# 10 Years in Modern Arnis

- Link: https://brianejohns.com/2008/04/06/blog-10-years-in-modern-arnis/
- Published: 2008-04-06T21:50:00-04:00
- Author: Brian Johns

In February, I passed the 10th anniversary of my involvement in Modern Arnis.

I started with Dan McConnell of the Hilliard Martial Arts Center in Columbus, Ohio.
While there, I trained with Matt Burnett, Roger Predieri, Katy Ray, and Amy Snow.
It was a good time!

### While my 10 years in Modern Arnis started with Dan McConnell, the seeds of my involvement were planted in October 1989.

A Notre Dame buddy, Drew Sandler, and I travelled to New York City over fall break
to visit Professors Robert Cooper and his son Gary Cooper. We also wanted to visit
Professor Jose Velez as well. Drew and I worked out in Professor’s class at the 
YMCA and hung out with him and Professor Velez.

That week, Professor Velez took Drew and me to visit Professor Vee in his apartment.
That week, Jose, Drew, and I were shot at while driving through a neighbourhood 
in NY City. An armed robber, running out of a restaurant or a grocery store, spotted
us and fired. Fortunately, nothing happened. After returning to Jose’s apartment,
we inspected his car for bullet holes and found none. Whew. Anyway, back to the 
visit with Professor Vee (real name is Florendo Visitacion).

We were in his apartment for two hours. At this time, Prof. Vee was approximately
79-80 and still quite vital. He introduced us to some basic arnis. Before that time,
I was only vaguely aware of what arnis was about. We practiced some basic empty 
hand against stick techniques. But I didn’t think about them in an organized way.

Professor Vee introduced us to the first five angles. If I recall correctly, they
are the same as Modern Arnis. While I do not remember everything he taught us, I
do remember that he showed us some cane-locking techniques. Man, they were PAINFUL!!

![Myself and Professor Vee.](https://i0.wp.com/brianejohns.com//wp-content/uploads/
2020/06/Screen-Shot-2015-09-27-at-11.38.01-PM.jpg?resize=267%2C195&ssl=1)

Myself and Professor Vee.

## He would then stop in mid-lock and, with a mock evil cackle, ask if a camera was nearby.

We did take a few pictures, and they are in storage somewhere. I was fascinated 
that you could lock people up with a cane.

Afterward, we had a conversation with Professor Vee. Again, I do not recall much
of the conversation (besides applying music theory to martial arts), but I did ask
him some basic questions about Arnis. I told him I was moving to Columbus, Ohio,
after graduating from law school the following spring. I asked him what style/system
of Arnis he would recommend that I study. He said, “[Whatever you find in Columbus](https://brianejohns.com/2007/09/06/blog-my-martial-arts-biography/).”

After graduating from law school and moving to Columbus, I first looked for that.
Remember, in the spring/summer of 1990, the World Wide Web, as we know it today,
did not exist back then. I resorted to various martial arts magazines’ Yellow Pages
and school directories. I could not find anyone teaching Filipino Martial Arts. 
So, on the recommendation of Jim Hoff, an ND friend, I took up Kenpo Karate (Tracy
style), which I studied for 7 years.

Over the years. I kept an eye out for any Arnis/Filipino Martial Art possibilities.
Brian McCarthy, another ND friend, alerted me to a martial arts e-mail list called
the “Escrima Digest.” I subscribed to the Digest sometime in the mid-1990s. Further
fueling my desire to learn Arnis was Rick Clark, a pressure point expert. I attended
a few of his seminars and a couple of camps.

He often brought out the arnis sticks and showed us some basic techniques. In addition,
over the years, I picked up Black Belt magazine and noticed there were listings 
for seminars by Remy Presas. But I never took advantage of them….figuring that it
was too far to drive, and there was the practical question of “_who would I train
with after attending a seminar ?_” If I could go back in time and change my mind,
knowing what I know now……….anyway…..

In 1996 and 1997, I met with a fellow in the Columbus area on an occasional basis
to exchange knowledge…..my Vee JJ in exchange for his knowledge of the Advincula
arnis system. We met about 10 times in total, and it was fun. However, the guy had
to move away. Instead of being discouraged, this whetted my appetite even further.

Then in late January or early February of 1998, I was alerted by Brian McCarthy 
to a seminar announcement on the Escrima Digest. I immediately opened the Escrima
Digest e-mail and found an announcement by Dan McConnell, later to become my Modern
Arnis instructor. He announced the first Remy Presas seminar in Columbus, held at
the Norwich Elementary School in April 1998. I said, “_Norwich Elementary School…
mmmm, that sounds familiar._” Being a single guy, I was in the dark, but it turned
out that it was the local elementary school! Just two minutes from my house! I immediately
e-mailed Dan and asked him about the seminar and where and when he taught his arnis
classes.

I believe this was in the first or second week of February 1998. This was the beginning
of my first 10 years in Modern Arnis. I had nine great years with Dan and met a 
tremendous number of people through Dan over the years. It’s safe to say that I 
just fell in love with the art of Modern Arnis and went to many seminars and camps
with Dan over the years, in addition to 9 years of classes at the [Hilliard Martial Arts Center](https://www.teamhmac.com/).
He has done a great job of spreading Modern Arnis in Columbus (starting with one
adult class per week and then eventually expanding it to three adult classes and
two children classes per week) and bringing in folks like Professor Presas, [Tony Marcial](https://marcialtirada.net/),
Ken Smith, Chuck Gauss, Kelly Worden, and a few others.

Even though I’ve moved to Canada, here’s to many more years of growth for Master
Dan and the HMAC in Columbus. Since [I moved here to Canada](https://brianejohns.com/2010/08/02/blog-toronto-stockton/),
I understand he has big plans for himself and his school. Best of luck!

So that’s the story of my first 10 years in Modern Arnis…..it took a lot of patience!
I will continue growing in the art by teaching it here in Oshawa, training with 
Master Chuck Gauss in Detroit whenever possible, and attending IMAF camps and seminars,
time and finances permitting.

## Additional Reading

 * [My Martial Arts Biography](https://brianejohns.com/2007/09/06/blog-my-martial-arts-biography/)
 * [Back To The Drawing Board](https://brianejohns.com/2023/12/13/back-to-the-drawing-board/)
 * [Home](https://brianejohns.com/about/)
 * [2010 ArnisFest](https://brianejohns.com/2010/10/04/blog-2010-arnisfest/)
 * [Friday Recommendation #20](https://brianejohns.com/2023/09/15/friday-recommendation-20/)

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