2008 Passage De Grade
This past year the Passage the Grade went as planned the abilities of the students showed while doing their exams.
The energy was great with the all participating in the structure of the the Guild. I thank the two advisors of the Guild Professeur Richard Sylla and Sifu Greg Ringness for their instructions of the roots of the system. Professeur Stephen Gougne for him teaching the energy of Savate: Boxe Francaise to all.
As the saying goes "move
like water strike like lighting", is true. The fulfillment of the goals of the
members was great to see come true.
This Passage de Grade was a history making one, with producing the first legitimate Women Silver glove of the United States. We know that their are many claimers yet never examined, as the rules goes to produce a Silver Glove you need three official Professeurs in the examination jury. Here we had Four: Professeurs Dr. Paul R. Buitron, Richard Sylla, Stephen Gougne and myself, were present in the formation of Silva Martinez as Silver Glove I.
What I fell intrigued about was
that I had not seen both Professeurs in over 10 years and we picked up where we
left off. This was quickly answered by Prof. Sylla, "when you have true
savateurs, you have no jealousy." That was a great answer.
On
Saturday after the Seminar we all gathered
round to a story telling joke telling over
fajitas and cold beer.
Immediately after the Passage we headed for the ranch to continue the cold beers with our brothers in the art.
Professeur Paul-Raymond Buitron III
4 jours de stage intensif, les
stagiaires venaient de Chicago- Ilinois, Dallas-Texas , Los
Angeles-California, Fenix Arizona.
C'est dans l'esprit du Guild travail et tradition, respect du professeur que
sait
deroulé ce séminaire de Laredo Texas.
A la fin du 4e Jour le stage s'est terminé par un passage de grade
particulièrement
relevé.
C'est une femme (Sylvia Martinez)qui est la première femme des USA a avoir le
gant
d'argent devant un jury d'experts internationnaux (Richard Sylla (France), Paul
Buitron (USA), Dr. Paul Buitron (USA), Sifu Greg Ringness (USA), Stéphane Gougne (France).
Merci a Paul pour ce séminaire organisais de main de maitre.
Prof. Stéphane Gougne
Thos
e
fortunate enough to attend the seminar
last week were treated to an unique
experience. I unfortunately was only in attendance for the Saturday afternoon
session and the Passage de Grade on Sunday afternoon. Prof. Sylla and Prof.
Gougne brought a level of knowledge and experience that very few have and were
gracious enough to share as much with us as a three day period would allow.
Although I missed their teaching sessions
on Friday and Saturday morning (which disappointed me greatly), I was told
numerous times by everyone I talked to how much they enjoyed and how much I
would have enjoyed the experience.
I did get to attend one of the sessions by Sifu Greg Ringness. Lots of fun to
say the least. I was able to put some things together in my mind about how Danse
de Rue works along with learning something
about
Kempo. For me, a better understanding of how strikes and movements flow together
was a key point for me.
Not that it hasn't been pointed out to me
before, but I'm slow learner and for some reason it kicked in with me during the
session with Sifu Ringness. Not only did Sifu do a great job teaching, but he
was a very friendly outgoing person that was more than happy to answer questions
and spend time working with you.
Although I did not take an exam, my highlight was being able to help out by
going rounds with the others that were taking their exam. The talent and work of
the students was very impressive. I can honestly say that no one was “given” or
bought a rank.
I
believe all involved were encouraged to work hard for the coming year. I'd like
to thank Prof. Buitron for his efforts of putting together a great seminar. It
was great to see and work with everyone once again.
Coach Kendall " Mecanico" Martin
The Guild's annual Passage De
Grade in Laredo, Texas.
A great time for Guild members
to get re-acquainted, meet new members and share experiences.
This year Prof.Buitron invited
three world class instructors for the event.
Professeur's
Richard Sylla, Stephan Gougne and Sifu Greg Ringness.
Prof. Sylla is a former World
Champion, 10 time French National Champion and Head
trainer for the French National team. His knowledge/instruction in Savate: Boxe
Francaise is unparalled. Prof. Sylla's instruction in distance/timing was one of
many things emphasized in class. To be able to work with a living legend in
Savate
was a memorable experience.
Prof. Gougne is a former French National Champion and one
of the most sought after
instructors in France. He demonstrated the integration of Savate: Boxe
Francaise's
hand/foot combinations. Prof. Gougne amazed the class with his flexibility and
kicking techniques.
Sifu Ringness emphasized the nature of Kenpo instilled in Danse De Rue Savate.
Sifu's aggressive pinpoint hitting demonstrated the destructive ability of Kenpo
which
left everyone shaking their heads in awe.
Prof. Buitron spoke about the importance of Savate's tradition. The need to
continue the tradition and that the Passage de Grade is a major part of that
tradition. Prof. let it be known that the Guild plans on continuing with
Savate's
tradition.
A special congratulations for Coach Sylvia fro her accomplishment on obtaining a
rank of Silver 1.
On the whole this years Passage de Grade was a great experience. It was good to
see
the
young
Zipotero's learning while having fun in the youth class taught by Prof.'s
Sylla and Gougne.
I was impressed by the new Blue gloves demonstrating the understanding of Danse de Rue.
The best group of Blue gloves
I've seen yet.Every participant will look back on this year's Passage with a
smile. To be honored by four World class instructors who teach with humility,
grace and a passion for
there arts is a special experience. Thanks to all for a great time.
Coach Stephen "Aujas" Wall
This has been a banner year for
the Guild. Never before in the Western Hemisphere has so much talent in the art
of savate been assembled in one place at one time. Four (count `em) full
professors of savate and one of the foremost practitioners of Ed Parker's
American Kenpo Karate convened this July in Laredo, Texas to be our instructors
and our board of examiners for this event.
Our Technical Director, Professor Paul Buitron III brought together his father
(and first professor of savate and zipota) Dr. Paul Buitron II (M.D.), Professor
Richard Sylla, Professor Stephen Gougne, and Guild Technical Advisor Sifu Greg
Ringness of the International Kenpo Karate Association (apprentice of the late
Sifu Keith See and Grandmaster Ed Parker).
The force behind enabling Professors Sylla and Gougne to come to the Passage
this year was the tireless work of the Buitron family - undisputed & undefeated
champions and America's premier patrons of the arts of savate. Richard Sylla and
Stephen Gougne are two of the most sought after instructors of savate boxing in
Europe - if not the world. We were very honored to have them at our event.
Hard
hitting seminar?? You be the judge. When I did the math, we accomplished close
to (24) hours of training and testing over three days!!! I am still tired and
still sore just thinking about it. ( Especially my rear end. Whomever wants to
take credit for the fouette pique to my left cheek…………thanks a lot.)
For several years, Richard Sylla was French & European Champion of savate boxing
and became a European kickboxing champion upon turning professional. He won over
Benny Urquidez protégé and WKA world champion: Pete “Sugarfoot” Cunningham. Upon
retiring from competition, Sylla the competitor became Professor Sylla,
technical director of the French Federation of Savate and trainer of France's
“Elite” Squad - the most accomplished savate boxers in the world. With Professor
Sylla's classes, we were able to fill quite a few notebook pages of drills and
tips for marrying combinations in the ring. Bad ring habits were quickly
identified and broken. We were exposed to tactical uses of the lead leg for
setting up and closing combinations of the hands and feet.
And when it comes to training strength and flexibility, you definitely want
Professor Stephen Gougne in your corner.
If your guard and your defense are a fortress, this is a guy who will find a
hole big enough to drive through an 18-wheeler behind those kicks of his -
OUCH!! Not in the twenty years since former world champion Bill “Superfoot”
Wallace styled my hair with his left foot using a comb between his toes have I
laid eyes on someone who could kick like this. The only difference: what Wallace
could do with one leg, Gougne can do with BOTH!! A triple threat with training
in boxing and tae kwon do, Stephen Gougne became a European savate boxing
champion. Now retired from the ring and living in Marseilles, France he takes
savate boxers and kick boxers around the world in competitions.
In the back-to-the-street sessions, Kenpo Sifu Greg Ringness brought us his
methods for
dealing
with punks who try to grab you. Counters to chokes, haymakers, and shirt & hair
grabs at close quarters were discussed and practiced at length. Sifu Greg's
greatest teaching attributes in my opinion focus around the attitudes that one
must bring to a fight. Using Kenpo as his medium, the lessons are universal for
anyone who wishes to prevail in violent situations. Be aware of your environment
and surroundings. Be assertive. Make the decision to fight early. If your
decision is to fight, move with authority, move first, and stay in motion (i.e.
hit-move-hit-move) until the threat has passed and your opponent's aggression
has been neutered.
Integrating the concepts taught by the other instructors, P
rofessor
Buitron reviewed sets from Blue to Silver levels. For those of you who have not
yet noticed what is unique about Danse de Rue Savate, let me put it this way.
Think Murphy's Law # 4 - Assume the worst and you will never be disappointed. Danse de Rue Savate assumes that your opponent is trained and knows what he is doing. The entire system is based on dealing with the well-schooled aggression of the trained fighter.
Whatever his martial arts
background may be, the trained fighter will inevitably try to
do two
things - strike you and/or grab you with high percentage moves particular to
mainstream martial arts. DDRS takes advantage of the predictable nature of this
while still having more than enough pre-emptive philosophy to deal with the
chaos of the unschooled brawler.
After the last session, Professor
Buitron asked me what I thought. My reply: “You spent the last hour teaching us
how to deconstruct everything we learned over the previous two days.” That is
the nature of Danse de Rue Savate. You may not be able to kick like a Bill
Wallace (or a Stephen Gougne for that matter) when you are in your 50s, but
Danse de Rue Savate is an art you can take with you across the life span. Too
many martial arts fail to offer much to those who are older or have physical
limitations. That is happily not the case here.
Congratulations to everyone who performed so well at our 2008 Passage de Grade
and special felicitations to Coach Sylvia “Mongoose” Martinez, the first
American woman to legitimately earn the grade of silver glove I before an
assembled board of professors.
On behalf of the students and
teachers of the Guild it has been the greatest honor to train under these five
great instructors. We extend our heart felt gratitude to the Buitron Family for
making all of this possible.
Initiateur Patrick Gavin
