Kombatan?

[William]

Hey Kirves,

The first thing I would say is go check the place out and see what you think first hand. They shouldn't have any problem letting you check things out. If they want you to sign contracts, leave. It won't take you five years to figure out if it's "good" or not. If they don't have contracts, hang around a while and see what you think.

A couple of things to look for to see if it's more than just "stick & knife"...

*Proper striking mechanics and power generation.
*Heavy emphasis on footwork (beyond the basic male & female triangle).
*Inergrating the two above.
*Ranging and bridging tactics (not just standing in medium range playing patty-cake).
*Open hand component that flows from weaponry technique that stands on it's own (Filipino).
*Dumog/Ground fighting.
*Emphasis on counter-offense, not defense (my opinion).
*At least occasional full-contact (minimal gear) sparring to test your tools and keep you grounded in reality as to what is effective and what isn't.
*Improvised weaponry.
*Realistic blade principles and movements.
*Being able to combine all of the above in real time against uncooperative opponents.

If they don't have these (or most of these) components, my opinion is to look elsewhere.

William

[thekuntawman]

kirves

i understand your opinion about what you might heard about ernesto presas's kombatan, "compared" to jkd/kali, etc. but i think your mistaken.

first, there is more "authenticity" and traditional filipino martial arts in presas style, than inosanto's kali, take it from a filipino who studied in the PI and US, plus i was a student in the ARJUKEN gym 1988-1989. mr presas does teach other styles in his gym, like judo, kendo and karate besides his arnis, and this is not a popular combination to somebody who thinks he is getting "real" FMA. but that is popular FMA you are thinking about, not what you will really find in the philippines. the painful truth is, many MANY eskrimador and arnisador, study more than one style, and they have very good fighting ability with their arnis. presas style might have some fancy things in the style, but this does not affect the ability of those fighters to put there fighting arts to good use. one thing about anyone from the ARJUKEN gym is, they can fight. so what they dont do all the drills and combinations and disarming that you see in video clips and instructional videos, what you see arjuken people do, they can do it in a fight. but what we think is "authentic" filipino stuff, along with all those complicated drills and theories about fighting, most of this stuff doesnt work, which is why you only see them DEMONSTRATED in those videos. arjuken people can fight. that's the only important thing you need to know.

whats funny to me is when someone comes into my school and leaves feeling that my school is not "filipino enough" because they didnt see all those things the internet says is in FMA schools, like numbering systems, sinawali, espada y daga, etc. then they look at mainstream FMA calling it "authentic" and the "real deal", while turning there nose up at unsophisticated immigrant teachers like ernesto presas.

mcdojo? i am sorry but if you look at the most popular FMA styles, that we think is the "authority" on FMA, you are really looking at the true "Mc-pinoy-dojo". most of the people who learned from presas (not remy) learned in the SCHOOL. i know this is hard to imagine since most mcdojo fma is learned in tae kwon do school seminars, but ernesto presas has a school. this is number one indication Kombatan is no mcdojo.

ernesto presas and his student fight in tournaments. mcdojo FMA people are afraid to fight in tournaments, so they convince you why you shouldnt. but you know all those challenges you hear about in FMA war stories? those are tournaments. yeah its only two people, but what is competition except two people trying to defeat each other. fma mcdojo people do not spar at all. they do drills, and then "explore" fancier ways to do them, then talk about how deadly they are. kombatan/arjuken students all have stories about sparring in the gym. number two reasons that Kombatan is no mcdojo.

i wont say there is nobody getting fast black belts under master presas. i did. but many of mr. presas students lived outside the philippines, and he has an organization to run. now, did the Kombatan teacher in your area study at the gym? how long? have you sparred with anybody from his school? it is unfair to call him mcdojo if you didnt. one thing i know, nobody ever called presas black belters mcdojo in there face. instead of listening to the advice of people who dont know him, i suggest visit them yourself. you might like what you see.

but please do not insult us by putting ernesto presas in the mcdojo category before the popular FMA groups. he is a true master, and maybe he is not popular in the fast food west, maybe he does not have the sounds-good talk of mysterious FMA masters, but he is real and does not sell black belts.

[thekuntawman]

p.s.

i do not teach presas style arnis, because i am not an expert in this style. but i have a lot of respect for arjuken and the presases

[chris84ae]

the pictures are just poses.

ditto

some goes for movies/demos, there all choreographed for advertising or entertainment purposes, the hero always wins no matter what "style" they or their oponent know or dont know

[johnzag]

Just came back to australia after attending the 2005 world kombatan training camp in Hinigaran, Negros Occidental, Philippines. Anyone interested in finding out whether this martial art is the real deal should come to the next one in 2007. Grand Master Presas and Master Jan Presas are both awesome martial artists and their style is as effective as any other I have witnessed or trained in.

[sutebun]

Kombatan Clubs in Qld Australia

I just have a quick question:

Are there any (Certified) Kombatan Clubs in Queensland Australia? If so where?

[johnzag]

At the moment there are no certified Kombatan clubs in Queensland. Everybody involved with Kombatan Australia are working very hard to establish the art down here in Aus and hopefully in the not to distant future we will be able to open a base for Kombatan in Queensland.

[johnzag]

Guys,

there has been a lot of debate on this thread but anyone in Australia who is ineterested in the art should come along to the world training camp beingheld in Melbourne in April this year.

Please goto to www.mssd.com.au for more information.

Hope to see as many of you there as possible.

[animal_stylez]

WOW...Great thread!! I'm new to Kombatan (I have previous MA experience, not much, but some) and I love this art!! It works for me, and that's all that matters to me. As some have said, and my teacher has said the same, learn it all, but use what works best for you! Isn't that true about any art you study?? I don't think enough people learn or understand this!! This isn't my first art by choice, but I so don't regret starting it, and will be a practioner for life!

[LAKANPOPOT]

That's great! All I can say is enjoy the arts. Whatever it might be in your journey of learning. You see I am puzzled by the people who have to bad mouth other arts or call them Mcdojos. We should all just be giving great comments and feedbacks. As a martial artist we should practice discipline. That shows how great we are. We should be appreciating all the arts. Have fun my friend and welcome to the kombatan club.

[animal_stylez]

Thanks for the welcome, glad to be apart!!

I've been told by my teacher last night in class that once a month we are going to have seminars from different Masters/Grandmaster's from ANY art to come in and show us some stuff. If I remember correctly this will be open to anyone, but don't quote me on that!! First one is on the doulong, I'm not sure if that's how it's spelt or even if that's the right word, but it's a very short stick, a pen can mock it's use. I'm looking forward to learning that.

[Twists]

Hello everybody..
I wasnt sure if I should post here 'cause its a difficult topic.. but I decided to do so.

I'm from Germany and a student of Kombatan for several years now.
Apart from Kombatan I've seen a lot of other FMAs - Serrada, Balintawak, Pekiti Tirsia, Latosa, Dogbrothers, ... and had a chance to compare them to Kombatan.
What's really great about Kombatan (as well as Remy Presas MA) is that you get a very complete curiculum - Solo / double baston, daga, daga y daga, espada y daga, bankaw, mano mano, ...
Also, Kombatan trains all ranges and utilizes many different drills. - So its a really great art to get into the FMA and see all aspects of the filipine martial arts - you can go to almost every other FMA-style and join the training easily. Many of them specialize on differenz aspects of the FMA, but with your Kombatan-Training, you have a great foundation that fits most FMA.

So I think Kombatan is a great FMA - but thats just the system.
The problem is, that there in fact have been some ... very fast certifications based more on politics then on skills (in my opinion).

I know of some ppl who have been made Master after 1-2 years training under GM Presas. Of course these had previous Martial Arts experience, but most of what I've seen of them wasnt Kombatan or even FMA.

On the other hand, there are ppl like my trainer who have been training Kombatan for 20 years or more. (My trainer has been promoted master after 19 years of training with GM Presas - and you can see the experience of the 20 years of FMA-training.)

So my advise would be - if you find a teacher who has been training Kombatan for a long time, try his school or club. You might get the chance to learn a great system!
If the trainers in your area do Kombatan for 3 years and are allready 6th dan .. well, be sure its Kombatan/FMA whats teached.

[animal_stylez]

Thanks for the welcome, glad to be apart!!

I've been told by my teacher last night in class that once a month we are going to have seminars from different Masters/Grandmaster's from ANY art to come in and show us some stuff. If I remember correctly this will be open to anyone, but don't quote me on that!! First one is on the doulong, I'm not sure if that's how it's spelt or even if that's the right word, but it's a very short stick, a pen can mock it's use. I'm looking forward to learning that.

So let me correct myself on a few things here:
1. Yes this is open to anyone...for a small fee of course
2. First seminar is on the Dulo Dulo (not doulong as I had mentioned previously).

This will be in the East Bay area of the Bay Area in California if anyone is interested and is near by.

[johnzag]

Guys dont forget the world training camp beig held in Australia in April with GM E Presas. Would love to see as man International guests as possible make the trip down under.

https://www.mssd.com.au

[spirit teacher]

Birada

If you want the best combat techniques from Kombatan and other important principles then I suggest Roger Solar at www.ipeac.org and the system of Birada