In 1988, after defeating several champions from years past,
Salvador
proudly took home the title of 2nd
place for
Madrid. Finishing in the top two
positions qualified him for the nationals.
At the Spain Nationals, again fighters and spectators were in awe
of
Salvador
as he whittled through veteran
champions. However, ankle injuries sustained during the final round
prevented
Salvador
from finishing this last round.
Nevertheless,
Salvador
proudly took home the 2nd
ranked position for the Spain Nationals.
Victory
under a new trainer....
In 1989,
Salvador
met Pedro Conde, a seasoned martial arts
instructor. It was on the advice and instruction of Pedro Conde Salvador
was able to understand how to prevent similar ankle injuries as he had
experienced at nationals, in future competitions.
So, in 1989,
Salvador, fully recovered and more determined
than ever, won the championship title in
Madrid
and went on to win the championship
title at the Spain Nationals.
Candor
leads to controversy....
During a post-victory interview,
Salvador
spoke with candor and frankness when he
stated he “…didn’t think there were any real Kung Fu masters in Spain.
” He rationalized his statements by
indicating, based on his experience, Katas (the martial arts term for
fighting in air, or pretending to fight with an opponent) and using
“animal styles” were of no use when training for competitions.
|
Salvador
further indicated all the Spanish
fighters seemed to be repeating the same maneuvers.
Salvador
explained these methods were no good
when it came to competitive fighting. Salvador
’s philosophy is there is a martial
arts “lifestyle” that must be upheld outside of practicing the
sport. In his opinion, Spanish fighters were far behind their Chinese
counterparts.
|
 |
| Salvador (right)
demonstrates the perfect form
that contributed to his 1990 Spain Nationals victory. |
The
"Challenge"....
After this interview published,
Salvador
lost favor with some of Spain
’s key martial arts masters. Some even
pushed for Salvador
to retract his all too candid
statements. However, Pedro Conde very shrewdly diverted attention
momentarily from the statements by issuing a “challenge.” Pedro
announced if any of the master’s students could take the title from Salvador, at the next Spain National competition,
he would personally interview that champion. That champion would then be
allowed to publicly challenge any of Salvador’s previously published statements.
So, in 1990, under the pressure of this challenge, Salvador whet to the
Spain Nationals to defend his title.
next
page--->
