# The Stances of Modern Arnis Anyos

- Link: https://brianejohns.com/2015/04/29/blog-the-stances-of-modern-arnis-anyos/
- Published: 2015-04-29T22:14:00-04:00
- Author: Brian Johns

## Some in the Modern Arnis community give short shrift to the practice of the Modern Arnis Anyos in favour of stick and knife work. 󠀁[I love the anyos!](https://brianejohns.com/2014/10/16/blog-fma-on-a-mook-jong/)󠁿 I think that the stances from the anyos have a lot of value.

That’s understandable, as stick and knife work is quite enjoyable! However, one 
may be overlooking the tremendous value in the Modern Arnis anyos. A karate friend
once described kata as “the 17th-century version of a DVD” because the concepts 
and principles of various fighting techniques were encoded in the kata. Ignoring
the anyos of Modern Arnis is to overlook the concepts and principles that are embedded
in the anyos.

![Picture of Anyos from Professor's "Pink Book."](https://i0.wp.com/brianejohns.
com//wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Screen-Shot-2020-07-03-at-6.41.36-PM.png?resize=
694%2C914&ssl=1)

From Professor Presas’ “Pink Book.”

Some may have Bruce Lee’s statement about forms in mind when overlooking the anyos.
He thought that forms were pointless and were akin to swimming on land. To be fair
to him, he made this statement in the 1960s when knowledge of how to extract concepts,
principles, and techniques from forms was not as advanced as today.

In contrast, Professor Presas stressed the importance of forms in Modern Arnis. 
In particular, I remember him telling us at the 1999 Michigan Modern Arnis camp 
how important it was for us to practice the anyos.

One small aspect of the anyos concerns takedowns and throws.  Consider this video
by Iain Abernethy:

If you are not able to view this video, click [here](https://youtu.be/_-v9tE6Mi-g).

## Interesting to see how shifting into a cat stance results in a sweep at 0:26 of this video, eh?

Now, there’s an exciting avenue of investigation. The horse stance, front stance,
cat stance, crossover stance, and other stances can all be a part of takedowns, 
sweeps, and throws. Now, go back over the Modern Arnis anyos, focus on those “useless”
stances sprinkled throughout, and analyze what type of takedowns they would be used
for as best as you can. Ignore what you are doing with the upper extremities in 
these anyos for this exercise. Folks, there is a TON of stuff in there.

Consider the below video clip. Can you spot some stances you would see in an anyo
or kata?

If you are not able to view this video, click [here](https://youtu.be/pKprDfI16dw).

Professor had Judo rank and was fond of sweeps, throws, and takedowns. Therefore,
it would behoove us to look for anyo movements that can translate into these. Much
is contained in the stances of the Modern Arnis anyos.

## See if you can spot the potential sweeps, throws and takedowns.

## Additional Reading

 * [Six Ways To Practice Your Cane Anyos](https://brianejohns.com/2015/03/17/blog-six-ways-to-practice-your-cane-anyos/)
 * [“Sinawali Training is Useless”](https://brianejohns.com/2015/10/19/blog-sinawali-training-is-useless/)
 * [Counters to Disarms](https://brianejohns.com/2016/11/22/blog-counters-to-disarms/)
 * [Review of Datu Kelly Worden DVDs](https://brianejohns.com/2012/07/28/blog-review-of-datu-kelly-worden-dvds/)
 * [Mixing It Up!](https://brianejohns.com/2021/11/08/blog-mixing-it-up/)

### Share this post:

 * [  X ](https://brianejohns.com/2015/04/29/blog-the-stances-of-modern-arnis-anyos/?share=twitter)
 * [  Facebook ](https://brianejohns.com/2015/04/29/blog-the-stances-of-modern-arnis-anyos/?share=facebook)
 * [  LinkedIn ](https://brianejohns.com/2015/04/29/blog-the-stances-of-modern-arnis-anyos/?share=linkedin)
 * [  Threads ](https://brianejohns.com/2015/04/29/blog-the-stances-of-modern-arnis-anyos/?share=threads)
 * [  WhatsApp ](https://brianejohns.com/2015/04/29/blog-the-stances-of-modern-arnis-anyos/?share=jetpack-whatsapp)
 * [  Email ](https://brianejohns.com/2015/04/29/blog-the-stances-of-modern-arnis-anyos/?subject=%5BShared%20Post%5D%20The%20Stances%20of%20Modern%20Arnis%20Anyos&body=https%3A%2F%2Fbrianejohns.com%2F2015%2F04%2F29%2Fblog-the-stances-of-modern-arnis-anyos%2F&share=email)
 * [  Print ](https://brianejohns.com/2015/04/29/blog-the-stances-of-modern-arnis-anyos/#print?share=print)

### Like this:

Like Loading…

### _Related_