San-Ryu-Do International

Where in the world is Doc and Company today?

Hello from hot and sunny Houston. UMAHoF once again hosted its annual board meeting and hall at the Sheraton. It was a great expo, hall and tournament. The four-day event had many luminaries from around the globe. Dear friends such as Soke Cullen, Grandmaster Hawkins, Grandmaster Stewart, Grandmaster Marenco, and of course our host, Professor Guerra. The tournament had nearly 200 competitors providing fierce competition all day long. The San-Ryu-Do crew judged diligently all day long. The whole event ran smoothly, with lots of positive energy from start to finish. Hats off to Professor Guerra and company for a fantastic event. This humble person is proud to be a part of the Board of this association and is looking forward to another great event next year.

From stormy St. Louis, I say hello. Major Porter once again threw a classy affair in St. Louis. Grandmaster Canette, Grandmaster Bustillo, Senior Master Herr, Judge Corbo, and numerous others made this weekend an unforgettable event. The dinner was another classy USMAA affair. Sensei Adamik, Dr. Braff, Senior Master Gerald Dean, and the rest of the table had a ball during the Hall.

Anchors away sailors! Ahoy from the beautiful Caribbean. This cruise started in Puerto Rico on the magnificent vessel, the Cruise Ship Destiny. St. Thomas, Dominica, Barbados, and Aruba were all part of the journey. Sensei Mike Patt, Master Cindy Kelly, Sensei Sharon Dolan, Senpai Ariel Braff, and Soke Cullen were all aboard the cruise. A great time was had by all. Grandmaster Dias, along with Professor Waldrip hosted this wonderful cruise. Friday night, one of the clubs on board held over 150 guests and 50 inductees. My dear friend, Grandmaster Ortega, along with some of his family, was inducted. The seminars that were held on board were delightful, professionally run, and we all had a ball. We look forward to next year with anticipation. I truly want to say to Master Dias, thank you for a great week with family that we won't soon forget.

Brisbane - The Gold Coast - Melbourne - Perth - From the top of Australia, to the bottom, east coast to west coast. This tour had all the earmarks that keep this humble person in martial arts. Over 12 seminars in CSW, San-Ryu-Do, and Self-Defense set the tone for these fast 3 weeks. Along with conferences and dinners with martial arts organizations and VIPs. Our industry is alive, well, and growing in the Pacific. My heartfelt thanks and hello must go out to Sensei Brad Koopman for hosting me in the Brisbane area. Thanks also to his lovely wife Rangsiya. The two made this humble person feel like an honored guest in their family. Lunch with Tino Cebrano at the Hog's Breath was a great 4 hours spent. I would like to say a big thanks to AMAHOF. I look forward to seeing you all in Adeline in June 2007. In Perth (western Australia) I would like to thank Master Ray Lawrence and his lovely wife Norma who hosted me. They have a beautiful party center. The aboriginal experience there will stay with me forever. Thanks also go out to Grandmaster Bradshaw who met with me in Melbourne, also Mel Lomax, Peter Kitat, and Les Eliot. I would be remiss on this trip not to mention that San-Ryu-Do opened up 2 new schools one in Brisbane AUS and one in Auckland NZ. Congrats to Brian Toomey for your promotion, you're a great guy and I look forward to visiting NZ next year.

While Dr. Braff was cruising the Caribbean, Sensei Brett Adamik was up in Maple, Ontario representing the International San-Ryu-Do Federation and the good ol' USA. Sensei Chris Jannetta along with his family and school host the annual Quest of Champions. The Quest is a wonderful tournament that draws a large crowd from all over Canada. The judges are well treated, the tournament always runs smooth, and it is a pleasure to visit every year.

Columbus, Cincinnati and Dayton made up this fast-paced Martial Arts weekend. Starting Friday evening at Grandmaster Hawkins' house. The conversations about Martial Arts history and philosophy were a marvel; the 3 of us had a great time. Early the next morning sensei Brett Adamik, Dr. Hawkins, and myself sojourned down to Cinci to Grandmaster Fairbanks' Day of the Masters/birthday party held at the Clarion Hotel in downtown Cinci. Although only I was only slated for 1 hour of seminars, this was extended to over 3.5 including seminars in Self-Defense, San-Ryu-Do, and Combative Sports Weaponry (CSW). The seminars were received with great enthusiasm from all the participants. Grandmaster Hawkins gave a wonderful 2-hour seminar on self-defense that had his folks begging for more. Many masters gave great seminars that day. At the birthday portion GM Fairbanks was presented with a sword by Dr. Hawk and myself, which he used to cut his birthday cake with. All in all the 100+ participants were treated to a long day of multifaceted Martial Arts training. Sunday we're on the road again to the Dayton area. Sensei Adamik, Dr. Hawkins, and Doc Braff sat on the promotions board for two young black belts held by Master Cindy Kelly and hosted by Sensei Mike Patt. Her students' knowledge and techniques were outstanding. Congrats to both on passing.

A sojourn to Maryland. The weekend started out early with a pleasant ride to Baltimore for the annual United States Head of Family Martial Arts Awards Banquet of Honor. It was a great event with over 350 attendees. Dr Parish, with his usual flair and class, held a wonderful event that included seminars, an expo, and a dinner. Sifu John Scott, GM Belau, GM Fairbanks, GM Hawkins, Dr. Parish, GM Park, and GM Francis from Trinidad, made up some of the notable guests at this gathering. The event was great and I look forward to next year.

It has been a long time since there have been any signifcant changes to the ISF websites. Therefore, I am pleased to announce the unveiling of this new layout for this site.

I must take the blame for the lack of updates, since lots of travelling, a job change, and life in general got in the way of my responsibilities. Look for more updates to this and the other SRD sites in the near future.

The article below was written for Action Martial Arts Magazine. Please check it out for informaion on ISF happenings for the past few months.

The belt testing in the UK was great. The ISF is proud to have such a great group of students in England. There are a lot of exciting things going on in San-Ryu-Do right now, so keep checking back for updates. We have just added a gallery from the testing, thanks to Virginia Chandler, so please check it out. Dr. Braff is also about to embark on his journey to Australia for the Australasian WKU Hall of Fame, so we will have news from that shortly.

Here's a thought in closing:

"I used to believe that imitation was the highest form of flattery, as the saying goes. But now, I find that imitators leave a lot to be desired when compared to the real thing."

In the now immortal words of Admiral Yamamoto after the attack on Pearl Harbor, "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." The ISF has begun to reawaken and this year we have a lot of things in the planning stages. A lot of changes have been made recently, we will now have this site, sanryudo.us, sanryudo.org, and sanryudo.org.uk. These sites will allow us to address the happenings in San-Ryu-Do in the various countries along with the global perspective. Because of these changes, Dr. Braff asks that all San-Ryu-Do schools get in contact with him, as well as the webmaster so that we can make sure all of the records are straight and that no one is left off of the websites. The website remained stagnant for a long while, but now it will be going through nearly constant change, so please bear with us and keep checking back to see what is coming up.

Welcome to one of the many new and exciting changes for International San-Ru-Do Federation. This website is but the first of many exciting innovations and things to happen to our art. Change and growth is a part of what will carry schools, instructors, and students into the future. Change is a natural fact of life, and it is either embraced or feared. ISF and San-Ryu-Do Iaijitsu will continue to lead this effort. Please stay tuned for many more announcements. All ISF sites will be updated with new formats and exciting changes to help carry us into the future. This site will be dedicated to the events and happenings for ISF in the US. Please be patient while these changes are underway. If you have any questions from this day forward, please address them directly to Dr. Braff. For now it is enough to say "Carpe Diem, Seize the Day!"