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Don "The Dragon" Wilson

While we’re on the subject of MASTER WILSON, DON is scheduled to leave with Grandmaster Joon Rhee for a USO Tour in Korea right after Jamaica & than is headed for Atlantic City, New Jersey on his return to the U.S. to be the main event in a Pay Per View card that features himself as the main attraction along with ring veterans, Dan Severns, Royler Gracie & Orlando "The Warrior" Rivera.

The INTERNATIONAL CIRCLE OF MASTERS will be meeting June 23^rd in Canada. SOKE DANIEL VERKERKE, COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER & WEBMASTER for the WHFSC will be hosting the event. On the agenda will be seminars & a Special Project which is currently in the works (but still "under wraps" for now) . Invited Masters include GRANDMASTERS DAN MCEADDY from New Jersey, RON BALAS from Ohio, GARY WASNIEWSKI from England, DOUG DEVLIN, RUDY TIMMERMAN & DAN VERKERKE from Canada, as well as YOURS TRULY.

Speaking of YOURS TRULY, I will be meeting with the folks of HOLLYWOOD EAST STUDIOS on May 18^th to discuss working with them & GRANDMASTER STEVE LEE SWIFT on their new show, the MISS MARTIAL ARTS U.S.A. PAGEANT…..I will let you know more about the project after our meeting……I am also receiving an award from GRANDMASTER (GENERAL) ALEXANDER RETUINSKIH’S R.O.S.S. Organization from Russia. According to R.O.S.S. GENERAL DIRECTOR, NIKOLAY TRAVKIN, they are waiting for someone to bring it from Russia, as they are concerned about it possibly getting lost in the mail…..THANK YOU in advance for this GREAT HONOR, gentlemen.

PROFESSOR GEORGE KIRBY of California reports that his AMERICAN JU-JITSU ASSOCIATION’S SPRING 2002 WESTERN REGION FREESTYLE KATA TOURNAMENT held Saturday, April 27^th in Claremont, California was a resounding success. For information on the next western region tournament scheduled for Saturday, November 16^th, you can e-mail Sensei Jorge Corona at jorge.corona@iwon.com

MASTER CARLOS VELEZ of our WHFSC MASTER’S DIVISION e-mailed to say that he was presented with a Renshi Certificate by the International San-Ten Karate Association during a tournament held in Puerto Rico last month. Making the presentation to CARLOS were Tournament Promoter, Bill Zaffiropoulos & Shihan Hector Sotomayor who did so on behalf of I.S.T.K.A. Founder & President, Hanshi Vincent Cruz……CONGRATULATIONS CARLOS!

SHIHAN JOHN GEYSTON, also of our new WHFSC MASTERS DIVISION has a new motivational message service……From what I’ve read so far, it’s quite good…..You can contact JOHN at jgeyston@aol.com if you would like to get yourself on his list. It was originally designed for his students, but it contains some pearls of wisdom that everyone can use.

After almost 18 years of research & writing about Bruce Lee’s & James Yimm Lee’s lives & times in Oakland known more popularly as the "Oakland Years", HANSHI SID CAMPBELL along with Greglon Yimm Lee (the late James Lee’s Son) are finally near the completion of their great work titled "DRAGON & TIGER"…THE OAKLAND JKD YEARS". It is being produced in a 5 volume set of CD-ROM digital books that will go public the course of next year…..For a preview of this monumental work, you can access www.OaklandJKD.ws

GRANDMASTER SAM KUOHA, Inheritor of KARAHO KENPO was featured on Jay Leno’s TONIGHT SHOW on May 1^st. The show which celebrated Leno’s 10 years on the air featured SAM’s 1997 appearance where he broke the record for ice breaking with his head……

WHFSC HALL OF FAME PATCH AVAILABLE AT 2002 BANQUET AND AWARDS SHOW

 LASTLY IN INTERNATIONAL NEWS……Don’t forget our upcoming 8^th ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL WHFSC HALL OF FAME/ ANNUAL MEETING & SEMINAR SYMPOSIUM scheduled for August 31^st – September 1^st in Orlando, Florida. In a break with previous years plaque awards, we will have beautiful stand-up awards with certificates of induction to give out this year! As part of the festivities, we are also arranging a GRANDMASTERS EXPO to take place at UNIVERSAL STUDIOS Theme Park the Sunday after our Hall of Fame featuring demos by the grandmasters who will be there that weekend. This will be the first time UNIVERSAL STUDIOS has featured such a show & we hope to make this an annual event to coincide with our own each year. For those that have a computer, we will also be introducing payment through e-mail for our Hall of Fame, to go along with payment by regular mail. To pay via e-mail , you will have to register first with http://paypal.com . Also, if you would like to take part in the grandmasters demo at UNIVERSAL STUDIOS let me know by e-mailing me at san_jitsu@yahoo.com . This will also be the same e-mail address for sending your Hall of Fame Banquet remittance once you have established a "free" account with http://paypal.com , should you choose to e-mail instead of mail in your payment.

IN THE MEDIA THIS TIME AROUND…….The May issue of BLACK BELT Magazine features mentions of GRANDMASTERS RON VAN CLIEF, STEPHEN HAYES, GARY ALEXANDER, PAN QING FU, YOURS TRULY & MASTERS JACKIE CHAN & DON "THE DRAGON" WILSON…….Their June issue spotlights MASTERS JACKIE CHAN & AMBER DELUCA along with GRANDMASTER BILL WALLACE’S monthly "FULL CONTACT" Column and a mention of YOURS TRULY……The May issue of INSIDE KUNG-FU features a mention of the late GRANDMASTER GARY CASTANZA, as well as SIFU AL DACASCOS & MASTERS JACKIE CHAN, DON "THE DRAGON" WILSON & MARK DACASCOS……Their June issue has MASTER JACKIE CHAN on the cover with mentions of "THE WORLD HEAD OF FAMILY SOKESHIP COUNCIL", GRANDMASTERS SAM KUOHA, PAN QING FU & ERNESTO PRESAS as one of the top 12 most influential Filipino martial artists in American History (CONGRATULATIONS ERNESTO on the well deserve accolade!)……The June issue of MARTIAL ARTS & COMBAT SPORTS spotlights GRANDMASTER BILL WALLACE’s "RING STRATEGY" Column…….The March issue of TAEKWONDO TIMES features mentions of GRANDMASTERS JIM ARVANITIS, JURG ZIEGLER, ROBERT WILLIAMS & MARK SHUEY……..The NEW "FIGHTSPORT" Magazine by BLACK BELT COMMUNICATIONS, INC. spotlights GREAT GRANDMASTER HELIO GRACIE & GRANDMASTER RICKSON GRACIE ……& lastly, the new FILIPINO MARTIAL ARTS Magazine features MASTER AMBER DELUCA on the cover with articles on GRANDMASTER ERNESTO PRESAS & MASTER MIYAKO FUJITANI with mentions of GRANDMASTERS LEO FONG, VINCENT CABALES & ABON BAET

Well, this concludes are bi-monthly newsletter for March & April…..Please continue to send in your newsworthy items, so we can let the other members know what YOU are up to & don’t forget to send in your nominations for our upcoming Hall of Fame!….As always, stay AGGRESSIVE & FAIR until next time.

Sincerely yours in martial arts brotherhood,

Grandmaster Frank E. Sanchez

10^th dan (judan)

Founder/ Executive Director International

NOTE: The WHFSC has been in existence since May of 1993 and is a private enterprise of Soke Frank E. Sanchez in service to its grandmaster membership. Any additions or deletions to its membership must be in writing. All 2 year membership certificates are not automatically renewed and MUST be renewed by written request to our Headquarters.