A MEMORIAL TO GM DOMINADOR FERRER (Part 4 of 4) GM FERRER’S TEACHINGS By his student, James U. Sy Jr.

Grandmaster Dominador “Doming” D. Ferrer (1920-2007) snatches knives, sticks, sanggots, blades, and other weapons with ease but yet he never advocated violence and hurting other people. He liked disarming because it’s a good way to deter an assailant from further aggression but leaves one with enough control if in case he continues.

He is a firm believer in living a peaceful life. He always reminded his students that the Filipino Martial Art (FMA) Arnis or Escrima should only be used in the protection in one’s or one’s loved ones’ lives. He lived by Jesus Christ’s Golden Rule.

He supported Arnis tournaments because he believed that it was an avenue where the youn practitioners can test their skills and distance them from drugs through sports. However, he would like to retain his art for its combative value. He believed that as one ages one’s proficiency in sportive FMA decreases while efficiency in combative FMA can relatively be maintained with a little more ease.

He was such a loyal practitioner of warrior arts that even when he was already a grandmaster himself, he still thinks highly of his teachers, GMs Jose “Joe” L. Viñas (Lapu-Lapu Viñas Arnis) and Romeo “Nono” C. Mamar (Original Filipino Tapado). In his own words, “without them, I wouldn’t be here.”

GM Ferrer was always humble and did not speak ill of other Arnisadors. For him, what one does goes back to him. He advocated the respect of one’s fellow man.

GM Ferrer made his disarming and control techniques work by using the conceptual foundation of Lapu-Lapu Viñas Arnis, among them the proper use of the body weight, minimal movements, and attacking the opponent’s weakness.


Grandmaster Dominador “Doming” D. Ferrer had taught a good number of students in his lifetime among them former Bacolod Councilor Atty. Juanito Amihan, American university Professor and FMA Master Ronald A. Harris, and Francis Stephen A. Diaz. However, he only promoted 4 people to Master in Arnis: Romy Berlanas of Kalantiaw Defense Society (KDS), Rey Aguilar, Jun-Jun Maravilla of Original Filipino Tapado Long Stick Fighting Association (OFTLSFAI), and James U. Sy Jr. of Conceptual Martial Arts Society (CMAS), Inc. Hopefully these people and his other students will continue the legacy of GM Ferrer for the future generations.