Even when he was very young, Remy would watch his father train the local militia. The training took place in a room made of the nepa leaves. It was high up and Remy was small. He stood on a rock and pulled apart some leaves so he could peek in. He knew children were not allowed to watch, but he was very curious and could not wait. Sometimes he would become so excited at what he would slide off his wobbly rock. Being very resourceful, he soon used many small rocks to steady the big one he…

During the war, the Philippines became a very rough and violent place to live. Day after day Remy heard about the Japanese, the killings, and the he knew as long as his father had operations (sabotaging the Japanese efforts), they would be staying in the mountains. In one particularly devastating operation, eight soldiers from Jose's troop were killed. Even so, over thirty Japanese died with them. After that, the Japanese were very mad. They…

Jose would take his men to the seaport, where many Japanese raids occurred. They would sabotage the efforts of the Japanese. The Japanese tried many times to catch them or trap them, but they always escaped into the mountains.

Remy's father, Jose Presas, was a businessman, but he was also a Lieutenant in the US Guerilla Movement. Shortly before the Japanese invasion, Jose took his family and his fellow guerilla fighters deep into Hinobahan Mountains. There, Jose Presas drilled his fellow soldiers day in and day out from 1941 to 1945. He taught them the deadly art of Arnis, preparing them for the battle to come.

May The Soul Of This Art

Be The Art Of Your Soul



The Biography of Grand Master Remy Remy Amador Presas



As told to Lori Harwood by Remy Presas and Rosemary Pascual



Chapter One: Humble Beginnings



Remy Amador Presas was born to Jose B. Presas and the former Lucia Amador on December 19, 1936, in…

Remy A. Presas eldest son of  Jose B. Presas and Lucia Amador was born December 19, 1936 in Hiniganran, Negros Occidental, Philippines. Bred from the spirit of his ancestors, the courage to stand alone as a warrior was passed from grandfather Leon Presas, to father Jose Presas, to son, Remy Amador Presas.  Remy felt this life-force as a child and began cultivating his own spirit at an early age.  Many times in our personal conversations he would…

Safety First Karate in University Place, Washington, had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Remy Presas Jr. The seminar was a great success and was the first ever seminar that the school has ever hosted.

We have been blessed in the University / Tacoma Washington area to have one of the most outspoken and skilled Modern Arnis practitioners, Datu Kelly S. Worden as the pivot able Filipino martial art player in the Tacoma area. Datu Worden has taken this art to new levels through his NSI…

Our friend Jay Ignacio a filmmaker that is based in the Philippines.  His latest movie is 

about the FMA and includes, among others, Dr. Remy Presas Jr. and Rodel Dagooc in 

addition to Dan Inosanto and others.   Please read about the movie with this latest bit 

of press. 

Salamat! 

The greatest Filipino cultural export is kicking ass  

EMOTIONAL WEATHER REPORT By Jessica Zafra (The Philippine Star)…

(This is reprint of an article taken from the Manila Bulletin) 

Arnis pushed as nat’l sport 

May 5, 2009, 7:44pm 

Members of Filipino Martial Arts, led by Harbour Centre owner Mikee Romero, have 

thrown their full support behind the bill filed by Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri to make arnis 

the country’s national sport. 

Romero and Zubiri, both avid arnis practitioners, are rallying strong support for arnis to 

be…

Members of Filipino Martial Arts, led by Harbour Centre owner Mikee Romero, have thrown their full support behind the bill filed by Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri to make arnis the country’s national sport.

Romero and Zubiri, both avid arnis practitioners, are rallying strong support for arnis to be the country’s answer to Thailand’s muay thai, Japan’s karatedo and Korea’s taekwondo.

Zubiri recently filed Senate Bill 1424 that hopes to make the bill move on to its third reading in the…

Followup article from Manila Times on the development of Arnis in the Philippines

By marppio

Followup article to this past weekend’s news item on development of Arnis in the Philippines. We are republishing this Manila Times article as a way to propagate this information throughout the Internet. Salamat po.

The challenge of historical documentation

BY PERRY GIL S. MALLARI REPORTER (Manila Times, Tuesday 20April 2010)

Besides the Department of…

Philippine Sports Commission To Lead 

Implementation Of Arnis Law | AHN 

By marppio  

Philippine Sports Commission To Lead Implementation Of Arnis Law | AHN. 

Manila, Philippines (AHN) – The Philippine Sports Commission will get P5 million to 

lead the implementation of a law declaring the martial art of arnis, a form of stick 

fighting, the national sport. 

President Gloria Macapagal signed into law…

Before the martial law was proclaimed in September 1972, various foreign martial arts were making a major ingress to the archipelago. Japanese Karate, Korean Tae Kwon Do, Chinese Kung FU, to name a few. Capturing the hearts of many Filipino Martial Arts practitioners. Many soon noticed that its own Martial Art, its Indigenous Filipino Martial Art, Arnis, was already taking a backseat in the Martial Arts Scene. Many were about to give up, others preferred to shut up. But not Grandmaster Remy…

 Living in Quiapo, Manila and before Grandmaster Presas left for the 

United States, promulgating Modern Arnis at the school when other instructors were not 

around Grandmaster Presas would work out with his son Remy Jr., certain things he 

would practice with Remy Jr. that he did not with others. Grandmaster Presas had 

thoughts that if he showed everything to others he would be challenged later on. So there 

were things that were kept to himself or were…

A true lover of sports, Mr. Remy A. Presas is the man behind Modern Arnis today. From the cold tomb of oblivion, Mr. Presas gave new life and meaning to the true Filipino martial art called Arnis. Arnis died with the passage of time as the incontrovertible onslaught of modern living and foreign influences blotted out this gem of the Filipino culture to merely one of the things of the forgotten past. Truly Arnis died with the…

By nature man is never violent. Unless otherwise affected by some physical or psychological affliction, or forced by outside reasons or provocations, no man will harm a fellow human being (or animal for that matter) let alone feast on their physical sufferings. Man is an "institution" of love and kindess.

However, history is replete which stories of man's brutalities to his fellowman. Wars were waged and lives were laid in battlefield after battlefields. This…

Before it was introduced in Manila, modern arnis has its humble beginnings in Bacolod City in the Visayas where the author first learned the techniques of the art. Being a master of many martial arts, the author was able to compare the intrinsic qualities of Arnis with other martial arts. And this comparison led him to improvise the antiquated techniques of Arnis not only for reasons of pacing with the times but also for utmost effectivity. These improved techniques were then taught for the…