Class is an informal gathering, but certain courtesies are maintained. Before working with a partner, the informal bow is used to acknowledge both parties are ready. We bow at the start and end of class as courtesy to instructor and fellow students.

Anyone interested in Martial Arts, especially weapon and Filipino Martial Arts, are welcome to attend. We do not discriminate based on age, race, experience, skill, or physical ability. All are welcome to train. We believe that a diverse class enhances the training experience for all. Modern Arnis is a very malleable art and part of learning it means adapting it to fit you individually.

We try not to take ourselves too seriously, but we do take the training itself seriously. Because of this, children lacking the appropriate level of maturity should not train with us. Rather than make a blanket statement of what age is or isn't appropriate, it is something to be discussed with the instructor–children have varying levels or maturity.

For anyone under 18 years of age, please both you and a parent or guardian Contact us to see if SDMA is right for you.

If you're interested in attending, please let us know so we can make sure there's some beginner slots available.

Time in the gym being limited, we try to focus on spending as much time on Modern Arnis, so please try to get any warm-ups done before you show up. We do a few minutes of wrist stretches and basic strikes as warm up. If you want or need additional warm up, please plan accordingly.

Wear comfortable workout clothes. A tee-shirt and pants that you can squat and roll in are adequate. Flat-soled shoes should be worn (tennis, cross, running, or wrestling). To avoid injury for yourself and your partners, please do not wear any jewelry (necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings, tiaras, or diadems).

If you would like water during class, please be sure to bring a bottle for yourself.

Sticks and training knives will be provided for beginners, but if you plan on attending regularly, you should buy your own sticks–both so you're not wearing down the loaners, but also so you can practice at home.

Feel free to source your sticks wherever you like. Frank's is probably the best and cheapest source. They must be made of rattan. Recommended length is between 26 to 32 inches. Thickness is up to you, but should probably be in the range of 0.75 to 1.25 inches in diameter.

We also practice with staffs, but there are no loaners available–if you want to do staff work you must bring your own.

Additional gear is needed for sparring, but sparring is neither mandatory nor a regular occurrence. Minimum recommended set is gloves (such as Lacrosse gloves), an athletic cup (for men), and a 3-weapon fencing mask. You may also wish to have additional protection in the form of a padded jacket, elbow pads, and knee pads.

Depending on skill and comfort level, we may do light sparring with foam sticks (as seen on the Videos page). Light sparring with foam sticks can actually be more difficult as it takes greater control to land soft, well-placed blows than it does to swing with a lot of force blindly