“Grandmaster Roberto Presas was born in August 24, 1947 in Hinigaran, Negros Occidental.  It is unique that he is one of three brothers, all of whom are grandmasters of modern arnis…Grandmaster Roberto ‘Berting’ A. Presas, the equally talented but forgotten brother.”¹

“He is no stranger to the challenges of life.  Born with a cleft pallet and slight hearing loss, Roberto has had to work harder at communicating, but seems to get his point across just fine.”²

“After the loss of both parents, Roberto began training with his brother Remy.  He said his brother Ernesto wasn’t interested in training in the beginning, but eventually joined in and all three trained together.”³  Roberto “began training in karate in 1960 at the age of 13, followed by the Presas Family Style of Arnis, in 1967”⁴  “Remy later took a job in Cebu, where he trained with a few different groups and later established his own path.  This left Roberto training and working with his brother, Ernesto.”⁵ “In 1973 he became an instructor in Ernesto Presas. [sic]”⁶   Roberto earned “…a lakan sampu (10th-degree) ranking in arnis.”⁷

“Over the years, grandmaster Roberto Presas preferred to remain behind the scenes, instead helping his brothers become famous.”⁸

In 1995,⁹ he founded the Hinigaran Arnis de Mano and is “based on his training in karate, judo, and Modern Arnis.  It is characterized by its emphasis on long range striking, powerful movements, and a focus on proper stance and movement before developing speed and complexity.”^{10 11}   “The system of Hinigaran arnis de mano has more than one 12-strike count pattern. It has 4-, 6-, 8- and 12-count strike patterns.  There are 24 kata (forms) and both the ‘old style’ and ‘modern style’ are taught.”^12 13

“Roberto prefers the straight-line Japanese style to the Okinawan half-circle approach used by his brother Remy.” “Grandmaster Roberto’s favorite weapons of choice are the baston (cane) and nunchaku.”¹⁴

“Since the passing of his brother, Remy, [in 2001]¹⁵ he has decided to step forward and make his art of hinigaran arnis de mano [sic] known to the world.”¹⁶

Roberto had led “…the  Philippine Arnis Hinigaran Association.”¹⁷ The Hinigaran Arnis de Mano Organization was “…spread through the Philippines and America with the help of his top students and representatives.”^{18 19} 

When asked why not modern arnis? Roberto  would say to people “…that it is my system, my family style.  I am not my brothers.  I am unique and I want people to know Hinigaran arnis de mano [sic] is grandmaster Roberto Presas.”²⁰ Per Roberto, “the term Modern Arnis denotes the Presas family style and was later adopted by Remy Presas (Roberto’s oldest brother) as the name of his system.”²¹

“Roberto, the youngest of the trio (Remy & Ernesto), holds an 8th Dan in Modern Arnis.  Unfortunately, he was always in the shadow of his great brothers.  He supported his brother Ernesto during his training in Manila, and later Remy in the USA while organizing the “international Arnis Federation” in San Francisco.”²².

Grandmaster Roberto Presas was a Member in The International Membership of the World Head of Family/Sokeship Council.²³

Roberto passed on November 2, 2025.²⁴

List of Roberto Presas Videos

• Grandmaster Roberto Presas, Uploaded to YouTube Apr 9, 2012.  Using both stick and tabak-tayok/nunchuk.
• YouTube Vid 1, Uploaded to YouTube Mar 31, 2016.
• Espada y Daga – Master Presas – Arnis Kali, Uploaded to YouTube Jun 18, 2016
• “The Inauguration Remy Presas Monument – Hinigaran, March 2, 2024”, Uploaded to YouTube on Mar 11, 2024. Note: Grandmaster Roberto Presas was present at the event.

Hinigaran Arnis De Mano Videos

• “Hinigaran Arnis De Mano”, Upload to YouTube on Oct 20, 2009. Master Kurtis Goodwin and Guro Ike De La Cruz demonstrating Bolo drills of Grandmaster Roberto Presas.

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1. “The Unknown Presas” by Kurtis Goodwin, Inside Kung-Fu Magazine, January 2008. ↩︎
2. “The Unknown Presas” by Kurtis Goodwin, Inside Kung-Fu Magazine, January 2008. ↩︎
3. “The Unknown Presas” by Kurtis Goodwin, Inside Kung-Fu Magazine, January 2008. ↩︎
4. Hinigaran Arnis de Mano”, Presaslegacy.com website, viewed on December 24, 2025. ↩︎
5. “The Unknown Presas” by Kurtis Goodwin, Inside Kung-Fu Magazine, January 2008. ↩︎
6. “Hinigaran Arnis de Mano”, Presaslegacy.com website, viewed on December 24, 2025. ↩︎
7. “The Unknown Presas” by Kurtis Goodwin, Inside Kung-Fu Magazine, January 2008. ↩︎
8. “The Unknown Presas” by Kurtis Goodwin, Inside Kung-Fu Magazine, January 2008. ↩︎
9. “Roberto Presas”, Academic Wikipedia website, viewed on December 24, 2025. ↩︎
10. “Hinigaran Arnis de Mano”, Presaslegacy.com website, viewed on December 24, 2025. ↩︎
11. “Hinigaran Arnis de Mano” by FMA Pulse, January 17, 2009, https://fmapulse.com/fma-styles/hinigaran-arnis-de-mano/ ↩︎
12. “The Unknown Presas” by Kurtis Goodwin, Inside Kung-Fu Magazine, January 2008. ↩︎
13. “Hinigaran Arnis de Mano” by FMA Pulse, January 17, 2009, https://fmapulse.com/fma-styles/hinigaran-arnis-de-mano/ ↩︎
14. “The Unknown Presas” by Kurtis Goodwin, Inside Kung-Fu Magazine, January 2008. ↩︎
15. “Roberto Presas”, Academic Wikipedia website, viewed on December 24, 2025. ↩︎
16. “The Unknown Presas” by Kurtis Goodwin, Inside Kung-Fu Magazine, January 2008. ↩︎
17. “The Unknown Presas” by Kurtis Goodwin, Inside Kung-Fu Magazine, January 2008. ↩︎
18. “Hinigaran Arnis de Mano” by FMA Pulse, January 17, 2009, https://fmapulse.com/fma-styles/hinigaran-arnis-de-mano/ ↩︎
19. Note:  I could not determine if Grandmaster Roberto was the head of two separate organizations or one organization with two different names. ↩︎
20. “The Unknown Presas” by Kurtis Goodwin, Inside Kung-Fu Magazine, January 2008. ↩︎
21. “Hinigaran Arnis de Mano” by FMA Pulse, January 17, 2009, https://fmapulse.com/fma-styles/hinigaran-arnis-de-mano/ ↩︎
22. “The Presas Family”, Filipino Martial Arts Magazine, Jan / Feb 1998. ↩︎
23. The International Membership of the World Head of Family/Sokeship Council, viewed on December 26, 2025. ↩︎
24. “RIP GM Roberto Presas”, World Modern Arnis Alliance website viewed on December 24, 2025. ↩︎