Tim,
I’ve listened to both parts of the interview and for the most part, it was a good one. There are several points I do take issue with you about as I said I might in a private comm with you.
Interview Part 1 ~ 12 seconds into the interview
“My name is Tim Hartman, I am a senior student of the late Grandmaster Remy Presas and I was the highest ranked American and one of six people he promoted to the level of datu before he passed.”
Sorry, you are not the highest ranked American in Modern Arnis. There were several people who were ranked 6[SUP]th[/SUP] degree or higher prior to your promotion. Your time/date seniority is way off.
~50 seconds into the interview
“About ‘84ish, 85ish…” I (joined a modern arnis school)
~7:12 into the interview
“by the time I was a brown belt…” (regarding leaving John Bryant and joining Prof. Remy as a personal student of his).
I met you when you were a brown belt and this was in 1987. My Lakan Tatlo (3[SUP]rd[/SUP] degree black belt) certificate is dated 3 July 1987. It was either in spring or summer when I was in Buffalo that year. I was a second or third degree black before you made your first black.
~9:22 into the interview (talking about Presas Arnis at this point)
“I was the highest tested black belt in the states…”
(This is from your reply to Kelly posted online)
“6[SUP]th[/SUP] Degree Promotion
Another issue seems to be about my 6th degree promotion and being awarded the title of Datu. I tested at the 2000 Michigan summer camp. Before the test, Prof. Remy offered to promote me without testing in front of several of my Black Belts. I told him no, I came to test. At the end of the test, Prof. made a speech in front of ALL of the campers. He said that my test was the highest one in over 17 years. He also said it made me the highest ranked Black Belt in the US. These were his words, not mine. This was also posted on the official IMAF website. You can verify this by following the link.”
https://web.archive.org/web/20001006212437/http://www.modernarnis.com/news.htm
Two points here. One – you have made a huge deal in the past re the fact that you were the only one who tested for 6[SUP]th[/SUP] degree. It has sounded as if this has made it more valid than others who were promoted but not tested. That is how it has sounded to me and I will be the first one to admit it if I have taken it incorrectly. Generally speaking, there are four reasons for testing:
1.it is tradition in the school to test for every belt level including high dan ranks,
2.you travel to the central school and the head instructor doesn’t know you,
3.the main instructor in the school you’re training at really doesn’t know how good you are and he has to check you out. This can occur in a really large school where the bulk of the instruction is taught by lower ranked instructors, and
4.the test is a personal challenge
Re Modern Arnis, points 1, 2, & 3 do not apply. It was never a tradition to test for high rank. We never had a central school where RP made his headquarters. All of the seniors were taught hands-on by the founder himself. I have a very hard time thinking with the concept that the founder of the art doesn’t know what level a student is in his art within 30 seconds of working with him. Those of us who didn’t test didn’t need to. We were being watched and “felt” while training with him. That you were tested doesn’t mean a hill of beans in terms of seniority. In terms of personal challenge and in terms of the rank promotion itself, there is no question there.
Seniority wise, there are at least three people who were promoted to 6[SUP]th[/SUP] before you; me, Lee Lowery, and Jim Power. There may be more. I haven’t seen the certs. That being said, I am not going to make any kind of claim as to who is the highest American in Modern Arnis as ranks given out by RP were halted by his passing and we have all pretty much gone our own way.
You make a mistake in using Lisa McManus’ article as proof of what RP said as she does not quote him at all. She just makes the statement in the article. You shoot yourself in the foot (highest ranked statement wise) later in your interview when you say this:
~23:11
“I think some people misinterpreted what Prof’s meaning was. I think some people chose to misinterpret what Professor was saying. I can’t tell you who’s whom.”
That quote works both ways and with RP passed for over a decade, it will never be clarified to everybody’s satisfaction.
Your history is a little off as well.
Part 2 of the interview ~00:44
“That’s how Prof started. His father was teaching the guerillas. They had sheets separating the area so the men could train and the women are cooking, cleaning or whatever. Prof. looks through the sheets and he sees the guys doing the technique… Eventually they go to the graduation. He lines up. ‘What the hell are you doing here?’ ‘I’m here for graduation.’ ‘What?’ He demonstrates everything. His grandfather was so impressed he took him under his wing.”
This is not how he describes in a couple of interviews.
(from a video taped interview conducted by Joe Rebelo)
definition – Nipa Hut: The Bahay Kubo or Nipa Hut, is a type of stilt house indigenous to most of the lowland cultures of the Philippines.
Joe Rebelo – “How did you begin in the martial arts?”
Remy Presas – “I begin when I was 6 years old during the Japanese occupation in the Philippines. That was 1941. My father was a lieutenant in the guerilla movement.”
JR – “He introduced you to the various aspects of the Filipino martial arts?”
RP – “Not really. I was…little boy. I see my father train the army soldier(s). I open the nipa hut and I look at them. I try to see. They are doing something. The cane is moving left and right. I am fascinated. And later on they are doing, like the figure 8. When I see that I become more fascinated. I walk to the bush to the back of the hut and I cut the small cane. I do that (makes the motions of the banda y banda and the figure 8). I strike and all the leaves of the tree are gone. I do that and I practice by myself. And my grandfather find(s) out that I am doing this because…all the leaves…”
JR – “…are missing.” (both laughing)
RP – “I am doing this. It’s like, to me, this is natural. When my grandfather find out that I am doing that, he said, “Remy, I will train you.”
JR – “What was the base system that you learned?”
RP – “I learned the ocho, the figure 8 and the banda y banda because it’s very easy to learn.”
(from an interview done by Gaby Roloff in Germany, 1995)
RP – “My father used to train the soldier(s). Now I am only 6 years old, maybe 5 or 5 ½…and my father train the soldier. And children…in that time, they didn’t train children, only adults. And when I see them practice, I was left in the nipa hut…and they practice. And I looked at that and I loved it. Because my father will not teach me, I will practice outside by myself, also. Maybe one or two years I am doing that…”
Part 2 of the interview ~11:28
“And he called if Filipino karate. First of all, the art was eskrima. It wasn’t arnis. His first book was the practical art of eskrima.”
Look in the books themselves:
Modern Arnis Philippine Martial Art “Stick Fighting” (pink book) © 1974
The Practical Art of Eskrima “Text and photographs copyright 1976” First printing 1980
I do believe Kelly overreacted as (in my opinion) you were misquoted to him by another. That’s a tough break as things were going well since the Reunion Camp. All for now.
Yours,
Dan