# Anyone know who these people are?



## Morgan (Apr 26, 2006)

I just got a flier advertising a mixed art summer camp with 10 instructors.
Of particular interest to me are the following names in alpha order and as
listed in the promo materials:

Master Roger Agbulos
Punong Guro Steven K. Dowd
Professor Sultan Uddin

Any information availible on these guys?

Morgan


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## HKphooey (Apr 26, 2006)

Morgan said:
			
		

> I just got a flier advertising a mixed art summer camp with 10 instructors.
> Of particular interest to me are the following names in alpha order and as
> listed in the promo materials:
> 
> ...


 
...


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## Brian R. VanCise (Apr 26, 2006)

From my understanding they are
fairly well known with good 
reputations.

Brian R. VanCise
www.instinctiveresponsetraining.com


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## arnisador (Apr 26, 2006)

Morgan said:
			
		

> Master Roger Agbulos


 
I look forward to meeting Mr. Agbulos in June at Tim Hartman's WMAA camp ,where he will be teaching. He's a regular on FMATalk.com and a well-known FMA practitioner.


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## lhommedieu (Apr 26, 2006)

Steve Dowd also publishes FMADigest.  I've talked on the phone and emailed him several times regarding a couple of articles that I submitted to the magazine, and have found him to be an affable, enthusiastic supporter of the Filipino martial arts.

Best,

Steve Lamade


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## Morgan (Apr 26, 2006)

Originally Posted by *Morgan*
_I just got a flier advertising a mixed art summer camp with 10 instructors.
Of particular interest to me are the following names in alpha order and as
listed in the promo materials:

Master Roger Agbulos
-first generation student of the late GM EDGAR SULITE, founder of LAMECO ESKRIMA INTL., base in Los Angeles. He is (or was) conducting classes here at THE CENTER FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING in Northridge, CA - as the Chief Instructor for Impact and Edge Weapons Trainig. 

Punong Guro Steven K. Dowd
From his profile - Steven Dowd started training in the martial arts in 1971. He was appointed by the Aguillon family upon their fathers passing away on January 8, 1991 to represent the family art known as Aguillon Arnis. 
http://www.arnisbalite.com/punongguro.html

Professor Sultan Uddin
-only know that he trained under GM Angel Cabales and a PhD: Soke, Master Eskrima\Serrada, 
West Coast representative and weapons director for Kifaru-Jitsu, Martial Arts Hall of Fame

----------------------------------------------------------_

_Thanks Hookeypookey for the information.  That makes it worth my time  and money if I decide to actually go to this summer camp because there are a couple of kenpo people listed whom I am familiar with and they're excellent._

_Also thanks to the other three people who posted as well.  I'm not much on personality reports, the talent factors is what impresses me and that's the important stuff._

_Hookeypookey's remarkes about Master Agbulos background and training under the late GM Edgar Sulite as well as his recent LEO work makes my day.  Thanks for that information._

_The information on PG Dowd and Profefessor Uddin is not as impressive but helpful.  OTOH the Head Master of Kifaru-Jitsu, Dr. Stanford McNeal is also going to be at the same camp.  So I'm speculating that the Kifaru-Jitsu is an empty hand art and Professor Uddin is/has adding an intensive weapons based component.  So with the above information in hand I'll do some searches and get more information.  Thanks guys for the good start-up information._

_Morgan_


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## HKphooey (Apr 27, 2006)

If anyone attends the camp, let us know your thoughts.

Thanks.


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## Morgan (May 2, 2006)

HKphooey said:
			
		

> If anyone attends the camp, let us know your thoughts.
> 
> Thanks.


 
The camp has not happened yet.  If I do indeeed go, I'll give you a full report.

My research on PG Dowd and Professor Uddin is coming along nicely and I'm very impressed with what I've found so far.  Will report more later as
I'm waiting for a couple more pieces of infromation to come in.

Morgan


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## Morgan (Jun 23, 2006)

HKphooey said:
			
		

> If anyone attends the camp, let us know your thoughts.
> 
> Thanks.


 
I mentioned that I was going to get some more information on PG Steven K. Dowd and the Arnis Balite System.  What I have learned is that PG Dowd is an authentic and credible Filipino Martial Artist.  The system that PG Dowd now heads was founded by Professor Manuel M. Aguillon, and based on a family art that can be traced back to the Spanish era of domination.  GM Aguillon, was born on Luzon Island in the Philippines.  Therefore the Arnis Balite is somewhat different from most arnis styles familiar to westerns because Modern Arnis, Lameco, Balintawak, Inosanto Kali etc. originated in the Visayan or middle region of the Philippines.

Arnis Balite is a 7 zoned striking system with the familiar target areas of the temples, shoulder to elbow/waist, waist to knee/ankle and crown of the head.  The 7 strikes are complemented by 5 thrusts, which are secondary in nature.  There are 2 forms dedicated to stick blocking, a form dedicated to low line kicks and 5 single stick forms.  Body movements are based on the triangulation method with both forward and backward movements.

PG Dowd began his training under GM Aguillon in 1975 and trained with him until the founders death in 1991.  He was 1 of the original 7 students of the art and is now the sole surviving member of the original students.   PG Dowd has been recognized and endorsed by the Aguillon Family in a written (1991) statement acknowledges him as theMASTER of Aguillon Arnis and also grants him full power and authority to promote the family art of Aguillon Arnis.

The system name was changed in 1998, with the familys permission to Arnis Balite.  That name is associated with the founders career as a championship boxer when fought under the ring name of Kid Balite.

You can read more about the art on the web at www.arnisbalite.com.

Ive gotten enough information and believe that attending the Buffalo Martial Arts Summit, on July 8 & 9 at the Adams Mark Hotel will be worth while for me.  PG Roger Agbulos, will be teaching Lameco Eskrima, PG Tom Bolden, will be teaching American Modern Arnis and PG Sultan Uddin will be teaching Eskrima Serrada.   There are 7 other instructors on the program 
teaching from other arts of the martial arts.  You can find details about the Summit on the Events/Seminar section of this Forum.

Morgan


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## Morgan (Jul 16, 2006)

Morgan said:
			
		

> I just got a flier advertising a mixed art summer camp with 10 instructors.
> Of particular interest to me are the following names in alpha order and as
> listed in the promo materials:
> 
> ...


 
Since I first asked if anyone knew Master Roger Agbulos, PG Steven Dowd and Master Sultan Uddin, Ive gotten some responses on the forum and others via private e-mail.  Last weekend, July 8 & 9, I attended the Buffalo Martial Arts Summit and I had a chance to workout with and learn Master Agbulos and PG Dowd.  Also on the same program were Sifu Daniel Donzella, Guro Paul Martial and Guro Bob Manalo.  All of these people are involved in FMA and Sifu Donzella is also a student of Indonesian Silat style.

There were 4 other instructors at the Buffalo Martial Arts Summit, Sensei John Borter  Modern Ju-jitsu, Dr. Stanford McNeal  Kifaru Jitsu, Sensei Steven J. Pearlman  Genri-ryu Life Protection Arts and Sensei James Franklin  Suenaka Ha Aikido.  All 4 of these men were excellent instructors and they know their respective crafts thoroughly.  Id be neglectful and remiss if I didnt mention them in this review, but since they are teaching subject matter outside of the FMA emphasis of this forum, Ill only say that if you have a chance to work with any of them, you should take.

A number of people on this forum are already familiar with Master Agbulos, so an in-depth review of his knife training program is unnecessary as it would be redundant give the very positive comments already given in earlier posts on this thread.  None the less, I will say that his seminars at the Summit were well attend and received.  Master Agbulos is a very fine instructor and knife tactician.  His combined and closely coordinated hands and footwork make him an exceedingly dangerous opponent in a street fight.  Im looking forward to working with him again.   

PG Steven K. Dowd is a very quick witted individual and a prankster who becomes quite serious when he has a stick in his hand.  The transformation is instant and very real.  He is tough, shrewd and confident.   There are no unnecessary motions, wind-ups or steps taken in his presentation of Arnis Balite.  PG Dowd is confident without being a braggart, argumentative or obnoxious in any manner shape or form.  His Arnis Balite System is based on a 7 strike foundation with angular footwork for striking, blocking and counter-striking.  The 7 strikes target the right & left temples, right & left 
elbows (hips/ floating ribs), right & left knees (shins/ankles) and the crown of the head.  There is a complimentary group of 5 thrusts (both temple, both eyes and the solar plexus).  The thrusts are strictly used as counter-strikes.

PG Dowd is a strong advocate of evasive footwork and he relies heavily on the angulations method of stepping, with the emphasis on moving forward in an assertive manner to establish superior positioning and control.  The off-hand is used for checking, deflecting, holding, punching, pushing, pulling and slapping.  Arnis Balite is definitely a 2 handed style of arnis.  The Arnis Balite System uses angled position for stick blocks and the positions can best be symbolized by the latter X, with the stick tip up for blocks 1 -4 and down for strikes 5 & 6.  Strike #7 or overhead is blocked with the umbrella, wing/slant or roof blocks depending on situation and your own previous stick position.

Most Modern Arnis people would have some difficulty defending against an Arnis Balite trained person initially, because of the the blocking angles and counters use by the by the Balite stylist.  With some practice these differences would be bridged.  The Arnis Balite methods could be easily blended with Modern Arnis and both systems would remain in tact while benefiting from the additions.

Guro Bob Manalo taught the Eskrima Serrada System the late GM Angel Cabales and Professor Sultan Uddin, who is Manalos instructor.  The Eskrima Serrada System is a corto or close range system that is based on a 12 strike stick method, complemented by a 5 Count or Cinco Terros System of strikes.
The footwork is amazingly simple.  If right handed, your right foot is forward when striking in a forehand manner and the left foot comes forward when striking in a backhand manner.  Angling may or may not occur depending on the situation.   We were shown both the 12 and 5 strike methods, but we trained in the Cinco Terros System.

The Eskrima Serrada method is extremely fast and relies on multiple strikes rather than a single powerful strike to end an encounter.  The striking philosophy of Eskrima Serrada seems to be: hit fast, hit often, and set up a finishing blow before your opponent had any chance of getting in a single strike.  From what I have seen, the Eskrima Serrada System is not easily blended into Modern Arnis

Guro Paul Martin is from Buffalo and he has trained in Modern Arnis, Tracy System Kenpo and Balintawak Eskrima.  His movements are very precise, crisp, concise, coordinated and purposeful.  There is no disconnect between what he teaches and what he actually does in practice.  This is particularly important because he teaches from a technique based  conceptual model which ties together footwork, blocks, deflections, interceptions, parries, punches and low-line kicks.  Guro Martian is an excellent teacher who clearly explained what he wanted us to do and gave concise explanations about why we were doing it.  We went through 2 drills to sharpen our lessons and then a spontaneous series of attacks to help us understand what we expected to do as defenses against these attacks.  The final results of this training were that we each found and could identify at least one area of weakness in out responses.  More importantly we also had some idea about how to go about fixing the problem.

Sifu Dan Donzella is a very small man in stature but he drops giants with a resounding thud in a seemingly effortless manner.  The Liu Seong Combat Arts Method that he practices consists of Silat, Eskrima, Kali and Chuan Fa. It is based on the teachings of the late GM Willem Reeders with inputs from Sifu Gary Galvin, Guro Kevin Seamans, Guro Dan Inosanto and Guro Abon Baet.  Sifu Donzella taught the empty hand aspects of the arts and focused on open hand strikes, low-lines kicks, sweeps and throws.  His sweeps and thows are especially devastating because it is virtually impossible to use commonly taught break fall methods to negate the impact of his throws.  The combination of hand strikes plus sweeps twists your upper and lower body in different directions at the same time making a break fall virtually impossible to establish.  The precision that Sifu Donzella demonstrated in his work added to the effectiveness of his defensive-counter offensive tactics.

All in all the 4 individuals that Ive highlighted demonstrate a high degree of proficiency in their martial arts training and tactics.  They were superb instructors who knew how to effectively teach.  The Buffalo Martial Arts Summit was well worth the time and money spent.  A wide range of the martial arts spectrum was covered as the instructors showed Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Indonesian and Filipino influenced arts.

The assembled instructors also demonstrated a wonderful lesson in humility and cooperation throughout the weekend because they actively participated in the seminars of one another.   They were on the floor as students and ukes.  They worked as training partners with the paying participants; they gave individual and small group lessons in the ante room area off of the main halls.  Every one of the instructors worked on a first name basis with everyone in attendance.  These people were actively engaged in the process of sharing and supporting the over-all philosophy of the event organizer, Dr. Jerome Barber.  In my opinion, Dr. Barber is a shrewd and astute judge of talent and character.  He brought together a collection of skilled martial arts instructors who worked together for the greater good of all and without anyones ego getting in the way.  To top it off, GM Max Pallen attended the BMAS as a participant and we did not find out until Sunday afternoon that a number of us had been working with a GM as a training partner in various seminars on Saturday.  This was absolutely the best multi instructor seminar that I have ever attended.

It is a shame that some people in the martial arts get so tied up in their own style or system and refuse to work outside of their own comfort zones.  This kind of narrow, limited thinking prevents being exposed to new information and ideas.  The BMAS was all about being open and receptive to what others have to offer.  It was a beautiful set of seminars that helped me to better appreciate what my instructors have taught me as well as what is still out there for me to learn and adopt from others.    

Morgan


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## Bob Hubbard (Jul 16, 2006)

I was supposed to attend the event but had a scheduling screwup (my fault, wrote it in for the following weekend by mistake) so couldn't make it. Thank you for the excellent write up. I wish I could have made it out.


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## Morgan (Jul 25, 2006)

Bob Hubbard said:
			
		

> I was supposed to attend the event but had a scheduling screwup (my fault, wrote it in for the following weekend by mistake) so couldn't make it. Thank you for the excellent write up. I wish I could have made it out.


 
Hello Mr. Hubbard,

I'm sorry that you weren't able to attend the Summit, it would have been a pleasure meeting you in person.  I've seen several reviews of the Summit on another forum that I read and all of the reports have been very positive.

I was very impressed with Dr. Stanford McNeal the founder of the Kifaru Jitsu System, but I didn't report on him because he works outside of the FMA.  However, I would strongly recommend that people attend any seminar that he is giving.  His martial arts plus 27 years as street cop in Henderson NV makes him a formnidable person to deal with in terms of reality based applications.

PG Steven K. Dowd is an excellent instructor and his Arnis Balite System is very effective.  I like the 7 strike method.  The fact that Arnis Balite is a Northern based style is impoortant because there are definate differences between Luzon and Visayan FMA systems.   Modern Arnis, which many people on this baord are familiar with is a Visayan system.

Guro Bob Manalo, taught the Eskrima Serrada System.  Very fast paced and close-in style of FMA.  The footwork is very simple and direct.  The stick is just 24 - 26 inches long.  The ES style is Visayan and has some strong similarities to Balintawak according to a couple of people who were at the Summit.  I don't know that from my own experiences, but it would be worth looking into.

Now that I've had some time to train with the barong that purchased from Guro Keith Roosa, I can report that it is an excellent piece of craftsmanship.  My particular blad is made of Brazilian Mahagony with Rosewood handles.  It is perfectly balanced with the weight just 
a bit in front of the blade's midpoint.  The blade is very controllable and swings smoothly.  I'm ordering a second barong today so that I can work on my redonda and sinawali patterns.  Using a blade has definately added to my awareness of how and why the FMA are so effective.  Guro Roosa can be reached thriough his e-mal address: kempokroosa@yahoo.com 

Morgan


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## Guro Harold (Jul 25, 2006)

Hi Morgan,

Glad you had a great time!!!

Have you studied FMA before or was this your first experience?

Thanks,

Palusut


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## Brian King (Jul 25, 2006)

Nice review. Thanks


See you on the floor soon
Friends
Brian King


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## armasblankas (Aug 1, 2006)

Morgan,

Thanks for your review.  It was indeed an honor to teach that session and also represent my teacher, Professor Sultan Uddin, who had to stay in Los Angeles for business.  To be there with my teacher's teacher, Dr. Stanford McNeal, was awesome.  I knew I had to be on point in presentation since he was there.  The attendees, both instructor and student alike, were very open and enthusiastic.  

As I said during the session, Eskrima Serrada is a complex style, like many of the other Pilipino martial arts.  It wouldn't have done the art or participants any justice trying to teach Serrada in that hour and a half.  It takes nearly a month for students to learn the first contra.

Fortunately, my teacher had put together a very effective and comprehensive program based on the five numbers, giving the movements his own distinct flavor as well as including some of the principles of Serrada.  

But, at this point, the information I presented is somewhat down-rev, so to say.  In a private session with my other two training partners this past weekend, he supercharged the movements, giving them even more of a direct combative approach.  If you liked what you saw several weeks ago, you haven't seen anything yet.

I hope more of the attendees from the BMAS can make it out to the Kifaru/IESA workshop in Las Vegas on October 14th.  I know several participants from the BMAS will be there in October and I look forward to seeing them all again.  PG Steven Dowd has the information on this event in the latest FMA Digest.

If anyone is interested in having more of the Eskrima out on the East Coast, let me know and maybe we can arrange something.  Who knows, maybe my teacher might even come out.  

There's Eskrima, and then there's IESA's Eskrima.

Thank you again for your kind words and hope to see you in Vegas.


Salamat,

Guro Bob Manalo, Jr.
International Eskrima Serrada Association
www.sultanuddin.com


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## sifu dan (Oct 4, 2006)

I want to thank everyone for the kind words and the post on the seminar in Buffalo ny. by Morgan. Thankyou very much. I had a great time and enjoyed teaching there very much. Looking forward to the next one. I will be at the Saratoga festival in april and also will be doing a seminar at the Fingerlakes Martial Arts school in Geneva ny this month,oct.21st.

            Sifu Dan


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## armasblankas (Nov 17, 2006)

For those of you who enjoyed the presentation in Buffalo or for those of you who missed it, there will be another workshop in the SF Bay Area this coming Saturday, December 2, 2006 featuring my teacher, Master Sultan Uddin.  You haven't seen anything until you've seen my teacher.

I'd also like to announce that the IESA family has grown with Professor James Hundon of the Universal Martial Arts Academy in Oakland, California and Punong Guro Michael Blackgrave of Bahad Zu'Bu in San Antonio, Texas, joining our network.

If you're interested in this upcoming workshops or any other workshops, or if you have general comments or questions, you can e-mail me at hc1358@yahoo.com or call 888-221-5462.

Thanks,

Guro Bob Manalo, Jr.
IESA


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## armasblankas (Nov 17, 2006)

For those of you who enjoyed the presentation in Buffalo or for those of you who missed it, there will be another workshop in the SF Bay Area this coming Saturday, December 2, 2006 featuring my teacher, Master Sultan Uddin.  You haven't seen anything until you've seen my teacher.

I'd also like to announce that the IESA family has grown with Professor James Hundon of the Universal Martial Arts Academy in Oakland, California and Punong Guro Michael Blackgrave of Bahad Zu'Bu in San Antonio, Texas, joining our network.

If you're interested in this upcoming workshops or any other workshops, or if you have general comments or questions, you can e-mail me at hc1358@yahoo.com or call 888-221-5462.

Thanks,

Guro Bob Manalo, Jr.
IESA


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## tsefreeflow (Nov 24, 2006)

Serrada is much much more than what is described here or on any forum actually. You have to be careful where you learn the Serrada Eskrima, as many outside the core group of students/Masters have no true deep understanding of what Serrada actually is or how it is supposed to work. Which is good I suppose, as this art as many FMA are passed and trained in their true form in secrecy.


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## arnisador (Nov 24, 2006)

Fortunately some of the secrecy is falling away, but I have seen closed-door FMA instructors.


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