The Instructors
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You can understand a lot about someone's background from knowing who they primarily learned from! There are other highly honorable mentions of course but here the focus is on instructors and leaders of the system you may learn from at Yokosuka base.
A message from Lakan Guro Ben
I started Pekiti-Tirsia in October 2012 and before that had zero background in martial arts and poor coordination in general. Kali seemed interesting at first because it involves developing coordination with both hands and a certain degree of fitness in order to move with effective timing. My fitness has much improved since then and I am still enthused with how there are so many different areas to train (double stick, knife defense, empty hand, etc.) but they are all linked by key principles.
I lead the KH Yokosuka Training Group, continuously growing while regularly training at Kali Himagsikan main gym.
Through the certified instructor program I am trusted with teaching Kali by everyone below.
Guro Satoshi
Satoshi Minagawa is Japanese but was born and raised in the Philippines. Satoshi grew up practicing martial arts in the form of Judo, Karate (Okinawa Uechi Ryu), Taekwondo, Kendo, and boxing. During his path of becoming an instructor for the Israeli fighting system of Krav Maga in 2003, Satoshi was introduced to a small group practicing with bastons in a Tokyo park. He joined the group and worked his way to a 3rd dan in kali jiujitsu (Vee-Arnis) and his Mataas na Guro (Pekiti Tirsia). Throughout the years, Guro Satoshi has been fortunate to participate in seminars, gatherings, and receive valuable instruction from the various guros, masters and even the grand master of the Pekiti Tirsia system. He moved on in 2015 to engage in a new adventure, now known as Kali Himagsikan under the guidance and tutelage of Tuhon William McGrath and the senior instructors of Pekiti Tirsia International.
Together with their teachings, blessings, and Certified Trainer testings, Satoshi continues to pursue the art of Pekiti Tirsia Kali, explore all avenues of training, and learn from other styles, systems, and martial arts to enhance his overall knowledge and ability to then teach those around him and grow Kali Himagsikan.
Learn more about Yokohama main gym at www.kalihimagsikan.com
Tuhon Jack Latorre
*We intend to host Tuhon Jack for a seminar as well pending improvement of the worldwide covid situation.*
Tuhon Jack Latorre had some training in Wing Chun, other Filipino martial arts system, and Muay Thai when he encountered PTK through Tuhon Bill Mcgrath's seminar in 1995. Since then, he's considered Pekiti-TIrsia to be his "home" art. Studying Pekiti-Tirsia with Tuhon Bill Mcgrath whenever possible, for him the system provided more answers than questions and transformed the way he looks at martial arts. Highlights of his training are his promotion to Mataas Na Guro in 2003 and Tuhon in 2017. Although he continues to research other systems, it is to primarily to relate techniques to PTK and assess whether they complement his skillset; similar to the way Conrado Tortal and his brothers brought techniques from other systems for group evaluation.
Tuhon Jack Latorre also values the connection to Filipino culture and his family's heritage established through training.
He tirelessly contributes to Pekiti-Tirsia's growth and preservation through his teaching in Rochester, New York; unbridled support of certified trainers; and weekly Zoom training sessions.
See more details about PTK as well as his Global Karenza Project at https://ptiacademy.com/
Pekiti-Tirsia-International Leadership
Tuhon Bill Mcgrath
*Kali Himagsikan Yokohama hosts Tuhon Bill for annual seminars. There can be a Yokosuka base seminar day if participation is high enough!*
Bill McGrath started his training in Pekiti-Tirsia in 1975 at the age of 14. In 1994 Bill McGrath was promoted to the rank of Tuhon Guro (Chief Instructor) by Grandmaster Leo Gaje. A year later Tuhon McGrath started an official organization with the aim of preserving and promoting a single art, Pekiti-Tirsia. That organization is called Pekiti-Tirsia International.
The above passage is from his webpage, www.pekiti.com
More background on the PTI system and great articles can be seen there.
