New Black Belt Club Members - October 2006

Rocco leave IMAF for the Secret Service- Long  time student Rocco Stinziano is taking a job as a secret Service Agent and moving to Washington. Rocco was a dedicated student and had a positive impact on IMAF and always had a smile in class. He will be missed but we wish him luck in his new career. Roccos "farewell party" after Wednesdays MMA class.

Roccos "farewell party after Wednesdays MMA class

IMAF In FMA Digest - See" FMA Digest " at www.fmadigest.com for our article on teaching Children and Teens Filipino Martial Arts. IMAF students in action!

July 10th 2006 -  IMAF Senior instructor "Big" Mike Horn and Assistant Instructor Chris Praml both tested for their Black Belts in Doce Pares Eskrima. The test was conducted personally by Grand Master "Dong Cuesta" and lasted for over an hour. Both students had to demonstrate proficiency in single and double stick, drills and applications, Forms, Espad Y daga, Dumog and mano mano as well as full contact stickfighting. With their extensive training in Eskrima, JKD and submission grappling, both students were able to utilize these skills to put on an impressive demonstration to the surprise of the testers. Present were also Grand Master "Diony" Canete, along with a team of top students from Cebu. Both Mike and Chris had to fight the current gold medalists from Cebu in the final stages of the test. .They both turned in nearly perfect scores and totally impressed both Master Dong and Grand Master Diony. Congratulations to both students!

Guro "Big Mike and Guro Chris with Master Dong, Grand Master Diony and IMAF head instructor Master Don after their promotion.

Guro "Big Mike and Guro Chris with Master Dong, and some of the members of the Philippine team who assisted in their testing.

June 25th 2006 - IMAF Senior instructor "Big" Mike Horn was married to Sonia today in a beautiful ceremony. Some close friends from IMAF attended and had a great time. Congratulations and best of luck to Mike and Sonia!

June 21st 2006 - IMAF conducted it children's and junior belt testing Wed from 3:30 to 9:30PM. Two students, Allix Chirls and Akiva Mattenson tested for  Black Belt (Jr.).

Allix Chirls - Akiva Mattenson - IMAF Black Belts

 IMAF's Black Belt test is extensive and exhausting and both students turned an outstanding performance to the delight and amazement of all those that attended. These two students had to prepare and read an essay on their journey to Black Belt, pass an extensive physical endurance test, perform advanced level forms, demonstrate advanced Eskrima drills, kick box for 3 X1 minute rounds, stick fight for 3 X1 minute rounds, submission grappling for 4 minutes and ending with MMA (free style striking, takedowns and submissions from the ground). They ended their test with advanced board breaking which had the crowd on their feet as they demonstrated power, speed, accuracy and focus.

Both students were then presented with their Black Belts which their parents helped  present, and were given a plaque and framed certificates evidencing their accomplishments.

The event was professionally videotaped by Chris Praml and photographed by Lauren Julich both professional photographers. Blakc Belt pics will be posted within the week!

Congratulations to our two new black belts, Allix and Akiva!

IMAF children and Junior students tested as well with Joey Dellosso, James Goldman, Chase Madorsky and John Papayanapalous testing for their Black/Red belt - the last step before Black Belt. Their test included multiple rounds of kickboxing and grappling.

Congratulations to all students who tested yesterday and to their parents. A job well done .

And a special thanks to all those that helped - Sifu's "Big " Mike (getting married this Sunday), Chris Praml, Anthony Gerber, Amy Edwards and to IMAF  students Keisha Aranjuez, John Lodato and Kyle for their help, without which we could not have conducted the most successful event yet!

Little ninja tests and make ups will be conducted in July.

June 3rd 2006 - IMAF is featured on Inside Martial Arts , who covered the Battle at the Boardwalk in Atlantic this past February. IMAF ran the Filipino Combat Championships there where Inside Martial Arts  interviewed IMAF senior student Tung Cheng and took videos of the fights as well.. Be sure to check it out at www.insidemartialarts.tv Podcastdown load #7!

April 2nd, 2006 - IMAF conducted a Doce Pares demonstration at the "Pa. Tae Kwon Do Open " tournament in Carbondale Pa Sunday. Senior students Tung Cheng, Mike House and Tom Walker along with Master Don Edwards demonstrated the varied concepts and fighting skills in this style. Participants demonstrated forms, empty hand close quarter combat skills, Espada Y Daga and full contact stick fighting with and without protective gear. The audiance was able to see the transitions from stand up to Dumog/BJJ concepts and were thoroughly impressed. Look for an IMAF fighting Systems seminar in Carbondale soon. Special thanks to Tom, Tung and Little Mike for a great job on short notice!

April 1st, 2006 - Congratulations to those that tested this weekend as listed below.

Note - for those that didn't yet test see Sifu for an alternate date.

January 20th, 2006

IMAF would like to congratulate Randy Kansky for successfully testing for his Doce Pares Level 2A December 23rd.

December 3rd, 2005  -

IMAF conducts Adult Promotion Testing

IMAF students tested for ranking in Doce Pares Eskrima and Jeet Kune Do. Students tested for three hours demonstrating their skills in each art. Congratulations to the following students:

November 5th, 2005

 IMAF's continued successes in the tournament circuit underscores the effectiveness of the IMAF system -  Mixed Martial Arts at it's best. IMAF students have demonstrated their ability to successfully compete in tournaments representing different martial arts styles walking away with medals and a boat load of experience for years now. IMAF students have consistently won gold in kickboxing and stickfighting. Our students can grapple, kickbox and stickfight, some all on the same weekend! In the past month IMAF brought home medals in a major grappling tournament and a major stickfighting tournament. Congratulations to the students for putting in the time it takes to be truly competitive. you all are reaping the benefits of a true Mixed Martial Arts system! - Sifu

October 28th - IMAF Halloween Party - IMAF had it's annual Kids Halloween party this past Thursday. Everyone that attended attended had a blast. As usual it was filled with games, fun and treats. All the kids had great costumes which made for a SCARY time! also thanks to those students that brought friends!.       BOOOOOOOO..Sifu!  PS. See the Halloween Safety tips midway down this page.! -  Have a safe Halloween

October 25th  2005 -

IMAF Announces  new it's first SWAT members - IMAF formed it's SWAT , Special, winning Attitude Team, to recognize those students with exceptional attitude, comittment, and dedication to training and the goal of Black Belt. The first two SWAT members are Keisha Aranjuez and Jesson Lim.  Both Keisha and Jesson assisted the instructors on a regular basis over the summer program and demonstrated those qualities necessary to wear the coveted Red Gi Top. Congratulation to both students.

New BBC members - IMAF announced new members to the Black Belt Club.  Daniel Goloborodko , Emily Goldson, Sam Bucca and  Nick Percival  were inducted Monday Oct 24th. All these students displayed excellent attitude, respect and courtesy as well as outstanding attendance. Congratulations!

Daniel	Emily
Sam	Nick

IMAF Fighting Systems Promotion - IMAF held it's children's promotion testing Friday September 30th. All those that tested were very impressive, demonstrating excellent skills at their level. Students had to test in kickboxing, grappling and Eskrima. Great job everyone and thanks to Simu Amy, Sifu "Big" Mike and Sifu Chris for doing a great job in training the children and to Sifu Anthony for helping in the testing.

Fernando "Cabeca" Workshop at IMAF - Fernando Sarmento Jr., IMAF's  BJJ Coach, conducted a 2 hour workshop at IMAF September 15th. Fernando demonstrated some great techniques for all levels and some great details that make things work. At the end of the workshop Fernando gave out some well deserved promotions. Congratulations to the following students:

• James Goldman - Yellow Belt (Children)

• Joey Dellosso - Yellow Belt (Children)

• Larry Manley - Blue Belt

• Chris Praml - 4 stripes

• Big Mike Horn - 4 stripes

• Tung Cheng - 4 stripes

• Harry Huncken - 3 stripes

• Chris Martinez - 2 stripes

• Dianna Montes - 1 stripe

• Guillermo Riestra - 1 stripe

• John Lodato - 1 stripe

• Dan Font - 1 stripe

See Seminar Page for Pics.!

Promotion at IMAF - Sifu /Guro Don was recently promoted to "Master Instructor" by Master "Dong Cuesta".  Guro Don who has been training under Master "Dong" since the mid 80's is one of the few instructors to hold the title under Master "Dong" , GM  "Diony" Canete and GM "Cacoy" Canete. - Simu Debbie

Team "IMAF/Cabeca" Competes at NAGA August 7th. -  James Goldman, Joey Dellosso, Harry Huncken Jr. and Randy Toth all competed for the first time in Submission Grappling -No Gi/BJJ -Gi. this weekend at Wildwood NJ. James and Joey are part of the children's IMAF BJJ competition team and have been training for two months for this tournament. All fighters did a great job and got their first tournament out of the way. They all have a lot to look forward to. Congratulations to James Goldman who won a third place with a great comeback. After being down in points, James broke guard, and was able to get top mount and hold it to take the victory. Great job to all fighters! - See Tournament page for pics and details!

Also congratulations to IMAFWest (Dave Ferreira's school) who had some very impressive fighters!

Yusuf Muhammad Promotion July 30th 2005 -

Additionally, Dylan Camche successfully tested for his first Brown stripe  on his Red Belt. Congratulations. Also Alex Granata successfully tested for her Yellow Stipe. Congratulations to both! - Sifu

IMAF Children's Promotion-

IMAF conducted it's second promotion for it's children/juniors program Monday July 11th. Congratulations to the following students who successfully tested for their next belt level. James Goldman Joey Dellosso (not pictured) Ryan Unger Nicollette Minto Kevin Marcelo Michael Lupo Jesson Lim Keisha Aranjuez Rachael Aliparo Also thanks to Head Children's Instructor Simo Amy Edwards and to Assistant Instructor Chris Praml for a great job in training the children and running the promotion.

IMAF Children train with Sensi Fernando Sarmento for up coming NAGA grappling tournament

Two members of the "IMAF Competition Team", James Goldman and Joey Dellosso, enjoy a  training session  with Fernando Sarmento Jr. in preparation for an upcoming BJJ fight. Both students, who are also BBC members, train in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu twice a week with Sifu Don. Good luck to both students in their up coming fight and thanks to Fernando for providing his expertise training these students.

May 26th, 2005 - IMAF held special classes where parents can join their children our students) in a fun hour of martial arts. Parents worked along with the students then acted as training partners, holding pads etc. I would like to thanks all the parents that attended as well as the instructors that helped make this a fun filled event.

IMAF invites two more students into it's prestigious Black Belt Training Club. - Rachael Aliparo and  Avidan Rothman were both invited into IMAF's  prestigious Black Belt Club. Both students have consistently demonstrated the Black Belt attitude necessary to perform at this level. Congratulations to both students for working hard for this goal.

April 9th & 10th , 2005

IMAF invites three more students into it's prestigious Black Belt Training Club. Ethan Reisboarg, Nicollette Minto and Taylor Leen were surprised by their invitation to join our BBC training program. These students have worked very hard and have their sights set on their Black Belt.

A.C.T. Self-Defense Seminars for Big "5" CPA firm. - IMAF just conducted two Awareness & Confidence Training (A.C.T.)self-defense workshops for PricewaterhouseCoopers, one of the largest CPA firms in the world. Participants were taught basic self-defense skills including awareness, attitude, verbal skills as well as physical defensive skills. All came away a little better prepared and more aware on how to avoid a potential confrontation.

Children's Belt Testing - Sunday April 10th - IMAF children's and Junior martial arts students tested for their next belt levels. Students continue to demonstrate outstanding skill in Jeet Kune Do kickboxing, Grappling and Doce Pares Eskrima. Congratulations to all those that tested. Excellent job!

Also congratulations to Simu Amy for a great job she has done with the children's program and to Tung & Patty for taking their time to help with the promotion.

Adult JKD "Phase" Promotion /Sat April 9th 2005.- IMAF adult students participated in a "Phase" level  testing, demonstrating their knowledge and ability to apply the techniques and concepts of JKD. Congratulation to all those students that tested as they were very impressive.

• Mike Horn - Phase 3 Intermediate

• Tung Cheng - Phase 3

• Chris Praml - Phase 2 Advanced

• George Horobetz - Phase 2 Intermediate

• Vivian Yung - Phase 2

• Mark Aranjuez - Phase 2

• Oliver Lim - Phase 2

• Earl Aliparo - Phase 1 Advanced

• Laurie Dellosso - Phase 1 Intermediate

• Harry Huncken- Phase 1 Intermediate

• Andy Groeneveld- Phase 1 Intermediate

IMAF In-House "IMB Martial Arts -a-Thon"Tournament - IMAF conducted an "in house" tournament modeled after Sifu Bustillo's IMB "Martial Arts -a-thon tournament". This format is designed to give the students a chance to compete and test their skills in a safe environment. The tournament was open to all Black Belt Club members and consisted of kickboxing and grappling. Students were paired up based on size and experience for both competitions. All students had a great time and received medals for first or second place. Pictures will follow.

I would like to thank all students that took the time to participate and support the even.

February, 2005

New Black Belt Club Members - IMAF is proud to announce that Jesson Lim and Keisha Aranjuez were accepted into the IMAF Black Belt Club. Both students, now purple Belts, are model students, with excellent attendance, excellent grades in school and always respectful and courteous to others.

December, 2004

IMAF Holiday Party Dec. 18th, 2004 - IMAF hosted it's 2004 Holiday Party at it's new location. Attendance was great and everyone had a great time. We would like to thank all our friends, students and clients for joining us in celebrating the holidays and helping make 2004 a great year. Some pics are below and more will follow.

IMAF conducts promotion testing Dec. 12th - Adult, Juniors and children at IMAF participated in their belt testing ceremony in an all day event. Adults tested in ranking in Doce Pares Eskrima (many tested in Jeet Kune Do in August) while children tested in the IMAF Fighting "Blend System" comprising Jeet Kune Do, Filipino Martial Arts and grappling. This was the first such event at IMAF's new 4,200 square foot facility which proved to be an outstanding day for students and family alike. Congratulations to all those that tested! Great job! Special thanks to Assistant instructors Chris and Anthony for their help and to  Amy for a great job training the Children and juniors.

IMAF adult students after their Doce Pares belt testing

"Steal Proof Masters"TM Stranger Danger workshop - IMAF hosted another FREE Child self-defense workshop Sat December 4th. The "Steal Proof" series is a unique children's "stranger danger" program that contains a professionally produced video that details 10 "Evil Warriors" (types of abduction techniques) that can be used against children. The movie setting was in a "Lord of the Rings" type environment that helped reinforce the characters to the children. After the video the IMAF instructors role played each "Evil Warrior with the children. This was an eye opening event for all that attended. IMAF will be hosting more of these free workshops in the future.

Special thanks goes out to "Big" Mike (pictured below with the participants) who assisted in the program. His experience as a member of the Aux. Police department in Livingston was invaluable.

 Web News Letter - This year there are going to be many changes at IMAF. We have grown quite a bit over the past year and as a result we will be instituting some very positive changes this year. IMAF is first and foremost a PROFESSIONAL, HIGH QUALITY MARTIAL ARTS SCHOOL, and everything we do is to add to that mission.

Extended use of the web to communicate - We are  publishing our monthly news letter on the web. There will also be a "paper version" for a limited time as well. We will be communicating important notices of events, schedules etc via email. It is important that EVERYONE make sure that we have an updated email address. Please see Debbie to make sure that your address is up to date. You may also email us at info@imafit.com with your email address. Just please put your name or students name in the body of the email.

Black Belt Club nominations - IMAF has accepted some new students into it's Black Belt Track program. As many of you know, this program is for students that show the drive and determination to make it to their goal of Black Belt. Joey Dellosso, Dylan Camche, James Goldman  and Gabe Stolars were each invited after demonstrating exceptional attitude and committment. Below are two pictures showing the students parents changing their uniforms to the BBC Black and Red uniform. The third picture is of head instructor Amy Edwards with some students in the new school.

Ron Balicki Seminar -  IMAF will be hosting a 2 day seminar with Ron Balicki Nov 20th & 21st. Mr. Balicki is a full instructor under Dan Inosanto (Bruce Lee's chief instructor). Ron has appeared in a number of magazines and authored books about Jeet Kune Do. He also has a number of videos out on Filipino Martial Arts and Jeet Kune Do. This is an excellent opportunity for our students to experience different styles of the systems we train in.

Past News

June 29th - IMAF holds it's first "In House" BJJ tournament - Held held it's first "in house" Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Gi Tournament June 29th utilizing sport Jiu Jitsu scoring. This was a great experience for all those that attended in that it gave focus to the training and heightened everyone's awareness as to what works for them and where they need improvement. Students were matched by experience and weight as close as possible. It was great to see everyone eager to participate and see them apply what they have been learning. While we did announce winners in each fight, EVEREYONE that participated was a winner as the focus was on the individual and what can be learned as opposed to winning a tournament.

We did video tape it and it is available for viewing at the school. Look for more "In House " Tournaments in the future in all the styles we teach to help enhance your training!

Participants were:

IMAF conducted it's children's and juniors promotion testing May 25th - IMAF students tested for their belts today and everyone present did an incredible job. I can easily say this was the most impressive test we have seen in some time. Sifu Amy along with "Big" Mike, Chris and Tung have all done a great job with the children's and juniors program.  Student testing is complex as they must demonstrate skills in three different martial arts - Filipino Eskrima, Jeet Kune Do and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Congratulations to all of you that tested. Also a BIG THANKS to the parents for taking the time to make this incredible opportunity possible for your children. Also a Big Thanks to Judy and Ken for their help. It is very obvious that all these students are on their way to Black Belt. - Sifu Don

IMAF Little Ninja students after their test with their parents!

IMAF's children and junior students with their parents after their test!

April 29th - IMAF demo team along with a Filipino dance troupe which included Kisha Arnjuez performed at the Cultural Arts night at Mt Pleasant Middleschool. IMAF students included Adnrew Hauptman, Spencer Luster, Mark Arnjues, Oliver Lim, Tung Chung and Ken Gruber put on a demonstration of full contact stickfighting, stick drills and forms. The feedback was great and all the studnet's put on a great performance.

March 30 &31st. IMAF instructors participated in a town wide program focused on "anti bullying" or as IMAF terms it, Bully Busters. IMAF students Mike Horn, Tung Cheng, Chris Praml, Tom Walker & Laurie Dellosso donated their time and efforts in conducting programs at Kushner Hebrew school and Mt. Pleasant middle school. 

Feb 21st, 2004 Doce Pares Level Testing- Congratulations to IMAF students "Big" Mike Horn, "Little" Mike House - Level 3 Advanced; Tung Cheng - Level 2 Advanced; Chris Praml - Level 2; Mark Aranjuez and Oliver Lim - Level 1 Advanced; Erin Sheidler - Level 1

December 2003 - Julian Ritholz ,  Evan Schoenbach and Harley Montano were invited into the IMAF Black Belt Club. Pictured are Evan and Julian and Harley.

Great Adventure "MAC Live Demo " - IMAF was invited to perform 4 demonstrations at Great Adventure in Jackson NJ July 19th. MAC TV is a new Martial Arts Cable channel that features martial arts oriented programing from movies to tournaments etc for all ages.  We understood that the organizers were looking for a more extreme form of martial arts from us. The event was well received and IMAF, and the other schools present,  did an incredible job.

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