July, 2006

Welcome again to one of my favorite months of the year. This July has been by far, one of the most busy, hectic and demanding months in recent history for Modern Farang Mu Sul®. We not only have the continuing theme of FMS weddings, but we also have my 49th birthday (I mean 25th birthday), black belt test, trip to Europe, black belt training, demos and so much more. Here are some updates:

FMS - WHQ: Over here at WHQ we started the month off with the beautiful wedding of Inst. Joeseph Gumina and Joy. What a fabulous day, and what an awesome, love filled occasion. The wedding was held at historic St. Peter and Paul's Church in the North Beach district of San Francisco, which was immediately followed by the reception at the Presidio. One of the things that was extra special was the fact that Joey's parents were married in that same historic church. Isn't that amazing? As a matter of fact, at the entrance of the reception hall in the Presidio was a table with lots of photos of the couple. There was also one special picture of Joey's parents on their wedding day on the very same steps of that church, and you would have thought the picture was of Joey. He looks so much like his dad. Wow, so cool. Tons of family, friends, and of course FMS family were all there to share this blessed event. The dinner celebration was incredible. With a distinctive San Francisco Italian feel to it, we ate, drank and danced the night away. One of Joey's brother-in-law even brought a humidor to the reception filled with a variety of premium cigars (including some Cubanski's), and a special assortment of scotch and brandy's to compliment them. You know that we all took advantage and enjoyed them to the fullest. What an amazing, fun day filled with warm conversations, jokes, laughter, "old war stories" and more. It's all about family. We can certainly relate to that. We are so happy to be a part of Joe and Joy's life and were honored to witness and participate in this next step of their new journey through life together. We all wish Joey and Joy all the best in the world, and know that we are with you in any way you need. Congratulations!!

FMS Germany: I got word that Master Wachsmann is planning another trip to Poland. He will not only be conducting an open seminar, but will also doing several special black belt training sessions with the Modern Farang Mu Sul® Poland groups. Sounds like too much fun. Good work Sir, just wish I could be there.

FMS New York : As is many times in the professional fighting game, things change. The upcoming cage fights that were planned before are now not going to happen after all. Such is life. Instead, the East coast FMS crew are working on competing in more grappling events, and some Muay Thai kick boxing matches. They just can't get enough action. Scheduled to fight is Brent Appiarius. He will be making his professional Muay Thai debut at the Combat at the Capitale, in Chinatown, and will be the youngest fighter to do so. Sounds like it's going to be a blast. Good job Sir. Keep training hard, and good luck.

(Pics: 1- Brent Appiarius, 2- Brent in hardcore training)

And just to keep the pace going, the FMS East coast crew recently did a demo at the Sayville Fair. They demonstrated weapons forms and techniques, flips and their now famous Nak Bop routine. Of course they did all of the falls on the asphalt. They then followed up with some MMA training (FMS-TVT). And once again, they did everything WITHOUT MATS. What an incredible performance. Good work everyone.

(Pics: 1- Inst. Spataro doing breakfalls on the asphalt, 2- Brent doing MMA demo - Japanese armbar submission)

Also, at the end of October, Courtney Weaver will be making her Muay Thai debut at a smoker show at Corleone KickBoxing. Wow, that young lady just never ceases to amaze me. Again, keep training hard. You are in good hands with Inst. Iannone and the Spataro's.

(Pic: Courney training hard with kick boxing pad work)

FMS Portugal: As we all know, Inst. Pinto and the Modern Farang Mu Sul® Portugal family are a very busy and active group. This month was filled with many challenges, with reciprocal rewards.

Inst. Terry King joined me on a special trip to Portugal, for not only our open FMS seminars, and training, but most importantly, to attend Inst. Nelson Pinto and Vera's wedding. What a unique and fabulous experience. Inst. Pinto's father spared no expense, and they literally had a three day affair. With family and friends gathering from all across the globe, the main events started on Friday with food, drinks, and more food. On Saturday, there was a morning banquette, followed by the wedding ceremony, which was held in a 12th century church inside the actual grounds of Obidos Castle. Only one word can describe it: Spectacular. At the conclusion of the ceremony, Inst. Pinto and Mrs. Vera Pinto walked through the famous FMS sword arch, manned by more than a dozen FMS warriors. I was given the honor of sending off the bride at the end of the arch. And it was off to the pre-reception, for food, drinks, and more food. Next, we moved to a larger hall for the official reception, where we had (see if you can guess....yup), food, drinks, music, more food, drinks and music. What an amazing time. Then on Sunday, we returned to the same hall for, you guessed it, more food, drinks and music. Wow, those Portuguese sure know how to throw a wedding party. This was by far one of the most beautiful, picturesque, unique and wonderful weddings I have ever had the honor in attending. Congratulations Nelson and Vera.

But that's not all, we also had special black belt training, pre-test, and a special black belt test for Inst. Pinto. He passed with flying colors. He presented a flawless 3rd Dan test, and it was Inst. King and my honor to preside over it. Once again, congratulations Sir.

The following day was our open FMS seminar in Cadaval. We did two sessions with an array of FMS CQC fighting which included an empty hand session and a special weapons fighting session. We worked on double sticks, stick and knife, and the awesome FMS tiger claw knife. Too much fun. We then concluded the seminar with the 31st FMS Black Belt ceremony, where Inst. Pinto was formally awarded his new rank in front of his students, family and friends. What a wonderful experience.

Now, as if all of that were not enough, we also squeezed in a couple of trips to the beach, Peniche and old town Lisbon. We were also treated to a Medieval Festival at Obidos Castle. Simply wonderful.

Some of you now know that Vera's father is a national champion archer. Well, when he offered to take Inst. King and myself out shooting, we couldn't resist. He gave us many valuable lessons, and we just had the most splendid time shooting the day away.

And there's more, it just so happened that this trip fell squarely on the week of my birthday. So, for the first time ever, we celebrated it in Portugal with all of the FMS family. That was one of the most memorable birthdays I have ever had. Thank you soo much Inst. Pinto, Vera, the FMS family, and all of the family and friends that took such good care of us and made this a trip that we will cherish forever.

FARANG!

For more pics of Portugal seminar 2006 click: HERE

For more pics of 30th FMS Black Belt Test, click: HERE

For slideshow of Portugal 2006 click: #1 and #2

FMS - Poland : As anyone who is a parent knows, the arrival of a new baby is one of the most demanding times of one's life. We are no longer in charge of our own life, the baby is. Well, Inst. Katarznya Klepczyk and Asst. Inst. Andrzej Klepczyk took their first trip out since the new arrival, and went to the wedding of a cousin who lives several hours away. Little Ania took it all in stride and they all had a fantastic time. She was so well behaved, despite the long travels, and all of the attention she was getting. She is literally a bundle of joy and such a blessing. Congratulations. I can't wait to meet her, and help her with her side kick.

Other News: After the success of the last FMS submission grappling seminar that Inst. Earl Boyd did in Huntington Beach, they decided to do another one. On the horizon, Inst. Saindon and Inst. Boyd are working out the details for a follow up workshop. Stay tuned.

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 July will be: Inst. Dylan Hamilton July -12th, and Kuk Sa Nim July -23rd.

Next month of Aug will be: Inst. Earl Boyd Aug -5th, Inst. Kimberly Leith Aug -15th and Inst. Robert Hudson Aug -27th.

Farang!!!

That's all for now. With brotherhood,

Kuk Sa – De Alba

Modern Farang Mu Sul® World HQ – SF

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