NOVA/MD MAP meet (sorta)

[ap Oweyn]

Hey gang,

The Modern Arnis teacher I've been training with would like to see about increasing the club's membership a bit. This isn't a sales pitch. There's no charge for the club. He's mostly interested in promoting Filipino culture in the area.

Anyway, if you've had even a passing interest in FMA and have your Saturday mornings free, let me know.

You'd get the chance to meet me, in any event. (That's more of a warning than a sales pitch, really.) :)


Stuart

p.s. Mods, if this is in the wrong place (or entirely inappropriate), do your thing. Thanks in advance.

p.p.s. Anyone close enough to actually be interested probably already knows this. But for the sake of idle curiosity, NOVA/MD means Northern Virginia/Maryland.

[Melanie]

I'm not adverse to promoting clubs ap, perhaps if you could be a bit more specific in exactly where you are, classes taught, times and name of instructor and such you can add it to "clubs" and perhaps put the details in your signature (or better still get your instructor to join and he can put it in his!)

Just a suggestion :)

[ap Oweyn]

Good suggestion. Cheers Melanie.

Generally classes are held between 9:30am and 1:00pm at The George Washington University in Washington, DC.

It's the summer session right now though. So we're meeting at Lee High Park in Springfield, Virginia.

The teacher is Guro Roman Picardo of Modern Arnis. There's also a "sister school" taught by Guros Walter and Wesley Cristosomo of De Cuerdas Arnis in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Classes focus mostly on single stick at the moment, though we have done some really good double stick work as well. There are currently five core members who know what they're doing. Guro Roman, his three "seconds", and me. Then, during the regular session, there's a good number of high school kids who also attend. (Guro seems to have an arrangement with a local Catholic high school as part of his effort to promote Filipino culture.)

What else would people like to know?

By the way, I'm hesitant to put this under Clubs right now. The location and timing of the club are still pretty 'fluid.' (Sometimes, Guro can't make it. And the club's location on the GWU campus can change frequently.) I'd hate to have someone come across the listing and just show up one day, only to be unable to find us.

Better, for now, to treat it as a series of arranged meets. An AP MEET. :)

Cheers!

Stuart

[Capt Ann]

Yo, Stuart,

I am very interested. I'm (I think) about an hour and change drive from you.

QUESTIONS:
1. Are the classes only at GWU, or will you be having some classes at the Silver Spring location (which is slightly closer to me)?
2. How much advance notice do you need, or do I just 'show up' on those Saturdays that I'm able?
3. Where exactly on the campus is the class?
4. What is typical attire?
5. Do I need to bring any equipment, or is it all provided on site?
6. Any costs/fees?

Thanks!
-Ann R.

PS: if this thread does get closed/moved, please PM or email me whatever details you have, as they change. Thanks again!

[ap Oweyn]

Yo, Stuart,

I am very interested. I'm (I think) about an hour and change drive from you.

That's probably about right. I went to college in your neck of the woods.

QUESTIONS:
1. Are the classes only at GWU, or will you be having some classes at the Silver Spring location (which is slightly closer to me)?

I don't actually know a great deal about the Silver Spring group. I think they meet on Sunday mornings because the teacher occassionally comes by our group on Saturdays. If you're interested though, I can pass along their email and website. http://www.decuerdas.8k.com/

2. How much advance notice do you need, or do I just 'show up' on those Saturdays that I'm able?

It's not so much that I need advanced notice. It's just that I'd hate to have you make the trip if class wasn't on that weekend. Best thing to do, I think, is put you in touch with Guro Roman via email. Then you can get on the mailing list. He emails prior to class just to find out who's going to make it and where to be. If you PM me your email, I'll put you in touch.

3. Where exactly on the campus is the class?

That's the eternal question, I'm afraid. In the brief time I've been with them, we've practiced in the lobby/lounge area of two dormitory buildings and a meeting room in the multicultural student center. Varies from week to week, hence the weekly email. But if you're interested in checking it out over the summer, it always seems to be in the same park in Northern Virginia.

4. What is typical attire?

They were making some noise last week about having club t-shirts made up. But so far, it's just workout clothes. I usually wear t-shirt and shorts personally. But people have worn gi pants, track pants, etc. Pretty informal.

5. Do I need to bring any equipment, or is it all provided on site?

The equipment, at the moment, is really just a set of sticks. But you're not expected to have those yourself. Guro has extras. And if I know you're coming, I'll pack some extras to be on the safe side as well.

6. Any costs/fees?

Nope. Periodically, we might give Guro a contribution to buy himself some drinks or something. But no fees.

Thanks!
-Ann R.

No worries Ann. Thanks for asking.

PS: if this thread does get closed/moved, please PM or email me whatever details you have, as they change. Thanks again!

Will do.


Stuart

[DoceParesGuy]

Hey Stuart, I'm brand new to MAP.

I ran across this forum and am very intersted in your training sessions. I've taken Cacoy Doce Pares for about 5 years now.

The GWU location is no problem for me as the school I've trained in for all this time is unfortunately in Pasadena, MD. Thanks to the rising gas prices, travelling all that way has made become quite difficult [With no help from my SUV]. The Lee High Park location is perfect since I pretty much live down the street from it and actually just graduated from Lee High School this past year.

Now, I'm all about promoting Filipino Culture in this area and very interested/eager to train with fellow FMA enthusiasts, regardless of style.

If you could give me directions to the GWU location since I'm sure the summer sessions are over.

Thanks,
Oscar

[ap Oweyn]

Just in case you read this before you read your PMs, we actually came from the same school. I trained in the Pasadena school back in 1989 through about 1995. It'll be good to have another Doce Pares guy around the club.


Stuart

[DoceParesGuy]

That's great man, I think you might know my brother-in-law, Danny, then. He's the reason I got into it all. I think he started in '91 or somewhere in the early 90's. So are you familiar with Ms. Maria, Mr. Carlos, Mr. Jemmie and the rest of the gang?

[DoceParesGuy]

Weird how my posts to this thread aren't processing as quick as others. Anyway Stuart, were you the one who posted old testing clips on the Kick Connection forum? They've moved to a different server so everything was lost. If it was you, mind if I could get some of those clips? It was interesting to see how it was done back in the day, since some techniques have been omitted in the new curriculum.

[ap Oweyn]

Yeah that was me actually. I can send them to you. And yep. Mr. Carlos, Ms. Maria, and Mr. Leo were all my teachers. And Jemmie wasn't a "Mr." yet when I was there. In fact, I remember his first day. :)

[JFS USA]

Just in case you read this before you read your PMs, we actually came from the same school. I trained in the Pasadena school back in 1989 through about 1995. It'll be good to have another Doce Pares guy around the club.Stuart

You guys in Maryland might want to check out the "Maryland Throwdown" thread on Bullshido. We are meeting once a month to go hammer & tong for real. You set the intensity parameters ... you can go all out ... or you can fight/spar in a more controlled environment.

Lot of BJJ, wrestlers, TKD, some guys who like to box (Western), at least one of the regulars is TCMA ... All are welcome.

[JFS USA]

Just in case you read this before you read your PMs, we actually came from the same school. I trained in the Pasadena school back in 1989 through about 1995. It'll be good to have another Doce Pares guy around the club.Stuart

You guys in Maryland might want to check out the Bullshido "Maryland Throwdown" thread. We are meeting once a month ... BJJ, wrestlers, one or two boxers (Western), TKD, KF ... good mix of systems - styles. We have mats and plenty of sparring gear so no need to let that hold you back.

You set the parameters with regard to how hard you want to go and what the general ground rules are. Good experimental model that allows peeps to explore the different aspects of their chosen MA system.

[ap Oweyn]

That's in Pasadena as well, isn't it? It's a bit of a hike, but I'd probably be up for that. It's very near where I grew up (Severna Park). So I wouldn't mind getting back down that way sometime.