Last year (2013) GM Crispulo Atillo announced his "Successors-Disciples" and I posted a blog statement praising his public statement because he has eliminated for the most part any need for argumentation after he passes on. His announcement really was very forthcoming and progressive
in terms of the usual bickering that follows the death of a system founder and/or Grand Master.
Of particular interest to me was the fact that GM Tom Bolden, GM Douglas Pierre and Master Peter Vargas were named to the highest level of succession as "Successors-Disciples". Since these three people have trained in Modern Arnis with GM Bolden and GM Pierre have earned lakan level ranking directly from the late Professor Presas, the designation by GM Atillo moves these men closer to the actual roots of Modern Arnis, through the Saavedra-Balintawak lineage. In spite of the efforts of some people both inside and outside of Modern Arnis as well as Balintawak Eskrima to discredit GM Crispulo Atillo as a major player in the art of Balintawak, the basic evidence supports his claims of being involved in the Balintawak System beginning in the 1950's. And tray as they may, no one has been able to show definitively that the art known as Balintawak is not a logical extention of the "corto linear" eskrima style that was developed and practiced by GGM Lorenzo Saavedra and his 3 nephews, Teodoro "Doring" Saavedra, Fredrico Saavedra and Venancio Saavedra Bacon. At one point in time, Teodoro Saavedra, was the instructor for Venancio Bacon, Vincente Atillo, Delfin Lopez, Timeteo Maranga and some 23 other people who eventually worked together to form the
Balintawak Self Defense Club in 1952. There is no doubt that Bacon the principal instructor of the newly formed BSDC and every agrees that the new club was named after the street on which the new club house was located. The one seldom asked and never answered question is where did GM Bacon get the information that he used to establish the new Balintawak System?
As with so many situations involving conflicting groups of people involved in a similar organization
the truth is often right in front of them and obviously hiding in plain sight. The plain and simple truth is that Venacion Saavedraa Bacon had only trained in one system, the Saavedra Escrima or Corto Linear system under Lorenzo and Teodoro Saavedra. He took that information and training from the Saavedra's through the Doce Pares Club to his new BSDC organization in 1952. GM Vincente Atillo taught the Saavedra Eskrima System to his son and they were members of the BSDC from it's inception. There is a very clear ancd compelling reason why we can not find a significant difference between the eskrima that GM Crispulo Atillo teaches and the art that GM Bobby Taboada teaches, along with the art of GM Bob Silver Tabimaina, or GM Nick Elizar. They are all engaged in teaching Balintawak. They all have the same core foundation and they have added other elements that best suited them as individuals. The Atillo detractors have to engage in tautologies to make their charges sound reasonable but when pushed with empirical evidence they fall back to allegations that the Saavedra system has nothing to do with Balintawak, therefore GM Atillo, should have refered to his system as Savvedra Eskrima.
Given what I have been able to find through my research efforts, I am very comfortable with the idea that the Atillo System is the Saavedra and Balintawak Systems are essentially the same with some new and very logical adaptations added by a number of senior people including GGM Bacon. My research results have convinced to amend my original flow chart to include the Saavedra-Atillo connections to Modern Arnis and Professor Remy Presas. The chart is reproduced below.
I understand that there will be some people who disagree with me and I fully respect their right to do so. My only stipulation is that they will have to give me a documentable set of alternatives, not merely someone's word of mouth accounts. As a sociologist as well as a martial artist, I want to see empirical documentation before I alter my flow chart again.
Respectfully yours,
Jerome Barber, Ed. D.
GM & Datu,
Independent Escrima-Kenpo-Arnis Associates
Martial Arts Lineage of Remy Amador Presas
Leon B. Presas
Traditional Arnis
Espada y Daga
|
Remy Amador Presas
Founder & GM Modern Arnis
Lorenzo Saavedra
Founder & GM - Saavedra Eskrima
|
Teodoro Saavedra
|
Venancio Saavedra Bacon - Timeteo Maranga - Vincente Atillo
|
Crispulo Atillo
|
Arnulfo Mongcal
|
Remy Amador Presas
Founder & GM Modern Arnis
Venancio Saavedra Bacon
Grand Master & Co-Founder Balintawak Eskrima
|
Timeteo Maranga - Vincente Atillo w/ Crispulo Atillo
| |
Arnulfo Mongcal
|
Remy Amador Presas
Founder & GM Modern Arnis
Martial Arts Lineage of Dr. Jerome Barber
Modern Arnis Lineage:
Remy Amador Presas
Founder & GM Modern Arnis
|
Donald F. Zanghi
|
Jerome Barber, Ed. D.
Kepno Karate Lineage:
Hoon Chow
(Hung Gar) James Mitose
| (Kosho Ryu Kenpo)
| |
William K. S. Chow (Chinese Kenpo)
|
Adriano Emperado (Chinese Kenpo, Eskrima, Kajukenbo)
| |
Marino Tiwanak Edmund Parker, Sr.
(Kajukenbo, CHA-3 Kenpo) (Chinese Kenpo, American Kenpo)
| |
Florentino Pancipanci Al & Jim Tracy
(CHA-3 Kenpo, Pancipanci Eskrima) (Tracy System Kenpo)
| / |
Tom Bolden Ernest McPeek Donald F. Zanghi
(CHA-3 Kenpo) (Tracy System Kenpo) (Tracy System Kenpo)
(Pancipanci Eskrima) (Modern Arnis)
|_____________________________________ |___________________|
|
Jerome Barber, Ed. D.
|
Tim Kashino - Richard Curren - Tom Verga - Paul R. Martin - Kenneth Q. Boehm,
Debra S. Moore - Keith Roosa - James "Buddy" Antonio, Frank Heinan,
Kathleen Geiger - Frankie Heinan - Stephanie Heinan,
Mary Altair - Keri Marotti, Michael Zelli
(Certified Black Belt Instructors - IEKA)
Stephanie Heinan, Michael Zelli
No comments:
Post a Comment