GATHERING OF THE TRIBES "Land of the lost boys"

To those who know me there is no need to explain the GATHERING OF THE TRIBES, for those who do not know me or what I am into, an explanation will be hard to deliver. Two times a year a number of like minded martial artists from all over get together to share food “beer” curry and various IMA/FMA lines of thought.

Now, for those who are in Karate type arts, this is unheard of. But, to us, it is absolutely normal. We meet in a little dojo, bothoan, dojang , qwoon- or polebarn out in the woods just a short drive from downtown Grand Rapids. This little piece of property hosts a number of open hearted and giving instructors, students and afficitionados of the martial way from axe throwing, to slice and dice.

This year was no different. On hand for the GATHERING were;

Guru Mushtaq Ali------Senior Instructor of Silat Zulfikari.
Cody Fielding ---- from San Francisco - Certified sports conditioning specialist and health coach from Empowered Health
Guru Bobbe Edmonds ----- from Seattle Washington- owner and head instructor of Edmonds Martial Arts Academy

James Kohlenberg----- Pressure Point Release- Physical Therapist

Chuck Pippen ------ from San Yun Do Grand Rapids

And Myself

Some camped out, some stayed in motels, and some even crashed on the living room floor. All spent 3 days of various training from knife making, Grappling, Stick compression techniques, pressure point release training, Buno lockflow and applications, Silat knife work, training gear applications, 3 section staffwork, and even a few off to the side one on one training sessions.

This year was one of the best sessions I have been to and it was day after day of nice weather where we could work outside. These people leave their egos at the door and proceed to just explore and dissect many avenues of the arts presented.

A total shock to me was the presentation of acknowledgement of my rank and acceptance as one of the founding fathers of this event - an honor that I did not expect but was dropped on me - blind sided if you will. Guro Bobbe Edmonds had a certificate made up and signed by all of the Nonaligned martial artists that are the core of our group. This means a lot as I hold a high level of respect for these guys. To have them say we recognize you as one of us and one of the core people is quite an honor.

With me this weekend getaway to the land of Lost Boys was Deb. We camped out in the Taj Mahal of tents and ran up a high number of kisses. "Get a room" was heard a few times. She has been my co partner in crime and I am not sure what I would do without her there. The last night was quite interesting from the screeches of a stuck raccoon to the wind playing havoc with the tent. For a while we were wondering if we would be still in Kansas come morning.

Here is a link to some of the photos and videos taken at this years Gathering.

http://www.4shared.com/dir/7277527/111c6465/2008_Spring_Gathering.html