# New 2003 modern Arnis Symposium Information



## DoctorB (Jan 6, 2003)

As promised, I am updating the information regarding the 2003 Modern Arnis International Symposium I.  The event will be held at Erie Community College, City Campus Fieldhouse, in Buffalo, NY, on July 11, 12 & 13.  The finalized cost for attending will be set in about two weeks when the instructor list is complete.  The following people are confirmed presenters, either through publicly stated intentions on one of the forums or via private messages to me:

Dan Anderson - Modern Arnis 80
Tom Bolden - American Modern Arnis Associates
Bruce Chiu - Modern Arnis - Remy Presas Style
Bram Frank - Common Sense Self Defense/ Street Combat 
Tim Hartman - World Modern Arnis Allience
Dieter Knuttel - Modern Arnis - Germany - Remy Presas Style
Dan McConnell - IMAF, Inc.
Dawud Muhammad - IMAF
David Ng - IMAF, Inc.
Rocky Paswik - Modern Arnis - Cuentada
Peter Vargas - American Modern Arnis Associates

Douglas Pierre - Modern Arnis - Domog; has indicated that he will be attending the event, but he has not committed to teaching as of this date, due to a previous committment that may have him out of the counrty until a day or two before the event and possibly beyond the dates of the event.

Shishir Inocalla - Modern Arnis - Canada; has indicated that he would like to attend, however we need to work out some details before he can give us a firm committment.

I have e-mails going out to 5 other istructors and I will wait for their replies in the affirmative before posting thier names.

I will be sending out initial confirmation requests on January 7, 2003 and depending on the replies, I may be able reconfigure the Symposium fee structure in a favorable manner to make it more affordable. Please keep in mind that I have a number of fixed costs which I must meet regardless of who or how many instructors confrim their participation at the Symposium. Included within my fixed costs are the site rental for three days, insurance fees for 3 days and deposits to reserve the block of hotel rooms for the Sympoium participants.  

It should be noted that the Symposium instructor group represents a full spectrum of the art as taught by the late founder and Grand Master of Modern Arnis, Professor Remy A. Presas, from Shishir Inocalla, who studied with Professor in the Philippines, to Tom Bolden, Doug Pierre and Rocky Paswik who worked with Professor in he late 70's; Dan Anderson, Bram Frank and Tim Hartman, were part of the early 80's generation and the others became involved in the late 80's and the through the 90's. 

There is is not another Modern Arnis event scheduled for this year (2003) that will be covering this time span in Professor's teaching career. These instructors cover a wide range of styles and organizations within the spectrum of Modern Arnis. The instructors mentioned above cover the various 'periods' of the growth and diversity of the art from the "inital introduction" of the art through "the art within your art" to "Filipino Karate-Ju-jitsu" to "tapi-tapi". 

Given the diverity and range of experience within Modern Arnis that are represented by the participants, it would seem that the only logical approach to the 2003 Modern Arnis Symposium I, would be to add the following word and sub title:

                 "International"
                 "A Conceptual Martial Arts Exchange"

Breaking down the key words in the full event title:

"Symposium" - a meeting or social gathering at which ideas are freely exchanged.

"International" - because we have instructors coming from several countries AND there have a number of inquries from people in England, Scotland, Denmark, Germany and Isreal.

"A" - one type of a particular thing that has other variants; not the only one of its kind or type.

"Conceptual" - an abstract idea brought to a physical reality in time and space.

"Exchange" - to give or transfer one thing for another in return.

"I" - indicating that this eveent is the first, but not necessarilly the only "Symposium" that might be held in this area of interest.

Thus, the full event title:

*2003 Modern Arnis International Symposium I: A Conceptual Martial Arts Exchange*, actaully denotes an event that is open to all who are interested.  For our specific purposes, a social event or gathering at which the variations and interpretations of the martial art known as, Modern Arnis, as founded by the late Remy Amador Presas will be demonstarted, with subsequent discussions for the purpose of gaining a better understanding or greater insight into the art itself. 

This event is not intended to, nor will it offer the final and definative statement regarding Modern Arnis. It will be an attempt to understand how the art can be made to fit each individual practicioner.

It is my hope that everyone who atttends will leave their ranks, titles, organzaional affiliations and egos at the Symposium door. It is also my hope that everyone will go on the Symposium training floor with an "empty cup". Professor Presas, created a dynamic martial art, now, because of his passing, it is time to move forward and 'make the art for ourselves'.

Respectfully Submitted,

Jerome Barber, Ed.D.


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## arnisador (Jan 15, 2003)

Further discussion of this here.


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