Kelly S. Worden Announcement on Modern Arnis

[Morgan]

A friend associated with Master Kelly S. Worden, forwarded the following statement to me earlier this afternoon. I
am submitting it in full and without any comments,
as an informational piece for the Modern Arnis community on this web forum.

Sincerely,

Morgan
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To whom it may concern within the FMA community and beyond, public announcements are never enjoyable to release. Yet due to the nature of martial arts and rumors
I have decided to clarify my future position regarding my personal involvement within Modern Arnis.

FMA is a dynamic art, a beautiful art that has blossomed
to worldwide acceptance. The late Professor Remy A. Presas committed his life to the teaching and development of all FMA as well as his personal expression, Modern Arnis.

In our relationship, Professor always guided me to seek my own destiny and "make the art my own." The advancement of Natural Spirit Int'l as an independent system was well established long before Professor Presas passed away in 2001. Prior to that time I returned to Modern Arnis to
share the positive bond, mutual respect, and the friendship we had established yet lost due to politics and unimportant disagreements.

In his final days just prior to his death, Roland Dantes and I were both by his side, it was then Professor stated "/You are not my students, you are my brothers!" // /

After the passing of Professor Presas I continued to assist Remy Presas Jr. along with Rodel Dagooc and the late Dr. Willie Matias in his efforts to "keep the family name alive within Modern Arnis."

On August 28^th 2008 it will be 7 years since Professor passed away. The time has come for me to return to my own path of destiny and the advancement of Natural Spirit Int'l.

I desire to make that step as a personal choice, a professional choice, as an American martial arts practitioner.

I truly feel the usage of the Datu title was a vision of the late Professor Remy A. Presas. I was honored by the faith he bestowed in my dedication to propagate his teachings, while assisting in the evolution as well as the historical preservation of Modern Arnis. In that regard, I have always believed Modern Arnis is a cultural art as well as a Presas family art. With or without my assistance or opinion, Modern Arnis shall indeed continue to flourish for generations to come.

It is at this time July 1^st . 2008, with all due respect I renounce my usage of the title "Datu", and remove it from public usage within Natural Spirit Int'l. In addition I will no longer have any direct involvement within the political or technical stability of Modern Arnis.

From this point forward I choose to disseminate my Americanized progression of Arnis as /N.S.I.A. Natural Spirit Int'l Arnis. // /

Respectfully,

Kelly S. Worden
Int'l Director of Natural Spirit Int'l

kellys-@comcast.net <mailto:kellys-@comcast.net>;

www.kellyworden.com <http://www.kellyworden.com/>

253-539-2831

 

[arnisador]

See also this thread:
http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=65143

This came as a surprise to me!

 

[Dan Anderson]

Kelly has always been an independent spirit, as has been Tim, myself and he who shall not be named on another forum (

). He has had NSI as an independent concern for some time and I feel this is the next step for him after championing the cause of the Presas bloodline. Good luck and prosperity to him, I say.

Yours,
Dan Anderson

 

[Brian Johns]

Having been to three of Kelly's weekend long seminars in Columbus prior to moving to Canada, I can say that he's the real deal and has the package. He is definitely an independent spirit. As Dan points out, he's been the head of NSI for quite some time. If you get the chance to attend a seminar of his, take advantage of the opportunity !:ultracool

Take care,
Brian

 

[tellner]

Kelly has always done his own thing. Sooner or later he was bound to make it official.

 

[The Last Legionary]

About it. Of course, with Kelly's track record, how long before this changes too? I remember his "World Modern Arnis Coalition" blowing into here few years ago, full of steam and fire. That didn't last long. He's had is NSI program for a while now, and still puts on a good camp evey year so, who knows.

 

[tellner]

About it. Of course, with Kelly's track record, how long before this changes too? I remember his "World Modern Arnis Coalition" blowing into here few years ago, full of steam and fire. That didn't last long. He's had is NSI program for a while now, and still puts on a good camp evey year so, who knows.

And "The Northwest Mafia" and all the rest. NSI is Kelly's thing and Kelly's alone. As long as he alone is in charge it should grind along.

 

[Dan Anderson]

About it. Of course, with Kelly's track record, how long before this changes too? I remember his "World Modern Arnis Coalition" blowing into here few years ago, full of steam and fire. That didn't last long. He's had is NSI program for a while now, and still puts on a good camp evey year so, who knows.

There are a couple points where Kelly has been very consistent:
1. His Water & Steel Camp
2. His NSI system/organization

Yes, WMAC may or ma not be in existance anymore but the above two have been around for quite some time and probably will remain so.

Yours,
Dan Anderson

 

[Guro Harold]

Hello Guro Chris Arena,

With all due respect, I cannot recall any post from you that was not freely sharing about MA techniques or principles, but could you shed any personal light regarding the promotion issue, especially in regard to this post?

Respectfully,

Guro Harold Evans

 

[chris arena]

Guro Evans:

Nice to finally talk to you.

I have always aligned myself with Kelly and the NSI organization. I was introduced to the Filipino Martial Arts thru him in 1994 and have always considered him my teacher. Basically for me it is that simple. The NSI program is quite extensive and it is all that I have time to do at present. I hold no malice toward any other Modern Arnis groups.

Chris Arena
(No guro, just an enthusiastic intermediate).

 

[Guro Harold]

Guro Evans:

Nice to finally talk to you.

I have always aligned myself with Kelly and the NSI organization. I was introduced to the Filipino Martial Arts thru him in 1994 and have always considered him my teacher. Basically for me it is that simple. The NSI program is quite extensive and it is all that I have time to do at present. I hold no malice toward any other Modern Arnis groups.

Chris Arena
(No guro, just an enthusiastic intermediate).

Hi Chris,

Nice finally talking to you as well.

As I had mentioned in my earlier post, I could not think of a single post in the MA section from you that wasn't focused about sharing the art from a technical and sincere perspective.

Take care and I hope that you continue to post here on MT!

-Harold

 

[Datu Tim Hartman]

I talked to Kelly the night after he made his statement. It was a very interesting conversation to say the least. I have a greater understanding on why he renounced his title although I’m not sure if it will have the desired result. I do understand about doing things that you think you need to do. I wish him lick in all of his endeavors!