Grand Master Saul Tallbear

I wanted to share with you one of the great inspirations of my Martial Arts journey, Supreme Grand Master Saul Tallbear (for us who love and respect him, we just call him Sifu). I a young green belt at Steve Fischer's first tournament at Gardena High School, I saw one of the most incredible performances of my life. It was Sifu performing one of the forms of the Southern Chinese style of Tai Liu Chuan Fa (an eagle and Mantis system) - it was amazing. Years went by, and I continue to admire him from a far, watching him win the Master's fighting division at the Long Beach Internationals . . .Year after year. There are so many stories I can tell you about him, and my experiences with him, but I just want to share a few. When we speak about Chi, this man fills the biggest auditoriums just by walking in. I remember what he wore at Mr. Parker's funeral - a long mandarin with an Indian breastplate, again, his presence was know among the thousands in attendance. Just talking to him and being close enough for him to poke you in the chest with him finger would be enough to get a bruise the next day. Years continue to go by and I got a chance to get closer to him and had the opportunity to visit his Las Vegas dojo. I also ran several of his tournaments, and he always very apritiative and took care of me well. I learned much from him about Martial Arts history, and lots of things about life as well. Unfortunately, Sifu had lots of very bad things happen to his family within a short period of time, which included the loss of his son (who was following his Martial Arts footsteps). This was more than most humans could stand and set Sifu on a downward spiral, which devastated everything about his life and finances. I only mention this because very few people actually helped him during this time - this upset me very much, since he had given so much of himself to others and to the Martial Arts, and everyone turn their backs to him. When I would ask about him, they would say "well, he's ....." or "he ....", and I would ask them if they helped him, but they all put their head down - very disgracefully. Sifu is a very hard man to find, but finally I was able to track him down in Las Vegas last year and had a great time drinking coffee and having breakfast with him, he is on his way back up and doing well. The most important thing I would like to share with everyone is the fact that Sifu Tallbear was responsible for naming my system GOSIKIDO; GO - for Goju-Ryu and Shotokan (my hard styles), SI - for my Kung Fu styles, KI - for Aikido and my Chi principles, and DO - for the way. I will be eternally grateful for such an honor he bestowed on me.