May, 2007

Welcome back everyone. The month of May is a month that tends to be filled with lots and lots of activity for Modern Farang Mu Sul®. The year of 2007 is no exception. Once again, we have had everything from seminars and tests, to graduations and vacations. Not to forget our Annual Warrior Quest Championship and black belt camp. This month seems to have it all. Hang on to your hats, we have lots of Modern Farang Mu Sul® news from all around the world. Here are some updates:

FMS - WHQ: Let's start this months news with a bang. I would like to give thanks to all of the wonderful FMS family that made it out to our 8th Annual Warrior Quest Championships. Your support and participation made it a huge success, and a totally wonderful experience.

Special thanks to all that helped judge, keep time, keep score and a million other helpful things. You guys are tops! Once again, we had FMS representatives come from all over. They came from East to West coast, and even from Portugal too. Very cool. It warms my heart to see all the FMS family getting together, working, joking and having fun. What more could one ask for. One thing for sure is we are getting real good at running our tournament. Everyone knew their job, what needed to be done, and it all gone done. We're pros now. Good work everyone. It's this level of skill and professionalism, and our special family touch that make Warrior Quest such a fantastic tournament for all involved.

On top of all of the days' competition, we had some awesome demos from Inst. Earl Boyd from FMS Hollsiter, Inst. Nicole Miller, Inst. Matt Wagner and Asst. Inst. Mariah Witt from FMS Huntington Beach, Inst. Beth Matulich from FMS Hollister, Inst. Nelson Pinto from Portugal (via Huntington Beach), Sensei Eric Reed from IOMASDA, and last but not least WHQ (Brand and Thomas De Alba and myself). Spectacular! We had a very inspiring FMS BB Camp on the following day. Loads of fun. Big props to Mike Cataldo representing FMS East coast. Farang!

We had lots of opportunities to hang out, exchange training ideas, war stories, and fun in general. I am already looking with anticipation for next years' Warrior Quest.

Check out more Warrior Quest 8 pictures: HERE

Check out Warrior Quest 8 Master Demo pictures: HERE

As is customary, following Warrior Quest, we had our annual FMS Black Belt Camp. This is a very special day filled with lots of training, reviewing older material and learning new stuff too. It is an awesome opportunity to exchange knowledge and information between all the FMS representatives. The true brotherhood of Modern Farang Mu Sul® is undeniable, and so wonderful to see, as the FMS family effortlessly go through the training, sweating together, learning and sharing, then breaking bread later and exchanging old and new war stories. This is such good stuff. If you have not made it to one of our FMS black belt camps, you MUST make it out next year. You won't be disappointed.

Check out more FMS Black Belt Camp pictures: HERE

This month, we were also honored to be invited to a very special wedding. Congratulations to Master Jino Kang and his lovely bride Caroline on their recent nuptials. The wedding was held at the beautiful Wine and Roses resort and spa in Lodi, CA. The ceremony and reception was a combination of both a traditional Western and Korean wedding. Master Kang is a very close and longtime friend of Kuk Sa Nim, and have spent decades training and sharing the warmest friendship. The entire Modern Farang Mu Sul® family wishes them years of love, happiness and many wonderful memories.

FMS Huntington Beach : The FMS Huntington Beach crew recently celebrated the newest addition of another FMS black belt, namely Inst. Nelson Pinto. Inst. Larry Saindon and company had a pool party after a great workout, and even little Laura Saindon got in on the swimming fun.

(Pictures: 1- Inst. Larry Saindon with his favorite little lady, 2- Inst. Matt Wagner with his sister Laura enjoy a swim, 3- Inst. Pinto and the gang having fun)

FMS Puerto Rico : Fresh after color belt testing, Master Vega informs me that several of the FMS Puerto Rico students entered into a very big tournament. This was one of the first tournaments in Puerto Rico that offered a wide variety of competition (such as grappling and weapons sparring). They proudly represented FMS and came away with several trophies, including first place in the grappling and knife fighting divisions. That is awesome. Huge congratulations to all on a job well done. Farang!

FMS - Hollister : Master Patrick Schleeter and Inst. Earl Boyd are in serious training for the next FMS black belt test, which is slated for later on this year. This marks somewhat of a milestone, as it will be the first time that they will be testing together. Of course they are testing for different levels, but none the less, it will be a very special occasion for them to prepare for and share together. Keep up the good work gentlemen. You are well on track to meet you goals. Farang!

FMS Portugal: Prior to his departure to the USA, Inst. Nelson Pinto appeared in several magazines in Portugal.

The main magazines were National Journal Correio da Manhã (24 of April 2007) and other Article in the Journal of Caldas ( 25 of April de 2007).

The stories in the articles included the variety of programs he teaches, the benefits of this training, including his contributions to teaching various law enforcement and military personnel, an overview of FMS history in general, contact information for Chief Inst. Nelson Pinto, and the Portuguese FMS Asso. They also covered the struggle of establishing FMS programs in Portugal, as well as background stories of Inst. Pinto's life, training, future goals and plans. This is so wonderful. Good work Sir. Farang!

FMS Germany : Asst. Inst. Markus Höhne recently returned to Germany after spending several months working in France. He learned a lot, but is now very happy to be home with his wife and son, as well as his students.

He got back to Germany just in time to get hit with lots of strange happenings. Well, it turns out that there are many changes for FMS in Germany. Master Klaus Wachsmann who has been a student of Kuk Sa Nim for well over 20 yrs, has suddenly and inexplicably decided to leave FMS. He will no longer be a part of the FMS family, and frankly, this has caused lots of confusion and resentment within the FMS Germany family. We are all very deeply sadden by his departure, but wish him well all the same.

And so now FMS in Germany will be spearheaded by Asst. Inst. Michael Klockner from FMS Köln, as well as Asst. Inst. Markus Höhne from FMS Winterberg. Both of these gentlemen are fantastic instructors, and have the distinction of traveling to San Francisco and training personally with Kuk Sa Nim. The future looks bright for all FMS students in Germany, and you can count on all our support. We look forward to our next visit to Germany.

(Pictures: 1- Markus with his wife Birgit and son Julian, 2-7 Asst. Inst. Michael Klockner working out with the FMS Köln students)

Other News: We have more great news. One of the proudest moments in any parents' life is to see your child graduate from college. After much hard work and sacrifices, Norma De Alba recently celebrated her daughter Paulina's graduation from the San Francisco Art Institute. That is so wonderful. Congratulations, we are all very proud of you.

(Norma De Alba with her children Francisco, Paulina and Christopher)

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 May will be: Inst. John Stenson Jr. May - 01st, Inst. Nicole Miller May - 14th, Inst. Michael Nickels May - 23rd, Inst. Terry L. King May - 30th, and Inst. Justo Ortiz May - 30th.

Next month of June will be: Master Patrick Schleeter June - 13th, Master David Dehnert June - 14th, Master James De Alba June - 21st, and Inst. Matthew Wagner June - 22nd.

Farang!!!

That's all for now. With brotherhood,

Kuk Sa – De Alba

Modern Farang Mu Sul® World HQ – SF

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