American Fighting Arts
Sifu Gabe Holland
Ironically, Sifu Holland never expressed any particular interest in the martial arts while growing up. In fact, his introduction to American Fighting Arts was the result of constant badgering by his best friend. After nine months of incessant prodding Gabe finally made the trek over to Sixth and Cascade streets to try out a class. Although he only stayed for about a half-hour he was very intrigued by what he had seen. At that point Gabe made himself a deal - try it out for a year, get a yellow sash and if he decided he still liked it, then he would stay with it until earning a black sash.
That was January 16, 1994. Since that time a lot has happened to Gabriel. He graduated high school in 1996, tested for 1st black in 1999, graduated college in 2000 with a degree in Biology and he now attends medical school. And despite his school's best efforts, Gabe still manages to attend to 2 or 3 kung fu classes per week (which may not be the case when the "boards" come around in June).
Since one of the first lines in the oath that all medical students must take is, "do no harm," Sifu Gabe tries to focus more on the kata than fighting. So far, his favorite animal form (of the ones he knows) is the monkey/ape set. The reason for this in his own words is because, "it seems very erratic in it's behavior - much like myself - just when you think you know where the monkey/ape is going it switches directions on you. So one of it's primary weapons is intellect, which is something I rather enjoy about it. Besides, it's just plain fun!" As for animal sets Gabe has yet to learn (but has seen), he would most like to learn dragon since the dragon incorporates aspects of the other animals and Gabe sees himself as more of a generalist anyway.
*Sorry this is so short - studying calls. If anyone wishes to contact me (Gabe), I can be reached via email at yell0w_lantern@yahoo.com. Thanks for visiting the site and happy training!
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