Go With The Flow!
Professor Presas often admonished his students, “Go with the flow!” This quote is foremost in my mind when discussing the flow drills I teach to the Bamboo Spirit students. I have posted previously about these flow drills. I have mentioned that they are not combative. Instead,…
The End of My Break Fall Career
One of the things that I enjoyed over the years was taking break falls. Unfortunately, my break fall career has come to an end. I first started learning serious break falls as a freshman at Notre Dame, specifically as a member of the Notre Dame…
It’s Real and It’s Spectacular
“It’s real and it’s spectacular” is, of a course, a slight riff of a famous line in the 1990s comedy series “Seinfeld.” In this post, I discuss a recent remark by a martial artist about me teaching a children’s Modern Arnis class that involved some questionable logic. Essentially, he…
7 Killer Reasons To Take Private Lessons
For many students, group classes are the optimal option for various reasons. These reasons range from socializing to the opportunity to train with different partners, decompressing from work, forgetting about distractions, and having get-togethers after class. On the other hand, there are 7 killer reasons to…
Six Ways To Practice Your Cane Anyos
I’ll discuss six ways to practice your cane anyos in this post. Or is it just six? Martial arts schools vary widely in the number of required forms, ranging from fewer than 5 to 30. Invariably, these schools have different philosophies concerning the practice of…
The Importance of the #5 Poke in Modern Arnis
The #5 poke is a tremendous way to move your opponent. Why? You are attacking your opponent’s centreline; frankly, folks don’t like their center being attacked. They either get hit or move out of the way. Either way, it’s a winner for the driver. If…
Women Warriors of Filipino Martial Arts: Guro Peachie Baron Saguin
Guro Peachie Baron Saguin is one of the foremost teachers of Kalis Illustrisimo. He recently did a seminar tour with Guro Arnold Narzo in the USA. Both were long-time students of GM Tony Diego. Grandmaster Diego was a student of Grandmaster Antonio ‘Tatang’ Ilustrisimo, a legendary…
Women Warriors of FMAs: Karen Callahan (Part 2)
To see part 1 of this article about this warrior, click here. If you are not able to see this video tribute to a great warrior, click here. John Doreck’s Memories of Karen The first story to come to mind was the first time I…
Filipino Martial Arts on a Mook Jong
I have previously written about some of the drills in the below video that I practice on the Mook Jong in the basement. If you are not able to view this video, click here. Those drills are designed to develop the check hand for stick…
Toronto = Stockton?
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…
