# "Remy Presas: The Last Interview" Video Tape



## KENPOJOE (Sep 10, 2004)

"Remy Presas:The last interview"​This never before offered video features the last video interview ever done with Prof. Presas weeks before his unfortunate diagnosis in Germany. 
This hour long video features an extensive interview with Prof. Presas, speaking about his beginnings in the martial arts, his history with the balintawak system, his leaving the phillipines, his attack in NY, and much more
!!!
This was originally filmed for my TV program "Martial Arts Today" television, but the footage was misplaced and only recently was found!! 
This extremely rare video is now being offered for the first time ever to the general public!
I am not offering this video through major commercial venues because I would rather havew those who actually trained with Professor benefit from the memories this tape will bring or for those FMA/modern arnis practitioners who never had the opportunity to train with this great man!

the cost for the video is 35.00 +$5.00 Shipping and handling[priority mail in the USA]
please send check /money order to:
Joseph P. Rebelo II
88 Hatch Street [Suite 415]
New Bedford, MA 02745-6040

Thank you for your time and I hope that I was of some service,
KENPOJOE


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## Brian Johns (Sep 10, 2004)

Just making sure, have you cleared the sale of this video with the Presas children ? It's my understanding that they may be taking legal action against those who are profiting from the unauthorized use of his name or image. Might want to be careful here.

Take care,
Brian Johns


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## Bester (Sep 10, 2004)

Considering the cost of a blank tape is what, $1, that is a nice markup for a 'non-commercial' item.  Anyway, I thought this forum had a rule about advertising stuff outside of certain forums.  When did they change that?


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## Cruentus (Sep 10, 2004)

Joe,

couple of things.

#1. That title might be a little misleading. "The last interview" is actually featured here: www.kellyworden.com. GM/Datu Worden has been kind enough to offer us this interview on his site free of charge. It was done in Vancouver after his diagnosis in Germany...so your footage is not actually "the last interview."

#2. I hope you have talked with your attorney on this. When the Presas estate is settled, someone will most likely retain the rights to use Remy Presas' image for profit...whether it be his children, his succeeding organization (IMAF, Inc.), or Evett Wong. Regardless, I think it is highly unwise to try to profit off the Presas name without checking with all these sources first with the help of legal council...because you may find yourself owing someone some mucho cash. Plus, at the very least, (as Brian Johns pointed out) the ethical thing to do would be to at least clear any profiting off the Presas name with his blood relatives (his children aka MARPPIO). For some reason, I doubt you have done these things...particularly talking with the Presas kids. If you expect to have any credability here or with modern arnis people, I highly suggest you do this ASAP.

#3. Regardless of the outcome of this, or your actions...no thanks on the video. I am perfectly content with the memories I have of my teacher, and I don't feel I need to cheapen it by buying my memorabelia. 

Thanks anyways...

PAUL


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## KENPOJOE (Sep 10, 2004)

WhoopAss said:
			
		

> Just making sure, have you cleared the sale of this video with the Presas children ? It's my understanding that they may be taking legal action against those who are profiting from the unauthorized use of his name or image. Might want to be careful here.
> 
> Take care,
> Brian Johns



Dear Brian,
Thank you for bringing that to my attention! I will contact them regarding this! Unfortunately, I've never had the pleasure of meeting any of them during Prof. Presas' tenure and the times I've had the pleasure of training with Prof. Presas over the years but I will contact them regarding this matter.
Thank you for your help!
KENPOJOE


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## KENPOJOE (Sep 10, 2004)

Bester said:
			
		

> Considering the cost of a blank tape is what, $1, that is a nice markup for a 'non-commercial' item.  Anyway, I thought this forum had a rule about advertising stuff outside of certain forums.  When did they change that?



Dear Mr. Bester,
Indeed, the cost of a blank tape is $1.00, but the time it took to drive upstate, bring video equipment, set up, film the interview, lug it all back,edit the footage,etc...This footage is several years old and was, until recently, thought lost by myself and I was greiviously upset about the loss of not only an interview, but the last time I was to see one of my instructors alive. in the last 14 years I've lost several of my instructors and I wanted to pass along the video footage that I had found. I will contact MT to insure that I am not breaking standard policy, any rule infraction of MT's policy was completely unintentional.
Thank you for your time,
KENPOJOE


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## Guro Harold (Sep 11, 2004)

Hi Mr. Rebelo,

Please consider discussing this issue with your civil lawyer to make sure that you are in the clear.  Please also consider contacting the Executor of Remy Presas' estate, David Hoffman, to inform him of this matter and that you are the owner of media and medium of this interview.

His official announcement of the estates disposition and focus can be found here: http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16107.  He also stated how can members of this board could contact him in the thread.

I am not a lawyer but:

- Maybe this could be the last video interview.
- stating the run length for the video might be a good thing.  If it is 30 minutes for $35.00, its pretty much fair market value.
- There is another person who was selling clips of the Professor which I had  bought. I will not state any more details.
- If the estate is controlling the image of GM Presas, then we are all in trouble with our avatars and pictures on our websites.  They would have to start controlling that soon for it to have an effect.

Thanks for posting the information.  I hope that one of us will buy the video and review it or if you could release it to one of us to review.

Thanks,

Palusut


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## Brian Johns (Sep 11, 2004)

Palusut said:
			
		

> - If the estate is controlling the image of GM Presas, then we are all in trouble with our avatars and pictures on our websites.  They would have to start controlling that soon for it to have an effect.



I don't think that the avatars will be a problem. The key here is using Professor's name and image for profit, at least that's what I understand.  I would have a hard time believing that there would be a good cause of action against somebody merely because they posted a picture of themselves with Professor on the internet. Depends on the context, though. If you were to use a picture of yourself with Professor in order to open a school or advertise your school, that might be something else.

But, I don't think that the avatars are a problem.

Take care,
Brian


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## Bob Hubbard (Sep 11, 2004)

This thread was just brought to my attention.

The question is, is it a violation of our rules?



			
				Rules Excerpt said:
			
		

> No Advertising except in the advertising forums
> 
> Advertising Policy:
> An ad is defined as a service or product being offered for trade or sale. It does not include events or seminars. Advertising is forbidden except where noted. You will not advertise or solicit other members to buy, sell or peruse any products or services through this discussion forum. The sole exception to this rule is the Advertising Forums. In ALL our forums, chain letters and junk mail are strictly prohibited. Any software, print or audio/video content offered for sale must be originals. Anyone found distributing bootlegs will be banned from the forums, and we will cooperate fully with law enforcement if required. This includes linking to software, posting about it, and suggesting where to get it. Tape trading is permitted provided the tapes are factory originals.


It is a violation of our policies to sell or solicit within the art forums. 
We have made exceptions for a few rare/out of print/historically significant items in the past.  Technically, this falls into that catagory based on the description. My recommendation would be to make sure the legal ducks are in a row, and then please consider submitting a copy to us for an unbiased review for MT Magazine. For anyone interested in promoting their products, the way around our no-advertising policy is to submit product to us for review, which we will then post in the appropriate forum, as well as in the magazine.

You may send a review copy to:
MartialTalk.com
PO Box 1372
Buffalo NY 14220

Thank you.


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## KENPOJOE (Sep 11, 2004)

Tulisan said:
			
		

> Joe,
> 
> couple of things.
> 
> ...



Dear Paul [Tulisan],
Thank you for your post!

I appreciate the correction on the interview. I was not aware of the 2 interviews done by Kelly Worden with Prof Presas & thank you for bringing it to my attention! I will correct that immediately regarding any future mention.

I will contact the remaining Presas family members regarding the various legal aspects under the law and my rights as well. Let me clarify a several points to everyone will know all the aspects regarding this...
My TV program has been on the air for over 14 years & was created due to the martial arts cable programs throughout the US that I would see featured in Magazines such as Black Belt, etc...
With The death of SGM Ed Parker in 1990 and My Kung Fu Grandmaster Liu, Yuen Chiao of the Wu Tang Kwoon of Taipei Taiwan afterward gave me the impetus to start "Martial Arts Today" Television, "A program dedicated to the ancient fighting arts of the orient, featuring the instructors and masters,styles and celebrities of the martial arts" 
The programs airs throughout cable systems in the southeastern Massachusetts area and all guests are informed that the program is offered for purchase of a limited amount of 25 copies and after those 25 are sold, no more would be made available. In only one instance was I asked not to offer the episode and legal documents were placed before me and I happily signed them as long as people could see the episode locally. Unfortunately, many martial artists cannot see my program and are surprised when I interview their instructors,masters,etc...and wish to purchase copies of said episodes as a momento of that particular seminar or event. I notice you have Vee Jujutsu listed as one of your arts, Did you know that I also did the last televised interview with Prof. Vee? Probably not. Because it wasn't offered through major channels or featured in Black Belt or any other magazine, Unless you know my website, you'd probably not even been aware that it exists! I've sold a whopping 2 copies of that particular episode because it's not about the ducets,dinero,or cold hard cash, it was about interviewing the wonderful master with child-like enthusiam who took great joy in telling me he was "84 and 1/2!" then demonstrating techniques and showing a true master's subtlety as he made his "uke" wince with pain at the skilled applications of facial pressure points and finger manipulations. I know these techniques work because he also applied them to me and I still have the photos to prove it as well.
Professor Presas was a similar story. He was doing a seminar in massachusetts with George Dillman and Leon Jay [Wally Jay was ill at the time and Leon graciously covered for his ailing father] Prof. Presas was informed of the program and the format as well as the future sale of the episodes and he had no problem at that time and there were at least 3 witnesses to my explanation of the format of my program because I gave the same explanation to them as well. The most important reason he gave me a 50+ minute interview and a 10 minute demonstration?

Because he knew me personally and I was his student.

I started in Modern Arnis with Prof. Presas after I had asked Mr. Parker if he could recommend anyone on the east coast to further my instruction in the FMA and he recommended Prof. Presas. I found that Prof. Presas was doing seminars in Beverly,Massachusetts and the host was none other than David Hoffman! I statred training with Prof. Presas in 1985, attending seminars over the years and having 2 of my students study with Professor [Tim Gillett and Michael Antunes] until they each achieved their respective "Lakan" from professor. Most people who are of rank or note in Modern Arnis know of me or my students. So, Professor had no problem talking about his career and I am, for lack of a better term, a martial arts historian, with one of the largest book, video and magazine collections in the US [as told to me by authors and researchers in the industry] and would bring up salient features and points in his career that the average reporter would not. That was one of the main points of my program. That a particular person is not simply being interviewed by someone ignorant to their life, but rather, a person who has followed their career and and has read [and memorized] their various accomplishments. I miss Prof. Presas not just as an instructor, but someone I believed in and enjoyed doing my "Fart" with my "fartner" [if you knew Prof. you know what i'm talking about!] 
With over 20,000 videos in my archives, I misplaced this footage as I moved from dojo to dojo,place to place, and was extremely happy when it resurfaced. I thought that the Filipino Martial Arts forum in MartialTalk would be an ideal start to offer this rare footage to a group of individuals who appreciated Professor's legacy and were not aware of this footage's existance.And what better forum than one dedicated to Prof. Presas himself and his legacy? But instead, i get barraged with a salvo of "get a lawyer" and "why should you profit from professor?". It reminds me of the classic 21 century adage "no act of knidness goes unpunished." But, I will go through the proper channels per se with the mindful phrase inbedded in my head "Welcome to America;Land of Litagation!" This forum has been the only venue I have offered this tape to because I know many of the moderators personally and have met and or trained with few of them over the years so I felt this would be a place where people would appreciate this find. 
My standard format has always been that if an episode goes an hour in length [or more] It is offered at a standard $35.00 for a "special' as opposed to the standard $25.00 for my 1/2 hour episodes, been that way for almost decade and a 1/2.
Lastly,Paul, I'm sorry you feel that what I do is nothing more then "memorobilia" and you are entitled to your opinion, I have spent 35 years studying these arts and over 25 of those attempting to record and preserve those arts and memories through my collection and have chosen on occasion to share that knowledge and collection with others. I have chosen to do so to educate, to enlighten and to benefit the martial arts public and encourage the general public to study these wonderful arts. Last time I looked, that's not a bad thing.
Perhaps If I was a more active member in this forum and wrote about my experiences and study of modern arnis then this initial post would have not been met with such a heated response and for that I apologize for not being a more prolifict writer on this board so that you could get to know me better.
Thank you for time & I hope that I was of some service,
KENPOJOE


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## KENPOJOE (Sep 11, 2004)

Palusut said:
			
		

> Hi Mr. Rebelo,
> 
> Please consider discussing this issue with your civil lawyer to make sure that you are in the clear.  Please also consider contacting the Executor of Remy Presas' estate, David Hoffman, to inform him of this matter and that you are the owner of media and medium of this interview.
> 
> ...


Dear "palusut"
Thank you for your interest and input,

First of all, I'm very glad to hear that it is David hoffman who is the executor, because if not for him, I might not have met professor Presas in the first place!  
second of all, I was made aware that it is not the last interview,but aside from the Kelly Worden interviews, it was the last done in the United States before Professor went to do the seminars in Germany and was diagnosed with his brain tumor. But, as I mentioned in a prior post, it apparently is not the last interview and i will amend future mention to reflect that. I've also stated the actual time of the video [both interview and demonstration] in the previous post. but it is a hour total in length. 
Thank you for your concern,your advice and your assistance,it is greatly appreciated!
BEGOOD,
KENPOJOE


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## Brian Johns (Sep 11, 2004)

KENPOJOE said:
			
		

> And what better forum than one dedicated to Prof. Presas himself and his legacy? But instead, i get barraged with a salvo of "get a lawyer" and "why should you profit from professor?". It reminds me of the classic 21 century adage "no act of knidness goes unpunished."
> 
> (SNIP)
> 
> ...



KenpoJoe,

I know a few of the folks on this forum and I would not really characterize their responses as "heated." If you read the posts carefully, no one is really accusing you of wanting to profit off the Professor. Instead, I see the posts as looking out for your best interests and to prevent you from getting into any unnecessary mess. I wrote my post with some background information in mind, that being that it is my understanding that the use of the name and image of the Professor may be being litigated. I agree that the resort to litigation is unfortunate. But it is a fact of life in today's world.

Unlike others, I would actually be interested in this tape of Professor. But all of us, I think, want to make sure that you are on sound legal ground before doing this.

I'm also sending you a private message regarding another topic.

Also, thanks for giving all of us the background on your history and relationship with Professor. Very enlightening. Since you know David Hoffman, perhaps he can offer you more advice on this situation. As a matter of fact, I would urge you to contact him first, as a starting point, before contacting the Presas family members and go from there.

Take care,
Brian Johns
Columbus, Ohio


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## Guro Harold (Sep 11, 2004)

Restatements:

- The Executor IS the contact person for the estate in the US.
- Are not the Worden interviews, audio interviews? Therefore this could be one of the last video interviews.
- To all, going along with Kaith,  please review the MT policy changes here: http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=314.
 - KenpoJoe, I think for the most part the input was to assist you in your pursuit.  It's your choice whether to sell the video or not and to charge whatever you like, however a non-bias review might help.
- The avatar and pictures was a small joke however, isn't an entity/enterprise supposed to set and maintain precedence in terms of protecting an the use of an image or trademark?

Palusut


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## Rich Parsons (Sep 11, 2004)

Palusut said:
			
		

> Restatements:
> 
> - The avatar and pictures was a small joke however, isn't an entity/enterprise supposed to set and maintain precedence in terms of protecting an the use of an image or trademark?
> 
> Palusut



If I take a picture, then I own the rights to the picture.  I may not use the name of the person in the picture unless it is used in a news article, to give information to the public, even though the news agency may make money on it.

I can take a picture, and use it for my own dispalys and computer background, and not be in violation. Now if there is an offical photo that is used to make somethign offical by the estate, then you cannot use it as someone else has the rights to the photo.

This is not legal advice, this is my limited understanding of the issues at hand.


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## KENPOJOE (Sep 11, 2004)

Palusut said:
			
		

> Restatements:
> 
> - The Executor IS the contact person for the estate in the US.
> - Are not the Worden interviews, audio interviews? Therefore this could be one of the last video interviews.
> ...


Thanks again,Palusut! 
I honestly do appreciate everyone's concern regarding this matter. I honestly and sincerely thank you for your concern,your advice, and imput regarding this matter. I also assure you that I will act according to prevailent laws,rules,and protocol of Martial Talk. A couple of individuals have taken the time to contact me and appraise me of various situations so that I can understand things with a more educated eye. I thank them for taking time out their schedules for enlightening me to various events ,both past and present, so that I can safely act with proper decorum. I now realize all of you had your heart in the right place in wanting to guide me so I did not step on anyone's toes and to insure that this footage is made available to the arnis public in the proper fashion.  
Thank you for your time and efforts
they are appreciated,
BEGOOD,
KENPOJOE


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## Guro Harold (Sep 11, 2004)

KENPOJOE said:
			
		

> Thanks again,Palusut!
> I honestly do appreciate everyone's concern regarding this matter. I honestly and sincerely thank you for your concern,your advice, and imput regarding this matter. I also assure you that I will act according to prevailent laws,rules,and protocol of Martial Talk. A couple of individuals have taken the time to contact me and appraise me of various situations so that I can understand things with a more educated eye. I thank them for taking time out their schedules for enlightening me to various events ,both past and present, so that I can safely act with proper decorum. I now realize all of you had your heart in the right place in wanting to guide me so I did not step on anyone's toes and to insure that this footage is made available to the arnis public in the proper fashion.
> Thank you for your time and efforts
> they are appreciated,
> ...



You're welcome, best of luck!!!


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## Cruentus (Sep 12, 2004)

Joe,

Perhaps I was a little "hasty" on my memerobelia comment. There is nothing wrong with collecting things such as old interviews and such. I guess I am just saying that for me, my memories are more important then any video footage I could aquire, but of course I am not against the purchase of videos and such.

For the rest...I just wouldn't want you to step on the wrong toes, or get yourself in a legal mess, which is why I posted the rest.

Anyways, best of luck to you.

Paul


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## Dan Anderson (Sep 16, 2004)

KENPOJOE said:
			
		

> ...and I am, for lack of a better term, a martial arts historian, with one of the largest book, video and magazine collections in the US...
> KENPOJOE



And you have not bought any of my Modern Arnis books YET!?!  Some historian you are!  Sheesh!    

It's time to visit my website and pull out the checkbook if you are going to live up to that claim, Joe, my man.

Yours,
Dan Anderson

PS - Joe and i actually get along well and I just _had _ to dog him for the fun of it.


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## Guro Harold (Sep 16, 2004)

Dan Anderson said:
			
		

> PS - Joe and i actually get along well and I just _had _ to dog him for the fun of it.



Hi Dan,

No probs.  We know a plug when we see one!!!


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## KENPOJOE (Sep 16, 2004)

Dan Anderson said:
			
		

> And you have not bought any of my Modern Arnis books YET!?!  Some historian you are!  Sheesh!
> 
> It's time to visit my website and pull out the checkbook if you are going to live up to that claim, Joe, my man.
> 
> ...



Well Dan,
Tell You What, You send me copies of your books [autographed to "my good close personal friend and premier martial arts historian"] and I'll send you a copy of the tape! That way no $$$ crosses hands and i'm not making a "profit"!
But I do have all the articles printed about you in the martial arts magazines though!!!!
As I go through my collection i may post some here!
BEGOOD,
KENPOJOE


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## Dan Anderson (Sep 16, 2004)

Palusut said:
			
		

> Hi Dan,
> 
> No probs.  We know a plug when we see one!!!



Had to.  Things have been slow lately.    

Yours,
Dan


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