GURO MICHAEL GUBAT AND FAMILY VACATION
IN THE UNITED STATES
By Jay de Leon

In the summer of 2007, Guro Michael Gubat of the Philippines took his family on a well-deserved vacation to the United States. They flew to both the West Coast as well as the East Coast, including trips to Las Vegas, Nevada and of course Los Angeles, California where I met up with them.

Michael Gubat is a Modern Arnis guro with the International Modern Arnis Federation of the Philippines (IMAFP) and lives and works in Manila. He is a high-tech executive and also serves as the high-tech man and archivist for IMAFP, videorecording and photographing many of their events. He has produced numerous video and slide presentations for IMAFP, including the slide show presented at the 3rd FMA Festival Dinner and Gala Night at the Heritage Hotel in Pasay City, Philippines on July 21, 2006.

From left to right, Paulina de Leon, Linda Pulido, Michael Gubat,
Jay de Leon and Graciella Casillas at the 3rd FMA Festival Gala Night
at the Heritage Hotel in Pasay City, Philippines on July 21, 2006.

Guro Michael is also a personal student of both Master Godofredo Fajardo and Grandmaster Cristino Vasquez of the IMAFP and is my contact man in the Philippines when I need to contact Sir Cris. During the 3rd FMA Festival last year 2006, Michael and I together with my son Mitchell spent many hours just bonding with Master Godo, home from Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the 3rd FMA Festival.

From left to right, Jay de Leon, Michael Gubat, Mitchell de Leon, and
Godofredo Fajardo, of Filipino Fighting Arts, Intl. taken at the Krocodile Grille in Makati, Philippines during the 3rd FMA Festival in the Philippines in July 2006.

I met up with Michael on May 25, 2007 in Los Angeles. It was a typical hot blazing California summer’s day, and that was our excuse to seek refuge at Cameron’s Seafood Restaurant and Bar, an upscale restaurant and bar on Colorado Boulevard, in Pasadena, a suburb of Los Angeles, California.

Michael Gubat (right) and Jay de Leon hoist a few at the
Cameron’s Seafood Restaurant and Bar in Pasadena, CA
Saturday, on May 19, 2007.

There we downed several mugs of beer, snacked on their famous seafood hors d’oeuvres, and watched the running of the Preakness on big-screen TV. But more than that, we caught up on news on IMAFP, arnis and local news from the Philippines, as well as news about common friends in the Philippines like Sir Cris.

Michael Gubat (left) and Jay de Leon hold a reunion
in Pasadena, CA on Saturday, May 19, 2007.

We then proceeded to house in Pasadena, where Michael’s relative was hosting a baptismal party. There we joined up with Michael’s family, his wife and kids, and participated in the baptismal party and celebration.

The Michael Gubat Family in Pasadena, California, USA.

The Michael Gubat family is joined by Jay de Leon
in Pasadena, CA, USA.

It was indeed a great summer’s day to be able to hold a mini-reunion with a good friend and arnis brother-in-arms, meet his family and enjoy an old, good-fashioned Filipino baptismal party.

Copyright, Jay de Leon, 2007