Palusut said:
That was a good thread.
WARNING: I'm starting a ramble, and a possible politically charged statement may follow. It's simply my opinion, and not a slam on anybody. If somehow someone should take offense at the following post, please count to ten, have a coke and a smile, and invite me to engage in an off-line discussion. Thank you.
IMHO, it seems right for the family of the late Professor to assume leadership over the art with the help of the senior Modern Arnis people worldwide. When the Profesor was convalescing in BC, a number of people made special trips to see him. At the time, it appeared that some had made the trip to take advantage of his medicated condition in an effort to elevate their own position in the Modern Arnis heirarchy; very dishonorable. When I found out that the Professor's family was stepping up to take the reigns, I was quite pleased.
A Modern Arnis Symposium was held in Buffalo, NY in July 2003. It was met with a number of mixed emotions and was spat upon by many Modern Arnis practioners both privately and publicly. Many "leaders" in MA were invited, some accepted the inviation and backed out at the last minute. Some said "Count us in," never showed and never offered anything further; while others made excuses why they couldn't come, or just didn't acknowledge their invitations at all. Ultimately, the Symposium fell short of its goal; mainly due to factionalized rhetoric behind the scenes before. during and after the event. It was however, a good event regardless of the lack of support from the "big names". The indepentents had a good time without them.
I find myself digressing, and have I just lost my train of thought...
I have a lot of respect for what the Professor's family is doing for their family art. Unfortunately, not everybody does. Everybody wants to be #1, so we have all of these sub-groups; all of which are dedicated to "preserving the art exactly as GM remy Presas taught it". The Professor is dead. He taught a "live" and constantly evolving system, and if I may be so bold as to say... he never taught anything exactly the way he learned it. He absobed it, made it his own, and encouraged everyone to do the same.
I digress yet again...
In 2006, there will be an event in the PI dedicated to the late Professor. I plan to be there, unless I'm sent on another deployment. It will be interesting to see how many "leaders" commit to attending. I personally know of three that will be there without question. I hope that this event will do for Modern Arnis what the Symposium failed to do.
I know I went way off track in what I had orginally wanted to say. I'll get back to it later. Where's my coffee cup?
Yawn
v/r
Tim Kashino