General

Introspection and balance

I have been thinking a lot lately about balance. It’s one of my weaknesses in my training so it’s been in my mind a lot this past 2 (almost 3) years.
First, I said ‘what is balance’? Merriam-Webster defines balance as:
Main Entry: 1bal·ance
Pronunciation: \ˈba-lən(t)s\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Vulgar Latin *bilancia, from Late [...]

Followup article from Manila Times on the development of Arnis in the Philippines

Followup article to this past weekend’s news item on development of Arnis in the Philippines.  We are republishing this Manila Times article as a way to propagate this information throughout the Internet.  Salamat po.

The challenge of historical documentation

BY PERRY GIL S. MALLARI REPORTER (Manila Times, Tuesday 20April 2010)
Besides the Department of Education (DepEd) and the [...]

Controversy with Arnis Philippines regarding rules

In an ongoing effort to feature news from Arnis Philippines and the state of the FMA, this article was published in the Manila Times today, (Sunday 18April 2010) and republished here for greater coverage of the material.

Rules, styles can’t be taught until these are standardized

By Perry Gil S. Mallari Reporter (Manila Times, Sunday [...]

Learning How to Teach

I was idly showing an 8 or 10 year old little girl the other day a variety of grab-breaks. Several of them, of course, cause pain.
I’ve never encountered a truly non-compliant student before, I guess. Because she hauled off and slapped me as hard as she could, during one of them. Had I been in [...]

Press on NEW movie about FMA!!

Our friend Jay Ignacio a filmmaker that is based in the Philippines.  His latest movie is about the FMA and includes, among others, Dr. Remy Presas Jr. and Rodel Dagooc in addition to Dan Inosanto and others.   Please read about the movie with this latest bit of press.
Salamat!

The greatest Filipino cultural export is [...]

New FMA movie: Book of Eli with Denzel Washington

Looks like we’re in for more Hollywood-style action featuring the FMA with the latest Denzel Washington movie “The Book of Eli”.   Here’s a very cool clip featuring footage from the movie with interviews of Denzel, the directors of the movie and Jeff Imada, the stunt choreographer  of the movie:

Philippine Sports Commission To Lead Implementation Of Arnis Law | AHN

Philippine Sports Commission To Lead Implementation Of Arnis Law | AHN.
Manila, Philippines (AHN) – The Philippine Sports Commission will get P5 million to lead the implementation of a law declaring the martial art of arnis, a form of stick fighting, the national sport.
President Gloria Macapagal signed into law earlier this month  Republic Act 9850 sponsored [...]

What’s up with stick drills?

Someone related this story to me about the late Grandmaster Remy Presas Sr:

At one of his seminars, he decided to have the students practice Siniwali drills.   So he had the students pair up and had them have a go at it as a warm up.  He turned to me smiling and says:  ”Do you hear [...]

Balance training

I’ve done a little bit of silat, a couple of years of Modern Arnis, and Kempo Jutsu Kai (Professor Kimo Ferreira). One of the things I noticed in all of these experiences is that the difference between a good practitioner and a beginner is balance. (And flow and knowledge, of course.)
So my question today [...]

FMA, Crime, and Geo-Politics

In the Philippines the police are learning arnis to combat crime. I’d say about 40% of the people I see in classes and FMA seminars are LEOs here in Washington State. I’d imagine that’s pretty representative of the general population.
It’s interesting to me that the Philippines can afford to not only pay officers to do [...]

“Couch” training (or swing your stick while watching TV)

I watch TV…a lot.
When I watch TV I try to have a stick in my hands and practice arnis.  Really.
I wonder how many of you reading out there do the same thing.  It’s simple — just sit there watching TV and have ’something arnis’  in your hand.  This could be a stick, a training bolo, [...]

Arnis Importers for high-quality FMA training gear

Jeff Soriano is the owner and operator of the website www.arnisimporters.com.
In his own words: “Arnis Importers is a family run, online distributor of authentic, Philippine-made FMA training equipment. Our focus is on providing quality gear to fellow martial artists and practitioners like ourselves.” He has been in operation only within the last few years [...]

Modern Arnis

I was couch-training on YouTube earlier and decided I would look up Professor Remy A. Presas. The anniversary of his passing was just a couple of days ago and so I’ve been thinking about him a little bit. More importantly, as you may know, a crucial part of the couch-training regime is to watch cool [...]

There is no such thing as an Eskrima stick!

I hang out on the Internet a lot and one of my worst ‘time sucker’ habits is to look for ANYTHING that is associated with Filipino martial arts.   One of the things that I come across often is this notion of a bona-fide Filipino martial arts weapon called an Escrima stick!
Now…what exactly is this [...]

All things A/V

I go off on these tangents, where for a month or so, I spend a lot of time trying to learn Tagalog. And then it lapses and subsides. So I’m not doing that, again, this time. But…I did find some pretty cool links in my latest culling of the intarwebs.
For instance PinoyChannel.TV or PinayChannel.TV. [...]