Hosting Darren Tibon of Angels disciples.
Our club did a seminar and hosted the Great Serrada/Eskrima Grandmaster Darren Tibon as well as Professor James Hundon of Small circle Jujitsu/Ju-trap boxing 2 days ago on August 26/27. It was hands down one of the better weekends I have spent learning and absorbing!
Grandmaster Tibon stayed at my house for the first night and I was honored to have him stay a second night. We talked over dinner the night he arrived as well as the next day over breakfast! Darren Tibon is as interesting, as he is humble, and Oh My God is he a warrior from the old school!
Grandmaster Tibon grew up in Stockton, California shortly after the Vietnam war. As a young boy, he had to fight to defend himself as early as 8 or 9 years old!
We talked about how other Filipino masters would challenge him, and how he had no qualms with combat. He mentioned how he was one of the few teachers who would get called out and would show up at peoples events, and usually "find them in the bathroom"...I was as impressed as I was scared when I heard that!
Yet in truth, fighting among teachers is a normal and accepted part of Filipino Martial Culture. This is where GM Tibon stood out. He brought various instructors together with his amazing Legacy DVD series. GM Tibon brought together in the same room, teachers who ordinarily would have never been in the same place let alone teach the same people. Each FMA teacher from various schools had a chance to teach, and the result was GOLD to say the least. The simplicity of his message....UNITY...was so important and universal. GM Tibon commands not only respect but an admiration for trying to unite a Martial art community can safely be described as fragmented.
Pictured left is myself (left) with the Grand Master Darren Tibon.
As usual, my interest in people meant I asked him all about his life. Darren Tibon talked about how he is happily married for 35 years to Darlene. On the 30 minute drive to and from the gym, We talked about everything from Cars and fishing to housing prices in Stockton to the fight world.
As interesting as he is..None of that compared to watching Darren Tibon conduct a seminar. My appreciation for Eskrima tripled as soon as he opened up his mouth and Darren Tibon did NOT disappoint. He rocked the seminar with simplicity and a teaching method I can only explain as DYNAMIC!
He started the seminar by saying that although he had been awarded the term "Master" by the late Angel Cabales. GM Tibon felt that he was simply a messenger for Angel Cabales and was as much as a student as he was a teacher. Thus he named his FMA club "Angels Disciples". His style is simple yet incredibly effective.
GM Tibon's teaching methods make sense, and if something does not work, it is quite simply not in the syllabus. Any qualms I had about the FMA were soon quashed quick and I have yet to see my instructor so impressed in the years I have known him.
left his Angel Cabales (left) and a young Darren Tibon (on the right!)
The moment he called one of his senior students up for a demonstration, Tibon had a look in his eye that could burn through steel. He finished each demo by saying "its easy!" and we would all try it! The look of excitement on my Instructors face said it all. Darren Tibon's technique was flawless and he moved with a smoothness that I have never seen before.
After the first night we all watched a very entertaining Conor Macgregor fight Mayweather in a boxing match. We drove home that night and he told me before he turned out for the night that "Me and my wife were some good people". It meant the world to me to be a good host! (something I learned from my parents!). He gave me his two DVD's as a gift! I cant wait to train with them in the basement gym!
The next day he lit up day two of the seminar with more techniques. He thanked me for taking him in and feeding him. I drove him to the airport and he told me to keep in touch with him (which I will)! He told me that "we were buds now" and I never forgot it! This morning Jay called me and thanked me for all my hospitality! Darren Tibon relayed to Jay what a great host my wife and I were! That was the highest compliment I could receive!
This is what Havoc JKD is, it is a brotherhood, its people who lift as they climb. its an extension of the warm yet fierce heart of our leader Jay Cooper, and his leader Sifu Harinder Singh Saberwahl. I Hope I am a War Dog for the rest of my life!
Grandmaster Tibon stayed at my house for the first night and I was honored to have him stay a second night. We talked over dinner the night he arrived as well as the next day over breakfast! Darren Tibon is as interesting, as he is humble, and Oh My God is he a warrior from the old school!
Grandmaster Tibon grew up in Stockton, California shortly after the Vietnam war. As a young boy, he had to fight to defend himself as early as 8 or 9 years old!
We talked about how other Filipino masters would challenge him, and how he had no qualms with combat. He mentioned how he was one of the few teachers who would get called out and would show up at peoples events, and usually "find them in the bathroom"...I was as impressed as I was scared when I heard that!
Yet in truth, fighting among teachers is a normal and accepted part of Filipino Martial Culture. This is where GM Tibon stood out. He brought various instructors together with his amazing Legacy DVD series. GM Tibon brought together in the same room, teachers who ordinarily would have never been in the same place let alone teach the same people. Each FMA teacher from various schools had a chance to teach, and the result was GOLD to say the least. The simplicity of his message....UNITY...was so important and universal. GM Tibon commands not only respect but an admiration for trying to unite a Martial art community can safely be described as fragmented.
As usual, my interest in people meant I asked him all about his life. Darren Tibon talked about how he is happily married for 35 years to Darlene. On the 30 minute drive to and from the gym, We talked about everything from Cars and fishing to housing prices in Stockton to the fight world.
As interesting as he is..None of that compared to watching Darren Tibon conduct a seminar. My appreciation for Eskrima tripled as soon as he opened up his mouth and Darren Tibon did NOT disappoint. He rocked the seminar with simplicity and a teaching method I can only explain as DYNAMIC!
He started the seminar by saying that although he had been awarded the term "Master" by the late Angel Cabales. GM Tibon felt that he was simply a messenger for Angel Cabales and was as much as a student as he was a teacher. Thus he named his FMA club "Angels Disciples". His style is simple yet incredibly effective.
GM Tibon's teaching methods make sense, and if something does not work, it is quite simply not in the syllabus. Any qualms I had about the FMA were soon quashed quick and I have yet to see my instructor so impressed in the years I have known him.
The moment he called one of his senior students up for a demonstration, Tibon had a look in his eye that could burn through steel. He finished each demo by saying "its easy!" and we would all try it! The look of excitement on my Instructors face said it all. Darren Tibon's technique was flawless and he moved with a smoothness that I have never seen before.
After the first night we all watched a very entertaining Conor Macgregor fight Mayweather in a boxing match. We drove home that night and he told me before he turned out for the night that "Me and my wife were some good people". It meant the world to me to be a good host! (something I learned from my parents!). He gave me his two DVD's as a gift! I cant wait to train with them in the basement gym!
The next day he lit up day two of the seminar with more techniques. He thanked me for taking him in and feeding him. I drove him to the airport and he told me to keep in touch with him (which I will)! He told me that "we were buds now" and I never forgot it! This morning Jay called me and thanked me for all my hospitality! Darren Tibon relayed to Jay what a great host my wife and I were! That was the highest compliment I could receive!
This is what Havoc JKD is, it is a brotherhood, its people who lift as they climb. its an extension of the warm yet fierce heart of our leader Jay Cooper, and his leader Sifu Harinder Singh Saberwahl. I Hope I am a War Dog for the rest of my life!
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