Brain,
It looks like Dan McConnells school is the closest to you, which is good because you've already had some time in with him. The downside is he's about 2 hours and 10 min. away from you (Fostoria). I am also about 2 hours and 20 minutes away from you in Michigan, which is not any better.
My suggestion is this: start your own training group. Just get a small group together of a handful of guys who want to train, maybe once or twice a week. You don't have to run it like your the "grandpuba of Fostoria" or anything like that; I'd run it like a "think tank" for Modern Arnis rather then a structured class to avoid problems of people whinning about you not being a certified instructor. You don't have to commit to a large organization or anything, although it might help later if you really have an affinity with someone, or at the least once you have a few guys built up just to have your contact info on someones website.
Once you start up your own group, link up with an experienced instructor, or even a couple of experienced instructors from different organizations and groups to get different flavors, and try to train with them maybe once a month or so. Bring all the guys you train with too.
Dan McConnell is a good choice for Ohio, so I'd give him a call. Don't discount other areas outside of Ohio, though, either. I am almost as close to you as Dan is up here in Michigan, and there are a few other Michigan schools as well. Jaye Spiro frequently holds events about 2 hours from you also. Scott Vanderzee is out in Lansing (but that's about 3 hours from you), and there's a bunch of people who hold events out in Illinois and Indiana area. Vanderzee's, Illinois, and Indiana are probably too far to go on a regular basis, but for events they are close enough. So you have a lot of options.
So, that's my advice. Start your own training group (even if it is just a couple of guys) and link up with an instructor or two who you can go see on a regular basis. When my original Modern Arnis Instructor retired from teaching the art, I was only 17 years old. I linked up with a martial arts school in the area and ran my "think tank," and we would go travel to see Professor, or someone else. This allowed me to be able to progress and continue training the art.
If you want some additional advice on how to get a training group started, feel free to give me a ring.
I wish you well on your search...
Paul Janulis
248-722-1634
