Comments on: Can a White Guy Teach the FMAs?

By: thekuntawman

thekuntawman — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 20:55:29 +0000

Tthank you!

By: cory

cory — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 20:14:33 +0000

I reaLly enjoyed your post. It hits home w/ me. I’m a 39yr old fMa instructor. Been doing fma since 84. My teacher is a caucasian american, he however has learned from majority of Filipinos and indonesians. I feel my lineage is greatly traced. However, I have met great FMA practicioners and teachers of all races. If I can learn or teach from or to anyone so be it. I don’t claim to be a master. I know I have much room to learn. Although my rank may entitle me as such, I do not get off on title anyway. I can fight, was pretty much raised fighting. I know I can hold my own. I don’t need a Filipino teacher to endure that credibility.

I think the martial arts community as a whole needs to respect that. Today MMA will show you its a world wide movement. Fighters from every inch of the world come together in a small 18′ cage and battle it out. It doesn’t matter your nationality. It determined by your heart, and courage to fight and not give up. FMA is an ART! It survives by people keeping it alive. But a pure system today will hold no relevence to a mixed well rounded fighting system if it didn’t draw from other ARTS.

By: Samuel

Samuel — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 14:40:06 +0000

Hats off to you, great read. I believe it’s a universal concept too. And perhaps we are ALL guitly at some point. Case in point: The wife and I walked into a Chinese restaurant in Yuma, and see white kids working as servers (I’m white). Something told me to leave, not just my wife lol. Well, a little voice on my other shoulder said to stay and we did… The food was excellent. While it is natural to think of these expectations as valid, they are equally foolish. Heck, how many of us have eaten french fries made by french chefs, or bratwursts made by germans, or pizza cooked by Italians? I guess the martial artist of today’s got to let go of their prejudices. But if the masters are doing it, it really says somethings wrong. After all, they’re the ones certifying us!

By: Damien A.

Damien A. — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 09:09:17 +0000

I’m white.
I’m American
and I teach in the UK.
The real kooky part….
I have had Filipino’s come to my class t learn about stick fighting.
NOT FMA “lineages”.
My stick classes are Krabi Krabong and Filipino and none of it is
lineage based.

Getting whooped with a stick is getting whooped with a stick, regardless of what language it’s done in!

By: Tim Kashino

Tim Kashino — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 07:57:29 +0000

GREAT POST!!!!! I’d say it ties right into the article about people who waste your time.

From time to time I get a phone inquiry where the guy at the other end asks me if I’m Filipino… and after I tell him “no” the phone conversation is cut short. People see my students wearing our group shirt and start asking questions, and one of the questions they always ask is ” Is your teacher Filipino?”.

What exactly does my nationality or ethnicity have to do with the quality of my program? NOTHING. Seeing in believing. The old “it’s in the blood” idea is a fallacy. What matters is the individual’s qualities… their thought processes, teaching philosophies and methodologies, and most importantly how effectively they communicate and demonstrate. There are a lot of really good FMA instructors that are not Filipino, and there are also some really crappy FMA instructors that are Filipino. Two of the finest FMA instructors I have ever had the pleasure to train with are African American. One of the finest FMA knife instructors I have ever met is Jewish.

By: Thomas Rogers

Thomas Rogers — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 08:00:07 +0000

One more thing. I find your articles on technique very helpful and unique. When can we expect the instructional dvd to come out?