Friend,

My teacher's teacher had only one real objective. He wanted to be the best of the best...
He studied, many different styles. Among them Italiano, Francais, Americano. If we study history we can readilly see that Pilipinos aborbed many different styles and methods through the milenia. Certainly, prior to the europeans, Pilipino warriors did not use the espara y daga. They absorbed it from the europeans. Hmmm...is it possible that FMA is actually a white man's martial art.

The other day, I told one of my most loyal students, Gura Michelle Bautista the following; if you want to get even better, you must stop being Pilipino...

My teacher never saw himself as simply being Pilipino. He saw himself as Indonesian/malay, as Hawaiian, and as an American. I asked him, do you close your eyes to the styles and methods of other martial artists. His answer paraphrased, "it would be foolish not to absorb. That would be like denying the advances in technology". As such, it's not enough to learn the technique, it's not enough to practice the techique. You must choose to hone it...till you uncover a greater truth. "Be like water my friend...be like water". Hmmm...did I still that? Damn right.

Tuhan Joseph T. Oliva Arriola
Grandmaster Kamatuuran School of Kamatuuran Kali