The Future Of The Art

[MJS]

This area has been quite lately, so hopefully, some of the lurkers will pop back in, put any ill feelings towards each other aside, and start posting again. So many claim that they have alot to offer...well, how about sharing your thoughts.

Anyways...I thought that we could discuss the future of the art of Modern Arnis. What direction do you see the art going in the future? What direction would you like to see the art go in?

Just a few questions to get the ball rolling.

 

[Mark Lynn]

Actually I believe the art will continue to grow maybe not in mass numbers, but in content and in the ability of the practitioners.

1) With all due respect to GM Remy, and I mean no disrespect here towards him or GM Ernesto, but I do believe that the art will grow, now that both brother's have passed on. With the passing of the founder(s) the torch so to speak has been passed on to the present/future instructors of the art.

Currently you have instructors who are claiming their own area of expertise in Modern Arnis that would not have made those claims with the founders (out of respect) still with us. I mean you have Datu Tim combining Modern Arnis and Kombatan, SM Dan Anderson creating MA80, Datu Dieter's DAV organization, the MoTTs, Datu Kelly Worden, Bram Frank, and a host of others who are now teaching the FMAs that were influenced by Modern Arnis and GM Remy, which are different from the MA that was taught by Remy and yet still is Modern Arnis.

These instructors all have had to really hone their skills, their presentation skills, their craft so to speak and now are branching out to hold seminars/camps with other instructors of different MA/Kombatan bodies to share their knowledge. It is becoming acceptable to do this which if GM Remy were still here and actively teaching it wouldn't be happening. (Again I believe this would be out of respect/love for GM Remy/GM Ernesto, and because the instructor would not want to fall out of graces with the founder.)

2) All of these instructors teach a slightly different version of Modern Arnis that I believe makes MA better in the long run. I believe it helps the serious students of MA who go to different events to train with different instructors to get a wider view of MA and then they in turn bring some of the material (that they can remember or agree with) back to their schools and so on. It allows for more training opportunities with different instructors instead of just one or two governing bodies.

3) This also makes the instructors better, as they must raise their standards if they want to get out there and gain students.

4) It frees up the instructors to see and create different techniques, expand their curriculum's, add or subtract things they didn't agree with and so on. I'm thinking of the thread about what instructors have added things or taken away from Modern Arnis.

5) Again no disrespect here, but frankly I believe the instruction at the seminars/camps that I have attended in MA has gotten better now that GM Remy has passed. This is true for the DVDs and instructional material that has been written as well.

So while their is no unifying charismatic central person to bring in the masses to a seminar or camp in MA and thus hopefully grown the art, I do believe the quality of instructors, and MA organizations is out there; these will continue to grow the art and not let it die out.

 

[Morgan]

Actually I believe the art will continue to grow maybe not in mass numbers, but in content and in the ability of the practitioners.

1) With all due respect to GM Remy, and I mean no disrespect here towards him or GM Ernesto, but I do believe that the art will grow, now that both brother's have passed on. With the passing of the founder(s) the torch so to speak has been passed on to the present/future instructors of the art.

Currently you have instructors who are claiming their own area of expertise in Modern Arnis that would not have made those claims with the founders (out of respect) still with us. I mean you have Datu Tim combining Modern Arnis and Kombatan, SM Dan Anderson creating MA80, Datu Dieter's DAV organization, the MoTTs, Datu Kelly Worden, Bram Frank, and a host of others who are now teaching the FMAs that were influenced by Modern Arnis and GM Remy, which are different from the MA that was taught by Remy and yet still is Modern Arnis.

These instructors all have had to really hone their skills, their presentation skills, their craft so to speak and now are branching out to hold seminars/camps with other instructors of different MA/Kombatan bodies to share their knowledge. It is becoming acceptable to do this which if GM Remy were still here and actively teaching it wouldn't be happening. (Again I believe this would be out of respect/love for GM Remy/GM Ernesto, and because the instructor would not want to fall out of graces with the founder.)

2) All of these instructors teach a slightly different version of Modern Arnis that I believe makes MA better in the long run. I believe it helps the serious students of MA who go to different events to train with different instructors to get a wider view of MA and then they in turn bring some of the material (that they can remember or agree with) back to their schools and so on. It allows for more training opportunities with different instructors instead of just one or two governing bodies.

3) This also makes the instructors better, as they must raise their standards if they want to get out there and gain students.

4) It frees up the instructors to see and create different techniques, expand their curriculum's, add or subtract things they didn't agree with and so on. I'm thinking of the thread about what instructors have added things or taken away from Modern Arnis.

5) Again no disrespect here, but frankly I believe the instruction at the seminars/camps that I have attended in MA has gotten better now that GM Remy has passed. This is true for the DVDs and instructional material that has been written as well.

So while their is no unifying charismatic central person to bring in the masses to a seminar or camp in MA and thus hopefully grown the art, I do believe the quality of instructors, and MA organizations is out there; these will continue to grow the art and not let it die out.

Very nicely stated Guro Lynn. You wrote, "...and a host of others who are now teaching the FMAs that were influenced by Modern Arnis and GM Remy, which are different from the MA that was taught by Remy and yet still is Modern Arnis."

I've seen some of the same things since RP's passing on. I never trained with the late EP
so Ive got to take your word for that, but it makes sense. I would also point out that a number of people were going in their own directions even while Professor was alive and that got some other upset. The art was growing even with professor alive and actively teaching.

Rather than go on, I'll step back and wait to see what others have to say, but I do like what you wrote.

Morgan

 

[Mark Lynn]

Very nicely stated Guro Lynn. You wrote, "...and a host of others who are now teaching the FMAs that were influenced by Modern Arnis and GM Remy, which are different from the MA that was taught by Remy and yet still is Modern Arnis."

I've seen some of the same things since RP's passing on. I never trained with the late EP
so Ive got to take your word for that, but it makes sense. I would also point out that a number of people were going in their own directions even while Professor was alive and that got some other upset. The art was growing even with professor alive and actively teaching.

Morgan

Thanks for the kind words about the post.

I was not meaning to imply that while the Professor was alive Modern Arnis did not grow or was not growing. It was, the Professor was constantly showing more and more stuff/techniques allowing more and more people to also grow and come to their own understanding of the art as they came to understand it.

However the people who were on the fringe (so to speak) weren't really accepted by the main stream arnis players or their instructors. One reason is because (I was told this by an individual) that it was seen as disloyal to GM Remy. Speaking form my own experience training under Hock,and GM Ernesto, and GM Remy all at the same time frame I was seen as a renegade/ronion/ even as a black sheep so to speak. Not to my knowledge by Remy but by certain instructors and their students. Which took me several camps and attendance at seminars where after they got to know me to get over.

However; what once was disloyal is now acceptable. Look at the wealth of information that has been produced since GM Remy's passing, Ken Smith has created a DVD series M.A.T.S., Dan Anderson has several books and DVDs out, Bruce Chui has come out with a DVD series, Dr. Remy Jr. has come oout with a DVD series, and so on and so on. Do you think any of this would be out if the Professor was still with us? I don't.

Not because Remy was bad or mean or would want to censor everything, rather it would be competing with his DVDs, his books, etc. etc. Now people are free to create and take the art in their direction and this helps the art to grow. Bram Frank with his edged weapon take on Modern Arnis, Dan with his MA80, Dieter with the DAV, Kelly Worden, etc. etc. Taking this one step further look at the reunion seminar coming up. If GM Remy were alive would that be taking place? I don't believe so. Think about the knowledge that will be passed on and taught there.

I guarantee it, after being at 3 events like this, the instruction at this camp will be very different from your normal Modern Arnis Summer or Winter Camps. Unless you have been to something like this and you have been to the Winter/Summer camps when Remy was alive, I don't believe a person has a clear picture of the potential future of the art. I'm not saying that I HAVE THE WAY, THE VISION, I don't. But I have gotten a glimpse of what it can be like and after 10 years hopefully finally something can come together here in the states where hopefully events like this can become more common.

Another example would be Datu Hartman's combination of Kombatan and Modern Arnis, I don't think that would have ever taken place if GM Remy were alive. Now Hock did it, started it back in 94, however we were also kind of black listed, or seen as being on the fringe. Remy supported it, in fact he even suggested it to Hock but we were still out there so to speak. I tried to get people to see GM Ernesto, like wise I tried to get GM Ernesto's people to see GM Remy, only a few ever did, in fact like I said one student/instructor told me he could never do that because it was disloyal to GM Remy.

Now that both have passed on I believe there will be more crossover even between Kombatan and Modern Arnis students.