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Newsletter of the Vadha Federation |
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| The Vadha Federation
P.O. Box 190 Floral City FL 34453 FEDERATION NEWS Master Chris Fedele, who already maintains a busy teaching schedule at his Staten Island school, recently opened classes in New Jersey. Master Fedele is being assisted in his class load by his instructors, Lee Sylvester and Billy Peacock. Master Jack McCrave traveled to Staten Island last fall, at the invitation of Masters Chris Fedele and Michael Manning. Master McCrave visited Master Fedele's Guyon Avenue school to instruct Masters Fedele and Manning and some of Master Fedele's select students. Master McCrave plans a similar visit this summer, to culminate in a grading in September. GRADING NEWS Master Brian Wyka held a grading in March for his Vadha class. Congratulations to Joseph Mitchell, of Daytona, who received his Grade 4 Green Belt; and to Matthew Carnevale, of Inverness, who received his Grade 5 Green Belt.
OLD NEWS Many Vadha students and instructors have purchased the second edition of the The Vadha Federation's "Vadha Code", availing themselves of the guidelines in The Code, and thereby ensuring that their teaching is in accord with that handed down by the Mayha Masters. In addition, The Code contains the updated Constitution of the Federation, a current list of board members, and instructors sanctioned by The Federation. For a copy, write to The Federation's acting secretary, Master Michael Wyka, at the address above and include $10 to cover the printing and shipping. Master Wyka is printing The Code at his own expense, so please make any checks out to him personally. REGISTRATION Registration with The Vadha Federation is required of all Vadha Instructors and Assistant Instructors of Grade Seven or above. To register, just send The Federation the following information: Your Name, Address, Phone, Date of Birth, Sex, Current Rank, Date of Last Advancement, Number of Years You've been in Vadha, Your Instructor, Any Previous Martial Art Knowledge, Other Vadha Instructors You've Trained Under, and the Last Ranking Received From Each (please don't include Vadha-Kenpo rankings). If you are an instructor, and your name dows not appear in The Code, and you feel you should be sanctioned by The Federation, please contact Master Michael Wyka to remedy the situation.
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EDITORIAL by Master Michael H. Wyka Master Brian Wyka recently brought to my attention several pages from the web page for John Salvaggio's martial art system. The page contained a condensed article I wrote for Inside Karate several years ago. I want to stress to all Vadha practitioners that I do not endorse the contents of the web page, and have asked Tim Glennon, the page coordinator, to remove my article. He has graciously agreed to do so. That having been said, I feel it important to clarify some matters as regards the history of Vadha. Punap and the martial art that sprang from it, Vadha, originated in the Himalayan region of India and Tibet. The art is not a product of early Buddhism, or the Buddhist monk, Bodhidharma. Vadha is the martial system of a small caste of monks. That Vadha was created and spread by monks from the Himalayan region is the only coincidental similarity to the tales of the Buddhist monk, Bodhidharma. The truth of the matter is that the monks who practiced Vadha, or more accurately, who practiced Punap, were monotheists, as was Omah Kellie. As a product of their monastic system, Kellie believed in one God. Of course, his method worshipping differed from the monotheistic systems we Westerners are used to; Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, but the object of his religion was one, transcendent God.
It is a shame that whenever anyone mentions an Indian, most people assume he is either Hindu or Buddhist. The truth is that Northern India, Tibet, and Nepal are home to dozens upon dozens, if not hundreds of religions. Many of these are derivations of the major religions of Hinduism & Buddhism. But many others are complete departures from these religions. One such religion, much different from either Hinduism or it's offspring, Buddhism, was that practiced by Omah Kellie and his fellow Mayha Masters. A very common mistake people make when searching for commonalties between cultures is to assume that because a word they've "heard" sounds or looks similar to a word they see in a book, the two must be related. It is important to remember that these words, as we cross from ancient Aryan civilization to 20th century America, have been "Anglicized". The original words were written in ancient Sanskrit. Sanskrit is not a language of Roman letters and numerals, as our English is. As such, the phonetic word that came to you from your instructor that sounded like Dhrama, for example, can not be automatically attributed to a similar sounding word that has been translated over and over to the present day English, such as "Bodhidhrarma". To continue, there have been a number of misstatements made of late regarding Vadha's history, by martial artists of Salvaggio's system. First, Omah Kellie never met the Dalai Lama and did not learn Vadha from him (the Dalai Lama is a pacifist). Kellie's mother, a high caste Indian, placed him in a monastery in the Himalayas as a small boy. He left the monastic walls as a man. It was there he learned Punap & Vadha. His father was a member of the British armed forces in India. Another piece of misinformation being disseminated is that Jack McCrave, when he moved to Florida from Stated Island in 1977, left the growth of Vadha to John Salvaggio. The Mayha Master Jack McCrave, as all members of The Vadha Federation know, is still very much involved in Vadha. If he has left it's growth to anyone, it would have to be said that he has left it to his son, Jack, who holds the highest combat ranking possible in Vadha, sixth degree Master. The Mayha Master is the prime authority on Vadha in the United States. Simply because John Salvaggio's system does not recognize him as it's head, means nothing. That system is not Vadha. And in Vadha, the Mayha Master still maintains his authority.
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In the past, I have gone to great lengths in
my discourse and in my writings to be very respectful of John Salvaggio
and the system he has created. I understand that most of the black
belts of his system are third and even fourth generation from John
Salvaggio. These individuals accept what they have been taught by
their teachers. They work hard. They fight hard. And
the system has spread. I respect each and every one of these black
belts for the blood and sweat he or she has put into his belt.
Each one has, I am sure, truly deserved his ranking in John Salvaggio's
system. But that is all. The ranking is in John Salvaggio's
system, something he created on his own. That system's roots begin
at John Salvaggio. They go no further. It's members can not
lay claim to Vadha's roots and the authority & wisdom of countless
generations of Mayha Masters because their founder, a first degree Vadha
black belt, has broken from that tradition and that succession. To
claim a relationship to Vadha, they would at least have to adhere to the
authority of the present Mayha Master, which they do not. A branch
grows weaker, not stronger, as it grows away from the trunk. The system founded by John Salvaggio begins with him. It's history begins with him, and more properly has it's roots in Kempo Karate than in Vadha. It is my opinion that John Salvaggio's students should embrace this side of their system, for it is this side around which John Salvaggio built his martial system. Leave Vadha to Vadha masters who adhere to the pure art taught by the Mayha Masters. Master Michael Wyka [After I wrote this editorial, but before the newsletter went to print, I had the good fortune to speak with Tim Glennon directly, regarding the contents of his web page. We discussed the errors of the page regarding Vadha, past & present, many of which were mentioned in this editorial. Tim was more than happy to correct the web page to better reflect the true origins and current status of Vadha. The mistakes were not intentional or malicious. The information had been given him by instructors of Salvaggio's system and he accepted it in good faith, having no reason to doubt it's accuracy.] VADHA NEWS & EDITORIAL If you have any newsworthy items you'd like to see included in the next newsletter, feel free to send them to the address above. If you'd like an item returned, please include a SASE. Editorial comment is welcome. If published, your editorial may be edited for brevity. Editorial comment is not necessarily the point of view of The Vadha Federation.
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