Phillipines Trip

Discussion in 'Filipino Martial Arts' started by David Arnold, Nov 21, 2007.

  1. David Arnold

    David Arnold New Member

    Hi Guys ,

    Can any one give me some advice on training in the Phillipines .
    When is the best time to go ( on a weather front). Also how much is the average flight . What should i be looking to pay for hotels ect.

    I would like to train with the son's of Intin Carin does anyone know how I can get an address or number for them.


    Thank you :)
     
  2. Azazeal

    Azazeal Valued Member

    Best weather would probably be november/december.

    Pls gimme your eMail Adress so I can send you the contacts for GM Alfredo Carin
     
    Last edited: Nov 21, 2007
  3. David Arnold

    David Arnold New Member

    Hi Azazeal

    Thank you my mail address is removed as per Terms of Service

    That would be great .
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 21, 2007
  4. Pat OMalley

    Pat OMalley Valued Member

    PM him with your e-mail, and where are you flying from and what sort of hotel do you want, low end budget, middle/standard or high end expensive???Also if you contact the DP HQ in Cebu they can put you in contact with the Carin Family too.

    Best regards

    Pat
     
  5. shootodog

    shootodog restless native

    pm won't work. low post count. you can try going to the member's name, click on it and see the email option. have map email him your message instead. or have azazeal just pm flying dragon his email addy.
     
  6. David Arnold

    David Arnold New Member

    Hi

    I have changed my user settings , so I can receive e.mail .

    Thank you everyone
     
  7. Diego_Vega

    Diego_Vega Frustrated pacifist

    Weather wise our typhoon season ends mid December (btw we're just about to be hit AGAIN!). Personally I think if you can wait til mid Jan to Feb to come, the weather is great and the flight and accomodation costs drop because its not the high XMas season anymore. Any later than Feb and it begins to get very hot.

    Cebu is seen as the traditional heartland of FMA. They definitely have a lot of great teachers and systems to offer. If anything, I think Metro Manila has as much or more variety of styles.

    The internet is great for getting competitive prices for flights and accomodations.

    Pat O'Malley would be the best source for information about etiquette for foreigners amongst Filipinos. I suggest you get familiar with this before coming.
     
  8. shootodog

    shootodog restless native

    oh and it's "P H I L I P P I N E S"
     
  9. chenstyle44

    chenstyle44 Valued Member

    cant wait

    hi,
    i will be leaving for the phil next week. my wife is already packed, i think i am too.
    will probably hook up with modern arnis in baguio and try to get some training in with the doce pares guy there, if the tkd school he teaches in is still open.
    gonna spend some time in manila with whomever time permits. hope to be there for ten days, we'll see how the trip up north is.
    last i heard we were going to dagupan, the beach at la union, and might go to banaue, but thats iffy. so nice to be looked after!!
    i will send you an email when i land shootodog, hopefully i can get set up with a mobile ASAP.
    Gumagalang,
    gord
     
  10. Pat OMalley

    Pat OMalley Valued Member

    You lucky bleeder I cant make it till June/July time, I am jealous:D but you have a great time Bro and keep us up dated.


    Best regards ad Happy New Year

    Pat
     
  11. ap Oweyn

    ap Oweyn Ret. Supporter

    My close friend is over there right now, actually. This is the second Christmas in a row he's spent over there. He also spent a couple of days in Thailand. Emailed to say he'd just gotten back from a wicked muay thai match.

    Sod.

    :)
     
  12. Azazeal

    Azazeal Valued Member

    I want to go back to the Philippines, too :(
    My plans for next year blew up so I'll be in Bangkok for 4 months (doing Krabi Krabong i guess?) and hopefully get to visit manila for a few weeks at least...
     
  13. Pat OMalley

    Pat OMalley Valued Member

    Oh how I hate not being there for Xmas, one of the best places in the world this time of year, they truely know how to celebrate and oh how the Lechon in Cebu tastes. Well, Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! Lucky man

    Best regards

    Pat
     
  14. Pinoro

    Pinoro Valued Member

    I'd also like to go at the end of March- beginning of April... is it already too hot? What about the hotel/motel prices in that period?
    I intent to go mainly to Batangas,for Balintawak training, but I'd like to visit Cebu too...
    I keep searching on the net for some convenient flights from Austria (or at least from Germany), but I really can't find none... From London would be also ok, I guess. Can anybody help me with some infos,please?
    And what about the etiquette, Mr. O'Malley? Could you give me some advices?

    Thank you in advance!
     
  15. Azazeal

    Azazeal Valued Member

    March/April is HOT ... at least it was last year :p
    Cheapest flight I got was with Qatar Airways (Germany-to-Manila it was a nice plane as well with TV for every seat... Manila-Germany was a little older). Also, Gulf Air shouldnt be too expensive.

    Etiquette? Be nice/kind and humble, dont say no if they offer you Tanduay or Red Horse ( :D ), be very carefull with whom you discuss Philippine politics or religion (well.. same everywhere else in the world), dont play "rich white guy".
    Oh and if you go to the cinema, get up when everybody else does (Philippine national anthem).

    Ps: If you go to Cebu, check out Palazzo Pensionne in Sepulveda St. - Affordable, breakfast included, big rooms, quiet area, W-Lan.
     
    Last edited: Jan 2, 2008
  16. Pinoro

    Pinoro Valued Member

    Wow!! Thank you so much for the infos!! Really helpful! I will search for the companies u said, hope i'm lucky!
    Hope i can go a bit earlier, maybe even end of February...
    Ok, I wont refuse drinks or food, won't talk politics&religion, rich I'm not anyway and... completely white i'm not either! :p

    Thank you once again for the tips! Godbless!
     
  17. Pat OMalley

    Pat OMalley Valued Member

    Well Azazeal coverd the basics of how you should behave:) I would also say, dont show them how you do it unless they really insist (FMA that is), I often found when people done this the shutters just come down and you learn very little, and as mentioned do not get involved in politics or religion and certainly dont get invloved in FMA politics either even if those around you are discussing it, my best advise is to smile all the time, mind you given the Pinoy sense of humour you will have no choice anyway:D

    Never expect anything to run on time as it does in the West, there is this little thing called Filipino time, you will get use to it, it is everywhere, especially in Banks and shops;) Take you hosts out for a meal and socialise with them, they will want to know more about you, after all it is all about trust and how can they trust you if they dont know you.

    Politeness is the key to everything, the Pinoy's understand you are not from the Philippines and may not be in tune with their customs, be polite and learn as you go, be willing to adapt into their culture and way of doingt things, if you show willing you will be forgiven for any misunderstandings that may occur.

    An most important of all, do not be rude to anyone, even the people who beg for a living, it is not their fault they have too eat too, you can politely decline with a smile on your face even if it is the 100 time someone has asked you for money.

    As for hotels, well if you already have training lined up I am sure your hosts will have some good hotels nearby the training area, and again it all depends what you want out of a hotel, I have found that even a 3 star hotel can be as good, if not better than some 5 star hotels in the West and some so called 5 star hotels can be horible, so pot luck on that one.

    If you are going to get the chance to go to Cebu and it is Balintawak your interested in then I suggest you look up GM Nick Elizar, he is awsome and you will really progress with him quicker than you realise.

    Also dont point with your fingure it's rude, you will find that the Pinoy's poit for the most with their lips, no they are not blowing kisses at you:love: they are pointing. And as is said dont play the rich white man, you will have problems, it is also very rude to flaunt any wealth they may think you have, bearing in mind most of us in the west will earn more in one week than the majority of Pinoys will see in 6 months, mind you flaunting wealth is rude anyway.

    If you unexpectantly walk in on your hosts or any of their freinds houses and they are sitting down to eat, they will out of politness offer you to sit with them, politely decline saying you have already eaten, even if you could devour a Carabao. Pinoys will lay on special food for guests and if they do dont mound you plate up as if it is you first and last meal, a modest filling of the plate goes down a lot better, if you are still hungry and their is food on everyones plate (including those in the background) you can always go back for more. Socialising around a table of food is a great way to get to know people that is why I said earlier, take your hosts and their friends out for a meal, dont worry you wont break the bank and you do not have to go to an ultra posh eating house, a local barbeque eating house will not only surprise you with the price, the food is also top notch, your hosts will know the best one to eat at.

    And if you are on a strict budget, dont worry you can spend most of your time eating for next to nothing in Jollibee's and Chowking.

    Treat everyone how you expect to be treated and learn as you go, you will with a little willing soon slip into the Pinoy way of doing things and trust me when you do you will have a whole lot more fun, the Philippines is not called the land of smiles for nothing.

    It is hot the time of year you are expecting to go, but hey it is hot all year round compared to what we are used to, and if you get too hot, a bar with some cold San Mig's will do the trick;)

    With regards to flights, try KLM they tend to do some good deals and if you go via London you can fly direct to Cebu too.

    Best regards

    Pat
     
  18. Pat OMalley

    Pat OMalley Valued Member

    Oh and if you think people are laughing at you, your probably right, but it is not in a bad way, sometimes Pinoys laugh becuase they are embarrased, or for the most they laugh because they can, as they say, laugh and the whole world laughs with you, that I feel is a good way to describe the Philippines.

    Have a great trip and let us know how you get on

    Best regards

    Pat
     
  19. Azazeal

    Azazeal Valued Member

    Aye... even though I've been there only for a few months, not for half a lifetime like Pat (I'm jealous!) I experienced about everything the same way he described. It takes some getting used to (especially the "phil. time"), but if you stay relaxed, you'll have a lot more fun.

    Also, as Pat said - dont show them how you're used to doing it (I told every trainer I met that I wanted to learn it the way they do it.. from the basics on. If they see that you know how to hold a stick, they'll speed up the training anyway) - and yes, especially in Cebu, stay out of the FMA-politics. Its tough - 'cause everyone is "trashtalking" - and the funny thing is, they all say the same about the other trainer (A says, B has no footwork and power, B says A has no footwork and power, C says A and B do the same and are both wrong :D ). When I went 'sightseeing' - for example I visited 4 different Doce Pares Branches in Cebu which dont all like each other, I always said I'm just a tourist, not affiliated with any particular style, and wanted to see the original FMA. Everyone was happy to show me their style and explain and talk ;)

    And, again as Pat allready said, Nick Elizar is a great source for Balintawak in Cebu. There are some other trainers there as well, but Nick has experience with foreigners and is teaching in a structured way as we know it in Europe which is a lot easier if you're not used to the "Filipino way of Teaching".
     
  20. Pinoro

    Pinoro Valued Member

    Thank you,thank you,thank you - Mr. O'Malley and Azazeal - for being so kind and helping me with so much valuable information! I will read this many times, until I memorize it all - I'm very excited about this trip, I dream about it for a few years already and now I hope I can finally make it happen.
    I see there are so many things I had no idea about and that I should bear in mind... Even if I have a few ''pen-pals'' from the Phills that I chat very often with (including girls :p), they never brought such aspects up - of course, for them it's natural and they don't need to talk about it... Now I really got a bit worried that I will make some mistakes and offend someone there without my intention...

    Yes, I am mainly interested to go to Batangas and to train in Balintawak de Oro with a close student of Mr. Danny Vedua (from Cagayan). But I don't want to miss the chance at least to visit other schools, to watch the training and train with them if I am allowed, to meet new people and make a lot of friends...

    By the way, even though I live in Austria, I am originally from Romania ( Pinoro = pinoy-romanian :p ), so I am very familiar with people earning almost nothing or even being forced to beg - but still living with dignity and great humour and enjoying life. And I feel better among them than among ''aristocrats''.

    Once again thank you and of course I will keep you informed about how the things are going!
     

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