Modern Arnis
During this time he experimented with different forms of titles and leadership in the art. The International Modern Arnis Federation Philippines would come to be the lead Modern Arnis organization in the Philippines, and the Deutscher Arnis Verband of Germany would be the lead organization in Europe. In the United States, the International Modern Arnis Federation (IMAF) was the principal organization as far as certification was concerned, but the founder created a variety of titles that indicated some level of organizational or leadership authority in the art (as opposed to titles such as "guro" ("teacher") or "Punong Guro" ("Head teacher") that recognized teaching and/or technical ability). Most prominent among these titles were "Datu", meaning a chieftain or leader, awarded in this order to Shishir Inocalla, Kelly Worden and Ric "Bong" Jornales (of Arnis Sikaran) (all in the 1980s), Dieter Knuettel (1996), Tim Hartman and David Hoffman (both in 2000); and Master of Tapi-Tapi, awarded to Jeff Delaney, Chuck Gauss, Jim Ladis, Gaby Roloff, Randi Schea, Ken Smith, and Brian Zawilinski. The Masters of Tapi-Tapi titles were created to provide leadership and steerage for the IMAF following Remy Presas' passing; the title of Master of Tapi Tapi denotes those who have attained the highest level of proficiency in Modern Arnis and these titles are separate from and above rank. The Datus were expected to take leadership roles that might see them move in different, and perhaps less conventional, directions. Through 2001, however, the art remained largely united under the founder.