Informative Issue No. 236 2016

In Support of

R.A. 9850 Arnis National Sports and Martial Arts Law (Philippines)

In Support of

R.A. 9850 Arnis National Sports and Martial Arts Law (Philippines)

How It Began and What Transpired Philippine Organizations Unite i-Arnis Mataw Guro Association & Academy 1st World FMA Unity Seminar The Program Day 1 Day 2 World FMA Family

Each issue features practitioners of martial arts and other internal arts, other features include historical, theo-retical and technical articles; reflections, Filipino martial arts, healing arts, the culture of the Philippines and other related subjects. The authors, publisher and owner of this online magazine are not responsible for any injury, which may result from the instructions contained in this online magazine. Before embarking on any of the physical activates described in the magazine, the reader should consult his or her physician for advice regarding their individual suitability for per-forming such activity. The ideas and opinions expressed in the FMA Informative online magazine are those of the authors or instruc-tors being interviewed and are not necessarily the views of the publisher, editor or owner of the FMA Informative. The articles are the property of the authors that wrote them and cannot be used without the permission of the author. The FMA Informative is for the promulgation and promotion of the Filipino martial arts and the Culture of the Philippines. NO issue can be printed and Sold for Monies, without the express permission of the Owner and Publisher of the FMA Informative.

The World FMA Family www.WorldFMAFamily.com

www.arnisphilippines.com www.iarnis.com

www.tambulimedia.com

www.matawguro.com

The FMA Informative wants to thank Dr. Mark Wiley for submitting the material for this issue The 1st World FMA Unity Seminar. The event was held on June 4-5, 2016 at the Montgomery Township Community Center in Montgomery Twp, PA. The event was in support of R.A. 9850 Arnis National Sports and Martial Arts Law (Philippines), with Dr. Wiley and Datu Inocalla setting up the event in support of i-Arnis and also with the support of the Ma-taw-Guro Association and fully establishing the Mataw-Guro Academy.

A word from Datu Shishir Inocalla and Dr. Mark Wiley The aim of i-Arnis is to give recognition to special individuals for Arnis skills acquired or contributions done for the propagation of Arnis as a martial art and sport by classifying practitioners with a sports Arnis Grad-ing System. This grading system is specifically designed for Arnis to standardize levels for all its practitioners. This system will also protect the origins of the different Arnis styles and their masters, thereby protecting the history of the styles. Arnis masters shall be given the proper stature and honor they truly deserve. International ambassadors were established to promote Filipino martial arts Culture & Tourism, begin-ning with Datu Shishir Inocalla and Dr. Mark Wiley. Inocalla and Wiley were then asked to make plans to unify Filipino martial arts and to begin by promoting the first World FMA Unity Seminar combining the associations of the Philippines (mentioned above) and the unifying Filipino martial arts association in North America: The Mataw Guro Association.

http://www.WorldFMAFamily.com/http://www.arnisphilippines.com/http://www.iarnis.com/http://www.tambulimedia.com/http://www.matawguro.com/

How It Began and What Transpired

The Filipino martial arts are at a turning point. The once secretive fighting arts are now Youtube sensa-tions and available at a seminar or two near you nearly every weekend. With all the open access and popularity these arts now have, they are changing and morphing into systems that look unlike Filipino martial arts used to look. And these days there are just so many masters and Grandmaster that its hard to keep track of what is authentic Filipino martial arts and what is Filipino martial arts inspired modern creations. In the old days, there was a Master. Lets use Remy Presas as a nice example. He spread the modern version of Arnis into the Philippine school systems and to martial artists throughout the word. When he was alive, there was Modern Arnis. Now that he has passed, we have hundreds of Masters under him now claiming new system names and Grandmaster titles. The same thing happened when Angel Cabales passed away, and again when Antonio Ilustrisimo passed away; and the list goes on. I am not judging here if this is good or bad, as that all depends where you stand. But what has occurred is a near impossibility of tracking systems lines, lineages, and a fragmentation of the art that is as long as the archipelago.

Philippine Organizations Unite In the Philippines, Raymond S. Velajo has been head of the government recognized Arnis Philippines for decades. He has tried to unite the different systems and masters under one organization, with different levels of success. Arnis Philippines, with the support of Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Sports Commis-sion, Philippine Department of Culture and Tourism, held a gathering of masters in San Juan City, Philippines in 2015. In attendance were Raymond Velayo, Shishir Inocalla, Dr. Mark Wiley, Bambit Dulay, Rodel Dagooc, Victor Cusi, Pepito Robas, Frank Aycocho, Earl Bruce Villanueva, De La Rosa, the late Alex Co, Dada Shivesh-ananda and dozens others. The meeting was covered by Jean Russel V. David, reporter for The Manila Times. At the gathering, in addition to celebrating the 14th memorial of the passing of Professor Remy Presas, Velajo announced a new organization as a branch of Arnis Philippines, to help unite Arnis globally. That new arm is called Arnis Pederasyong Internasyonal, Inc. (i-ARNS).

i-Arnis The aim of i-Arnis is to give recognition to special individuals for Arnis skills acquired or contributions done for the propagation of Arnis as a martial art and sport by classifying practitioners with a sports Arnis Grading System. This grading system is specifically designed for Arnis to standardize levels for all its practitioners. This system will also protect the origins of the different Arnis styles and their masters, thereby pro-tecting the history of the styles. Arnis masters shall be given the proper stature and honor they truly deserve.

International ambassadors were established to promote Filipino martial arts Culture and Tourism, beginning with Datu Shishir Inocalla and Dr. Mark Wiley. Inocalla and Wiley were then asked to make plans to unify Fili-pino martial arts and to begin by promoting the first World FMA Unity Seminar combining the associations of the Philippines (mentioned above) and the unifying Filipino martial arts association in North America: The Mataw Guro Association.

Mataw Guro Association & Academy

According to Louelle Lledo, who founded the Mataw Guro Association in 2010, Its not the style but the Mataw Guro that makes all the difference. There is no better art, only a better person. The art is the person and the person is the art. This is an important notion because most people form or join an association to get an elevated rank. But the Mataw Guro Association was formed with a different view in mind. Conscious of the need of developing enthusiasm, interest, and dedication in the field of Filipino Martial Arts Education, and in order to act as guardians of the noble and beneficial aims of Arnis de Mano and compelled by Lledo and Andy Sananos desire to establish an association which shall be the rallying point of all

teachers of Arnis de Mano as a Filipino Martial Arts Education, the Mataw Guros hereby mutually agree to unite and associate themselves for such a purpose. There is no rank and file among teachers, only the shared title of Mataw Guro or master teacher. The Mataw-Guro Association was formed to merge the different styles and systems in North America by designing, establishing and disseminating a basic fundamental for teaching Filipino martial arts education. The aim is to support Republic Act 9850 (aka Arbnis Law), to establish Arnis as national martial art and sport of Philippines). The Mataw-Guro Association legacy is to contribute to Filipino martial arts development through grassroots efforts, schools, and the physical education programs within colleges and universities. It is the only Association that can accredit and evaluate the Filipino martial arts based on the four classical or traditional sys-tems common to all the different major styles in the Philippines. The Association then formed the Mataw Guro Academy wherein it appointed faculty for legitimate teaching of the Filipi-no martial arts education fundamentals programs. The Academy consists of Mataw Guros from different styles: Llouelle Lledo (Amara Arkanis), Andy Sanano (Sanano Martial Arts), Emmy Querbin (Sikaran), Dr. Christopher Viggiano (Shen Wu Dao), Bob Martin (United Force Martial Arts), Dr. Mark Wiley (Integrated Eskrima), Marlon Hudak (Pinoy Dragons), Walter Crisostomo (Ultimate Eskrima), Rommel Guiveses (Sikaran), Spencer Gee (Pananandata), and Oliver Garduce (Kombatan).

1st World FMA Unity Seminar

Datu Shishir and Dr. Wiley spent months coordinating efforts in the role as International Ambassadors of Filipino martial arts Culture. Shishir began teaching in Macau and Korea and Guanzhou. Wiley rallied his support behind the Mataw-Guro Association, for which he serves as Senior Adviser and PA State Ambassador, and joined them in promoting seminars on the US East Coast. Then a date was selected for the First Word FMA Unity Seminar to be held in Montgomery Township, PA on June 4-5, 2016. This became the forerunner in a series of FMA Unity seminars now sweeping the USA, Canada, and Brasil. This first event was hosted by Dr. Mark Wiley and su