JEREMIAH STANLEY’S SOJOURN
TO THE PHILIPPINES 2008
By Jay de Leon

In July 2008, Jeremiah Stanley traveled to the Philippines. An inveterate world traveler, Jeremiah has traveled to countless countries of the world, most of the time mixing martial arts training, academic pursuits, wanderlust and pleasure in his journeys. This year, he traveled to the Philippines principally to attend the 4th FMA Festival held every two years by the International Modern Arnis Federation of the Philippines (IMAFP) of which he is a guro in the United States.

We will get to the other earthly pleasures later.

In a separate article, I wrote about the 4th FMA Festival held from July 20-25 in the sandy beaches of Boracay, in the Visayas in the Philippines, capped with an awards night in Iloilo. In addition to participating in all these activities, Jeremiah tested for and was awarded his Lakan Isa (first degree black belt) in Modern Arnis. Although Jeremiah is my student here in the United States, I wanted him to have the honor of getting his black belt from my own guro in the Philippines, Senior Master Godofredo Fajardo of IMAFP and Filipino Fighting Arts Int’l (FFAI).

Jeremiah Stanley (left) and  Senior Master Godofredo Fajardo of the IMAFP
share some relaxing moments and a cool drink at the 4th FMA Festival
in Boracay, the Philippines in July 2008.

Yes, life was a beach at Boracay in the Philippines.

Jeremiah Stanley (with hat) squares off with Modern Arnis guro Michael Gubat, as Senior Master Godofredo Fajardo of IMAFP (center, between them) supervises their class at the 4th FMA Festival in Boracay, Philippines on July 2008.

I extend my thanks to my guro Master Godo and my crew in the Philippines including GM Cris Vasquez, Michael Gubat, Jimson Dearos, Cocoy Oyales and Nonong Poblacion for taking care of my home boy and showing him a good time at the Festival. I would also like to thank the IMAFP Council of Masters and the organizing committee of the 4th FMA Festival for my Kampilan Award for promoting Filipino martial arts both in print and in electronic media like the internet.

GM Cristino Vasquez (right)  of the International Modern Arnis Federationof the Philippines (IMAFP),  poses with  Datu Dieter Knuettel
of Germany at the 4th FMA Festival at Boracay, Philippines
on July 2008.  Photo courtesy of Michael Gubat.

In pursuit of more Filipino martial arts knowledge, Jeremiah also traveled to Dumaguete City in the province of Negros Oriental, in the Visayas in the Philippines before the festival.  There he met up with his friend and trained with another FMA master named Ike Villaflores, who is a school teacher by profession.

Jeremiah Stanley (right) poses with FMA master Ike Villaflores
of DUMAA Eskrima in Dumaguete City in the Philippines on July 2008.

Whether in their simple dojo or in the school yard, these arnis practitioners both young and old work out enthusiastically and diligently. Arnis is alive and well everywhere in the Philippines, in this case in Dumaguete City.

As Jeremiah was researching medical studies as well as career opportunities in the medical field in the Philippines, I hooked up Jeremiah with one of my closest friends in the Philippines, Dr. Col. Juan Pablo Nanagas, who is a practicing medical doctor as well as a Colonel in the Philippine Marine reserves, commanding an armored division.
He has been heavily involved in military operations as well as peace negotiations with Muslim insurgents in the southern part of the Philippines

He was also at one time the Undersecretary of the Department of Health of the Philippines.  We were classmates since grade school at the Ateneo de Manila, and he was my Kodokan judo sparring partner in high school for several years.  Lately, he has been both a member and a coach of the Philippine Olympic archery team.  Yes, as Jeremiah discovered, John or Dr. J as we sometimes call him, is a man of many passions and a cool dude to hang out with.

Jeremiah Stanley (left) meets with Dr. Col. Juan Pablo Nanagas, a doctor and a Colonel in the Philippine Marine reserves. Yes, he is as tough as he looks. It looks like they bivouacked at a top secret rendezvous place in Manila called Jollibee (the Philippines’ McDonald’s).

And so it appears to have been another fruitful and fun journey for Jeremiah for 2008. 
Congratulations on your black belt, Jeremiah, and may you have more arnisadors to bang sticks with, more martial artists to exchange punches, kicks and throws, more rivers to cross and more mountains to climb, and more friends to make and more miles to cover in cosmopolitan cities and uncharted waters alike in journeys to come.

Till your next journey…

Copyright, Jay de Leon, 2008.

Photos courtesy of Godofredo Fajardo and Michael Gubat of the Philippines, and Jeremiah Stanley of the USA.  All rights reserved.  No portion of this article or photos may be reprinted or reproduced without the express written consent of the author.