REMY PRESAS
The Grandmaster
A true lover of sports, Mr. Remy A.  Presas is the man behind Modern Arnis today. From the  cold tomb of oblivion, Mr. Presas gave new life and meaning to the true Filipino  martial art called Arnis. Arnis died with the passage of time as the incontrovertible onslaught of  modern living and foreign influences blotted out this gem of the Filipino  culture to merely one of the things of the forgotten past. Truly Arnis died with  the times. If there were any devout practitioners of the art, they were a very  negligible few not even worthy of the slightest attention. People then were so  overwhelmed by the appeal of other foreign martial arts like judo, jujitsu, and  karate, as to give a passing look to their own arnis. Such then was the sad  status of the martial art of Arnis.

But fate has it that "Arnis" will not forever stay dead because  on December 19, 1936, in the fishing town of Hinigaran, Negros Occidental, a boy  was born destined to one day reopen the eyes and hearts of the Filipino martial  art lovers to their own true martial art, arnis, an art which has its roots  sacredly marked since the beginning of Philippine history itself. This boy was  Remy Amador Presas.

Remy was born to Jose B. Presas, a  businessman and the former Lucia Amador. His father and mother wanted Remy to  pursue a career other than sports like business where the family was then  comfortably ensconced. But business was not for Remy. Exposed at an early age to  sports through his grandfather who was also a lover of sports, Remy developed a  special love for the physical art that will one day find him one of its  stalwarts.

At the tender age of six, while learning his alphabet and prayers from his  mother, Remy was already learning the fundamentals of "kali", as Arnis  was then called, using finely carved wooden canes shaped like swords or daggers.  This developed in Remy an immense love for sports which will become and  indelible mark of his nature.

In his youth, the fascination of sports in Remy grew so much as to develop  in him the adventurer's itch. Not content with the bucolic atmosphere in  Hinigaran, at the age of 14 Remy went to the different cities like Cebu, Panay,  Bohol, and Leyte, where he pursued his athletic career. In Cebu, he furthered  his study of Arnis under Rodolfo Moncal, and then under Timoteo Marranga and  Venancio Bacon. All were Cebuano experts in Arnis, and under them Remy mastered  Arnis and the deadly "Balintawak" style of stick fencing. Remy's  association with Arnis experts and other renowned athletes in the different  parts of the country sharpened his ability in sports.

By the time he came back to his hometown, Remy was already and expert in  Arnis and in other sports like judo, jiu-jitsu, wrestling and karate. After his  marriage to Rosemary Pascual, Remy, idealistic and enterprising that he is, then  set up a gymnasium in Bacolod, Negros Occidental, and there started the wheels  of his obsession to revive the dying martial art of Arnis. With the fervor and  determination of a true dedicated sportsman, Remy labored and sacrificed to  bring the youth in Bacolod closer to the wealth of their cultural history that  they failed to appreciate because of indifference. Encouragingly, he succeeded.  In that unpretentious gym he founded, Remy succeeded in drawing the interest of  the youth of Bacolod. His followers in Arnis increased by the hundreds.

Then in 1968 Remy was confronted with a decision that was to become a  turning point in his life. In one of his summer sessions at the Rizal Memorial  Sports Arena in Manila, the sports Mecca of the Philippines, Col. Arsenio de  Borja, secretary treasurer of the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation and  director of the National College of Physical Education, Mr. Philip Moncerrat,  former President of the PAAF, and Professor Jose Gregorio, took notice of Remy.  Upon learning of Remy's crusade, they asked him to further his crusade in  Manila, the seat of National influence in any field of activity. In Manila, the  interest of the whole country would be drawn, Remy was told.

The idea interested Remy, for indeed, Arnis is not only for a region, it is  for the whole country and could even be before the whole world. The thought  played in Remy's mind like a precious diamond toyed by two cats.

The whole thought was crucial and difficult for him. Coming to Manila would  mean leaving behind all he has founded in Bacolod. It would mean virtual  abandonment of his well-entrenched businesses which could guarantee the future  of his family. Besides, it would mean re-establishment of his family which was  now well settled in Bacolod.

But Remy cannot get himself out of the thought of the great opportunity for  him to bring his crusade to a wider scope and area of audience. He was tickled  with the thought that in Manila, he will not only be able to revive Arnis to  national consciousness but he will also have the opportunity to present this  lore of Philippine culture to the whole world. Remy believed that if the world  accepted judo, wrestling, karate, and kung fu, there would be no reason why  Arnis wouldn't be accepted for Arnis is as effective, if not more effective than  all of these other martial arts. It was a gem of an opportunity and Remy took  the challenge.

In 1969, Remy brought his family to Manila. He then established a gymnasium  in the heart of Manila's commercial district and founded the National Amateur Karate Organization (NAKO) and Modern  Arnis Federation of the Philippines (MAFP). With  his gym as his springboard, Remy pursued his crusade to revive Arnis on the  wider scale to the hilt. He taught (up the present) in various universities and  colleges in Manila emphasizing the basic beauty of Arnis as a martial art. He  was also teaching Arnis in his NAKO and MAFP club in Quiapo, Manila.

Remy also founded the Modern Arnis Federation of the Philippines. He gave  countless exhibitions (for free) with his boys before different audiences and even before tourists. He has  even performed before Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos in Antipolo, Rizal, who, after  seeing the exhibition, expressed profound interest in the art.

His untiring crusade brought Arnis to the knowledge of every martial art  lover. Not only that, Remy's magnificent achievement brought him honors and  respect among the titans in Philippine sports. So enthusiastically was Arnis  received that Remy was asked to train the different armed services and police  agencies in the Philippines in the martial art of Arnis. Arnis has also become a  popular sport engaged in friendly competition between clubs.

The popularity of Arnis even transcends Philippine shores that in 1970 Remy  was asked to go to Japan and before Itago Police Academy he introduce Arnis. So  intrigued and fascinated were the Japanese Police authorities of the art that  they exclaimed in admiration of its effectively.

Remy's name became a name to reckon with in sports circle. Besides being  the founder and president of the MAFP and NAKO, he was elected Vice-President of the Philippine Arnis Association whose  president was former Senator Rene Espina, also an Arnis aficionado, He is also a  coach in judo, karate, and wrestling. Remy is a sixth Dan Karate Blackbelter and  a judo blackbelter.

His athletic prowess is known far and wide that several American martial  art clubs invited him for a cultural demonstration and not a few American  personages who are lovers of martial art asked him to propagate the art of Arnis  in America and Canada. These invitations are testimonials of Remy's fame as an  athlete.

But Remy's dream is more than all these. He wants to make an international  sport out of Arnis. He wants the world to know that in the Philippines there is  an indigenous martial art that can surpass the martial art they already know.  "Few of us may know that a skillful knowledge of the art of Arnis can make  one outplay a master of judo, or karate, " Remy would tell his students.

That the whole world may know of the art, led Remy to write this book on  modern Arnis. Digging deep into his wealth of knowledge after 27 years of  research and practice of the art, he decided to publish a book. Collating the  early style and techniques of the art with the modern, he prepared a text devoid  of primitive linguistics which might not be understood by enthusiasts. Thus this  book.

Presented in it's modern form in line with modern demands and  circumstances, this book will be easy for a learner to understand. Every style  and technique is presented in modern form and the terminologies adopted to  contemporary language.

This book is only the beginning of Remy's magnificent dream. This book will  merely serve as a springboard for the ultimate acceptance of the Filipino  martial art of Arnis. The crowning glory of this dream, of this crusade, will be  when Arnis becomes a commanding sport in every arena of sports competition the  world over.

The Filipinos have now accepted this gem of their culture. Through the  inspired efforts of Remy, the Bureau of Public and Private Schools has now  included Arnis in the Physical education curriculum. On Tuesday evening, August  28, 2001, Remy Amador Presas passed away in Victoria, British Columbia after a  ten-month battle with brain cancer.

Note: This article was copied from a different source.
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