Bob Hubbard said:
Good question.
I'm not in posession of the knowledge I would need to decide that X is "preserving" while Y is "derived". Maybe the folks who were around Remy the last few years of his life, who were traveling with him, and had relationships with him would be able to identify what was the last revision of Remy's art?
Another good question.
"why would I or anyone else bother calling it "Modern Arnis"?"
Marketing.
"If I am reading your comment correctly,
there is only 'Remy Presas' Modern Arnis' and if one deviates from that 'standard' then it is no longer 'Remy Presas' Modern Arnis'!"
Very True. Each individual adds their own nuances to the art. Some seem to seek to remain as close to the last version they saw as possible, while others continue to train "forgotten" parts of the history, while others explore the roots and paths that Remy came from for deeper understanding.
The problem with these approaches is that the art doesn't seem to have remains "stable", as Remy reportedly kept tweaking as he went. So keeping a snapshot doesn't continue it's evolution, there must have been reasons why he dropped what he dropped, and as you explore, you eventually reach a point that he most likely wouldn't have, and so end up with a "cousin" to the original art.
"But who among us is in fact an exact duplicate clone of Remy Presas? Who among us can think, move and innovate exactly as he did? You standard is impossible and unrealistic."
No one. Remy was Remy. His experiences, and thought processes are now sadly lost to us.
We have 2 different IMAF's, both continuing their own visions of the art. We have Tim Hartman's WMAA curiculum, Dan Andersons MA80, American Arnis, American Modern Arnis, your program and easily a dozen others. All are wonderful tributes, all are wonderful systems. Yet, none are 100% pure "Remy Arnis", because all have in some way, shape or form, moved away from where Remy would have taken the art, had he continued to be with us.
You can not preserve it, because "it", as a whole, as a system, was, to my knowledge, never formally "writen out and documented". You can only seek to preserve what -you- experienced, or follow the path you think is best.
Define what "real" Modern Arnis is, define what constitutes "Remy Presas Modern Arnis", and maybe, we can then define just how much change must take place before it stops being "Remy" and starts being "you".
Good Morning Bob,
Overall, I would have to say "A-men" to your post. Brother Bob, we are in the very same church and merely sitting in a different pew. Firstly please allow me to note that you are correct, you do not possess the knowledge to determine where preservation ends and deviation begins with regard to the concept of "Remy Presas Modern Arnis", however, you are not alone in that regard. Even very experienced Modern Arnis people are at a lose to make that distinction, because of the evolutionary nature of the late GM within his own creation. Mere mimicry is not sufficent. Copying motions is not the same as understanding the principles and reasoning behind the movements. Nor does mimicry allow one to determine where and when those same motions could be applied elsewhere.
The key to innovation and creative usage of Modern Arnis is to understand and utilize the core foundational principles of Modern Arnis as first taught by the late GM. Then one has to adapt them to fit their own movement style, skill based knowledge and personality. That was the "secret" behind the late GMs oft-repeated challenge to his students, "Make it for yourself!" In short, if someone can not make it for himself, then he can not do Modern Arnis effectively. He is merely mimicing motions. It really does not matter whether one is an early, middle or late era student of the late GM, if they are mimicing motions and following drill patterns via rote repetition, they are not going to be able to effectively use Modern Arnis as a self-defense system when the rubber has to meet the road.
"Marketing"? Surely you jest!? I am doing something that includes Modern Arnis as a core system, but I have never been exclusively a Modern Arnis guy. Even as a white belt under Sifu Don Zanghi, I was being cross- trained in Tracy Kenpo and Modern Arnis. Professor endorsed Sifu Zanghi's program and he extended that endorsement to me when I opened my program at Erie Community College in 1987. I have added Pancipanci Eskrima, Oliverez Pangasinan Escrima, Sayas-Lastra Arnis, Kalasag Kun Tao and Liu Seong Ch'uan Fa concepts to my program format since then. I also have Professor's written endorsement for the Kenpo-Arnis-Pancipanci segments in 1989. Why would I need to "market" Modern Arnis?
When I resigned from the IMAF in 1994, I stopped training with Professor because I dislike and refused to accept the BS that was swirling around the art then, why would I suddenly jump back into the fray and present myself as a "Modern Arnis instructor and organization leader" when I had already worked independently of the IMAF for 7 years prior to his demise? I have marketed the Independent Escrima-Kenpo-Arnis Associates program quite successfully and produced some outstanding black belt level students who stand out on their own. I don't need to "market" Modern Arnis nor try to attach myself to the late GMs coat tails. I am my own man. I 've encourage my students to stand beside me, NOT behind me.
I am very pleased to see that that we are in complete agreement regarding the fact that there was only one person who be Remy Presas.
It really does not bother me that people have different approaches to Modern Arnis. People should, in my opinion take what the want, need and what works for them from the art.
But that still leaves us with several very significant questions. What constitutes Modern Arnis? What are it's component parts and how should they be oprdered for instructional purposes? What are the underlying foundational principles upon which the entire system rests?
The people asking and answering these questions whether as individuals or in concert with others are not merely looking at snapshorts, they are using 8mm, 16mm, VHS and DVDs. Bob, I am speaking BOTH literally and figuratively.
In my opinion the above mentioned questions are unanswered in a larger public or collective sense. Therefore there are the arguments, the endless, passionate, senseless, ceaseless arguements that are going to go on forever in some arenas. These argumeents will go on forever because everyone is arguing about leadership of organizations ans succession. Very few of those people are working toward answering the really important questions that I have presented above!
There are a number of us who have very quietly discussed these questions among ourselves. We have arrived at some consensus positions. In the areas where we didn't agree, we smiled and said in effect, 'Ok, then you do it your way, because you really are in the same ballpark, just a different section, than I am.'
The Symposium that I organized was the first public step toward gaining some consensus positions. There were and still are some people who objected to that event being held. They did not attend and even now are unlikely to accept an invitation to participate in a similar event if someone were to propose it. There were people who attended the Symposium and then trashed the event because it did not meet their unstated criteria for success.
None the less, for a number of us who were at the event, we made the most of the opportunity to begin some discussions on a face to face basis. Those discussions have continued, quietly, via e-mail and phone calls. We have had opportunities to fill in knowledge gaps, gain understandings and share information. Good things are still bubbling up from the Symposium. It has opened new doors to other people and organizations besides those who actually attended. Networking is a powerful tool when used positively.
With regard to your mentioning of organizations that stand as tributes to Modern Arnis and the late GM, I will not speak on behalf of any other than the AMAA and my own Independent Escrima-Kenpo-Arnis group. PG Tom Bolden, as mentioned by Dan Anderson in another post some time ago, does not replicate or promote Modern Arnis as taught by the late GM. His is a stand-alone orgaization that acknowledges the contributions and principles of Modern Arnis, but he has set his standards higher and includes the contributions of his other instructors, Master Florentino Pancipanci, GM Marino Tiwanak and the CHA-3 Kenpo System. Anyone who has seen the AMAA video clips can clearly see that the intensity, crispness and speed of the AMAA productions encompasses Modern Arnis concepts. However it is not the Remy Presas version of Modern Arnis.
As for my IEKA group, please refer to my earlier paragraph as to my position on Modern Arnis replications. I freely acknowledge the late GM
as a friend, mentor and influence, but I am not now, nor have I ever been exclusively a Modern Arnis adherent. To the extent that I followed Remy's example of incorperating different arts into my presentation, I am a student of his, but not entirely a student of Modern Arnis as my art form. Please understand that I am not now, nor have I ever made any claims about being a Modern Arnis "leader". I am a teacher, I know most the art as it was presented by the late GM, but I did not sign on to lead the system during his lifetime nor after his death.
Once again, Bob, you and I are in complete agreement. Remy did not write out a complete or even a partial Modern Arnis curriculum. I will add that he never established a HQ school in the USA, Canada or Europe, contrary to what he did in the Philippines. That will make it very difficult, though not impossible to define and explain what Modern Arnis is as a martial art. The fact that we have officially sanctioned video tapes of him from the mid-80's through 1999 that I am aware of and I am sure there are countless numbers of unofficial tapes floating around means that we could construct a very close approximation of what constitutes the "real" Modern Arnis system. Of corse to bring all of that tape together along with the people who studied directly under Remy and create a consensus version of the art is going to be difficult. Egos!
Herein is my suggestion. Don't worry about who is or is not doing the "real" Remy Presas Modern Arnis. In reality, those who try to preserve and clone Remy Presas Modern Arnis will over time actully succeed in killing it through stagnation. Those who follow the "make it for yourself' and "the art within your art" will actually preseve and expand the art, but will succed in losing the founder over the next coupleof generations, especially as those who actually knew Remy, the man, die off.
Those people who want to see the art grow and prosper will generally succeed in their efforts because of their sincere committment to their objective. The people are are out to "market" Modern Arnis, ride on Professor's coat tails, build organizations and profit from something that they did not create through name association routines will ultimately pass from the scene without making a significant impact.
As for myself, I will continue to teach at ECC for a few more years, train 3 - 5 more people to black belt levels, retire and let the whole thing get sorted out over time without further inputs me. My former students and training partners will carry on and hopefully I will have been successful in my efforts to pass on my understandings about Escrima-Kenpo-Arnis and life lessons.
Respectfully,
Jerome Barber, Ed.D.
