Monday, December 28, 2009

Pangulong Guro Chuck Cadell ... My Friend & Mentor

Pangulong Guro Charles “Chuck” Cadell III is a friend, mentor & has been a guiding force for many years in the methods of the FMA.  These are a few reasons why I wrote about my teacher & my friend.

After many years of searching prior to enlisting in the USN, I found the FMA through seminar presentations of Dan Inosanto, Paul Vunak, Ted Lucaylucay & Jamie Tacosa.

I had found a local school in St. Louis, Mo. that held the seminars of interest & it was there that I discovered the field of martial arts study I’d decided to dedicate the rest of my life learning, teaching & promoting.  My time with the FMA was too short in 1985 because of my enlistment & time thereafter in the Persian Gulf.  But I knew where my martial heart lay.

Serving honorably, I had left the Navy and resettled in Illinois. After some time to myself to decide the path I wished to follow, my spark for the Filipino Martial Arts was again re-lit and I decided to seek out an instructor. After some soul searching, I came upon a Master of Cabales Serrada Escrima, Pangulong Guro Charles Cadell.  For just shy of a decade, I was involved with Master Cadell and his style of instruction. I always give credit to Master Cadell for giving me a well-rounded understanding of Cabales Serrada that serves me well today. Master Cadell not only exposed me to the techniques of Cabales Serrada, but also provided me with an education based upon his own personal experiences and direct teachings, about the man behind the system himself Grand Master Angel Cabales. During my time under Master Cadell, I was awarded my basic instructorship in 1995 and continued to train with Master Cadell until 1997.

Master Cadell has and continues to be a leading trainer of law enforcement and corrections personnel within the state of Illinois as he also works for the state Department of Corrections. Due to the demands of his career, he currently teaches only a small select group of individuals who are ranked under him. While with Master Cadell, I and others assisted in the infancy the development and use of the techniques that are now trained to Illinois law enforcement personnel. I look forward to the day when Master Cadell once again has the time to share his experiences and training in Cabales Serrada, as career demands have most unfortunately kept him off the training and seminar circuit. Recognized in most circles as the last individual personally awarded his Master certificate in Serrada escrima by Angel Cables, his place in martial history is secure as are his accomplishments. 

Saludo

Master Guro Mike Schwarz
WSEF System of Serrada Escrima

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