Anyone from Manila?

Sino dito taga Metro Manila?

 

Good to have you here juramentado, welcome to Martial Arts Planet.

I don't think we have any members based in the Phillipines, but we do have many Eskrima fans here.

Look forward to your input.

 

Thanks for the welcome

 

Welcome again to MAP

I see from your profile that you train in Pekiti Tirsia? How long have you been training and with whom?

 

I've only started fairly recently, studying under Guro Rommel Tortal, the edged weapons instructor of the Phil. Marines.

Previous to that, I studied a hybrid style of arnis but not for very long.

My previous martial arts background is aikido, which I studied for about 10 years.

and just like you, I also do web design (but back in advertising, for now anyway).

What style of FMA do your practice?

 

Sounds good - I've heard lots of good things about your Guro.

I practice three main types of Filipino Martial Arts - so what I teach is pretty much elements of each to a certain degree - with a good sprinkling of "truisms" that I've discovered along the way over the 20 years or so that I've been into FMA. These 3 main systems are...

Doce Pares Eskrima - I have a 4th Grade Black Belt from GM Danny Guba and 2nd Grade Black Belt from GM Cacoy Canete.

Inosanto/LaCoste Kali - I am an Associate Instructor under Guro Marc McFann of the Inosanto lineage.

Dog Brothers Martial Arts - I am in the early stages of learning from Guro Marc "Crafty Dog" Denny - and way off being qualified to teach the system - although I must say that it has been a major influence on my FMA in general for many years - it's only recently however that I've started to train it formally.

 

Impressive credentials Yoda. You're lucky to have studied under those instructors

I just added the URL of our group's site in my profile.

Those Dog Brothers have really cranked up the intensity of FMA. Pekiti Tirsia in general seems very supportive of the trend toward full contact. Tuhon Gaje is already planning a similar full contact tournament in Manila in about 18 months. My Guro is likewise turning up the heat with our training.

The bar is already quite high and keeps getting higher. So I guess the only thing left to do is traing harder.

 

Very nice website

I see you have your articles hosted on my good friend "Stickgrappler's" site - do you know Hy? He's a real good guy & comes here sometimes.

It seems from reading the articles etc that our training is more similar than it is not. I look forward to sharing knoweldge with you here

 

I used to live in Mandaluyong city, but we relocated to Rizal some 5 years ago. Welcome to the boards.

 

thanks for welcome officer_fujita

Rizal? as in Rizal province? that's a nice place. My family used to own some land up in Tanay.

I live in Quezon City and commute to Makati for work. Training is done a few blocks from my house and on Sundays we practice at the Marine base in Fort Bonifacio.

You do FMA too? what style?

 

I used to train in modern arnis for 4 years, but I wouldn't necessarily call myself a "practitioner" since it was done out of necessity (it was a requirement in highschool and college), and the training was sub-par.

There was a time when I seriously wanted to take up a Filipino MA (either sinawali, yaw-yan, or bakbakan), but I found out that there's too much politics within the FMA community here.

Nowadays, I practice kendo and capoeira.

 

Yeah, politics in MA, any style for that matter, can kill your one's desire to train.

But I know of several FMA guys from different style who are moving away from the aggressive attitude of the older practitioners. The problem with FMA in the Phil. is tied into the machismo of the culture. Theres' always this rivalry between styles and frankly this has got to stop.

There's already a small but growing group of FMA people in Manila, from different styles, who meet at the UP (University of the Philippines) Diliman campus once a month for a picnic and just to get together and work at removing the barriers between the styles. This is a step in the right direction.

There are some styles, like Pekiti Tirsia for example, that is relatively free of politics, over here anyway.

I would suggest you reconsider studying FMA. We need more people getting into our native MA.

 

Very well said - although parts of your website seem to contradict that.

 

really? in what way?

 

I guess it's from the top as always - lots of "ours is better than yours" and "we beat so and so" in the "How to distinguish..." article.

As time goes by the younger generations will hopefully bypass the old rivalries and just get on with mutual learning

 

Oh that? LOL that's nothing compared to what some FMA leaders (and websites) say about the other styles.

I think a little pride in what you're teaching is ok. But I draw the line that degrading someone else's art to prop up what you're studying or teaching. That's really low.

Yes, the next generation of FMA people have to get passed the rivalries and instead unite to get Filipinos to go back to their MA roots.

 

It started when I went to ask for instruction in a FMA (I won't say what style anymore). I went to their training hall and I got to talk with the founder himself. He started by asking me about my martial arts background. During that time, I have already studied aikido and taekwondo for a while (but had to quit because of conflicts with school schedules). When he heard I was into taekwondo, he snorted:

"Wala kang matututunan sa taekwondo na yan! Kata, kata... KATArantaduhan ang matututunan mo"

(You won't learn anything from that taekwondo! Kata, kata... Foolishness is what you'll learn)

I was genuinely shocked with the attitude he had. And then he went on to bash aikido. He asked me if I was a student of Mr. Lydio's style of aikido here, when I said no, he went on to say how stupid Mr. Lydio was and his style of aikido. When I told him I was a part of Hombu aikido, he told me aikido was better suited for gay people. And then he went on and on how superior his martial art was and kept on asking me to show my skills in taekwondo and aikido (which he'll sneer at, and then he'd show how it is done with his style).

I know his style was powerful and very useful for self-defense (it HAS been featured a number of times on local TV), but I also know I won't be comfortable training with someone who's insecure with the art that he has developed and feels the need to constantly remind everyone how powerful he and his style is. It might be personal preference, but I believe that developing the right attitude is also important in martial arts.

In kendo, we beat each other with "kendo sticks" (as a friend of mine would like to call it) and it's fine with us. We don't care if people say it's outdated and has little or no practical use. We just do what we do and we're happy with it. In capoeira, my contra-mestre doesn't say he can beat a taekwondo practitioner or a karate-ka, he'll just flip a cartwheel and ask us to do the same and we're happy with what we do, and don't give much of damn if people think we're silly for doing handstands and cartwheels. There are no discussions about other martial arts and how capoeira can beat them all.

I don't hate FMA, just the instructors who give it a bad reputation here. I would often recommend MA like escrima, arnis, panununtukan, bakbakan, or any other FMA for that matter to people who are looking for a practical way to defend themselves; I do it because I'm a Filipino myself and proud of my country's achievements and contributions, and I believe FMA are also effective and good at what it does.

In my earlier posts, I gave the reasons why FMA doesn't flourish in the country of its origin- among them was the lack of qualified instructors. By "qualified", I didn't only mean proficiency in technical skill; it also includes the attitude, personality, outlook on others, and other things which make up the instructor as a person- and imho, these are important as well.

It's nice to hear that good instructors are increasing in number. I'm still open to learning a FMA; maybe in the near future.

 

I'd go as far as to say they are MORE important. I know qood fighters & good technicians who are not what I would call "Instructor material" - Sadly a lot of them are Instructors

 

true, true..technical skills cannot replace basic human decency and humility. The problem is compounded by the fact that a lot of MAs still retain the somewhat paternal traditional hierarchy, which opens the students to abuse and intimidation if the instructor lacks the character and maturity to use this authority wisely.

I've had my share of terrible experiences with "instructors". Without naming anyone, I had supposedly mature teachers tell me that my current instructor didn't know anything or that what I was studying was useless. But most high ranking instructors, FMA or otherwise, are less candid about that they really think about other styles. Most have just expounded on their own style and yes sometimes it does seem a bit like coercion.

I might be making generalities here but I think the "we're- better" attitude in the FMA might be born of its neglect in the MA world in the Philippines. You could say that the FMA might have a chip on its shoulder and always needs to compare itself to the more popular MA styles. And that of course will turn off those who want to get into the FMA and thus a vicious cycle is created.

officer_fujita: I think you shouldn't let a few jerks that you encountered in the FMA ruin your image of the arts as a whole. I met a really nasty guy before starting in Pekiti Tirsia but I just reminded myself that he was just one student and I shouldn't pre-judge the art based on the actions of this one individual, who wasn't even the guro.

 

LOL! You really are coming out with the truisms - very well put.