On Saturday, December 3rd, I taught at the “The Warrior Arts of the Philippines Fundraising Event” along with Master Rollie Descargar, Master Oliver Garduce, Guro Ramon Villardo, and Grandmaster Marc DeLeon. A very worthy cause was the beneficiary of this event.

  • Instructors of the Fundraising Event
    Myself, Guro Ramon, Guro Oliver, Master Rollie and GM Marc
  • The presentation ceremony.
  • Group Photograph
  • Myself and Terence.

All proceeds of this fundraising event went to “The Adapted Program for Children and Youth with Developmental Exceptions and Special Needs.”

Kyud Archie Luz of “Undisputed Martial Arts” and Guro Ramon Villardo did a fantastic job organizing this fundraising event.  About 45 to 50 people participated in this event.

Each instructor taught for an hour and 15 minutes, with an hour lunch break.

I was the first to teach and taught a 2 vs. 1 drill. I hoped to transition to a right vs. right stick technique and then to a left vs. right stick technique. With limited time, I progressed to the right vs. right stick technique. The participants did very well with the material I taught. With 15 minutes left, I introduced one of the Modern Arnis ground techniques called “step to deltoid tendon.” I joked about doing a “hands-free” armbar, which got a good chuckle from the audience.

Next, Master Rollie Descargar taught elements of the Bais Tres Mano system by exploring defences against an overhead strike.

While doing so, he emphasized proper angling footwork in executing techniques.  His techniques were very smooth and logical. I was impressed by Master Rollie’s humbleness during his presentation.

Shortly before lunch, Guro Ramon invited Datu Tim Hartman to give a 20-minute guest presentation on the Modern Arnis slap off drill and a few variations. One of my students, Terence, served as Tim’s uke during this presentation. After this demonstration, Guro Ramon expressed his appreciation to Datu Tim upon completing his presentation.

After a delicious lunch, Master Oliver Garduce gave an entertaining presentation of his art, covering various Kombatan techniques.

Among the techniques he taught were double sticks and empty-hand translations. In addition, he covered espada y daga and a couple of excellent ground techniques.

Master Oliver then turned the stage over to Guro Ramon, who did a great job teaching effective knife defences derived from the Kali Illustrisimo/Bakbakan system. He then taught us a solo drill using Illustrisimo footwork that is very effective for largo/sparring range. He illustrated how various moves could be used against an opponent.

The last presentation of this fundraising event was by GM Marc DeLeon, who showcased his Taagan-Kawala Martial Arts.

He taught a mixture of techniques from his system, including defences against an overhead attack, emphasizing the largo range aspect. He also taught defences against a knife attack.

As seen above, the participants of this fundraising event got an excellent overview of the similarities and differences among the different FMAs. However, the camaraderie among the event’s instructors and participants was more important.

Beautiful certificates of appreciation were presented to the instructors, their assistants/ukes, and a group photograph, completing the evening.

An awesome day at this fundraising event at a great venue!

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