May 2007 Newsletter

When did you first start training at PAMA?

I was introduced to Jeet Kune Do and PAMA about five years ago, which is more than a third of my life (and the part I remember best).

What made you first interested in Martial Arts?

My father had been doing karate at a different school, which I had been interested in doing, but when he switched to PAMA, my brother started doing classes with him. Since both seemed to enjoy doing it so much and I had always wanted to do something like martial arts, I eventually asked if I could sign up as well.

What are some of the key things that Martial Arts has taught you?

Martial arts is much more than a sport to me. It has become a lifestyle, and has affected my personal philosophies and behaviors. You need a certain level of respect and discipline (both mentally and physically) which I didn't have before coming to PAMA. Attaining that level of discipline has especially helped me with my schoolwork, which most people would now compliment.

What are your favorite arts and why?

Overall, I would say that my favorite art would be kickboxing because of its applicability. However, I feel that having a strong foundation in many arts is a good idea because not every situation will fall into your area of expertise.

You just started in the Junior Assistants program. What are the benefits that you see this will provide you and what benefits can you provide to the other students?

With my level of knowledge I feel I can help the people who need it, especially the beginning students, so that the more experienced instructors can spend more of their time devoted to the more advanced students. Hopefully this will help me as well by forcing me to think about each and every technique and reflect on my own training. Returning to the basics seems like a good idea for me right now.

Last year you transitioned to the Adult's Program. How do you think that the Children's program prepared you and how do you feel about your training now?

Besides learning only the crude movements of the techniques, the instructors made sure that I learned the finesse behind each movement and helped me understand the purpose. Being in the Children's program allowed me much more personal attention from the instructors, which greatly helped me with my training in early childhood.

Anything else additional you would like to add?

Attending classes at PAMA has been a life changing experience for me and I hope to even further integrate it into my life. I also plan to start taking different classes in addition to the ones I am currently in. Finally, my friends who also take martial arts (either PAMA or a different school) and I are planning to start training together more in order to obtain the next level in our arts.

What is your background in the Martial Arts and where do you train now?

I started martial arts in 1994 at the age of 15. I went to a Kung Fu Wing Tsun school in my town in Belgium, near Brussels. Bruce Lee movies and friends motivated my choice. After 3 years the school closed and I continued to train in Savate - french kickboxing. During this period I also practiced a little bit of boxing, kickboxing and yoseikan budo. Because I had no school anymore I decided in 2001 to give kung fu courses to not lose all I had learned. I remember at this time I began reading Bruce Lee's books and was more and more fascinated by him for a lot of reasons. At the same time, I was lucky to start Jeet Kune Do at Chris Cornaz's GAMA (Switzerland) where I went sometimes. Then I made seminars in Europe with several teachers to learn much and to have materials to practice in Belgium: Rick Tucci, Salem Assli, and even Dan Inosanto, Jesse Glover and Tim Tacket. So my kung fu classes became progressively Jun Fan JKD classes. To me, teaching always have meant learning and training at the same time. In 2005, I obtained my first certificate in 11 years training and now I’m an apprentice instructor in Jun Fan JKD under Chris Cornaz, at least on the paper... In 2005 I also continued to train in Wing Chun and also in Chinese Kickboxing (sanda or sanshou) with the best teacher and fighter in Belgium, because I wanted to experiment in competition, which I did and obtained the Belgian champion title. Now I teach Jun Fan Gung Fu and Chinese boxing in my school and of course I continue to train, which is the most important because like Sifu Dan says, we are eternal students.

When were you first exposed to Sifu Rick Tucci and the Princeton Academy of Martial Arts?

It was in Geneva, April 2004. Sifu Rick was invited by GAMA for a seminar and my teacher Chris strongly recommended me to come.

What do you do and what are your interests outside of the Martial Arts?

I have a Masters in Psychology and a degree in teaching. For 3 years I taught religion in high school and I am studying theology at the same time. I thus have a passion for theses different subjects, but also for animals and nature since I am young. In general, I like to learn from every source I can: people, books, magazines, television, ...

What made you decide to travel to Princeton and how long did you train at PAMA?

I decided to travel to PAMA because I wanted to experiment with one week of full time training. But also because I knew that PAMA is one of the best martial arts schools in the USA, specially for Jun Fan Gung Fu. I also knew that Sifu Rick was one of the best instructors under Dan Inosanto. Actually he invited me to come when I asked him at his last seminar in Brussels.

Was training at PAMA what you expected? What were your favorite parts?

Yes, I was expecting that, but I was surprised by the kindness and the discipline of the people I met. I have learnt a lot in multiples ways: for me, for my training, for my students. My favorite parts was definitely Jun Fan classes. But I enjoyed Muay Thai too because it is useful for my Chinese Kickboxing training and even close to it in several aspects. I also liked grappling because it's new for me and finally I see that Kali and Silat techniques comes progressively so I'm happy too.

As an instructor in the Martial Arts, what lessons will you take back to your students?

Maybe more discipline and more involvement in the training. To make them more conscious of the benefits of serious training for themselves. To show more for some of them that martial arts can not be reduced to the sport of the self defense dimension. Finally to show them more how Bruce Lee's method and concepts were so rich and original.

Any other comments?

I would really like to thank Sifu Rick, Guro Amy, the instructors, the staff and the students for the week I had. You have given to me a great impression of martial arts and of American people. Like you say in America: God bless you all!