MARPPIO 2-day seminar in Kansas

[Pappy Geo]

Mark,

You gave a great review and response, from my prospective you are right on!

Looking forward to seeing you in our backyard someday!

Since you are from Texas, have you trained with Jeff Delaney?

 

[Mark Lynn]

Pappy Geo

Thanks for the compliment. In answer to your question yes I have trained a little with Jeff D. over the years. He has taught and assisted the Professor at several of the seminars and camps down here. Also I attended one of his own smaller 4 hr seminars that he holds at his house 2-3 years ago I think.

I also have worked with some of his students as well at the camps.

I was asked about Jeff D. at the seminar. I like Jeff D. I have appreciated his instruction and help over the years. It was Jeff D. who first opened my eyes to some of the concepts of Modern Arnis in the Tapi play.

Just on a side note here. Several of the techniques (types of techniques maybe is a better word) that Dr. Remy showed reminded me of stuff that Jeff has shown. I think I understood it better after seeing Dr. Remy, but I think Jeff communicated the material better. Just like seeing Dr. Matias executing the Palm to the floor wrist lock technique. Jeff D. had taught that lock for many years at the camps and try as I might I couldn't really see the application of the move not the way he taught it. However Dr. Matias did it, explained it much the same way and I could see how to really apply it. Light bulb went off (POOF). Two weeks later working with my friend I executed it just like Dr. matias did and (POOF) my firend and work out buddy got it as well.

Now does this mean Jeff D. didn't teach it right. I don't think so, I mean when I watched Dr. Matias do it I had renewed faith in how Jeff D. was presenting it, because it was almost the exact same way. Put the foot by the head to prevent the guy from turning, line up the elbow to the hip and twist the wrist placing the palm to the ground and watch the guy in pain. i thought it was to complicated but it finally clicked for me.

Batteries are going dead

With respect :asian:
Mark LYnn

 

[mike dizon]

Sounbds like the seminars are great. Will Dr Remy be teaching in the philippines? When he is here which students of his father does he learn from?

 

[Andrew Evans]

Old or new versions. I can agree with you here in a sense, I understand that it's still Modern Anris. However in my post I was stating the fact that I have seen several different Modern Anris instructors people from the 90's (where I came in), from the 80's, and now 2 instructors that trained with him way back 70's and before. I have also seen instructors who reside in different parts of the country and people abroad. I have made it a goal of mine to get out of my box and train or learn from several different people to try and see how other people practice the "Professor's" art, in in order to try and get a wider view. In this context I was trying to make a point for all of those people out there who haven't yet seen any instructors from MARRIPO but wondered what they had to offer that it was a good seminar and that the material was different and good from what I have seen in the past. it wasn't the same old same old.

Mark,

Just want to say that I had the privilege of training with Dan Anderson. He's definitely got game. His technical skill in performing and instructing disarms is extremely high. Dan is obviously one of GM Remy Presas's earlier students. One thing that I appreciate from that group is the rock solid basics.

I admit that the only chance I recently had to see many of the high ranking students from the 90's was through videotapes. Maybe it's unfair to judge their performance from that and I should try to remain open-minded. As soon as I hear that they are passing through Kansas, I'll be grabbing some rattan.

Andrew

 

[Dan Anderson]

Yes, we had some fun with disarming. Unfortunately, that's all Andrew and Cheryl (spelling?) asked me about. It was getting late and they were off to Seattle the next day. Nice folks, nice family.

Yours,
Dan Anderson

 

[Andrew Evans]

Yes, we had some fun with disarming. Unfortunately, that's all Andrew and Cheryl (spelling?) asked me about. It was getting late and they were off to Seattle the next day. Nice folks, nice family.

Yours,
Dan Anderson

Actually, we also saw some interesting flow drills with a different flavor. I hope Dan Anderson puts out a DVD on the subject. Now back to his disarms...

Sheryl especially likes how the arnisador and her sticks are at a superior position after the disarms. I personally like the intense locks that throw the poor sucker all over the place from Dr. Matias or the ball stomping action from Datu Kelly but that's okay, it's good to see a different perspective. Dan has something good to bring to the table. With more time, I probably could have seen more but I did pay close attention to his basics and they are solid. His books and teaching style are excellent plus he's a nice guy. Dan represents GM Remy Presas's art very well.

That being said, I agree with Mark on checking out new stuff and instructors. Remy Presas Jr. said that he's "the new kid on the block when it comes to seminars." I urge everyone to check him out plus you usually get to see Dr. Willie Matias are the same time. Heck Demetrio Presas, the Modern Arnis Marvel, is another excellent practitioner to check out. His mano-mano techniques are amazing.

This Saturday and Sunday, June 26-27 is the 3rd annual Tacoma MARPPIO seminar and you can catch Remy Jr., Demetrio, Dr. Matias, and Datu Kelly rockin' the house. I won't make it but if anyone else does, please let us know what you think.

Andrew

 

[Mark Lynn]

Actually, we also saw some interesting flow drills with a different flavor. I hope Dan Anderson puts out a DVD on the subject. Now back to his disarms...

1) Sheryl especially likes how the arnisador and her sticks are at a superior position after the disarms. I personally like the intense locks that throw the poor sucker all over the place from Dr. Matias or the ball stomping action from Datu Kelly but that's okay, it's good to see a different perspective. Dan has something good to bring to the table. With more time, I probably could have seen more but I did pay close attention to his basics and they are solid. His books and teaching style are excellent plus he's a nice guy. Dan represents GM Remy Presas's art very well.

2)That being said, I agree with Mark on checking out new stuff and instructors. Remy Presas Jr. said that he's "the new kid on the block when it comes to seminars." I urge everyone to check him out plus you usually get to see Dr. Willie Matias are the same time. Heck Demetrio Presas, the Modern Arnis Marvel, is another excellent practitioner to check out. His mano-mano techniques are amazing.

This Saturday and Sunday, June 26-27 is the 3rd annual Tacoma MARPPIO seminar and you can catch Remy Jr., Demetrio, Dr. Matias, and Datu Kelly rockin' the house. I won't make it but if anyone else does, please let us know what you think.

Andrew

Andrew

Gald you had a good time with SM Dan. I added numbers to you post to address them.

1) when Dan taught at the Syposium on disarms what I liked about it was his clear cut instruction. The techniques were cool but the presentation and the concept (verbal instruction) behind the techniques where what thrilled me. It wasn't a new technique as much of a way to think about things and apply them to whatever techniques your learning. This is what I was referring to in my post on the seminar when I mentioned SM Dan.

Often times we are taught the techniques with the do as I do method or to quote GM Ernesto Presas "BE LIKE ME!", without the why are we doing this. When practicing the more complex disarms you get into the concepts of baiting or feeding in such a way as to get the response you are seeking so that you can do the technique the way the instructor is showing it.

This is why at times it takes a long time to finally get the techniques right, as I tried to explain at Hock's camp in the many different ways that the Tapi drills are presented.

Anyway I'm glad you had a good time.

2) I agree as well, I think anyone could benefit from checking out different instructors including SM Dan, Datu Dieter, MARRIPO, IMAF (both of them) and who ever else is out there. I really enjoyed Dr. Remy Jr. Dr. Maitas and I hope I get to come up and see them again next year when you have them.

Mark

 

[Dan Anderson]

Mark & Andrew,

Thanks for the compliments. I've always gone by the idea that the burden of communication is on the instructor. I think anyone can learn anything. The trick is getting them to understand it. The problem you had with GM Ernesto is the same many had with RP. English as a second language coupled with thick accents and non-technical instructions do make it tough. I try and make is as problem free for the student as possible.

Yours,
Dan Anderson

 

[Andrew Evans]

English as a second language coupled with thick accents and non-technical instructions do make it tough.

Hmmpt...I'll have to disagree with you on this one. That sounds pretty elitist. Growing up in Malaysia and speaking Hokkien as a child did not prevent me from going to law school and gaining excellent oral skills. Even when you throw in my thick Kansas accent (the land of ahhhhhhhs) and my non-technical instructions (hit them on pressure point number, number, uh, never mind just hit them in the f-ing neck), my material is still easy to learn.

Andrew

 

[mike dizon]

If language and accents are a problem, then that means many foreigners have learnt wrong or will not learn the true techniques because of the accents etc.
But we know that is not the case and you only have to look at people like Kelly Worden who obviously had no trouble understanding Remy Presas's english.

 

[Guro Harold]

Hi Mike,

A great deal of people in Modern Arnis had no exposure to Philippine culture and language before Professor Remy A. Presas. But the Professor, made want us to sincerly learn about what he was saying and the concepts behind his words. He would talk about his culture and about his upbringing. The Professor would translate his culture to us.

There was a language and cultural gap as well to overcome, first between the countries, and even something we don't think about, Philippine martial culture. For example, and please correct me if my example is wrong, sinawali has a general cultural meaning, but it also has a martial meaning as well. The Professor would say the words, "Tapi-Tapi", "Ocho-Ocho", then you would have to learn the words, how they were spelled, what they meant, and what was the martial meaning and application.

So, can it be said that it was problem free for Mr. Worden? I would be hesitant to say so because it might make like of the possible tremendous effort that he might have to put in as well as the other senior instructors who put that type of time in with the late GM Remy A. Presas.

Best regards,

Harold (Palusut)

 

[Dan Anderson]

Hmmpt...I'll have to disagree with you on this one. 1.That sounds pretty elitist. Growing up in Malaysia and speaking Hokkien as a child did not prevent me from going to law school and gaining excellent oral skills. 2.Even when you throw in my thick Kansas accent (the land of ahhhhhhhs) and my non-technical instructions (hit them on pressure point number, number, uh, never mind just hit them in the f-ing neck), my material is still easy to learn.
Andrew

Andrew,

1. No, not elitist at all. You don't know how many people in countless seminars would look at me after some instruction of Prof. Presas and say, "What did he say?" Home grown Americans (the most egocentric peoples on the face of the planet) have trouble with anything that doesn't sound like what they grew up with. Worry. We're thick that way. Hell, for the first couple years I had a hard time understanding him and I was paying close attention.

2. We spoke and you have no thick accent. You are quite easy to understand.

RP, for all his years in the US, didn't do anything to increase his oral skills or clarity in English. All you need to do is to watch his first batch of tapes and his last batch. He sounds the same. Those of us who paid attention and learned to understand him got what he said.

If language and accents are a problem, then that means many foreigners have learnt wrong or will not learn the true techniques because of the accents etc. But we know that is not the case and you only have to look at people like Kelly Worden who obviously had no trouble understanding Remy Presas's english.

Mike,
Not necessarily so. Watching him move, understanding the principles behind what he was doing, training our butts off, AND learning to understand his way of speaking were my guides. After a while, I had no problem understanding RP's English but like the art itself, one had to learn RP's English.

Yours,
Dan Anderson

 

[Rich Parsons]

On Languages and dialect

GM Remy Presas, was, I believe, from Negritos, which has its' own language, also by the same name. He traveled to Cebu and was able to speak Cebuano to get by and to get instruction. Many of the old Manongs and seniors of that era would just tell people to hit them here, when they do this. Move now, when the stick or hand is here. I am not sure, yet I would have to believe that English was RP's third language if not later, if he had learned others in his travels as well. This is in no way a disrespect to him, for I could see him pause sometimes, like he was translating and then speak. I know a few words in French and also in Japanese and a few words from my Latin class, and I have had the priviledge of a college education. It is a testiment to those who have gone on to learn more languages than their first and also to be able to better themselves.

Just my thoughts
:asian:

 

[Guro Harold]

On Languages and dialect

GM Remy Presas, was, I believe, from Negritos, which has its' own language, also by the same name. He traveled to Cebu and was able to speak Cebuano to get by and to get instruction. Many of the old Manongs and seniors of that era would just tell people to hit them here, when they do this. Move now, when the stick or hand is here. I am not sure, yet I would have to believe that English was RP's third language if not later, if he had learned others in his travels as well. This is in no way a disrespect to him, for I could see him pause sometimes, like he was translating and then speak. I know a few words in French and also in Japanese and a few words from my Latin class, and I have had the priviledge of a college education. It is a testiment to those who have gone on to learn more languages than their first and also to be able to better themselves.

Just my thoughts
:asian:

Does any recall if his first language was ilongo? I am curious.

 

[Cruentus]

I think that we all speak the same language...and that is the language of movement.

How many of you remember Professor, off on a tangent and excited, banging sticks back and forth with his Uke, bang-bang-bang, then all of a sudden, disarm... and a stick hits the floor, then trap, then hit.

Then you look and see that RP is holding the other guys cane in his left, the cane on the floor is his own, and he originally started off with the cane in his right hand.

And before you can say "WTF?" Professor yells in an excited voice, "Can you do dat!"

Reluctently everyone replies, "errrr...Yes sir!"

With blank stares everyone goes to their partner and trys to figure out what the first thing was that they learned, and what the hell they are supposed to do.

Some would say that Remy was a terrible teacher for this. The students were frequently confused, the language barriers were there, and the question of, "Gosh...what-r-we supposed to do again?" was on everyones lips frequently in the seminars. Some days I thought this myself...but I have come to a different conclusion with my recent ponderings...

I would say that the very thing that made Remy a "bad teacher" was one of the things that made Remy a great teacher. Yes, I know... a paradox, but think about it. Do you honestly think that he confused the crap out of you on accident? He did alot of things on accident ("I didn't even know that I knew that!"), but confusing his students wasn't one of them, in my opinion. He spoke to you with the language of movement. And...if you didn't understand the language...you had to work to learn it. You had to go back with your partner, and ask, "O.K....what did he just do?" and reconstruct the technique, and make it work for yourself. It caused you "to make it your own."

He didn't do anything to improve his ability to speak the English language for whatever reason; but the reality was that he didn't need to. It was almost better for some that he didn't. He required you to learn the language of movement if you were to understand his art at all. The better you understood THAT language, the more the language barrier didn't matter.

That all being said...there is good things to being able to overcome language barriers. Many instructors have better ways of explaining the art in seminars then even Remy Presas himself. Many people have been able to write books and make videos that people can learn from because of it. This is a great thing for the art!

However...at the end of the day...have you taught them the language of movement....the universal language that we all have ingrained in our blood? Have you learned that language yourself? Are you improving on that understanding yourself?

If you can speak the language of movement, then you will be a great teacher.

Paul Janulis

 

[Dan Anderson]

Paul,
You're so wordy I'm surprised you haven't signed yur name, "Gabby Hayes."
Good post - good points.

Andrew,
An addition - perhaps in your home country you have a Kansas twang but here you are quite American in your pronounciation.

Yours,
Dan Anderson

 

[Mark Lynn]

Dan

I think I was trying to convey what Paul was. Each teacher has their own way of teaching. GM Ernesto taught I think in an pretty effective manner by exclaiming "Be like me" so that everyone would assume the same position he does and the partner's would assume the same position his partner was in. And then you would do the next move and so on. I didn't really have a problem with his instruction per say.

What Ernesto didn't do (nor GM remy and others) is say "OK you block and grab the guys stick, now you give him this technique so they will block in this manner and then you counter like this". It would just be Wham bam and it's done. And then you try and copy it.

On the more complex disarms and such if the person doesn't block/grab etc. etc. in a certain way then the technique won't work. However if you feed to get that response then the technique does work. GM Remy wouldn't explain it that way he would move and we would copy (as best we could )but then get frustrated when it wouldn 't work. To be truthful this occurs on even simple techniques.

I don't think it's a language problem as much as it is the way the instructor teaches. I think Paul stated that people have come out now and explained the Professor's art better now than when he was alive and he was teaching I agree, I have learned a lot by seeing different instructors that I probably wouldn't have learned if the Professor was still teaching.

With respect

Mark

 

[mike dizon]

Palasut

You are correct with Remy's first dialect being ilongo.

 

[Guro Harold]

Palasut

You are correct with Remy's first dialect being ilongo.

Thanks, Mike!!!

BTW, With all due respect, I am spelling my name specifically, P-a-l-u-s-u-t.

 

[mike dizon]

Palusut,

My apologies for the mistake.