Looking for a new school to host the HSMA Presas Arnis Instructor Development Course classes in 2018

New Presas Arnis Instructor Development Course class to start in early 2018

Students and instructors attending one of the 2017 Presas Arnis Instructor Development classes at North Texas Karate Academy in Bridgeport TX.

Hidden Sword is currently looking for another school to host a new Presas Arnis Instructor Development Course for 2018 as expand the course.    The goal is to find a school in the DFW area that is willing to host the classes during the 2018 year.  If you are wondering what the Presas Arnis Instructor Development Course is read on.

In 2016 at the suggestion of GM Dieter Knuttel, who is the technical director of the German Arnis Federation (DAV), guro Lynn created the Presas Arnis Instructor Development Course for 2017.  Over the course of a year the students and instructors who took part in the Instructor Development course and tested for the basic levels of the Presas Arnis curriculum at the December class.  This class will continue on learning the intermediate levels in 2018.

The first class which started in 2017 meets in Bridgeport TX at the North Texas Karate Academy, with instructors coming from Oklahoma, Jacksboro, and North Richland Hills. Next year this group will continue on to learning the intermediate levels of the curriculum.    In 2018 Hidden Sword is planning on starting another class to further “beta” test the basic levels of the Presas Arnis curriculum and we are currently looking for a school to host the class.

The Presas Arnis Instructor Development course is designed to reach out to students, instructors, and schools who are not primarily studying the Filipino Martial Arts (FMAs), but are well grounded in their primary styles; be they karate, kung fu, krav maga etc. etc.. By building on the foundation (business model) that GM Remy Presas laid by reaching out to interested students and instructors who are looking for a martial art program to augment their primary style instead of replacing it. 

Guro Lynn is the chief instructor at Hidden Sword Martial Arts and has been involved with the martial arts for 36 years and involved with the FMAs for 35.  Guro Lynn has earned black belts in five different systems of various degrees so he has designed this course to reach out to other styles and help them to see how Presas Arnis can enhance their primary system, and not to tear it down.  The focus of the class is to teach instructors how to potentially use Presas Arnis as a revenue generation vehicle for their school as an potential upgrade program, or to enhance their weapons self-defense tactics for their primary art, or perhaps as a vehicle for personal growth for the student by giving them a better understanding of impact and edged weapon defense. 

Currently students meet once a month at the host school for three hours and go over the curriculum.   Afterwards the students are encouraged to work together to practice till the next class.  Students and instructors who are enrolled in the Presas Arnis Instructors Development course are given access to the private Hidden Sword Presas Arnis Instructor Development Face Book page; where videos, photos, and discussions take place as another method of support.  Students can also visit the Mark Lynn Hidden Sword you tube channel for more videos.

If you are interested in attending or hosting a course class please email guro Lynn at [email protected]

2017 HSMA Presas Arnis Instructor Development Course overview

2017 Hidden Sword Presas Arnis Instructors Development Course

In February of 2017 Hidden Sword started their Presas Arnis Instructor Development Course at the North Texas Karate Academy in Bridgeport TX.  The Presas Arns Instructor Development Course is based on the Modern Arnis/Presas Arnis program that is taught at Hidden Sword.   Once a month the class meets for a three-hour class where guro Lynn would teach the attendees the Presas Arnis system.

  

As the name of the class implies this course is designed to develop instructors in hopes of them teaching the system and spreading the art. So guro Lynn concentrated on not only teaching the drills and skills of Presas Arnis but also the history of the art and instruction concepts behind the drills.  Over the course of the year the Presas Arnis Instructor Development class has also been helping to develop the students and instructors of Hidden Sword. Guros Jackie Bradbury, and Tomas Mendoza have each month assisted guro Lynn in the instruction of the class by walking the floor helping and training the students. However, it has also been a time of cross training for several of Hidden Sword’s students as well; Scott, Gabriel, Kaitlyn, and Kimberly have all traveled out to the school to train with the students of the class at one time or another.  

Currently there are two groups of students in the class; we have students who are interested in learning the art and improving their weapon based skills, and we have a select group of instructors who are interested in learning the art and being an instructor.  While the class was envisioned to primarily consist of senior students and black belt instructors of different arts, it has developed over time to include under black belt students of various ages as well.  On the 16^th of December 2017 the instructors at Hidden Sword tested two of the students for belt rank in the Presas Arnis system as well as four students for the  Basic Instructor Rank for those black belt instructors in other martial arts.

 (Note all photos are from earlier classes throughout 2017 North Texas Karate Academy in Bridgeport TX.)

In the photo to the right Jackie Bradbury is working with Randy Redus from Oklahoma on the supported blocking drill, she has just checked his stick hand with her empty hand.

 Photo to the left shows HSMA's chief instructor Mark Lynn translating the double stick material to empty hand techniques to the class.









In the photo below guro Lynn is demonstrating how a double stick  technique can be adapted to the Okinawan sai.

 In 2018 the Bridgeport class has elected to continue and will move on to learning the intermediate level material in the HSMA Presas Arnis curriculum.

HSMA is currently looking to start another beginner program at another school.  If interested in either hosting  or attending this class, please email guro Lynn. 

In the photo below guro Mendoza is helping a junior student on a double stick disarm.

Metroplex Arnis Players Alliance Inaugural Seminar

Well I haven't posted much this month (March is almost gone already), and just because I haven't posted on this blog doesn't mean I'm not actively working on creating opportunities for my students to train.  I have been steadily working on arranging for my TKD advanced students to help out and spar on a black belt exam, getting other students ready for an upcoming tournament, teaching on the side etc. etc. as well as arranging this seminar so my arnis students can have a cross training event like my TKD students do.  This is so much worth the effort, I can hardly wait for the 3rd of May.  After a lot of work, a lot of emails, phone calls etc.etc. I'm very glad to announce the following.

On May 3rd 2014 at the Roanoke Recreation Center in Roanoke TX Hidden Sword Martial Arts will be hosting the first (hopefully of several more to come) Filipino Martial Arts seminar for the Metroplex Arnis Players Alliance (M.A.P.A.).  This kickoff seminar will feature three instructors who all earned instructor ranks and have trained in different Filipino Martial Art (FMAs) systems along with other martial art styles and all of whom teach the FMAs in their respective schools.  For a VERY low price of $15.00 for preregistration and $20.00 at the door every participant will receive over 3 hours of training and instruction from these three experienced martial arts instructors.  We know the price is way way low for us as professional instructors; cheaper even than a one hour private lesson, or frankly any seminar event like this that I have ever attended, however we decided to create an event to promote cross training in the martial arts first and a price structure that basically just covers our costs and time.

Guros Lynn, Martinez, and Beck all share a common bond in training at one time or another with with either Grand Masters Remy or Ernesto Presas; the creators of Modern Arnis and Kombatan Arnis respectively. the Guros also share their instructor's vision of  learning from, connecting, training with, and reaching out to martial artists of all styles and systems.  This seminar was created in the spirit of wanting to connect with other like minded practitioners and instructors in the FMAs, and then through discussion amongst others  we expanded the vision of the training opportunity to include students or instructors from all martial arts.  To register for the event go to

Modern Arnis seminar     

 (Note: type in Modern Arnis seminar in the search engine for the class, please be aware that there is small fee for internet and credit cards usage.  This is the Rec. Center website, none of the instructors have any control of this nor gain any income from these fees.)

Short Bios on the Instructors

Guro Abel Martinez has over 20 years training and teaching experience in the martial arts; earning black belt ranks in 5 arts; Northern Shaolin/Preying Manits Kung Fu (3rd), Progressive Jujitsu (4th), Progressive Jujitsu -Kempo (2nd), Modern Arnis (2nd) and Luzviminda Arnis( 1st).  Guro Martinez currently teaches Modern Arnis and Thai Chi at TNT Self Defense in Stephenville TX.


TNT Denfense Website

Guro Martinez will be instructing on connecting mid -close range distances with using solo baston flow drills.

Guro David Beck is a multilevel black belt in Hapkido (6th dan), TKD (4th dan) and Arnis Delon (lakan Isa, 1st dan).  Guro Beck has trained for over 30+ years in the martial arts and over 20 years in the FMAs training with Guro Anding Delon, GM Remy Presas, GM Ernesto Presas, Datu Tim Hartman, Guro Dan Inosanto  and others.  Guro Beck teaches Hapkido, TKD and Modern Arnis at Jerome's Gym in Richardson TX.  For more information see Guro Beck's website at

Beck Martial Arts website

Guro Beck will be teaching on the use of the punyo (butt of the stick) to aid in locking and striking of pressure points.

Guro Mark Lynn is a multi level black belt in Renbudo karate (7th dan), Pacific Archipelago Combatives (6th dan), Kombatan Arnis (Lakan Lima, 5th dan), Modern Arnis (Lakan Apat, 4th dan), and Kobudo (traditional weapons 1st dan) with over 30 years experience studying and teaching the martial arts.  Guro Lynn has received instruction from some of the leading teachers in the FMAs including GM Remy Presas, GM Ernesto Presas, Hock Hochheim, Datu Dieter Knuttle, SM Dan Anderson, Datu Hartman, Guro Dan Inosanto, The Masters of Tapi Tapi, to name but a few.  Guro Lynn is the chief instructor for Hidden Sword Martial Arts and currently teaches Modern Arnis and American Karate at the Roanoke Recreation Center in Roanoke TX.

Guro Lynn will be teaching on translating double stick techniques to empty hand defenses.

Our Modern Arnis Way

Our Modern Arnis Way (How we are different part 2)

Last week I wrote about how “my Modern Arnis is different than ‘Normal” Modern Arnis”.  This week I want to continue with how our empty hand, espada y daga, and knife work is different as well.

Our empty hand material comes from several different sources, built around GM Remy’s Modern Arnis.  The first noticeable difference is the basic four defensive responses, these are taken directly from the double stick responses taught in Kombatan.  This is one of the first areas in our curriculum we stress to help the student to start translating the motions between blocking and countering a swinging stick and blocking and countering a punch.  We use the teaching drills and methodology inspired by Hock Hochheim such as the Wooden Man and Statue drills along with his punching drills to add meat and muscle to the skeletal structure so to speak.  These four defensive responses are tied in not only to empty hand punches etc. etc. but also to grabs, pushes, shoves, as well as weapon attacks. 

We also use the empty hand Sinawali drills to tie together the double stick and empty hand material, but we also tweak it by inserting the four defensive responses mentioned earlier into the empty hand sinawali flow drills making a more spontaneous blocking and entering  component to the drills.  Building on a similar format as we did with the single stick; in the more advanced rank levels we combine various empty hand flow drills i.e. Hubud, Empty Hand Sinawali, Empty Hand Tapi flowing in between the different patterns and using them to teach blocking, passing, locking, and striking skills.

SM Dan Anderson teaching at the 2007 DAV Summer camp

The Professor (Remy Presas) combined Small Circle Jujtisu with his Modern Arnis so he taught a lot of locking skills and drills.  Our Modern Arnis keeps that teaching alive and our locking, throwing, and off balancing skills come from the Professor along with a heavy influence of Dan Anderson’s teaching material.

SM Dan Anderson teaching off balancing skills at 2007 DAV Camp

We still teach the Modern Arnis Anyos or katas but we use them to teach application and translation of techniques instead of just for rank progression.  Here again SM Dan Anderson’s influence is found through his motion application principles, and body management principles to help us apply techniques found within the anyos.

Perhaps the two areas of the least influence of Modern Arnis that we have in our program is the espada y daga and the knife material.  Both of these bodies of material are heavily influenced by GM Ernesto Presas’s Kombatan, Hock Hochheim, Guru Inosanto and Bram Frank.  The espada y daga material is mainly from Kombatan and the espada y daga flow drills from Guru Inosanto, where as the knife material is from all four men.  In all of the camps and all of the 1 day seminars I went featuring GM Remy Presas, he covered this material only 2-3 times which is why GM Remy’s knife and espada y daga material is so sparse in our curriculum.  I reserve this material for the advanced ranks.

In a previous post I stated that we (my school and the instructors associated with Hidden Sword Martial Arts) are not part of or associated with any of the Modern Arnis governing bodies at this time.  One of the reasons this is so, is because that what I teach, how I teach, and what I believe should be taught is different because of all of my (our) influences.  It is not that my Modern Arnis is better than anyone else’s, but mine is different.

Datu Dieter teaching a spiraling take down at the 2007 International DAV Summer Camp

My Modern Arnis isn't Normal Modern Arnis pt 2

  
Our Modern Arnis

Last week in a previous blog entitled “My Modern Arnis isn’t Normal Modern Arnis”  I described why I called what I teach Presas Arnis, my influences, and how I went back to calling what I teach Modern Arnis.  This week I thought I would explain how our Modern Arnis is different than “normal Modern Arnis”.

First off I believe I still teach with the spirit behind Modern Arnis, a spirit of innovation, a spirit of creativity, to translate the motion of techniques, and with a spirit that teaches the student to make the connection between techniques.  All of which the Professor (GM Remy) demonstrated at his seminars and through out his DVDs etc. etc.

However I’m not a purest, nor a preservationist in regards to only teaching what Remy taught.   Even though I have hundreds of pages of detailed notes out lining what he taught, in what order, at what seminar etc. etc., I don’t teach in the same format as GM Remy taught me.  I can’t.

Instead we (my assistant instructors and I) teach a curriculum that is a blended curriculum of the Modern Arnis of GM Remy and Kombatan Arnis created by  GM Ernesto Presas, along with various drills and a teaching methodology inspired by Hock Hochheim.  I teach with the goal of primarily teaching  a method of self defense first and stick fighting a distant second through a martial art. 

Gm Ernesto Presas instructing a student  on response #2

Here at Hidden Sword Martial Arts one of the big differences in our Modern Arnis program is the heavier influence of double stick techniques and instruction.  One of the core set of techniques is the four defensive responses; this material comes from GM Ernesto's and Hock's influence, however we teach this material much earlier in our curriculum than in Kombatan's.  The four defensive responses are then translated to empty hand techniques as well as self defense techniques.  Another difference is the amount of double stick flow drills or Sinawalis, that are taught.  In many Modern Arnis schools there are generally 3-4 Sinawali’s taught and in our Modern Arnis curriculum we have chosen to teach several more.  We use the Sinawalis to teach different concepts like the double double, the abaniko (or gunting), reverse principle, etc. etc. and much of this material comes from the Kombatan and Guro Inosanto's influences.

GM Remy demonstrating stick locking techniques with Jeff  Delaney

For the single stick the body of material is largely from GM Remy’s Modern Arnis.  Although in addition to Remy's material, we do incorporate the Dos Manos drills from Hock, disarming concepts and techniques from both Datu Dieter and SM Dan Anderson, angling and body shifting skills and drills from SM Dan Anderson, and Policing or releasing techniques from Kombatan.

Our single stick and empty hand flow drills come from several different sources mainly Remy, Guro Dan Inosanto, and Hock.  In our advanced ranks we start teaching various Hubud, Sumbrada (Remy’s six count drill), and the Tapi Tapi drill series.  Where we differ is when we combine the drills together and flow from one to the next.  So you might start out in long range with single sinawali (with one stick) break in and go into Sumbrada then into Hubud then into Tapi Tapi with the right hand, back into Hubud then into Tapi with the left hand etc. etc. 

Next week I will continue this with describing how our empty hand, espada y daga, and knife material is different as well.

My Modern Arnis isn't Normal Modern Arnis pt 1

Our Modern Arnis Way

At Hidden Sword Martial Arts I teach what I have called Presas Arnis for several years now and only recently have I started referring to it as Modern Arnis since there as been a shift in my teaching.  In short however let me state up front that my Modern Arnis isn’t normal Modern Arnis and we are not associated with or governed by the other Modern Arnis associations.

So what is Modern Arnis?  In short Modern Arnis is a martial art that was created by Grandmaster Remy Armador Presas in 1957.  GM Remy went on to promote his art all around the world till his unfortunate death in 2001.  Modern Arnis was designed and created as a method of self defense using his knowledge of the Filipino martial arts, Judo, Jujitsu, and Karate which he blended together into his self defense system.

Double stick defensive response #1 from Kombatan Arnis

So why did I call it Presas Arnis?  Well I studied under Hock Hochheim who not only studied with GM Remy but with Remy’s younger brother GM Ernesto Presas.   GM Ernesto has his method of Arnis as well called Kombatan Arnis (among other names over the years including Modern Arnis).  Hock took elements of GM Remy’s art and elements of GM Ernesto’s art and combined them and called it Presas Arnis in order to honor both brothers and set it apart from their separate arts as well.  For many years I simply followed suite.

Early on in my training, Hock encouraged me to study with both brothers and I did, eventually earning Lakan (black belt) rank under Hock, Remy and Ernesto in each of their systems.  So what I learned and subsequently taught was a blend of these three instructors.  After Remy’s passing I continued to study with a variety of leading instructors in Modern Arnis through camps and such and I incorporated their teaching and drills into my classes as well.  So I felt it was proper to call what I teach as Presas Arnis, because at the core of my art it is a blend of the two brothers systems.

After GM Ernesto passed away in 2010, I started shifting the name of what I teach back to Modern Arnis, because by that time I had trained a lot more with people like Hock, Datu Dieter, SM Dan Anderson, Bram Frank, the Masters of Tapi Tapi (MoTTs) and others all of who were more associated with GM Remy’s Modern Arnis than GM Ernesto’s Kombatan Arnis.  

In the opening paragraph I stated “My Modern Arnis isn’t normal Modern Arnis” and it is a true statement. Due to my training with several different instructors of Modern Arnis under GM Remy, as well as Hock and Dieter who trained with both brothers, along with my training with both GM Remy and GM Ernesto; my Modern Arnis curriculum is different than many other Modern Arnis curriculums since I freely blend in these other influences. This is what led me to struggle over between calling the martial art that I teach Modern Arnis or Presas Arnis because I didn’t want to misrepresent what I teach.

Double Stick Defensive Response #1 applied to empty hand

In this series entitled Our Modern Arnis Way I will discuss the way I teach and the way I do things, my influences, principles of learning, the differences between our way and others etc. etc. as it relates to Hidden Sword Martial Arts and our Modern Arnis programs.  My goal is to write about how Modern Arnis is the core art within my art and my martial art programs.

"It's all the same"

“It’s all the same”

I was sitting there watching GM Remy Presas instruct at the first summer camp I went to with him back in 1995 when I kept hearing him tell us these words “It’s all the same.”  While I heard those words and thought I understood them or his meaning behind them at the time; it’s now almost 20 years later and still those words, that concept that he was teaching us that day (and many days thereafter), continues to help shape my martial arts training.  I have trained with several instructors (at camps and seminars) that have been centered around teaching the Filipino martial arts (FMAs for short) that have really influenced the focus of my teaching methods in both the FMAs and my karate and Kobudo training.

Thirty years ago I went to a Dan Inosanto seminar on the FMAs and it changed my thinking and my course of martial arts study forever.  I learned more about self defense in that 6-8 hour seminar than I had in the year or so I had been studying Tae Kwon Do.  Guro Dan was the first instructor whom I saw that showed the concept of translating techniques and drills from empty hand to weapon applications.   Although Guro Inosanto showed more of how different martial arts and different martial systems blended together, I still took what he showed and applied it to self defense applications.  Self defense has always been a main driver for my practice of the martial arts.  Over time I have of course shifted my focus from just self defense study to other areas in the martial arts but….. I still tend to filter techniques, applications, strategies, my core instruction etc. etc. based on the application of self defense.

One of the things I really grabbed onto with the FMAs was the teaching concept that techniques can be applied from one weapon group to another, granted there are some adjustments but the training in the FMAs help bring about those adjustments in a quicker manner.  In combining the systems of GM Remy Presas’s Modern Arnis and GM Ernesto Presas’s Kombatan system into one system which I called Presas Arnis or Modern Arnis our curriculum is based more on self defense instruction than say a stick fighter’s system.  Both GM Remy and GM Ernesto stressed this concept in their instruction, however it was W. Hock Hochheim who really influenced me by giving me the vision and the instruction to help change my thinking.

GM Remy would during his instruction (demos) at his camps make statements while showing different stick techniques like “you are there already!  This is a cut” “This is a throw!” and this might have been his way of making the point that with a blade this strike with the empty hand would be a cut, or with a stick this technique could be a choke and with the empty hand it could be a throw etc. etc.  He was great at demonstrating and this is how he got his points across, but his verbal instruction methods lacked some making it  a hard way to learn this concept.  Granted we could see how to apply drills like Empty Hand Sinawali and make the translations to the Single Sinawali (double stick) drill, or how the thrust in that drill could translate to the punch etc. etc. but really this is just the tip of the ice berg, there was so much more. GM Ernesto was a bit different, his system and the way it was set up showed these concepts and the way he taught could lead you to these concepts but…… it was still kind of out there.  He could demonstrate it, and demonstrate he did.  GM Ernesto would do things like using a water bottle vs. a stick while doing his freestyle drill pattern (showing how you can use anything).   Or, like he did at a seminar I helped host for him in 2002;  at the end of the seminar he took ideas from the attendees, such as disarming with a bo, sai, tonfa a towel etc. etc. showing us how these all related to what we had learned during his seminar.  However where both of them stressed this in regards to learning their martial art systems, Hock stressed it in regards to self defense and took it to a different level for me.

Hock helped me to frame most everything through self defense and he took things to the extreme like practicing Hubud empty hand against a knife then quick drawing a rubber band gun and shooting the person in center mass, or wrestling with one person going for submissions while the other goes for getting to the eyes or throat.  He’d add things to the drills to up the frustration or stress levels making you adapt.  Hock would take the feeding patterns and add kicks, punches, different techniques, or even different weapon combinations breaking down the barriers we would form in our minds, all of the while teaching us that this is what is going on.

This was such a different concept for me at the time because prior to this I was use to thinking that using a sai, a tonfa, and a rattan stick were all vastly different.  On top of this I was being told that my empty hand techniques were similar to my techniques with weapons?   WHAT!!!!!?

However this is what helped set me straight, this is what helped me to see that the weapon is an extension of the hand; that I didn’t need to learn a bunch of katas for each type of weapon.  (Don’t get me wrong I enjoy learning and practicing katas, I believe that with katas  there also needs to be application of the techniques found within the kata.) That a flashlight could be used like a stick, that a two handed grip on a backpack or a brief case is similar to a two handed grip on a stick, that this hand hold release could also be used to release a hand that is trying desperately to keep me from drawing my weapon or keeping me from getting to my assailant with it.  That I could apply a wrist lock with my hand, a stick, a knife, a sai, a tonfa, even a water bottle and that in many ways as GM Remy use to say “It’s all the same”.