Antonio Diego became interested in arnis as a child in Pasil, Cebu, one of the cradles of Filipino martial arts. First a student of the Balintawak style of arnis, he became a student of Antonio Ilustrisimo in 1976 and remained a student until his teacher's death in 1997. In 1992, he was formally named heir to the fighting art of Kalis Ilustrisimo. <p/>Christopher Ricketts began studying arnis in the late 1960s, after an earlier study of kung fu and karate. In 1984, he became a student of Antonio Ilustrisimo, and assisted his teacher is systemizing the teaching progression of the style, by videotaping training sessions. Both authors make their homes in the Philippines, but travel frequently in the U.S. to teach.
