Florendo Visitacion

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Florendo M. Visitacion (7 June 1910-4 January 1999) was a martial arts instructor producing many notable teachers in their own right.

1 Early life
2 Development
3 Teaching
4 Death and heirs
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Early life

Visitacion, commonly called Professor Vee, was born in Ilocos Norte, Philippines in 1910. He began informal Judo training with his brother and uncle at the age of ten. At the age of sixteen, he left his home and family and journeyed to the Hawaiian Islands. In 1928, he moved to Stockton, California where he continued studying Filipino martial arts from available sources.

After spending two years in the Hawaiian Islands in 1926, Visitacion arrived in America in 1928, then served in the Armed Forces during the Second World War.^{[citation needed]} He arrived in New York City in July, 1946, graduated from high school at Boro Hall Academy in Brooklyn, then attended Long Island University for a year. He took a liberal arts course for a summer at Pace College of Business in Manhattan, but it was the martial arts that interested him most. An avid reader, Visitacion poured over hundreds of books, newspapers and magazines dealing with various forms of self defense.

[edit] Development

This soon led the young Visitacion on a personal journey where he was to devote many years to the study of different fighting styles. Along the way, he realized that mastery of a particular system was not always necessary. What was essential, however, was the ability to understand its useful principles and how to apply them effectively in a given situation. It was important for a student of the fighting arts to absorb only what was practical and to tailor the art to his or her needs. That was why he also advocated the researching of other systems. It was by doing so, he felt, an individual could learn and choose from a variety of techniques, thereby improving one's fighting skills.

In 1950, he moved to New York. A year later, Visitacion trained under ex-marine Charles Nelson, also a World War II veteran and an expert in the art of Mongolian wrestling. Nelson was particularly adept in joint locking techniques. Vistacion later augmented his training by learning modern jujutsu under Kiyose Nakae, author of the book Jiu jitsu Complete. He also took up judo and the Indian art of Varmannie, in 1958, he studied under R. H. Sigward, the author of Modern Self-Defense. On September 5, 1955, he introduced Vee Jitsu.

In 1960, Visitacion joined the American Judo and Jujitsu Federation, He was appointed the director of its Northeast Division.^{[citation needed]} During one trip to an AJJF conference in California, he met and began a life-long friendship with Wally Jay, the founder of Small Circle Jujutsu. He also befriended the late Raymond Tabosa, a noted master of the Filipino martial art, Kali.

Thanks to a renewed interest in Filipino martial arts, he began a ten-year study of Arnis Lanada under Amante Mariñas. He also learned additional techniques from Remy Presas of the school of Modern Arnis. In addition, he also received training from Leo Gaje, a noted expert in Pekiti Tirsia, a Kali system. In 1978, the Arnis America Organization headed by Leo Gaje gave him the Datu award in recognition for his work in promoting Filipino martial arts. Five years later, he also received the prestigious instructor's rank from Amante Mariñas and the World Arnis Federation.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Teaching

Vistacion began his career as a martial arts instructor during the mid-1950s and for over three decades, he actively taught his art at different locations throughout the New York City metropolitan area. Over the years, his system would produce a number of notable martial artists, some who founded their own fighting styles. These include Moses Powell, father of Sanuces-ryu Jiujitsu, and John Davis of Kumite-ryu Jujutsu.

He continued cross-training and researching other fighting systems including several different styles of Chinese kung fu including; Southern Praying Mantis, Yang style Tai Chi Chuan, Baqua Chang, and Wing Chun. He also studied basic karate techniques from Lou Angel.

He continued to refine and make changes to his system. As it evolved, so did its name. At one point, after adding Kenpo (spelt as Kenpo or Kempo it trans lates as 'Fist Way' from Japanese. Kuntao is a system which has also been adapted in Indonesia and the Philippines.) karate forms, he renamed it Vee Jitsu Te. In 1965, Vistacion introduced Vee Jitsu '65, an improved version of his art. The was later improved again in 1975. The AJJF repeated the process in 1971, after he presented them with another update of his system, now called Vee Jitsu Ryu Jiujitsu.

In the spring of 1979 after over a decade of training, and traveling with Visitacion, Ken Brown was given permission by the Visitacion to establish the Modern Vee Jitsu Club. The Club was founded as the C.W. Post College Long Island University (Greenvale Center). Ken Brown integrated more than two decades of Jiu-Jitsu knowledge with the principals of human anatomy and formed the foundation of the Modern Veejitsu academic curriculum. Brown taught a comprehensive training program of lethal and non-lethal application of force and how and when it may be used. The present Modern Vee Jitsu instructional course was established on these principles. The course was taught 3hrs per day five days a week for 4 years. Visitacion and Brown established a training course utilizing the 1 thru 24 training system. This course included: Anatomical Resistance Maneuvers (A.R.M.). This aspect of the curriculum taught stabilization of the combatant with the use of wrist, arm, and shoulder control techniques. The techniques are non lethal but effective in close quarters, the second part of the course Digital Anatomic Manipulation (D.A.M.) involved controlling an adversary using pressure on finger joints, the strategy is unique for defense against larger opponents. The final aspect of the course prior to graduation was Multiple Attack Defenses (M.A.D.). This was an advanced course that stressed the lethal use and application of Vee Jitsu techniques, no holds barred. This course also included the use of all the Modern Vee Jitsu weapons disciplines, firearms, knife, and stick techniques. Over the next Twenty-six years the Modern Vee Jitsu Club has expanded its teaching (under the direct tutelage of Visitacion) to include several of the Vee Jitsu System of Systems martial arts, Vee Jitsu – Ju Jitsu, Vee Jitsu Te, and Vee Arnis Jitsu.

[edit] Death and heirs

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Florendo Vistacion died on January 4, 1999 in New York City. Since then his martial art continues to flourish under Robert Evans, the present Senior Grandmaster of the System of Systems (the only Grandmaster that can promote in all aspects of the Vee-Jitsu Systems), Grandmaster Frank Edwards Sr. and Grandmaster Frank Edwards Jr., Grandmaster Roberto Torres, Grandmaster David James and Grandmaster Danny Paulo.

In his last Will and Testament, Vistacion left his systems to the following Grandmasters:^[1]

Robert Evans; Modern Vee Jitsu (The only Grandmaster that can promote in ALL Systems of Vee-Jitsu)
Frank Edwards Sr. and Frank "Cowboy" Edwards Jr.; Vee Jitsu 75
Roberto Torres; Visitacion Kuntao -
David James; Vee Arnis Jitsu
Danny Paulo Vee Do Kwan

Also, Rick Riccardi (Niseido) and James Powers consider Vistacion their principal instructor / mentor.

The Order of the names on this Last Will and Testament are of the utmost importance. See link below.

Florendo Visitacion and the Heirs.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=lDjniT8XLME