The Dance of Pain!
In this video, I demonstrate the dance of pain, showcasing another area of Modern Arnis. As alluded to in this previous post, Modern Arnis is more than stick fighting. We cover stick fighting, empty hands against a cane, joint locks, takedowns, ground controls, trapping hands, knife…
Modern Arnis on Rogers Cable!
On Thursday, March 22nd, we had a somewhat unusual class. Two journalism students from nearby Durham College came by to shoot footage of a Bamboo Spirit class. In addition, they interviewed me and one of my students, Terence. The footage will air on Rogers Cable!…
Style or Approach?
This entry is written from the perspective of self-defence needs and does not delve into the competition-oriented arts or those geared toward personal development. Specifically, I address whether you should care more about an instructor’s approach than his style. Some claim the superiority of one…
Learning Styles in the Martial Arts
I believe that people have different learning styles. Some learn with their ears (audio learners). Some students are “visual learners.” Then there are those who learn through a combination of audio and visual cues. If you are not able to view this video, click here….
Warrior Arts of the Philippines Fundraising Event
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. All proceeds of this…
The Study of Modern Arnis
As has been alluded to before, Modern Arnis has a very broad knowledge base and can be broken down into parts to be studied as follows: In addition to all this, one must not forget “the flow” and the concept of “counter for counter.” Modern…
2nd Annual Toronto Modern Arnis Camp
On the weekend of August 27th-28th, Bamboo Spirit Martial Arts hosted the 2nd Annual Toronto Modern Arnis Camp at A.T. Martial Arts in Whitby. This was the second camp that I attended this year. I look forward to attending the annual ArnisFest, hosted by Master…
The Modern Arnis Reunion Camp
I attended the Modern Arnis Reunion Camp in Buffalo, New York this past weekend. It was billed as a family reunion camp intended to bring together various senior instructors from different Modern Arnis organizations for the first time since Professor Presas’s untimely death of 10…
I Already Know That
Recently, I had a conversation with Master Chuck regarding martial artists who say, “I already know that” when training. Sometimes, it means they don’t want to lose face and not admit they don’t know the material. Often, it means something else. It means that the…
The Check Hand
Professor Presas said, “Do not get hypnotized by the stick.” He meant that people would get too caught up using their canes and forget about their empty hand. Sometimes, it is called the “alive” hand as it keeps you alive. If you are not able…
