Issue #6 - July 2001
Editor - Michael H. Wyka
The Vadha Federation
P.O. Box 190
Floral City, FL 34436
www.vadha.net
FEDERATION NEWS
NOTE ON NAMES & SPELLING
Throughout this newsletter, reference will be made to Vadha’s two highest ranked Masters, the Maha Master Jack McCrave and red sash sixth degree master Jack McCrave. To avoid confusion, the Maha Master will be referred to by his title, whereas his son will be referred to as Master McCrave or red sash Jack McCrave.
The title Maha is from the Sanskrit which means, Ultimate. Sanskrit obviously does not use English characters (letters). Rather, Maha is a phonetic translation of the Sanskrit word to English. As such, from time to time, Maha is seen spelled as Mayha. In non-Vadha literature as well, the two spellings seem to be used with equal frequency. The important thing, however, is to note the meaning of the
word, whether it be spelled as Maha or Mayha.
GRADING
Students of 1st rank (2nd degree) Master Brian M. Wyka took part in a novice level grading, March 13, 2001. Master Brian Wyka conducted the grading, with assistant instructor Matt Deshais assisting.
Alfons Bemmel advanced to
Green Belt, grade 5.
Bryan Affee advanced to
Green Belt, grade 4.
Kevin Durham advanced to
Yellow Belt, Grade 2.
Ted Marcinkiewicz advanced to
Yellow Belt, Grade 1.
Congratulations.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Master Brian Wyka’s next general grading is scheduled for September 13, 2001.
NEWS FROM THE SEMINAR
The seminar took place in Master Brian Wyka’s new Floral City Vadha studio.
Instruction began at 9 a.m. on June 2 and ran through the day until just after 5 p.m. On Sunday, June 3, instruction began at 10:30 a.m. and ran through the day until just after 6 p.m. (With lunch breaks, of course).
The Vadha Federation picked up the tab for lunch on the first day, and the whole crowd of black Vadha t-shirted martial artists walked over to the Shamrock tavern for lunch. We got more than a few eyebrows raised from the local crowd. Still, the food was good, or as my father in law says, “It was gut wadding.”
Attending the seminar were Maha Master Jack McCrave, Red Sash Jack McCrave, Red Sash Michael Wyka, 2nd degree black belt Vincent McCrave, 2nd degree black belt Brian Wyka, and 1st degree black belt Michael Manning.
Novices in attendance were brown belts Matt Deshais, Sharon McCrave, and Rory McCrave, green belts Jason Baker, Alfons Bemmel, Brian Manning, and Bryan Affee, yellow belt Luke Goldstein, and making the drive from Tennessee, Jeff Brown.
The instructors at the seminar went over a HUGE amount of information in the short two day span.
Red Sash Jack McCrave conducted a class on the lunge punch. Some might say, “why the lunge punch?” After all, the lunge punch is the most basic of Vadha weapons, one of the first techniques learned.
But during this session, this effective weapon of Vadha was dissected and analyzed. Each student’s punch was critiqued and examined for areas of improvement. The instructors were not immune to this. Each one got up and had his punch critiqued by the Red Sash.
Even those who had fundamentally sound lunge punches came away with new tips to tweak even more power from this potent technique.
I had the pleasure of conducting the first class of the seminar, on break falls and take-downs (pass the aspirin bottle, please). Most of those in attendance already had a good mastery of break falls, so we were able to move quickly on to take-downs which took up the balance of the first morning.
Master Brian Wyka gave a session on the dynamics of the side kick, a kick he has mastered to a very high level.
Other sessions dealt with various techniques, primary and secondary parries, proper foot movement, first level punap, attack patterns, and more.
The seminar closed with sparring.
Red Sash Jack McCrave gave an impressive demonstration of the Punap weapons targeting and befuddlement. Jack first brought up green belt Alfons Bemmel and demonstrated targeting. Then he called up brown belt Matt Deshais and continued the lesson. Finally, green belt Jason Baker felt first hand what it is like to be befuddled by a red sash.
I can’t wait to see the video tape of these matches.
As a student of Jack’s father, I have been on the receiving end of the Maha Master’s targeting and befuddling many times. During the younger Jack’s demonstration, I was struck with how similar his techniques and his father’s are.
Summary: For me, the seminar had many positives, and only one negative (there just was not enough time!). It was good to see old friends again, and an opportunity to make new ones. The seminar was a learning experience for me and my fellow instructors, as well as for the novices present. I learned a great deal from my fellow black belts, in particular, from Red Sash Jack McCrave.
But what most impressed me about the entire seminar, was seeing students and instructors of Vadha from Staten Island and Florida, performing identical techniques and parries. When it came time to practice parries, or combinations, or techniques such as the hammer blow, there was no confusion as to the proper method.
These Vadha practitioners each had a good grasp of the CORE fundamentals of the style, namely, Punap, the balance stance, and the principal of arcs. With these three blocks as a foundation, a Vadha practitioner could be dropped off on a desert island, away from contact with any Vadha masters, and his Vadha would progress along the proper lines.
There was no doubt that each Vadha student there had learned his art from a Vadha Master.
The high level of pure Vadha exhibited was a credit to each instructor who brought students to the seminar. In particular, I want to recognize Master Michael Manning and his students. Whereas I have the benefit of other black belts in the area, including the Maha Master himself, Michael only infrequently receives instruction from Red Sash Jack McCrave. Yet he has taken advantage of each and every lesson. He has shown, and his students have shown, just what can be built from a solid foundation.
I am eagerly looking forward to next year’s seminar.
Master Brian Wyka demonstrating a Vadha side kick at Seminar 2001
VIDEO AVAILABLE
Master Brian Wyka had a video camera recording quietly in the corner of his studio during the seminar. If you would like copies of the video tapes, give him a call at 352-344-5882. The cost is $ 20.00 (a two tape set).
CONGRATULATIONS
A sincere congratulations to Master Jack McCrave, who
is anticipating the birth of his second child in a few months.
Congratulations, Jack and Teresa.
May God’s good angels keep watch over you, Teresa, and the little one you are carrying.
VADHA IN CYBER SPACE
http://www.vadha.net - the Federation’s official news site.
http://www.vadha.com - Master Brian Wyka’s Vadha site, with an excellent cyber forum for questions, and the exchange of ideas.
http://www.vadha.org - a second official Federation site.
http://www.vadha.50megs.com - Master Michael Wyka’s not too serious addition to cyber-space.
All Federation members are encouraged to send articles of interest (gradings, class schedules, accomplishments, etc.) to Master Brian Wyka to be posted on the Federation web-site.
He can be reached by mail at the Federation address, or through the vadha.net web-site via electronic mail.
MASTER LEVEL GRADING REQUIREMENTS CODIFIED
Because of the importance of the following news, it is being repeated from the previous newsletter:
The Federation has codified the requirements for master level grading.
For years, master level gradings have been conducted using general guidelines set forth by the Mayha Master. Using these guidelines as a starting point, and staying faithful to them red sash masters Jack McCrave and Michael Wyka have completed the more specific requirements for each black belt level through third degree.
Masters Wyka and McCrave are currently working on the more difficult task of codifying the requirements for fourth through sixth degree master.
The new requirements were used at Master Brian Wyka’s recent grading.
All future master level gradings, including new black belt gradings, will use these master level grading requirements.
In this way, the Federation is further ensuring that all instructors wearing the Vadha symbol will truly represent the body of knowledge safeguarded by the Federation.
Balance Stance Foot Pattern
BOARD MEETING
The gathering of masters at the recent seminar gave the board of the Vadha Federation an opportunity to meet and address pressing business.
Board members present were Maha Master Jack McCrave, Red Sash Jack McCrave, Red Sash Michael Wyka, Master Vincent McCrave, Master Brian Wyka, and Master Michael Manning.
The board tackled a number of issues of importance to the Federation’s stated purpose of “safeguarding” Vadha.
Much of the business of the board stays within the board, but much pertains to the entire Federation. Among those developments newsworthy for the entire Federation are:
1. The institution of an annual membership fee of $25 for registration in the Vadha Federation.
The fee was determined to be mandatory for black belts, and voluntary for grades 0 - 9. Novices are encouraged to join, but not required.
All registered members will be listed on the official web-site, vadha.org, and will receive any official newsletters issued by the Federation.
2. The board voted in Master Vincent McCrave as Federation Treasurer, to administer the collection of membership dues.
3. Master Brian Wyka agreed to continue as webmaster.
4. The board agreed unanimously to lift the moratorium on new black belts.
This vote was hotly debated. In the end though, the board unanimously agreed on certain initiatives and actions necessary to ensure that future black belts would be true Vadha black belts. These measures should be fully in place by September.
In the future, black belt candidates will be graded according to the guidelines agreed upon at the previous Federation board meeting, and in accordance with the grading guidelines as presented by Masters McCrave and Wyka.
(In summary, a candidate’s instructor “presents” him to the Federation for grading. An appointed Federation inspector oversees the grading, and if the candidate measures up to Federation standards, the inspector “checks off”, so to speak, on the candidate for his black belt.)
5. Rank system changes.
It was readily and unanimously agreed that Maha Master Jack
McCrave embodies what is typically thought of in martial art circles as a 10th degree grandmaster.
As such, so that the entire society of martial artists recognize the Maha Master’s rank, it was further agreed that in the future, the title Maha Master would be synonymous with 10th degree.
This vote, which came only after a great deal of discussion and debate, brings the Vadha system of black belt grading into conformity with most Japanese, Okinawan, and Korean (and some Chinese) systems - black belt ranks 1 through 10, with only one 10th degree master.
It was further re-stated that 5th & 6th degrees (and above, logically), would be reserved for Vadha artists who’ve attained entry into 5th level. (This was not a new development, but simply a re-statement of the existing system).
It was again re-stated, that a master of 5th degree or above would be designated “red sash”.
6. Of Special Importance
Phyllis McCrave provided the cheese cake and other yummy desserts for the board meeting. Thank you from the bottom of our stomachs.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
by Master Michael H. Wyka
Past, Present, Future
What happened to Maha Master Jack McCrave’s early 1970’s school is common knowledge. So, I am not shocking anyone by mentioning the divisions of that early Zen Combat Institute after the Maha Master moved his family to Florida.
As great as many of Jack’s students were, none have left a permanent Vadha legacy. In fact, some of those students seemed hell bent on doing the exact opposite.
This is not a comment on their ability as martial artists. Each was trained, after all, by Maha Master Jack McCrave. But it is a pointed and direct comment on each of them as students and as black belts.
Skip ahead a decade to the 1980’s and the Maha Master’s new class in Florida. This class of students, taught in the Maha Master’s garage in Inverness, Florida, observed what happened to their predecessors.
I was privileged to be among them, along with the Maha Master’s sons, Jack, Vincent, and Rory, his daughters, Sharon and Theresa, and my own cousin Brian Wyka, as well as other fine Vadha artists.
We had the gift of hind sight, and we swore that what happened amongst the black belts in the Maha Master’s Zen Combat Institute would not happen among us.
We saw plainly the cause of the divisions within Vadha during the 1970’s. Plain and simply it was pride.
At the recent seminar, I was thrilled to see Vadha artists from both Florida and Staten Island sweating together and learning together. I saw the future of the Vadha Federation there. And I am confident that it is in good hands.
But I simply can’t turn off my word processor and close out this edition without asking one question that’s been on my mind:
Where were the rest of the New York / New Jersey Vadha students? WHERE WERE YOU?
I can not comment on what each of you has going in your personal lives. Jobs, family, commitments. They all take a chunk out of our time.
However, the word was spread early on about this seminar through mail and word of mouth. Each instructor knew about it. Yet only Master Michael Manning brought a contingent from Staten Island.
With just one exception, Master Lenny Maltese, the other Vadha black belts and students from N.Y. & N.J. did not even bother to respond to the invitations sent out by the Federation.
Of all Vadha artists, you could have benefited most from this seminar. You are isolated in many ways from Vadha. Pure Vadha is easy to find here in my neck of the woods, but for you, opportunities to train with good, skilled, pure Vadha black belts are few.
One would have thought you would have jumped at the opportunity for two full days of training with Red Sash Jack McCrave, with Master Vincent McCrave, with Master Michael Manning, with Master Brian Wyka, not to mention the many skilled novices in attendance.
To me, this was a snub, pure and simple - as though you feel you have nothing to gain from a seminar taught by the best Vadha black belts around.
Well boys, with that attitude you are right. If you had brought that attitude with you down south, you wouldn’t have gained a shred. For you, and for me, and for everyone in attendance, it was good in the end that you didn’t show.
But one thing is absolutely sure, in not even having the courtesy of responding to an invitation to the most important event of the Vadha Federation, you have showed just what you think of Vadha, of the Vadha Federation, and of it’s aims and goals.
But, there’s always next year.
Michael H. Wyka
REGISTRATION
Registration with The Vadha Federation is required of all Vadha Instructors. Consult the Vadha Code or VADHA.NET for information regarding registration and other requirements. Registration is $25 for the calendar year. Vadha practitioners of any rank may register. It is mandatory for instructors. Please send your $25 to Federation Treasurer, Master Vincent McCrave.
VADHA NEWS
Do you have something in mind for the next Vadha Federation newsletter?
Please send your submissions to the address on page one. If you want your original returned, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
Training tips, school news, gradings, personal news (births, weddings, etc.), and guest editorials are all very welcome for submission.
