58th MXS helicopter engine technician joins Kung Fu few

  • Published
  • By Steve Milligan
  • Nucleus Staff
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, New Mexico --  Senior Airman Marie R. Warren, 58th Maintenance Squadron, has joined an elite few by attaining a First Degree Black Belt in Kung Fu.
Her instructor, Abram Tamez, owner of the Chinese Shao-Lin Center and head instructor, said that only nine percent of those who start training in Kung Fu ever attain the rank of First Degree Black Belt.
"I teach the ancient art of Shao-Lin Kung Fu," Mr. Tamez said. "These teachings that have been passed on to me are over 1,500 years old." 

"Marie had to demonstrate over 25 different forms and techniques," he said. "This included eight different weapons, Shantung Tiger style, Fukien White Crane style, Praying Mantis, grappling techniques and meditation and chi kung among others. She had to perform all of this in front of the Shao-Lin Grandmaster, Sin Kwang The,' who visits the Center annually."  

Airman Warren began her training only two years ago when she arrived at Kirtland AFB from her previous assignment in England. She had no real interest in martial arts prior to that other than in movies. 

"I had no family here and didn't know anyone," Airman Warren said. "I was surfing the Internet looking for something to do in the area when I came upon the school's Web site. I wanted to meet new people and try something challenging and thought it would be worth checking out, so I joined." 

"Everyone in my family thought I was slightly crazy when I started," she said. "Now they think it's cool." 

When asked if she now had to register her hands as weapons, she replied she had heard that since she was a child, but that it was just a myth. 

"Each type of martial art has its own training, each very different," Airman Warren said. "It would be impossible to create a standard to be met for a person to register their hands as weapons." 

As for the future, Airman Warren has no immediate plans for her newly acquired status. Asked if she would become an instructor, she said many more years of training would be needed before she could think of becoming an instructor. 

If you would like to learn more about the ancient Chinese art of Shao-Lin Kung Fu, visit their Web site at www.shaolinnm.com.