HAPPY HOLIDAYS & SEASONS GREETINGS
From the Jacksonville Hombu to all my students & instructors
Worldwide, as well as our friends in the martial arts
industry – we are STRONG & STILL GROWING!!

Had a great time at GRANDMASTER GARY ALEXANDER’s recent I.A.M.A Hall Fame Banquet held November 19th in Woodbridge, New York……As one of GRANDMASTER ALEXANDER’s Guests of Honor, I was privy to fantastic company in the form of such notable East Coast martial artists as MASTER ALAN GOLDBERG of “ACTION MARTIAL ARTS MAGAZINE”; GRANDMASTERS HENRY CHO of TAEKWONDO, ISAAC HENRY of BK KARATE, BUDDY AMATO of GOJU RYU, ED MAcGRATH of NAGLE ISSHINRYU, VINCENT MARCHETTI of MICHI BUDO RYU & GARY himself, who happens to be a legendary fighter in KARATE & the creator of ISSHINRYU PLUS…..To top things off, I was even surprised with an award that night!

For those of you who have been trying to contact me lately, my apologies……I have been sick with the flu for the last week & have been doing nothing but lying in bed, aside from going to & from the bathroom….. It has been a trying period because of the stomach virus I caught, coupled with the boredom of doing nothing…..Now, I have all my correspondence to catch up on. So, again my apologies for not replying if you called, wrote or e-mailed me before & I will be getting back to you real soon!

Am I recruiter for the U.S. Military?.....No, I’m not, but my students locally in the Hombu seem to be going in that direction……First, there was RON MOODY who became a NAVY S.E.A.L.; then MICHAEL BROWN, a former Jacksonville SWAT Team instructor & student of mine who was hired for security work in Iraq; then EVAN TAYLOR who graduated as an Officer in the Marines; & now there’s JEREMY HUGGINS who was just accepted to West Point……JEREMY will be continuing his studies in San-Jitsu via long distance video instruction while undergoing schooling in New Jersey. CONGRATULATIONS JEREMY on your being accepted to West Point & we wish you MUCH SUCCESS in the future with your military career!……

Heard from SENSEI PHILLIP SPEARS in Texas that his Wife, Glenda had to have both of her Thyroid Glands removed because of Cancer. She is currently in recovery after having been given a radiation pill to kill off any remaining Cancer in her body……Please say a prayer for her speedy recovery & for PHILLIP……

Also, SENSEI ROBERT SCHMITT of NORTH CAROLINA is undergoing medical treatment for Spinal Stenosis. The condition is a narrowing of the spinal column which causes acute pain. A good friend, student & EXCELLENT grappler of the first order, ROBERT must now forgo any strenuous physical activity & is currently undergoing physical therapy for his condition…….

Received an e-mailed invitation from GRANDMASTER MAURICE ELMALEM, Editor of BUDO INTERNATIONAL AMERICA in New York that he is interested in having an article on SAN-JITSU from us. We will be working on a piece for the magazine shortly after the New Year……We thank him for the invitation!