Last year (2022) has meant many things for the martial arts community. We shedded the masks for the most part. I don’t even know if I have any cloth ones left, and I can’t remember the last time it was required at a seminar, but it seems the pandemic is mostly behind us (knock on wood). Chad also hosted the first ever Instructor Camp, and invited all the Lakans and ranking instructors in the system, and also invited other amazing instructors to train with us, including GM Bram Frank and GM Bruce Chiu. I met a couple new people, and had a lot of great introspection on preparing myself to be an effective teacher of Progressive Arnis.
During Instructor Camp we were all exposed to the unveiling of the latest revision of the PA curriculum. New concepts and systems were introduced. Some drills were replaced by more comprehensive ones, and the line item fonts got smaller yet. Chad included some Tulisan Knife, Quartermaster (which replaced basic crossada), some of Roger Agbulos’ Lameco, the “Mikita Method”, and a bunch of optional skills that aren’t necessarily testable for rank. The new curriculum is linked here and can be downloaded.
These changes and additions constitute the next generation of Progressive Arnis, and a new collection of skills for aspiring Lakans to add to their toolbox. Such a comprehensive and wide reaching system makes for a cadre of students that stand out at seminars.
