There seems to be some confusion going around about Presas Arnis Family history, systems and in particular “Arnis De Mano,” Ernesto Presas and Roberto Presas. There are some strands going around that claim:
-Remy: Modern Arnis.
-Ernesto: Kombatan
-Roberto: Arnis De Mano
And whose-who-what? I was with both brothers in the 80s. Remy in 1987, Ernesto 1988. Remy was Modern Arnis. I knew Roberto from my visits to the Negros in the 1990s. Ernesto was Arnis De Mano. Ernesto, he alone – Arnis De Mano. Roberto hung around with Ernesto a bit in the beginning, (I would say Roberto was a like a side-kick). He was present in northwest USA with Ernesto for bit in the 80s.
Inside Kung Fu magazine called Ernesto “The Hidden Brother,” back then. Ernesto made his first training film there in the northwest with John Daniels, and Roberto was not even in it, though here (Remy was long gone from Roberto and the Philippines in those years and later years.) This film was very important and a ground-breaking introduction of Ernesto.
Every time I went to the Philippines starting with the camps in 1991 (1992? can’t remember exactly), Ernesto taught it all (well, a few other friendly GMs did an hour or two). He allowed Roberto just a very rare few minutes. Roberto was not there, not present about 99.999% of the time in all the camps, and all the subsequent trips around the world.
At no time did any of us think that Arnis De Mano was “owned-run” by anyone else but Ernesto. I tested for black under Ernesto in Manila. Years later I received 2nd dan and years later 3rd dan from Ernesto only. Roberto had nothing to with any of it. No where on any paperwork, does Roberto’s name appear. Ever appeared, in any of our Arnis De Mano certificates that I and my friends received, that I have ever seen.
Ernesto was constantly trying to evolve and improve the art, changing angle counts and drills and developing Arnis. He was always obsessed with improving. Void of Roberto.
The mid-1990s. I was teaching a generic Arnis-FMA. Generic because I was also deep in the Inosanto family materials. I Iiked them all, and always emphasized Remy and Ernesto. However, I was and am much more interested in plain, generic combatives, not in any one martial art per say. So, In the 1990s there were only a few of us using that term “combatives.” The term was not popular yet, relegated to WW II combatives, yet I did somewhat well, traveling and teaching. I called that course, “Filipino Combatives.” Probably the first, not that that matters much.
About 1994-ish, Ernesto was rethinking his materials (as he always did). He then recognized the trend toward “combatives” and changed the name to Kombatan. I have first-hand, insider knowledge he thought I was doing VERY well with this term (I wasn’t, just so-so, but he thought I was) and I am told this contributed much to his decision to change the name to Kombatan. Others later started using the name “Filipino Combatives” too. Whatever.
So with Kombatan in the mid-1990s Ernesto totally dropped “Arnis De Mano.” Did he “schluff” it off to Roberto? Or perhaps Roberto asked for it? Or did he eventually add the word “Hinigarian” to it? Knowing them pretty well, I could see and or all that happening. I could see Ernesto just handing it off to his little brother and wiping his hands of it.
Roberto was running a little open shed-shop-store on a dirt road on the Negros Island selling gum, candy and cokes. There was no “Roberto” mojo like the two “regal” big brothers. As I travel the world teaching, some hard-core, Presas die-hearts still show up hoping to learn the original Ernesto, Arnis De Mano material. Roberto’s name? Never mentioned. Off the radar.
Official confusion? Who-What name? Just before covid struck, Jan-Jan Presas asked me to appear on in Negros for a 50th anniversary of Presas Arnis Camp. Since I was at the first camp, it would be ironic. But not 50 years ago at the time? They told me that “corporate” paperwork was filed in Manila for teaching 50 years ago. For “Modern Arnis” as I recall. Not Arnis De Mano and certainly not 1990s Kombatan. Ernesto, not Roberto, later broke off in the 1980s with the “Arnis de Mano” official name from feuding with Remy.
From an old mid 2000s post on the web…source inknown, “In a recent interview, Roberto Presas recently shared that the term ‘Modern Arnis’ denotes the Presas family style and was later adopted by Remy Presas (Roberto’s oldest brother) as the name of his system. It was also used by (brother) Ernesto Presas to describe his style of Filipino martial arts. Since 1999 Ernesto Presas has called his system Kombatan. Roberto Presas first called his version Hinigarian Philippines Martial Art,” and then years later “Hinigaran Arnis de Mano.”
*Point 1: Adopted? Remy INVENTED the name “Modern Arnis.”
*Point 2: It would be a solid assumption that whatever Roberto knew, he learned from Ernesto. Remy was long gone and stayed gone. Are there any photos of Roberto and Remy together? If so, please do send me them because on my Presas page I collect these photos.
*Point 3: Did Roberto fail to mention that PRIOR to 1999, (wrong year by the way) decades before, Ernesto was the original inventor of “Arnis De Mano?” This interview suggests he went straight from Modern Arnis, skipping decades of Ernesto’s Arnis de Mano, straight to Kombatan? If so…why not mention that?
Ernesto died in 2010. Son Jan-Jan – obviously there during the original Arnis De Mano of the 80s and 90s – (he grew up inside all this) inherited Kombatan. No mention by the way, ever, of Roberto in any of the 1980s, 1990s-and-on process. I have it recently from good, homeland sources that Jan-Jan is “perturbed” about some of this aforementioned history being scrambled and passing around.
And by the way, as an aside, with all these Ernesto people traveling to the Philippines, why do they not seek out Jan-Jan? The active, very talented, real-deal, inheritor of ALL that from Ernesto? Even to say hi? Have coffee and shake his hand? I am told he might make some “whose-who,” “what’s-what” sort of statement someday soon, but he’s a really a good “kid” and doesn’t want to cause “family” troubles. (I am 73 years old and everyone is a kid to me.)
I understand-know the martial arts name-game business. Years on, adding the word “Hinigaran” to Arnis De Mano was a smart, clever move, on Roberto’s part, and typical name-gaming. It is “new” while in a way, respects the past in another way.
In Summary! I know all this matters to just about NO ONE. But there’s a number of us old-timers that toiled with Ernesto Presas for many years. He was special. He was actually great! And we got black belts in Arnis De Mano from him (not Roberto) and we dislike having this odd, Roberto-Ernesto-Arnis de Mano confusion.
-Hock Hochheim
