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Connecticut Summer Camp 2009

Cromwell, CT

July 31st to August 2nd, 2009

Camp Host: Tom Cushing

Each year there are many Modern Arnis Camps held through out the United States. This gives people the opportunity to enjoy a camp in their local area as well as venturing out to another state. During the course of the year, the Masters of Tapi-Tapi rotate attendance at the various camps. This allows people the opportunity to meet, work and train with Masters that are not from their area.

People who attended the Connecticut camp were treated to the talents of Masters Brian Zawilinski,, Chuck Gauss and Jim Ladis as well as Master Instructor Earl Tullis and long time personal student of Master Presas, Larry Rocha. They each took turns teaching various sessions during the camp. It was amazing to watch how everything that they taught came together with careful explanation and example. No matter how different the techniques seemed the Masters skillfully demonstrated that it is all the same. It did not matter if you were using a single cane, a knife, double canes or empty hand you could perform all of the techniques as if you had been practicing all your life.

Master Zawilinski demonstrated empty hand, single cane and knife defense techniques. It was amazing to watch how his movements were all the same no matter what weapon was presented to him. With each new technique he seemed to get faster and faster, always taking the most direct route to the target. When demonstrating stick techniques he was able to perform the same moves that he had done empty hand as well as many traps and locks. He truly was able to show the crowd how effortless Modern Arnis can seem when you have the flow.

Master Ladis also worked single cane locks and traps. It soon became apparent that once he got a hold of his opponent they were in trouble. Just when you thought he couldn’t possibly make a lock any tighter he would add a what seemed like a little detail to the technique and his partner would soon be back up on his toes tapping. He showed how footwork could set up any strike. It was amazing to see how much power could be generated with the proper angle and direction.

Master Gauss spent a lot of time with the group working on the proper set up of single stick techniques. He emphasized the importance of striking at your target. If your cane is not a valid threat to your opponent they may not react in the manner that you want and your counter may not be readily available. He also demonstrated the power and effectiveness of Modern Arnis ground fighting techniques. It was amazing to see how the human body could be twisted and how quickly a technique can produce pain. Master Gauss was very careful to explain the smallest details of the techniques to allow every body style to find their most effective position. He also treated the group to a series of extremely painful finger lock techniques. By the end of the session most people really knew what an effective form of self-defense a finger lock can be.

Following Master Gauss’s three hour session on finger locks Master Instructor Earl Tullis lead the group through a series of finger and joint locks. Most people were pretty susceptible to the locks at this time but Earl’s focus was not on pain but on the details that would cause additional pain. He took great care to explain how the proper stance, angle and direction used with a technique could really make a difference in the effectiveness.

Larry Rocha taught a session that seemed like a whirlwind tour of years of training with the Professor and his time spent in the Philippines. It was exciting to see how Larry could find a target from any strike. He was quick to attack his opponents from many different angles. With Larry you didn’t know what part of your body to protect. If you defended your head he took out your legs. He also showed the group how effective Modern Arnis can be when practiced with commitment.

As usual it seemed that camp ended much too soon. Before we knew it, it was time to get back to our daily lives. People left the camp feeling like they could hardly wait for the next opportunity to train and to pass on the art of Modern Arnis to new people. As usual one of the biggest challenges that we all faced is how much of the new things we had learned and practiced would we be able to present at our next class.

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