Kombatan (Presas Arnis)
Filipino system of Ernesto Presas, younger brother of Remy Presas according to the organization and Wikipedia. Per Presas Style Kombatan, it arose by renaming his form of Modern Arnis.
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PhilippinesCharacter & Origin
Training
Who It Suits
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
Catalogs & Databases for Kombatan (Presas Arnis)
About Kombatan (Presas Arnis)
Kombatan is a Filipino system of fighting with and without weapons, which according to the organization Presas Style Kombatan traces back to Ernesto Amador Presas (1945 to 2010), the younger brother of Remy Presas. The organization writes that it was originally called Modern Arnis and was renamed Kombatan in 1998. English Wikipedia states that Ernesto Presas significantly changed and renamed his form of the art in the nineties. According to Presas Style Kombatan, it is a complete system of hand-to-hand and weapon fighting, in which empty-hand movements derive from weapon movements. It rests on twelve angles of attack and twelve basic responses to each of them. The organization lists the weapon parts solo baston, doble baston, espada y daga, daga sa daga, bankaw, dulo dulo and tungkod. According to the organization, Ernesto Presas founded the International Philippine Martial Arts Federation, but the website gives the year 1970 once and 1975 elsewhere. After his death, according to the organization, Ernesto G. Presas Jr. became grandmaster of Kombatan.
History
Presas Style Kombatan states that Ernesto Presas was born on 20 May 1945 in Hinigaran, Negros Occidental, and died on 1 November 2010. From the age of eight he learned from his father Jose Presas, according to the organization, and from 1970 he taught at the University of the Philippines and the Lyceum of the Philippines. It says he officially renamed his form Kombatan in 1998 and the first Kombatan camp took place in Hinigaran in 1999. English Wikipedia says in the Modern Arnis article that he has used the name Kombatan since 1999. Wiley lists in his bibliography Presas's 1988 book Arnis, Presas style and balisong.
How it differs
The sources describe the relation to Remy Presas's Modern Arnis differently. Presas Style Kombatan writes that Kombatan is also known as Modern Arnis, and at the same time presents itself as a hybrid system combining several martial arts. English Wikipedia states that Ernesto Presas used the name Modern Arnis for his style and continued his brother's work after the brother left for the United States.
Technique
Among the classical solo baston strikes, Presas Style Kombatan names abaniko, otso otso, doblete and doblada, banda y banda, sungkiti, hirada, rompida and dos puntas. According to it, daga sa daga is close-range knife fighting, dulo dulo a short palm stick of wood or horn, and bankaw a staff six feet long. The organization seeks the roots of the system in the family style bolo and in Balintawak Eskrima. English Wikipedia states that the style is known for two-stick techniques and also includes mano mano and dumog.
Training
Presas Style Kombatan states that sparring is mandatory at every grading level and that head protection is necessary when sparring with solo baston. According to the organization, daga sa daga is trained with a metronome set to 250 beats per minute.
Ranks and progression
Presas Style Kombatan lists higher degrees of lakan, for example lakan sampu as the 10th degree and lakan siyam as the 9th degree. According to it, Ernesto Presas held lakan sampu in arnis and mano mano and lakan walo in Filipino weapons. The organization does not state belt colors or sashes.
Today
Presas Style Kombatan names Ernesto G. Presas Jr. with the degree lakan sampu as the world representative of Kombatan and president of IPMAF. According to the organization, after the death of Ernesto Presas Sr. he became grandmaster of Kombatan. English Wikipedia also lists him as the current head of the system.
Did you know
Mark Wiley lists E. Presas and R. Presas among the authors who claim that only one martial art with many names exists in the Philippines. According to Presas Style Kombatan, Ernesto Presas published the book Dumog, Presas Style in 2002.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Kombatan?
According to Presas Style Kombatan, Ernesto Amador Presas (1945 to 2010), Remy Presas's younger brother. Today the organization says Ernesto G. Presas Jr. leads the system.
When did the name Kombatan arise?
Presas Style Kombatan gives the year 1998, English Wikipedia the year 1999, and elsewhere only the nineties.
What is the difference between Kombatan and Modern Arnis?
According to Presas Style Kombatan, it is Ernesto's renamed form of Modern Arnis, which according to Wikipedia he significantly changed in the nineties.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.