Remy A. Presas' Modern Arnis
We also have a library of free Modern Arnis training materials available on our Youtube channel, some examples:
My journey with Modern Arnis began in 1992 when Guro Eric Alexander introduced me to this art.
From 1993/1994 onwards, I had the privilege of studying under Professor
Remy A. Presas himself,
as well as many of his advanced students. While I value my time with all of them, my most
cherished memories are of training directly with Professor Presas. Throughout the 90s, during
my training in Texas, I often served as the primary demo-dummy for the Professor. Although it
involved enduring bountiful pain repeatedly, I am grateful for those experiences as they helped me
refine my techniques. In total, I participated in 18 weekend training camps and attended
over 30 seminars with the Professor, accumulating over 500 hours of his guidance - enough
material to work on for a lifetime!
I dedicated myself to personal practice and taught regular, dedicated classes, constantly
immersing myself in the material. Professor Presas' contributions, both as an instructor and
in personal exchanges, have profoundly influenced my martial arts journey,
not just in Modern Arnis but beyond.
I progressed through the colored ranks primarily under Guro Eric's guidance until I
reached the green belt level. With Guro Eric's blessing, I transitioned to training
directly under Professor Presas. Under his guidance, I tested for and achieved the
rank of Lakan (black belt, non-probationary) in 1995, followed by testing for and
acheiving Lakan Isa
(1st-degree black belt) in 1996. I was asked to test again in 1997, and Professor
Presas awarded me the rank of
Lakan Dalawa (2nd-degree black belt) in Modern Arnis, which was my final promotion
under him before his passing. Unfortunately, due to multiple surgeries, I couldn't
undergo the testing for Lakan Tatlo (3rd-degree black belt), despite the Professor's
enthusiastic requests in 1999 and 2000. Following his passing, I did not actively
pursue additional ranks. However, in early 2015, I received unexpected recognition
from the World Modern Arnis Alliance (WMAA) as
Lakan Tatlo in Modern Arnis. During
my trip to the Philippines in 2016, I had the honor of testing in Hinigaran,
Professor Presas' hometown, and I was awarded the rank of Lakan Apat (4th degree) in
Presas Arnis, Kombatan, and Modern Arnis. It's worth noting that I have never
sought or asked to test for rank,
and I will continue to adhere to this approach.
At the encouragement and insistence of Professor Presas, I established the
TAMU Modern Arnis Club at
Texas A&M University in 1995. Later, I expanded
its reach to include a separate commercial club off-campus. Even after earning
my PhD in Nuclear Chemistry, I have remained committed to training, teaching, and
conducting seminars. Importantly, I continue to learn and refine my
skills in Modern Arnis.
When I teach Modern Arnis, I emphasize the concepts of flow, real-life
applications, disarms, and joint work. I have found that my training in
Modern Arnis has also enriched my understanding and application of kung fu,
resulting in a beneficial cross-pollination of techniques. One of the most
valuable training tools in GM Presas' system is Tapi-Tapi, with its variations,
free-flowing nature, change-ups, and practical applications — it is truly wonderful.
Of course, we explore the full range of other drills and their variations,
incorporating applications, follow-ups, empty-hand translations, guntings, disarms,
counters, striking styles, locks, reversals, takedowns, pins, and more.
Some of this root work includes:
in addition to these, Guro Martinez and I have developed other useful training tools, including:
We firmly respect all of GM Presas' teachings, and by extension we support as
many of the various Modern
Arnis organizations as we can, especially those we
have interacted with. This list is constantly expanding because so many out
there are doing a great job of sharing their piece of GM Presas' vision.
In no particular order, we support and are members of:
This page is dedicated to Modern Arnis,
one of the standalone programs offered at
Tye's Kung Fu.
We currently provide weekly classes in Remy Presas' Modern Arnis, with the following schedule:
Sundays from 10:30am - noon in regular workshop-style classes
The location for these classes is the basketball court area of the central park
at Kings' Park in Springfield, VA.
the 12 Basic Strikes
the Basic Blocks
sweep (stick-up and stick-down), umbrella (inside and outside), cutting
Striking Styles
labtik, witik, tusok, punyo, banda-y-banda, rompida, taas-baba (up-down), abaniko
(largo & corto, single- and double-action), piguro de otso, double
zero X, pabilog (arko), harada, pelantik, duplete, etc
Sinawalis
Single Sinawali, 4-ct Single, Double Sinawali, Pera-peral Sinawali ("Cowboy"),
Reverse Sinawali, Heaven 6, Earth 6, 4-ct Double, X Sinawali, and on and on.
Anyos (forms)
empty-hand, opposite hand, single cane, knife, double cane, cane+knife, double knife, and staff
the Flow Drill
"Dance of Pain"
Flowing effortlessly from joint lock to joint lock while inserting throws,
takedowns, pins, come-alongs, etc.
Palis-Palis
Abanico (Corto, Largo, Double Action (4 ways), etc)
Single Dagger
Espada-y-daga
the 6-Count Drill (Anim na Bilang), the Box
Drill (10-Count), and Abaniko Sumbrada (10-count)
same-side, opposite, mis-matched, and inserts
Tapi-Tapi
Abecedario, obstruction removal, L vs. R, R vs. R, crossovers, knife, empty-hand, and inserts
the 14- and 18-Count Drills
the Range Drill
various Lock-flow Drills
Guro Eric Alexander working with Guro
Raymond Montoya
Guro Anding DeLeon and Professor playing Tapi-Tapi
