Better late than never, I hope!

[Carol]

It occured to me that I never officially introduced myself here. Oops! :eek:

My name is Carol, and I live in the Salem, Massachusetts area. My FMA training is just begining and I have all of you to thank for it.

My martial arts journey began - and was fueled to addiction - with American Kenpo. I was exposed to Filipino styles for the first time after discovering MartialTalk.com and the postings of a person known only as "Arnisador" ;) My interest in was strongly piqued from what I was able to learn.

There is a person that is not yet part of the community here that I owe a huge debt of gratitude to. He is Sensei Frank Shekosky and he reached out ot me to invite me to his school in Cromwell, CT - Cromwell Martial Arts - to try Modern Arnis for the first time. I was absolutely blown away by the art and by the good people in it....and heartbroken that the school was too far away for me to train on a regular basis. Thanks to Sensei Frank, I became addicted quite quickly. :)

Not long after Sensei Frank's training, I had the good fortune of visiting Datu Hartman's school in Buffalo and sharing the mat with him as well as Guros Jeff Leader, Sal Tudaro, and Steve Scott. The experience was so incredible I pulled Datu Hartman aside and begged him to help me find a school near me. He did, and with his help along with the help of my firearms instructor (and now classmate) Andy Moynihan, I've begun training under Guros Mike and May Williams at Martial Arts Research Institute in Salem, Mass. The base styles are Dekiti Tirsia Siradas and Baringin Sakti Silat. I hope to lurk a bit in Sheldon Bedell's Sikaran school as well.

So...a big, big thank you to everyone here at FMAtalk...because all of you in some way have brought me in to this fantastic world of FMA training. I'm really looking forward to the road ahead. :bow:

[arnisador]

Welcome! I'm so glad that between MartialTalk and FMATalk we've helped you find a good place to train!

I like the DTS system a lot. I've taken much away from it and would like to learn the (extensive) system. I'm lucky to have access to Mike Snow here in town. I have heard very good things about the Williamses but have never met them.

I don't know anything about that style of SIlat. What's it like?

[Brian R. VanCise]

Welcome Carol! (however we already know you well http://www.fmatalk.com/images/icons/icon10.gif)

[Carol]

Welcome Carol! (however we already know you well http://www.fmatalk.com/images/icons/icon10.gif)

Thanks Brian! Well...now you know how much of a noob I really am, too :D :D

[Sheldon Bedell]

Carol, We have met over at MT more than a few times so i am happy you found you way over here and to a FMA school.
Hope to see you soon
sheldon

[Carol]

Carol, We have met over at MT more than a few times so i am happy you found you way over here and to a FMA school.
Hope to see you soon
sheldon


Thanks so much Sheldon! :bow: :) :)

[Carol]

Welcome! I'm so glad that between MartialTalk and FMATalk we've helped you find a good place to train!

I like the DTS system a lot. I've taken much away from it and would like to learn the (extensive) system. I'm lucky to have access to Mike Snow here in town. I have heard very good things about the Williamses but have never met them.

I don't know anything about that style of SIlat. What's it like?

You've been an excellent influence and a great instructor to me Jeff :bow:

There is a lot to DTS. I'm just starting to get a grasp of what the system entails. Both Mike and May Williams trainined in Modern Arnis under Professor Presas and Mike has some very deep roots in AMOK, so I don't think that what I'm learning on the mat is pure DTS Kali (and nothing else). But...I'm still a beginner so most of what I am working on is getting a feel for the basics.

Baringin Sakti Silat is one of the lineages of Pencak Silat. As far as what it's like....Andy could probably answer better than I can because he's been more focused on it. I'd call it.....painful!! Most that I've seen is done from either a low, kneeling, or ground stance and the getting up and going down alone has made my legs feel like they are on fire.

However, the style is quie impressive. Andy performed a couple of takedowns on me in one of his friends swimming pool...they are the scariest moves that I have ever been an uke for. Controlling an attacker's neck is a VERY effective way to ensure compliance.

[arnisador]

You're very gracious to me! I'm glad to have been a positive influence.

I like DTS a lot. I really like the sidesetpping, emphasis on clearing your head (head weaving), and the palm-up elbow control, which I also saw in Sayoc Kali seminars but which I have adopted in a big way now. We don't do it much in Modern Arnis, insetad using a palm-in (towards the body) tulok/tusoc technique.

I have been taught a very little silat and I believe I know what you mean about control of the head/neck and how deadly the techniques appear to be. Those are some hard falls to take!

[Tarot]

Welcome Carol! :sword2: (we need a little smilie that smacks sticks! )

We do a lot of silat stuff at our school. Very cool ground work and take downs. And it's interesting to see how simple moves and hand positioning can make the attacker helpless.

[Carol]

Welcome Carol! :sword2: (we need a little smilie that smacks sticks! )

We do a lot of silat stuff at our school. Very cool ground work and take downs. And it's interesting to see how simple moves and hand positioning can make the attacker helpless.

Thanks for the welcome, Andie! :bow:

The closest I have is a fencing smilie :D

http://forums.ircspy.com/images/smilies/6804382843.gif

I'm really looking forward to learning more Silat. I've only had a little experience with it but from what I've seen, I'm anxious to learn more. The moves are relatively simple but very very effective.

And with this post, I think I joined the top 10 posters on FMA talk. Yay me! :D

[Andy Moynihan]

Yay Carol! :D :D