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Sabaki List Member Profiles

This page will feature profiles on members of the Sabaki Talk Discussion List.
Members are listed in alphabetical order. New members to be added in due course.

Deon Valentyn - South Africa
Deon Valentyn can only be described a keen Taekwondoist who hails from the Mitchells Plain area of Cape Town. Deon started his training nearly ten years ago with Master Taylor in Sankukai Karate and he was one of the first group of students to convert to TaeKwonDo with Master Taylor.

In 1997 he contacted an International Master, Tony Vohra who is based in Nottingham, England. Master Taylor had years ago established contact with the Nottingham school, but due to circumstances he had never been able to forge a closer link with GM Vohra. As Deon was looking for guidance and international certification, Master Taylor recommended him to establish ties directly with GM Vohra. That summer, Deon travelled to England to train with GM Vohra in England who was happy to certify him as a 1st Dan Black Belt Kukkiwon.

In December of 1998, GM Vohra, 7th Dan Kukkiwon travelled to Capetown to deliver Seminars and lessons before examining Deon's Capetown students. At that time, Deon also passed his 2nd Dan.

Marcel Vanderschaeghe - Germany
I live in Cologne/Germany and I am 26 years old. I started in the age of 14 with Ju-Jitsu, EVS and AKS
(allround-selfdefense systems). 1994 I started with studying Ashihara International Karate under my Shihan Dave Jonkers, NL. Since 1996 I practise combat hapkido also.
I think nobody cares about degrees (and its correct because there are more important things in life), so I don't write them here. I teach since 1992 in a Club in Bonn and before that I taught in Cologne.

Ron van de Sandt - USA
My name is Ronald van de Sandt, in the working world I'm a project manager for an Engineering/Architectural firm. My style is called simply "Sholin" - the Okinawan phonetic pronouciation of Shorin, the style has always previously referred to as simply Shorin Ryu. My style consists of a combination of Fusei Kise's Shorinji Ryu, and Matsumura Seito Shorin Ryu as was taught to my instructor in the mid 1960's. My interest in the martial arts began while I was serving in the U.S. Air Force between 1972 and 1974. Besides being introduced to "military combat hand to hand" - which kind of looked like jujitsu - I also trained with a friend who was "taking jujitsu" at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota. After the military until about 1986 I studied (played with actually)off and on in some "American Kempo".
In 1986 I began to seriously train in Xenia, Ohio in "Shorin Kempo"-a blend of Shorin Ryu and Tracy Brothers Kempo Karate, and participated fairly heavily in local (Ohio)tournements. In 1989 my instructor closed his dojo, leaving us without an instructor. About four of us from that dojo looked up Mr. Roy Thomason, who we were told originally brought Shorin Ryu to the Fairborn area. Mr. Thomason was
a direct student of Fusei Kise and Hohan Soken in the Mid - 1960's. He graciously agreed to come out of retirement and continue our training on a part time basis, partly I think, because we told him we
were not belt driven, and partly because he felt a responsibility for students decended from him. We asked him to teach us the "old karate" ways, and don't worry about tournements, belts, etc. It was evident real quickly that what we knew wasn't near as effective as what he was teaching. I and one other took off our "Shorin Kempo" ranks and started from the beginning as white belts, and hence also started the Sholin Karate Club. The club grew, and although Mr. Thomason has had several black belts over the years he's taught, from that club only four has received black belt ranks (we've probably had twenty or
thirty students off and on over the years). Of the four who made Shodan, two has moved out of state (California and Tennessee), and one has died. I'm still studying Sholin, working toward my Nidan
(and above I hope)- and running the Sholin Karate Club under the watchful eyes of Master Thomason, with a current membership of about fourteen.

Sjaak van der Velde - Netherlands
He was born in May, 1957 in Rotterdam, Kralingen. When he was one-and-a-half his parents moved to Bloemhof in Rotterdam South. He first came into contact with budo at the age of 6 when his parents enrolled him at the judo school Van de Velde (no relation). He gained his blue-belt after 3 and-a-half years of judo training but stopped doing judo because at that time he preferred playing football. The interest in the Eastern fighting sport began when his father Gerard vd Velde came home one evening and announced that a Shaolin Kempo-club had started at his firm. After a tria lesson Sjaak v.d. Velde decided to start practicing Kempo.

He practiced Kempo between the ages of 14 and 19 under the guidance of Sensei Jim Strik (2nd Dan Kempo). After the club was disbanded he started to do kick boxing under the guidance of Jeflrey v Es. When he was 21 he returned to his fist budo love Kempo with Sensei Peter van Velzen (4th Dan Kempo) and at this point he reached 2nd kyu.

When he was 24 he moved to Spijkenisse where he came into contact with Kyokushinkai Karate and, after 8 years of Kempo, he decided to switch schools. His first teacher was Sensei Peter Meerburg (2nd Dan Kyokushin) at the Delta Sports School. However, several changes of teacher impaired the quality of the training so he decided to change to sports school Murumachi under the leadership of Sensei v Wijngaarden, 4th Dan, and Sensei Eikmans, 4th Dan. After this move he became really interested in Kyokushin Karate and he started to help by teaching children. Soon after that he started giving lessons to adults as well. After much hard training and teaching he was promoted by Shihan Jon Bluming to 1st Dan Kyokushin on the 5th of May 1993. You can rest assurec that both Senseis had an enormous influence on building his character

In January 1994 he moved to Strijen in the Hoeksche Waard. ln August 1995 he decided to leave the Senseis after an amicable disagreement regarding style and performance. 7 (happy) years later in 1995, he decided to open his own sports school in Strijen called 'Kyokushinkai Musashi'. At the same time he moved to the dojo of Shihan Middelman and Shihan Verschoof (both 6th Dan Kyokushin). The demand for Kyokushin Karate in the Hoeksche Waard was enormous and within 3 months the 100th member was enrolled. On the 1st of April 1996 the second step was taken to Westmaas, and on 1/1/98 Numannsdorp became the third location. Recently 1-11-98 the fourth dojo was open in Oud Beijerland.

Sensei v d Velde broke all links with Shihan Verschoof after a serious disagreement in May 1997, and decided from then on to go his own way. Shihan Middelman and Sensei Goedegebuur also broke all former links, and these three decided to go further together. Shihan Middelman promoted him to 2nd Dan Kyokushin and recently in november 1998 he was promoted to 3th Dan after completed the 50 man kumite. At this moment the membership number varies between 170 and 200 which means that Kyokushinkai Musashi is one of the biggest schools of its sort in The Netherlands.

Emile van Heerden - Okinawa

Penny van Heerden - Okinawa

Carlos Velez - USA
Carlos Salvador Velez II, Martial Artist, writer and consultant, holds black belts in Nisei Goju Ryu, Kyokushin and Sansei Goju Ryu Karate. Velez, a native of Puerto Rico who began studying the Martial Arts in 1966, was concerned about Karate tournaments and the judging on the island, he was instrumental in bringing the AAU Karate program to Puerto Rico. He was appointed Chairman of the program in 1982. During his presidency, Puerto Rico's first AAU Karate Referee's clinic and AAU Karate tournament were held. Velez also lived in Canyon, Texas, where he served as Mas Oyama's representative, and as an instructor at the West Texas State University Kyokushin Karate Association. This association was approved by the Student government, and the P.E. Department.

He has trained under Jose A. Martinez, Roberto Rios, Jose R. Conde, Frank Ruiz and Fernando Caraballo. He has also attended seminars sponsored by Kwon-Jae Hwa, Bill Wallace, Seiyu Oyata, David and Kickan Cook and John Farrell.

Velez was exposed to Martial Arts Journalism for the first time in 1975 with K-Arte Marcial Karate Magazine, in Puerto Rico. In the past twenty-one years his articles, as a free-lance writer, have been read in all types of Martial Arts publications in the United States as well as his native country, Puerto Rico. He currently writes for Florida's The Karate Voice and New York's Action Martial Arts News.

He has been the object of many awards and appointments through the years. Some most dear to him are:
A citation by the House of Representatives of Boston, MA, for his first "20 years in the study of Karate and his commitment to the development of the body and mind through the Martial Arts." Certificates of appreciation by the World Tae-Kwon-Do Federation, Kenko Dojo and Puerto Rico Kyokushin Karate. He is a three-time Journalism Award Hall of Famer. He is an advisor for Semai-Do Karate, and a Good-Will Ambassador for the Okinawan Karate Federation. Velez believes: "training hard is the only way."

M.Vickery -USA
My name is M. Vickery I grew up in Okinawa with both G. Parker and Wade Chroninger[kro-ninja]. I never took the arts quite as serious as these boys did, while I was stationed in Okinawa. That is something that I really regret.

I think that the very short time I trained with W. Chroninger is the best training I've had so far. What I'm trying to say is that I have put the training to work and it did the job.

I have searched high and low for a legit class since 95. I enrolled my son and participated in kwon do for 7 months, went to Aikido, to passive. I checked out a Kali Silat school and was hooked. So practical and Humble.

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