THE FATHER OF MODERN ARNIS

As I have stated in other blogs,etc. the late REMY(REMEGIO) AMADOR PRESAS is considered the FATHER OF MODERN ARNIS,which essentially means,THE FOUNDER OF MODERN ARNIS. HIs contribution to the world-wide dissemination of Philippine Stick Fighting or Arnis cannot be minimized and this meant that people could safely learn the methods of stick fighting and defense safely and in an organized manner. I have discussed some of my meetings with him elsewhere.

THE FATHER OF AMERICAN KENPO

Kenpo, sometimes spelled kempo, started basically in Hawaii and from there spread to the US Mainland, where today it is widespread and varied in methodology,etc. The FATHER OF AMERICAN KENPO (sometimes called Kenpo Karate) is ED PARKER, author of many books on the subject and who made this art popular and efficient and effective on the mainland. His contributions to this martial art have been described and noted many,many times. I corresponded briefly with him from the Philippines and later met him twice in Manchester,New Hampshire,where he gave seminars. He graciously autographed his book(s) for me which I have in my library. I later donated his book on the Nunchaku to the Hawaii Karate Museum.

THE FATHER OF AMERICAN KARATE

The title FATHER OF AMERICAN KARATE goes to ROBERT A. TRIAS, who founded the UNITED STATES KARATE ASSOCIATION(USKA) whom I met some years ago,after joining the USKA,while in the Philippines. At my suggestion and 'invitation' the late Bob Trias brought his championship team to the Philippines as they were on a tour to Japan,Korea, and Okinawa. While there we met with various Filipino, Chinese and Japanese Masters, instructors and practitioners. Bob started teaching karate in the US shortly after returning to the US after World War II and his dojo is certainly the oldest one on the continental US. Of course, some kungfu/Chinese martial arts preceded karate, but modern karate on the US Mainland took a long time, although Hawaii had practitioners,etc. before this. Later, I hope to describe the USKA visit to the Philippines and other things that may be pertinent.

THE FATHER OF PHILIPPINE JUDO

I met THE FATHER OF PHILIPPINE JUDO, Mr. Pedro Balingit when he was still alive and also at the Philippine Institute of Criminology. The author of a judo book that went through several editions and revisions, Mr. Balingit studied in Japan and kept judo going during WWII and was also very active after the war. When I visited him at his house and home dojo, he did a head stand for me and showed me a number of things and we had a great discussion of things to be sure. I regret not being able to visit him after that time but he graciously autographed my book which I still have in my library.

THE FATHER OF PHILIPPINE AIKIDO

I met the "FATHER OF PHILIPPINE AIKIDO' Benjamin Galarpe in Manila some years ago and visited his club on the corner of RIZAL AVENUE. The late Antonio V. Mendoza and also Grandmaster Amante P. Marinas,Sr. studied aikido there as did many others too numerous to mention. Some persons,those I met at FEU claimed that there were other practitioners and pioneers of aikido before Benjamin Galarpe but they could not give me any specific names at the time.

MY FIRST ARNIS INSTRUCTOR

The first lessons I received in arnis were given to me by the late REMY AMADOR PRESAS and consisted of his famous "20-minute' SINAWALI drills basically and I might well have been his first Causcasian/American student had things worked out. As President and one of the Founders and Organizers of the MARCOPPER MARTIAL ARTS CLUB in MARINDUQUE, I was going to have him come to the island and give seminars for the members and before we could finalize everything, he left for the US. I kept contact with him and sent him people to contact when he got there and some of them assisted him in propagating Modern Arnis in the US and the rest is history, so-to-speak. I never formally became his pupil but we kept in contact and I attended two of his seminars in Salem,Massachusetts and also one or two in Greenfield,Massachusetts. Some of you may also know that I introduced many of my students to him and to Modern Arnis,etc. At every seminar I attended with him, he asked me to be his 'representative' an offer I always declined, however,for several reasons. He also gave me his first Modern Arnis Book in English, the 'red one' shortly afterwards when I first met him in Manila. I still have the book and also the Blue Book, the Tagalog version. I also have a couple of other books by him and a few tapes that he gave me as well as some from his students,etc.

MY FIRST JAPANESE INSTRUCTOR

My first Japanese Instructor, that is, he is Japanese, was KUZUMI TABATA and he was teaching at Dartmouth College in Hanover. Of all the instructors he was probably the most severe, if not brutal, and the most demanding one I have had although others invoked certain disciplines every now and then. His lessons have stayed with me,of course. He is now the published author of SECRET TACTICS and my old friend and classmate, BILL CHARLES, is mentioned in the book as Bill was one of his most loyal students and instructors, and Bill remained with him where the others in our small group did not.

MY FIRST TAE KWON DO INSTRUCTOR (Korean)

I went to Washington,D
C. and before I went, I decided to write Mr. Jhoon Rhee since he had awarded a black belt in TAE KWON DO to Senator James Cleveland from New Hampshire, and also he had been written up in BLACK BELT MAGAZINE which I started to read and collect,etc. and when I arrived in D.C. Master Rhee assumed that James Cleveland had sent me there. Anyway, I took the free introductory lessons(three I think) and then signed up for the course, which I think was for Green Belt or such. The free lessons were taught by Jack Dutcher, who also had studied kempo in Hawaii and was quite an interesting practitioner. For the course, my immediate instructor was Mr. Kwan Rho, who also,on some occasions gave us some Hapkido and pressure point instruction but not to everyone, I guess. Now and then, Mr. Rhee would come into class and really put us through our paces. One thing that I enjoyed was the sparring and also the one-step forms and self-defense. Of course, I eventually left DC and went up to New Hampshire and entered another phase of karate experiences and training.

MY FIRST FILIPINO KARATE INSTRUCTOR

Armed with ZEN COMBAT's list of addresses of martial arts groups and teachers in various parts of the world, I found two listed under Philippines. One, was the Commando Self-Defense Club which,at the time was headed by LATINO GONZALEZ,who later became the FATHER OF PHILIPPINE KARATE, by taking up SHORIN-RYU KARATE (Kobayashi-Chibana style), and whom I later met in,though he never answered my letter written from Marinduque to him, but he did mention at a stage exhibition held in MANILA for the first karate movie, KARATE,HAND OF DEATH, with Jack Holt, that 'someone from the provinces had been writing him about karate". Then in 1964, I contacted BERNABE PARAGAS, whose name was spelled in Zen Combat as PARAKAS, and went to visit and train with him in San Fernando,La Union, after spending time in Baguio, Bontoc,etc. We became good friends and he taught me the Kyokushinkai style and had me learn what is now Pinan Two but which was originally, if I am not mistaken, Pinan One,along with other things. Bernabe and I also planned to do a book on arnis but that is another story, etc. My next 'work' in karate was with the Matson Academy via correspondence and letters of suggestion,etc. I might add that during this time, I taught judo to some school children,mostly boys but a few girls, and met some fellows who had been in WWII that knew some jiu-jitsu,etc. but it was difficult to find people to teach me anything I really wanted to know.

MY FIRST REAL LESSONS IN KARATE

My first real taste of real KARATE, in the sense that those who were doing it were real experts and practitioners, all of whom resided in Hawaii when I went there in 1963, to the Big Island of Hawaii, and stayed at the University of Hawaii campus in Hilo. I will have to relate what I experienced and witnessed there in a number of other topics. But essentially, I learned to kick and punch and a few other things from WALTER NISHIOKA, who graciously taught me a few basics and things for self-defense to take with me to the Philippines where I ended up after leaving Honolulu. By no stretch of the imagination was I ever a formal pupil, enrolled,etc. with his group but the contact and the friendship and the impetus to learn more remained with me ever afterwards. Of course, I have to say I might well have gone back to Hawaii after the time I spend in the Philippines and studied with him as he kindly invited me to come back in two years. He also would have given me groups and teachers in Japan or Okinawa to seek out and train with had I been going there. While in Hawaii, I was able to see some jiujitsu, kendo, sumo, aikido,etc. while there and learned also of the existence of NINJA and some other things. I also bought George Mattson's THE WAY OF KARATE to take with me to read on the plane to the Philippines, along with ZEN COMBAT by Jay Gluck and Tomiki's book on judo and aikido.

MY FIRST KARATE LESSONS

My first actual karate lessons, other than those seen on TV, in magazines, or read about in 'how-to-do' books at the time, actually began at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, while I was in the Army. At the base field house, which I frequented to lift weights and exercise,etc. there were several people doing both wrestling and judo and since I had taken lessons in Judo in Morristown, New Jersey,before being drafted into the Army, I naturally gravitated towards this activity. Eventually, I met a like-minded fellow there who decided to form a club and some judo and wrestling persons also joined up as well as others, and then along came a karate instructor from Arizona. He was only a 'brown belt' and belonged to the USKA and talked about Robert Trias and has his book, 'THE HAND IS MY SWORD', and began teachings us the very rudiments involved. Later my friend, whose name I can't recall at the moment, but I think it is among some clippings I have from the Post Paper about the club, became told me of NISHIYAMA & BROWN'S book on KARATE, I bought or ordered at the Post Book Store and began reading. Later, again, my friend, told me of AIKIDO which he had seen somewhere and somehow and revealed to me that he felt it was really a coming art and also superior to karate and judo! There were several Japanese-Americans and perhaps Hawaiian -Japanese Americans or even Japanese doing judo there and I watched a wrestler work with some of them and later asked him what he thought about judo,because he seemed to pin all of them and maneuver them easily more so than they did him. He told me that he didn't think much of judo for the reasons I have described and then I told him that he was perhaps lucky since none of them used strangleholds on him and then I explained what they might well have done to him. I didn't offer to show him exactly but I hoped that he 'listened to reason' and to 'the still small voice of his conscience' ever afterwards.