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Grandmaster Vincent Marchetti (left) of NewJersey poses with his student, "Tony Soprano"
outside studio set in New York |
Grandmaster Frank E. Sanchez (left) meets up with
Grandmaster Ron Van Clief at Budo International
Magazine gala in New York |
GRANDMASTER VINCENT MARCHETTI of Kearny, New Jersey has a new student .the lead actor in the hit TV series the "Sopranos" is now taking lessons at VINCENT's dojo in Kearny, New Jersey
BUDO INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE'S 1ST ANNUAL GALA HALL OF FAME held June 4th in New York saw the induction of several of our members into their prestigious Hall of Fame. Inducted into the "LEGEND GRANDMASTER" Category were GRANDMASTERS GARY ALEXANDER, KALAII K. GRIFFIN, JOHN PELLEGRINI & MYSELF ; GRANDMASTERS GEORGE ALEXANDER & SANTIAGO SANCHIS were inducted in the SILVER PIONEER category; GRANDMASTER VINCENT LYNN received a DIAMOND LIFETIME AWARD; GRANDMASTERS RON VAN CLIEF & BILL WALLACE were inducted for LIFETIME DEDICATION TO THE MARTIAL ARTS; & GRANDMASTERS MARK SHUEY SR. & GARY WASNIEWSKI received GRANDMASTER OF THE YEAR honors Emceeing the event were members, GRANDMASTERS JOHN PELLEGRINI & GEORGE ALEXANDER. Also attending the event was HANSHI PETER BROWNE who aside from being one of the top instructors in England is also one of its premier seminar promoters CONGRATULATIONS to you fine gentlemen who were inducted & to BUDO INTERNATIONAL's U.S. Editor, Grandmaster Maurice Elmalem & it's worldwide Publisher, Mr. Alfredo Tucci for a GREAT EVENT!
HANSHI STEVEN MALANOSKI of Florida e-mailed me on April 7th of this year to remind me that April 7th was the Anniversary of the great MAESTRO PETER URBAN's passing. There will of course never be another like the "MAESTRO". He was a dear friend & one of the great martial arts geniuses of our century.
SOKE SID CAMPBELL of California had to postpone a planned trip to Hawaii to photograph ancient weapons for his latest book due to his being diagnosed with prostrate Cancer. In GREAT SPIRITS. SID is currently undergoing radiation therapy at the David Grant Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California. You can send your get well wishes to SID at Dragun3@aol.com SID's latest book release THE DRAGON AND THE TIGER - BRUCE LEE - THE OAKLAND YEARS VOLUME II is currently in book stores worldwide.
PROFESSOR GARY DILL relates in his March-April-May 2005 SELF-DEFENSE SYSTEMS INTERNATIONAL Newsletter how he met GRANDMASTER KALAII GRIFFIN, another WHFSC Member from Massachusetts at the WHFSC's first public meeting in Ohio & how, despite their different martial arts backgrounds ( KALAII being KAJUKENBO & DILL being JEET KUNE DO), they both had "ties" together It seems that KALAII was the Uke For Jeet Kune Do Founder, Bruce Lee when he was in New York publicizing his then new TV show called the "Green Hornet"! GARY's newsletter also mentions his group's latest contracts with the U.S. Army Special Forces & the U.S. Air Force to conduct training programs over the summer based on JKD, Aiki-Jitsu & anti-terrorist tactics.
DR. DONALD SWANSEY from Texas is offering a 15% discount to WHFSC Members for all his books & supplements as advertised on his websites www.seibu-do.com & www.dr-swansey.com
GRANDMASTER RON BALAS from Ohio e-mailed to say that his group conducted an introduction to martial arts & personal safety for the Cleveland area Girl Scouts of America on April 10th. The 70 girls that took part received a certificate & earned a Merit Badge for their participation. RON believes this is a 'first" in the U.S.A. for the Girl Scouts! He also plans on doing a similar program for the Boy Scouts.
DR. RIC BLACK is the newly appointed Executive Director of the WORLD CHUN KUHN DO FEDERATION representing 11 countries & also the President of its U.S. Affiliate under new WHFSC Member, GRANDMASTER KIM BOK MAN.
PROFESSOR JAIME ABREGANA, Head of the Hawaii Martial Arts International Society of Hawaii was forced to cancel his Hall of Fame this year because of a break-in (robbery) that took place at his home. Next years event has already been rescheduled & plans are being made to make it a spectacular event to make up for this years' cancellation. I will be attending to support it. JAIME is also scheduled to appear in two major motion pictures coming up. One with actor, Andy Garcia called "Amampola" & the other is "Rush Hour 3" with MASTER JACKIE CHAN.
SENSEI MIYAKO FUJITANI from Japan is demolishing her current dojo headquarters for Aikido to build a bigger facility. The ex-Wife of martial arts actor, Stephen Segal is seeking someone in the film industry to make a TV documentary of the ceremony surrounding the destruction of the old dojo & the building of the new one in Japan. Also, building a larger dojo in Germany to accommodate his growing cliental is SHIHAN JENS FRICKE of the WHFSC MASTERS DIVISION.
PROF. DR. SONG SWEE HEE reports that his WORLD BLACK BELT HALL OF FAME takes place later this July in Malaysia. Traveling to attend as a guest & seminar leader will be our Communications Manager, SOKE DANIEL VERKERKE from Canada.
http://www.visitsarawak.com/wushu/halloffame.html
Also, taking place in late July will be BLACK BELT Magazine's FIRST ANNUAL FESTIVAL & HALL OF FAME at Universal Studios in Hollywood, California. GRANDMASTERS GARY ALEXANDER, JOHN
PELLEGRINI & MARK SHUEY will be doing seminars there & I will be there as well (along with other Council members, no doubt) to support the event & to just have a good time.
And lastly from England. GRANDMASTER GARY WASNIESWKI e-mailed to say that he is set to do a photo shoot for BLACK BELT Magazine. He is also starting a Degree Program in the British University for martial arts with an invitation already extended to YOURS TRULY to be a guest lecturer once the program is up & running. Looking forward to it, GARY!
In our new members department, we are proud to WELCOME from COLORADO, GRANDMASTER KIM BOK MAN, Founder of CHUN KUHN DO. From NEVADA , the creator of GOJU SHOREI WEAPON SYSTEMS, GRANDMASTER DAVE McNEILL & from PHOENIX, ARIZONA the Founder of DYNAMIC COMBAT, GRANDMASTER RICHARD RYAN. WELCOME GENTLEMEN to our elite Council of the world's greatest martial artists!......
In the magazines this time around. BLACK BELT Magazine's August issue contains mentions of GRANDMASTER GEORGE ALEXANDER & MASTER DON "THE DRAGON" WILSON. INSIDE KUNG-FU's June issue features articles on GRANDMASTERS KALAII GRIFFIN & AL GARZA with a mention of MASTER JACKIE CHAN in its "Martial Arts in Movies" column. The August issue of INSIDE KUNG-FU mentions MASTERS JACKIE CHAN, DON WILSON & GRANDMASTER GEORGE ALEXANDER. The May/ June issue of BUDO INTERNATIONAL features GRANDMASTERS VINCENT LYNN, JOHN PELLEGRINI, MARK SHUEY, COLONEL SANCHIS and last years WORLD HEAD OF FAMILY SOKESHIP COUNCIL event with YOURS TRULY on the stage in Orlando, Florida, and last but not least, TAEKWONDO TIMES contains an article on defending against dog attacks the martial arts way (SAN-JITSU) by YOURS TRULY and modern counters to punches from GRANDMASTER JOHN PELLEGRINI's COMBAT HAPKIDO System along with a mention of GRANDMASTER MICHAEL De ALBA's MODERN FARANG MU SUL & his students no-holds barred fighting debut in Asbury, New Jersey.
Well this concludes this special tri-monthly issue of the WHFSC Newsletter. You should all be receiving your invitations soon to this years' WHFSC International seminar symposium/ Annual Meeting & Awards Banquet coming up September 2nd -3rd in Orlando, Florida . So please mark your calendars for it and plan on attending.....We always have a great time at these functions, so DON'T MISS OUT!
Until next time, don't forget to keep us appraised of what you are doing so that we can include it in the next newsletter & remember to stay "aggressive & fair" in all you do!
Sincerely yours in martial arts brotherhood,
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