The Vadha Federation
Issue IV July-August 99

It has been a busy summer for The Federation and it's members.  The Federation continues to get stronger, following it's mandate to "...promote and safeguard he integrity of the rare internal martial art, VADHA." From the Constitution of the Vadha Federation.

VADHA CLASSES

To the delight of his students, Master Michael Manning re-instituted his Vadha class in Staten Island.  He maintains a regular class schedule at his local Catholic parish.  To find out more about his class schedule, contact Master Manning directly.

Staten Island now has two accredited Vadha schools available to interested students.

WEDDING BELLS

Congratulations to Master Vincent McCrave, who tied the knot on July 10.  We wish you all the best that life has to offer to your and your new wife.

His lovely bride, Margaret, is a native of Poland, who immigrated to the U.S. with her parents.  She and Vincent met at a Vadha class run by Master Michael Wyka several years ago.

No there's another advantage to taking up Vadha!

THE FEDERATION BOARD

The wedding of the Mayha Master's son, Vincent, naturally brought a number of Vadha masters to Inverness, Florida.  When we looked around it was realized that six of the seven Vadha Federation directors were together for the festivities.  An impromptu board meeting was arranged to take advantage of an opportunity that does not come along very often.

Attending the meeting were:  Mayha Master Jack McCrave, Mater Jack McCrave, (Jr.), Master Michael Wyka, Master Brian Wyka, and Master Michael Manning.

A great deal of work was done by the board in a short period of time.  After a session of very spirited debate, the board, with the Mayha Master's approval, voted unanimously on a number of matters that will positively affect every Vadha artist in the not too distant future.

Active instructors will be contacted by Master Jack McCrave (Jr.) shortly to incorporate the new legislation into their teaching.

Of greatest importance were the decisions of the board to 1)institute the special rank of "Examiner", 2)declare a temporary moratorium on master level gradings, 3) and to set up a commission to codify Vadha's existing Moving Exercises for use in all Vadha schools.

The Federation board also voted on the board members for the new two year term.  It was unanimously agreed to keep the board as is for a new term.

The three permanent members are:

Mayha Master Jack McCrave, Sixth Degree Master Jack McCrave (Jr.), and Fifth Degree Master Michael Wyka.  The four temporary members are:  Second Degree Masters Vincent McCrave and Chris Fedele, and First Degree Masters Brian Wyka and Michael Manning.

BLACK BELT TESTED FOR SUMADHI

Master Michael Manning was tested in the traditional manner, the Burning, for Sumadhi, on July 10, 1999.

Taking part in the testing were Mayha Master Jack McCrave, his eldest son, Master Jack McCrave (Jr.), Master Michael Wyka, and Master Brian Wyka.

In preparation for the Burning, Master Manning was required to spar with Masters Jack McCrave, Michael Wyka, and Brian Wyka.  The sparring was extremely vigorous and, in the words of Master Michael Wyka, "a whole lot of fun!"

After Mayha Master Jack McCrave and his son, Jack, were satisfied with Master Manning's sparring skills, the candidate removed his uniform top and was tested for Sumadhi by the Mayha Master and Masters Jack McCrave and Michael Wyka.

Congratulations, Master Manning, on joining the ranks of the "Burned" masters.

As a side note, Karate Sensei Andy Blackburn was gracious to loan the Federation the use of his studio for the test.  Thank you, Sensei Blackburn.

FROM "THE VADHA CODE"

An excerpt from Appendix A of THE VADHA CODE:

Very soon after that, a young bricklayer from Staten Island decided to vacation in Palm Beach, Florida.  It was during that vacation that the young bricklayer, Jack McCrave, met Omah Kellie for the first time.  He was walking beside a fence when a loud "Crack" caught his attention.  Looking over the fence he saw a thin, dark skinned man in baggy shorts leaning over a broken 4x4 piece of lumber.  As he watched, Omah Kellie tossed the broken square post aside and grabbed another from a pile.  He set the new, unbroken 4x4 into homemade brackets which slanted it slightly.  As the young McCrave realized what the man was about to attempt, he almost called out, but kept still at the last moment.  The wiry little man, standing back a few paces from the post, launched himself towards it, his foot snapping out to strike at the wood.  With an almost deafening "CRACK," the 4x4 split in half, the two halves falling to ground even as the man straightened himself up.

Kellie taught a small group of students in the backyard of his Palm Beach home.  Jack McCrave quickly attached himself to this group and soon became Kellie's star student.  He spent six months out of every year in intensive training with Kellie, and the remaining six months applying the principles he had learned.  Before Omah Kellie emigrated to England, Jack McCrave had attained the highest combat ranking possible in Vadha - that of the Mayha Master."

GUEST INSTRUCTION by Master Michael H. Wyka

Sparring is the best way we have to approximate a real life conflict.  And since one of our principle reasons for training in Vadha is to protect ourselves and our loved ones from such conflicts, sparring necessarily must be a cornerstone of every novice and master's training.

To improve your sparring, I offer the following tips:

1. Maintain a good balance stance.  All of our techniques, mental & physical, flow from a good balance stance.

2.  Don't step.  Slide your feet in sparring.

3.  If you're having trouble with an opponent's kicks, fight closer, and use your legs to "chock" his kicks before they develop speed.  (You'll also find the mental technique "encompassment" is very useful in close fighting).

4.  De-focus your eyes.  This is elementary, but even masters have to practice the basics over and over again.

5.  Maintain level.  I can't stress the importance of staying in your highest attainable level when sparring.  Even if you do nothing else with Punap, just BEING in level during sparring gives you an advantage.

6.  Use attack patterns to set up and complete your attack.

7.  Don't stop sparring if contact is made, until the instructor or referee calls out "break."

8.  Approach each sparring session as a learning experience, not as a conflict.  You have nothing to prove in the sparring ring.  You have only to learn.  You have lost the match only if you have learned nothing.

These are just a few tips my students have found useful.  When you find you can hold level effortlessly throughout your sparring, it's time to add more advanced Punap applications to your arsenal.  Each student is different, but most commonly the sequence of learning moves from being able to hold level, to flowing internal energy, to "bursting" internal energy, to "encompassment". and so on.  Good luck.

THE VADHA CODE

For a copy of the Vadha Code-2nd edition, just write to The Vadha Federation's acting Secretary, Master Michael Wyka, at the above address & include $10 to cover the Code's cost and shipping.  Master Wyka is publishing 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.  Consult the Vadha Code for information regarding registration and other requirements.

VADHA WEB SITE

Master Brian Wyka is researching the necessary steps toward establishing a Vadha Federation web site.  The Federation hopes to have their site up & running, as a resource to novices & masters alike, by the end of the year.

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 welcome for submission.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

SOLIDARITY.  Again and again, I kept recalling this word at this past weekend's gathering of Vadha masters for the wedding of one of our own.  We gathered as friends and relatives, but with something more in common than most friends and relatives normally share.  We shared a common bond in one of the world's rarest martial arts.

Joining in the celebration were SIX Vadha masters, two Vadha assistant instructors, and several Vadha novices.

Most of the others there at the wedding and reception knew nothing of the common bond between all of us.  But we knew.  We each held a piece of something unique, something rare, something very challenging and at times, elusive, but something very satisfying.  The day after, the Vadha masters gathered for a special class from the Mayha Master, and for Master Manning's Burning Test.  Again, the word SOLIDARITY, kept coming to mind.

I had the pleasure of sparring with Masters Jack McCrave (Jr.), Michael Manning, and Brian Wyka.  It was my first time sparring with Master Manning ad I was impressed with his level of skill.  But among the masters present, without exception, there was no ego, no desire for one-upmanship, no strutting peacocks like you see so often in the martial arts.

Of course, each master sparred hard and well (I have the bruises to prove it).  But after each match, we saluted each other with respect, and with a mutual feeling of yes, SOLIDARITY.

These men are my friends each and every one.  But in a very real way, they are my brothers too. Together we share something that, literally, only a handful of individuals have a part of.  And we have each pledged, through the Federation, to safe-guard this common bond, this Vadha.

How many individuals can claim to belong to such a unique fraternity?

Take a look at the list of masters certified by the Federation.  How many are there?  At this time, less than a dozen.  And of these masters, how many have Burned?  Just SIX.

Each master on that list should feel honored to be there in that exclusive company.

But whether a novice, or master, you have a part in the Vadha Federation.  You share in it's responsibilities to safeguard the purity of the art.

Be proud of this SOLIDARITY you possess with your fellow Vadha artists.  And show it.

Show it in the respect you give to your instructor, and to your fellow students.  Show it every time you speak of Vadha or enter the sparring ring.  Show it by encouraging your fellow Federation member, and by making yourself the best Vadha artist your hard work and potential will allow you to be.

And above all, show this SOLIDARITY by avoiding the petty conflicts and ego trips that so often injure martial art schools and styles everywhere.

So what if a certain Vadha artist is better than you!  That is not the goal of Vadha.  That is not the goal of the martial arts.

My goal is not to be better that Master Chris Fedele, or Master Michael Manning, or even Master Jack McCrave.  My goal is to be the best Vadha master I can be.

Let that be your goal and everything else will fall into place.

In Solidarity,

Master Michael H. Wyka