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Rene Latosa is an Escrima instructor with over 30 years of experience. He started his training at the first Escrima Academy established by Angel Cabales and Maximo Sarmiento in his hometown of Stockton, CA. He had the rare opportunity to not only learn from such greats as Angel and Max but world-renowned instructors such as Leo Giron and Dentoy Revilar. He later studied intensively from his own Father, (who had kept his knowledge secret from his son until he felt was ready to learn), several unique and effective Filipino combat fighting systems. |
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The Filipino martial art system Latosa developed and teaches is basically a method of educating students on how to understand ones body in relationship to movement. This system is a blend of the attributes which makes the many different systems of the Filipino martial arts similar. The basic system is based on five concepts – balance, focus, power, speed (timing and distance) and transition. The student must understand these concepts, then apply them to techniques, and adapt them to pre-fight, fight and post-fight situations. The student then knows and realizes what they (their body) can do in a given situation, and to depend on a techniques. It is the person behind the techniques and not the technique that makes it works. Latosa like to blend the balance of simple movements with complex concepts creating an avenue where the student has to think instead of copy. |
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| When Rene left the Stockton area he had the opportunity to introduce the Filipino art to various Police SWAT Teams and to the Air Force Security forces in the Virginia area while stationed in the Air Force. Rene was later stationed in Europe where he is the first person to introduce and teach the Filipino martial arts to England and Europe. He eventually authored a book both in English and German, spent three years developing Escrima in England and Europe and eventually headed the largest organization of Escrima practitioners in Europe. Used to multi-tasking, he did this while serving his time in the US Air Force where he played football and was on the boxing team.
Today, Latosa travels throughout the US and Europe giving seminars, still multi-tasking, Rene holds a full time job as a Deputy Administrator for Management Services at the SF Housing Authority, this is after his retirement from the Federal Government as Director of Contracting. He is married and has three daughters. More information is at his website at: www.escrima-concepts.com. |
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