Modern Arnis - Mataas na Guros

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Remy P. Presas, Jr., Ph.D. is the eldest son of the late Grand Master Remy A. Presas. His father started training him even at the tender age of six almost every morning in their gym at Quiapo, Manila Philippines, on various styles of classical escrima and then newly developed Modern Arnis. Proud of his first-born son, GM Remy A. Presas would tag along him, Remy Jr. in his various training sessions and seminars requested by different schools and government agencies. When GM Remy A. Presas was forced to leave the country due to pressure from corrupt government officials in 1974, Remy Jr. continued his training in martial arts, particularly in Modern Arnis under the tutelage of brilliant arnis aficionados who have learned the mastery of the art from his father. As part of his training, he performed in arnis competitions, exhibitions, and seminars.

In 1976, his mother, Rosemary Pascual Presas, who was then successfully running the NAKO/MAFP (National Amateur Karate Organization / Modern Arnis Federation of the Philippines) gym left by her husband, Grand Master Remy A. Presas, was requested by the Philippine military to train the entire force of the Military Police Brigade, Armed Forces of the Philippines in Modern Arnis. Remy Jr., at 13, was designated as an Assistant Instructor and worked along with the pool of senior instructors. The training was a success. In 1977, during the testimonial parade in honor of the late Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos on his birthday, a battalion of MPs staged a mass exhibition in Modern Arnis. Mr. Marcos and his wife, Imelda, expressed their awe in watching how Modern Arnis was performed. Inspired by the success of the training, Modern Arnis was incorporated in the defensive tactics of the MP Brigade. Aside from the MPs, other elite units of the Philippine armed forces have also joined in Modern Arnis training that went on until 1982. In the ensuing events, Remy Jr. became a full-pledged instructor.

While training and teaching modern arnis, he had not neglected his ambition to pursue higher education. He worked his way through high school and college. In 1985, he received his Bachelor of Art Degree in Political Science, Master Degree in Sociology in 1987, and when he decided to take a doctorate, he temporarily set aside his canes to concentrate on his dissertation. In 1991, he earned his Doctorate Degree in Public Administration from Manuel L. Quezon University, Manila, Philippines. He worked as a university professor for several years before migrating to the United States.

In August 2011, when he learned that his father was very ill, he went to Victoria, Canada. The late GM Remy A. Presas found comfort talking to his son. They discussed a lot of things until his father, asked him if he could continue with the propagation of Modern Arnis and make his own name in the sports world. Remy Jr. could not resist this "call of arm" after all, he has his Modern Arnis blood running in his veins. In compliance with the last wish of his father, Remy Jr., with the help of his siblings, established MARPPIO (Modern Arnis Remy P. Presas International Organization) to continue the legacy left by his father.

Mataas na Guro Remy, with the assistance of his mother, is working on the final stages of completion of the next book in Modern Arnis. The book shall hopefully be finished by mid next year.