Going with the Flow

The Impact of MMA on the Martial Arts Industry

2008-05-15T21:58:00.001-04:00

This was briefly discussed on the Animal List as well. The consensus seems to be that while MMA will remain popular as a form of entertainment/spectacle, its’ presence in martial arts schools may be somewhat limited. I have to agree with this consensus for the reason that the appeal of MMA is limited to a certain demographic group and that is the 18 to 35 year old males. I don’t see the desk jockeys, professionals, soccer moms, or children joining schools that teach primarily MMAs. Again, MMA will primarily draw in the aforementioned demographic.

This entry is limited to discussing the impact of MMA on the martial arts industry, not about what they teach or some of the problems inherent in what they teach.

However, the presence of MMA shows on TV may help create more informed consumers. When one hears announcers talking about a “well rounded game” in terms of punching, kicking and the ground game, the fan/consumer is going to say to himself/herself, “anybody getting into the ring better have all three elements lined up or he’ll lose.” Pretty soon, the fan/consumer will start hearing terms like “reality based martial arts” and start assuming that these are more effective than what is being taught in a lot of martial arts schools such as the McDojos.

Let’s think about the potential impact of MMAs on the martial arts business based programs. Let’s face it, there is a lot of bullshit being taught in a lot of martial arts schools. Sorry for the strong language folks but it’s reality. Like a lot of martial artists who have figured it out, I have seen my share of this bs. And it’s bs on several levels.

First, alot of what is being taught will not work in real self defense situations. Many of them assume a compliant opponent in order for a technique to work. Sorry folks, but life ain’t like that out there. The impact of MMA and other “reality based” systems such as Krav Maga, Muay Thai, brazilian jiu jitsu, Filipino Martial Arts etc have opened a lot of people’s eyes and have caused a lot of rethinking of how martial arts/self defense is taught. Many of these martial arts assume that they are working with non compliant partners/opponents.

So when someone, familiar with MMA but not wanting to practice it, walks into a martial arts school, he or she may want practical self defense skills, not the kind of stuff that is taught in a lot of McDojos. I have seen TKD students who couldn’t defend themselves against a wrist grab or a knife attack. I have seen schools teach students to use a high/rising block against stick attacks. Ugh. That may have seem realistic back in the 1950’s and 1960’s but the bullshit meter of the average Joe and Jane Sixpack will go way off the chart. Oh yes, take a look at a typical karate book from the 1950’s and 1960’s and see their depictions of “effective” self defense scenarios. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the effectiveness of these techniques are extremely questionable.

According to some on the Animal list and, also in my opinion, the impact of MMA on the martial arts industry is to force many schools to address realistic self defense situations or start losing business. An example might be the traditional karate school that does not know the bunkai (applications) of traditional Okinawan/Japanese kata, thereby reducing kata to a meaningless dance. I’ve seen a fair share of those types of schools. Unless this kind of school starts addressing this deficiency, the savvy consumer may move onto something else that will address their needs.

While there may be more savvy and aware consumers in today’s environment, there will be probably be a large number of those who will unfortunately be hookwinked by some of the schools out there. I would think that it’s up to the responsible martial arts instructor to ensure that effective self defense is taught and not go the way of the McDojos. Whether he wants to or not, the martial arts instructor may have to respond to the presence, popularity, and impact of “reality based” self defense systems such as MMA, Krav Maga, Muay Thai, BJJ, JKD and Filipino Martial Arts by instituting some element of the above in his school.

The Future of the Martial Arts Industry

2008-05-13T19:23:00.002-04:00

I have been thinking about various issues relating to the future of the martial arts industry. I will focus on two topics: the economy and its effect on the martial arts industry. The second topic will be the impact of the MMA phenomenon on this industry as well. These two topics have recently been discussed on Marc "Animal" MacYoung's e-mail forum (The Animal List....a great forum)

The price of oil hit $127 per barrel a couple of days ago, continuing a rise in the price of energy supplies, leading to record highs in gas prices. The price of food has been going up as well due to increased transportation costs as well as other factors. It appears that the US is in a recession and some have stated that the structural and financial problems in the US are the worst since the Great Depression. Probably a bit of an exaggeration but it’s clear that a lot of policy advisors/wonks are worried on both sides of the border.

With regard to the price of oil, the price may fluctuate up and down but long term, I think that it will continue to rise due to several factors. The first is the inscrutable law of supply and demand. Demand for oil is going up due to growing middle classes in China, India, Indonesia, Russia, and Brazil. There is an increasingly fierce competition among various countries to secure a steady supply of oil to statiate the demand for this commodity. For example, China has been aggressively pursuing oil contracts worldwide in order to feed their growing economic engine. An example of Chinese aggressiveness is the construction of an oil refinery to refine Venezuelan oil. Why is this significant ? From what I understand, Venezuelan oil is of a certain viscosity that the only refinery in the world capable of refining it is located in the US. Pretty ironic considering the anti- US stance Hugo Chavez has taken over the last few years. Such competition can only contribute to a rise in the cost of oil.

Another factor with regard to the rising price of oil is that oil is increasingly getting more and more difficult and expensive to extract and in more inhospitable conditions.

Another factor is the instability of the Middle East, which contributes to the uncertainty surrounding oil prices. Yet another factor is that many of the major oil producing countries are either authoritarian or totalitarian and is using oil revenues to prop up their regimes and are only happy with the current prices of oil. Look at Russia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Nigeria, Iran, to name a few and will do what they can to inflate the price of oil.

What effect will this have on the martial arts business ? I have thought about this for awhile and this was recently mentioned on the Animal List, an e-mail list moderated by Marc “Animal” MacYoung and his wife, Dianna. Many experts agree that while the price of oil may spike up and down in the short term, it will continue to rise in the long term. Some have forecast a rise to $200 per barrel. I don’t know....we shall see. In any case, one would have to consider the effects of this on the martial arts industry (and I include school owners, suppliers, seminar instructors, camp hosts etc). Marc "Animal" MacYoung theorizes that the economy will have an effect on the martial arts industry in that folks are going to demand more value for their buck when it comes to martial arts schools. He further postulates that martial arts schools will have to change their ways in order to survive and one of the changes will be moving away from the McDojo version of martial arts in response to more demanding consumers. I don't know if this will, in fact, happen. But I have to say that there is a lot to what Animal is saying.

First, driving habits may change in response to the rising price of gas at the pump. One would have to consider the overall impact of the rise in the price of oil on Joe and Jane SixPack. The price of food and consumer items will likely increase due to transportation costs which will be passed down to the consumer, thereby making Joe and Jane’s budget a bit tighter. In addition, the overall expenses of a martial arts school may go up and in which case, the school owner may have to pass along the costs to his students in order to keep a school afloat. Martial arts supplies may become more expensive due to increased shipping costs. For example, I ordered a new batch of rattan canes and the shipping was $10 more expensive than the last batch, which was 6 months ago. $10 may not be a big deal but a little bit here and a little bit there can add up pretty quickly.

The martial arts school owner will also have to consider the increased cost of traveling to seminars and camps. For example, I recently heard from a friend of mine, who usually attends most of the IMAF camps, lament the cost of plane tickets to Detroit for this year’s Michigan camp which led him to say that he may have to rule out attending other camps this year. Ditto for driving to martial arts seminars due to gas prices. The martial arts school owner will have three choices: (1) skip seminars: (2) go to seminars and eat the price of gas; (3) or go to seminars and pass along the cost of his martial arts education to his students.

The same is equally true for bringing in guest instructors for a martial arts camp or seminar. Typically, in addition to paying a seminar/camp fee, the instructor’s travel expenses may be covered, which is more expensive in today’s world. Does the instructor eat it or pass along the cost in the form of increased seminar fees ?

We don’t know what the future holds in terms of energy prices but I would think that it would be prudent for a martial arts instructor/owner to consider the aforementioned factors in developing business/marketing and financial strategy. The same holds true for martial arts governing bodies who regularly hold camps. While there are many factors that determine the size of the student enrollment of a martial arts school, one would have to consider the potential effect of today’s energy reality on a school’s enrollment and plan accordingly. In any case, Joe and Jane may scrutinize their budget a bit closer and decide to reduce or cut out various activities, such as martial arts for their children, or demand better value for their expenditure.

Whether Animal's prediction of this trend comes true remains to be seen but the fact that he brought it up says something as I have been thinking about this issue. Will this be a temporary downturn or are we looking at a long term trend ? That remains to be seen.

Next up is the effect of the MMA phenomenon on the martial arts industry.

Master Chuck Gauss Seminar on June 28th

2008-05-02T21:19:00.006-04:00

I'm excited to announce that Master Chuck Gauss will be coming to Oshawa on Saturday June 28th to teach a 4 hour Modern Arnis seminar. This will be his first time here in Oshawa and I'm looking forward to having all of you meet and experience Chuck's powerful Modern Arnis ! The seminar will be at the Legends Community Centre. More details to follow !!

Pictured here is Chuck demonstrating a technique called a "cane takedown" on yours truly at last year's Michigan camp.

10 Years in Modern Arnis

2008-04-16T19:07:00.001-04:00

This post is a bit late but, in February, I passed the 10 year anniversary of my involvement in Modern Arnis, starting with Dan McConnell of the Hilliard Martial Arts Center in Columbus, Ohio. I remember the students who were there, in February of 1998, such as Matt Burnett, Roger Predieri, Katy Ray, and Amy Snow, among others.

The seeds for the involvement in Modern Arnis were planted in October of 1989. A Notre Dame (where I went to university) friend of mine, Drew Sandler, and I travelled to New York City over fall break of the ND academic year to visit with Professors Robert Cooper and his son (and my instructor), G. Rogers Cooper as well as to visit with Professor Jose Velez. Drew and I worked out in Professor’s class at the YMCA and hung out with him as well with Professor Velez. During the course of that week, Professor Velez took Drew and I to visit Professor Vee in his apartment. As an aside, during the course of that week, Jose, Drew, and I were actually shot at while driving through one of the nastier neighborhoods of NY City. An armed robber, running out of restaurant or a grocery store, spotted us and fired. Fortunately, nothing happened. After we got back to Jose’s apartment, we inspected his car for bullet holes and found none. Whew. Anyway, back to the visit with Professor Vee (real name is Florendo Visitacion).

We were in his apartment for two hours. At this time, Prof. Vee was approximately 79-80 years old and was still quite a vital man. He introduced us to some basic arnis. Prior to that time, I had only a vague awareness of what arnis was about. We had practiced some basic empty hand against stick techniques but I didn’t really think about them in an organized way. Professor Vee introduced us to the first 5 angles. If I recall correctly, they are the same as Modern Arnis. While I do not remember much of what he taught us, I do remember that he showed us some locking techniques with the cane and they were PAINFUL !! He would then stop in mid-lock and, with a mock evil cackle, and ask if there was a camera nearby. We did take a few pictures and they are in storage somewhere. I was fascinated that you could actually lock people up with a cane. Afterwards, we had a conversation with Professor Vee. Again, I do not recall much of the conversation (other than the application of music theory to martial arts). But I did ask him some basic questions about Arnis. I told him that I was moving to Columbus, Ohio after graduating from law school the following spring. I specifically asked him what style/system of Arnis he would recommend that I study. He said “whatever you find in Columbus.”

After graduating from law school and moving to Columbus, that was the first thing I looked for. Remember, in the spring/summer of 1990, the world wide web, as we know it today, did not exist back then. I resorted to the Yellow Pages and school directories of various martial arts magazines. I could not find anyone teaching Filipino Martial Arts. So, on the recommendation of Jim Hoff, an ND friend of mine, I took up Kenpo Karate (Tracy style), which I studied for 7 years.

Over the years. I kept an eye out for any Arnis/Filipino Martial Art possibilities. Brian McCarthy, another ND friend of mine, alerted me to a martial arts e-mail list called the “Escrima Digest.” I subscribed to the Digest sometime in the mid 1990’s. Further fueling my desire to learn Arnis was Rick Clark, a pressure point expert. I attended a few of his seminars as well as a couple of camps. Very often, he would bring out the arnis sticks and show us some basic techniques. In addition, over the years, I picked up Black Belt magazine and noticed that there were listings for seminars by a Remy Presas. But I never took advantage of them....figuring that it was too far to drive and there was the practical question of “who would I train with after attending a seminar ?” If I could go back in time and change my mind, knowing what I know now..........anyway.....

In 1996 and 1997, I met with a fella in the Columbus area on an occasional basis to exchange knowledge.....my Vee JJ in exchange for his knowledge of the Advincula arnis system. We met about 10 times total and it was fun. However, the guy had to move away. Instead of being discouraged, this whetted my appetite even further.

Then in late January or early February of 1998, I was alerted by Brian McCarthy to a seminar announcement on the Escrima Digest. I immediately opened the Escrima Digest e-mail and found an announcement by Dan McConnell, later to become my Modern Arnis instructor. He announced the first Remy Presas seminar in Columbus, to be held at the Norwich Elementary School in April of 1998. I said to myself “Norwich Elementary school...mmmm, that sounds familiar.” Being a single guy, I was in the dark but it turns out that it was the local elementary school ! Just two minutes from my house ! I immediately e-mailed Dan and asked him about the seminar and where and when he taught his arnis classes.

I believe that this was in the first or second week of February of 1998. The rest is history. I had 9 great years with Dan and met a tremendous number of people, through Dan, over the years. It’s safe to say that I just fell in love with the art of Modern Arnis and went to many seminars and camps with Dan over the years, in addition to 9 years of classes at the Hilliard Martial Arts Center. He has done a great job of spreading Modern Arnis in Columbus (starting with one adult class per week and then eventually expanding it to three adult classes and two childrens’ classes per week) and bringing in folks like Professor Presas, Tony Marcial, Ken Smith, Chuck Gauss, Kelly Worden and a few others. Even though I’ve moved to Canada, here’s to many more years of growth for Master Dan and the HMAC in Columbus. Since I moved here to Canada, I understand that he has big plans for himself and his school. Best of luck !

So that’s the story of how I got involved in Modern Arnis.....it took a lot of patience!!! I will continue growing in the art by teaching it here in Oshawa, training with Master Chuck Gauss (an unbelievable martial artist) in Detroit whenever I can, and attending IMAF camps and seminars, time and finances permitting.

Toronto FMA Workshop

2008-04-15T08:18:00.005-04:00

Kudos to Mike Cooper for a great job in putting this together !!

I have to say that I really enjoyed the FMA Workshop, which was very well organized by Mike Cooper and featured several instructors such as myself, Sean Tyler of FCS, and Punong Guro Rudy Cosico of Arnis Canada.I kicked things off by teaching the 2 canes vs. 1 cane drill and throughout the two hour session, the folks seemed to enjoy this aspect of Modern Arnis. I have to admit that I’m a big fan of this drill and its applications since it does such a great job of developing one’s natural attributes. I have to give credit to Master Chuck Gauss for teaching me this drill and for which I helped him make a video on. It’s a very challenging drill and so for that reason, I took my time in teaching it and allowing the folks to get a hold of it. Fortunately, the students were a talented bunch and caught on very quickly. After getting the basic drill down, we then moved onto one right hand technique and one left hand technique. Then I finished the session off by teaching them a right hand and left hand single stick technique. I really enjoyed teaching this session.

Next up was Sean Tyler of FCS (headed by Ray Dionaldo), who did a very impressive job of teaching footwork drills and I got a pretty good cardio workout in the process. He then moved on to teaching knife techniques which piqued the interest of my wife. She really dug this session and is now thinking of ways of slicing and dicing me thanks to Sean’s teaching. :-)

Punong Guro Rudy then gave a demonstration of Cinco Teros movements against a baseball bat, rifle with bayonet and other weapons. It was very interesting to watch this man move. Many of the moves were what Modern Arnis players would call the “traditionals” and among my favorite Arnis techniques. On display during PG Cosico’s session were techniques such as figure 8, banda y banda and the like.

The workshop concluded with a group of participants demonstrating full padded sport sparring. The action was quite fast paced with 15 second rounds. While that may not sound like a long time, I can testify, from watching the participants, that those 15 seconds can take a lot out of you. We finished off with the traditional group photo shoot.

A very gracious gift was given to myself, Mike and Sean Tyler by Rose Cosico (PG Cosico’s daughter). It was a photo of PG Cosico and Professor Remy Presas taken in Buffalo in 1997 as can be seen in the photos. Great photo !!

Pictures are courtesy of Mike. Thanks !

All in all a great time !

New Link on the Right

2008-04-11T08:41:00.002-04:00

For ease of reference, I've added a new link to the right called "Training Schedule." Just click on it for the training schedule. No need to scroll through the blog to look for the current training schedule.

Information for Sunday's FMA Workshop (April 13th)

2008-04-11T08:31:00.001-04:00

The workshop will be begin at 12:30 p.m. and end around 5:30 p.m. on
Sunday April 13th, 2008 at the following location:

Holy Family Community Centre
141 Close Avenue
Toronto, ON
M6K 2V6
CANADA

Parking is available on the street and in the church and school
parking lots. Again this is a free event with a goodwill donation
being encouraged to the host school to cover expenses (Arnis Canada).
Make sure you bring two sticks and a training knife.

Tony Marcial

2008-04-07T19:02:00.004-04:00

To my pleasant surprise, there is a nice article on Punong Guro Tony Marcial in the latest edition of the FMA Digest (FMAdigest - Vol5 No2 ). Tony teaches Marcial Kali Tirada in the suburbs of Cleveland Ohio. I attended two of his seminars in Columbus at Dan McConnell's school. He is an extremely skilled martial artist and just an all around great guy. His students are fortunate to have him as a teacher.

I had posted an entry on the FMA Digest (on 12/6/2007) and put up a link to that digest. Go to that link and download Vol 5 No 2 of the FMA Digest and enjoy the article on Tony !

Book Review: Warrior Arts of the Phillipines by Reynaldo Galang

2008-04-07T13:36:00.001-04:00

As I have a number of books on Filipino martial arts, I will embark on regular reviews of books dealing with various FMA topics. The first is “Warrior Arts of the Phillipines” by Reynaldo Galang. One can find this book on the Bakbakan International website (www.bakbakan.com), which has a number of books on FMAs for sale.

This particular book has a great overview of 6 Filipino martial arts:

(1) Balintawak Escrima
(2) Kali Ilustrisimo
(3) Lameco Eskrima
(4) Lightning Scientific Arnis
(5) Modern Arnis
(6) San Miguel Eskrima

This book is packed with 1600 photos. Each chapter opens with a biography of the founder and prominent students of each of the above FMA followed by essays of prominent students. For example, the chapter on Modern Arnis opened with a biography of Professor Remy Presas, followed by bios on Roland Dantes, Vicente Sanchez, Jeremias De La Cruz, Rodel Dagooc, and Pepito Robas. Following these bios, there are essays by Dan Anderson, Tim Hartman and Kelly Worden. This book is a great resource for those who want to find out more about the more prominent Filipino martial arts. For me personally, I was fascinated by the chapters on Balintawak as it was one of the major systems studied by Professor Presas before he founded Modern Arnis. In any case, reading the entire book carefully, one can find out how various FMAs teach their style and the concepts underlying those arts. In the process of reading and absorbing what this book has to offer, one can think about your Filipino martial art in different ways, whether it be from the perspective of being a student or a teacher.

Being a practitioner of Modern Arnis, I found the chapter on Modern Arnis to be well done, especially Kelly Worden’s excellent essay, which gave a great overview of the rich history of Modern Arnis from its earliest days up to Professor’s untimely death in August of 2001. His essay covers all the major players in the art of Modern Arnis, both those in the Phillipines and in the US. It is a difficult task to be able to cover all them major players with respect in so few pages, but Kelly Worden manages to do so.

As an aside, I have met all three essayists (Dan Anderson, Tim Hartman and Kelly Worden). All are very good martial artists, particularly Kelly Worden. I met Dan Anderson at the 2004 ArnisFest, where he taught two excellent sessions on the dive throw and joint lock reversals. I last saw Tim Hartman several years ago but remember when he was promoted to Datu by Professor Presas at the 2000 Michigan camp after testing. Tim is an excellent player. Regarding Datu Kelly Worden, he is just a phenomenal martial artist and I have had the pleasure of meeting him three times as a result of teaching weekend camps at my instructor’s (Dan McConnell) school in Columbus. Kelly does an excellent job of connecting concepts from various martial arts to the art of Modern Arnis.

Anyway, getting back to the book, I highly recommend this book as it would be an excellent addition to one’s martial arts library, particularly if you practice some form on Filipino Martial Arts.

Paul Vunak and FMAs

2008-04-04T15:53:00.002-04:00

In an edition of Black Belt magazine that I picked up recently (April 2008), there is an article on Paul Vunak and the topic of "Defanging the Snake." This article was done in an interview format and one section piqued my interest:

"BB: Why should martial artists in the 21st century incorporate stick fighting into their training ?

PV: To answer that properly, I have to go back to Bruce Lee and Dan Inosanto in the 1960's. Bruce was obviously an amazing person, an amazing martial artist, and an amazing athlete. For many years, he was the only person at that level Dan had ever seen. After meeting Bruce, Dan was introduced to some Filipino masters by Ed Parker. He noticed that these masters had the same attributes as Bruce: similar speed, similar sensitivity, similar body mechanics. Dan had been probably in 20 martial arts before, he'd never seen anyone move like Bruce and these guys were in their 60s. Those masters were able to move that way because of the weapons. When you move with weapons in your hand, it expedites the development of your natural attributes. Whether you're talking about speed, power, coordination, timing, spatial relationships or footwork, you can quadruple it by working with weapons.

BB: How does weapons training increase your speed ?

PV: When you swing a stick, the tip of it moves about 150 miles per hour. No punch moves that fast. So when you're used to seeing a stick swing that fast, punches seem like they are coming at you in slow motion. There are so many different angles and so many different weapons that when you make the transition to empty hand, it's really easy"

The funny thing is Master Chuck Gauss said almost exactly the same thing several weeks ago in terms of making the transition from stick work to empty hand work. I wholeheartedly agree with both of these guys, FMAs can lend quite a bit to the development of your natural attributes and recognition of the angles of attacks. I can testify to the incredible attributes of Professor Remy Presas. At the age of 63 or so, his attributes were just out of this world due to the fact that he had been using a stick since the age of 5. No wonder why his speed, timing, spatial relationships and the other natural attributes were superb. I can see the same in others who have practiced Filipino Martial arts for substantial periods of time. If you can handle sticks in practice well, the transition to empty handed self defense can be easy. To that end, I tend to emphasize more stick work than empty hand work in class....in order to develop and increase the natural attributes of those attending class. In other words, "drills to build skills."

More Classes at the Legends Community Centre

2008-03-14T22:26:00.002-04:00

The martial arts/self defense/Modern Arnis classes have been going well at the Legends Community Centre here in Oshawa and we are definitely getting some interest in this art. In the meantime, I'm happy to announce that I've been able to secure space at the community centre for classes through the end of June. The schedule is as follows:

I'm pleased to announce more classes at the Legends Community Centre here in Oshawa through the end of June.

(1) Thursday, April 3, 2008, activity room 3, 7pm to 9pm
(2) Friday, April 11, 2008, activity room 2, 7pm to 9pm
(3) Thursday, April 17, 2008, activity room 3, 7pm to 9pm
(4) Thursday, April 24, 2008, activity room 3, 7pm to 9pm
(5) Thursday, May 1, 2008, activity room 3, 7pm to 9pm
(6) Tuesday, May 6, 2008, activity room 4, 7pm to 9pm
(7) Thursday, May 15, 2008, activity room 3, 7pm to 9pm
(8) Thursday, May 22, 2008, activity room 3, 7pm to 9pm
(9) Tuesday, May 27, 2008, activity room 3, 7pm to 9pm
(10) Thursday June 5, 2008, activity room 3, 7pm to 9pm
(11) Thursday June 12, 2008, activity room 4, 7pm to 9pm
(12) Thursday, June 19, 2008, activity room 3, 7pm to 9pm
(13) Thursday, June 26, 2008, activity room 3, 7pm to 9pm.

If you have any questions, please contact me at ontariomodernarnis@gmail.com

Hope to see you there !

First Modern Arnis/Martial Arts Class in Oshawa

2008-02-26T11:45:00.002-05:00

The first Oshawa Modern Arnis/martial arts class took place on Wed Feb 20th. My goal was to get 2 to 5 people in for the initial class. I got 5 participants, one of whom left early due to the fact that Modern Arnis wasn’t what he was looking for. The other 4 (including Mary-Anne) enthusiastically participated in the 2 hour class, focusing on the basics (the 12 angles, variations of single sinawali, both cane and empty handed, and basic block, check, and counter). What was interesting is that they had been looking for a Filipino martial art to practice for quite some time and were happy to have me in their backyard. Real nice folks. One of them, Chris, was kind enough to have a group picture taken at the end of the first Oshawa Modern Arnis class for posterity ! It was a lot of fun and fun to be teaching again. I’m looking forward to the next class and attracting more people to the art and to elements of Cooper Vee Jitsu Ryu as well.

Modern Arnis Debut in Oshawa

2008-02-11T21:23:00.001-05:00

I am pleased to announce that I will be teaching Modern Arnis classes at the Legends Community Centre on Harmony Road in Oshawa. The schedule, for the next 6 weeks, is as follows:

(1) Wednesday Feb 20th, activity room 3 7:00pm to 9:00pm
(2) Wednesday Feb 27th, activity room 3, 7:00pm to 9:00pm
(3) Wednesday March 5th, activity room 3, 7:00pm to 9:00pm
(4) Wednesday March 12th, activity room 2, 7:00pm to 9:00pm
(5) Wednesday March 19th, activity room 2, 7:00pm to 9:00pm
(6) Thursday March 27th, activity room 3, 7:00pm to 9:00pm

Please note that there are different rooms on March 12th and 19th. Also note that March 27th is on Thursday as opposed to Wednesday.

I am excited to be introducing the wonderful art of Modern Arnis to the area and will be covering the basics of this art in these first 6 weeks.

I hope to be able to teach more classes at the community centre beyond the initial 6 weeks. For more information, please contact me at: ontariomodernarnis@gmail.com

Till later !

FMA Workshop in Toronto

2008-01-25T12:18:00.000-05:00

The 2nd Annual FMA Workshop will be held on Sunday April 13th, 2008 in Toronto, Ontario. I have been invited to teach a short session as this event

Arnis Canada has graciously donated training space to hold this event. According to those who were there last year (I was not there as I was still in Columbus), last year's workshop was a great success and showcased some of the diverse styles and systems from the Philippines. This will again be a free event to participate in, but a freewill donation is encouraged to the host school to assist with any expenses incurred. Registration will also be required this year so that numbers of attendees can be managed (more to follow...).

Additional events this year will include an optional live stick sparring session coordinated by Arnis Canada. So bring your own equipment for those wanting to participate. A vendors table will also be set up for Ontario based Warrior Metal International, who make aluminum training blades (custom orders also available).

Please note that prior experience in the FMA is not required to attend this event or take part in the training sessions. Some of our instructors this year will include:

Punong Guro Rudy Cosico - Arnis Canada (http://www.arniscanada.ca/index.html)
Guro Sean Tyler - United Martial Artists of Canada, FCS Kali (http://www.teamumac.com/index1.php), (http://www.fcskali.com/)
Guro Jason Arnold - World Modern Arnis Alliance, J.A.K.S (http://www.wmarnis.com/)
Guro Brian Johns - International Modern Arnis Federation, Ontario Modern Arnis (http://www.modernarnis.net/home/index.shtml)

So pass this along to your friends and training partners and mark your calendars! We'll see you there. More event details (registration info, location etc...) to follow in the coming weeks.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact Mike at ontmodarnis@sympatico.ca

or me at ontariomodernarnis@gmail.com

Thanks !

Book Review

2008-01-09T11:37:00.000-05:00

Recently, I read “The Straight Lead” by author Teri Tom. Hands down, this is one of the best martial arts books I have ever read. In summary, this book describes the history, science, and mechanics of the core punch of Bruce Lee’s JKD, the straight lead. The author is a student of Ted Wong’s and writes regular columns for “Inside Kung Fu” and is a very talented writer. Unlike the vast majority of the “how to” martial arts books on the markets, Ms. Tom goes into detail the science (notably using Newton’s Law of Physics) of the straight lead and illustrates the science with numerous illustrations and photographs. She provides a fascinating insight into Bruce Lee’s development of this punch and reveals that Bruce based this technique largely on Western fencing and early 20th century boxing. The result was the development of a non-telegraphic punch that combined speed and power. She starts with the proper stance, progresses to footwork, the mechanics of the punch and finishes with the delivery of the punch, all the while, explaining the scientific foundation for each aspect of the straight lead. I highly recommend this book.

While this book does not directly talk about Filipino Martial Arts, it does illustrate a concept that many FMA practitioners have long known and that is the most difficult attacks to defend against are thrust type of attacks (like angles #5, #6, #7, #10, and #11 of Modern Arnis) for the reason that it is difficult to detect and defend against such attacks. Like the straight lead, thrust type of attacks are difficult to see. For example, it is extremely difficult to detect a #10 thrust (to your left eye) as you don’t see as much of the cane as you would for a #1 attack. Likewise, there is not much time or margin for error for detecting and defending against a #5 thrust to the abdomen, particularly if you are in the medio or corto range. On the other hand, you have a better chance of success against angles #1 through #4 for the reason that they are easier to see. For those reasons, the thrust type of attacks deserve extra attention in the dojo.

Successful Leaders and Organizations

2008-01-04T11:41:00.001-05:00

I was pondering the other day the question of why some organizations (whether it be martial arts, sports, banks etc) succeed and others fail or fade into mediocrity. In many cases, I think that it comes down to visionary leaders who relentlessly push the organization to become successful. I believe that there are two kinds of leaders in an organizational setting. There are those who are successful leaders. And there are those who are, at best, ineffective leaders and, at worst, failed leaders. Organizationally, there are goals and objectives that need to be met in order for the organization to move forward, advance, obtain market share, and prosper. Very often, this requires that a leader not only clearly define present and future plans, but also puts in motion the execution of these plans. I do not have a business degree or the equivalent, but I think that a successful organization needs 4 things in order to succeed:

(1) A strong leader;
(2) A vision;
(3) plans to implement the vision; and
(4) execution of the plan.

If any of these elements are missing, the organization will not be successful. A strong leader is one who consistently strives for excellence and encourages others to do the same. When that leader fails to do so, how can he expect the rest of the organization to follow suit ? The vision is more or less the mission statement of the organization. The plan or series of plans is intended to make the vision a reality. Execution is needed in order for the organization to be successful and survive in an often cut throat business or sports environment. A good leader is one who oversees all these aspects. If one or more of the aforementioned elements are missing, it is virtually guaranteed that the organization will decline, fail, fade into obscurity or lose credibility. Particularly damaging is a situation where a vision and plans are in place but are rarely executed. When a leader lays out a vision, formulates plans/initiatives and then fails to follow up with timely execution, a loss of credibility is inevitable. However, if all elements (strong leader, vision, plans, and execution) are in place, then the organization has a reasonable chance of succeeding.

Take, for example, Tae Kwon Do. Back in the 1970’s, the powers that be in South Korea developed a vision whereby TKD would become a sport and eventually gaining Olympic status. The plan was to use the Kukkiwon, a training/preparatory school for TKD instructors and encourage them to immigrate to other countries to serve as apprentices to other TKD instructors. They would, in turn, after a number of years as apprentices, open their own schools in the country they immigrated to. As a result, TKD has been phenomenally successful in spreading itself. Other martial arts such as Aikido (coming out of Hombu Dojo), Shotokan Karate (through the Japan Karate Association) and Brazilian jiu jitsu (through the Gracie and Machado families) have succeeded quite well. The point is that each of them had strong leaders, a vision, a plan and executed them. Other martial arts/organizations have not succeeded as well as the aforementioned arts. Some of them suffer from a lack of vision; others have a vision but no plan to implement the vision. Still others may have the vision and a plan but lack the follow through or fail to execute. It is unfortunate for martial artists to be part of mediocre or stagnating organizations.

Very often, this comes down to failed leadership. Successful leaders are those who push the vision, the plans and follows through in a timely manner. Let’s place this in a non martial art context......take a look at the New England Patriots. Coach Bill Belichick and GM Scott Pioli have done an incredible job of coming up with a vision (getting high value intelligent football players with multiple skill sets at reasonable cost), planning (looking at the current roster and identifying current areas of need and targeting players they are interested in) and execution (signing those players they need). Admittedly, this is a bit simplified. But, this is an example of strong leadership, a vision, plan, and execution of that plan. No wonder, as of now, they have had one of the greatest seasons in NFL history.

A leader risks losing a great deal of credibility when there is a lack of execution or follow through of announced plans or initiatives. Once that credibility is lost, it is often very difficult to regain. Others will start ignoring that leader. Once that happens, the organization will become stagnant, decline or die. Simple as that.

On the other hand, a strong leader will most assuredly always retain credibility by consistently exercising his leadership skills with strong vision, viable plans and execution of those plans. There are personality characteristics to these type of leaders. They are the go getters, who never stop thinking about ways to improve, who seek out ideas, and whose desire to excel is never extinguished. It is those types of leaders who lead successful organizations. I think that the same applies to martial arts organizations. The truly successful martial arts organizations will almost always have strong leadership at the top.

Happy New Year !

2008-01-02T12:12:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year to those of you who read this blog ! I hope that your holidays were full of joy and happiness and that 2008 is fruitful. Hard to believe that the decade is nearly over, eh ?

A friend of mine discovered that the Professor Vee video clips that I linked up has been taken off the YouTube website. Therefore, I have deleted the links to those respective clips. I will search for other Professor Vee clips in the near future and will let you know.

FMA Digest

2007-12-06T12:19:00.000-05:00

One can find a number of online forums dedicated, in whole or in part, to the Filipino Martial Arts such as the Escrima Digest (where I met Master Dan McConnell and started on my Modern Arnis journey), Martial Talk, the Uechi Ryu forum (it contains a Modern Arnis forum moderated by Datu Kelly Worden). There are many others out there.

Through one of my Canadian friends, I found out about the FMA Digest and it's great. Subscription is free and one can download e-magazine editions for reading at one's pleasure. There are TONS of e-magazine editions dating back several years, covering a wide range of topics such as history, instructors, legendary figures, organizations and many other items of interest pertaining to Filipino Martial Arts. The editions are downloadable in PDF format. The amount of material on this particular website is just unbelievable and I would urge those who are interested in Filipino Martial Arts. Check out:

FMA Digest

25 Years in the Martial Arts

2007-12-01T10:45:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow marks the 25th anniversary of my involvement in the martial arts, having started on December 2, 1982. I know that it was that date as I distinctly remember that it was the first Thursday of that month and year. As reflected in the earlier post about my martial arts biography, I started out in Kwan Ying Do gung fu and beginner's classes took place every Thursday night and we were expected to work on the stances and forms outside of class, which I did diligently. In any case, it's hard to believe that I have now been involved in the martial arts for 25 years and look back in marvel at how I have evolved over the years. I also ponder about how much more I would like to learn as there is so much information out there.

One of the things that I think about often is "have I done as much to fulfill my martial arts potential ?" I feel that I have not and hope to squeeze more out of myself, martial arts wise for the next 25 years (assuming that I make it to the age of 68 !). I have never really felt that I have reached my martial arts potential and would like to keep pushing my limits further. In short, I'm never satisfied. Am I as good as some of the martial arts masters I've met out there ? The answer is a resounding definite NO....and, in addition, I just might spend a few minutes on the floor laughing my guts out at the notion that I'm anywhere near the skill level of many of the teachers I have met and trained with over the years. But, hey, that's the point, isn't it ? When I look at those teachers/senseis/masters/guros/grandmasters I have met over the years, I become inspired to train more and read more and watch more videos in an effort to push my skill level and understanding to a higher level.

Like many people in the martial arts, I am inspired by Bruce Lee, who unfortunately died at such a young age (32). It appears, from the countless magazine articles and books that I have read about him, he did more in his short life time than most people do in their entire life. He was constantly exploring, researching and analyzing the various aspects of the martial arts. He was very much into "the art of expressing the human body" and pushing his martial arts potential ever higher and higher. Even if he had never acted in TV or in the movies, he still would have left a lasting impact on the martial arts through his writings and thoughts and research on the martial arts. He left behind an impressive body of work through high ranking students. In any case, the thing about Bruce Lee that fascinates me is that he was not content to just merely teach and pass along what he discovered, but that he was always pushing himself physically and exploring his own limitations. That is the inspiring aspect about Bruce Lee (ditto for Lance Armstrong.....one of the great athletes of all time).

There are many other martial artists, besides Bruce Lee, who I have admired greatly over the years and have pushed themselves in a manner similar to Bruce.

So starting tomorrow, I hope to be able to push my physical limitations martial arts wise and deepen my understanding of what I know and hopefully expand my knowledge in the years to come. Thanks to all of those (teachers and students alike) who have taught me over the years.

Link to No Nonsense Self Defense website

2007-11-28T10:43:00.001-05:00

I've added another website under "Links to Other Martial Arts Sites" located on the right hand side of this blog. It's the "No Nonsense Self Defense" website maintained by Marc MacYoung and Dianna Gordon and it's packed with an incredible amount of information on topics such as martial arts, the legalities of self defense, the martial arts industry, knife fighting and many other topics. It's so packed with information that it could take days to get through it all. Enjoy !!

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-21T10:33:00.000-05:00

To all my friends and family in the US and to Canadians travelling to the US for the holiday, HAPPY THANKSGIVING !! Be safe in your travels.

Very Ironic

2007-11-20T15:33:00.000-05:00

in light of the entry I put up earlier today. While on break from my online job and networking efforts, I found out, through the CNN website, that the US Supreme Court has accepted a case involving the issue of gun rights in Washington, DC. This is significant since this may well mark the first time that the Supreme Court will rule on the broad constitutional question regarding the Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights. This issue has been so radioactive that the Supreme Court has ruled on the Second Amendment only once in its over 200 year history (a 1939 case which did not provide clear guidance and muddied waters instead).

Supreme Court

Prediction ? 10 years ago, I would have said that the Supreme Court would have found some kind of procedural wiggle out of this case so as to avoid getting into this mess. Nowadays, there appears to be some consensus among conservative and liberal (can you believe it ?) that the Second Amendment does confer upon individuals the right to bear arms. I think that most people would agree that the Second Amendment is not a model of clarity and is subject to different interpretations. As a practical matter, the facts on the ground will trump any abstract constitutional theory and lead the Supreme Court to a first ever broad constitutional ruling on the issue of the Second Amendment. Or I could be wrong. In any case, given the fact that the Supreme Court has ruled on this issue only once before, this could be a significant decision. We'll find out by next June, right in the middle of the US Presidential campaign !!

Here's a wikipedia article on this article and which includes the text of the Second Amendment:

Second Amendment

Self Defense in Canada and the U.S.

2007-11-20T11:55:00.000-05:00

Disclaimer: this blog entry does not advocate any position with regard to guns, which is such a hot topic in the US. The focus of this entry is on the issue of “self defense” and no more. I am approaching this from the perspective of one who practices and teaches martial arts. It is my opinion that any martial art instructor worth his or her salt has a duty to inform students of the relevant jurisdiction’s laws on self defense. Furthermore, that instructor has a duty to remind students to integrate conflict avoidance into their daily lives. This is just a brief overview of the issue of “self defense.”

The topic of self defense is more widely discussed in the US than here in Canada, due to the prevalence of guns and the gun lobby. I have seen a number of changes in the states with regard to the right of self defense. For example, the State of Ohio passed a law several years allowing for carrying of concealed firearms, albeit with a permit from the local authorities and after a background check. The state of Florida recently amended their law on self defense to remove the “duty to retreat” and is now referred to as a "Stand Your Ground" law. Otherwise, a majority of jurisdictions impose a duty to retreat when confronted with a self defense situation. Wikipedia has a fairly good article on this topic. See:

Duty to Retreat

Federal law in Canada also has a “duty to retreat” provision. The following section is from a cut and paste from an online book/paper entitled: “Canadian Attitudes Toward Gun Control: The Real Story” by Gary A. Mauser. Ph.D and H. Taylor Buckner, Ph. D. (see Book)

“Unlike the United States, the federal government is responsible for criminal law and the provinces are generally responsible for enforcement - although most provinces rely upon the RCMP to act as the provincial and local police force. This introduces a further element of national uniformity. Despite disavowals by police officials, the Canadian Criminal Code does include the right of citizens to use deadly force to protect themselves (sections 34, 35, and 37).

In Canada, the key provision in the criminal code is that no one may use "more force than is necessary" and then only when "he believes on reasonable grounds that he can not otherwise preserve himself from death or grievous bodily harm." In section 35, the code goes on to require that one must show that, "he declined further conflict and quitted or retreated from it (the assault) as far as it was feasible to do so before the necessity of preserving himself ... arose." Moreover, the right to use physical force to defend nonfamily members is more limited than it is in many states, as are a Canadians' rights to repulse trespassers on one's own property, or to use force to stop the commission of serious or violent crimes (Sections 24, 40, and 41).

Self defense is severely circumscribed by more conditions than are typically found in the United States. A wide range of self defensive weapons (e.g., Mace, pepper spray, small handguns, tasers and stun guns) are prohibited, ownership is punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment. For all practical purposes, it has been impossible to own a handgun for self protection since 1977. Recent firearms legislation now requires firearms to not only be unloaded when stored in one's residence but must also be put under lock and key. Judging from news reports, many of those who use a firearm to defend themselves, are charged with one or more criminal violations unsafe storage, careless use of firearm, or possession of a prohibited weapon and then they have to prove in court that the firearm had been used in self defense.

Another important difference between the United States and Canada is enforcement. Anyone who uses a weapon in self defense is likely to be charged in Canada and have to defend themselves in court, even if the attacker is not injured seriously. The charges may be "possession of a prohibited weapon," or "careless use/storage of a firearm," rather than "assault" or "attempted murder." The Crown apparently is determined to discourage people from forcefully defending themselves.”

Since the aforementioned article cited to the Canadian Criminal Code with regard to the right of self defense, here is a helpful link to the relevant statutory sections:

Criminal Code

As one can see from the above, the right to self defense is more limited here in Canada than in the US. I have to admit to being very surprised at finding out the severe legal consequences for using a firearm inside of your own home to defend oneself and family (long known as the “castle doctrine”). The issue of “castle doctrine” is fairly well explained this Wikipedia article and there are some useful links embedded in the article:

Castle Doctrine

I guess that the point of this blog entry is that those who are interested in self defense issues owe it to themselves to find out their jurisdiction’s laws on self defense, duty to retreat, and whether there is a castle doctrine defense available. By educating yourselves, you will ensure that whatever self defense actions you undertake will be legally defendable in court. Otherwise, if you violate a jurisdiction’s laws on any of the abovementioned topics, not only will you face serious legal consequences, you will end up with substantial legal bills, even if you “get off.” Lastly, it should be incumbent upon martial arts instructors to keep current with changes in the law in their jurisdiction and pass that information along to their students.

Finally, "ignorance of the law" is not a valid legal defense. That is, to claim that "I didn't know that I could not do this in a self defense situation" generally won't fly in court. All the more reason for folks to be aware of the law in the jurisdiction they live in. See

Ignorance of the law

Some Levity

2007-11-19T11:41:00.001-05:00

Here are some laughs for those who are looking for some today. This video clip is martial arts related but screamingly funny.

Jim Carrey as Karate Instructor

Enjoy !

Martial Arts and Personal Safety

2007-11-16T09:15:00.000-05:00

There are those in the public who mistakenly perceive that training in the martial arts will guarantee them a certain level of safety. Even sadder are those martial artists who believe that their training gives them some sort of "shield" and blinds them to reality. More specifically, their egos unfortunately become inflated due to their superb skills in relation of those of lesser skills. Every so often, we got a reminder that martial artists are just physically well trained human beings. One would hope that they would train their mind and spirit as well. Unfortunately, that is not the case in a number of cases.

A well known kick boxer in the San Francisco area had a storefront martial arts store. According to news reports (that I can recall), he was standing outside of the store when a pickup truck, driving down the street, sideswiped his car, parked by the curb in front of the school. The truck continued on down to the intersection close to the school. The kick boxer became enraged at this and ran down the street and caught up to the stopped truck. He went up to the driver's side of the truck and berated the driver. According to news reports, the driver rolled down the window and fatally shot the kick boxer in the head. Turns out that the driver was either a recently released convict or an escapee. Regardless, this is a very sad episode. This was discussed extensively on the internet and many martial artists questioned why the kickboxer hadn't just called the police and let law enforcement take care of matters. Naturally, the question turned philosophical and ended up reminding people of the limits of martial arts.

Another case involved a Systema instructor in the Chicago area. Apparently, he was a pretty well regarded martial artist. From what I read on the internet, he received a phone call late at night from a friend of his, who asked him to meet him in an alley behind a grocery store. This Systema instructor was found dead from knife wounds. The first question raised is why would he agree to meet someone in a suspicious area like a dark alley behind a grocery store late at night ? It wasn't a failure of martial arts skills that did him in; it appears to have been a failure of common sense that did him in.

I think that it was Marc "Animal" McYoung who said that martial arts should constitute only about 5 to 10% of your overall personal safety schema. I would have to agree with that. I would think that using your common sense and listening to your intuition (Read "The Gift of Fear" by Gavin de Becker....a terrific book) should provide plenty of personal protection.