Dr Craig Adams

[Pharabus]

I live in Dallas, the real "Silicon Valley" and I can see that **** working here.

"only steers and queers come from Texas private cowboy, and you don't much look like a steer to me so that kinda narrows it down" Full Metal Jacket 1987

[Pharabus]

damn double post

sorry

[battlefields]

Okay, I'm going to try this for the last time. Here is the responses I received from Dr Craig, in succession within a few hours (I did not reply at any stage):

Hi there Sam,

Phew I just typed up a lengthy response on my phone then lost it all with a flat battery !! ;-)

Am still at work here ... But will respond more fully later in the week.

I think your scepticism may relate to the time scale we are talking here ... It has been more than 28 years since I last operated out of the Black Rock Civic Centre circa '84-'85.

btw I was the senior instructor at this school. We operated there 3- 4 nights a week and just hired the hall. (it was used for Ballet on the other nights !! lol)

We also held instructors only ("mixed martial arts") classes at Monash University (Martial Arts gym, Clayton) on Saturday mornings. One memorable morning we had the TV celebrity "martial artiste" Yoland Lim from the Mike Walsh Show visit us and spar with me ... The picture of Trevor Morrisson & Danny Tighe was taken during one of these sessions.

I left Melbourne in 1984 for Tasmania where I taught boxing at the Police Academy for a short while before giving up and concentrating on my medical studies.

I have jotted down (dictated to medical students actually) my recollections of this interesting time of my life with reasonable accuracy ... But was dictated 'tongue-in-cheek' to young, impressionable med students, and was not meant to be a complete, research publication or history of MA in Melbourne ! ;-)

However, Martial Arts was a big part of my life for many years ... And I miss it greatly. But also do not wish to offend anyone still in the industry with imprecise or outdated terms.

If you are genuinely interested in the early history of Martial Arts in Melbourne, then I would love to catch up and have a chat sometime over Skype and remember some of the early names like "The Mighty Apollo" Paul (Alec) Anderson senior (who my father grew up with and knew very well indeed, so did I) his wife Rhonda (an incredible weapons expert, who allegedly ran off with his senior intructor Alex Dudko) and of course his Dojo's nemesis Bob Jones (who I did not know very well other than to nod to while I worked as a ring-side doctor at his Friday night kick-boxing and Muay Thai events).

While I am typing this response, names are starting to come flooding back to me that I had forgotten for all these years ... the incredible Lanciano Bros' (Percy, Frank, Ralph & Angelo) for example ! ;-)

Will be back in touch soon ... Oh, and I apologize if I have misused the modern (correct) use of the term MMA ;-)

I hope my earlier phone response will still be there when my phone is charged up again ... But we will chat again for sure.

Cheers,

Craig

Professor Craig Adams

The second, where he changes the title of my original email from "Questions regarding MMA" to "RE: Questions regarding early history of MA in Melbourne..." which I never wrote:

Hi again Sam,

I just made a few changes to update and correct the loose, outdated reference to MMA that seems to have offended you and your readers.

As it now stands, it is as accurate enough (but admittedly 'pouncy') account of my life ... ;-)

The whole website looks and sounds 'ridiculous' now ... It was written by Melbourne Uni med students around 1992- 1995 after recording some interviews with me ...

I can say that you are absolutely the only person who has made any comment on this site for 17 years !! lol

But thanks to you, I now have heaps of memories of the early days of MA in Melbourne flooding back ... ;-)

Do you live in Melbourne or Sydney ? I often return to these cities and it would be great to catch up for a chat and a laugh.

Cheers for now, we are seriously under-staffed and under-resourced here in Fiji, my time is totally spent with work at the moment.

Oh, is William Chung still around ... Is he the one who cannot remember my name ? lol

He beat me to a pulp in chess one day (in about 9 moves) at his off Little Bourke St. training academy ... Maybe that will refresh his memory ? I doubt it ... But It scarred me for life ;-)

And I fancied his secretary Maria (circa 1978'ish) ... I would not be at all surprized if he (William) did not recall me after all these years. But we had dinner together quite a few times in Chinatown and I recall maybe three times I was an invited referee.

I am trying to remember the other Aussie (Tae Kwon Do) practitioner that he also invited as a referee for his Australasian Kung Fu Championships maybe late 70's ... It will come to me ... (it was not Trevor Morrison).

I have some very amusing (but not publishable without being sued) stories to tell of some of these early Kung Fu Championships !! Not to mention my sparring encounter with "Grandmaster" Yoland Lim at Monash Uni !! ;-)

Kind regards,

Craig.

Ps I have never in my entire life of (mostly unsuccessfully) chasing girls, ever had ANY of them, be evenly remotely interested, in my martial arts, boxing or sporting past !! lol

Professor Craig Adams

The third, back to replying to original title "RE: Questions regarding MMA":

Hi Sam,

(My phone has recharged so here, below, is my first response to your e-mail. But now gotta get back to work and leave this interesting topic until the weekend).

I have just quickly read your long e-mail , and am intrigued by the detail in which you have tried to 'verify' my martial arts background ...

I will spend some time this weekend going into a clearer explanation for you (I have some other deadlines to meet this week) ...

But just so you don't get too far ahead of yourself ... I was the head instructor at Black Rock dojo and the people mentioned on my site were mostly my students (junior instructors).

We used the term "mixed martial arts" way back then (early 1980's) to denote experimenting with different fighting styles like: Japanese Karate & Judo with Korean Tai Kwon Do & Hapkido, Chinese Wing Chun Kung Fu, western boxing & wrestling etc.

This was decades before 'cage fighting' and sanctioned "MMA" as you have so expertly described and defined in your e-mail.

So maybe this needs to be clarified on my site. I dictated this site (to students) more as a nostalgic recollection of my life, than a "dating site" !! But literally lol when you described it as such ...

However no names have been made-up, mis-used or wrongly used ...

Your "screen capture" will hold up to forensic analysis ! ;-)

You are right about the poorly regulated martial arts industry ... I left the active participant scene after I graduated from Medicine - although briefly worked as a doctor for Bob Jones Corporation (kick boxing) and Boxing Australia.

Provided your Martial Arts enquiries are genuine ... And I believe they are, I look forward to maybe a Skype link-up one day/night next week ?

I seriously have no idea which 'name' you spoke to that denied knowing me.

I have many more MA acquaintances from 70's & early 80's whose names I have forgotten, and hence not on the website ... But would really like to sit down and search my memory banks and catch up with some of them when I am next in Australia.

For the record, the Black Rock Dojo was only a part-time hiring of the Black Rock Civic Centre !!

The so-called "Mixed Martial Arts" sessions were held at the MA gym of Monash University.

Trevor Morrison & Danny Tighe both attended (picture on site).

We also once had a visit from (at the time) TV celebrity Kung Fu "Grandmaster" Yoland Lim - with hilarious consequences.

Will tell you details (off the record) when we chat. ;-)

Cheers,

Craig.

Prof. Craig Adams

I have redacted some of his contact details, as I don't feel it necessary to divulge them on the site.

There is entirely too much obfuscation going on and I'll address them in a minute.

[battlefields]

Good authority says that the site has been in operation since 2011. Hardly 17 years.

No, William Chung is not on my radar and I have not contacted him. At no stage does he say he instructed him and thus is not an issue I care to look into at the moment. There is another MMA instructor that Dr Craig lists that doesn't know him. Dr Craig needs to think harder, look at the wording of the STILL UNCHANGED website and stop obfuscating the question.

He keeps name dropping Melbourne martial artists like I give two shits or a ****.

This thread comes up on the first page of a google search. He's not teaching martial arts from what I can see and he's no longer in Australia.

[dewey]

Thanks to Battlefields for all his hard work.

In the end, after reading the whole thread as well as googling said issue myself, I feel myself having an irresistable urge to watch Roadhouse.

[Gluckmann]

I feel a bit sorry for the guy at this point - I don't think he's all there.

Also: was he coming onto you...?

[Sri Hanuman]

irresistable urge to watch Roadhouse.

I'm sure you mean Dirty Dancing.
Nobody makes baby wear hakama.

[Sri Hanuman]

irresistable urge to watch Roadhouse.

I'm sure you mean Dirty Dancing.
Nobody makes baby wear hakama.

[ChuckWepner]

I feel a bit sorry for the guy at this point - I don't think he's all there.

Also: was he coming onto you...?

I think you mean "coming on to you." That's creepy enough in this case.

[doofaloofa]

**** all you haterz

The stripey beard/mohawk combo rule!

You're just envious cause you got no hair/are too prepubesant to grow facial hair

OK so maybe he's a little free and easy with the truth...but is that a crime?