Guro Celina Duffy
Deep Roots.
An Open Mind.
A Lifetime of Discovery.
At a Glance
🇺🇸 Country: USA
⚔️ Primary Systems: Kali Ilustrisimo • Jack Santos Method • Lameco
🥋 Additional Arts: San Miguel Eskrima • Eskrima de Campo 1-2-3
🕥 Experience: 26+ years of martial arts training
🌊 Teaching Approach: Paraanan ng Agos, The Way of Flow
🌍 Kali in Bali 2027: First international teaching appearance
For more than 26 years, Guro Celina Duffy has followed a remarkable journey through Filipino Martial Arts, guided by respected masters, family connections and an enduring curiosity about the deeper principles of movement.
Her story is a little different from that of many martial artists.
Growing up in Northern California, she was surrounded by people who would later become important influences in her martial arts journey. The traditions, friendships and personalities of the Filipino community were already part of her life long before she decided to begin training herself.
And when she finally did?
Something clicked.
What began as a new interest became a passion that simply wouldn't let go.
Today, that same curiosity continues to drive Celina's exploration of Filipino Martial Arts and her own evolving expression of movement, which she calls Paraanan ng Agos, The Way of Flow.
Growing up around the Masters
A Family Connection to Filipino Martial Arts
For many martial artists, their journey begins by walking into a school and meeting an instructor for the first time.
For Celina, the story began much earlier.
Growing up around Salinas in Northern California, she was part of a Filipino community where martial arts, culture and family friendships were closely connected.
Family gatherings and barbecues sometimes brought together people who were highly respected within the Filipino Martial Arts world, including the historic martial arts circles of Stockton.
Among them was her uncle, Manong Faustino Caigoy, a respected artist and practitioner of the Jack Santos Method.
Through her uncle, Celina grew up knowing people and personalities connected to the wider FMA community.
Yet despite being surrounded by these influences, Celina didn't immediately pursue martial arts herself.
She came to training later in life.
Perhaps that's one of the most interesting things about her story.
She had been surrounded by something extraordinary without necessarily recognising where it would eventually lead her.
Once she began, however, there was no turning back.
She couldn't really explain what had captured her imagination.
She just knew she wanted to keep learning.
And more than two decades later, she still does.
The Teacher Who Still Surprises Her
Manong Faustino Caigoy and the Jack Santos Method
Ask Celina about the people who have influenced her martial arts journey, and one name stands above the rest.
Her uncle, Manong Faustino Caigoy.
A student of the respected Escrima master Jack Santos, Faustino introduced Celina to a depth of knowledge that continues to surprise and inspire her.
What makes their relationship particularly interesting is that, even after decades of exposure to his teaching, Celina still discovers something new.
A familiar movement suddenly reveals another possibility.
An old principle takes on a different meaning.
Something she thought she understood turns out to have another layer.
For Celina, these moments are a reminder that martial arts knowledge is never truly exhausted.
There is always another question to ask.
Another detail to discover.
Another way to understand something familiar.
And perhaps that is one of the greatest gifts her uncle has given her.
Not simply a collection of techniques, but the curiosity to keep looking deeper.
A Journey Through Respected Lineages
Learning From Those Who Came Before
Celina's martial arts journey has taken her through several respected Filipino Martial Arts traditions, often through years of direct mentorship and private instruction.
Her studies in Kalis Ilustrisimo include long-term private training with the late Master Christopher "Topher" Ricketts, followed by continued development through instructors including Brandon Ricketts and Arnold Narzo of Kalis Ilustrisimo Repeticion Orihinal.
Her blade work was further shaped through private instruction with the late Master Felix Valencia of the Lameco S.O.G. Backyard Group, leading to her certification as a Full Instructor in Valencia Lameco in 2013.
She has also studied extensively with Magtutudlo Ramon Rubia, exploring San Miguel Eskrima and Eskrima de Campo 1-2-3, with their emphasis on sensitivity, movement and continuous transitions between offence and defence.
Beyond Filipino Martial Arts, her interests have led her into Wing Chun, Baguazhang, Daito-ryu Roppokai Aikijujutsu, Ninjutsu and Qigong.
Each teacher has contributed something different.
Each system has offered another perspective.
And rather than treating those experiences as separate collections of techniques, Celina continues to explore the connections between them.
For her, learning is not about reaching a point where there is nothing left to discover.
It is about recognising just how much there still is to understand.
Paraanan ng Agos
The Way of Flow
After more than 26 years of exploring different martial arts, Celina has found herself on a journey that is perhaps best described as an ongoing discovery.
She calls her personal exploration Paraanan ng Agos, The Way of Flow.
It is not a new martial arts system, nor an attempt to replace the traditions she has spent so many years studying.
Rather, it is her way of exploring the relationships between the different influences, principles and experiences she has gathered throughout her martial arts life.
From the blade-oriented traditions of Kalis Ilustrisimo and Lameco to the sensitivity, transitions and movement found in other Filipino and internal martial arts, Celina continues to search for connections.
How do different principles complement one another?
How does one movement lead naturally into the next?
And how does a practitioner begin to find their own expression of everything they have learned?
Interestingly, Celina doesn't appear to consider this exploration particularly unusual. For her, it seems to be a natural continuation of learning. There is no suggestion that she has reached some final destination or discovered all the answers.
Quite the opposite.
She remains a student of the arts she loves, continuing to explore, question and discover.
Perhaps that is what makes her approach so interesting.
The Way of Flow isn't necessarily about finding the answer. It's about remaining curious enough to keep searching.
Quietly Extraordinary
A Different Kind of Martial Arts Journey
There are martial artists who enjoy the spotlight, and others who seem happiest simply getting on with what they love.
Celina belongs very much to the latter group.
Despite decades of training, extensive private instruction and connections to some remarkable figures in Filipino Martial Arts, she doesn't seem particularly interested in presenting herself as someone extraordinary.
In conversation, she is thoughtful, reserved and refreshingly modest about her experiences.
Ask her about her achievements, and she is far more likely to talk about the people who inspired her than to draw attention to herself.
Ask about her martial arts philosophy, and you'll discover someone who is still exploring exactly how to put that philosophy into words.
Perhaps that's because, for Celina, martial arts have never been about creating an impressive story.
They've simply become part of who she is.
Something that began with curiosity, grew into a lifelong passion and continues to evolve with every new discovery.
And behind that quiet personality is a remarkable collection of experiences, relationships and knowledge gathered over more than two decades.
Sometimes the most interesting people are the ones who don't realise just how interesting their stories are.
More Than Martial Arts
Creativity, Education and Community
Martial arts are only one part of Celina's life.
She is also an educator, artist and creative professional, and the founder and CEO of the Los Angeles creative agency Tagline Communications.
Her connection to Filipino culture extends beyond the training floor.
Over the years, she has shared Filipino Martial Arts through seminars, universities, community organisations and cultural institutions, including the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles and the Martial Arts History Museum.
These experiences reflect a wider appreciation for the traditions and people behind the arts she practises.
For Celina, martial arts are not simply movements to be preserved.
They are part of a living cultural heritage, passed from one generation to another through teaching, friendship and shared experience.
Highlights
More than 26 years of martial arts training
Long-term private student of Master Christopher "Topher" Ricketts
Continued Kalis Ilustrisimo training with Brandon Ricketts and Arnold Narzo
Direct family lineage in the Jack Santos Method through Manong Faustino Caigoy
Certified Full Instructor in Valencia Lameco (2013)
Long-term training in San Miguel Eskrima and Eskrima de Campo 1-2-3 under Magtutudlo Ramon Rubia
Extensive study across Filipino and internal martial arts
Creator of Paraanan ng Agos, The Way of Flow
Experience presenting FMA through educational and cultural institutions
First international teaching appearance at Kali in Bali 2027
What You'll Experience at Kali in Bali
Discover Your Own Flow
Training with Celina is an opportunity to explore Filipino Martial Arts through the eyes of someone who has spent decades learning from respected teachers while continuing to question and develop her own understanding.
Expect to explore movement.
Expect to discover connections between techniques and weapons.
Expect to look at familiar principles from unfamiliar angles.
And perhaps discover that something you've practised for years holds possibilities you haven't yet considered.
Whether you're a relatively new practitioner or an experienced instructor, Celina's approach offers an opportunity to rethink how different elements of your training connect.
You may arrive looking for new techniques.
But you might leave with something more valuable.
A little more curiosity.
A little more freedom in your movement.
And some new inspiration to continue discovering your own way forward.
A Personal Reflection
From Heikki
One of the great privileges of organising Kali in Bali is getting to know the people behind the martial arts.
Not just their ranks, achievements or the systems they practise, but the personalities and experiences that have shaped them. Through our friendship with Adrien Rodriguez and his connections within the Northern California Filipino Martial Arts community, we had the opportunity to meet Guro Celina Duffy.
And I must admit, getting to know Celina has been an interesting experience.
She's quite reserved, a little shy, and certainly doesn't seem like someone who goes looking for the spotlight.
During our conversations, I found myself asking questions about her martial arts journey that she sometimes seemed genuinely surprised to be asked.
It was almost as though nobody had ever asked her to stop and consider just how interesting her own story might be. Some questions required a little more thought. Others led us around in circles before we found our way back to the original question.
But as we continued talking, something became increasingly apparent.
Here was someone who had spent more than 26 years learning from some extraordinary people, yet seemed to regard those experiences as simply a natural part of her life.
What particularly stayed with me was the way she spoke about her uncle, Manong Faustino Caigoy.
After all these years, he still manages to surprise her with another insight, another interpretation or another layer of understanding in something she thought she already knew.
And she speaks about those discoveries with genuine admiration.
I find that rather wonderful.
In a martial arts world where titles, achievements and recognition can sometimes take centre stage, it's refreshing to meet someone who seems far more interested in what she can still learn than in what she has already accomplished.
I haven't yet had the opportunity to experience Celina's teaching firsthand, and that's something I'm personally looking forward to.
What I do know is that she brings a fascinating background, a lifetime of connections to respected Filipino Martial Arts traditions and a very genuine curiosity about the arts she loves.
And I'm delighted that she'll be sharing that journey with us at Kali in Bali 2027.
A Special First for Kali in Bali
A New Chapter in an Extraordinary Journey
Kali in Bali 2027 will mark a special occasion for Guro Celina Duffy.
For the first time in her martial arts career, she will be teaching outside the United States.
After decades spent learning, exploring and sharing Filipino Martial Arts within the American community, Celina will join practitioners from around the world for five days of training, friendship and discovery in Bali.
For someone who doesn't naturally seek the spotlight, stepping onto an international stage represents an interesting new chapter.
And we couldn't be happier that she's chosen Kali in Bali for that experience.
We look forward to introducing our participants to someone whose martial arts journey has been shaped by remarkable teachers, deep family connections and an enduring desire to learn.
Welcome to Kali in Bali, Celina. We're looking forward to discovering where the flow takes us.
Train With Celina at Kali in Bali
IGreat martial arts instructors don't simply teach us what they know.
They inspire us to discover what we might become.
Join Celina and our international instructor team for five unforgettable days of Filipino Martial Arts, friendship and discovery in beautiful Candidasa, Bali.
21–25 June 2027
Come with an open mind.
Explore new possibilities.
Find your flow.