Questions Concerning Bram Frank and CSSD/SC.

[Dan Anderson]

Dan,
As I said, my name is Al. Last name is Best. Nickname from school is "Bester". Was a joke with a teacher. I like sci fi. The username/nickname fit.

Hi Al.

And, as to asking Bram Frank, he has or had a membership here. Maybe he can answer them publically himself? Once and for all get it all out there?
Straight from the source, his own words, neutral ground, no chance of it being misunderstood, etc.

You need to do some research here. Although MT is better than some I might name, this is far from a neutral ground.

It's called sarcasm Sir. I will try to denote such things in the future to make it very apparent so that those who are tired, slow readers or just a bit dense will see it. (See, that is more sarcasm)

One thing Tim Hartman and I are in complete agreement about is that when you can only see the printed page, you can't see the face nor hear the inflection of the communication. Whether I'm tired or not, it reads more than sarcasm, Sparky. I don't know you so I don't know what passes for sarcasm in your way of communicating. I see what I read.

Glad it went well. (saw the other post about it.)

Thank you. It was a blast from start to finish.

Yours,
Dan Anderson

 

[Knarfan]

Oh yeah , a real blast !

 

[Tgace]

Then why are you so against my asking these questions?

Never said I was against the question..if you note my initial objection was with your accusatory (vs. fact finding) tone (wackjob). As you are consistently sliding down the sarcasm/rude scale, I guess this whole "fact" finding mission has one direction. As far as youre concerned anyway.

No, why would it be?

Some nonparticipant, from out of nowhere is riding in to shine the light of truth where so many have failed....fat headded.

So, who am I aligned with, where is my bias, and what is my agenda?

Dont know..but judged on the pre-determination factor I have my suspicions.

I still say you need warm milk.

Try working a midnight shift for a while and then try sleeping at night on your days off. Has nothing to do with milk or conscious. Aside from an entertaining diversion, nothing here is very life altering for me. I think you need to get out more.

 

[Datu Tim Hartman]

Just got back from out of town, boy this thread blew up! For the sake of everyone I will answer some of Bester's questions, but not for now. I'm busy trying to have a life outside martial arts and now it is time to get some rest. I'll reread this thread in the morning and have my statement with the "facts" sometime in the evening.

Good night to all! :asian:

 

[Bester]

You need to do some research here. Although MT is better than some I might name, this is far from a neutral ground.

Looks like neutral ground to me. It isn't run by any particular organization, it maintains an open invitation to any legit martial artists. It's mostly well moderated. Whenever I've been spanked it has always been with just cause. Looking at the FMA mod credentials, they look pretty diverse to me. So, why would you feel there is a bias? Maybe because people here question you on your actions and don't automatically award you the "awe and honor" of being a martial arts master that others may do? I have just as many questions about you, and several others here Sir, but I'm focusing on Mr. Frank here. The rest I may ask later.

Whether I'm tired or not, it reads more than sarcasm, Sparky. I don't know you so I don't know what passes for sarcasm in your way of communicating. I see what I read.

I reread what I posted in that area, and can see how it might be taken otherwise. My apologies. It was intended as sarcasm, more a jab at TGace's paranoia than yourself.

 

[Bester]

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Never said I was against the question..if you note my initial objection was with your accusatory (vs. fact finding) tone (wackjob). As you are consistently sliding down the sarcasm/rude scale, I guess this whole "fact" finding mission has one direction. As far as youre concerned anyway.

So you say. I maintain I still have an open mind on this, but believe what you want to believe.

Some nonparticipant, from out of nowhere is riding in to shine the light of truth where so many have failed....fat headded.

I'm sorry, I didn't realize that one must be in the "group" to ask questions. If you look at my history here, I tend to come from nowhere. I still want to know, why you are so against the questions. Hiding something, protecting someone purhaps? I sense much anger in you.

Dont know..but judged on the pre-determination factor I have my suspicions.

So, are you going to keep the vague insinuations, or are you man enough to just say it? I won't hold my breath though. Being out in the open doesn't seem your clans habit. I haven't pre-determined anything. You are reading too much into things.

Try working a midnight shift for a while and then try sleeping at night on your days off. Has nothing to do with milk or conscious. Aside from an entertaining diversion, nothing here is very life altering for me. I think you need to get out more.

Try driving cross country, non stop for 30 hours, hitting the floor for 8 hours then driving straight through back. I've done night crew, worked 2 jobs back to back while attending collage, etc. You have my sympathies, sincerely.

As to getting out more, I could say the same to you. After all, you post alot more often than I do.

 

[Bester]

Just got back from out of town, boy this thread blew up! For the sake of everyone I will answer some of Bester's questions, but not for now. I'm busy trying to have a life outside martial arts and now it is time to get some rest. I'll reread this thread in the morning and have my statement with the "facts" sometime in the evening.

Good night to all! :asian:

Thank you.

 

[James Miller]

Mr. Hartman wanted me to apologize for not being able to respond tonight as he initially planned. One of his Black Belts is going on a month pilgrimage to Europe and he had to help him with some last minute details. He assures me that his post will be up tomorrow evening.

:asian:

 

[arnisador]

A pilgrimage? Like to Mecca, but in Europe?

 

[James Miller]

You got it! He is going in search of wild bikinis!

 

[Dan Anderson]

1. I have just as many questions about you, and several others here Sir, but I'm focusing on Mr. Frank here. The rest I may ask later.

2. I reread what I posted in that area, and can see how it might be taken otherwise. My apologies. It was intended as sarcasm, more a jab at TGace's paranoia than yourself.

Al,
1. If you look up my name and read all the Q&A that has gone on regarding me, please ask questions that I haven't answered yet. If it going to be turned into yet another public pissing match, I will let you know right up front I will ignore that kind of business. Otherwise I will answer all inquiries. Don't ask me to bring up stories or data I don't actually have access to nor any kind of pissing on others stuff because I will not reply to those either.

2. Accepted.

As to not being a neutral ground here, it is not the mods nor any of the administrators I am talking about. The individuals posting all have a particular slant, viewpoint, or agenda they follow and post accordingly. I have read very little posted about Bram Frank which has been positive. I have known Bram, however, since 1994 and find him to be a sincere individual who genuinely cares about what he teaches, how he teaches, who he teaches, giving props to Professor Presas and so forth. This has been my personal experience with him.

So, is this neutral ground where matters can be discussed formally or otherwise or matters can be turned into a ground in where witch hunts that could make the town of Salem proud can occur? BOTH. Discussions of Bram turn into witch hunts.

In my opinion no forum is neutral ground. Some forums are better than others but none are neutral.

Yours,
Dan Anderson

 

[Bester]

Dan,
If I ask something, I try not to go over old ground, unless I'm not happy with what I saw there. Some questions are asked to clarify, some to expand, some just to create thought. Most of my questions on yourself were answered elsewhere. I learned along time ago that just because a few people state something, it doesn't mean it's actually true. Agendas and personal bias are all around us.

I have found that this forum is one of the best for sharing. Most of the egos are squashed fast, and rarely does a windbag survive long here.

Regarding Mr. Frank: He is your friend, and your associate. Your own dealings with him have as you said been good. Others claim their own to have not been as enjoyable. In pushing the matter, I had hoped others with first hand experience would step forward both pro/con to resolve this.

One clarification. At least 1 individual has taken exception to my use of the term "WackJob". It was not my intent to qualify Mr. Frank as a "WackJob". I do however stand by my statement that anyone who would cause such harm to their assistant, especially at a public demonstration, who would be involved in theft of trade secrets, or act disrespectfully at a public event could be classified as such. If that applies to Mr. Frank, then it is his actions, not my words that label him such. There was some sword demo (video was on here I think) where the "master" cut his students throat while demonstrating ery. That "Master" was a moron, and as stated, a wackjob.

Now, Officer Gerace seems to have fled the Field of Honor, unable to clearly state his vague insinuations of bias on my part. Obviously, his claims had no true merit, else he could give them form.

We have heard from Datu Worden who presented a great deal of information. I found even more at his own forum and in his radio show on some of these matters. It is worth checking out.

We are waiting on Datu Hartmans statement.

Is there anyone else pro or con to add to this?

 

[Dan Anderson]

Al,

One last thing to keep in mind, the errors, mistakes, etc. of yesteryear are different than the actions in present time. You would be hard-pressed to find anyone who hasn't made some errors, gross or mild, that they don't do today. A lot of what is in question regarding Bram is not what is occurring in present time but in the past. People have a tendency to hold onto the past and not move forward. This is why I don't take much stock in what people have done before but in the present. Hell, if people kept the impression of me that I had in the Pacific Northwest back in the 1970's (cocky little bugger, a real pain) and carried that into the new millenium with no new observation whatsoever, I would have a really bad rep and this thread would be about me, I fear. :erg: Anyway, please keep that in mind.

Yours,
Dan Anderson

PS - Paul - no fair jumping on my last statement! I thought it up first! :whip:

 

[Tgace]

I haven't fled anywhere Mr. "Best". The fact that you started this inquiry with a "heres why Bram is a whackjob" prove otherwise tone shows enough bias for me. Ill let others post their stories, firsthand or other for now.

Like Dan said "he without sin cast the first stone". Theres an interesting thread about Mitose floating around now. I know the Philippine masters are rife with stories about ambushes, dirty tricks and outright criminality. I would be willing to bet many current practitioners have been arrested for various reasons, should we drag all those stories out into the light? Interesting whos lives get the attention and whos doesn't.

 

[Datu Tim Hartman]

Bester- Here is the information I can share with you:

Was Bram’s Modern Arnis rank stripped from him?
During the 2000 Michigan state summer camp, there was a meeting with Remy, Kevin Black (one of Remy’s attorneys), Randi Shea, Terry Wareham and myself. It was about Bram’s book that he was releasing and how Remy didn’t want his name associated with that book. During this conversation, the status of Bram’s rank was brought up. According to Remy himself, Bram’s rank was no longer being recognized by the IMAF. Now, my personal opinion, this does not diminish the accomplishment of Bram attaining that rank in the first place. Many of the Black Belt diplomas that were issued by the organization came with expiration dates, and if people did not keep up their training as well as support of the organization, the status of their people could be in jeopardy (i.e. – revoked). Now before we start this argument about black belts can not be taken away, the way that I look at them, is that they are like a pilot’s license that you have to log a certain amount of hours to retain in validity. Furthermore, this was the Grandmaster’s call and no one else’s. If he tells you that your rank is no longer valid, then it is no longer valid. Obviously, no one can take knowledge away from you unless they surgically remover parts of your brain, but they can choose to no longer acknowledge your status which was the case.

Did he cut an assistant with a live blade on the training floor?
Several people told me this including Bram himself. From that moment on, I learned something about keeping live blades in your pocket during training sessions. This could have just as easily happened to me. As a matter of fact, I had just received my Emerson trainer of the CQC-7 that I carry. And during a seminar that I was teaching, I pulled out the wrong knife. As the knife came out of my pocket, I could feel that something was different. I looked down and saw it was my live blade. No harm, no foul, but a lesson well learned.

Did he attend a black tie event and create a poor impression by repeatedly playing with his knife?
I was told this by leaders in the martial arts business orgs that witnessed it themselves.

Did another attendee threaten to correct him if he did not stop?
Yes, I was told this by leaders in the martial arts business orgs that witnessed it themselves.

Did Grandmaster Remy Presas recognize Mr. Frank's program as Modern Arnis after stripping Mr. Frank of his rank?

Based on the conversation that we had at camp, I would say no. During that camp, we had a meeting with the Black Belts after the one with the Professor. We were instructed by Professor to let people know that if people put out Modern Arnis products in the near future, that some of them may not be endorsed by the organization. The black belts asked us how they would know what was authorized and what wasn’t. The answer was simple…if you don’t see the authors of these products attending our seminars, then they were not authorized/endorsed. Based on these actions by Professor and how he instructed us to communicate with other members of our group, my opinion would be that Professor did not recognize what Bram was doing as part of Modern Arnis.

Now let me say this – I have only once had a problem with Bram. That was when I delivered the news to him about Remy not wanting his name in Bram’s book. Basically, it was the old adage of “Don’t kill the messenger”. Unfortunately, I was the messenger and I had to deal with the brunt of Bram’s frustration. Personally, I don’t know if Remy ever gave him permission to write the book. That’s all I know is that Remy did not to be involved in it. And as far as me getting along with Bram, he has never done anything to me (other than the above). As a matter of fact, I let him use my school for an LEO seminar he taught at no cost to him while I was in Europe.

At the moment, Bram has a dark cloud above him with several controversies. Personally, I don’t want any part of it, which is why I have distanced myself from him, as well as several other people in the Modern Arnis community. We all have our skeletons, including myself. So you ask, why bother posting if I wanted nothing to do with this? Simple. Answer the questions so people can move on. The problem with this particular thread is that too many people who don’t know what they are talking about have helped perpetuate this thread, in addition to having to kicked in to the ”horror stories” of MartialTalk. And as far a seminar competition motivating my statements, I find that concept ridiculous. We all have our own clientele, and there are more than enough people in the world for us to find our own group of clientele to work with.

 

[Datu Tim Hartman]

That being said, let's put this thing to rest! I'm out!

 

[Tgace]

As to accidents and training Im reminded of the old (and dirty) saying...

"Build one bridge and nobody will remember you as a bridge builder. Suck one **** and you are a **** ****** for life."

This is fighting we are training for here. Accidents happen in all martial "arts" the military has them yearly. We try to minimize them and if we fail we try to learn from them.

 

[Bester]

Tom, you have no honor. You and yours jump all over others insisting on answers, yet cannot answer a simple question. You shame the uniform you wear. I have nothing more to say to you since you cannot state what you have been pussyfooting around since this dishonorable mess began.

Datu Hartman, Thank you for your comments.

Unless anyone else has the stones to step up, I'm done. I think the truth speaks for itself. I tire of debating things with the self-serving know-nothings who can only contribute veiled insinuations when their own behavior here is anything but pure.

To those who did contribute, thank you.
To those who could only muddy the water, I can only offer this advice - Grow a set.

I'm gone.

 

[Tgace]

Regardless of what you think of me, I must say that the Datus posted their info. on this is a professional and well handled manner. You could take a lesson from them.

 

[Dan Anderson]

Hi Tim,

First, good job on the clear cut yet non-bashing style of answers. You mention a couple of things that I am curious about and we might/might not have answers for.

Many of the Black Belt diplomas that were issued by the organization came with expiration dates, and if people did not keep up their training as well as support of the organization, the status of their people could be in jeopardy (i.e. – revoked). note: italics mine

Did Bram have an expiration date on his certs? Mine don't. Good thing to check.

According to Remy himself, Bram’s rank was no longer being recognized by the IMAF.

Do you recall what exactly Remy said? Was it an "I don't recognize his rank." or an "IMAF doesn't recognize his rank." thing? Also keeping it in the context of those who had expiration dates on their certs, was it the book issue or the non-participation in current camps issue?

Based on the conversation that we had at camp, I would say no.

I have had personal communications with Prof. Presas' best friend and student in the Philippines, Roland Dantes, and he was definitely recognized by Remy. I do know he kept the Philippines group and the USA groups separate so I can see where IMAF USA (for lack of a better term) might not recognize Bram but his Filipino students would. Also knowing how mercurial Prof. Presas could be at times, I do not doubt one bit the info Tim has put up. Who of the senior students has not had Prof. Presa royally pissed off at him/her at one time or another and yet was loved by him at another time as well? All of us old timers have alternately had the hugs and felt the heat.

Per the senior Filipino students of Remy Presas I have talked to, Bram is recognized by Remy for his contribution to the art in keeping the art of the blade alive within the context of Modern Arnis.

All for now.

Yours,
Dan Anderson