Articles by Master Bill Mailman, Shichidan

From the Master (Issue 2)
Modern History of Shaolin Chuan-Fa

Last month, I ended my article on the history of Shaolin Chuan-Fa with the appearance of William K. S. Chow. ’Thunderbolt’, as Mr. Chow was called, was the man responsible for uniting the hard and soft elements of our art into the modern version of Shaolin Kempo. In his career as Martial Arts Master, Mr. Chow taught some people who later became famous in their own right. Among them were Ed Parker (the creator of Hawaiian Kenpo), Adriene Emperado, and Victor ’Sonny’ Gascon. Grandmaster Gascon taught George Pesare whom migrated to the East Coast where he became the teacher of Nick Cerio. Nick became a Tenth Degree Grandmaster and taught Fred Villari (founder of Fred Villari Studios of Self-Defense), whom also rose to the rank of Grandmaster. That’s where I come in….

I began my training at a Fred Villari studio in Massachusetts run by ‘Tough Tony’ Vitone, an old-school style Fourth Dan. Tony was taught by Bob Meserve, who in turn was taught by Grandmaster Villari. As I rose through the ranks, I was fortunate to be taught by Master Fred Bagley, Professor Charles Matera, and Grandmaster Nick Cerio. I also took private lessons directly with Grandmaster Fred Villari for a number of years.

At the time I was training with him, Grandmaster Villari’s organization included over 500 studios. During my tenure with Tony Vitone, I moved to Boston, a distance of sixty miles. Rather than give up my training with ‘Tough Tony’, I traveled the sixty miles each way on Tuesdays, staying with Mr. Vitone all day, both learning and teaching for him. During this time, I was also taking group classes at several different Fred Villari studios. I got to see a lot of different, highly talented instructors. As a result, my horizons were broadened. I feel fortunate for my path. (Recently, Grandmaster Gascon became aware of me through a former student of mine who is now studying with him. I am proud to say that Sijo Gascon has also awarded me a Seventh Dan with his organization; Karazenpo Go Shinjutsu Black Belt Society.)

….and so that’s it, our art, from China to you! Now when someone asks you about your styles lineage—you’ll know what to tell them! Take pride in passing on knowledge of this great art! As you all know, it’s too complex to be learned from a book. Each of us that can, must pass this art to the next generation, as has been done for fifteen-hundred years. What a wonderful tradition to be part of!