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Remy A. Presas' Modern Arnis

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This page is devoted to one of the arts we teach as a stand-alone program at Tye's Kung Fu; i.e. Modern Arnis. Currently, we offer weekly classes in Remy Presas' Modern Arnis:

Sundays 10:30am - noon is for regular workshop-style classes
The location is the basketball court area of the central park at Kings' Park in Springfield, VA.

We have a library of free Modern Arnis training materials on Youtube, here:

Or straight from the web here


Modern Arnis and I met decades ago, when Guro Eric Alexander gave me my first taste of the art in 1992. Since 1993/1994, I have studied under Professor Remy A. Presas himself, as well as a great many of his advanced students. I have enjoyed my time with each and every one of them, but of course I treasure my time with Profesor Presas most of all. For much of the 90s training in Texas, I was a primary demo-dummy for the Professor, for which I'll always be grateful - nothing quite like feeling the pain time and time again to be sure to get it right! All told, I participated in 20 weekend training camps with the Professor and about double that number of seminars, all the while actively working the material on my own and in dedicated classes in between seeing him - well over 500 hours of Professor-led training (not as much as I'd have wished, but still so much to work with!). Between side-sessions and even private training, I will forever be thankful for his contributions, both as an instructor and in personal exchanges, in my martial arts journey, and not just in Modern Arnis.

I worked my way up through colored ranks primarily under Guro Eric, and then with his blessing shifted to training with the Professor around green belt. I tested under the Professor for my Lakan (black belt, non-probationary, 1995) and Lakan Isa (1st degree black belt, 1996). And in 1997, Professor Presas awarded me Lakan Dalawa (2nd degree black belt) rank in Modern Arnis, my final promotion under him before he passed. Due to multiple surgeries, I had to miss testing for Lakan Tatlo (3rd degree black belt) despite the Professor's enthusiastic requests in 1999 and again in 2000, and I did not seek additional rank after his passing. Eventually, I received a surprise recognition in early 2015 as Lakan Tatlo in Modern Arnis by the World Modern Arnis Alliance (WMAA). During my 2016 trip to the Philippines, I was honored to test in Hinigaran (Prof. Presas' home town!) and was awarded Lakan Apat (4th degree) in Presas Arnis, Kombatan, and Modern Arnis. I have earned more rank since then as well, but it is worth noting that I have never asked to test or for rank, and I never will.

At the Professor's encouragement and insistance, I founded the TAMU Modern Arnis Club at Texas A&M University in 1995 and later expanded to also include a non-university commercial club. After receiving my PhD in Nuclear Chemistry, I continued to teach and do seminars, but more importantly I continue to learn and hone my Modern Arnis.

When I teach, I emphasize flow, real-life applications (i.e. convince me this'd work), disarms and joint-work. I've found that my Modern Arnis training has helped in my understanding and application of kung fu as well - kind of a cross-pollination. One of the single best training tools in GM Presas' system is Tapi-Tapi, with all the variations, free-flowingness, change-ups, and applications put in - WONDERFUL! Of course, the full gamut of other drills are explored as well as their variations involving applications, follow-ups, empty-hand translations, guntings, disarms, counters, striking styles, locks, reversals, takedowns, pins, etc. Some of these are:

    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)
    picture by Bea Knuettel, Dortmund, Germany 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

in addition to these, Guro Martinez and I have developed other useful training tools, including:

    the 14- and 18-Count Drills
    the Range Drill
    various Lock-flow Drills

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:



Also, check out the Modern Arnis Board in the Discussion Forums Area!

Also, check out these Arnis Sticks!


Pix from various seminars...

Tye and Professor Presas
Professor Presas and I

Dance of Pain
Guro Eric Alexander working with Guro Raymond Montoya

Tapi-Tapi
Guro Anding DeLeon and Professor playing Tapi-Tapi



since Dec 12, 1998
  
Tye's Kung Fu
Last Updated: Tuesday, 17-Aug-2021 13:30:17 EDT, by Tye W. Botting