Stockton, California has long been known for its’ long and rich history of Filipino Martial Arts, dating back decades.

Stockton had a large Filipino community in those days, mostly migrant workers. Often, at night, eskrimadors would train in secret. I remember reading somewhere that Professor Visitacion, the founder of Vee-Jitsu, recalls nightly training sessions after working in Stockton’s fields.

As it turns out, Professor Vee lived there for 10 years before settling in New York City and becoming the founder of Vee Jiu-Jitsu.  

The FMA scene in Stockton later greatly influenced Dan Inosanto and Richard Bustillo as they delved into Filipino martial arts. It is my understanding that the Stockton FMA influenced much of the Inosanto-Lacoste blend.

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Among those who taught or came out of Stockton are Angel Cabales, Dentoy Revilar, Rene Latosa, Maximo Sarmiento, John Lacoste, Leo Giron, Mike Inay and many of their proteges. I am sure that there are several others that I left out. Nevertheless, the Stockton FMA scene has had a profound influence on the history of American martial arts, impacting martial arts masters from Dan Inosanto, to Professor Vee, to well-known author Mark Wiley and many others.

I would love to get my hands on an article or book that explores the Stockton FMA scene in more detail.

That brings me to the topic of the FMA scene in Toronto. 9,500 Filipinos immigrate to the Toronto area every year, and Filipinos are now the third largest visible minority in the greater Toronto area. Like Stockton, this influx of Filipino immigrants has inevitably brought in practitioners/teachers of various FMA styles. To date, there are approximately 200,000 Filipinos in the Toronto area, and there is no doubt that this number will grow. Obviously, like Stockton, Toronto is the hotbed of Filipino culture.

I am aware of the following Filipino martial arts in the Greater Toronto Area:

(1) Modern Arnis
(2) Balintawak
(3) Kali Illustrisimo
(4) FCS Kali
(5) Inosanto-Lacoste blend
(6) Lameco
(7) Sikaran
(8) Yaw Yan
(9) Cinco Teros
(10) Kali De Leon
(11) Kombatan

I’m sure that there are a couple that I forgot. In addition, there are probably some “underground” groups that prefer to train in private.  

The proliferation of FMAs in Toronto makes me wonder if this area will be the next Stockton. All signs point in this direction.

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