a ham!). They will be missing out HUGE if they do not choose him for the show. Keep your fingers crossed everyone!

FMS - New York: The East coast crew are keeping a very busy schedule. They are not only preparing for a trip out West to our Warrior Quest Championship, but also are in intense training for their next NHB fights scheduled for June and August. They have supplemented their normal training regimen with extra Boxing and Grappling classes that have already shown great dividends. Good job gentlemen.

As if that were not enough, they have also had several guest instructors to their academy, such as our good friend, Guru Tuhan Roberto Torres. I know that had to be a fun and enlightening experience. Guru Tuhan Torres is not only a gifted martial artist, but he is a wealth of knowledge, and is willing to share. Thank you very much Sir! I hope to see you again soon myself.

FMS Michigan: Inst. Hudson recently took part in the 75th Annual Michigan Safety Conference. He had the pleasure of being recruited as the Personal Safety & Self Defense Instructor for this year. It was really an awesome opportunity! The place was packed (100+ per class). After doing a 10 minute lecture / slide show on preventive safety measures, he refused to let anyone get away without trying at least one technique of some sort or another. The participants were so used to attending lecture only classes, that they were probably relieved to do some action. Inst. Hudson felt they just had to see and feel Modern Farang Mu Sul® in order to truly appreciate it. Overall it went splendidly, and he was proud to have been involved. After just the first class, they have already asked him back for next year! Congratulations Sir! Job well done.

FMS Portugal: Inst. Nelson Pinto and the FMS Portugal crew reported quite a bit of activity. Inst. Pinto recently had an article come out in one of the most popular sports magazines in Portugal "Boxing - Desportos de Combate & Fitness". They had a big segment on Modern Farang Mu Sul®, with tons of pictures. Good work Sir! They have already received a lot of positive feedback.

They also recently did some great outdoor training. They visited one of the faces of Serra de Montejunto, and did some rock climbing and rappelling. Wow, that is an incredible confidence building experience.

And lastly, they did a great demo in Cadaval to kick off their new club in that city. It was a complete success, as they not only got to show off the deadly beauty and grace of Modern Farang Mu Sul® to the public, but they were also able to begin enrolling new students for the club. That's a win-win situation if you ask me. Congratulations again Sir, and good work everyone. Words fail to express the pride and joy you all bring to my heart.

FMS Spokane : Inst. Knight and all the FMS group in Spokane are in high gear with their training in preparation for Warrior Quest. Add that to color belt testing, fundraisers, car wash, buddy days, awards dinner and even a Christian Rock concert. Wow. Incredible Sir. Looking forward to seeing you and all the Spokane group very soon!

FMS - Germany: Master Wachsmann is well into his seminar schedule for this year. They have conducted some great training sessions in several cities in Germany. Next comes a trip to Poland and then it's off to Portugal. I know that Inst. Klepczyk and the Polish students are anxiously awaiting his arrival, as are Inst. Pinto and the Portuguese FMS groups. Master Wachsmann and the German demo team will also be performing at the upcoming "BUDO Masters" expo. I'm sure they are going to blow everyone away (he is such a phenomenal performer) Wow, I only wish that I could be there too!

FMS - Puerto Rico : Master Vega and the Puerto Rico FMS competition team were recognized as "The Best Team" at the Mercer County Martial Arts tournament in New Jersey. They racked up a total of 26 Trophies. Wow! Twelve for 1st place TWO Grand Champions in forms and self defense, and the rest were for 2nd and 3rd place. VERY impressive indeed. Huge congratulations! We are very proud of you all. Keep up the good work, and we look forward to seeing you all soon at Warrior Quest here in San Francisco. FARANG!!!

FMS - Poland : Cheif Inst. Klepczyk and company are eagerly awaiting Master Wachsmann's visit in May. They not only have an open seminar planned, but will also take advantage and conduct color belt testing, and LOTS of extra training. I know that the students are pretty anxious, but I'm confident that they will all do very well. I understand that Inst. Dorobek will be having a student from his club in Namyclaw testing as well. Good luck.

Inst. Klepczyk also informed me that Asst. Inst. Ratinsky from Lodz has been keeping in good contact and training is going well. That is so awesome. I must say, Lodz has some of the most beautiful architecture in Poland. I look forward to my next visit there.

Also, she let us know that one of her students who is in the military will be in the USA on a year long exchange. She is not sure of his exact locations, but, she believes that he will be in Florida and Texas. We are going to have to make a point of hooking up with him.

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. Michael Iannone Apr -04th. Wishing you all the best. Remember, you are an inspiration to so many, and this is your special day!

Next month of May will be: Inst. John Stenson May -01st, Inst. Nicole Miller May -14th and Cheif Inst. Terry King May-30th.