My 1st trip to the Philippines

by Datu Hartman | Apr 23, 2015 | Uncategorized

8 years ago today I traveled to the Philippines for the first time. This was to visit the birthplace of Modern Arnis and the Presas Family. During this visit, the late GGM Ernesto A Presas promoted me to a 9th degree Grand Master in the Presas Family system of Arnis. It was a great honor for me to receive from Ernesto’s endorsement as his brother’s successor. Everyday I strive to live up to Ernesto’s faith in me to carry on his brother’s art. It seems as it was yesterday. I miss my adopted father and uncle, Remy and Ernesto….

Martial Arts Warrior Weekend II – North Bay, Ontario

by Datu Hartman | Feb 20, 2015 | Uncategorized

The weekend of Feb 20, 2015 marked the second annual Martial Arts Warrior’s Weekend in North Bay, Ontario. Once again martial artists throughout Ontario came together for a weekend of training and comradery.

Sudbury School of Martial Arts was once again a proud part of this event. We had our members participating in the various seminars throughout the weekend and Guro Craig Mason had the privilege to teach multiple sessions on Saturday and Sunday.

First two sessions on Saturday emphasized long and medium range blocking and countering for sparring applications. In a short amount of time, the group was moving well but realizing how deceptive and quick a weapon attack can come at you. As this was a double session, Guro Mason took the opportunity to allow partners to gear up two at time and we did some short rounds of stick sparring. This opened some eyes to see how everyone reacts the randomness of a fight. The session finished off with practicing how to enter and bridge the gap.

The last session of Saturday was on block/check/counter and obstruction removal. This put a lot of participant in unfamiliar territory due to distancing and timing. The session flowed quite nicely with everyone grasping the concepts and reacting freely.

Sunday morning session was with the children’s 9 & under group. This was a great class with lots of energy. They all did very well learning basic striking and once the sparring sessions starting, the energy went through the roof. Definitely set the tone for the rest of the day.

Final session of the weekend had all the participant working through Palis Palis striking set and finishing up with some stand up locking. Lots of smiles of pain on everybody face especially during the locking portion of the session.

Great weekend of training. Looking forward to next year’s event!

2015 Trip to Chile

by Datu Hartman | Feb 12, 2015 | Uncategorized

About a year ago, I had the pleasure of taking Presas Arnis (Modern Arnis & Kombatan) to Caracas, Venezuela. At the conclusion of the event, the president of the VKKS (Kenpo Master Francisco Vigoroux) asked if I would be interested in teaching in Chile. Of course I answered with an emphatic Yes! My first trip to South America was great, and as always, I’m up for new adventures.

So on February 4th, I started my trip to Chile. Unfortunately due to some logistical issues, I didn’t get my tickets until days before the trip. This didn’t give me much choice of flights, but I made the best of it. I arrived in Santiago at 10:00am on the 5th. I met up at the airport with some of the other event instructors. We had several Kenpo instructors from the U.S. and England. You might think that being the only Arnis-Kali-Eskrima instructor, I might feel out of place. That couldn’t be further from the truth. I was welcomed with open arms.

After a 2 hour trip to Villa Alemana and getting settled at our resort, we started our site seeing tour before Saturday’s seminars. For those who’ve never been to Chile, you don’t know what you’re missing. The two days of site seeing were not near enough time. I’m definitely planning on returning in the future to see more of the country.

Saturday morning came faster than you would have expected. When we entered the sports center, we were welcomed like pro athletes. We had theme music and an announcer introducing us like members of an NBL Basketball team! There were over 100 participants at the start of the seminar and plenty more spectators in the stands. People arrived throughout the day to take the seminars.

I had two public classes and one private lesson. This normally would be an easy task, but considering that I don’t speak Spanish, there were a few challenges. We had interpreters, but they weren’t always available when you needed them. The nice thing about teaching martial arts is that it’s about movement. Everyone picked up what I was doing just fine. The first class was for the beginners, so I taught basic disarming. For the advanced and black belts, I went over a sinawali and then showed them how to integrate Arnis concepts into their Kenpo like Prof used to do (The Art Within Your Art).

The second day was the tournament. The competition consisted of forms and fighting. I ran a ring for forms and centered and/or cornered for the fighting. There was a great amount of respect and camaraderie demonstrated throughout the day. Like most tournaments, the day went long. But at the end of the day, it was a great time.

After the event, we relaxed at the resort and told stories with our fellow instructors. I was even asked if I would be interested in bringing Filipino martial arts to Argentina. Can you say “Road Trip”? Looks like I might be visiting South America more than I thought!

I want to thank everyone who helped make this event happen. The organizers, helpers, instructors and even the open minded participants who attended. If it weren’t for them, this event wouldn’t have been the huge success that it was. Finally I would like to thank my brothers in the arts for inviting me,Frank Vigoroux and Omar Diaz Del Canto.

Datu Tim Hartman
Grand Master – Presas Arnis

Success Trains, Failure Complains.

by Datu Hartman | Jan 8, 2015 | Uncategorized

I started my martial arts journey in 1980 during my sophomore year in high school. During that time like most martial artists, I have

sustained a bunch of bumps and bruises. These last three years, I’ve been dealing with a knee injury and a chronic heel spur issue. I’ve made it a point not to let it get in the way of my martial arts. During this time, I continue to teach 30+ seminars year and even earned two world titles in the process.

This past November things came to a head. For those who don’t watch the national news, the residents here in Buffalo got hit with a devastating snowstorm giving us over 8 feet of snow in a 24 hour period. It was then during all of the shoveling of snow when I felt the actual toll on my body. I decided that it is time to stop procrastinating and get back in the gym.