Earlier this month I had the privilege and opportunity to attend Tri State Martial Art’s annual seminar with Guro Dan Inosanto in Levittown, PA. Hosted by Guro Jeff Jones and his staff, the event was well attended by students and instructors from all around the area and beyond.
I remember listening to an interview on FMA Talk Live with Guro Harley Elmore, where he said that one of the primary objectives of Warriors Way International was to develop and cultivate as many first generation, direct students and instructors under Guro Inosanto while the opportunity still exists. I was moved and inspired by that, and found that to be a guiding force behind my own intentions and motives for teaching. Who am I really, to present an art that has been built on the shoulders of so many great martial artists before me? I have made it my own mission as well, to try and bring any and all of my students to any and all of my instructors. It has been a great privilege to see Guro Craig in California become an instructor in the Sayoc system, to hear about Trent’s experiences at his first Atienza Sama Sama earlier this year, and now to bring students to meet and train with Guro Dan for the first time.
As an instructor, I feel that it is my responsibility to provide the best material that I can for my students, and none would exceed the level of instruction from the sources of those martial arts themselves! Like many systems, but particularly in these Filipino Martial Arts we all train, benefit and hopefully contribute to something bigger than ourselves, bigger than our groups or schools.
I also had the chance to connect with, although briefly with some of my seniors that I really admire and look up to such as Guro Chuck, Guro Cara, Guro Carlos and Guro George from NY and CT, all models of leaders in the Warriors Way organization. Finally, I was also able to meet some of the other MD instructors and students as well, so it was a pleasure to chat with Ajarn Scott and Kru Lance of Maryland Thai Boxing.
Thank you most of all to Guro Dan for sharing your wealth of knowledge, experience and stories with us. They truly are diamonds. To Guro Jeff and his staff, I can’t say how impressed I was with your hospitality and organization. And to everyone I had the privilege to work with this weekend, thank you all for the training! Lastly, to Kevin and Christopher and Lance, see you guys soon!
LAKAS FILIPINO MARTIAL ARTS 