“May the soul of this art be the art of your soul.” – Remy Presas¹

Remy Amador Presas (December 19, 1936² – August 28, 2001) is considered to be the father of Modern Arnis. His innovative approach to Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) has significantly influenced the global martial arts community.

Early Life and Martial Arts Training.

Remy was born in the fishing village of Hinigaran, Negros Occidental Philippines in 1936. Remy started studying martial arts during World War II, when the Japanese invaded and occupied the Philippines.

Remy’s father was a lieutenant in the Philippine Army. ^{3 4} Remy was five (5) years old [~1942] when Jose Presas brought his family to the mountains in the province of Negros Occidental to hide from the Japanese. Remy used to watch his father teach Arnis to the soldiers. Remy was actually discouraged from studying martial arts by his parents.⁵

Remy’s grandfather, Leon Presas, who was a veteran of the Spanish-American War⁶, saw that Remy was interested in Arnis. Leon encouraged Remy to learn so he could defend himself, if necessary. At age 6 [~1943], Leon started training Remy in his style of Arnis – palis-palis and espada y daga (sword and dagger). ^{7 8 9 10} Remy studied with him for about six (6) – seven (7) years [~1949-1950].¹¹

World War II (WWII) ended September 1945. Remy was approximately eight (8) years old. Post-war life in the Philippines was a period of chaos, assessment and rebuilding. It was a time for some people to take advantage of others. “Because the war [WWII] had just ended, the Philippines were in turmoil and fighting seemed like an everyday occurrence…From the ages ten (10) [~1947] to twelve (12) [~1948], I got into fights all the time and my mind became cultured in how to fight.” [Remy]¹²

In 1949, Remy’s high school principal of Hinigaran Institute suspended him for fighting. Later, the teachers and student council members reinstated him – but with a job. Remy took the opportunity to be the “chief of police” for the school. “They figured if I was given responsibility, maybe I would channel my aggressive energy into a positive cause and stop getting into trouble. They figured right.” [Remy]¹³ Within three (3) months, the school and Remy were transformed from a place of fighting, truancy and other problems into a place that supported learning.¹⁴

When Remy was twelve (12) years old [~1948], he witnessed an Arnis dual for the first time. The dual was between the Duding Resoma brothers, who studied with Moses Padilla, a WWII guerrilla fighter, and the Doming Ricto clan. ¹⁵ That dual had an impact on Remy – thinking it was too brutal and was used for the wrong reasons. Remy had a goal to educate people and change their perception of the art. “At that time, anyone who studied the martial arts was considered to be a hoodlum. I wanted people to realize that arnis is really not a violent thing, but a means of protection and growth for oneself and loved ones, and even an art.” [Remy]¹⁶

Remy’s parents had wanted him to go to school and/or learn a business. Remy decided to leave home at age fourteen (14) [~1949/1950] ^{17 18} to learn Arnis and other martial arts. Remy stowed away on a boat and went to Cebu. In Cebu, Remy met Rodolfo Moncal, an Arnis fighter. ^{19 20}. Rodolfo trained him for two (2) years [~1950 – 1952] in a close-quarter style of Arnis called the Balintawak style.²¹

• Note: Other articles mentioned Remy was age fourteen (14), instead of age twelve (12) and traveled to different cities to train under a number of martial arts experts.^{22 23}

Remy returned home to test what he learned on experienced Arnis practitioners. Remy was able to better control aggressive situations and this inspired him to return to Cebu where he met his next instructor major Timoteo Maranga of the Cebu City Police Department. ^{24 25 26} Timoteo Maranga was Rodolfo Monacal’s instructor. ²⁷

Remy entered a balintawak tournament in Cebu City. No one wore protective padding in tournaments at that time. Venancio Bacon, the Balintawak Grandmaster and Timoteo Marina’s instructor, witnessed Remy fighting. Venancio Bacon accepted Remy as his student. Remy trained with him for over four (4) years [~1951-~1955].²⁸

The next time Remy returned home, he was not only skilled in Arnis but had earned a black belt in karate and judo. Remy had also studied jujitsu and wrestling.²⁹ Remy’s father had wanted him to go into business – and in a way he did – his business was going to be promoting Filipino Martial Arts. ³⁰

1. “Modern Arnis Philippine Martial Art: Stick Fighting” by Remy Amador Presas, Founder of Modern Arnis, National Book Store, 1974. ↩︎
2.  “Grandmaster Remy Amador Presas (1936-2001), by FMA Pulse, Jun 22, 2013, ↩︎
3. “The Presas Family”, Filipino Martial Arts Magazine, Jan/Feb 1998. ↩︎
4. “Modern Arnis: What it Means to America” by Jim Sullivan, Filipino Martial Arts Magazine, August 2001. ↩︎
5. “The 36 Hour Martial Art” by Richard Zimmerman, Black Belt Magazine, November 1977. ↩︎
6. “The Presas Family”, Filipino Martial Arts Magazine, Jan/Feb 1998. ↩︎
7. “Remy Presas: Risking Life for his Art” by Rick Mitchell, Inside Kung Fu Magazine, December 1990. ↩︎
8. “Remy Presas: Pioneer of the Philippine Arts is Still Polishing and Spreading his System”, by Jeffrey J. Delaney, Black Belt Magazine, August 1998. ↩︎
9. “The 36 Hour Martial Art” by Richard Zimmerman, Black Belt Magazine, November 1977. ↩︎
10. “Exploring Modern Arnis with the Grandmaster of the Philippine Martial Arts” by Jeffrey J. Delaney, Black Belt Magazine, October 2001. ↩︎
11. “Remy Presas: Risking Life for his Art” by Rick Mitchell, Inside Kung Fu Magazine, December 1990. ↩︎
12. “Remy Presas: Risking Life for his Art” by Rick Mitchell, Inside Kung-Fu Magazine, December 1990. ↩︎
13. “Remy Presas: Risking Life for his Art” by Rick Mitchell, Inside Kung-Fu Magazine, December 1990. ↩︎
14. “Remy Presas: Risking Life for his Art” by Rick Mitchell, Inside Kung-Fu Magazine, December 1990. ↩︎
15.  “The Presas Family”, Filipino Martial Arts Magazine, Jan/Feb 1998. ↩︎
16.  “Remy Presas: Risking Life for his Art” by Rick Mitchell, Inside Kung-Fu Magazine, December 1990. ↩︎
17. “Remy Presas: Pioneer of the Philippine Arts is Still Polishing and Spreading his System”, by Jeffrey J. Delaney, Black Belt Magazine, August 1998. ↩︎
18. “The 36 Hour Martial Art” by Richard Zimmerman, Black Belt Magazine, November 1977. ↩︎
19. “Remy Presas: Risking Life for his Art” by Rick Mitchell, Inside Kung-Fu Magazine, December 1990. ↩︎
20. “Exploring Modern Arnis with the Grandmaster of the Philippine Martial Arts” by Jeffrey J. Delaney, Black Belt Magazine, October 2001. ↩︎
21. “Remy Presas: Risking Life for his Art” by Rick Mitchell, Inside Kung-Fu Magazine, December 1990. ↩︎
22. “The 36 Hour Martial Art” by Richard Zimmerman, Black Belt Magazine, November 1977. ↩︎
23. “The Deceptive Edge of Espada Y Daga” by Rick Mitchell and Tom W. Richardson, Inside Kung-Fu Magazine, July 1989. ↩︎
24. “The Presas Family”, Filipino Martial Arts Magazine, Jan/Feb 1998. ↩︎
25. “Exploring Modern Arnis with the Grandmaster of the Philippine Martial Arts” by Jeffrey J. Delaney, Black Belt Magazine, October 2001. ↩︎
26. “Grandmaster Remy Amador Presas (1936-2001), by FMA Pulse, Jun 22, 2013, ↩︎
27. “Remy Presas: Risking Life for his Art” by Rick Mitchell, Inside Kung-Fu Magazine, December 1990. ↩︎
28. “Remy Presas: Risking Life for his Art” by Rick Mitchell, Inside Kung-Fu Magazine, December 1990. ↩︎
29. “The 36 Hour Martial Art” by Richard Zimmerman, Black Belt Magazine, November 1977. ↩︎
30. “Arnis: An Art Within An Art” by Brainard Kebbleman, Black Belt Magazine, August 1982. ↩︎