Opinions of Modern Arnis/Remy Presas

Tom Sanders

Tom Sanders

Joined
May 21, 2003
Messages
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I wanted to see if anyone had an opinion about Modern Arnis in general, Professor Presas, or the organizations that have grown up following his untimely death in 2001. I am thinking of training in Arnis soon. But I wanted to learn more about this style. Thoughts?

Tom
 
I trained under one of Remy's students (6th Level Master - Shane Hamilton)
I liked it what time I got to train. I only got to train in it for 6 months, at the time I really couldn't afford to stay in (just got married & got our first home & all those other new bills )
 
I went to a seminar at my MA school with Professor Presas once.
Hard core school.
I was impressed by Presas.
He could fight.
 
Tom Sanders said:
I wanted to see if anyone had an opinion about Modern Arnis in general, Professor Presas, or the organizations that have grown up following his untimely death in 2001. I am thinking of training in Arnis soon. But I wanted to learn more about this style. Thoughts?

Tom
Click to expand...

Disclaimer: I'm not a Modern Arnis teacher and never met Remy Presas, so any information that I offer will be necessarily limited. What follows is not personal opinion but a recap of what's been said on the public FMA forums over the years.

Modern Arnis is a fine system and Remy Presas was from all accounts an extremely accomplished teacher. There are many great Modern Arnis teachers out there.

There has been a lot of political infighting among some of his former students since his death and so it's sometimes difficult to get a clear picture of "who's who" and their respective merits. One of the better forums for sorting it all out is www.fmatalk.com: you can find several of Professor Presas' students there and I'm sure a PM or two will give you enough information to make a sound decision.

Presas had a lot of experience in Balintawak and there was also some influence from his father and grandfather. You should bear in mind that what Professor Presas taught in public seminars was often geared for, well, the public. Students who got the chance to study with him privately no doubt got the benefit of his considerable experience. Professor Presas was also known to have a generous heart and one complaint that I've heard over the years is that the skill level of some of the people that he promoted is inconsistant.

Whatever. Try to ignore whether a group claims some kind of "legitimacy" compared to another and look at the personal merits of the teacher that you are choosing. One thing to consider is that the famous "names" can be excellent teachers but that it's often the ones who are practicing quietly in their own corner of the world that have the most knowledge. I met a guy recently who was one one Professor Presas' early students and who has managed to stay out of the limelight and the political infighting ever since. He has excellent skills and from the little I've seen absorbed Professor Presas' Balintawak orientation. I'm sure that there are alot of guys out there with similar stories.

Best,

Steve
 
slamade said:
Try to ignore whether a group claims some kind of "legitimacy" compared to another and look at the personal merits of the teacher that you are choosing. One thing to consider is that the famous "names" can be excellent teachers but that it's often the ones who are practicing quietly in their own corner of the world that have the most knowledge. I met a guy recently who was one one Professor Presas' early students and who has managed to stay out of the limelight and the political infighting ever since. He has excellent skills and from the little I've seen absorbed Professor Presas' Balintawak orientation. I'm sure that there are alot of guys out there with similar stories.

Best,

Steve
Click to expand...


Very well stated. Good post!
 
I've trained under Kelly Worden, who is a progeny of Professor Presas. Incredible stuff. I'll never understand it all, but it's all very good stuff.
 
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