The Kali Mundo Experience… exploring SSBD

  Kali Mundo SSBD Seminar… and visit.

This was a very special experience.  Last year I met Kit Acenas and Valerie Drckxsns at Russia House in the Philippines.   Our mutual friend Philip Gelinas had mentioned to both of us, that, we would discover upon meeting, good people that we could get along with.  Philip has not led us astray.  Here I found extremely capable martial artists with great humility and honesty.  We became fast friends and even got together from some training at Kali Mundo last year before I had to return to Canada.

We have kept in touch.  I keep my eye out for posts from Kali Mundo, since Kit and Val tend to post a  lot of really good stuff.   Val has a line of locally woven sarongs and gear bags that are just beautiful and I like to look at them, most wont know this but,I just love handmade textiles.  But more to the context, Kit and Val tour around the world teaching their own brand of FMA and the photos and the stories they tell are always awesome.  You probably noticed that the photo quality of the posts at my time at Kali Mundo were better than usual, we can credit Val for that. 

Before I left last year, I was told that I have to come back and teach a seminar.  Kit and Val were very interested in the work i have been doing with the whip, the dog brothers,  my experiences with the Throwdown and especially my time in with SSBD.  But as the year went on it became very clear to all of us that it would end up being the Silat Suffian Bella Diri that I would teach upon my return.

It deserves to be mentioned at this point that Kit Acenas is well respected in the larger Manilla FMA community.   And that is no small thing.  It isn’t easy getting ahead as a Philipino, in the local Philippine, martial arts scene, and I have never understood that better than I do now.  On many occasions during this trip, and from many sources, I have become privy to some of the culture that goes on here between the generations of younger and older teachers.  As a foreigner I am not expected to observe these traditions and as a result I am often able to do things that a local instructor would have difficulties doing.  For instance, this trip, and training with multiple instructors… I can do this freely.  But for a local teacher, that action is fraught with traditional respects for elders, with questions of loyalty and intent and often with suspicion and jealousy.  So it is very significant that someone like Kit is respected as he is by the masters I have met, and has opportunities to engage with some very impressive teachers.  I won’t go into the details here, because it isn’t my place and I wouldn’t want to miss an important aspect of demonstrating respect, thus making things difficult for my good friend Kit.

Valerie is a fine martial artist in her own right.  A strong FMA practitioner and teacher as well as a leader in the Makati JKD scene.  It was abundantly clear to us at Russia House last year, that this woman is a resource for training detail.  Her physicality and her cheerfully focused presence make her someone folks are confident to ask for help.   There have been many times where I have been confused about something I am being introduced to and she immediately hones in on the details that need correction and present the instruction in a clear and effective manor for the person she is working with.   Many times on this trip I was shocked,  as we worked through the foundations of SSBD, at how quickly she absorbs and applies coaching.  Of course this woman has some other great talents as well, as a community builder and a social media natural, she together with Kit have one of the most awesome groups of people world wide, doing some really great work.

It was Kit and Valerie, who introduced me to Ppaulo Rubio, the FMA student / Aperture Fight Focused Correspondent who seems to be connecting the entire FMA , MMA, Tactical, Combatives and every instructor he finds relevant, to his Social Media Outlet.  Ppaulo recently shot tons of amazing video of Kit and Val detailing the 64 Attacks System of Classical Pekiti.   I mention this, because I want you to look it up and watch how these guys move.   Then look at all the other material there, because, the teaching style, their engagement as educators is worth watching.  Very organized and accurate, and with a gentle spirit that is refreshing to be in the presence of.

To have folks like this put a seminar together for you is special in its own right.  I am grateful that a year later, they still wanted the value they saw in asking me to return.   Besides, I got to meet their community, and those folks are awesome too.  Ive become inter web friends with many of them and their excitement and appreciation for the subject matter and the instructor is nothing short of encouraging.  I very much look forward to do this again.  I will have to work hard to get back here next year, but with all the things going on, I feel that its totally doable. 

I trust I am making my own gratitude and appreciation very clear.   This was an amazing event and I am very glad to have friends that see value in my work.  I am also very proud and grateful to Maul Mornie for teaching me the art of SSBD and so many life / career lessons.  Carlo Andreis for seeing a good person and rewarding it with unwavering support.  All of my students at home for loving the fact that your teacher keeps adding new work to the work we are already processing as an Academy. 

I am a very fortunate.