Atillo Balintawak - Saavedra Eskrima Successors; My Observations and Comments

      This essay is a re-posting that was originally published in the FMA Informative #108 that was released on Saturday, January 25, 2014.  I have added the revised and updated linear charts for Professor Remy Amador Presas and myself .  I understand that there will be some people who object to my charts, but I challenge them to do their own research, cite sources and show us where we are in error.  Until they can document their objections there is nothing that they can say that has any merit or that anyone should consider as being relevant.

Jerome Barber, Ed. D.
___________________________

Atillo Balintawak - Saavedra Eskrima Successors; My Observations and Comments

                On July 10, 2013, GM Crispulo Atillo posted a notice on his FB site announcing his official listing of the Atillo Balintawak Eskrima, Masters, Disciples and Successors-Disciples.  That notice was duly reported in the FMA informative, Volume 12, Number 8, on page 17.  I’m not going to repost the notice here but I would like to comment on several things related to the notice because in my opinion GM Atillo did a very smart thing publicly naming those people who he wants to see carry on the Atillo Balintawak –Saavedra Eskrima tradition in the future after he passes on. 

Historically there is usually a very large, nasty and ugly intra-system fight among the top students after a GM has passed away.  Sometimes the fights have included family members battling amongst themselves and with some non-family members of the organization.  Everyone will claim that they are the best qualified people to take over the leadership responsibilities of the system while their opponents are phonies and under-qualified status seekers.   These fights are never pretty, they drag on for many years and splinter groups are formed with each claiming to be the only true lineage of the art.  I watched from the sidelines as this very thing happened in Modern Arnis after the illness and passing of the late Professor Remy Presas.  The bickering was very disturbing to watch and worse yet was the fact that I knew some of the people participating in the fight.  I refused to get involved or support any of the participants. 

GM Atillo’s listing of Masters, Disciples and Successor-Disciples is a wonderful gift to all of us who have trained with him and learned from him. Those people named on the list are clearly legitimate heirs and the next generation of Atillo-Saavedra Balintawak Eskrima leaders.  He clearly states that the list members are the only legitimate proponents of his system and all others are acting on their own and without his official sanctioned endorsement.  This endorsement is better than being named in a will because it allows everyone who is interested to ask GM Atillo directly why someone was left off the list.  It eliminates the shill argument that the endorsements are misleading or falsely contrived by someone other than the GM.  If only Professor Presas had compiled a similar document and made the listing public prior to falling ill in 2000. 

I want to congratulate everyone named on the GM Atillo’s list.  In addition I also want to especially recognize three (3) people on the list who I know personally, GM Tom Bolden, Master Peter Vargas and Master Douglas Pierre.  All three of these men are personal friends and associates of mine who I have known and trained with for the past 24 years.  Given the fact that these men are being acknowledged by GM Atillo with the highest honor of being listed asSuccessors-Disciples, speaks volumes regarding their martial arts skills, personal dedication and integrity. 

The fact that I am referencing these three men should not be construed as a slam against the other people named to the same position by GM Atillo.  It is simply that I do not know any of the others personally and have not trained with them in the past therefore I can comment on them from my own personal perspective as a martial artists and teacher.

The Successor-Disciple award recognition is doubly impressive to me because of the fact that GM Bolden and Master Vargas is a teacher-student pairing.  This is as far as I can recall in my 35 year career in martial arts the first time that I have seen or heard of a teacher-student pair being promoted at the same time and within the same organization.  I also want to point out that GM Bolden, GM Pierre and Master Vargas, are the only Modern Arnis trained people on GM Atillo’s successor listing.  This is quite significant because most of the so-called Modern Arnis leaders in the post-Remy Presas era that began in 2001 after the passing of the system founder and GM have studiously avoided acknowledging or working with these three men.  These three men have been characterized as minor or marginal players in the Modern Arnis world, in spite of the fact that GM Bolden and GM Pierre were instrumental in building a following for the late Professor Presas in the Mid-Hudson and NYC regions respectively. In fact it was GM Bolden who first brought the art and Professor to the eastern side of NYS and along the Hudson River Valley between Albany and NYC in the mid 1980's. 

The MoTTs (Masters of Tapi-Tapi) and the WMAA (World Modern Arnis Alliance) leaderships were adamant that anyone not associated with their respective groups were not and should not be considered as Modern Arnis Players.  The heads of the aforementioned groups would not recognize the rank certificates issued by Professor Presas and insisted that everyone who joined their organization would have to be re-tested under the new organizational rules and standards.  These same leaders, through their own students/associates were also quite critical of Master Peter Vargas because he had not trained directly with the late Professor.  That standard is very interesting because if one applies it across the board to everyone some of their own students in 2001 and beyond could not be considered authentic Modern Arnis students because those people had never had the opportunity to train under Professor Presas at a seminar or camp.  I have been criticized for bring up the re-testing rule of both the MoTTs and WMAA, but since I spoke with Dr. Randy  Schea, Mr. Jeffery Delaney (MoTTs) and Mr. Timothy Hartman (WMAA) personally and through e-mail exchanges, there is no doubt in my mind about their positions in 2002 on the matter of rank recognition.  Their current associates can decry my statements as loudly and often as they wish, none of those people were part of my conversations with these three men in 2002.  If these organizations have subsequently changed leaders and/or policies that is fine with me and I am not making an argument that nothing has changed since 2002.

There is also the matter a good number of Modern Arnis and Balintawak Eskrima people in the USA are not willing to recognize GM Crispulo Atillo as a senior Balintawak practicitioner whose credentials go back to 1953 when joined the newly formed Balintawak Self Defense Club as a charter member.  The BSDC was founded  in Cebu City, Philippines by Venancio Bacon, Delfin Lopez and Vincente Atillo with Bacon serving as the lead instructor and Atty. Eulalio Causing as club president. (Cebuano Eskrima,  Neprangue & Macachor,  p.167).

   The BSDC was the first group to utilize the word “Balintawak” in its club name wnd the first spin-off from the BSDC was the Balintawak International Self defense Club led by GM Jose Villasin and GM Teofilo Velez in 1957.  GM Crispulo formed the “Ogok Gang” in 1957, which consisted of a number of younger Balintawak stylists from the BSDC and in 1975 GM Atillo founded the Philippine Arnis Confederation.   (Cebuano Eskrima, p. 170).   He later changed the organizational name to the World Balintawak Arnis-Eskrima Association after Marcos era of martial law ended in the Philippines.

 GM Atillo is among the last of the people who knew the Saavedra's, Lorenzo and Doring, personally.  His art is the closest thing that we have to the original Saavedra Eskrima System, which is also known more popularly as "Balintawak Eskrima".  Couple that fact with the reality that Crispulo Atillo assisted his father, GM Vincente Atillo, with teaching the art of Balintawak to a future Balintawak GM Arnulfo Mongcol, who in turn was Professor Remy Presas’ first Balintawak instructor.  This is a significant set of connections because the Saavedras were the instructors of GM Bacon, GM Lopez, GM Timeteo Maranga and GM Vincente Atillo and all four men trained under GM Teodoro “Doring” Saavedra prior to WWII at the Doce Pares Club in Cebu City.  Some of the training sessions took place at the Atillo home and the younger Crispulo Atillo knew all of people mentioned in this paragraph and witnessed their training sessions at his home.  He formally began his eskrima training under his father Vincente Atillo at the age of 14.  He was trained in the Saavedra system of eskrima and credits his father as his instructor.  GM Atillo maintains that there is no real difference between Saavedra Eskrima and Balintawak Eskrima  other than the name used.  After training with GM Bobby Taboada for 4 years in the Toevel’s Balintawak system, plus viewing a number of Balintawak people on YouTube such as Nick Elizar, Bob Silver Tabimina and Henry Jayme, I have to agree with him on this point.  The differences are not significant and they all can easily be identified as Balintawak people.

The Atillo’s taught GM Anfulo  Mongcol, who in turn served as Professor Remy Presas' first Balintawak instructor.  Afterwards, the young Remy Presas was passed along to GM Timeteo Maranga for further training.  GM Maranga was a classmate of GM Vincente Atillo, GM Bacon and GM Delfin Lopez under the Saavedra's.  The network couldn't be any tighter and we must keep in mind that Balintawak forms one (1) aspect of the five (5) arnis methods that are at the root of Modern Arnis.  These five roots as mentioned by Professor Presas in some interviews are Balintawak, figure 8 striking, banda y banda striking, palis-palis method and crossada method.  The latter two methods are espada y daga styles of mid to long range fighting and were taught to Professor by his grandfather, Leon B. Presas, who was Professor’s first arnis/eskrima instructor at the age of 6. 

Based on the information cited above, I will re-write my own lineage chart to reflect the newest information that I have found regarding the roots and lineage of Professor Remy Presas through my immediate Modern Arnis and Kenpo Instructor, Sifu Donald F. Zanghi to myself and beyond to the students who earned their black belts and instructional certifications under me.

GM Tom Bolden, Master Douglas Pierre and Master Peter Vargas have been training with the man who indirectly helped to establish part of the foundation for Modern Arnis.  They have been acknowledged and accepted by GM Crispulo Atillo as highly skilled practitioners of the Atillo-Saavedra connection to Modern Arnis.  I am extremely happy for them and wish each of them even greater success in the future.

Sincerely,

Jerome Barber, Ed. D.,                                                                                                                                     Grand Master, Datu & Principal Teacher                                                                                           Independent Escrima-Kenpo-Arnis Associates  

  

Modern Arnis Lineage Chart of Founder/GM Remy Amador Presas

 Leon B. Presas /                                                                                                                                                Traditional Arnis: Palis-palis, Crossada, Banda y Banda, Figure 8,

                  |

                    |                                  Arnulfo Mongcol – Balintawak Instructor

                    |                                                 |

                    |                                  Timeteo Maranga – Balintawak Master

                    |                                                 |

                    |                                  Venancio Bacon – Balintawak GM

                    |                                                 |                                         

       Remy Amador Presas – Founder, Grand Master, Professor,

           Modern Arnis – International Modern Arnis Federation

Palis-palis, Crossada, Banda y Banda, Figure 8, Flow, Up & Down, Abanico,                                 Rompida, Espada y Daga, Stick & Sword Disarming, Trapping Hands, Redonda, Single/Double/Reverse Sinawali, 12 Zone Striking, 12 Zone Striking Defense

 

Saavedra Eskrima and Balintawak Eskrima Lineage to Modern Arnis

Lorenzo Saavedra – Founder

                |

        Teodoro (Doring) Saavedra – Master Instructor

                |                                   |                                     

Venancio Bacon  -  Timeteo Maranga  -  Vincente Atillo (Balintawak)

                |                                    |                                      |               

                |                                    |                        Crispulo Atillo

                |                                    |               (Saavedra & Balintawak)

               |                                    |                                       |                                                                                         

               |                                    |                        Arnulfo Mongcal

               |                                    |                     Balintawak Instructor

               |                                    |                                      /

Remy Amador Presas – Founder, Grand Master, Professor,

    Modern Arnis – International Modern Arnis Federation

Palis-palis, Crossada, Banda y Banda, Figure 8, Flow, Up & Down,  Abanico, Rompida, Espada y Daga, Stick & Sword Disarming,  Trapping Hands, Redonda, Single/Double/Reverse Sinawali, 12 Zone Striking, 12 Zone Striking Defense

 

Martial Arts Lineage of Dr. Jerome Barber

Modern Arnis Lineage:

            Remy Amador Presas,  Founder & GM -  Modern Arnis                            

                                    |                              |

              Donald F. Zanghi       Vincente Sanchez

                       |_______________|

                                       |

                     Jerome Barber, Ed. D.                                                                                                    

             GM, Datu & Principal Teacher,  

     Independent Escrima Kenpo Arnis Associates

Kenpo Karate Lineage:

Hoon Chow 

(Hung Gar)         James Mitose

          |                   (Kosho Ryu Kenpo)

           |                             |

William K. S. Chow (Chinese Kenpo)

        |

Adriano Emperado (Chinese Kenpo, Eskrima, Kajukenbo)

        |                                                             |

Marino Tiwanak                                Edmund Parker, Sr.

(Kajukenbo, CHA-3 Kenpo)     (Chinese Kenpo, American Kenpo)

       |                                                                        |

Florentino Pancipanci                                Al & Jim Tracy

(CHA-3 Kenpo, Pancipanci Eskrima)    (Tracy System of Kenpo)

|                                                                          /                            |

Tom Bolden                           Ernest McPeek              Donald F. Zanghi

(CHA-3 Kenpo)             (Tracy System Kenpo)     (Tracy System Kenpo)

(Pancipanci Eskrima)                            |                         (Modern Arnis)           

(Modern Arnis)                                        |                                  |

           |____________________________|_________________|

                                               |

                       Jerome Barber, Ed. D.,

               GM, Datu & Principal Teacher,

      Independent Escrima Kenpo Arnis Associates                                     

__________________|_____________________________

       |                                      |                                    |                                   |                              

Tim Kashino - Richard Curren - Tom Verga - Paul R. Martin - Kenneth Q. Boehm

Debra S. Moore - Keith Roosa - James “Buddy” Antonio - Frank Heinan

Kathleen Geiger - Mary Altair - Keri Marotti – Frankie Heinan – Stephanie Heinan

Michael Zelli      (Certified IEKA Black Belt Instructors)

Additional Martial Arts Influences for Dr. Jerome Barber:

Bram Frank, Billy Bryant, Dan Donzella, Bobby Taboada, Abundio Baet,                                                       Eddie Lastra, Ric Jornales, Roberto Torres, John Kovacs, David Battaglia,                                             Ernie Delts, Dan Carr

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Posted By Jerome Barber, Ed. D. to SE Asian Martial Arts at 1/28/2014 04:06:00 PM

Pure Simple Mathematics by GM Ron Saturno

You can't go back faster than a man can come forward. You can't come forward faster than a man can side step out of your path. I was once teaching an algebra class and was playing with the Pythagorean Theorem. The theorem solves passing issues and can accurately determine speeds and distances that weapons will travel and their direction. The center leg of a triangle moves faster than the other leg and the hypotenuse of a triangle. Hence, the safety of side stepping is based on mathematics, pure and simple. This is the proper way to deal with the heavy hitters. Side step them. I am shocked at how many times that I've seen men attempting to defend themselves against a hard hitting man and freeze, or even try to out hit their hard hitting attacker. I do understand that you do have to do something, but trying to out hit a man who hits harder than you may not be the most correct answer. I was watching the teacher of GM Marc Lawrence a few months ago. Marc's former Master really Isn't that large of a man, but he is muscular and hits like a small truck would hit you running through a red light in an intersection. I like Marc's former teacher, he is very serious and dedicated to his art. He had great skills many years ago when I first saw him perform, he is even better now and hits even harder than when I first saw him perform. Damn, it's pretty hard. I wouldn't want to be at the other end of his weapons, should he seriously mean to come after me. What I wouldn't do would be to try and out power hit this hard core power hitter. Out would come the Pythagorean Theorem and proof of my need to side step the power. It's just hard to hit something that just Isn't there to hit. It has surprised me how many times that math has solved my martial problems. The great Escrimadors may not have had any formal training in higher math, but they were great problem solvers who innately used math non-the-less. The great Escrimadors had a self-taught Ph.D in higher mathematics. My art of Serrada Escrima is deeply based upon applied math principles that helps make Serrada Escrima an inherently fast art. Basic Serrada is a great FMA that can make a man capable of defending himself in six months or less. This is fairly fast by most martial arts standards. Perfecting the upper level skill sets of Serrada Escrima takes a life time. We get really large jumps in skill level in the beginning with relatively little effort, but after the first few months elevating your skill level starts to become much harder. It will then take lots of effort to gain small increases in skill level. There is an equation here. Nothing good is cheap or easy. I can only but laugh my ass off at the periodic advertisements that promises (guarentees) you the ability to be able to defeat seasoned street fighters and upper level Black Belts with just $69.95 and a few hours of watching a DVD. In the end my late teacher Angel Cabales didn't really have to do much to kick my ass. He didn't move fast and he didn't hit appreciably hard: But, that didn't stop him from pissing on my Escrima parade on any given day of the week. Manong Angel knew what to do and when to do it. This is priceless. He had little or no wasted effort when he performed. He had near perfect timing. He had five decades of experience. He could perform through his fears and wouldn't hesitate to hit you. Applied math skills...you bet ya'. Knowing what to do and then being able to do it without any glitches is proof of great skill. But, this really wasn't his true forte! More importantly, Angel Cabales knew what to do when things didn't go right. He could quickly change up on real time and still find a way to beat you. Was it arcane math that allowed him to accomplish this? In a word, yes. He may not have been able to explain this via formulas, but after years of studying mine and his art: It was math that allowed him to become and remain a great martial artist. Movement, power, distances, time, leverage, etc., is all about math. It is kind of hard to start looking upon great martial artists as consumat mathematicians, but that they are. So here is my salute to math and the great martial artists who perfected maths use in their arts.

Tom Laughlin, Star of "Billy Jack" Has Died

This man & this movie in particular were the primary catalyst for my beginnings into the study of the martial arts.  For me personally, even prior to my exposure to the legendary Bruce Lee, I saw this movie & this man & I said to myself, "I want to do THAT!"
This is a short article published on another public blog called "Dojo Rat".  The author sums the effect of this movie & this actor very well. Thank you Tom Laughlin, you are missed.

Tom Laughlin, the stoic and flawed hero of the Billy Jack movies has died at age 82. It was Laughlin’s “Billy Jack” that inspired me to invest a lifetime studying martial arts. Laughlin’s character was more tangible than the more distant battles of Bruce Lee, and “Billy Jack” was played out in a contemporary “cowboy vs. Indian” scenario. Here’s one of the classic fight scenes:

Back in 2007 I wrote this piece about Laughlin and “Billy Jack”, and I think it holds true today:
The Significance Of Billy Jack
…I cannot overstate how much this movie influenced me, sitting in the theater when I was thirteen or fourteen years old. It had everything; cute young hippie chicks, evil rednecks, horses, Jeeps, Corvettes, motorcycles and some of the best fight choreography ever.
While actor-director Tom Laughlin was the hero Billy Jack, Hapkido Master Bong Soo Han did all the most complex fight stunts. I read a review of this in a magazine years ago, and a few of the stunt rednecks got hurt pretty bad in this scene.
The movie was a spin-off of Laughlin and wife Delores Taylor’s original flick “Born Losers”. That scenario was Billy Jack vs. evil bikers. The big follow-up was of course, Billy Jack, which is still a cult classic.
Billy Jack treaded on many social taboos of the time: exploring murderous prejudice, alternative education and communal living, rape and revenge, and the most controversial aspect– using violence to stop violence.
The movie is steeped in the paranoid culture of the late ’60′s and early ’70′s, touching on the assassination of Jack and Bobby Kennedy, racism and the unknown territory of alternative lifestyles. This film is so much more than a Karate flick, it’s loaded with questions about ethics and honor and pride.
I know friends who go nuts over Jet Li movies and the like, but have never seen the pure simplicity of the fight scenes or social commentary of Billy Jack. There are also some famous supporting actors, like Howard Hessman from WKRP in Cincinatti.
Tom Laughlin has remained politically active, even running for Congress several years ago. He and wife Delores Taylor have been working on a sequel that is filled with events of our time, such as the U.S. occupation of Iraq.
For those who have never seen the movie, or need a good recharge of 1960′s-’70′s energy, watch it again — I highly recommend it…
——————–
Rest peacefully Tom Laughlin, you inspired a generation…

Missing Bobby Antuna.....another great story from Ron Saturno

A few years ago I some how got pulled into a talk down situation between myself and another Master in the back yard of a party.
Beer and whiskey was freely flowing and I had consumed more than my share of fire water. There was great food, great company and a whole lot of fellow Escrimadors attending this party.
At least six Masters were attending the party and everyone else were mostly graduate students of any number of schools. There were more knives and other weapons than I would wish to count. Some Escrimadors carry multiple knives.
Several sworn police officers were also in attendance.
I was carrying a Model 42 Balisong that was given to me as a gift by a student who was also attending the party with me. In California, carrying the ventenueve type of knife is a felony. The model 42 is a good combination of high grade stainless steel and titanium.
This model is no longer made, but it is a seriously beautiful and functional knife.
It is a cherished gift that I very much appreciated.
The Master that I was having words with was simply drunk. He was well trained by a very famous Master and quite truthfully he was someone that I really didn't care to match up with on that night. I just went out for a good time. I was over full of great Filipino food. I was drunk.
I had a knife that would get me an automatic felony and there were police officers at the party. It was all in my favor to try and make the best of the situation and calm everything down.
When things got more heated the man loudly stated," That you aren't a great Master!" OK. This is probably true. I just couldn't gut a man for saying something that is most likely true. But, he just wasn't making my life easy at the party. He kept coming forward and slowly towards me while he was talking. At some point I had squatted down with my right leg slightly forward and had my knife open and behind my right knee. This was done very smoothly and imperceptably, or so I thought.
The late Master Bobby Antuna quickly walked up and started talking to the Master. Bobby was a gentleman and truly gifted Escrimador that has sadly passed away. Time then began slowing down while Bobby was speaking and I knew that I was feeling the effects of psychometria. I had unknowingly entered into the mind state of do or die.
God Bless Bobby that he was able to create a new energy and everything calmed down. If I had seen a weapon I would have immediately gave my best effort to have stopped the man from killing me. As I look back on this situation, there were a lot of things that could have been done much differently and I have put my new way of thinking in place. I could still be in prison or dead, because of my muddled thinking that night.
I later became friends with the Master and it would have been a very sad thing that either of us would have harmed the other that night. I actually learned to really like the Master, his system and his teacher.
There is no doubt that the Master was more than capable of handling himself that night.
As I am writing this I am finishing the last chapter in my book. The last chapter in my book will not only be about how to handle a very bad situation, but will also be about how to avoid one. Sizing a situation up that could lead to a life and death will be what my last chapter will be about. Stopping something before it happens and having your awareness working to your best advantage at all times will be my Chapter 13. "Any one can die", will be the title of my last chapter. If even Jesus didn't make it out alive, this alone should make a lot of us ponder about our mortality. Well, back to work my friends.
By the way I can only hope that my book is well received. I just want to leave my take on the bladed art of Serrada escrima. God Bless