Modern Arnis
A Filipino system of arnis developed by Remy Presas from the island of Negros. From the mid-1970s he spread it through seminars in the United States and other countries.
Quick Facts
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 Modern Arnis
About Modern Arnis
Modern Arnis, in Spanish Arnis Moderno, is a Filipino style of arnis. An article by Hobart in Revista de Artes Marciales Asiáticas names Remy Amador Presas, who lived from 19 December 1936 to 28 August 2001, as its founder, and writes that from the mid-1970s Presas brought the style to the USA and the world. According to English Wikipedia, Presas was born in Hinigaran in Negros Occidental. Wikipedia and FMA Pulse both state that he began spreading the art in the 1950s from a small gym in Bacolod, and we have not found the exact year. According to Wikipedia, the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation approved it in 1969 as a regular subject at the National College of Physical Education, and Presas left for the USA in 1974. The encyclopedia Martial Arts of the World (Green 2001) lists Modern Arnis among the Filipino systems spread through seminars. After Presas died, according to FMA Pulse, his international federation IMAF split and several organizations now teach the system.
History
The regional website Negros Now states that Presas's parents were Jose Presas and Lucia Amador and that his grandfather introduced him to kali at about the age of six. A tribute in MartialTalk magazine from 2003 writes that his grandfather Leon Presas taught him for four years from the age of five and that at twelve he left for Cebu, where he studied balintawak under Timor Maranga and then under Anciong Bacon. Negros Now names Rodolfo Moncal, Timoteo Maranga and Venancio Bacon among his teachers in Cebu. According to Negros Now, Presas married Rosemary Pascual, opened a gym in Bacolod City and taught physical education at the University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos. English Wikipedia states that he developed the system from 1966. According to FMA Pulse, in 1969 he moved to Manila and founded the Modern Arnis Federation of the Philippines. Sources differ on the year he left for the USA: Wikipedia gives 1974, a post by Knüttel on the MartialTalk forum 1975, and Hobart only the mid-1970s. Wiley writes on fightingarts.com that Presas became famous in the USA in 1983 with his third book Modern Arnis: Filipino Art of Stick Fighting. Hobart and Wikipedia state that he died on 28 August 2001, Negros Now on 8 August 2001. According to Wikipedia he died in Victoria, British Columbia, and according to MartialTalk he was buried in Hinigaran on 25 September 2001.
Technique
Hobart writes in Revista de Artes Marciales Asiáticas that tapi-tapi practice was key for Presas and describes it as a flowing exchange followed by a counterattack and a disarm. Among other elements the article names sinawali inverso, redonda and the paraguas block. According to testimony from Chad Dulin in the same article, Presas slowed down movements and changed their structure to make them easier to learn. According to Dulin, observers claimed that Modern Arnis lacks triangular footwork, which Dulin denies. English Wikipedia describes tapi-tapi as a drill with locks and anyo as solo forms with and without a stick. According to it, the stick is usually about 28 inches long, that is 71 cm. Among other elements Wikipedia names espada y daga, sinawali and defanging the snake.
Training
Green (2001) lists Modern Arnis among the Filipino systems spread through seminars and Remy A. Presas among the instructors who spread Filipino martial arts in Australia, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and the USA. A tribute in MartialTalk magazine credits him with the seminar format. Hobart states that Presas was one of four masters who shared ideas and students with one another, and that his last big seminar took place in February 2001 in Philadelphia.
Ranks and progression
English Wikipedia lists the degrees likas with a green belt, likha with a brown belt and lakan with a black belt. According to it, the black belt has 10 or 11 degrees named with Tagalog numerals from Isa to Sampu, and many groups add a probationary zero degree. Men hold the title Lakan and women Dayang, and the black belt traditionally has a red edge. According to Wikipedia, the titles Datu, Commissioner, Master of Tapi-Tapi, Senior Master and Punong Guro are awarded separately. FMA Pulse adds that some organizations also have the degree Labing-isa. Wiley states that in 2001 Presas awarded him a 7th degree black belt in Modern Arnis.
Today
According to English Wikipedia, the International Modern Arnis Federation (IMAF) was founded in 1970 as the main body of the system in North America. After Presas's death, according to Wikipedia the system is divided among the IMAF led by Jeff Delaney, the IMAF led by Randi Schea, the International Modern Arnis Federation of the Philippines, Arnis International, WMAA and the German Deutscher Arnis Verband. According to Wikipedia, Presas's younger brother Ernesto used the name Modern Arnis for his own style and since 1999 has called it Kombatan. In March 2024 a monument to Presas was unveiled on the square in Hinigaran. Visayan Daily Star gives 4 March and participants from 19 countries, Negros Now 3 March and 43 participants from more than 20 countries. RA 9850 of December 2009, which declared arnis the national martial art and sport of the Philippines, names neither Presas nor any arnis organization. According to Negros Now, Presas's brother Roberto claims that Remy drew up the content of the arnis course that the Department of Education adopted into physical education.
Did you know
According to Hobart, George Dillman recounted that Presas phoned him, announced that they would hold a seminar together, and hung up. According to the same article, Charles Terry traveled with Presas to seminars for several months. A tribute in MartialTalk magazine states that Presas was the first official goodwill ambassador of the Philippine Department of Tourism. Wiley calls him the father of Modern Arnis on fightingarts.com.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Modern Arnis?
Remy Amador Presas (1936 to 2001) of Hinigaran on Negros island. According to Hobart, from the mid-1970s he spread it in the USA and worldwide.
What degrees does Modern Arnis use?
According to English Wikipedia, a green belt likas, brown likha and black lakan, whose degrees are named with the Tagalog numerals Isa to Sampu. Women with a black belt hold the title Dayang.
Does RA 9850 name Remy Presas?
No. The act of December 2009 declares arnis the national martial art and sport of the Philippines and puts the Philippine Sports Commission in charge. It names neither Presas nor any arnis organization.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.