Was Modern Arnis Created to Defeat Balintawak?
I’ve heard this rumor for years, and it’s simply not true. Before making any claims about either art, you really need to have trained—or at least seriously studied—both. Modern Arnis and Balintawak share a deep relationship. I know this firsthand, because Professor Remy Presas personally opened the door for me to train with the late Grandmaster Ted Buot, the designated successor of Balintawak founder Anciong Bacon.
Professor Presas himself wasn’t just familiar with Balintawak—he was one of its top fighters. During his time in the club, the clear number one was Anciong, followed by Delfin López and Professor Presas. But here’s the first thing to understand: there is a difference between Remy Presas’s personal fighting style and the martial system he created.
The Purpose of Modern Arnis
Modern Arnis was not designed to defeat Balintawak, or any system for that matter. It was designed primarily as a self-defense system, created to meet the needs of ordinary Filipinos. The art focuses on teaching people how to protect themselves against the most likely threats—untrained attackers using whatever weapons they could grab, be it a stick, a knife, or even a brick.
Could Modern Arnis be used as a fighting art? Absolutely. I’ve proven it myself in stick fighting, open sparring, and international tournaments. My students have as well—even to the point of becoming cage fighting champions, like Primo Luciano back in the early EFC days. But the foundation of the art is, and always was, self-defense.
The Relationship Between the Arts
Balintawak and Modern Arnis are “cousins.” Both can counter each other, but to understand that, you have to train in both. Neither side has the other’s playbook, so without exposure, you will be caught off guard. That’s exactly why I value my background in both systems—I trained as a top student of Professor Presas, and later as a senior student under Grandmaster Ted Buot. I’ve seen how the two interact, how each can counter the other, and how they ultimately complement one another.
But knowing how to play that chess match doesn’t mean one art was created to beat the other. That’s a myth.
Respect and Brotherhood
If Professor Presas had an issue with the Balintawak community, he wouldn’t have maintained such strong relationships with its leaders and players. In fact, many of them respected him deeply. A perfect example is his friendship with Grandmaster Bobby Taboada—so close that Remy even bought the engagement ring Bobby used to propose to his wife. That’s not the behavior of someone trying to undermine another art.
The truth is simple: Professor Presas had no problem with Balintawak. He respected it, trained in it, and built relationships with its masters. Modern Arnis was influenced by Balintawak, yes—but it was never created to defeat it.
Final Thoughts
I’m in a unique position to speak on this topic, having been asked by Professor Presas himself to carry on his art, while also being a senior student of Grandmaster Buot in Balintawak. I can say with confidence: these arts are part of the same family.
Modern Arnis is not a derivative of Balintawak—it is an art in its own right, influenced by it but with a different mission. One focuses on self-defense for the masses, the other on close-quarters fighting refinement. At higher levels of Modern Arnis, you’ll see Balintawak’s fingerprints. But at the end of the day, both arts stand as cousins in the same family of Eskrima.
So let’s stop the nonsense and set the record straight. Modern Arnis was never about defeating Balintawak. It was about empowering people to defend themselves, while honoring the traditions and influences of the arts that shaped it.
Respectfully,
Datu Tim Hartman
Remy Presas Modern Arnis
Bacon–Buot Balintawak Eskrima
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