Why I Choose/Love FMA (Filipino Martial Arts) by: Raymond Vallido

Many of us have a style of martial arts that we love to do: Brazilian Jujitsu, Tae Kwon Do, Aikido, etc.  As a first timer practitioner of any martial arts, Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) is the art that intrigues me the most and I wanted to learn more about it.  FMA allows me to learn the basic movements with a stick made out of rattan, also called as baston.  It helps me understand the fundamentals of movement as I started training.  During my progress, this style allows me to use any weapon in my possession (sword, knife, clothing, even empty hands) and possibly do some techniques I couldn't do when I first began.  Plus, it helps me to get into better shape when I was training for a tournament or in a seminar with other instructors.  After the first 3 years of training, I was in better shape than I was in high school and college, and my skills continued to develop by learning other styles of FMA, from different other instructors and discipline.  Such as Yaw Yan a Filipino version of kickboxing.

I choose FMA instead of the more popular style many are familiar with.  It was during my final year at UC Riverside, that I started practicing FMA.  I thought that this was just going to be a martial arts training but it allowed me to learn more about my Filipino Culture and its fighting history.  After I graduated, I wanted to continue training and learn other styles of FMA, as well as be able to compete in local tournaments that has a very different format of sparring.  I also wanted to gain more confidence in myself and be able to pass it on to my future kids and grandkids and let them hear why I decided to practice this martial art.  Lastly, I wanted to take everything what I learned from various styles of FMA and other martial arts styles and use it as my own.  This may be a long task as I progress, but with the knowledge I will gain from the seminars I am planning to attend, it will definitely benefit me in the long run.

There are many reasons why I love doing FMA, and some are even harder for me to describe it.  The one special thing you will immediately notice is that FMA is a community.  In any tournament or seminar I go to with my school, Filipino Martial Arts School a subsidiary of Visayan Legacy Association, I get a chance to meet some of the different schools and their fighters who share the same passion as I do.  I am very blessed to fight these battles, attain knowledge, and develop friendships with them from all over the world, and I am looking forward for more to come. 

           

Do not be fooled, as welcoming as the FMA community is, it is for fighting, and I love getting a chance to compete.  Whenever I train for Global Stick and Blade Alliance through their Regional, National, and World tournaments, I can feel the mandirigma (warrior in Filipino) spirit as then the urge to compete as I wear my armor and headgear, I prepare for battle.  I calm my heart and steady my mind, as I walk into the ring amped and ready to fight.  My theme song playing as if I was a wrestler fighting in WWE’s WrestleMania.

Above all else, the true reason why I love FMA so much is that I see it as a family.  Let us be honest.  We may battle against each other to see who is a better fighter, or we may argue at certain things that is not related to FMA.  Yet we all support each other in any circumstances, whether it's from school/work or personal lives.  It really doesn't matter if I'm from San Diego, a teammate of mine is from Riverside, or a fellow competitor is from Germany, we're there for each other and that type support is pretty much the icing on the cake.

The Filipino Martial Arts Legacy by Francis T.B. Serrano and Ollie Salvador

This post is dedicated to SGM Cacoy Cañete.  I never had the distinct honor of ever training directly with this legend, but I have met many who have.  If the character of the teacher is measured by the character of his students, then SGM Cacoy Cañete was indeed an honorable man.

As I write this, I am actively doing everything within my power to propagate the Filipino Martial Arts (FMA).  I have hosted seminars and tournaments, and I believe I have done a lot to showcase these beautiful martial arts.  But just like many journeys, it requires a point of origin.  It is easy to forget that the Philippines is still a relatively young country.  Although it’s people have existed there for hundreds (and maybe thousands) of years, the Spanish occupied the Philippines from 1565 to1898, and after that the United States colonized the Philippines from 1898 to 1946 – so  the Philippines has been under foreign rule for over 300 years.  It is only now in recent times that we are coming into our own identity.

The Filipino Martial Arts are experiencing a renaissance, where more practitioners are joining, and great instructors are emerging.  On July 27, 2009, Republic Act 9850, declaring Arnis as the National Martial Art and Sport of the Philippines, was brought into existence.  Hollywood has started to recognize the beauty, combat effectiveness, and dynamic nature of FMA, and the rest of the world will soon follow.  Instructors such as Ray Dionaldo, Doug Marcaida, and Percival Pableo are starting to break ground and are increasingly recognized by a growing audience of Filipino martial arts enthusiasts.  I know there are many more instructors out there that haven’t been recognized yet, but I strongly believe that they will soon, for FMA is growing – and this era of social media is helping to push the Filipino martial arts into the front and center of people’s awareness.

It is important to appreciate the future, and to appreciate the future we must covet the journey, which must inevitably start at the beginning.  George Santayana said, "To know your future you must know your past."  This is surely a journey that will bring us full circle.

No matter how fast the Filipino martial arts seem to be growing, we must never forget where we came from.  Many of the Filipino Grand Masters, the true pioneers of FMA, are dying at a rate faster than anyone can fill in the void that they have left in their passing. How many more times will be left where we can we say that we trained with those people who proved the effectiveness of the Filipino martial arts on the battlefield?  

These Grand Masters are national cultural treasures, and as such, we must seek to preserve both their knowledge and the spirit of their arts.  They are the last vital link to our past – our proud heritage that is soaked with the blood of our warrior ancestors.  We must cling to them with all of our might and study the fundamentals of critical knowledge that they left for us, so that we may take the art to new and higher levels.  Advancing the Fundamentals begins with mastery of them, and the practitioner’s journey begins from there.  The only way for us to take FMA to the next level is to know and respect where we came from…to walk the path of our venerable ancestors – and walk new paths to greatness, so that one day, we may stand beside them…kindred spirits from the past and the future, connected by a timeless art, and a warrior’s destiny.

 Advancing the Fundamentals w/Master Nito Noval

Master Nito Noval of West Coast Doce Pares

Why we fight - My thoughts of the 2015 GSBA USA National Tournament

The anticipation is thick, as my guys Mark & Kyle load the truck with gears and clothes. The time is 0700,  Perris, CA. The weather is high 70's. Gloomy but no matter how overcast the day may be, nothing is going to diminish the excitement that we all have as we leave for the 2015 GSBA USA National Tournament.

Los Angeles International Airport, Southwest terminal. Checked in and heading towards the gate. Our brothers from Oxnard are there. The hunger is in all our eyes, the hunger that can only be quenched by one thing and one thing alone. GOLD!!! This is not your typical gold fever, for this gold can only be won by combat. The machismo is thick yet the respect is clear; we are kindred warriors. In the battlefield we may be enemies but we are all brothers.

Arriving at Milwaukee International Airport the weather is crisp. At a cool 50 degrees, it is not as cold as 2006, but then again the fire in our hearts and veins will keep us warm. The battle site, Sheraton Brookfield.

Registration: The first time we see our opponents. Make no mistake  -  the battle starts here. Seeing how they lean or do they cringe when you shake their hands? Are they leaner or bigger? Are they limping or not? But just like us, they too have that fire in their eyes and they too have GOLD FEVER.

Talk is cheap, time to show me what you got. As the warriors clash, the sticks fly and there is no longer any holding back. You are giving your all, with every ounce of strength, with every fiber of your being, with all your training against the person in front of you doing the exact same thing. You make contact and as that stick connects you feel every inch of your weapon smashing against their body. You see the hurt they are feeling, yet it does not change their resolve to inflict as much damage as they can on you. The first round is over, is your conditioning enough? As you go back to your corner at that moment you think to yourself have I trained hard enough? Then you look to your coach and they say to you, "Fight hard, fight strong, and fight to win." That 30 second break is getting shorter between every round. Then you go out there to fight again. All the while you keep thinking, this person is in my way to the GOLD. I must vanquish them.

Two days of fighting, two days of laying it all on the line, two days of pain. Then they hand you your medal, and while not every battle you come out on top, you realize that your biggest opponent was not the warrior in front of you, but the coward inside of you. The coward that says you cannot do this, run and hide. The voice of doubt is silenced as you come out battered and bruised; but you survived. So no matter what the score card says, you know you are a champion. Then your opponent comes across to you and grabs your hand and raises it higher than his. You might not have earned the gold, but you earned something more - the respect of your peers. You walked into the arena as combatants but walked away as brothers forged by broken sticks and bones, sealed with blood and sweat and the victory belongs to you all. 

This is Filipino Martial Arts, and this is what it means to compete.

I don't need to take classes I'll just buy pepper spray

There is evil in this world, and there are those who want to serve that evil to the good people in this world.  Martial Artist are not afraid, for we prepare, we train and we anticipate.  So we walk tall and confident.  We walk into a room knowing that if trouble comes, we can handle ourselves.  We are not bullies, nor paranoid.  We live our lives unafraid, and no one's victim.  

Martial Artist train hard, spend hundreds if not thousands of hours training over and over.  We get bruised and sometimes break our bones, yet we keep coming back.  No matter how hard it is, it does not compare to the difficulties of explaining to someone else how important it is to learn how to protect themselves.  

Unfortunately people do not take their personal safety seriously.  Many people live their lives in this buble of ignorance safe from the evil of this world.  Just like all bubles it does not take much to burst it.  When told that they should at least learn something to protect themselves they just don't have the time.  Or its just not a priority.  Many times I get the question what type of pepper spray should I purchase, what type of knife is legal or what type of weapon I can carry that is legal.  

Education is key.  The problem with just purchasing a pepper spray or walking around with a knife is that it creates a false sense of security.  Many people think that once I walk around with a pepper spray I'll be safer.  Pepper spray is intended for good people to use it against bad ones.  Unfortunately bad people can use it too.  In reality any weapon can be used against you.  So training is still neccessary to use them.  How fast can you pull and deploy that weapon.  Do you practice how to pull it out?  Have you tried deploying it in different scenarios? So buying pepper spray is not enough.  To think that your safe because your walking around pepper spray or any other type of weapon is just plain ignorant.  I wish I could say that its better than nothing, but that is not the case.  Weapons in the uneducated person can be more of a danger to you than your assailant.  Have you ever been pepper sprayed?  As someone who has, getting pepper sprayed hurts to the point where it is debilitating paralyzing effect.  Are you ready to keep fighting while under influenced of pepper spray?  

Your personal safety is your responsibility.  Are you ready to trust a piece of device to protect you?  Or your kids?  I know I am just a crazy martial artist, but when it comes to my family I'm a freekin lunatic.  

 

FMA IS DYING!!!

I have been part of the FMA world for over 15 years now and it has been one of the best things that God has brought into my life and my school has a lot to do with that. But like all things we either adapt or die. Well this might be hard to read but,

FMA IS DYING!!!  

Now the question is what are we doing about it?  At the core of the FMA philosophy is being efficient. And that's what we need to do. 

performing or functioning in the best possiblemanner with the least waste of time andeffort; having and using requisite knowledge,skill, and industry; competent; capable:

We as a sport, fighting style, culture has (in my opinion) forgotten that. Let me ask you this?

Are the competitors only one sacrificing? Yes there is no doubt in order to achieve greatness, it requires a great amount of scarcities. Unless your last name is Gates, Jobs or Walmart, the requirements are great. But it's not just the fighter sacrificing. It's the fighter's family. If you are a fighter of any age, training cost money.  Money tha t could go towards rent, mortgage,  even leisure activities such as going to the movies. The fighter's family has to sacrifice a lot too for their loved one achieve greatness. Either paying tuition, all those coupon cutting and overtime working just to make ends meet. The after all those training , all those hours of working an extra shift just to afford this obsession we call ESKRIMA. The day of the tournament is your family's day too. So why is it that after all that, now they have to PAY to watch you compete and pay extra to record their matches?  It is IMHO that is double dipping. Well the upcoming GSBA USA Western Regional tournament, spectators are FREE. That's right free!!!  You as parents no longer had to choose who gets to watch little Debbie fight boys twice her size. Now you can invite your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate to the tournament and it's FREE. Family's have sacrificed enough don't you think it's time they get to enjoy the fruits of ther hard work?

By making it free for spectators, we will attract more people to the event, the more people the more likelyhood of someone saying, "Hey, I'm crazy enough to try thay."  Which will grow the industry. 

I'm not that guy

I'm not that guy

Who knows how to please everyone

I'm not that guy 

Who makes everyone face light up 

I'm not that guy

Who makes you laugh on the darkest days

I'm not that guy 

Who people are proud to know 

I'm not that guy

Who can shake everyone's hand 

I'm not that guy

Who people can bring home

I'm not that guy

Who everyone sees is best for you

I am who I am

The one that will be that guy for you 

But I'm not that guy. 

I'm just the guy whose in love with you. 

THIGH PADS NECESSARY OR NOT?

I have heard many times that the GSBA board should outlaw THIGH PADS.  I have heard both sides of the argument and it actually extends further than just thigh pads but hockey gloves.  So let me first what are the arguments. 

For (Outlawing Thigh Pads & Hockey Gloves)

When fighting, the fear of pain or injury sets a mind set of self preservation. As a result a person would be more apt to be more cautious and if they do get hit at a certain spot they will be protective of that one spot. Their whole fight plan changes because of the injury and the need to protect the injured area. I quote Mike Tyson, "Everyone has a game plan until they get punched in the face."  Extra thick padding negates that mentality of self-preservation, they don't have the fear of injury thus creating a false sense of security thinking that the kamikaze style is the way to fight, but in reality it is not. In a real life situation you would not have extra padding. Thus tournaments should make it illegal to wear hockey or thick gloves and thigh pads. Just the standard body armor and helmet. 

Against:

The argument against the outlawing of Hockey Gloves and hockey thigh pads does not refute the above arguments. In fact I personally agree with it. As a practitioner I do not likes to wear a lot of armors. I think the more armor you wear the slower you become. So you become nothing but an oak tree, a stationary target.  Unfortunately that point of view cannot  be afforded here in the United States. 

Our society is a society that is ready to file a lawsuit on anyone irregardless of its merit. The whole suing McDonalds because the person didn't know the coffee was hot is just a long list of frivolous lawsuit clogging up our courts. As a former member of the Global Stick and Blade Alliance USA board of directors as well as WEKAF USA we had to think about the good of the entire organization not just the tournament. Hypothetically, if the directors were to create a rule banning thigh pads and hockey gloves to be worn during matches, that opens up the organization for possible lawsuit. Imagine if a fighter got hurt because we banned thigh pads, and that same person is unable to work due to injury, that fighter has the right to sue the organization for income loss and medical expenses as well any other expenses incured. Then the organization might have to fold due to the lawsuit and believe me the organization does NOT have a lot of money. What the organization can do to limit it's exposure is set a minimum guidelines and discourage competitors from adding on from the minimum. To say they cannot wear a particular protective gear is too dangerous for the organization. 

So at this point I'll let you decide what you think should be done, talk to your regional director and or national director and tell them as a member of GSBA USA in good standing I believe we should...

The Importance of being a Certified Judge or Referee

If you have been to as many tournaments as I have (which btw isn't as many as most) you know that the one thing that can grind the whole tournament to a screeching stop are no judges and or referee's.  But judges and referees are not those who decided to be one five minutes before there first tournament. Quality judges and Referees are hard to come by. 

Imagine the person judging your match have no idea what they are doing?  And then they declare you the looser? How would you feel knowing that the judge is someone who just got pulled out in the audience?  And what if you we're declared the winner.  You know your victory is hallow since its from an inexperienced and unqualified official. 

Any organization whose worth their salt must create programs to train and certify quality officials. And GSBA USA Director Master Steve Del Castillo from Doce Pares Mt. Sac is hosting these certification. And I STRONGLY encourage any school sending any fighter to go to these certification course. That's the only way we can keep the game honest. 

I wonder if the "other" group is doing that? 

The real opponent

We all have it, our very own pre fight ritual. What ever we all need to be able to get us to the place where the warrior meets the ring. But when you prepare yourself I encourage you to consider what or who are your preparing for.  I know there isn't anyway for your to know who you would be facing in the ring at least not till they call your name.  

Sometimes your biggest opponent isn't the guy in front of you. It's that person inside of you that ones that wants to quit in the middle of the third round and your hurting all over and you just don't have any more gas in the tank. That same voice that's get louder and louder as you get tireder and tireder. When you ask yourself is this last mile worth it. Is 99% good enough? 

That's when you find the warrior in you. It is when you say to that voice, I will not be mediocre, I will not settle for good enough and if I go down, then let me go down swinging. 

Last night I had a dream and I've been having dreams that later on comes true.  I've verified this through Tiffany Napial but now I am going to start documenting.

February 18, 2013 I had a dream that I recently asked someone to be my Girlfriend.  We were in an upstairs apartment with a newly installed panoramic painting abstract but beautiful.  Another painting was there previously leaning against the wall covered.  I was sitting on a couch with the girl making sure I would not let go of her hand.  I do not know who this person is.  I did see someone who gave me the artwork and there was someone I recognized.  Guro Henry Cabillion and somehow he wanted to painting leaning on the wall.  And it was important that he knew I was dating this person.

What that means I have no clue but let's see.

WEKAF USA to Raise Dues

It has come to my attention that WEKAF USA's board of directors are planning to raise the dues. As a former member of the board that thought has indeed crossed my mind, with all the things I wanted to do as the Marketing Director the number one issue has always been money.

But before they raise the dues I think a few fundamental questions need to be answered by the board before I agree to the raise.

1) Has the whole issue of who has the right to be called WEKAF USA been resolved?

2) If WEKAF USA is the largest WEKAF INTL member, than what has WEKAF INTL done to accommodate the USA team? For example,
a. Get special rates for USA team to be in one hotel
b. Shouldn't the USA group vote be worth more since we are a majority? I am not asking this to be a snob, but if 10 countries vote against the USA and each of those countries have only 1-2 members while the USA has 160+ then why is our vote only count as one?

3. What benefits do I get now as a WEKAF USA member?

4. What do you plan to add if we raise the dues?

5. Where are my ID cards or School Certificate?

6. How come there are no more ALL MEMBER meetings?

7. How can the board communicate with it's members?

8. What forum do we have to talk about how the last National was ran?

9. As a school member how are you helping me develop my business?

10. How are you making FMA more mainstream?

These are just some questions that need be answered irregardless wether they raise the dues or not.

I encourage all WEKAF USA board to ask their director these questions before they raise the dues.

Sincerely,
Francis Serrano
Former Marketing Director
WEKAF USA
2006-2008




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The bad hand not too bad.

Kawit, empty hand, checking hand, the good hand. Terms i have heard to describe the weaker of the two hands. I know there are many styles of FMA that focuses on different aspects of the style such as footwork or power or even the ranges. There are even styles that teaches doble sobliti (double stick) first. All I believe are important. And what I believe to be more important is the kawit hand or empty hand. As practitioner we know that we differ from the other Martial arts by the teaching of weapon first but another "hidden" aspect is the checking hand. The checking hand although more predominantly taught to media and corto fighters it is essential to us. The empty or kawit hand is there to manipulate our opponent by placing their weapon wherever we choose, by controlling the tempo and the be able to generate a large amount of force in confined spaces.

The checking hand allows us to not only the obvious which is check the opponent's hand but to control it as well. With our checking hand we can manipulate our opponents weapon hand and their body. And if your checking hand is sensitive enough you wouldn't even need to look at your opponent but because you have a tactile connection you already know what he or she is going to do just by the feel of their weapon hand.

Another aspect of the kawit hand is controlling your opponents speed. Because you manipulate your opponent you can set them up to move their body is a position where it would take them an extra 4-5 seconds to reset while only taking you 1. So to your opponent it looks like your faster but in reality you just made them slower.

One of the biggest critics against corto style fighting is the lack of power. Because they're not enough space to generate the proper velocity to ensure maximum damage. But excecuted correct you can us your checking hand to move your opponent towards your weapon while your weapon is moving toward your opponent. Thus generating twice the amount of power in less space.

As you can see the kawit is a strong weapon min any FMAers arsenal. And to sum it up here is what I tell my students.

"Your weapon hand kills your opponent, the other one saves your life."
-Francis T. B. Serrano
Guro Visayan Legacy Association
FMASCHOOL.com

Constantly Improving

Its been hard trying to market FMASCHOOL.com, difficult because I am my own worst client. As someone with marketing experience, I know that its crucial that I follow up with any and all contacts I
might have made in my events. It's important to have a booth ready to go with staff ready to answer any questions that might arise. But it is also important to get their contact info. Just giving them my flyer or business care won't do any good. It is up to the vendor to follow up. I know this, and any marketing person worth his salt knows this. But I can't seem to do it. Maybe this is what keeps me from success. My own lack of follow through?

So with that to any and all who wants to market anything. Showing up isn't good enough anymore, its showing up everyday is what counts. Push for it and never give up on your dream.

Francis




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The Best Defense is not a Good Offense.

That old saying the Best Defense is a very good offense does not apply in combative sports. Yes it might apply to foothball or basketball(yay Lakers) but not to sports such as boxing or eskrima. At least not to the way you think it is.

If you were in a situation that would require you to fight than defense can not completely be gone. For at all times you must be aware of the opponents counters. But this is were I believe many practicioners of WEKAF style fighting is forgeting. In the match just hitting your opponent with out any regard to your defense is not a true representation of your skills. But most of the time the fighters just let the armor absorb all the strikes and once they start fighting opponents that can really do some damage then what are they going to do? Imagine if boxing great Manny Pacquiao were to only do offense well as fast as he is one lucky punch will knock even him out. So he has to incorporate some defense of circling, head weaving, and checking.

So in conclusion to my rant, to fight without any defense at all just makes you a 50% fighter. No matter how good your offense may be.


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I know I am suppose to share

When I was a little boy one of the things that was alway hard for me was to share. Share my toys my friends just anything that belonged to me well it stayed with me. I am just a stingy little boy. I guess it had to do with being the youngest and there was at least 16 years between my sister and I. So in that context i am an only child.

But as I grew older I knew that sharing was important. And now I share all the time. But when is it okay not to share?

Eversince Visayan Legacy split from the main school it has been awkward. I mean I still have friends from the old school. And I look forward to see them in tournaments and seminars. But now it's different.

Now that they decided to stay with their teacher why are some of them still asking us to be their corner man and or prepare them for the upcoming tournament. Why are they not asking their leaders and or teachers? I just find it so unfair that they are expecting us to sti help the when in our time of need they decided to abandon us. Let's me be clear although they are still my friends. Their decision to stay with that person still hurt. To me it felt lime they put their self interest first before doing what is obviously right. ( Oh btw if you are reading this and you are one of those people. Sorry but this is how I feel )

Now at tournaments they come up and ask if we can be their corner man or have a session with them to train. I am so not down with that.

1. Why aren't they askig their teachers? I mean they choose to stay with him so have him help you. But more often than not if we do help them they go and give credit to their teacher not the one that actual helped them.

2. As a school owner my point of view has changed. I find myself thinking of my students first more and more often. And my students pay me to teach them what I know, why then should others get it for free? It's not fair to my students.

So sharing all the time. Well not in this case.

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Effectiveness of Stickfighting

More often than not I get a lot of questions and comments about FMA (Filipino Martial Arts) and it's effectiveness. Well it doesn't take much convincing that FMA is designed for real world application. And yes I know we don't walk around with sticks everyday. But any true Filipino Martial Artist knows what makes this effective isn't the tool it's the "tool" that thinks that I need a stick to kick their ass. Just kidding what makes this dangerous isn't the stick it's the person that wields it.

And here's why:

1. Extension. A stick is an extension of my arm meaning that I can still do the same move with a small variation.

2. Faster than you. A stick can travel almost 50x's faster than your fist. And we train to block and counter with a fast moving sticks being wielded against us. Well if we can move block evade counter circumnavigate dodge with a stick traveling at high velocity than how much easier would it be when it is traveling at a slower rate?

3. We start training weapon first. That is because FMA has a military point of view. In any military training across the globe and history. All soldiers are first taught how to fight with a weapon. And when they go out on the field of battle they carry as much weapons as they can carry. Why? It's because they want to have as much of an advantage over their enemy. So they teach them how to wield their weapons first and then move into empty hands. But ask any soldier, once you take a way their weapons are they any less dangerous?


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All of sudden Im heading North

This is the first time I didn't go to a big tournament with the guys. But it was Jules birthday and well I had to go. Actually I had to go to both. So I went to Julies birthday but before that I've packed my bags for I am heading to Fremont California or the 2010 tournament. And here is my ROAD TRIP.

12:24 AM drove for about 45 mins and mother nature calls (or roared) and so I'm here at Santa Clarita's IHop answering the call. As soon as I was done I stepped out to find out that not all Ihops are 24 Hours. Oops.

2:02 AM not really sure where I am but I am in petro iron skillet stop. Why is this trip requireing me to use the can a lot? What the heck did I eat at Julie's

3:30 AM again not sure where I am but pulled over at a denny's nap time. Oh btw I drank that 5 hour energy drink and one hour later I'm sleepy. What a rip off.

I know I should really sleep but the one hour drive wasn't too bad. I was able to turn on the cruise control and just coast man. The whole drive I just kept thinking how beautiful Julie was tonight. She was wearing this cream colored dress and it was so nice to hear about special moments people had with her. It was really great to see Auntie Trini and Uncle Lawry. Auntie was telling me that she is going to Vegas for her 75th birthday and in July the whole clan is going to Hawaii for Uncle's 80th birthday. I love them so much.

4:30 AM FINAL PUSH. I've decided to not make anymore stops. I was driving on Highway 158 and the sun starting to peak through the hills. To be honest if this was the only reason why I went just so I can this Majestic Moment it would be worth it.

7:35 AM so the GPS kept saying that I will arrive at my destination at 7:35 AM and I was starting to have my doubts. But I did make it. Tried calling Josh but no answer and called Kim and he was able to tell me where their room was so I can take a quick shower.

8:00 AM I'm downstairs saying hi to everyone.

Now it's 2:19 AM Monday morning and I'm back home safe and sound. Josh was able to drive back with me and he actually drove the lion share of it back so I was able to catch some sleep. But overall it was a great quick road trip and wouldn't have missed it for the world.


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The Heavy Stick We Wield

Last night I trained with the guys for th first time this year. And it was intense to say the

least. Instead or swinging the regular rattan stick I swung a heavy kamagong stick. And it was bulky and the weight shifted too much to keep any sort of balance to it and unless you are an experience escrimador I don't recommend for new practicioners to be wielding it. It will just hurt your wrist.

Hitting the tires and th bags with those heavy sticks were no jokes. But when we switched to the lighter sticks I was flying

But my back is sore and I can't get up.

I love stickfighting
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Turtle style

So today's class I find myself developing more and more as an escrimador. Today we worked on the ABC blade technique. When my students asked why are we using the full stick when a knife is a lot shorter than that. I said well if you can clear a 24" stick while acting like it's a blade the how much more easier it is when it's a 4" knife? Which makes so much freekin sense that it made me wonder hmm did I always know that or was it something I did during my days as a student and never really understood why. I am so happy with my student's progress that I remember how they use to twirl now I am very proud to see the excell.

Then I wanted to re-emphasize the kawi hand. Cause I truly believe that the stick hand kills your enemy but it's your kawit hand is what will save your life.


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Dream Whisperer

In my personal studies of the scripture, it is clear that God does convey His message to us in many ways. But one unique way is through our dreams. Unique meaning that only a faitful few can interpret them. In the case of Joseph were Pharaoh couldn't interpret his own dream. Again with King Nebachanezzer. Joseph
himself said the business of interpreting dreams is God work.

Last night I had a dream. And here is what I saw. In the dream I joined a very old style of martial arts. I want to say it's Kung Fu for it was very heavy on the traditions and that the Grandmaster's word is law. Well there was a technique or move that I developed but the move has requirements in order for it to work. I was carrying an old muskett, you know the kind that was used during the American Revolution. And affixed on it was a bayonet. The move requires someone from behind me to grab me. And the move has me killing the enemy behind me by cutting his throat and down to his heart.

When I showed that to my old grandmaster he said that the move is not how they do things. And he ordered me to never so that move again. Perplexed why would he say that, and when I asked him why not? He yelled at me, and then as I was about to react, I woke up.

What do you think that means? My friends have said that my Jedi power is dream interetations. I always thought that God blessed me with this gift and now I need to use it. I think I have interpret it already but I shall pray more to see it more clearly.


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