MAC MARTIAL ARTS CLUB

Late post — We have WORLD CHAMPIONS!

A huge congratulations to our Mac Martial Arts team who proudly represented Team Canada in WMAC World Martial Arts Games Championships 2024 in Austria!

All the long hours of training, sacrifices, determination, dedication, and resilience paid off on the world stage. Mandeep Dhaliwal, Arsh and Francis stepped up to compete against some of the best athletes from around the world, and all came home as WORLD CHAMPIONS!

As an instructor, there is nothing better than seeing your students work toward a goal, overcome challenges, and prove to themselves what they are capable of achieving.

You didn't just represent Mac Martial Arts — you represented Canada, your families, your teammates, and everyone who supported you along the way.

Everyone is incredibly proud of each and every one of you. You earned this moment. Enjoy it, remember it, and let it motivate you for the next challenge.

Next up - The Mac Martial arts tournament in Calgary on October 9 and 10, then Spain.

Big shoutout to Sensei Maeghen Cotterill

WORLD CHAMPIONS — TEAM CANADA
MAC MARTIAL ARTS

Determination. Dedication. Resilience.
Hard work pays off.

IMPORTANT UPDATE – MAC MARTIAL ARTS OPEN TOURNAMENT!

Attention all competitors, coaches, and martial arts schools!

We have made some changes to the belt divisions for our Open Martial Arts Tournament on Saturday, October 10, 2026, to help ensure fair and competitive matchups for all participants.

✅ Already registered? No need to worry or make any changes to your registration! I will personally update your divisions to reflect the new changes.

For those who have not yet registered, please review the updated divisions before submitting your registration.

Thank you to everyone for your continued support and understanding. We look forward to welcoming all competitors, instructors, families, and spectators for an exciting day of martial arts competition.

Please visit Macmartialarts.ca for new Open division PDF

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the updated divisions, please feel free to contact me directly.

See you all on October 10! 🏆

Lawrence Macaraeg

Mac Martial Arts Club

MAC MARTIAL ARTS TOURNAMENT – IMPORTANT UPDATE & FAQ!

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who has already pre-registered for the Mac Martial Arts Tournament! We’re looking forward to welcoming martial artists, coaches, families, and schools for an exciting weekend of competition.

We strongly encourage all teams and competitors to PRE-REGISTER. This allows us to organize divisions, brackets, age groups, experience levels, and matchups before tournament day, helping everything run more smoothly and reducing wait times. Coaches bringing teams, please help us by getting your competitors registered early!

Here are answers to some of the questions we’ve received from participating schools:

Can Anyo on Friday night be performed with sticks?
YES! Friday night's Anyo is Filipino Martial Arts, so forms must be performed with stick(s), knife, or other approved FMA weapons. No open-hand forms on Friday. Open-hand forms will be available during Saturday's Open Tournament.

Is FMA the same as the Open Tournament?
NO. FMA stands for Filipino Martial Arts. FMA fighting divisions will include Padded Single Stick, Double Stick, Knife, and Continuous. Saturday's Open Martial Arts Tournament is a separate competition.

Can I register on the day of the tournament?
YES! Walk-in registration will be accepted. However, competitors registering on tournament day will pay the regular rate instead of the discounted pre-registration rate. Pre-registering also helps us have your divisions organized ahead of time.

Can I pick up my wristband early for Saturday's Open Tournament?
YES! If you are registered for Saturday's Open event, you can pick up your wristband on Friday. We encourage competitors and teams to do this to make Saturday morning check-in faster and easier.

Can we use music for Creative Forms?
YES! Creative Forms may be performed with or without weapons and with or without music. Bring your creativity and show us what you've got!

Who will handle arbitration?
We are pleased to have Julius Litorco serving as Tournament Arbitrator. He will assist with rule interpretations and competition-related disputes to help ensure a consistent and fair tournament.

SPECIAL REMINDER – TUHON APOLO LADRA IS COMING TO CALGARY!

Don't forget that we are also excited to welcome Tuhon Apolo Ladra of iKALI for a special three-day Filipino Martial Arts seminar during tournament weekend!

Friday, October 9: 5:00–6:00 PM
Saturday, October 10: 10:00 AM–4:00 PM
Sunday, October 11: 8:00 AM–1:00 PM

- Pre-registration: $199 for ALL THREE DAYS
- Includes a FREE iKALI T-shirt with three-day pre-registration
- Single Day: $125

This is a great opportunity to train directly with Tuhon Apolo Ladra, whether you already practice FMA or are coming from another martial arts background. All styles and experience levels are welcome.

A FEW TOURNAMENT REMINDERS

Please arrive early and be ready when your division is called. Make sure you are registered in the correct age, belt/experience, and competition divisions. Coaches bringing teams are encouraged to review their registrations ahead of time. Competitors entering weapons divisions should bring the appropriate equipment and backup equipment whenever possible.

Our goal is to provide a tournament that is competitive, organized, welcoming, and fun for everyone—from first-time competitors to experienced martial artists.

📅 October 9–11, 2026
📍 Genesis Centre – Calgary, Alberta
🌐 Pre-register at macmartialarts.ca

Come compete. Come train. Come support the martial arts community.

Please SHARE and TAG your teammates, instructors, students, and schools!

This is a reminder to all FMA instructors, coaches, and senior students that tonight at 8pm we are hosting an in-person and online training session regarding judging procedures for FMA padded single, double, and knife divisions. We are also going to cover continous stick divisions too. Please notify Lawrence Macaraeg at 587-228-3618 if you are interested in participating.

I’m so proud of Mandeep, Arsh, and Francis for getting ready to compete at the WMAC World Martial Arts Games this weekend. They’ve worked so hard in every session, and it’s been awesome to see them grow. Heading to Austria is a huge milestone in their journey. I’m genuinely excited to watch these talented students show off their skills on the world stage. It’s a big moment for our school and our country, and I know they’ll make us proud.

I had a great conversation with Master Darren Tibon today about life, martial arts, leadership, and the responsibility we have as instructors to continue the legacy of those who came before us.

One thing that really stood out in our conversation was the importance of never forgetting where we came from or the instructors who helped shape us. As martial artists, we carry forward more than techniques, forms, or fighting skills. We carry the lessons, values, discipline, sacrifices, and traditions that our instructors passed down to us. Honouring that legacy means continuing to teach those lessons while also finding our own way to positively influence the next generation.

We also talked about the responsibility we have to our own students. Every student is going to face obstacles—not only in martial arts, but in school, careers, relationships, family, and life. There will be moments when they question themselves, struggle, lose confidence, or even want to give up. That is when an instructor's role becomes much bigger than teaching martial arts.

A good instructor teaches you how to punch, kick, move, defend yourself, or use a weapon. A great instructor also mentors you, believes in you, challenges you, and helps build you back up when life knocks you down. Sometimes our students need someone to remind them of what they are capable of before they can see it themselves.

As instructors, our goal shouldn't simply be to create great martial artists. It should be to help create strong, confident, respectful, resilient people who eventually become the best versions of themselves.

Eventually, our students become instructors, mentors, parents, leaders, and role models themselves. What we teach them today can continue long after we're gone. That is how a martial arts legacy survives—not just through belts, certificates, titles, or techniques, but through people.

Thank you again for the long call tonight, Darren Tibon !

If you have the chance go to the legacy 12 on November 7th!

Calling Everyone Who Wants to Experience Filipino Martial Arts at Its Finest!

Have you ever wanted to experience the national martial art and sport of the Philippines live?

Mac Martial Arts is proud to host one of Canada's biggest Filipino Martial Arts tournaments on Friday, October 9, 2026!

Join us at the Genesis Centre – 7555 Falconridge Blvd NE, Calgary, AB from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM for an exciting evening celebrating the skill, culture, tradition, and community of Filipino Martial Arts.

We’ll have martial arts schools and competitors from across Canada and the United States, with kids, teens, and adults stepping into the rings to showcase their skills in FMA competition.

We are also honoured to welcome special guest Tuhon Apolo Ladra, internationally recognized Filipino Martial Arts instructor and founder of iKali.

Whether you practice martial arts or have never seen FMA before, everyone is welcome! Bring your family, bring your friends, support our athletes, and come experience an incredible part of Filipino culture.

🇵🇭 Support the Filipino community. Support our athletes. Celebrate our heritage.

📅 Friday, October 9, 2026
⏰ 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM
📍 Genesis Centre | 7555 Falconridge Blvd NE, Calgary, Alberta

One Heritage. Many Systems. One Community.

Visit Macmartialarts.ca or call Lawrence Macaraeg - (587) 228-3618


Come see Filipino Martial Arts in action!

CALLING ALL FMA INSTRUCTORS & COACHES!

As we approach the 2026 Mac Martial Arts Tournament on Friday, October 9, I’m putting together a strong and experienced team of officials and judges for this year’s Filipino Martial Arts competition.

Before the tournament, I will hold a Judges & Officials Meeting On September 18 (in-person and online) at 7 pm, to go through the rules, scoring, expectations, and procedures. Our goal is to make sure everyone is on the same page and that judging is fair, consistent, precise, and unbiased for every competitor and every school.

We are looking for judges for Anyo (Forms), Point System Stick Fighting, and Live Stick Competition.

Judge Requirements:
Must be an FMA instructor or recognized senior practitioner
Must be able to show/verify rank and FMA experience
Must understand proper sportsmanship, professionalism, and impartial judging
Must attend the pre-tournament judges/rules meeting
Must be willing to judge competitors fairly regardless of school, system, affiliation, or instructor
High-ranking students may also be considered, but their instructor must contact me directly and recommend them
Nice to Have:
Previous experience judging or officiating FMA tournaments
Previous FMA competition experience
Familiarity with Anyo, point-system stick fighting, and/or live stick
Experience working with tournament brackets, scoring, or ring management

I want this tournament to bring the FMA community together and give every competitor a great experience. Good judging is a huge part of making that happen.

If you are interested in being part of our judging team, please message me directly with your name, rank, system/style, instructor or organization, and previous tournament experience.

Please share this post, and let me know if you can make it.

Thank you in advance to all the instructors and coaches willing to step up and help make this year's tournament a success.

-All judges & Referee's will receive a free tournament t-shirt

Lawrence Macaraeg

One Heritage. Many Systems. One Community