# The FMA moment, when will it happen...



## billc (Sep 13, 2012)

In the 60's-70' it was Bruce Lee, the 80' was ninjutsu, the 90's Brazillian jiu jutsu, and now the MMA.  When will the FMA have their moment in martial arts distinction.  I know that Remy Presas brought the arts out in a big way in the 80's, which is how I learned about them, but he was somewhat a blessing and a curse.  He got the word out, but I think his media exposure of the arts watered down the true nature of the FMA.  They became two people hitting two sticks together in too many minds, and you can see that even in film today with the sinawali or whatever you may call them, in the movie Hannah and the Borne films, the Hunted and even the book of Eli.  Dan Inosanto did his part, but I think he too obscured the nature of these arts because of their incorporation into the JKD mentality.  The FMA have never really had their big moment in the culture and I am wondering why not?  They are lethally effective, fun to do,  the teachers from the Phillipines are very interesting characters, to say the least, and they can be done by older people to lethal effect.  Any thoughts?


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## yak sao (Sep 13, 2012)

It may be better for FMA to stay a little out of the limelight.
The more popular and mainstream a MA gets, the more you see it bastardized.

I know what you're saying though. You have an art that you love and beleive in and sometimes you want to shout it from the rooftops.


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## arnisador (Sep 13, 2012)

The Bourne films were our chance, and it didn't happen. But then MMA is riding high now.


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## geezer (Sep 13, 2012)

billcihak said:


> In the 60's-70' it was Bruce Lee, the 80' was ninjutsu, the 90's Brazillian jiu jutsu, and now the MMA.  When will the FMA have their moment?



Actually, I think they had a brief moment (as you pointed out) between the kung-fu craze of the 70s and ninjutsu in the mid 80's. Danny Inosanto did a big part to publicize it back then with books, magazine articles, and his bit part in Bruce Lee's posthumously released movie, _The Game of Death_. Since then there have been brief moments of increased interest in FMA but mostly restricted to martial arts cognoscenti. You mentioned the Bourne films, for example. In the last decade with all the emphasis on competitive full-contact martial sports like UFC, I've gotta give Dog Bros. props. 

Will there be another flair in interest in FMA? I don't know. It's mostly an underground scene in my town. The main interest seems to be in MMA gyms teaching BJJ, boxing and Muay Thai. I teach Wing Chun to a small group and it's hard to get people interested. I also offer instruction in Escrima. I probably get 8 or 10 inquiries about WC for every person asking about Escrima. Honestly, I don't get it. Escrima is a total blast.

BTW you know what the biggest difference between TCMA and FMA practitioners is (at least around here)? The different FMA people actually _get along_. Especially if there's free food!  :drinky:


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## yak sao (Sep 14, 2012)

Really wanting to get back to FMA.
When I left EBMAS I was pretty much cut off from my escrima source.

Not a whole lot in my area that I've found.
I did find this one group. They showed a guy on their website with his shirt off, getting beat with a rataan stick....not interested in that one, I'm already good at getting hit with a stick, I want to learn how to keep that from happening.


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## geezer (Sep 15, 2012)

yak sao said:


> Really wanting to get back to FMA.
> When I left EBMAS I was pretty much cut off from my escrima source.
> 
> Not a whole lot in my area that I've found.
> I did find this one group. They showed a guy on their website with his shirt off, getting beat with a rataan stick....not interested in that one, I'm already good at getting hit with a stick, I want to learn how to keep that from happening.



Maybe they are looking for people to beat _them_ with sticks. LOL. 

Anyway, I've been in a similar fix looking for training partners, Yak. Stupid organizational politics make training with EBMAS guys a problem. Actually, I'd like to spend more time training directly with Rene Latosa, my first instructor. But he's not traveling out my way to give seminars anymore, and I can't really afford to travel to Windsor, CA and pay for privates. 

Fortunately, I have access to some skilled guys locally. Still it's a 60 mile round trip to train every weekend. For a number of years now, I've basically been building my own teaching method based on Latosa Concepts and what I'm picking up from the "DTE" guys I train with ...who are also more about concept than technique. I'm enjoying the flexibility this approach gives me. Technique-focused training leads to inevitable conflicts between systems. Concept-oriented training allows me to find common ground between my WC and my Escrima. And it makes both of them work better.


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## Aiki Lee (Sep 15, 2012)

I think yak sao is right. Much of my school's curriculum comes from ninjutsu and while ninjutsu popularity in the 80s helped bring in some people it also did some irreversable damage to the image of the art. FMA have been displayed in many movies before, but I don't think the art itself has ever been the focus. Usually its used for more realistic choreography (along with silat in other films). I think this lends it some credibility into the eyes of the public. People see an ad for an FMA and think "hey I can fight like Jason Bourne", people look at ninjutsu and think about _Ninja Assassin_.

Count yourselves fourtunate.


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## geezer (Sep 15, 2012)

Another problem is that Filipino culture suffers from a  lack of  that _"Asian mystique" _associated with the arts of Japan and China. Oh I know, the Philippines are definitely in Asia, but the average American can't tell a Filipino from a Mexican. And nobody's into Mexican martial arts.  Interestingly, there _are _a lot of historical and cultural connections between Mexico and the Philipines --which I find totally fascinating, and make the FMA even more accessable to me as a native Southwesterner raised with a heavy exposure to Mexican culture. But to the public in general, I think FMA's remain poorly understood and under-appreciated. It's a shame too.


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