Tomas

I was startled to see an obituary for an old friend Tomas Villalobos in the paper the other day.  He died from a very rare form of eye cancer. Tomas and I both practiced martial arts together for many years at Hidden Valley Kung Fu under the tutelage of Sifu John Vihilidal and Sihing David Willey. I sparred with both Tomas and his wife Marianne often and they were both top notch practitioners and exemplary human beings.

Tomas was my senior in the martial arts by several years and had extraordinarily good technique in Hung Gar Kung Fu, a southern, five animals style. He excelled at leopard, my animal was crane. Even though he was a more accomplished martial artist than I was he never hesitated to share with me and help me with my own progress. Eventually my knees gave out and his back gave out and we both had to back away from the training and discipline.

He was a teacher, a mason, a potter, humble, caring, a gentle soul who I respected very much. My condolences and love goes out to his family.