June, 2004

This month have proven to be one of the most challenging, difficult and yet at the same time, one of the most rewarding months in my life. So many wonderful things accomplished have taken on a bitter-sweet taste. It is with great sadness that I report the untimely passing of my wife Justine's father: Frank Busalacci. He was a great man, father, and grandfather. He passed away just as I began the annual trip to Europe. Only because of Justine's insistence, I stayed in Europe to finish all of our plans. She had tons of family around her and felt that her Dad would have wanted it this way. (Thank God for having such a large family and extended family). Frank has left a huge void in our lives that can be attempted to be filled only by the many warm and wonderful memories we shared as a family.

Aside from this sad news we have much more other news. We were very fortunate to be invited to Grand Master Rick Alemany's Seminar and Black Belt testing here in SF. He has been in Hawaii for a couple of years now, and it was very good to see him and spend some quality time on the mats.

Right on the heels of that seminar we were invited by my original martial arts teacher, Grand Master Carlos Navarro, to take part in their Black Belt testing Ceremony. We were asked to perform a Demo and assist in the ceremony. Let me say that it was a huge honor, and it is so good to re-connect with old friends, as well as make new ones too. Grand Master Navarro is such a great man and an amazing martial artist and fighter. He has always been a positive influence in my life, and it is because of him that I embarked on this martial arts journey seriously. I can never thank him enough.

Asst. Inst. Stuart Mc Calla recently returned from a visit to NY as did Inst. Kim Leith. They both had the opportunity to hook up for some great training with the NY crew. I am told they had a great time and also took part in color belt testing. What a beautiful time indeed.

We we very happy to celebrate yet another momentous event: Inst. David Dehnert and Inst. Terry King reached their 40th Birthday. We had a combined party here in San Francisco. It was so cool to see and meet the cross-section of family and freinds of both of them. Of course the FMS people were there in force. Huge thank you to Justine and Kim for coordinating everything and making it such a successful, warm and wonderful evening. As has now become the custom, we met at San Francisco's "The Ramp" the next morning for brunch (and bloody Mary's).

And lastly, we had the most unusual yet rewarding trip to Europe this year. We made stops in Portugal, Poland, and Germany. While in Portugal we managed to squeeze in a very important demo for the city school board of Abrigado, three sessions of seminars (children, adult-empty hand, and adult weapons) as well as some sightseeing in the enchanting city of Sintra, where we made sure to visit the famous "Palacio de las Penas". What a wonderful time.

For more pictures of Portugal click HERE

Just as we were catching our breath, Inst. Pinto and I traveled to Poland for an awesome seminar in Wroclaw, color belt testing, and Black Belt Testing, where he joined Inst. Sebastian Dorobek in testing for 2nd Dan, and Inst. Katarzna Furdyna for 3rd Dan. They all did great! Master Wachsmann joined us from Germany for the test, and several German students also took part in the seminar. Thank you soo much. This was all the more special.

For more pictures of the 26th Black Belt Test click HERE

We celebrated afterwards at Inst. Furdyna and Andrjez's apartment. We also took advantage and had a very good, and much needed Black Belt meeting, where we discussed past issues and our future. The overwhelming theme was for sure: UNITY and COMMUNICATION. We then spent the next day sightseeing in Wroclaw and Warsaw.

For more pictures of Poland click HERE

Then it was back to Portugal for Inst. Pinto, and off to Germany for me. Master Wachsmann and I took full advantage of some private time and reviewed tons of advanced black belt forms and techniques. We then went to the lovely city of Winterburg where Asst. Inst. Markus Hohne and Asst. Inst. Michael Klockner coordinated a series of training sessions and a very large seminar named "Cross Training XXL". What an awesome experience. While there, we conducted color belt testing, and presented the German students with their Kub Certificates as well as their IDSC passports and certificates.

For more pictures of Germany click HERE

That's all for now, With brotherhood,

Kuk Sa – De Alba

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