In November 1963, 18 year-old Narciso “Narrie” Requina Babao reluctantly started his Arnis de Mano training under his father, the late Turing Babao. The style he learned was the Baston Batangas system, which his father learned from Master Ka Juan, a Katipunan rebel under General Miguel Malvar, during the FilipinoAmerican war. Turing Babao was suffering from hypertension, and his doctor advised him to workout daily, to alleviate the problem. Narrie had other interests then. Foremost was bodybuilding and weightlifting. He was selected as the 1964 Jr. Mr. Philippines, during a contest sponsored by PWABBA (Philippine Weightlifting and Bodybuilding Association). For two years, the father and son trained hard in Arnis. Twirling the rattan sticks was the only warm-up exercise. Their training consisted mainly of free-style sparring. Only after getting hit, would Narrie learn the lesson for the day. His father would then methodically explain why Narrie got hit in that particular area.  

Narrie described the training as the school of hard knocks, and he resented being on the receiving end. His father was precise in controlling his strikes to the head and body, but accidental hits to the knuckles were unavoidable.  With his knuckles busted many times over, Narrie finally found a good excuse for getting away from Arnis training. He enrolled in a karate school. His Shotokan karate instructor was Romeo Plantado, a former police officer who became a fugitive, and eventually a commander of the New People’s Army, the communist rebels in the Philippines. 

However, it was Master Jimmy Galez of Manila, who awarded Narrie his first black belt. The first thing Narrie did after his promotion in Manila, was to challenge his father in a weaponless sparring. Narrie realized his mistake too late. His father never revealed the fact that he also studied Jujitsu from a Japanese businessman, whom he befriended. In 1968, Narrie joined the United States Navy. 

His first students were some of the sailors and Marines on board the USS New Orleans (LPH-11), which spent three tours of duty in Vietnam. At one time, one of his Marine students came back to the ship in a body bag after a mission. Whenever his ship was in Subic Bay, Narrie would spend time at the school of the Philippine Kuntaw Association, which was owned by Grandmaster Carlito Lanada. In time, Narrie was awarded a fourth degree black belt in Kuntao. 

In July 1978, Narrie became the first Weapons Sparring champion, during a tournament sponsored by Ben Singleton in Vista, California. It was the first of its kind in American martial arts competition, where the fighters would select the weapon of their choice. 

Like the three sides of the triangle, the Babao Arnis system is composed of three main fighting systems; Villabrille-Largusa Kali, Cacoy Doce Pares, and the original Baston Batangas taught by Turing Babao. (Babao Arnis, 2005). From 1978 to the present time (2013), Grandmaster Narrie Babao has only promoted to the rank of Arnis instructors, 3 Masters and 18 Guros. 

Most of his students were already black belt instructors in other martial arts, when they applied for Arnis training. Many of his students are involved in law enforcement. (Babao Arnis, 2013). 

REST IN PEACE WITH THE LORD, NARRIE BABAO  GM Narrie Babao passed away on Friday, October 11, 2013, around 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon, at the ICU at Balboa Naval Hospital San Diego. He had a stroke followed by heart attack.