Chad Bailey returned to his former home in the desert of Santa Fe, New Mexico to host this year’s Progressive Arnis Summer Camp at Jeff Speakman’s Kenpo Karate 5.0 off Airport Road. No sightings of action star Jeff Speakman, other than his movie posters on the walls, beside martial art magazine covers featuring Internet legend Master Ken who teaches at this dojo under the alias “Mat”. Chad hooked up a beautiful AirBnB for his students to stay and practice, away from the distractions of home. It was a traditional adobe-style home that fit the desert decor, and had knick-knacks littered about that were clearly acquired decades ago. Chad, Oscar, Jason, Anthony, and Lisa were all strangely familiar with the area as former residents themselves, or having family from the area. As a result, the finest purveyors of New Mexico Green Chili were exposed and sampled in abundance.
Three of the most intense days of my martial arts journey began on Friday, as there were two Lakan tests, 2 Brown(3), and my Advanced Instructor all under consideration. There was next to no time for breathing as many of the attendees were being evaluated for advanced rank and Lakan Jason May and Punong Lakan Oscar Mendoza were called upon to apply the pressure.
Guest instructors taught the Thai style of Kabri Kabrong, which is trained with a very large stick (circumference-wise) that like Remy’s Arnis represents a sword. Kabri Kabrong is apparently an overloaded term, like “karate”, but the art we were introduced was used to train the Thai military. Dojo owner, Tony, introduced us to Jeff Speakman’s system, as one of the primary collaborators to this evolution of American Kenpo that was taught by Ed Parker to Jeff Speakman directly. Some of the classic American Kenpo techniques were adjusted or amended to keep up with modern times and modern fighting styles, per Master Parker’s vision. Side note: Tony hits hard. Thank you for turning the heat down a few degrees and not back-fisting a hole completely through my torso.
Chandra Lontz-Smith and Estella Atalay did a bang-up job on their Lakan tests, bringing all their skills to display on the mat. They stayed up through the night repping forms, asking and answering questions, and staying always-on. They both brought extreme rigor to their tests and demonstrated how much is expected of a Progressive Arnis Lakan. There were forms and ground work, multiple opponents, and innovation for days…3 days. Anthony DeLuna and Randy Sebring paired up for their Brown(3) test, demonstrating Anyo 3, Quartermaster and advanced balisong openings.
Each one of us left battered and bruised, sore, but satisfied from a sense of accomplishment and an unspoken agreement that we are doing something great. Training at this level is rare. While most people spent that weekend doing something extremely forgettable, we had another opportunity to touch hands with legends, make something better of ourselves physically, accomplish personal goals, fight dementia, fight our friends, and solidify our place in a community that does very positive things.
