Giron Arnis Escrima System (Interview Parts 10-29)

Photo credit: http://www.bahalana.org

Bahala Na (“Come What May”) was created by Grandmaster Emeritus Leo Giron, one of the original “bladed warriors” and a true World War II Hero.

Giron Arnis Escrima system is composed of 20 styles and techniques:

1. Estilo De Fondo – Fighting in an anchored or planted position style
2. Estilo Abanico – Fanning style
3. Estilo De salon – Dancing or Hit and run style
4. Estilo Abierta – Open body style
5. Estilo Sonkete – Stabbing or poking style
6. Estilo Retirada – Retreating style
7. Estilo Elastico – Stretching/Rubber band style
8. Fondo Fuerta – Planted in solid position style
9. Contra Compas – Off beat timing style
10. Estilo Redonda – Circular motion style
11. Combate Adentro – Inside fighting style
12. Tero Grave – Killing strikes style
13. Estilo Macabebe – Double stick style
14. Tero Pisada – Heavy striking style
15. Media Media – Half-half style
16. Cadena de mano – Empty or chain of hands style
17. Escapo – Hand escaping or parrying style
18. Estilo Bolante – Vertical striking style
19. Miscla Contras – Multiple opponents style
20. Larga Mano – Long hand reaching style/Long weapon or killer style

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Just now, I posted:

• Today would've been Leo Giron's 103rd Birthday! (Interview Parts 1-9)

Continuing with the Interview with the posting of Parts x-x which demonstrate the various styles/techiniques which make up Giron Arnis Escrima. Maligayang bati sa iyong kaarawan GME Giron!

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10 De Fondo Style





11 Estilo de Abanico





12 Estilo Abierta





13 Estilo Sonkete





14 Estilo de Salon





15 Estilo Retirada





16 Estilo Elastico





17 Fondo Fuerte





18 Contra Compas





19 Estilo Redonda





20 Combate Adentro





21 Tiro Grave





22 Estilo Macabebe





23 Tero Pisada





24 Media Media





25 Cadena de Mano





26 Escapo





27 Estilo Bolante





28 Miscla Contras





29 Larga Mano

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For more information, please check:

• Official Site
• Inosanto.com's Instructor Profile of GME Giron

Please check out these related entries on Grandmaster Emeritus Leo Giron:

• Today would've been Leo Giron's 103rd Birthday! (Interview Parts 1-9)
• Leo Giron would've been 102 years old today!
• GM Leo Giron honored with a street named after him: Leo Giron Drive!
• Leo Giron Drive Dedication Ceremony today at 10AM!
• IN MEMORY OF: Great Grandmaster Antonio E. Somera (1957 - Oct. 28, 20135:19AM)

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Today would've been Leo Giron's 103rd Birthday! (Interview Parts 1-9)

Today would've been Leo Giron's 103rd Birthday! Manong Dan Inosanto credits Leo Giron as one of his principal instructors in the Filipino Martial Arts (FMA)!

Posting an Interview of Grandmaster Emeritus Leo Giron conducted by Grandmaster Tony Somera. Sadly both FMA greats have left us too soon :(

Maligayang bati sa iyong kaarawan GME Giron!

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00 Intro



01 - Why did you start?

The beginnings of GME Giron's path through escrima.



02 - The first teacher: Benito

GME Giron talks about his first teacher in the art of Escrima, Benito Junio.



03 The second teacher

GME Giron speaks about his second escrima teacher, Pactocio Junio.



04 The third teacher and renowned hilot man

GME Giron talks about his third teacher, Julian Bondak. He also speaks about Manong Julian being a renowned hilot (healing) man.



05 The fourth teacher and close friend

GME Giron speaks about his fourth teacher and also close friend, Flabliano Vergara.



06 Teacher's teacher

Leo Giron speaks about his own teacher, Manong Vergara's teacher.



07 Close friend last memory

Leo Giron accounts his final meeting with escrima teacher and close friend, Manong Vergara.



08 Final teacher during WWII

GME Giron speaks about his final escrima teacher. A sergeant of the bolo unit while they were both in WWII named Benigno Ramos.



09 The teacher that couldn't be touched

Leo Giron speaks about his escrima teacher and fellow soldier Benigno Ramos whom he was never able to touch during their practice sessions.





Interview continues here:

• Giron Arnis Escrima System (Interview Parts 10-29)

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For more information, please check:

• Official Site
• Inosanto.com's Instructor Profile of GME Giron

Please check out these related entries on Grandmaster Emeritus Leo Giron:

• Giron Arnis Escrima System (Interview Parts 10-29)
• Leo Giron would've been 102 years old today!
• GM Leo Giron honored with a street named after him: Leo Giron Drive!
• Leo Giron Drive Dedication Ceremony today at 10AM!
• IN MEMORY OF: Great Grandmaster Antonio E. Somera (1957 - Oct. 28, 20135:19AM)

Read More

Ron Saturno - I am speaking to the children of other Filipino Fathers who practice and love Escrima

At one time Stockton, Ca. had more Filipino's than any where else outside of the Philippines. When I was a child and visited the many farm labor camps surrounding Stockton, Ca. for parties, cock-fights and friendship: They were filled with Filipinos during the various harvest seasons. Asparagus camps were the premier locations for the crack crews of Filipino grass cutters. As the years went slowly by the fields were being worked more and more by farm workers other than Filipinos. There had been a Bracero program that had brought in Mexican laborers. I also saw Middle Eastern laborers brought in. Many years ago there were other laborers from other lands brought in to work in the fertile San Joaquin Valley fields. Farm labor has had a long and illustrious history in the fertile farm lands of California and in other states as well. All of the workers worked long and hard hours for wages that were barely able to keep their families fed and their bills paid. Low pay and no benefits was what farm laborer's had to contend with. Filipinos were strangers in a strange land. When the United Farm Workers Union organized: Many do not know that Filipinos were there as primary organizers from the very beginning. A man could work his whole life in the fields and have next to nothing to show for it. Filipinos tried to fix their plight in legitimate ways. The Filipinos of that bygone era paid in blood, sweat and tears to have earned their place as unknown and barely appreciated men in this great state of California. But they were well honored by those that loved them. When WWII broke out many Filipinos answered the call of duty to defend this great land. They were promised citizenship after the war, which they were later denied after the war. Many do not know that California denied Filipinos the right to wed White women until 1949. Their dark color denied them their right to wed White women, but there skins were heavily darkened from working long hours in the sun to enrich the very men who denied them respect and equality. But they worked through it as most immigrants do. They put their heads down, worked hard and raised families. Their many children in many instances went on to become upstanding members of society. Many of these children got to see their fathers bowed down by age and the many years of stoop labor that their fathers had to endure in the fields. Their Fathers had little to show for years of back breaking labor, but their bent backs. I know these things and remember. I got to see Stockton slowly lose these undervalued members of their community, because of Father Time. Father Time will wait for none of us. I remember the days of old. When I see a child of these immigrants pass away I feel an emptiness in my heart. That child takes many memories with them. That child may be the last living connection with some of those many forgotten immigrants of bygone days. A small piece of history is lost when these connections are broken. One Tony Somera is one of those children who has just passed.


He was a Grand Master and inheritor of the Bahala na System of the late Grand Master Leo Giron. Leo Giron was a decorated combat veteran. He valiantly served the United States of America in WWII. He introduced the Bahala na System of Escrima to Stockton, Ca., after a psychopath murdered many nurses, many years ago. He wanted to teach people how to defend themselves against those who wished to take lives without a just cause. He had a history of trying to fight for and do what was right and just. All of the children raised by Filipino fathers in Stockton, Ca. have a lot of connections between one another. We are the inheritors of the hopes and dreams of our fathers. Their is a lot of shared history between us. When Tony Somera passed away everyone of us should feel the loss and especially other Escrimadors. At times there has been a lot of contention between Escrima Clubs and even their members over the years as well as anger, disgust and outright open hostility. So today I am speaking to the children of other Filipino Fathers who practice and love Escrima.


Isn't it about time that we appreciate the long shared history that we all have between us. Didn't our fathers work and fight for America? Aren't we all Americans yet? Aren't we all worthy of love and compassion and at least of tacit understanding of all of our many faults. I was not a friend of Tony Somera. We were acquaintances who passed each other infrequently and mostly on formal occasions involving Escrima.


But I respected him, because Leo Giron said that he was worthy of respect. Leo Giron earned Tony the right to be respected. So I will try my very best to go to his funeral, just like I went to GM Leo Giron's funeral, because of our shared history. I am saddened by Tony's passing and offer my sincere compassion to those who loved him. An Escrimador has passed, a fellow warrior will not rise again until God raises him. Until then Tony, rest in peace. Just know that there are many others who love the Bahala na System and will do their utmost to keep the art alive and prospering. Bahala na.

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Other articles by Master Saturno:

• Basic Movement Theory
• Basics in Defense
• Basics of Serrada
• Freight Training! (Body Alignment & Power Transfer)
• The Secret to Surviving Fights 
• "Your fight is with time"
• Vidclips of Serrada Basics and Angles of Attack
• Audio Interview (97 mins!)
• The Very Heart and Soul of the Filipino Martial Arts
• "A reason to live is the greatest gift that a teacher of FMA can ever give."
• "You have to teach everything you know, because this forces you to learn more."
• Espada y Daga
• More about Espada y daga
• Espada y daga, part 3
• "Espada y daga properly performed violates common sense." 
• Comparison of Short stick vs Long stick
• "Every hit 'must' have the potential of ending the fight, period."
• The firstest with the mostest is the bestest.
• Setting the groundwork for the use of short weapons
• Hitting with Elbows and Knees
• More on Hitting with the Elbows

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Notes

My deepest gratitude to Master Ron Saturno for his kind permission in allowing me to repost his articles to my site. 

You can contact Master Ron Saturno via:

Email:  5masterserrada@gmailNOSPAM.com (take out the "NOSPAM")
Phone:  209-513-8027
Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/ron.saturno

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Leo Giron Drive Dedication Ceremony today at 10AM!

Back on August 26, 2013, I posted about GM Leo Giron being honored with a street named after him. Well today is a special day!

Sorry for late notice - any FMAists nearby with time :


Today at 10AM is the Leo Giron Drive Dedication Ceremony!


Go!

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Further info on Leo Giron Drive:

• http://www.littlemanila.org/home/2013/8/25/leo-giron-drive-named-in-stockton-ca.html
• http://www.bahalana.org/Home
• http://inosanto.com/?p=2359
• http://inosanto.com/?p=2399

A previous entry from me noting GM Giron's birthday:

• Leo Giron would've been 102 years old today!

Read More

GM Leo Giron honored with a street named after him: Leo Giron Drive!

A hat tip to Guro Marc Denny for this entry from his post to the Dog Brothers Martial Arts Facebook Group:

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Pictured from left to right:
Master Joel Juanitas, Guro Joel Clark, Leo Juanitas, Guro Dan Inosanto, Guro Harley Elmore, Grand Master Tony Somera, and Frank Mendoza
Photo credit:  http://www.littlemanila.org

On this auspicious occasion the 20th day of August 2013 the 102nd birthday of our founder Grand Master Leovigildo Miguel Giron. We would like to formally announce the dedication of Leo Giron Drive. The following is the official press release from Grand Master Tony Somera.

Thanks to the unceasing efforts of the Little Manila Foundation, the Filipino American National Historical Society, the Inosanto Academy and Bahala Na Filipino Martial Arts, in partnership with San Joaquin County we are finally able to announce the successful naming of "Leo Giron Drive"! This newly adopted street will appropriately lead to the future Veterans Hospital in French Camp, CA. As many people now know Leo Giron was a true WWII hero and Veteran of the famous 978th Filipino Commando unit that was hand picked by General Douglas Mac Arthur to spearhead the return of the allied troops into the Philippines. "Leo Giron Drive" is an honor to this great man, Leo Giron, who dedicated his life to the service of others, as well as Filipino Americans, Americans and most importantly it is an honor to our veterans whose sacrifices have given us all we have in our great country. We are so proud to see Leo Giron honored in this way and hope he will not be the last name adopted for a street name. But for now we applaud this event as a worthy testament to the great legacy of our forefather's gift to us. Congratulations to all the people who worked tirelessly to make this dream come true.

Sincerely,
Grand Master Tony Somera Bahala Na Martial Arts Association/Little Manila Foundation Board Member/FANHS Life Member/ Legenarios del Trabajo (LDT) Life Member In America.

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Further info:

• http://www.littlemanila.org/home/2013/8/25/leo-giron-drive-named-in-stockton-ca.html
• http://www.bahalana.org/Home
• http://inosanto.com/?p=2359
• http://inosanto.com/?p=2399

A previous entry from me noting GM Giron's birthday:

• Leo Giron would've been 102 years old today!

UPDATE

Leo Giron Drive Dedication Ceremony held 10/26/13 at 10AM.

Read More

Leo Giron would've been 102 years old today!

Today GM Leo Giron, one of the Big Three of Stockton, CA's Eskrima scene, would've turned 102!

Maligayang bati sa iyong kaarawan GM Giron!

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Grandmaster Leo Giron's Original Style

A look at Grandmaster Leo Giron's original style of escrima. The authentic "Bahala Na" style of escrima is still passed on today by the instructors of Bahala Na Multi-Style. Trained directly by Grandmaster Giron, Bahala Na Multi-Style instructors continue to pass on GM Giron's legacy to the next generation.

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GM Leo Giron - Style w/out a Style

A clip GM Giron and I from the early 90's. After two heart attacks, it was rare for GM to up his cardio when teaching. But when he was feeling good, he would transform and almost (for a moment) be young again. Here GM Giron demonstrates his best lesson of combat. He'd say, "...during the war when facing the Japanese bayonet charge Banzai, there was no style, only kill, kill, kill." Leo's Style without a Style.

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GM Leo Giron Interview parts 1-5

Sifu / Guro Lee Gagnon's Interview with Grand Master Leo Giron recorded in 2000 .

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For more information:

• http://inosanto.com/
• http://www.bahalana.org/

Read More