Why Attend Water and Steel 2010?
by Ken Smith

OLA’A-NALO ESKRIMA JUNGLE STYLE is weapons based martial art drawing influences from the various armed and unarmed fighting arts of the Pacific island jungles. Utilizing the outside passing movements of Derobio Escrima as was taught by the late Great Grandmaster Braulio Pedoy combined with the against the force blocks of Kali and Arnis, Ola’a-nalo Eskrima is an extremely versatile weapons system. Ola’a-Nalo the namesake of this martial system is dedicated to the Filipino, Chinese, Japanese and others that migrated to Hawaii and were assigned to the plantation fields of the Big Island of Hawaii and the fertile Waimanalo valley located on the island of Oahu, Hawaii.

Learn more about Ola’a-Nalo Eskrima by visiting them on

Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=182796987175&ref=ts

Ola’a-Nalo Website:

http://www.olaa-naloeskrima.com/

Age 75, of Haleiwa, HI, passed away June 16, 2010 in Ewa, HI. Born February 9, 1935 in Waialua, HI. He is the professor of Waialua Branch of the Kali Association, Lontayao Martial Arts Organization.

He is survived by wife, Felisisima “Nancy” Albios; sons, Robin (Carol) Albios, Brian Albios; daughters, Romi Minami, Laura Ann (Ben) Mabini; 6 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren; brothers, Joning (Kay) Albios, Simpy Albios; sisters, Margie (Eddie) Nakamoto, Aggie Albios.

Visitation 5:30 p.m. Wednesday (July 14) at Mililani Mortuary Makai Chapel Wake service 6:00 p.m. Visitation also 9:30 a.m. Thursday (July 15) at St. Michael’s Catholic Church (67-390 Goodale Avenue, Waialua) Mass 11:00 a.m. Burial 12:30 p.m. Casual Attire. Flowers Welcome.

11th Annual Solo Baston Tournament

Date: TBD

For more info contact: CJ Bosa or the group P.U.M.A.H. on Facebook or

Eric Daguio @ 808-224-4196

Check out H.O.P.E.’s new site and follow them on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/HOPEskrima

Sept 19, 2010

Pearl City High School Gym

Be There!

2010 Samahan FMA Gathering! Sept 19, 2010 at Pearl City High School Gym

Some of the arguments center on the technique vs “muscle” issue. This is the ”so an 80 yo person can’t be a proficient martial artist if they are not training like a MMA fighter?” tack. This person argues the “use their strength against them”…”it’s all about technique, not strength”…”a fight will be over in seconds”… “conditioning and self-defense are separate disciplines” party line. They believe that martial arts are more about leverage, target selection and technique than the individuals physical conditioning. You tend to see many “traditional arts” people in this camp, especially “non-sparring” arts.Tgace under, the things worth believing in, Mar 2010

You should read the whole article.

Originally posted at

http://www.wordendefense.com/Newsletter_March_2010_Article_1.html

Baptism by Fire – My Experience with NSI, and What NSI Means to Me
By Morgan Bellinger

To those on the outside looking in, Natural Spirit International or NSI is the martial arts organization created by Datu Kelly Worden. An ever-evolving organization, NSI teaches a dynamic mix of martial arts systems and styles – Drawing from and respecting the traditional arts, but keeping all eyes focused on real world applications and defensive tactics. For those who find themselves on the inside looking out, NSI is so much more.

I feel very fortunate to have attended last year’s annual Water and Steel training camp, something I have not done for several years. I reminisced with guys that I have not seen for what felt like a lifetime, and I was happy to see friends in attendance that I had trained with only months before.  I also had the opportunity to meet a lot of new faces, some of them very experienced and capable martial artists, others who are now on their way.

Training with many of these new guys was a blast. The excitement and awe they were experiencing at the depth of material and the level of Datu’s skill was evident. The tone in their voice, the smile on their face, the very words they spoke and the energy with which they moved made it clear that they could not contain themselves. Like 6-year olds in a toy store they did not know where to start, but they were intent on taking it all. I smiled to myself as I was reminded of my first camp, and the simple fact that I had been the same way. Last year’s camp was no doubt the best Water and Steel I have attended. The whole weekend had me reflecting on my time in NSI and my training with Datu.

I have been training with Datu Worden for going on sixteen years now. Under his guidance I have grown as a martial artist, as a fighter and as a person. I owe him so much and it is hard to believe that our meeting and my admittance into NSI was purely by chance. Even more surprising was the fact that I had survived the initiation.  I met Datu in early ‘95, at that time in my life my job moved me around a lot. Every time I moved to a new town I would join the local gym and search out a worthwhile martial arts school. Taking a page out of Miyamoto Musashi’s Book of Five Rings and a few pages out of Bruce Lee’s Tao of Jeet Kune Do earning credentials and belts meant very little to me. My interest was in gaining practical knowledge and valuable insights, as well as sharpening my physical skills. When I walked into Datu’s school in University Place, it was only because I drove past it
every day for a month and the school was only a short three-mile run from my apartment. It wasn’t until I met Datu and he introduced himself that I realized who he was. I was finally able to put a face to the name and reputation that I had heard about so often before. Datu was well known throughout Tacoma and the surrounding cities. His name and reputation had come up in many conversations over the years with instructors and martial artists that I had trained with.  Before I met Datu I had trained in and studied numerous arts, most notably, Boxing, Muay Thai, and Eskrima, Jeet Kune Do, Wing Chun, Penjak Silat, and Kali. I had a whole lot of knowledge and what I felt was a high level of skill, unfortunately I had the attitude to match.

I remember my first class with Datu and NSI, I sat on a metal folding chair for a half hour maybe longer, and mentally picked the guys apart. In my eyes they were sloppy, they looked like brawlers, they didn’t even wear uniforms, and they wasted a lot of time doing pre arranged forms. I remember thinking that for a Jeet Kune Do school this was all wrong. Then Datu brought out the training knives and the guys began to play. What started out as rough play quickly became a smooth ballet. Knife work was something completely new to me and I watched intently, impressed by the fluidity and speed of their movements. The look of awe on my face must have given me away because it wasn’t long before Datu called me by name and invited me onto the floor. He partnered with me himself for probably close to an hour, at the time I thought it was because he knew that I was special.

As I have reflected on this over the years I now believe that it was simply because he did not want the guys to kill me – at least not yet! After class was over we talked for awhile, Datu treated me like an equal, like one man talking to another man, he was totally approachable, and this was very different than the dynamic that I had grown accustomed to with other instructors. It took me a long time to except being treated as an equal. I was so accustomed to putting my instructors on a pedestal that I didn’t know what to say or how to say it. I don’t remember much of the conversation we had that first day, my mind was whirling with all the new seeds that Datu had planted but I remember he told me to come back tomorrow and I did. The next day I came back with check in hand and that is when my martial education truly began. We worked some knife and some staff and then it was sparring for an hour, everybody squared off and started sparring, rotating partners every three minutes with the ring of a bell. Well everybody rotated, and Datu paired off with me himself.

Smiling, he invited me up into the boxing ring and began to slowly and methodically take me apart, piece by piece. He trapped me, and locked me and almost ripped my fingers right off my hand, he choked me and pulled my hair and hit me in the groin more times than I can remember. Flashes of this training session come to me now and again even after a decade has passed - I just smile to myself as I remember the good ol’ days. After a dozen rounds or so Datu turned me over to the boys, and these guys who I had considered the day before as nothing more than sloppy brawlers proceeded to continue where Datu left off, taking me apart round after round. Chris, big Ken, and so many guys who I haven’t seen in years schooled me repeatedly and thoroughly. Then big Ray stepped into the ring for a go and when he left the ring I was laying in the fetal position from a side kick, the likes of which I never want to experience again.  The first schools I joined, I joined with the intent of mastering that art. When I joined NSI it was because I wanted to be like the guys who trained there.

So what does NSI mean to me? That is not a simple question. NSI means many things to me on many levels, but first and foremost – NSI is my family. These guys (and gals) hold a place in my heart that can’t really be explained. Beyond that NSI is a source of knowledge motivation, and inspiration, not just from Datu but from every single person you touch hands with. Every single person has knowledge, and experience, and insight to share, and they are happy to share it and they expect nothing in return. Then there is Water and Steel – not just a family reunion, not just 3-5 days of intense training, but like Arthur’s Avalon it is a source of rejuvenation, a place we go to heal our minds and our spirits. If we are to look deeper yet we will see that NSI is a path towards growth, freedom and personal expression. For me, NSI cultivates an atmosphere of personal exploration and
development, not only allowing for personal expression but encouraging it and demanding it.

Need more info?  Check out the forum @ http://jkdunlimited.com/forums/

JKDU store - http://jkdunlimited.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=5

Battlefield Kali Knife series 1 DVD box insert

Battlefield Kali Knife series 2 DVD box insert

Oringally posted at – http://www.usasianwire.com/release.php?id=293650124

First Journey to Ancestral Homeland for Two Filipino American Eskrimadors

Invited to Participate in WEKAF’s Tenth Championship in Cebu, Philippines July 22-25

July 11, 2008

HONOLULU—(U.S. ASIAN WIRE)— The World Eskrima-Kali-Arnis Federation World Championships to be held in the Philippines on July 22-25, 2008, promise to be noteworthy for several reasons. One is that the contest marks the tenth anniversary celebrating this indigenous Filipino martial art on a global scale. Another is that it marks a homecoming for two of its long-time practitioners: Jimmy Robles and Joe “the Volcano” Behic. Both are of Filipino descent traveling to their ancestral homeland for the very first time.

Robles, an Eskrima instructor and master, was invited to attend the world tournament in Cebu. Together with Behic, also a master in the Filipino fighting art, the two developed their own style of Eskrima which they’ve named Sayaw Ng Mandirigma, or “Dancing with the Warriors” in Tagalog.

Practitioners of Eskrima are noted for their ability to fight with sticks and knives or empty hands interchangeably. Secrecy has been a large part of this art and teaching it outside of the Filipino community was considered taboo until the 1960s when Eskrima was first brought over to the U.S. by Grandmaster Angel Cabales. The first recorded military use of Eskrima was against the Spanish conquistadors arriving on the island of Cebu in 1521. Native weapons and techniques were responsible for the demise of Ferdinand Magellan, and fighting systems were further revised and practiced in secrecy.

Jimmy Robles and Joe “the Volcano” Behic will go to Cebu, from whence their families and their passion for Eskrima originated. Robles anticipated their emotional journey during a June 30 interview on The Morning Show, KPFA 94.1, expressing, “Our hearts are open.” The interview, conducted by Jimmy’s son Tony Robles, co-editor of Poor Magazine, can be heard online at http://kpfa.org/archives/index.php?arch=27086.

Kali sticks integral to the art and practice of Eskrima are handcrafted by Jimmy Robles, and can be purchased by calling 808-383-0531.

For more information about the World Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation Championship July 22-28 in Cebu, Philippines visit the website at http://www.wekafusa.org/index.php.

Attention Editors and Newsrooms: To schedule an interview with Jimmy Robles and Joe Behic prior to their departure for the Philippines on July 16th please contact Jimmy Robles 808-383-0531.

Enjoy the clip.