Informative Issue No. 237 2016

Maestro Crisanto R. PasindoMaestro Crisanto R. Pasindo

Arnis Pasindo Eskrima- Firming Up Modern FMA by Reclaiming Tradition Practical Weapon Form, Control, and Balance Non-Segmented Footwork Secondary Keeping Tight Firmly Rooted Next Generation Maestro Crisanto R. Pasindo

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The FMA Informative wants to thank Mr. Artemio F. Cusi III for his valuable help in making this issue on Maestro Crisanto R. Pasindo and the art he teaches Arnis Pasindo Eskrima. This issue was quite a while in the making, and with Mr. Cusi help finally it will be done and you the reader can get introduced to some of the ba-sic principles and concepts of Arnis Pasindo Eskrima. The FMA Informative has known Maestro Pasindo for a few years personally and through the tourna-ments he has put together. As some of the dedicated readers of the FMA Informative, may have read the many FMA Informative issues about the Arnis Pasindo Eskrima Tournaments which one might take note are probably one the leanest Arnis tournaments in the Philippines. But what it lacks in resources, it more than makes up for with its heart and spirit. And the tournaments held each year are rowing in participants and a firm belief that they are the most honest, fair and professional tournaments in the Philippines. Arnis is the Philippines national sport, their very own. Aside from that, competitions are effective moti-vators for Arnis practitioners to train seriously. It’s one way to keep the standards high. It’s also a venue to meet and bond with others in the community.Master Pasindo is truly a man of integrity. A man who loves Arnis!

Contact Maestro Crisanto R. Pasindo through Face BookArnis Pasindo Eskrima 1: Click Here Arnis Pasindo Eskrima 2: Click Here

Arnis Pasindo Eskrima- Firming Up Modern FMA by Reclaiming Tradition

Any editor of a mar-tial arts publication would have noticed the seeming redun-dancy of terms in the style known as “Arnis Pasindo Eskrima”. However, Founder Crisanto R. Pasindo said the arrangement of words had been deliberate. His style relies both on the systematic teaching approach and basic forms of Modern Arnis, and the fluidi-ty and practicality of traditional Eskrima. The name

“Pasindo” inserted between “Arnis” and “Eskrima” connotes Maestro Pasindo’s effort to bridge the gap

between modernity and tradition. Maestro Pasindo retained certain Modern Arnis fundamentals or the mandatory forms and movements. The basic drills on the fast-moving and relentless strikes using the stick are derived mostly from the Dagooc Arnis System (DAS). To strengthen the foundation of his style, Maestro Pasindo added to it the knowledge of the Ilustrisimo style as well as some points derived from the traditional Doce Pares style of Maestro Rizalino Disucatan. The training of a novice starts with different forms of single strikes. This progresses to double strikes, and then to a combination of strikes deliber-ately executed with speed. Like in boxing, succeeding strikes beyond the first are meant as follow-ups to fully incapacitate the opponent and prevent an opportunity for any possible counter-strike. When a student had been observed to prog-ress, Maestro Pasindo would usually tell the individu-al, “See? There is always a process.”

Practical Weapon

For Maestro Pasindo, the handling of the stick and the blade may have similarities, but the ways of wielding these weapons are not the same. In the early stages of learning the art, he prefers emphasis on the use of the stick as a training tool for practical reasons. First, the stick is safer to handle and easier to learn for beginners, especially children. The stick as a practice tool might suit parents who find it horrifying to see their kids holding even a wooden knife. Second, any part of the stick may be used to inflict injury. In contrast, the lethal outcome from the use of the bolo or knife specifically depends on the sharp or bladed portion of the weapon.Lastly, the probability of apprehension by law enforcers of an individual carrying a wooden stick is significantly less than a wielder of a knife in public.

Form, Control, and Balance The conventional training on blocking, as taught in Modern Arnis, calls for a segmented “block-and-then-strike” approach. Maestro Pasindo allows the conventional approach during initial stages of training for beginners, be-cause this teaches form, control and balance. After these are developed, the training then focuses on speed. However, Maestro Pasindo has not pushed the conventional approach to the point that forms are made into kata-like sequence of movements. He chose to remove katas in his style and instead encouraged his stu-dents to master “malayang palo” (shadow striking).

Non-Segmented When the student is able to read telegraphic movements of the opponent, conventional thought gives way to the non-segmented alternative. The seamless preemptive strike where the block becomes incidental to the blow may be observed in the “saboy” of Modern Arnis, or the “salok” of Ilustrisimo. Another non-segmented approach is the simultaneous execution of strike and block. “Kadena real” as taught by Maestro Martin Raganas Jr. best demonstrates this.

Footwork The footworks from the Raganas Punta Inganyo method have been used by Maestro Pasindo to effec-tively enable the striker to engage, close the gap, and hit the target. This is to complement the favorite boxing stance adopted by stick fighters for mobility. For offensive, retreat and evasive movements, the freedom to move and strike at different angles must be ensured with the use of the angular “tatlong bao”, “retirada”, “lastiko”, and “lutang”.

Secondary Like blocks, disarms and locks are also placed secondary to strikes in terms of repetitive training. There are more than thirty disarming techniques borrowed by Maestro Pasindo from Modern Arnis and a few from Ilustrisimo. But whether a block or a disarm is used, students are strongly encouraged to follow up with a single, double, or multiple strikes. “Grandmaster Rodel Dagooc would always advise his students to throw fast strikes in full circle and

Paniil

non-stop,” Maestro Pasindo said. Although Maestro Pasindo gives lesser focus on disarming, grappling, and takedowns during Arnis training, he would provide separate sessions to students who would request for such specialized training.

Corto Disarming

Close Up

Corto Largo Mano

Ocho Defensa Tirada

Keeping Tight Maestro Pasindo thinks that it is risky using kicks particularly in bolo fights. “You will just get those legs amputated if you kick high enough,” he said. Although kicking may not be a priority, he encourages a sweep or stomp to the opponent’s foot if accurately delivered in short range. He also doubts the effectiveness of punches, elbows, slaps, finger jabs and head butts in actual bolo fighting. The so-called “reaching hand” may do more harm than good, he said. Relying on his tournament experience in Shotokan Karate, Maestro Pasindo stressed that power in striking must come from the lower limbs and hips.Pang-Liog

Firmly Rooted A former security guard, Maestro Pasindo has trained other guards who have survived stabbing attempts while on duty. Another student, a young warehouse supervisor, struck an armed robber on the forehead with a stick and forced the assailant to flee. These incidents have shown that Maestro Pasindo’s students have displayed the same confidence firmly rooted on the knowledge and skills generated by their training. Human experiences in confronting a common but unpredictable menace have also been a motivating factor in nurturing the persistence to refine their respective interpretations of the art.

Visualize Almost every week before any training, articles and videos are shared via the Internet among Maestro Pasindo’s instructors and students of the media reports on terrorism and crime, and the behaviors of both the assailant and the victim. These are on top of the shared media materials about other martial art styles. “Please also do your own research,” he advised his students. The purpose of this sharing is to add emotional content on the students’ actual training. By putting

themselves in the shoes of the victims, they can visualize how they, as practitioners of the Filipino martial arts, would respond. Thus, this sense of urgency impresses upon any observer or visitor of Maestro Pasindo of the seriousness of the student holding the stick.

Next Generation Students are particularly awed by how Maestro Pasindo demonstrates before the public his speed and power in executing Arnis strikes. However, instead of beaming with pride that he was able to impress his audience during demonstrations, Maestro Pasindo would rather tell others that his students could also move in a similar manner. He encourages students to learn by observation and imitation because this is how he learned from Mae-stros Dagooc and Martin Raganas. The rest of the learning process, he explained, deals with customizing the art to conform to one’s body structure, and other physical and mental capabilities. He is particularly happy with the progress of the kids under Guro Von Altas and Guro Candido “Teng” Cometa Jr., his senior instructors.

Maestro Crisanto R. Pasindo Born 1975 to an impoverished rural family in the insurgency-festered Compostela Valley, Maestro Pasindo has developed the view that Arnis, especially now that it has become a national sport, should be made a cultural ve-hicle for psychological and physical empowerment of the marginalized sectors of Philippine society. Crisanto Rotimas Pasindo started his training in Modern Arnis in 2002 under Maestro Mon Kiathson, who later awarded him the Lakan (blackbelt equivalent) rank of 6th degree. He then became the chief instructor of the Arnis Combat Kiathson System. In the course of his practice, Maestro Pasindo got immersed in the systems of senior teachers such as Jere-mias dela Cruz and Rodel Dagooc, who continue to share their ideas to current practitioners of Modern Arnis.

In particular, Maestro Dagooc influenced Maestro Pasindo in the execution of fast and relentless barrage of strikes to multiple targets of an opponent’s body, or to multiple attackers. To expand his knowledge of traditional Escrima styles, specifically in the use of the bladed weapons, he sought Maestro Martin Raganas Jr., one of the recognized senior students of the late Grandmaster Antonio Ilus-trisimo. Of all his students, Maestro Raganas described Maestro Pasindo as the “fastest learner” when it comes to absorbing the Kali Ilustrisimo style. “I have nothing more to say with regard to his Kali, especially in using the bolo, stick, or dagger.” During Arnis demonstrations by Maestro Pasindo, observers noted how he creatively reconciled the modern and traditional schools of thoughts in his movements. As one practitioner pointed out, “Maestro Pasindo made a lethal synthesis of the Dagooc and Raganas styles.” In unarmed self-defense, Maestro Pasindo holds a black belt in Shotokan Karate under Sensei Jessie Montealegre of Compostela Valley. Also a kickboxing instructor, Maestro Pasindo adheres to the inclusion of full-contact sparring in any karate curriculum. In grappling and throwing, he credits his knowledge and skills in combat judo, which is also included in his disarming techniques, to Sensei Joey Calimlim of Pangasinan.“We should be focusing on the next generation,” Maestro Pasindo said. — Artemio F. Cusi III

Arnis Pasindo Invitational Arnis Tournaments The Arnis Pasindo Eskrima Tournaments are probably one the leanest Arnis tournaments in the Philip-pines. But what it lacks in resources, it more than makes up for with its heart and spirit. Master Cris Pasindo has organized numerous tournaments so that more Filipinos will learn and appre-ciate Arnis. Master Cris Pasindo dreams of a time when Arnis will be recognized and respected by many. “We Filipinos should love Arnis because it’s our own. We should be the first one to appreciate it,” he always says. It is the Philippines national sport, their very own. Aside from that, competitions are effective motivators for Arnis practitioners to train seriously. It’s one way to keep the standards high. It’s also a venue to meet and bond with others in the community. Master Pasindo is truly a man of integrity. A man who loves Arnis.

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Arnis Pasindo Eskrima Martial Arts Book 1 Kaalaman ng Pagtattanggol sa Sarili

By Grandaster Crisanto Rotimas Pasindo

Arnis Pasindo Eskrima Martial Arts Book 2 Kaalaman ng Pagtattanggol sa Sarili

Dalubhasaan By Grandaster Crisanto Rotimas Pasindo

Grandaster Crisanto Rotimas Pasindo is planning on the near future to publish 2 books that will explain and illustrate the art of Arnis Pasindo. At the moment both books are in Tagalog, and possibly in the future they will be in English.Visit on of the following links to keep up to date:Arnis Pasindo Eskrima 1: Click Here Arnis Pasindo Eskrima 2: Click Here Grandmaster Crisanto Pasindo: Click Here

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