Where are they now?

[arnisador]

I was flipping through the Professor's 1983 "Modern Arnis: The Filipino Art of Stick Fighting" (the yellow book) last night. He acknowledges the following people for posing in the photographs:

Jeffrey Arnold
Dan DiVito (Here?)
Michael Replogle (Here?)
Roland Roemer, Jr.
Tom Zoppi (Deceased?)

What role are they playing in Modern Arnis now?

 

[Guro Harold]

What about the people on the 1980's tape series as well like:

Sifu Lee Lowery and Jim and Judy Clapp?

 

[Rich Parsons]

I know of one on this list.

Jeff Arnold, he had a falling out with Remy.
It was not pretty and actually was scary.

He has had clubs under his own system, and to
his defense, which I do like to give, I believe
he has never claimed to be greater than 4th degree
which was the last rank he received from GM
Presas. Assuming my data is correct. I do not
think he is actively teaching at a club now. I
know he sold the business to his two top students
and then has taken a step back to only monitor
and to work with the two he sold the club /
business too.

Just for your knowledge, I have talked with
Jeff out of a MArtial Art Realm and he was
very professional, but some of his acts in the
martial art realm have left a bad taste in my
mouth. I have never trained with him, so I can
not speak to talent or skill.

Best Wishes

Rich

 

[Dan Anderson]

Hi there,
Jeff Arnold and Mike Replogle put together a curriculum merging Taekwondo and Modern Arnis. They came out with "American Arnis" an Prof. Presas blew a gasket and bounced them out of his group. I was around at the time. Danny DiVito has been out of the scene since around 1985 and I don't know about Tom Zoppi. Lee Lowrey, to my information, is no longer practicing but his spirit "lives on" through Brian Zawilinski, one of the IMAF's Masters Of Tapi-Tapi. I have no data on Jim and Judy Clapp.
Dan Anderson

 

[Dieter]

Hi

when I was teaching in Philadelphia, in 1998 I think, I was asked by a student if I would like to give a seminar at the studio where he trains in Newark. And he said, this studio was led by Jim and Judy Clapp.

I just made a quick internet search and you can find information about them and their studio under

http://dojodir.tripod.com/delaware.html

Regards from Germany


Datu Dieter Knüttel

 

[modarnis]

Lee Lowery still trains in Modern Arnis, and teaches at his own Kenpo school when time permits. His other business ventures have kept him out of the Modern Arnis travel scene for a long time.

He was a guest Master instructor at a benefit seminar we conducted in Connecticut shortly after the Professor's death. In terms of skills on the mat and teaching presence, Lee Lowery is the real deal

 

[David Hoffman]

Jeff Arnold and Michael Replogle were a sad chapter of misunderstanding and perceived disloyalty in the introduction of Modern Arnis in America. They were being trained and groomed for senior roles in Professors emerging plans.

In those days we used the logo IAF: International Arnis Federation. It was the blue and red logo many of you will have seen Professor wear on the beige shirt with the letters PROFESSOR on the back. I printed this from the logo on my certificate from the Modern Arnis Federation of the Philippines and ironed on the letters PROFESSOR at the mall. Many of the older instructors have these certificates. Professor was fond of that shirt and wore it for two decades right up till the end. Amazingly the letters never came off.

It was at the first summer camp run by Jeff and Mike at their financial Guru’s run down summer camp called Sharmidelaca that I first became a confident of Professor. He was upset that despite the large turnout he was being offered small change. He asked me out of the blue to check into the matter. I was honoured to be asked and happy to follow instructors and confront Jeff and Mike on a business level. Professor had long since won my loyalty and I drove 20 hours to this first two week camp. At first Jeff and Mike were willing to talk but their financer squawked and refused to show me the records.

We had another meeting will Professor present, under the pine trees as I recall. There was a light breeze, it had been a warm week. I simply stated that if they didn’t reveal their accounts in full the Professor and I were departing presently. They decided to play ball. I didn’t find any clear fraud. They had spent too much money on advertising and printing. What was questionable were the fees assessed for cleaning up the run down camp.

The facilities were still substandard, no water in the pool, not what was represented. In the end I advised Professor to simply complete the seminar. There were thirty or so Black Belts from a variety of arts present. This was a brand new idea, cross training two week intensive camp. Another major innovation was the instructor program. I don’t think anyone had tried anything like this before. Professor chuckled and said never mind and the camp went on.

In the end Mike had to lay down to be caned while promoted to Probationary Black Belt: Lakan. He expected it for his efforts. I recall that Mike was walking with a real limp after that. I have the video. The next year Professor and I were actively planning future camps to be directed by Joe Breidenstein in Philadelphia. We were shocked when Mike and Jeff announced American Arnis instructor training camps. Professor saw it as someone he was helping, even forming, stealing his idea and competing with him when he was struggling to survive. These were some follow up incidents. I know Mike wrote a few letters to Professor over the years, but Professor refused to fully forgive him. I always thought Jeff was just led astray. Professor felt worse about Jeff because he liked him so much. I wasn’t aware that he was ever promoted or further trained. It would surprise me that I wouldn’t know of this.

I always thought Michael Repolgle made the bad play at his advisors advice and Jeff Arnold just sort of both fell into it and was co-opted. Professor was still smarting from an earlier Major Modern Arnis/business betrayed at the hands of someone very close to him. Jeff and Mike mad their choice and move at a bad time for all.

 

[David Hoffman]

In the early days we knew him as Sifu Lee. He is an example, like Professor Dan Anderson, of someone who was awarded the Professor of Martial Arts title because of their seniority and accomplishment. The title was external to Modern Arnis as we did not use the title except as a nickname of affection for our teacher: The Grandmaster. Unlike some arts that do use the title formally.

Sifu sponsored the first seminars I attended as a young novice in 1981/02 . I was tested for Lakan by Professor in his house. He was, and still is, someone I look up to and try to emulate. A true gentleman and expert Martial Artist. Professor commonly credited me with being the pioneer of Modern Arnis in New England because I sponsored the first instructor camps which led to New England becoming the strongest region for Modern Arnis. (Professor’s words.)

I did indeed do a lot of work and spent a lot of money. However, In my heart I have always considered Sifu Lee to be the true pioneer since I would have never got going without him. Over the decades Lee participated less in the events, but he was always an honoured and appreciated guest instructor.

Professor Lee chose to pursue his own martial arts business more as the years went by. He is another example of someone who might be referred to as not “active” continuously like most of the “old timers” we are hearing from more lately. Another example of why Professor was so kind as to name me the first American Black Belt, despite being preceded by someone of Lee’s status. However I can’t imagine anyone, especially myself, not being impressed with Lee’s fundamental skill and knowledge of Modern Arnis.

He never ceased to be a person of great respect and authority within the IMAF. Another Product of Professor Lee is MOTT Brian. A real tribute to Lee’s high standards of training. (Lee was chairman of the IMAF ranking committee in those days. I was his assistant.) Professor Lee was an especially important part of the success of the art in the eighties.

 

[Datu Tim Hartman]

Dave,
what about Mike Morton & Randy Black?

 

[Dan Anderson]

Don't know about Mike Morton. Randy Black has been out of the picture for a while now. Due to a "know best" attitude, he failed to get his Black Belt from Fred King. He stuck around Modern Arnis for a while when the Portland camps were happening but since then, no show.
Dan Anderson

 

[DWright]

Dan

Do you know what happened to "Mac" Mcgreggor? (I never knew his first name) or Anne Kiellin (sp)?

I would like to get some of the old West Coast players to the Summit in June.

As for Mike Morton I just heard from Tim Dawdy that he is in Vancouver Wa.

 

[Roland]

Tell him the crew from London Ontario says 'hi'!!

:jedi1:

 

[David Hoffman]

Hello Tim,

I’m glad you mentioned Mike Morton. It brings me back memories of the original training camps. Michael Morton was a fixture at the early camps in Philadelphia. They were a direct product of the first camp in the mountains of West Virginia. Those camps were one full week and two full weeks long. One week was for the Basic Instructor course and two weeks for the Advanced. Most of the serious people came for both weeks it seemed. You didn’t always notice people as much if they came for one week only. Of course, some people made up for the second week in future training camps but there was nothing like the total immersion of two full weeks. I became hopelessly biased in favour of the two week camps. Many, if not most, of the great instructors were products of those camps. Some may not have remained as current as the art evolved in the nineties but they all had one thing in common: strong basics. Professor used to point out to me that the students from those camps had strong Sinawali and basics, thus a certain power and strength that was important.

When Professor first shortened the camps to four days, and sometimes only three I could really tell the difference. With a full week you could obviously cover more material, also environmentally you were more isolated and separate from the outside world. There was also a lot more training during free time as there was no distraction of a car, restaurants and hotels. I also thought the full week was necessary to cover all the material. The isolation of the week long camps was more like a boot camp and focused you on the material. You stayed in dormitories on site so you didn’t waste time driving to the hotel and to restaurants. As everyone ate together it was more of a training centred isolation. When you had free time there were fields and nature to train around without many distracting cars.

Of course the four day camps opened the art up to a lot more people. In later years the camps became more like extended seminars with a lot of new material. Only people testing were likely to do forms and basics at many. This was in part a product of there being fewer candidates for the basic instructor level, yet more advanced people who had learned the basics and wanted new material. The later camps were less intense in covering the core technique, less isolating and with more distractions. Certainly the teaching was always dynamic and intense throughout the years. Just less total hours.

Of course the instruction just got better every year as Professor continuously improved his art and his skill. This was one of the things I found most remarkable about our beloved teacher. I could never understand how he managed to improve despite aging and all the stress from travelling. More than anything else, I was always in awe that someone already so great could even get better. It was like there was never any summit. Professor just kept raising the height of his excellence. Some of his amazing skill in later years was his ability to become so much more gentle. There was never any doubt, from day one, that Professor could crush any opponent. In his earlier years in the Philippines Arnis was very combative and the fighting more real. Even those who didn’t fight to cripple nevertheless were very brutal and powerful when they did practice and spa. Professor sought to modernize the art and take it to a higher level and wider audience. Over the years he had more and more experience training people who were themselves not so rough, including children and more women. As a result Professor just seemed to gain more finesse at working with these people without hurting them, while becoming even stronger and tougher with those of us “lucky” enough to get that attention. As I’m sure Tim could confirm, it was something to work out for many years and be lulled into thinking you had become strong because your strong students thought you were tough, then you’d go with Professor to a new location to do a demonstration and he would beat you silly. Your strength would suddenly amount to nothing.

Professor was also very playful, he never truly aged. In seminar and demonstration you generally tried to follow the drill. If nothing else as a way to plead for mercy. But no matter how you playfully attacked him the techniques still somehow worked. Just more painful really. I remember in about 1985 in my apartment in Salem we were in the kitchen getting ready to eat breakfast. I challenged Professor with the butter knife, with my free hand extended to ward him off. I said, “Aha, now I have you.” His hand flashed by my free hand and a fraction of a second later I was on the kitchen floor, totally immobilized and unable to respond other than to laugh in amazement and shout my surrender. I know many knife and stick fighters consider disarming and locking to be near impossible in reality, but Professor could really apply it with amazing, speed, accuracy, control and power.

Also as the student levels became higher Professor could cover more advanced techniques and practice on a higher level with more people over all. The later camps were more comfortable, more often held in modern, climate controlled hotels, but when we would need to take several cars to go to a restaurant full of strangers, and people talking on their cell phones and what not, I would think back wistfully on the earlier camps when between classes you were more likely to practice by a pond and be relatively not distracted by the outside world.

Mike Morton was a fixture at the early two week camps in Philadelphia. He was especially adept at the empty hand because of his extensive Wing Chun and sparring background. People enjoyed working with him and he added to the instruction. Over the years I was in contact with him from time to time. Once it was a bit humorous because I saw an advertisement from someone in Colorado using the triangle crossed swords over the sun with the two stick at the bottom logo. I had designed this logo myself based upon the Filipino flag. You will have seen it on t-shirts and Professor’s video series. Also on IMAF letterheads in the late eighties. I was convinced someone had stolen my logo as I didn’t see IMAF or Modern Arnis with the add. So I checked up on it. It turned out to be Mike who had moved to Colorado and was teaching Modern Arnis there. So of course, I was pleased that he was using my artwork and especially that he was actively promoting the art despite living in the Rockies. Since then I have lost contact with Mike. Hopefully he is still teaching somewhere and sharing his martial arts and Modern Arnis skills.

 

[arnisador]

Thanks for this great post Mr. Hoffman! Two week camps--I wish I could have been there!

 

[Tim Dawdy]

David

I still talk with Mike Morton (about once a year). He works in Vancouver Washinton as a Police Officer. I work in the Vancouver area as a Fire Chief so we run into each other once in a while. I always thought (and still do) that Mike is an outstanding Arnis player. While Mike had his ups and downs with the Professor, Mike loved him and was always loyal to him.

I first meet Mike in about 1985 when he came to Portland Oregon and taught a cane sparring class. We became friends, and I can even produce a picture (about 1988) of me wearing a t-shirt with the arnis symbol you talked about.

I still practice Arnis and Tai Chi. I taught Arnis classes in Portland between 1988 and 2000. I now live in a very small town north of Vancouver Washington where we are focued on playing Bluegrass music and Kayaking. I married Wendy Anderson who is a wonderful woman that I met at one of the Professors classes in Portland (thanks again Professor). Wendy is an Outstanding Kung-Fu and Tai Chi player and a fitness fanatic. I practice Arnis with Wendy and friends here in town.

Thanks for your splendid thoughts about Mike and the Professor.

Tim Dawdy

 

[Terry]

I, too have been in contact with Michael Morton from time to time. I first met him at the Rosemont, PA Camp. I was playing some Pow Wow songs and he came down to my room and introduced himself. His love for Professor has never wained as far as I can tell.
Ann Killeen and I were both members of the Feminist Self Defense and Karate Association in East Lansing, Michigan, under the tutelage of Joan Nelson. Joan was one of the founders, along with Jaye Spiro, Barbara Bones, Janesa Kruse and some other fantastic women, of the Women's Summer Training Camps. Ann moved west to train with Barbara Bones and Janesa Kruse, two of Lee Lowery's contemporaries. Ann helped me a lot about how to organize and run camps for Professor.
Ah, the memories of those two week camps! That was also the camp at which I first met Rocky Pasiwk (a very young Rocky, I might add). Sifu Lee, Bones, and Kruse. What an excellent example of what Professor was trying to do!! They filled in wonderfully, as he left one afternoon (without any of us knowing it) and flew to California and back in order to become an American citizen. "Professor is just resting this afternoon". That was also the Camp where Dr. Schea and I first became steadfast friends.
David: Thank you so much for your posts. What memories you evoke!!

Yours in the Spirit and fond memoies of Professor,

Terry

 

[Angus]

I'm not exactly sure about Zoppi and DeVito, but I do know that the students who come out of the links posts (TMA) are pretty terrible looking. I've been to the school and watched on a couple occasions and was never impressed with what I saw. Just IMO.

 

[jarrod]

i came across this old thread while googling some stuff. for those interested, mr roemer is teaching at the colorado academy of martial arts in littleton. i had my first class with him tuesday & am looking forward to returning tonight. really, really nice guy & clearly a skilled martial artist.

jf

 

[Dan Anderson]

I'm not exactly sure about Zoppi and DeVito, but I do know that the students who come out of the links posts (TMA) are pretty terrible looking. I've been to the school and watched on a couple occasions and was never impressed with what I saw. Just IMO.

Tom Zoppi passed away, I believe, several years ago and Danny DeVito has gone off the radar screen. I know that for quite some time he has pursued a career in acting and that is time consuming.

Yours,
Dan Anderson

 

[Dan Anderson]

Dan

Do you know what happened to "Mac" Mcgreggor? (I never knew his first name) or Anne Kiellin (sp)?

I would like to get some of the old West Coast players to the Summit in June.

As for Mike Morton I just heard from Tim Dawdy that he is in Vancouver Wa.

Mac McRedmond is a sheriff for Multnomah County (Portland, Oregon). I don't know what happened with Ann Kileen after her break up with Barbara Bones. Tim Dawdy is in Vancouver, Washington.

Yours,
Dan Anderson