GURO PROFILE: JOHN G. JACOBO

Guro John G. Jacobo has over 20 years of formal hands-on training in various Western and Eastern combat disciplines. Throughout his journey he meticulously dissected the vast arts to extract the fighting principles & strategies currently taught in his program. His teaching approach is aggressive but very effective. Guro John focuses on teaching principles over technique which allows students to progress more efficiently providing the effort is made. He believes that principles are easier to retain and many are applicable to a variety of techniques. Further to this, the training methodologies he employs were adopted, refined and developed to strengthen the mindset which he stresses is responsible for driving the physical skill set.

Guro John’s main goal is for the students to leave each session with a sense of confidence rather than confusion or even doubt in what has been taught. He makes a distinction between sport combat and personal protection but believes they share similar elements that will benefit the practitioner during the attribute developments stages. And through this simple approach with modified training methods, students are able to apply techniques with greater understanding.

Although the past 14 years have been devoted to the indigenous fighting arts from the Philippines, Guro John incorporates other influences such as Western Boxing, WWII Hand-to-Hand and Scientific Wrestling to name a few. He adds that everything relies on the training not the techniques and that there is no such thing as advanced techniques. The basics done proficiently at any given time and place are your advanced techniques.

Guro John is a member of the Filipino martial arts fraternal brotherhood known as Bakbakan International. He credits such notable instructors as Master Reynaldo S. Galang, Master Christopher Ricketts, Master Sam Buot, the late PG Edgar Sulite and Grand Tuhon Leo T. Gaje not only as his mentors but for their long standing contributions to the preservation of the indigenous martial arts of the Philippines. He further recognizes legendary hand-to-hand combat instructor Carl Cestari and Reality Based Self Defense authority Rich Dimitri of Senshido for inspiring his less than traditional approach to teaching the FMA. Guro John teaches in Maryland under the banner SWACOM (School for the Warrior Arts & Combatives) where he offers his blend of functional Filipino Martial Arts and Personal Protection Measures. He has released 2 instructional DVD’s (“The Combat Principles of DeCuerdas & Dos Manos Methods) available on his website: www.swacom.com . His third release entitled “Defense Methods” is in post production and tentatively scheduled for release in the summer of 2006.

Guro John’s target ambition is to operate a Personal Protection & Consultation office specializing in one-to-one training for the non-martial artist.

GURO PROFILE: GRANDMASTER REY GALANG

Reynaldo S. Galang was recently featured on the cover of Rapid Journal, a magazine published in the Philippines, and hailed as the “Warrior Scholar of the Filipino Martial Arts”. He is the Chief Instructor for the arts of Bakbakan Kali, Tulisan, Hagibis and Sinawali. An internationally published writer, Rey’s articles have been featured in major martial arts magazines as well as books.

Driven by his unwavering passion and dedication to the continued preservation and promotion of the Warrior Arts of the Philippines, Rey’s apolitical approach to the FMA benefits both the major and esoteric styles of the Philippines’ indigenous arts. As International Director and co-founder with Christopher Ricketts of the renowned Bakbakan International organization, Rey’s continued efforts to write and publish well-researched books on the FMA has met with success. His latest book “Warrior Arts of the Philippines” features six of the prominent FMA styles and profusely illustrated with over 1600 photos.

A forthcoming book titled “Masters of the Blade” will feature knife fighting and knife defense systems with Filipino martial arts foundations or origins. This book is scheduled for publication by the last quarter of 2005 and features many of the internationally prominent edged weapons instructors. Another book project on the planning board is “Guardians of the Legacy” which will feature the latter 1st generation and prominent 2nd generation instructors of the major FMA systems. With these future publications and the quality of his recently released books, Rey is living true to his publishing venture’s slogan of “Raise the Standard”.

Galang conducts FMA classes at his organization’s World Headquarters (WHQ) located in Lodi, New Jersey. Visit the Bakbakan International website (http://www.bakbakan.com/) for more information on Rey, the Bakbakan organization, past and forthcoming events. The web site also features the books “Swish of the Kris” and “Jungle Patrol” by Vic Hurley for historical aficionados. More information on Rey can be found in the books “Filipino Martial Cluture”, “Filipino Fighting Arts”, “Masters of Arnis, Kali and Eskrima”, and “Classic Arnis”.