I just attended a seminar with my original Escrima instructor from back in the 1980s, GM Rene Latosa. This was an open seminar hosted by the DTE (Direct Torres Eskrima) organization that I train with now. It was an awesome chance to reconnect with one of the "greats" of FMA in America and "the father of Escrima in Europe". GM Latosa was an early student of Angel Cabales, Maximo Sarmiento, Leo Giron, Dentoy Revilar, and of his father, John Latosa, and rose to prominence for his tough, no-nonsense approach, as well as for introducing Escrima to Europe in the 1970s..
This opportunity to work again with and receive close personal instruction from my original teacher was truly inspiring, and gave me much-needed motivation to get my health back in order and build-up my FMA skills (I'm still recovering from a knee operation and a nasty bout of "walking pneumonia" that's had me down for the last six to eight weeks). Now, it's just a matter of getting off my sick and lazy butt and training more.
This opportunity to work again with and receive close personal instruction from my original teacher was truly inspiring, and gave me much-needed motivation to get my health back in order and build-up my FMA skills (I'm still recovering from a knee operation and a nasty bout of "walking pneumonia" that's had me down for the last six to eight weeks). Now, it's just a matter of getting off my sick and lazy butt and training more.
