GURO PROFILE: GAT PUNO ABON BAET
Gat Puno (Chieftain) Abon Baet is the fifth generation grandmaster of the Garimot Arnis System, a family system more than 150 years old from the province of Laguna, in the Philippines. He is the fourth son of the legendary arnisador and buno master, Grandmaster Felipe “Garimot” Baet. When his father passed away, Abon took on the fighting name of “Garimot” to honor his father, hence his fighting name of Gat Puno Abon “Garimot” Baet.
Abon began active competition at the age of sixteen. He competed in live stick competition (no padding) in several towns in his province of Laguna, the Philippines. This led to his reign as an undefeated arnis champion for seven years from 1978 to 1985.
He started teaching the family system under the banner of the Paete Arnis Club in Laguna, Philippines. For a brief time also, Abon taught Modern Arnis in Laguna at the behest and under the authority of Prof. Remy Presas, founder of Modern Arnis. The two would eventually reunite many years later in the United States.
In 1986, Abon accepted an opportunity to work in the United States, and in a few years began to teach arnis in the United States. By 1989, he had founded his organization Philippine Martial Arts, Garimot System International, U.S.A. which taught a total system that encompassed the complete range of Philippine fighting and healing arts of arnis, buno and hilot.
The Garimot Sysem now has chapters all over the United States, as well as in Sweden, Germany and Venezuela. In addition to his full-time job as a chef, Gat Puno Abon is busy with the seminar circuit, including prestigious senior masters training camps.
Gat Puno Abon has also written a book about buno entitled “Harimaw Buno : The Art of Filipino Wrestling.” In the book, he traces how his forbears learned the art from Aeta and Mangyan tribesmen.
What constitutes “buno?’ From the description of types of competition and techniques allowed or utilized, it appears “buno” is judo, jiu-jitsu, Graeco-Roman wrestling and shoot-fighting rolled into one. Its techniques include hand and elbow strikes, knee and low kicks, throws, sweeps, limb locks, joint locks, choke holds, head cranks, pressure-point tactics and come-along techniques.
You may contact Gat Puno Abon or purchase his book at his website at http://www.garimot.com/.
Abon began active competition at the age of sixteen. He competed in live stick competition (no padding) in several towns in his province of Laguna, the Philippines. This led to his reign as an undefeated arnis champion for seven years from 1978 to 1985.
He started teaching the family system under the banner of the Paete Arnis Club in Laguna, Philippines. For a brief time also, Abon taught Modern Arnis in Laguna at the behest and under the authority of Prof. Remy Presas, founder of Modern Arnis. The two would eventually reunite many years later in the United States.
In 1986, Abon accepted an opportunity to work in the United States, and in a few years began to teach arnis in the United States. By 1989, he had founded his organization Philippine Martial Arts, Garimot System International, U.S.A. which taught a total system that encompassed the complete range of Philippine fighting and healing arts of arnis, buno and hilot.
The Garimot Sysem now has chapters all over the United States, as well as in Sweden, Germany and Venezuela. In addition to his full-time job as a chef, Gat Puno Abon is busy with the seminar circuit, including prestigious senior masters training camps.
Gat Puno Abon has also written a book about buno entitled “Harimaw Buno : The Art of Filipino Wrestling.” In the book, he traces how his forbears learned the art from Aeta and Mangyan tribesmen.
What constitutes “buno?’ From the description of types of competition and techniques allowed or utilized, it appears “buno” is judo, jiu-jitsu, Graeco-Roman wrestling and shoot-fighting rolled into one. Its techniques include hand and elbow strikes, knee and low kicks, throws, sweeps, limb locks, joint locks, choke holds, head cranks, pressure-point tactics and come-along techniques.
You may contact Gat Puno Abon or purchase his book at his website at http://www.garimot.com/.
posted by jay de leon at 8:54 AM
1 Comments:
Very interesting. I am familiar with the name Remy Presas, and Gat Puno Abon is a Facebook friend, though I have never met him, and know very little about him. Back in the 80's, I took Tulisan, Sagasa and Arnis under Rey Galang (Bakbakan) for several months. I also trained in Kali for a short while in an MMA school. I've also taken Judo, Shotokan, Shuri-Ryu, Shoot-Wrestling, Fencing, Savate, Kickboxing (from James Warring), Muay-Thai Kickboxing, Tae Kwon Do, Soo Bahk Do, and others (unfortunately, the longest I stayed in any one style was about
one-and-a-half years, and the average time in any one style was usually about 5 months, so I'm like a 'Jack-of-all-trades, master of none'). I was also on the Wrestling team (Greco-Roman) in High School. Also, for many years, I have practiced on my own with nunchaku, bo staff, and other weapons. However, I am out of practice and out of shape right now, unfortunately. In any case, I appreciated the information in this article.
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