Sinkatan Arnis Seminar Goes Well in the Philippines By Jennifer Dow Salinas
Binalonan Pangasinan, Philippines: April 22, 2006
Grandmaster Bernardo Fabia Salinas accompanied by his wife Lita and FMA practitioners Robert McGuire traveled from Fort St. John BC to Pangasinan, Philippines, where he conducted his largest Sinkatan Arnis seminar to date. Congregating in the town of Binalonan, 108 Municipal officials were in attendance, including members of the SK Federation, Barangay Councils, Barangay Police and the Philippine National Police (PNP).
The full day seminar began with an introduction to the theory, philosophy and history of the Estrella family system of Arnis. Participants were then shown the basic striking angles and techniques in blocking, checking, countering and disarming, followed by instruction in the application of these techniques with partners. Grandmaster Salinas also demonstrated hand-to-hand (lima-lima-an) techniques using a variety of different weaponry, and finally he taught basic self-defense take down and disarming techniques. The seminar wrapped up with GM Salinas fielding questions and giving a realistic demonstration of self-defense techniques, assisted by Robert McGuire.
Many people were involved in making this event so successful. Grandmaster Flaviano F. Cabuang, founder of the Martial Arts Training Society of the Philippines and physical education instructor at San Beda College, took the time to share his knowledge and experience in Aikido to seminar participants. Mert Altares, a lifetime member of SFMA International and recipient of the 2005 Student of the Year award, came from Saudi Arabia to meet GM Salinas and participate in the seminar. Grandmaster Salinas also extended appreciation for the tremendous efforts of his students Arnis practitioner Robert McGuire who assisted him during the seminar and have dedicated a great deal of time to learning and helping to preserve the Estrella system. Robert was amazed by his first taste of the Philippines and he is looking forward in returning soon.
On behalf of the Society of Federated Martial Arts International (SFMA), Award Director Robert McGuire presented the award of Outstanding Leadership to Atty. Francis Villarin Tinio for his great efforts in organizing and propagating Filipino Martial Arts in the Philippines. Grandmaster Salinas also expressed his gratitude to Honorable Mayor Ramon N. Guico and his Municipal officials for their hard work in helping to organize this event.
Councilor Atty. Tinio presented Grandmaster Salinas with a Plaque of Appreciation to acknowledge his dedication to the practice and preservation of Filipino Martial Arts and for his unselfish efforts to share his knowledge and wisdom at events such this seminar.
Grandmaster Salinas expressed his thanks to his family and all others who have supported him, and especially to the participants, who trained hard and showed outstanding spirit and dedication during this event.
MAESTRO ROBERT MCGUIRE
In November 1989 at the age of 10, I start training in martial arts in my hometown, Fort St. John, taking Karate lessons under the instruction of Sensei Gordon Stromkins, and Sensei Salinas until January 1993, when I started my lessons in Arnis (Filipino Martial Arts) Estrella system under the guidance of Ama Maestro Bernardo Fabia Salinas. I was 14 yrs old, the youngest student in the group, holding a rattan stick that we use for training in Arnis. The Arnis was nothing like what I had experienced, it was much more traditional. Arnis being weapon system, we first learnt the basics of striking and blocking using a rattan stick while checking and grabbing using the hand and then worked into empty hand application called Lima-Limaan.
The concept in Filipino Martial Arts is: You would never go to war without your weapon but if you lost your weapon you would still need to know how to defend yourself by using your hands, In Arnis training the postures and stances were much more relaxed than the traditional karate that I had started in. Ama Maestro Salinas tries to focus on the three main precepts in his system the Distancia (distance), Compas (timing), and Decision (judgment). Distancia means you need to keep the proper distance from your opponent, whether you are being defensive or offensive. Compas means timing a right timing in offensive and defensive technique, there are three different stages of Timing – Compas the right timing in offensive and defensive against your opponent. Fuerra Compas – which is out of timing, is when you are late getting in, or out usually putting yourself at a disadvantage, and Contra Compas – Counter timing, is when you break the rhythm of your opponent getting them to hesitate or rush their technique giving you an advantage over them. Decision is the final judgment, knowing when and how to apply your distance and timing to finish the opponent. Applying these three precepts of Distancia, Compas and Decision together properly would allow any bastonero to excel in their training.
During my training in Sinkatan Arnis (FMA) Estrella system I have successfully competed in Arnis tournament locally and internationally, giving me the opportunity to compete in deferent styles of Filipino Martial Arts. I have also attended and assisted Ama Maestro Salinas with seminars and workshops in Canada and in the Philippines. On April 2006 I made a trip in the Philippines, with Ama Maestro Salinas to train in his hometown of Manaoag, Province of Pangasinan in the Philippines. This trip is one that I will always remember, it took me a number of years to accomplish this trip, which gave me an experience that I will never forget. It was a great experience to finally see where, and how the man that I have known for most of my life spent his early years. While there I stayed at his house and met many of his large family that still live in the area. The training in the Philippines was more intense than we usually train here at home in Canada, we would get up at three o’clock in the morning to drive to the beach and train in the ocean before the sun came up and the large crowds of people would get there. We also did a great of training in the back yard at his house, rain or shine, getting ready for a seminar that Ama Maestro Salinas taught to local Barangay officials and National Police Force. Over the years I have spent much time with Ama Maestro and have learned much more from him than just martial arts, he is more than just my instructor; he is as part of my family. I feel very lucky that chance brought him to this small city of Fort St. John, Canada where I grew up.
For 14 years I have trained with Ama Maestro Salinas system in Arnis I satisfactorily completed the fundamental requirement and received the Practitioner level VI in Sinkatan Arnis Estrella system that qualify me to teach a certain level of the curriculum of the Estrella system
MAESTRO DOUG KLINGER
I am very honored to say a few words about my training with Ama Bernardo Fabia Salinas (Tatay) in the art of Sinkatan-Arnis Estrella.
I began my training in Wing Chun in 1994 and had an interest in Arnis from the beginning. My former instructor showed me a few drills and together with another of the students, we trained when we had time. I left the Wing Chun club in 1997 and looked for an Arnis Instructor. I had heard there was a traditional instructor in Ft St John and found a phone number through a pal. I phoned the number and Ama Bernardo Salinas answered, and I talked to him for over an hour. He invited me to a tournament in Dawson Creek to watch a demonstration. How little did I know that this meeting would change my life? At the tournament I saw Tatay effortlessly defeat four knife-wielding attackers, while holding a water bottle in one hand. I was hooked. Tatay agreed to teach me after we talked, and told me to attend a seminar in Prince George the following weekend. After what I saw, I showed up early! After training on that first weekend, I stayed up all night talking to Ama Salinas and his old friend Rick Sutherland. From that time I decided that this was the art and instructor for me. I dedicated myself to learning this art and it changed my life. Most of my training was private with Ama Salinas. This meant that the stick gave you some “love” - hitting your skin and targets…not your stick. I learned quickly that this was the traditional way of Bastoneros were trained, and how Ama was trained by his Grandfather, the creator of the art of Estoque d’ Estrella of Ama Mauricio Fabia. I didn’t know any different and it was some time later when I would go to seminars, that I learned that this is seldom done in North America. The others and I were very fortunate for this training. I was welcomed into Tatay’s home, staying in “My” room in the basement (where the students stayed). Many times falling asleep in the office or couch after a long day. I ate the best Filipino food, learned a little of the language and a lot of the culture, trained, listened and enjoyed every minute of the experience, and I still do to this day. The SFMA was and still is a family, not a club.
Some of my fondest memories were spending time with Tatay and the SFMA gang: “Training” in the hot tub, The first time he taught me knife techniques (scary), staying up all night talking about the history of Andres Pusa, sharing corney jokes with Robert, waking everyone up at the summer camp at 5:30 am for training ( ha ha), going on adventure trips with Colin, and the awesome meals prepared by Nanay after training for the entire day. All along, there was plenty of “Love” to go around for everyone!
I have traveled and trained with some of the best instructors in the Filipino arts alive today. Few can match the speed and control of Ama Salinas. A humble man, everywhere we teach seminars, Ama Salinas is happy to train with each of the students and share his art and culture. He has always been about quality instruction, not quantity. Many times I have witnessed other instructors give up their time slots to allow him to continue.
The concepts of Arnis-Estrella have helped me understand the other arts I have studied more thoroughly. The tenets of Timing, Distance and Decision transcend all fighting arts, as do the motion principles. The knife system he taught me and the Estelo d’ Recta system still amaze me after all these years, for their simplicity and effectiveness.
Nowadays, I train and hope to live up to the highest ideals of the art. I was humbly honored when Tatay saw fit to make me an instructor and I will never abuse that privilege. I have chosen to give the art in the way he gave it to me, unselfishly and honestly. That is how I choose to repay.
I help direct the new students when I can and support all Filipino martial artists in whatever good they do. If you come to a seminar, say “Hi” - I am the big guy being locked up and thrown to the ground, or being hit full power with a stick. Smile when you see that, as I am smiling inside. This is home to me…where my life began anew.
Mabuhay Ang Sinkatan-Arnis Estrella
Maestro Doug Klinger
Training with Ama Maestro Bernardo Salinas By: Jason Parker
I was asked by Ama Maestro to provide some thoughts on my Arnis training for the magazine I pondered why anybody would like to hear what I had to say. I haven't been training that long and so I don't feel particularly qualified to speak on why one system or other is better or worse. Nor has my level of contact with other martial arts instructors been such that I feel qualified to comment on their styles of teaching in comparison to Ama Maestro. However I do feel I can provide some thoughts as to what kind of man my teacher is.
My first introduction to Ama Maestro came when my wife and I decided to check out a Karate club for our young children. She had heard from some of the other mothers at school about a small Karate club that their children attended. The first night we went down and expressed our interest the children were invited to train. When Ama Maestro introduced himself and shook my hand I was immediately impressed with his humble demeanour. As there were only a few lessons left before classes were ended for the summer the kids were invited to train. I was asked why shouldn't I train also but at the time had just suffered a back injury and being 32 years old felt I was too old to start something like Karate. The next fall both of our children and my wife began training with the Karate club. I would sit and watch the classes. The children were quite entertaining to watch and soon I began to see the things that they needed to correct and also what they were doing well. As the year progressed my back injury was healing and with the help of a physiotherapist I was regaining flexibility that I had considered gone since my late teens. I began to think to myself that maybe I could train too but it wasn't until late in the year when I approached Sensei Salinas about giving it a try.
About the same time I became aware that he also gave lessons in something my wife called Filipino stick fighting. One Sunday afternoon many of the people from the Karate club were invited to attend a training session. I tagged along to watch but was soon persuaded to participate. To say it was an exercise in frustration would be an understatement as I have two left feet and my sense of timing was nonexistent.
The next fall I joined the Karate club and began training during the adult class. It wasn't long before I was training with some of the other parents during the kids' classes as well. Slowly I gained a measure of control over my two left feet and began to be able to move my body. Midway through the year I was invited to try Arnis again and have been training every Sunday for the past two years.
Ama Maestro does not hold back information from his students. He is constantly explaining the application for the movements he teaches. Nor is his teaching filled with a lot of meaningless drills and exercises. He teaches what works both through personal experience and what has been passed on to him from others. He is quick to explain why things are done the way he does and he is quick to point out if you do something that would get you in trouble in a real life situation.
When I had been training for about one year I happened to meet a fellow at work who also had some Arnis training. He asked what drills we did and which Sinawali I didn't have any to tell him. Just that we practiced our strikes and blocks with lots of emphasis on our footwork. He then, proceeded to tell about a demo he did where his stick became broken and he was dropped to his knees by a vertical strike to the top of the head. I managed to contain my laughter until I was able to talk with Ama Maestro about it. After he finished laughing at this fellow's misfortune he said, "I will tell you how the old men taught me to use that block". He then proceeded to explain and demonstrate how it is supposed to be done. He than asked what style my friend had trained in and I replied. Ama Maestro explained that not all teachers give you all the information and not all of them will correct their student's mistakes or make sure the student understands the technique. He cautioned that going to seminars and not asking questions is a good way to learn nothing.
During our time together I began to know Ama Maestro better as a person. He immigrated to Canada with his wife and four young boys in 1974. Fort St. John in the mid seventies was still very much a frontier town and filled predominantly with white people, some of who didn't take too kindly to foreigners with funny accents. It can't have been easy to move to this northern town that is literally worlds away from the Philippines. The Salinas family persisted and stayed through many hardships. Ama Maestro was quite strict with his boys and insisted on knowing where they were at all times. Strict curfews were in place and I am sure that throughout their teens the boys felt out of place amongst the leniency of their Caucasian friends parents. Perhaps looking back now they can understand why their father took the actions that he did as all four boys have good jobs. As far as I know none of them has ever been in trouble with the police. This is all the more exceptional when you look at the temptations to break the law to get ahead and live the so called good life that are presented to young people and especially young immigrants today.
Both the Karate club and the Arnis students are like family to Ama Maestro. My family and I have made very good friends with many of the other families. We have also spent much time at Ama Maestro's house both backyard training and just visiting. My children refer to Ama Maestro and his wife as Lolo and Lola. They call his sons uncle. We are fortunate to have had them come into our lives.
Ama Maestro teaches a very small group of students with an even smaller number of them being dedicated to long-term training. He insists that his students are all very stubborn and I would have to agree. He can be a very demanding instructor especially when it comes to the art handed down to him from his family. And why shouldn't he be? His students are an extension of him. Anything less than the student's best isn't good enough. I have heard a saying that when the student is ready a master will appear. I didn't know that I was ready or that I was looking for myself but my Master did appear. I am both humbled and honoured to be one of his direct students.