Thanks Donna. Suro was not as popularly known as some of the Paladin Press folks, but he is quite well known in the international FMA world. Here is a short informational blurb on his system from the Inayan Intranet:
Inayan Eskrima was developed by Suro Mike Inay. Suro Inay devoted most
of his adult life to the promotion, preservation, and propagation of the
Filipino Martial Arts.
Suro Inay studied privately under the tutelage of two great Eskrima
Masters, Max Sarmiento and Angel Cabales. It was Suro Inay who
proposed, to Master Angle Cabales, the formation of an organization to
preserve and promote the Cabales Serrada Style of Eskrima.
With Suro Inay's help, Master Cabales formed the first Cabales Serrada
association. Suro Inay also developed a ranking structure for Master
Cabales.
The ranks that were developed and presented to the budding
Cabales Serrada Association were:
1.The Basic Level Certificate
2.The Advanced Degree Certificate
3.The Masters Degree Certificate
The Advanced Degree and the Masters Degree gave the certificate holders
permission to award rank in the Cabales Serrada Style of Eskrima. Each
certificate was an acknowledgment of proficiency achievement by the
student named there-on.
Master Cabales accepted and adopted the three certificates and at least
two of the certificates are in use as of 1998.
Suro Inay co-founded the West Coast Eskrima Society with its first
chairman, Max Sarmiento in 1979. The West Coast Eskrima Society was
formally inaugurated in Los Gatos, California in Suro Inay's home.
The West Coast Eskrima Society was founded in the hopes of preserving,
propagating and promoting the Filipino Martial Arts. The Society's Charter
was signed in Suro Inay's house in Los Gatos, California on January 13,
1979. Many notable Eskrima Masters joined the West Coast Eskrima Society
and were present during the Charter signing.
After serving for two terms as chairman for the West Coast Eskrima Society,
Suro Inay went on to teach Eskrima at his new home in the Santa Cruz
Mountains of California.
At the request of a large midwest law enforcement organization, Suro Inay
developed the first nationwide law enforcement knife defense program called
"Spontaneous Knife Defense".
Suro Inay began teaching law enforcement throughout the United States
and became well known and respected in the law enforcement community.
Suro Inay also began traveling abroad to conduct seminars and clinics on
Inayan Eskrima in England, Germany, France, Norway, Sweden, Canada and
Australia. During this period, Suro Inay developed and refined the Inayan
System of Eskrima (ISE).
The Inayan System of Eskrima is comprised of 7 distinct styles of Eskrima.
Each of these of these styles have a complete set of basic, intermediate,
and advanced techniques and concepts that make them independent of
each other in terms of self-defense viability.
These seven complete styles are:
1.Inayan Serrada
2.Inayan Kadena De Mano
3.Inayan Larga Mano
4.Inayan Dequerdas
5.Inayan Sinawalis
6.Inayan Sibat/Bankow
7.Inayan Spada Y Dagga
Suro Inay put a learning structure to these styles and a ranking system for
grading. Suro Inay elected to call all of the styles he teaches "Inayan" to
avoid confusion with other teachers and styles that have the same or similar
names. This also reduced the amount of controversy and claims of validity
others could or could not profess with regard to the "Inayan" System of
Eskrima.
Suro Inay is currently developing and refining the curriculum for several
other styles of Eskrima that he has not introduced to the public so far.
Suro Inay developed several courses dealing with pressure sensitive nerve
areas, riot baton, advanced knife training, along with another knife defense
programs for martial arts and law enforcement.
Suro Inay also developed the use of the knife as an alternative weapon for
executive protection in instances where a firearm is not warranted or safe
to use.
Suro Inay is the author of several training manuals on Inayan Eskrima and
has produced several popular video tapes on the different styles he
teaches. He is currently working on several books and videos.
One of the unique innovations that Suro Inay has developed is the
curriculum for independent school owners to get training in the Filipino
Martial Arts and to offer a Filipino Martial Arts program in their schools. In
order to continue providing teaching and curriculum to schools and
organizations throughout the United States, and the rest of the world, Suro
Inay founded the Inayan Training Organization (ITO).
