VOLUME 1
Stick Arts ISSUE 1
To thine own self be true
CONTENTS "To thine own self be true"
Vol. 1 - Stick Arts
14 Ron Saturno
Speed
34
52
72
Mark Mikita
Michael Blackgrave
Dexter Labonog
Cuentada: Learning to Prioritize in the Flow
The Long Pole: A Western Perspective
Bridges of Rattan, Bolos and Daggers
88
110
Mahipal Lunia
Burton Richardson
Hermit Training
Traditional Stick Fighting: Common Themes Oceans Apart
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130
150
Guido Caporizzi
Jeevan Gowda
Stick Fencing and Canne Italiana
An Interview with Sensei Sastri: Jo Jutsu Staff Techniques
162 Marc Denny
Dog Brothers Martial Arts’ Seven Ranges and Stick Grappling
180
208
226
Mark Human
Bryan Cannata
William McGrath
Applying stick fighting skills in the modern environment
Sticks and Chivalry
Tapada Staff
Contents | 3
From the Editors
LOOKING U
THE ROBES OF M WELCOME TO THE FIRST issue of the Immersion Review: a journal for the martial comprehensivists. You may wonder why anybody would put out a magazine now when everybody watches videos. And why publish another magazine on martial arts, when everybody knows if you want to know what the best martial art is, just try it out in the octagon and you will get your answer. ‘Hold on!’ others may say, martial arts are more than that; it can instill self-discipline, respect for others, and an honoring of tradition. These are all good points, I would respond, but the fights we know, people got jumped on by crowds, people fought with steel-toed boots, pieces of pipe, baseball bats,
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knives and an occasional revolver. Yes, martial arts can develop one’s character, but so could joining the Boy Scouts. Learning how to tie knots and identify clumps of poison ivy did not turn us into Junior Seal team-6 members, but it gave our parents a few hours free of us. The point is combative sports and raising good citizens has always played a minor role in martial art traditions of a community. The problem is now that these two minor aspects have taken center stage. As a result, people protected by their wealth and status ignore the fact that throughout the world, they rely on their ability to assault and dominate others to gain money or goods. Others successfully fight off assaults to
UP
MARS make it back home safe. Such is life at times. In a world where MMA gyms train competitive athletes, and martial art schools churn out healthy and respectful teenagers, there are still a few who hew to the old ways. They understand the training that is necessary to prepare someone for what is often one of the most frightening situations somebody can encounter; a real fight where you’re outnumbered, or weapons are involved. These types of fights might occur in several variable scenarios that should shape your response. The ways a soldier might clear a house full of enemy soldiers after his weapon jams are different, than
dealing with a group surrounding your wife and children in a mall parking lot. And this should differ from dealing with a drunk and angry friend. In all scenarios, though, one's responses should be quick, efficient, and effective, yet reasonable. However, the ability to dominate a situation is vital. If you can’t dominate a combative encounter, then all the other benefits of training are meaningless. And contrary to what many martial art teachers might say, most combative encounters are armed encounters. While jump spinning heel kicks and upside down reverse berimbolos to a heel hook have their place, an armed fight might not be the best place to try these moves out. From the Editors | 5
Being able to deal with a situation, get home, have a drink, relax, and get ready for work the next day is enough for many. However, for a few, their obsession to strip away all extraneous moves to perfect their combative skills becomes something of a quest. At some point in this journey, a simple set of trained responses to armed combat may become more than a couple of good moves; it transforms itself into art. It becomes a vehicle that can embody and reflect the maj6 | The Immersion Review
esty of a sunrise, the terror of a volcanic explosion, and the tragic beauty of a cheetah taking a down an impala through the effective, efficient and elegant use of combative principals to dominate a combative encounter. Over the centuries, many of those whose dedication to combative arts have risen to the level of an art form have codified their knowledges and passed them down. Many of these arts have died out along the way due
to catastrophic events, lack of interest, or students who just couldn’t ‘get it’. However, in this issue and those to come, the Immersion Foundation brings to you the ideas, the stories, the concepts, and the methods of those who have progressed much further on this journey then we have. Graciously they have come out of the shadows, back from the desert or come down from the mountains to encourage us, inspire us, and give us some advice to take a few more steps down this never-ending road to understand the truth of what lies at the root of all martial arts.
tack and riposte.
Opening this issue is the contribution from Ron Saturno. Blending an intense apprenticeship with Angel Cabales with recent scientific findings on physiology and neurology, Ron Saturno brings out the hidden knowledge buried in the most basic drills of serrada escrima in order to make their art more effective and efficient.
Solo training should be a key part of any martial artists training regime. Mahipal Lunia gives us a variety of solo training methods from various systems he has studied to cultivate specific skills we all need to take our skills to the next level.
Next in line, Mark Mikita’s article on cuentada advises us how to identify the logical progression of possibilities that arise when two weapons cross. From this event, he explains how this understanding can open your mind to the almost endless possibilities of countless applications of attack and counterat-
A common issue that arises among those who hew to the old ways to make it relevant to a new land and a new time. Michael Blackgrave tells us of his journey to showcase the advantages of any martial artist willing to adapt the six-and-a-half-point pole of WC to their training. In a wonderful and informative article recalling a disappearing Stockton, Dexter Labonog tells us how his teacher Leo Giron transformed his escrima to ensure its practicality and survival in the western world.
Burton Richardson takes us on a trek around the world to study the combative traditions of the Philippines and South Africa. Here he explores the commonalities and differences between two arts from these countries. In our opinion, Italy is a storehouse of combative traditions just waiting to be explored. Supporting this belief, Guido Caporizzi gives us a brief history of the
From the Editors | 7
martial arts of Southern Europe, specifically the role of stick fighting in Northern Italy and France. For years a group of dedicated men from this area have sought to preserve the hard-won knowledges of the old fighters yet find a way to ensure its popularity and continued existence in the 21rst century. In an interview with a man steeped in the Japanese battlefield arts of the samurai, Sensei Sastri answers some questions about his Ryu and the way energetics are used to charge and manipulate the jo. From the university of hard knocks on a thick skull known as the Dog Brothers gathering, Marc Denny breaks down and organizes what he sees as the seven ranges of combat. Here he urges us to take heed of all these ranges and have responses to each of them if you get in a fight or face the consequences of being unprepared. Forced to leave their lands and adapt to new ways, some rural Africans did better than others. Some turned to crime, and conversant with the stick and stabbing spear transposed their knowledge to modern weapons to make their way in the world. In this article, Mark Human describes how security officials in
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South Africa continue to adapt their training to deal with these people and their ways of fighting. Again, demonstrating how one expression of fundamental combative principles is often expressed in different ways, Bryan Cannata’s article gives the reader the history of another path to search and cultivate the truth of controlled fighting as a training tool. As the Dog Brothers took off on a journey based on the teachings from the old Filipino escrimadors to discover the truth of fighting, another group of North Americans looked backward to the pre-modern days of chivalric Europe to learn best how to hone one’s combative skills. Finally, one of the first generation of students of Leo Gaje of Pekiti Tirsia, William McGrath, teaches us a short spear form from the island of Cebu that he learned years ago. The roots of our ideas that led to this journal go back to the mid19th century during a time when European nations began expanding their reach around the globe. One problem that arose was that after hundreds of years of the supremacy of musketry, the sword and spear again came to the fore in European combat. The problem was no one remembered how to fight with these weap-
ons. The French turned to the Poles, who had a long experience fighting mounted warriors from Central Asia. England, on the other hand, turned to the Northwest of India, where insanely brave and disciplined warriors armed with swords, lances, and muskets wreaked havoc among English soldiers for many years. So, there was a practical need to learn how to fight with bladed weapons. Second, with the growing expansion of European exploration and colonization of
the world, the colonizers began to run across peoples who lived in varying forms of political and technological societies as if they were lost in time. This coincided with scientists' interest in evolution. And scientists turned to look at these people and rank these societies in an evolutionary ladder to show how the entire world will one day become modern and civilized like the West. Out of these two projects, Sir. R. F. Burton, who began his military service in India with
the 18th Bombay Native Infantry, blended the two interests. How do people arm themselves to fight? And what does the way people arm themselves and fight others tell us about the process of human evolution? He called this discipline Hoplology. Or the science of armed combat. The word derives from the big oval shield or hoplos that ancient Greek hoplite warriors once used to form a phalanx. Since then, the fortunes of this discipline have risen and fallen. Hoplology has taken many forms. But still, the fundamental question remains. How do people choose to arm themselves properly and fight? It is this question that drives 10 | The Immersion Review
The Immersion Foundation. Finally, some of you might wonder about the name. While the name might appear a little strange or cumbersome, however, it reflects a core concept regarding the way The Immersion Foundation approaches the study of combative arts. What we mean by the term Immersion is a complete deep dive into a modality or discipline to the point of being where the complete mind/ body/spirit is involved in the discipline. Moving to the term martial comprehensivists is a nod to Buckminster Fuller. Bucky coined the term comprehensivist to refer to someone who special-
izes in comprehending knowledge within the broadest possible framework. Bucky further added that a comprehensivist might periodically plunge very deeply into a narrow subject or specialized project; however, this is always a part of a much larger plan.” We follow that lead in our goal of becoming martial comprehensivists – developing as broad a framework of combat as possible while diving deep into our fascinations. But don’t let this take intellectualizing deter you from the wealth of wisdom gained through hard work that lies within these pages. Read, think, put down the magazine, and experiment with what the
Mahipal Lunia Executive Editor
authors are saying. Then pick up the magazine and read some more. Then write to tell us and what you found out. With help from the authors and the readers, we hope to bring out better, stronger, and more exciting material with every issue. Once we feel we have lost our mojo, our passion, we will shut the journal down. We are not going out like the Rolling Stones but more like the blues singer Robert Johnson or Little Walter. Struggling and playing with every ounce of passion we possess until the lights go out. Enjoy!
Michael J Ryan Editor-at-Large
From the Editors | 11
MEET THE TEAM CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Mahipal Lunia Executive Editor @theimmersionfoundation
@immersion.foundation
http://www.therenaissancepath.com http://www.theimmersion.foundation
Michael J. Ryan, Ph.D. Editor-at-Large @michael.j.ryan.54
@garrotero1
https://binghamton.academia.edu/MichaelJRyan
REVIEWERS 3 Anonymous Reviewers
CREATIVE Iryna Melnykov Art, Design and Production https://www.irynamelnykov.com
The Immersion Review, founded by The Immersion Foundation, is a conduit for penetrating insights in combat and combative behavior. It is a space for the dedicated martial artist, who dares to seek ideas from diverse fighting systems. The Immersion Review is a peer-reviewed journal for the martial arts comprehensivist. FOR EDITORIAL AND ADVERTISING INQUIRIES, PLEASE CONTACT:
thereview@theimmersion.foundation 12 | The Immersion Review
SPEED Ron Saturno
“Slow is smooth and smooth is fast,” I say. It’s my mantra. When I practice escrima, I mentally repeat it again and again. It’s hard, damn hard to seamlessly transition from movement to movement during a spar smoothly and efficiently. It’s a very rare breed that can.
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“SLOW IS SMOOTH and smooth is fast,” I say. It’s my mantra. When I practice escrima, I mentally repeat it again and again. It’s hard, damn hard to seamlessly transition from movement to movement during a spar smoothly and efficiently. It’s a very rare breed that can. My teacher, the late Angel Cabales, the progenitor of Serrada Escrima, could. I have a long way to go, and yet a few believe me to be fast. In my fashion, I am fast but not in the same manner as my late master. After repeated spars with the late serrada master, I eventually realized that no matter how fast I moved, he was waiting for me. He accomplished this by superb timing, zone defense, and setups for a world-class wicked backhand, balls of steel, and actual combat experience. I am saying that “in fact,” Angel Cabales only appeared
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to be fast. He reduced possible responses to his attacks to the point that he was waiting for you most of the time. He played a whole other level of escrima. I’ve heard it said that good escrimadors would hit you, and then you will have lost. Angel Cabales won, and then he would hit you. I still must hit people to win but hope for the day when I win long before hitting. My art Serrada Escrima bases itself upon algorithms. Some say algorithms are simple algebra. If only it could be so easy to explain away. Serrada Escrima bases itself upon a maddening simplicity. The sad fact is that simple isn’t always very easy to teach or perform. It can take decades to understand something so well that it becomes simple. Serrada Escrima appears upon the surface to be an exceedingly if not an overly simplistic art, but nothing could be further from the truth. I’ve had people take six months of lessons from me and quit because they believed that they fully understood the art. Some believed themselves to have become undefeatable warriors. A well-instructed Serrada
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Escrima practitioner can hold his own after just six months of training, but he’ll be far from an undefeatable warrior. Monsters are walking the face of the earth, swinging sticks, and could care less about you or your beloved system. If they knock you down, you and your beloved system aren’t much about shit in their eyes. To the casual reader, I suppose that more than a few conclude that I haven’t said anything of importance regarding “speed.” Not true. I am talking about doing a lot with just a little. It is about doing away with all the bullshit to the point that everything you do has a purpose. That everything you do is tied together to a point where you “appear” to be exceedingly fast. You won’t be fast at all; you will be the epitome of economy of motion, you will do what you need to do when you need to do it. To me, this is the definition of fast. And is the true meaning of “slow is smooth and smooth is fast.” I am now going to try and address the concept of speed. “I know it when I see it” is a now commonly used expression
...you will be the epitome of economy in motion, you will do what you need to do when you need to do it. To me, this is the definition of fast.
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coined by the United States Supreme Court Justice Potter Stuart to describe pornography, but people get screwed by speed just as they do in porn. We all know “speed” when we see it. So, seeing it is believing it, but “How can we achieve appreciable speed?” I hope to answer this question, but first, we must define speed. In martial arts, the guy that hits first is “faster.” Hitting “first” isn’t how we scientifically measure speed. When people describe “fast,” they use euphemisms like “quick,” and people can and do mix the proper terms which form the basis of speed. We are speaking about terms such as reflexes and reaction times. “Reaction time” is a term used to measure how quickly a man responds to a stimulus. Reflexes are automatic responses. I’ve heard men use the term reaction time and reflexes synonymously, and so at the beginning, I wanted to differentiate the two terms. In escrima, our prime directive is hitting without being hit. Occupying the same space as an incoming weapon is detrimental to your health. Anyone that can hit with being hit in re-
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turn is “fast.” But how does one hit without being hit? Reaching out and striking someone with impunity is almost a godlike quality. The eyes must recognize a threat, and you must make a sound split-second decision to avoid a weapon strike. The first good strike with a weapon is usually the beginning and the end of an altercation. My master didn’t focus upon incoming weapons; he focused upon his opponent’s chest. His many years of focused practice upon the chest area he earnestly believed was a key to speed. Chest movements are a precursor to limb movement, and reading movement before it begins in earnest can give one a real edge. Our core moves a helluva lot slower than our limbs. I also focus on the chest area. When I am forced to concentrate upon an incoming weapon, my chances of avoiding an incoming weapon go way down. The actual physiology of recognizing an incoming weapon is a mere fraction of a second. Anything that can give you an edge is significant. Looking at the chest and observing the whisper of movement even before the incoming movement can provide you with a small but a definite combat edge.
REPORTS FROM Neurologists suggest an incoming weapon first registers in the occipital lobe of the brain. The information then travels to the frontal lobe. Here in the frontal lobe is where decisions are made for deciding the best course of action. Once a decision is reached, the message is transmitted via the spine to the necessary limbs. An individual’s frontal lobe has a lot to do with your chances of survival. Consider the complex nature of combat; it is a miracle that some men’s minds can make the correct decision in the heat of combat. I went to Angel Cabales because he had the knack of making the correct decision in battle. If you seek to learn how to survive in a combat situation, learn from a man that has. When I earnestly began looking into the how’s and whys of speed, some of what I learned made things more complicated. It’s only 100 milliseconds between the time your eyes see something, and it registers. The average reaction time is between 200-250 milliseconds. A stick can travel 100 mph or roughly 44.7 meters/second. Using a 100-mph
ball as an example by the time a batter even recognizes the ball, it will have traveled 12.5 feet. In escrima, we are usually standing well within 12.5 feet of an opponent. It’s a miracle that you can avoid being hit by a man standing anywhere near you. In one study conducted at UC Berkeley, scientists used FMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) to pinpoint the prediction mechanism in the brain that allows us to track objects. Our brains can accurately track the paths of objects. The research showed that the V5 region of our visual cortex showed distinctive activity, suggesting that this was the home of motion-predictability and that the prediction mechanism may be more sophisticated in some than in others. I believe that the practice of Serrada’s Espada y Daga improves reaction times. To become better in Espada y Daga, you must practice and practice a lot. In Espada y Daga practice, you are hitting a lot, avoiding being hit a great deal, moving a lot; and this may improve your brain’s motion tracking mechanism, but this is me talking.
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Angel Cabales forced every one of his students to perform Serrada basics slowly - ever so slowly. Slowly going over the basics is a secret of speed.
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All of us have a basic makeup, genetic propensities. Many teachers try to make their students fit a mold rather than working with their strengths. Angel Cabales could teach students on an individual basis intuitively. He made you feel special. He didn’t ever say that you were a student that needed kinesthetic training, or was a visual learner, or a listener. He could reach you in a personal and proficient way. He was that good of a teacher. But the heart of his teaching was Serrada basics. He forced every one of his students to perform Serrada basics slowly – ever so slowly. Slowly going over the basics is a secret of speed. We have receptors around our joints that let us know the positions of our limbs, and by practicing slowly, you become intimate with the various positions your limbs go through when producing set movements. Your muscles go through complex procedures to achieve coordinated movements. You have muscles that fixate, retract, etc. When you move slowly, your movements are felt all through the process. Eventually, you increase speed, but everything you do has become second nature. When you perform repetitive motions over and over, your nerves can start developing what I call super-
highways. Myelin sheaths start forming over particular nerve pathways that allow movements to be performed almost without conscious volition. How can you develop more speed? Plenty of practice. Lots and lots of practice. A secret of speed? Work your ass off – that’s a secret! The magic martial arts system? Good luck finding it. I did not intend this to be a technical article in any way, but achieving real speed does have a technical aspect. I have written before how we have deep abdominal muscles that stabilize our core. These deep abdominal muscles tie our upper and lower parts of our bodies together. Research has shown that if the brain recognizes that our core is not stable, it will inhibit nerve transmissions to our limbs. Angel Cabales had a unique foot-stomping motion, which caused the deeper abdominal muscles to remain in a state of tension. With this motion, the core muscles are stimulated and stabilized in such a way as to and allows us to avoid inhibited nerve transmissions so we can function at an optimal level. Serrada secret? Yes. I’m now going to go a little deeper into my art of Serrada Escrima. My art starts everyone (traditionally) with a movement SPEED • Ron Saturno
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called Outside Number One. You step to the left, parry with your left hand, and then strike with a backward strike to your opponent’s weapon hand. The parry strike is a primary attack in many arts. In Karate, the parry soon follows with a strike to GB20 or B10, possible GV16; it’s a standard motion. The movement is called Double Knife Hands in some arts. Motion is motion, but some motions are more effective than others. The movement performed cor26 | The Immersion Review
rectly, keeps your motions from crossing your centerline. Any time your limbs cross your centerline, it causes your brain to switch. I have no idea how much time I am speaking about here, but our knowledge about this can make us at least think about this, and every little bit of time we can save adds up. It’s masters’ thinking. I do want to speak more about Outside Number One of Serrada Escrima and give away a secret that has always been right out in
the open. The best way to hide something is out in the open. We are wired to deliver forehands and backhands. Speaking of the origins of hand movements, I will refrain from a discussion of the part of the brain known as the “Fissures of Rolando.” However, our hand movements are essential, they have a lot to do with our being able to function, and when we put a weapon into our hands, we naturally strike with forehands and backhands. Angel Cabales built a lot of his
art around the backhand. Oh, he called it a cross block, but the cross block is the Yin before the Yang. Soft before the hard. We must keep in mind that Angel Cabales was a smallish man, and he had to find ways to deal with much larger and stronger opponents. The cross block allowed Angel Cabales to commit his opponent just before he let loose with a swift backhand strike with his weapon. I don’t care how fast you believed that you were; he was usually waiting for you. He
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could have effortlessly unloaded on me on many occasions. You didn’t see it at first because it was so subtle. The backhand was simple, an Outside Number One, the very first movement learned in Serrada Escrima. Outside Number One performed, again and again, is a secret of Serrada Escrima. Outside Number One is chained backhands and forehands. These are part of a set of automatic movements genetically wired into our makeup by nature itself and is a secret of our art – simplicity and basking our art upon our genetic makeup. Angel Cabales, I believe, understood this and is the reason why so many of us got individual attention. He helped us tune in our backhands and forehands to fit us individually. I get complaints. Many insiders in our art of Serrada Escrima believe that I no longer do Serrada as taught to me by the late great Angel Cabales. I know for a fact that our late master is on tape explaining that once you understand his art, you should make the art “yours.” If you ever 28 | The Immersion Review
tried to do our movements “entirely,” as taught in basics in an actual fight, you are likely to get your ass handed to you. Fundamentals are the letters of our art. Espada y Daga and sparring are the chapters, and ‘free-flowing’ are our bestselling books. Basics teach footwork, angulation, timing, and proper body mechanics. Espada y Daga and sparring develops our ability to move in real-time. In real life, we don’t throw away basics, we don’t or can’t do basics exactly in the regimented fashion in which we learned. Actual fighting occurs on beats, just like in music — full beats, half beats, quarter beats, etc. Two men wielding their sticks in combat is akin to two directors using their ‘sticks’ to direct a symphony. Just like in a real-life orchestra, if the director wields his stick improperly, all you get is a cacophony of movements and sounds. It takes many long years of earnest practice to get you to a point where you can wield your wand as an impresario.
The escrima greats can and could take in the totality of a combat environment and make the proper choices. Honestly, it takes a lot of hard work. At the end of the day, the good escrimadors can find the quickest paths to their destinations, which usually means connecting various points on an opponent’s body. Men achieve this by discovering the best paths to accomplish a destination with their weapons. As it relates to a practitioner, this means if your style or system inhibits your goals, you need to learn how to work around your predicament. There are no best ways to getting this done, but physics helps point you in the proper direction. There is no best style or system, just men who properly apply physics. A man who practices a so-called inferior system long enough will eventually look and act like the so-called ‘great’ system artist. The fact remains that long hours of hard work and toil forces men to find better ways to do things.
Serrada stylists. I am a Serrada man through and through. I have highly personalized my art to fit my needs. I can never be Angel Cabales. I can be the best that I can be properly using the principles of Serrada Escrima. Using the principles of Serrada sometimes makes me appear to be “fast.” I am not fast. I am an old, slow guy who has cut a few of many wasted movements out of my overall responses so that I only appear to be fast.
For this reason, in some ways, I don’t look like some other SPEED • Ron Saturno
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1
There have been a few training tricks that I discovered along the way, which have helped me out immensely. In my research, I found that ‘rebounding’ seriously, well, at least appreciably, helped my eye-hand coordination. You go out and buy those small circular trampolines. I hung a ball near me, and when bouncing up and down, I would make attempts to connect the hanging ball with my stick. One reason guys do so poorly in stick fighting competitions is that they are forced to throw hits off balance and still attempt to connect upon their moving opponent. The mini-trampoline does help with your eye-hand coordination. Don’t believe me? Don’t do it. A few scientific publications suggest the many advantages of bouncing. It may not help your speed, but your connect rate goes up, and he who hits first is best and, therefore, the fastest.
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2
Double-end striking bag! I don’t use it in typical boxer fashion. I do (used to anyway) go 45 minutes per day on the double end bag. Appropriately performed, I could get in hundreds if not thousands of punches in a day. If you want to get good at hitting, then hit a lot. My arms could effortlessly move, my cardio was off the charts. I kept the weight off and had real stamina. But there were other things that I did upon the bag. If I tried out a new punch combo on the double end bag and couldn’t do it, I knew I couldn’t do it on the streets. The ball is very unforgiving. But you can also use your knife techniques upon the ball. You used a knife-sized stick and cut the bottom of the cord under the ball as if it was an opponent’s neck area. You can elbow, chop, grasp, etc. Practicing in this fashion can help make you very, very quick with a knife and improve one’s hand speed. And yes, you can also use your stick, but your ball won’t last very long, but that’s the cost of greatness? Greatness costs money. How great do you want to be?
I covered a lot in this writeup. Speed is all about chipping away. At first, your efforts will pay off handsomely. As you move further along, you start getting smaller and smaller payoffs for more and more effort. There are “no free lunches” in martial arts. It’s hard work over time; this is the definition of Fu. If you are not willing to put in the hard work, your Gung Fu will be weak, Grasshopper! – Ron Saturno
Ron Saturno @ron.saturno
@ronsaturno
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Mark Mikita with Burton Richardson
I REMEMBER THINKING how cool it was going to be to have the skill to do what my teachers said I should be able to do, eventually; that being not only to disarm every incoming angle but also counter every disarm and counter-disarm attempted against me, all in a real fight with a tactically intelligent and actively resisting
opponent, as opposed to a choreographed drill with a cooperative and habitually acquiescent partner. The only problem was, while my teachers would go on and on about this mythical group of enlightened grand masters who could do such things with
Mark Mikita
CUENTADA
LEARNING TO PRIORITIZE
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A:
E IN THE FLOW
...if teachers do their job, their students will naturally evolve and advance their ‘system.’
remarkable ease themselves, when it came to what I was being taught, they never actually laid out any real steps for me to acquire those skills myself. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love a good yarn as much as the next guy and stories of extraordinary prowess, however embellished, can serve to inspire the next generation of eskrimadors while also passing on the history and culture of the art, as well as the unique personalities and contributions of those who went before. However, it seemed to me that we ought to be devoting at least some portion of our training to working on doing what they claimed the learning process would accomplish if we kept at it. But that was not the case, not ever. Oh sure, they would teach jazzy variations and sophisticated ‘progressions’ meant (we were told) to be so deeply ingrained through repetitive practice that – upon necessity – we would
somehow transcend the chasm between mechanical training and what the legendary combat general George S. Patton called the orgy of disorder that is battle and have full and unfettered access to everything we were ever taught. It’s the same paradox that advocates of traditional kata espouse when anyone questions the set-pattern approach to training, except that, in the Filipino martial arts, our set patterns also include set answers to a seemingly well-thought-out list of what-ifs one need only memorize and work like a faith-based, twelvestep program to be ready for whatever may come. And right about now, I’m probably starting to irritate the followers who staunchly believe their ‘system,’ with its ‘battle-proven’ patterns, is the real deal. How many of us have heard the droning of devotees claiming that theirs is the ‘original’ system? If whatever the so-called ‘original’ system included in its arsenal CUENTADA • Mark Mikita
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of dirty tricks was unequivocally and forever the only true art by virtue of it being the ‘original,’ why isn’t the United States Air Force still flying Orville and Wilbur Wright’s canvas and spruce contraptions? In my opinion, and I am an admitted iconoclast, if teachers did their job, their students would naturally evolve and advance their ‘system.’ It’s certainly not a negative to move on from the original seed if one has the creativity to do so. However, as doing so does require a certain degree of irreverence, it can definitely undermine the presumed authority
who have always been the originators, the ones who scoffed at rules, restrictions and rank to forge their own path. Moreover, I believe we should take from their example not only the ideas and innovations they came up with but also, more importantly, their willingness to break from the security of the crowd to venture out on their own. On a side note, as an artist, I have always found it odd that martial artists are so inclined to follow a certain teacher or system with such unquestioning devotion. In the art world, no one but an idiot would ever say that they paint in the Leonardo Da Vinci style. Only Da Vinci did that and to be
Often defined simply as ‘accounting’ or ‘to do by calculation,’ Cuentada is all about learning to prioritize in the flow.
that insecure grand masters of the ‘original’ system tend to hold like guillotine blades over the necks of their followers when they demand blind allegiance, so it’s not a big surprise to me that such excursions are rarely encouraged. If you haven’t noticed, I’ve sprinkled in a few allusions to the borderline-religious mindset that pervades the Filipino martial arts because I feel very strongly that it is the atheists and heretics, if you will, 38 | The Immersion Review
a devotee of his ‘system’ of personal expression is a ludicrous idea. Anyway, I digress… Returning to the point, to the dismay of anyone who has ever pressure-tested their systematized approach in the crucible of even light, padded-weapon sparring, the results more than likely did not inspire confidence in your training method. To zero in on just one element of the art, if you have ever put on
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a fencing mask and exchanged even just moderately hard blows with a game partner using hard sticks, you have undoubtedly found it nigh on to impossible to pull off any semblance of checking in the manner you were taught. Rather than engaging your critical thinking and digging into and questioning the manner in which checking was taught to you, though, if you’re like most practitioners – the followers – you probably leapt to
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the conclusion that checking was a useless remnant of the past and then discarded it. I can’t be the only one who finds it ironic that that flies so directly in the face of the otherwise unquestioning devotion to systems and lineages. What I think the response reveals, though, is the inclination of individual practitioners to make sweeping changes to their personal expression of the art when their experiences
Cuentada is the apex.
and research uncover weaknesses or deficiencies in what they were taught. That’s why they call martial arts training ‘the solitary path.’ Functional checking, counter-checking and counter-counter-checking; disarming, counter-disarming and counter-counter-disarming; masterful weapon control and manipulation; weapon seizure and preemptive counters to weapon seizure; control of distance and position such that the opponent’s options are minimized or entirely eliminated while your options are expanded and fully under your control… these are all elements of the art that you should be training from the earliest beginnings. Furthermore, you should be doing so in
a way that teaches you to get to checkmate quickly rather than simply exchanging techniques in a cooperative exercise without developing the mindset to achieve victory. On its face, the concept of cuentada would seem to offer a way to do just that. Often defined simply as ‘accounting’ or ‘to do by calculation,’ cuentada is all about learning to prioritize in the flow. To illustrate, imagine that I have either directly seized or somehow entangled your weapon. Obviously, you need to regain control of it as soon as possible. However, if I am in position to immediately strike you with my weapon, that threat has to be your priority. Even if your system has a really cool technique for breaking the opponent’s grip CUENTADA • Mark Mikita
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on your weapon, you can’t just absorb a few full-power cracks in the skull while you pull off your cool technique. So, turning your attention to my weapon, how do you nullify it while also getting your weapon back under your control, all while I am actively and very skillfully maintaining my position of advantage? Mind you, I’m not talking about anything that is choreographed in any way. I’m describing a very real dilemma, one that finds expression in innumerable ways in the flow of a combative exchange. By ‘combative,’ I mean the goal of both combatants is to effectively breach the other’s defenses and land a telling blow, followed by a withering barrage of confirmation blows.
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While cuentada is alluded to in every system of Filipino martial arts I have trained in, Balintawak eskrima often includes the word in the various names practitioners come up with to distinguish their particular approach from that of another’s. As a perfect example of what I was saying about individual practitioners making sweeping changes in their personal expression of the art, I’ve trained with a number of Balintawak grand masters and, to the uneducated eye, it might seem that they are all teaching entirely different arts. Crispulo Atillo, for example, teaches a brand of checking and counter-checking that is very preemptive. He’s a very little guy (I’m thirteen inches taller than
he is) and he undoubtedly figured out, early on, that if a much bigger opponent gets hold of his stick, he’s screwed. So, good luck trying. On the other hand, when I worked out with Bobby Taboada years ago, he was an ox by comparison. Grab hold of his stick and he would not only rip it out of your hand but he might also rip your hand off, just because he could. What we’re talking about, though, is cuentada. Both Atillo and Taboada teach it, or at least allude to it in their teaching, and can do it themselves exceptionally well. If you aspire to acquire such skill, though, you will need to look beyond the ‘procedure of teaching,’ as Atillo calls it. You must distill the essence of
cuentada for yourself and, with all due respect to your teachers, tailor it to suit you, just as they did. But don’t presume for a second that their vaunted procedure of teaching will impart that knowledge to you directly without you engaging your critical thinking and doing the work it takes to slough off the imprisoning chains of their intentionally repetitive and mechanical procedure that’s only meant to give you a taste of what it’s is all about. Simply put, if one person is feeding attacks and the other is answering those attacks in a prescribed manner, that is a choreographed exercise. That is not cuentada.
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Cuentada is the apex. Sparring is certainly important and essential, but the very first things you would actually want to do in a real fight are not what anyone wants to be hit with in a friendly sparring session. Cuentada puts those things first on the list of priorities in attacking. To practice cuentada, you have to consciously abandon any semblance of a cooperative exercise. However, that is certainly not to say that you should throw all caution to the wind and just fight. You won’t survive the practice long if you take that approach.
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The beauty of cuentada training is that you can choose the degree of intensity at which you want to practice. Right about now, I imagine you’re getting frustrated. I’ve talked about how a great many teachers who are, themselves, highly skilled at cuentada, often only allude to it in their teaching. I’ve also said that cuentada is meant to be very personally yours. Unfortunately, it’s only natural to look at something a teacher is trying to illuminate
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for you through the lens of your previous experience in the art and therein lies the main problem with ‘teaching’ cuentada. It is not a technique. It’s about being fully awake and in the moment. Attempting to access and make use of memorized skills will almost certainly fail in the context of cuentada because your opponent will be changing the circumstances constantly, and you’ll be doing the same in return. In a sense, you’ll both be playing keep-away. Neither of you will do anything that will
provide any opportunity or advantage to the opponent unless you’re baiting him so you can then counter him and finish it. As opposed to basically every other drill in the art, in the practice of cuentada, the singular objective is to win. The one who wins does so by being better at it, period. Hence, it is a pure test of skill. Going back to what my teachers said I should be able to do, about fifteen years ago, I resolved to figure out, for myself, how to do just that, as it was clear that no one was actually teaching that. Dismantling and restructuring my daily practice, I flipped the script. With freedom as the goal, I knew that I had to have freedom at the beginning. Hence, I began exploring applying the ideals of cuentada without using a mechanical exercise as a portal. I also made it a point to start there with new students, rather than only alluding to it as a high level goal. No teaching basics. No wasting time with teaching Filipino terminologies (the innumerable dialects and the rivalries that crop up because of them make that an exercise in futility). It’s quite simple, really. Hit but don’t get hit. Take line and immediately seize control of the opponent’s weapon but don’t let him touch your hand or
your weapon unless it’s to your advantage to do so (which, surprisingly, it often can be, particularly if the opponent doesn’t know what he’s doing). In my experience, very few possess such a level of skill. Having been told, again and again, that I should be able to disarm every angle; that seemed like a suitable place to start. What I soon discovered, though, was that the way I was taught to look at disarming was, in and of itself, fatally flawed. Isolating disarms in a defensive framework made them easy to learn but impossible to actually pull off against a full-speed, full-power attack. Turning the situation around by aggressively putting the opponent on the defensive made disarming him significantly easier and more practicable. ALWAYS BE ATTACKING is a hallmark of cuentada. Immediately, the opponent is essentially cornered and likely to response by somehow binding or otherwise entangling your weapon as you endeavor to disarm him. That’s why they call it fighting. You need to effectively solve whatever problem he creates on the fly before he can take the initiative and attack, putting you on the defensive. I can well imagine a great number of you are nodding your CUENTADA • Mark Mikita | 47
heads right now, feeling absolutely certain that you fully understand what I’m saying. You are sure your system teaches a progression of counter-offensive techniques that ingeniously solve the problems you’re likely to encounter in a situation such as that. The problem with that belief, though, is that you won’t have access to those techniques when my stick is coming at your face at seventy miles an hour. In fact, even if I slow it down to just ten miles per hour, you still have no hope of coming up with anything from memory.
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After all, that approach is equivalent to coming to a conversation with pre-rehearsed sentences. You may be able to impress people with your eloquence as an orator or speechmaker, putting on impressive demonstrations of advanced technique. However, as an eskrimador, your goal is to be a great conversationalist, able to open your mind and give your full and complete attention to whomever you’re speaking with and express your thoughts and feelings in a way that leaves them unable to argue with you. When done well, cuentada can be compared to trying to get your
ball back from your big brother. By virtue of his greater life experience and his dedication to torturing you, his keep-away skills are insurmountable. As silly as that analogy may seem, I often use the idea of simply playing keep-away to get students to stop trying to learn by memorizing techniques. You all know how to play the game. To do it well, you have to be very present. You have to watch your proverbial little brother like a predator stalks its prey. Watch his efforts. See how
he tries to solve the problems you create. Then, adapt to him and, as you continue to torture him, expect the desperate lunge and be ready to counter it. I know it’s reprehensible and politically incorrect to use such an analogy to illustrate my point but, before you get your hackles up, know that I was the little brother and my beloved big brother John was a veritable genius at that infuriating game. In that fury, the seed of my personal expression of cuentada was sown.
Mark Mikita @mark.mikita
@markmikita
https://www.fightology.com CUENTADA • Mark Mikita | 49
THE LONG POLE A WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Michael Blackgrave
“Simplicity is the ultimate form of sophistication” - Leonardo Da Vinci
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Preface THE ARTICLE YOU are about to read will be on my understanding of the “luk dim boon quan” or “6 1/2-point pole”, “dragon pole,” “long pole” and how I use it. I approach this article as who I am, a westerner. I am not a master of the pole, just a humble practitioner who sees deep value in the long pole work of Wing Chun. I will present my approach to the pole, and more so, how I use it for my daily training and in daily life. The History There have been countless articles on the Wing Chun long pole, along with numerous premises as to where it originated. Many people believe the pole was used as a boat pusher by various individuals in the time of the ‘Red Boat Days.’ This premise holds in many ways. In those bygone days, river transportation was frequent; there had to be a simple way to propel the craft, and seeing how the boats would often use much shallower canals it was practical to use a long pole to propel a vessel. The pole is also believed by many to have doubled as a spear. The spear is an ancient weapon that comes in various lengths and adorned with multiple types of points, some steel, others carved
down, and fire-hardened wooden points. In ancient times, the possession of steel weapons by the common man were forbidden by the Qing dynasty. The Qing Dynasty, who persecuted the commoner of the time made it quite clear that the possession of a weapon was an offense punishable by death. The long pole was an everyday tool used by farmers, fishermen, and boatmen. A simple tool, it could also be utilized as a weapon quite easily. It would not take a considerable amount of skill to wield it in such a fashion, and it was simple enough to blend into daily life. So, which view is correct? In my opinion, they all hold merit as they all make practical sense. The pole as a weapon has been used in many formal systems, and informally by people who just picked it up and smashed someone in defense of oneself or one’s clan. While the history of the long pole and its inception into Wing Chun has always been a mystery, there is no doubt that this tool is both lethal, and in this writer’s opinion, the backbone of Wing Chun.
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Poles The long pole is a very versatile tool with different yet equally important components to its usage. Taking into consideration these varied usages determines the type of pole one will use. I use three different poles, the first being a very heavy eight-and-ahalf-foot pole that I use for conditioning. I also use a nine-foot tapered hickory pole to work the long pole form and build flow. For sparring, I find a seven-foot wax wood pole suitable as it is lighter, dense and can take a smashing. I also use a cut-down six-foot long hickory pole. The long pole traditionally was measured at nine feet; however, through the years and individual choice, the pole lengths now vary between seven and nine feet.
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Another reason for shortening the poles is postal shipping. It is much easier to ship a seven or eight-foot pole as opposed to a nine-foot pole, and in today's world where Wing Chun is a highly sought discipline wholesale houses rapidly send poles worldwide. The long pole also comes made from various species, each with their strengths and weaknesses. Everything from oak, wax wood, to exotic hardwoods like hopea, iron bark, iron wood, and the highly sought “quan din” wood is used. The work to be done depends on the wood. Most pole builders will use a Janka rating for the wood, which determines if it is suitable for heavy smash training [using the tip of the
weapon to hit floored objects, i.e., coins, bottle caps, etc.]. If the janka rating is too low, you will run the high probability of shattering your pole, especially if it has a taper towards the tip. The quan din wood is perfect for smash training as is hard hickory, especially if you forgo a heavy tapered tip. Woods that are not good for smash training are African sapele wood, cherry, birch, and some wax woods depending upon the taper. The best advice I could give a perspective buyer of a long pole is, ask for a janka rating of the pole that interests you. If it is a custom order, discuss the taper and its advantages, and disadvantages. With every long pole comes user responsibility. One must keep the pole straight and oiled. Being such a long item, and a porous wooden object, it runs the risk of warping if not stored properly. If you lean the long pole against a wall at an angle consistently, the pole will slightly bow. If the pole is left in moist areas while leaning, the bow will quickly become significant. The proper way to store your pole is on the floor or a shelf that has the same length or greater than the pole itself. In this way, you assure that no weight of the pole is unsupported, thus containing any potential bowing issues. The long pole
must also be oiled to keep its suppleness to avoid any dry rot that may occur. Dry rot of wood usually occurs on items that are unkept and stored improperly, moisture being one of the worst culprits. Another consideration on your long pole is the taper; some people like a finer taper while others prefer none. I fall in between the two. With my personal conditioning/smash pole, I use no taper whatsoever. With my form pole, I use a slight taper. The key is finding a pole that encompasses both aspects of the two types mentioned above, tapered or not, and finding a pole of suitable material for your needs. If your pole is far too heavy, you will forgo any pole training as it will be extremely cumbersome and painful to use. If your pole is too light, there will be little challenge, leading to its limited usage. Smash training will become a moot point as you will consistently break your pole and lighten your wallet. A cheaply made pole is still expensive. My advice to all long pole buyers, do your homework, research online, and buy from reputable companies. CAVEAT EMPTOR! (Buyer Beware!)
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Long Pole Conditioning With good reason, The Wing Chun long pole is the first weapon taught in the Wing Chun curriculum. The pole, as I view it, is a central point of Wing Chun; it is a weapon but also the catalyst for Wing Chun power and precision. To understand the pole is to understand Wing Chun and the necessary simplicity of the system that makes it a highly effective combat discipline. Before one undertakes the long pole form, we must first address a series of precursor conditioning sets. These exercises will not only build the proper strength in one’s appendages, but also develop the necessary back, core, and leg strength needed to drive the pole with speed, power, and accuracy. While these physical manifestations begin to take hold through dedicated effort, the pole exercises will start developing the necessary focus one must commit to for overall development in not only the long pole work but also within the entire Wing Chun curriculum. In any strength conditioning routine that one undertakes, common sense must prevail. You do not want to choose an exceedingly heavy pole, neither
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an extremely light pole. To do either will cheat the practitioner of the advantages that a properly weighted pole will bring. As stated earlier, if the long pole is too heavy, the practitioner will struggle with the core strength building exercises and quickly lose interest in proceeding further. If the pole is too light, the challenge will become a moot point leading to a potential placebo effect for the practitioner, i.e., what he perceives as gains are genuinely not. My suggestion to people is to purchase a pole, no longer than nine feet in length, with a minimal taper that weighs no more than four pounds. While the weight may seem light, I assure you it is anything but when utilized with the precursor exercises. Due to the length of the weapon and the toll it places upon the body trying to wield it with precision, the pole may feel much more cumbersome to the practitioner. As one gains in strength, it is natural to switch to progressively heavier poles. I started with a four-pound pole and slowly graduated to an eight-pound pole, which creates an excellent strength building body that facilitates Wing Chun
across the board. Any strength work we do must be to the betterment of our Wing Chun. Ask yourself, “Are you a Wing Chun practitioner, or a weightlifter?”
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Leg Exercises
1
Wing Chun, like any martial art, is built from the ground up. Knowing this, the first exercise to master is the leg builder. The practitioner assumes the Wing Chun stance (keep your toes forward) and grabs the pole with the over/under grip [rear hand palm down, front hand palm up] pulling the pole close to the top of the chest. The practitioner will then do squats while maintaining control of the pole tip, so it does not dip and sway. Start with shallow squats and build up to deep squats. Once you have increased your strength, you can up the dynamic by pressing the pole straight out while maintaining control of the tip while doing the same exercise. You will then see how the legs and back work together when engaged.
Back Exercises
2
The back is an essential part of the human body as it pertains to Wing Chun; it is the source that allows for the generation of “close-power.” Sadly, it is rarely coveted or trained as such. The exercise needed for back development comes with the forward pole press. The practitioner will now assume the Wing Chun stance and once again grab the pole and bring it to the high port position. Once stable, the practitioner will slowly press the pole out to a locked armed position for a four-second hold. Once the hold is complete, the practitioner slowly lowers the pole with straight arms to his upper thigh area, from there, while straight-armed the practitioner raises the pole back to the shoulder level and then curls it back to the start position at the shoulder level. This exercise, like all others, is to be done slowly, for no less than ten repetitions per set. Notice how the biceps are now engaged as well as the front deltoids.
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3 Pole Punches The long pole is versatile in its weapon form. It not only smashes, but it also pierces, and as a piercing weapon, the thrust is crucial. To develop thrusting power, one must now engage the care of the body along with the back and deltoids. The practitioner will assume the Wing Chun long pole guarding stance with the butt of the weapon and hand appropriately placed by the practitioner’s hip, and the forehand set accordingly. The tip of the weapon should be higher than the rest of the weapon, and the weight of the stance will be rear foot heavy. The lead foot is kept very light and movable.
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To produce the long pole punch, the practitioner simultaneously steps out with the lead foot while propelling with a rearfoot push thrusting the pole forward, pushing his lead hand forward, which will then open the hips and engage the back. The rear hand placement will be at chin level; the thrust must be straight ahead to a target you choose. Once the thrust is complete, the practitioner then snaps back to the starting position for another repetition. The pole punch exercise will build your Wing Chun power quickly; it is the key to long bridge hitting in the empty hands.
These are but three exercises I utilize in my training. All three exercises contribute to building the supple strength required for a Wing Chun body. The pole is a fabulous developer of strength and overall fitness, but in truth, it is so much more. I am a firm believer that the long pole makes everything better. The empty hands have a direct correlation; the knives have a direct correlation; the chin-na aspects are all developed via the pole. All it takes is work and an open mind to see it. Wing Chun is conceptual; the pole is a fantastic tool to build and guide conceptuality in those who dare to take their Wing Chun into the deep end.
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Pole is Knife In most martial arts, there is a weapon component. In Wing Chun, the two weapons are the “luk dim boon quan” or “long pole,” and the “baat jam do” or “knives.” Both the pole and the knives transpose into the empty hand components of Wing Chun. The Wing Chun long pole, in my opinion, transposes directly into the knife usage. If you look at the various work in the long pole, you will find similar postures and hand placement with the knives. The same mechanics in
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the pole thrust are the exact mechanics of the knife thrust, especially in the long bridge position, as well as the downward striking where the guarding stance once again comes into play for both pole and knives alike. With the long pole, there are manipulations such as “bong quan,” “hun quan,” and “jum quan.” These applications are highly usable in the knife work. The empty hand component also benefits significantly from these manipulations. The same mechanics apply across the system lines; dif-
ferences distance, timing, even the length of the weapon, or lack thereof. Wing Chun is conceptual; one must access the weapons and all elements of Wing Chun with that approach. To not is to cheat yourself of what could be, and to stunt your development in the art truly. Transposition is the key; if our conceptual methods are transposable throughout the system, there is no compartmentalization; with no compartmentalization, everything we do under duress will come out nat-
urally, no matter if it is weapon related or empty hand. Compartmentalizing causes overthinking, overthinking leads to tension, tension is slow, and in a violent situation where your life or the life of a loved one is in danger, slow can get you killed.
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Long Pole Combat The long pole in its combat usage date back to antiquity, back to a time where a man was able to figure out that a big clubbing object was a good way to defend themselves or a means to wage war. Things did not change in 2018. A long pole is still a long pole, and in the right hands can be an extremely effective weapon against various forms of weaponry and attack. In the long ago, long poles were used to dismount mounted soldiers from their steeds and used as pikes against attacking cavalry. These usages once again transcend any individual culture as a long pole is a long pole no matter where in the world it is wielded. As previously mentioned, the long pole was, at times, fitted with spearheads and other times had fire-hardened tips to use as skewering weapons against infantry and mounted cavalry. It was a fantastic weapon due to its length to keep swordsmen at bay. After the melees, the poles were often transformed into stretchers to carry off dead and wounded — a versatile tool to be sure. 64 | The Immersion Review
In non-military usage, the long pole was an excellent choice of tool for the traveler. It not only could ferry a boat along, but it could also be used to carry goods, etc., and under dire times, the long pole sufficed as a go-to weapon against marauders, thieves, and thugs. When you view a Wing Chun long pole form (there are many variances), you will see direct and straightforward counters and attacks that make the pole an excellent choice. The thrusts are simple and designed to cause deep concussive force into vital regions allowing for simple smashing finishes. The smashing finishes target any portion of the adversaries’ body made available. The one that I prefer and the one I find easiest to get is the toe smash. Once that foot is smashed, it opens the adversary to thrusts and subsequent smashes. In truth, the foot smash will often time end it. The adage holds if you can’t stand, you can’t fight! The long pole is a weapon that should be sparred in training,
under supervision, and with extreme control and caution while donning protective gear. What appears to be a cumbersome weapon can quickly turn into a fast nightmare if disrespected. Long-range sparring under control allows the practitioners to feel and find their way through various attacks that may press them. Thus, they can find the
counters through their footwork and mechanics. Once a practitioner gets to the point of live sparring with the long pole, he or she will understand the significance of the precursor mentioned above strength exercises. To grab a long pole and think you are going to wield it successfully is foolish.
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Crossover Effect The long pole, while useful, is also a hindrance in today’s world. You do not see people walking around with an eight-foot pole. If one has an open mind, then one can easily pick up and transpose one’s skill with the long pole into a much shorter object, not deem able a weapon at first sight. A walking stick or walking cane are just two possibilities; both are viewed as everyday objects, dependent upon the context. A walking stick is not to be
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scoffed at when you see people out and about walking or hiking in parks or the woods. The same goes for a walking cane; nobody scoffs at a person walking with a cane; they are in truth, a legal weapon. The long pole motions and tactics are easily transposable to both walking cane and walking stick. In many ways, the long pole tactics are supercharged when placed into a much shorter, denser, faster object. A smash
is still a smash, and thrust is still a thrust; the only difference will be in the distance and timing due to the length of the weapon. The footwork and body mechanics to drive the weapon will remain the same.
to avoid at all costs, primarily when that knowledge works in a shorter weapon delivery system such as a walking stick or cane.
With proper long pole training (strength development, form building, and sparring), the pole becomes a hard weapon to beat. Once ingrained in the practitioner, he or she then becomes a very serious adversary, and one
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Like most traditional martial systems, Wing Chun is highly misunderstood by many. In my honest opinion, it is over-thought by its practitioners. It is a straightforward system that, in my opinion, was designed to get good people skilled in all facets of combat, quickly! Perhaps if people started opening their eyes to what’s real instead of trying to find what’s right, then Wing Chun will receive its due respect. In the capable hands of people more interested in results than fiction, Wing Chun will flourish. – Michael Blackgrave
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Michael Blackgrave @michael.blackgrave THE LONG POLE • Michael Blackgrave | 69
BRIDGES OF RATTAN, BOLOS AND DAGGERS Dexter Labonog
STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA, known for its productive agriculture and immigrant population before the turn of the millennium, thrives today as a city trying to survive post-bankruptcy, the homeless population, and the cycle of impoverished families that continue from generation to generation. The notoriety of the nation’s city with the most homicides in a single year, the city with the nation’s most foreclosed homes and still there are signs of optimistic hopes for the city, a new hockey arena and now a basketball team, a new baseball park in downtown, food festivals, community events, and the efforts of local groups trying to preserve the little positive history Stockton is proud to hang on to.
The Port of Stockton, once the most inland deepwater port in California, was a major hub point for many Filipinos in the 1900s through the early 1970s and a significant employer for longshoreman workers, the surrounding military bases were also a significant source of employment, but agriculture is where many of the first Filipino laborers found work. As the surrounding communities and families became established, pockets of economic differences became apparent, and Southside Stockton (West) and south of Charter way a sizeable Filipino community had developed. Filipino lodges and organizations thrived on helping each other in times of uncertainty or hardship and as a resource for guidance to new families arriving or individuals looking for work. Fast-forwarding to 1978 out of high school and attending Delta Community College, I discovered my own Filipino culture has a form of martial arts called Escrima. Because of the boom of popularity that Bruce Lee brought to the movie screen at that time, martial arts was a trendy thing to do. But what is this Escrima? Meaning to skirmish or fight, it
is the name given by the Spaniards that occupied the Islands nearly four hundred years. My sister asked if I was interested in learning Escrima because her friend Thomas Bernardo needed a training partner in the “Leo Giron School of Filipino Arnis” Escrima located on San Joaquin Street, Stockton. I was told to go to the school to talk to the teacher (Leo Giron). The address was close by on San Joaquin street. So I went over, walked up the stairs and knocked on the door, and while waiting for someone to answer I looked aroun. It was hard to tell where classes were held. I later found out the lower portion of the house, though above ground, was considered a basement where classes were taught during the winter, and then in the backyard in the summer. After the interview to see if I would be accepted, I was told to return for class on a Monday. I became curious about this Escrima, some of what Leo said to me about the war (WWII) sounded like what my father went through in the U.S. Army, piquing my interest even more.
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Day 1 School of Giron Arnis Escrima October 1978 The class was inside the basement, I was early, and Leo gave me a clipboard, with several sheets of paper attached that was his teaching or learning sequence he developed. He used a rubber stamp to log your attendance and progress on the sheet. He had for purchase birchwood dowels twenty-four inches long that was your training tool sort of like a pencil you would bring to school, and without a pencil, you couldn’t learn the lesson of the day, but this dowel was always meant to represent a bladed “bolo” or “sword.” To know how to defend is to learn how to attack, and the twelve angles of attack are introduced as fundamentals of Escrima in the Leo Giron School of Arnis Escrima. I would later discover this to be a common practice in many schools of Escrima. From here, I began my study of a coded language between escrimadors, something us American born Filipinos can now relate to our heritage and each other. Because most of us were not taught even our native language - it was our parents’ desire that their children become as American as possible to achieve a successful future in America.
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My 200 Hours Leo required a minimum of 200 hours of physical training to be considered to graduate from his school. My classmates in that time Thomas Bernardo, Ray Munoz, my brother Mike, and Dave Arnaiz were the consistent students. There were a few other students that started later during those hours and were able to help accelerate the learning process because when you trained with a student at a lower level of skill, you would be helping the student learn what you learned previously. The training was intense because of the uniqueness of this martial art, and there wasn’t any reference to be found in books or magazines until Dan Inosanto and Rene Latosa published their books. The repetitious movements started to make sense; the angles of attack could be instinctively detected as the art helps one to develop the ability to determine the next possible direction of attack. Leo’s core curriculum
to graduate consisted of LargoMano, DeFondo, In-Fighting (lock and block), block counter sparring (Sumbrada), Sinawalli, Sonkete, and Abanico. There were also many other methods he kept listed on the wall that he let us know were there for us to learn should you decide to continue to train after graduating. The year 1979 was Leo’s first public group demonstration with a large group of martial arts at the Barrio Fiesta Stockton, CA. Thinking back, this was a historic and exciting time to be in Escrima martial arts. In the winter of 1979, the elders of Escrima in America came together to make sense of the organization to unite all the styles beginning to expose themselves to the western world. In 1980 the West Coast Escrima Society (WES) was born.
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Graduating 1980 Together with my brother Mike, Thomas, Dave, and myself were tested in February 1980 by Dentoy Revillar, who today is the founder of the SLD system (Serrada, LargoMano, Decuerdas). Leo always often mentioned that DeFondo was introduced to give the student more exposure to the short weapon 24 inches and less. From his experience in war he suggested the best style for combat is the style of LargoMano because of the concept of no blocking and direct cutting or hitting which means a simultaneous defense and counter in 76 | The Immersion Review
one movement. Leo also insisted that your bolo should always be sharp especially in combat and don’t forget to bring a spare. At this stage, it felt like only discovering the tip of the iceberg, as Dan Inosanto mentions in his first book. I decided to enlist into the U.S. Air Force, and fortunately, stationed to a nearby base called McClellan AFB, and in October, I was back in California and commuting to Stockton to continue training and learning the list of methods and styles Leo kept on the wall. During the
next two years, it was intense advance training with anyone who showed up to class no matter what level of skill. A collaboration to understand the styles and concepts that Leo considered essential to know or at least be aware of. Like “bolonte” the up and down striking, “asad,” the short-pointed weapon on both ends used to hook and thrust, “de salon” fast-shifting footwork, “redondo” the repeating circular striking, approx. Twenty techniques total were on the list. He often reflected on his emphasis of how to respond to what one faces in a combat situation, this started to make a lot of sense because of his military background and now my military focus emphasizing the same criteria in a cold war era is to know your enemy so you may know its capabilities and respond accordingly. This was a time now to learn what techniques to use to counter LargoMano, DeFondo or Abanico. We started collaborating with Leo that emphasized defending against group attacks, triangle formations used in hand to hand combat in WWII, and the teamwork to watch your left and right to protect your comrade. The guerilla warfare tactics used on assignment with local Philippine guerilla fighters taught him more than the ba-
sic movements shared in military training among the 1st and 2nd Filipino American Infantry Army. Reflecting on the defunct WES, I believe in 1987 was the one time of hope that the original ‘Bladed Bolo’ generation could maintain unity for the future generation that now struggles to keep identity of heritage and culture because of those that have focused efforts more on making profits and exploiting the Filipino martial arts culture especially in Stockton CA. They have fragmented the Filipino community of martial arts. Such sadness, those that continue to thrive on profits, especially making claims to trademark rights and preventing individuals whose heritage and culture enriched the growth and popularity of Filipino martial arts in Stockton, CA. One of the good things to come from Stockton has turned into another case of greed, ego, and human hate. If only Leo Giron, Angel Cabales, Narri Babao, Mike Inay, Den Revillar, Max Sarmiento, Dan Inosanto, and others could have established a strong basic declaration of structure, things might be different today.
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Cross-Training In my advanced training with Leo through mid-80s early 90s, we were able to develop a very successful demonstration and tournament team. Leo always told me to gather up the boys and get them ready to go to whatever tournament was upcoming as if General MacArthur was commanding orders before coming to land in Leyte (WWII). Maybe in a sense, he was reliving those proud moments of the war. Commemorating his units old war cry “Bahala Na” as a slogan for his school, Leo said it was the battle cry in the fight against the charging enemy, letting them know come what may. As the school was starting to gather a momentum of presence in Stockton, other local schools like Serrada and Decuerdas were also growing in popularity as a source for Escrima classes. We became well respected, and more importantly, we began to meet others in Escrima from all different schools from many places around and out of California. To me, this was a good thing to
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meet others that appreciated the art. The enrichment we contributed in the demonstrations and tournaments in Escrima catapulted Stockton into the mainstream of martial arts, and most of the practitioners now from Leo’s school were graduates or advanced students and freely contributing their time to these community events. It was our expression of repaying Leo for his sharing of knowledge, heritage, and culture. By the mid-1990s, I became proficient in the SLD system and awarded a teaching certificate by Maestro Den Revillar, and as I continued to support both Leo and Dentoy, I began to see the difference, but also at the same time, I saw the similarities within the Filipino martial arts. Through this time I was also able to attend workshops or seminars from other teachers like Dan Inosanto, Max Pallen, Ramiro Estillilia and privately from Juan Iliab and Gilbert Tenio. I have come to discover that the Fili-
pino martial arts is an eclectic form of discipline, and no matter what fundamental background you started in the FIlipino martial arts, if you train with an open mind, you will discover that all disciplines are worthy and have a place in the moment of combat. To sum up the differences in general, what I learned over the decades is that every martial arts system has a preferred method of teaching and a specific range of comfort that makes their teaching discipline effective. In my opinion, the animosity between the schools in Stockton arose out of a lack of understanding of one another’s concept and philosophy behind each other’s style or discipline. I honestly would say that in my experience between Leo and my time with Dentoy can be compared to the progress of a child passing through elementary school to High school and then to the SLD Dentoy school as a finishing school but if it wasn’t
for the efforts of Juan Iliab and Den Revillar to seek understandings from the other core disciplines surfacing in Stockton, CA the reality of their concepts and philosophy would not be understood today. There are Escrima practitioners that remain in silos of a single discipline of martial art today and that it may satisfy their needs for self-defense and it is their prerogative to do so because one must also remember that the Philippine region or islands where these Escrima disciplines came from suited their environment or purpose. To understand this one must truly immerse themselves open minded, for in today’s world one must agree that a multi-style would be the best approach in any combat encounter today because indeed no matter what form of martial art you practice there will always be the long, medium and close range of combat.
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THE RANGES OF DISCIPLINE
Estillo Matador or the Killing Style, and LargoMano or the Long Range style The “LargoMano” style is tough to beat in my opinion, and while everyone has an opinion, over the years from practicing full contact and various disciplines, this is one statement I hold firmly. The test is when in combat or simulation combat, the focus is on the weapon and the simplified zones of attack called “cinco tero” or “five strikes.” Coming from the Leo Giron school of Arnis Escrima, it was so simple that it could be learned in just a few days down to a few hours, depending on the individual’s current level of experience and weapon control. The choice of weapon can be bolo or stick but preferably the 32-inch length and with some weight that can easily cause tissue and bone damage with minimal force. After participating in many full contact Escrima tournaments I have seen fighters from schools that train mainly in close to medium range that by default start
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in a long range position. This is because of human nature for self-preservation or safety, and the default is to stay out of or away from harm’s way. If the individual could not close the gap to reach their preferred range of effectiveness the LargoMano practitioner would always be first to make direct contact. The best analogy I can give to this LargoMano style is the Mohamed Ali boxing style, where he maintained just enough distance to stay out of the opponent’s reach and then stepped in to sting like a bee, always floating on the outer edge of his opponents reach. In my opinion, this was Leo’s true core style he lived during the war. He often talked about moves that would get you killed in a battle that was being practiced publicly for flashy demonstration purposes, and so during in-depth discussions on theory and combat strategy, he would often clarify the difference of the stage style and killing style.
Decuerdas or the Winding, Tightening, Constricting Style This style is the gap-closer to counter LargoMano when practiced thoroughly. If not properly timed, the LargoMano man will always get the better of you, and you will have to reset your next move. It is like slipping between the gaps of opportunity and redirecting the attacking strike and then closing in to constrict the attacker’s ability to strike again. To close in with strong vertical or shielding type positions and then blocking against or with the attack, redirecting the opponents’ weapon to harness or tie your opponent’s movements while slicing or cutting and then monitoring to continue to take advantage of every move presented in the Decuerdas range. Gibert Tenio was the man who exposed this Escrima concept, and Juan Iliab was who taught me the insight into the philosophy behind it, but Dentoy taught me how to put it all into perspective. (medium-close)
Serrada or the Close Range In the Serrada system, the close quarter superiority is the espada y daga aspect I learned from the SLD system. The time spent in this phase of discipline opened so many windows to the possibilities of close quarter encounters. By replacing the empty hand with a dagger and in the strong hand a bolo, though when we practiced, we used stick and dagger employing the same routines as you do in serrada basics but now with the dagger created a new dimension of awareness and the emphasis with being touched is the same as being cut. This training made the empty hand much more dangerous now with the dagger because once in the medium close range, the dagger is much more deadly and can deliver a thrust or slice quickly. The teaching method that Dentoy used to accelerate the learning was called “de cadena,” the meaning of the chain or like the links of a chain that connects each link to the next, understood as never-ending set
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movements to address any angles of attack. Typically starting from a single strike up to an average set of three random strikes and up to five or six strikes. This was a progressive sequence of learning for one that has reached a skill to see what was coming next. Dentoy was able to break down the movements in Serrada and gave each step in a sequence of counter movement a meaning and not just a flurry of follow up sequences because to choose a technique to defend against whatever angle of attack at close
quarter should be a technique that can respond in mid-flow to a change of attacking angle without disrupting the flow of movement first chosen by the defender. This level of training will also induce an intuitive mindset of being able to read your opponents’ body language in close quarters in that watching every muscle twitch or the body position of the person will place you in a pre-state of reaction to be able to choose the most straightforward technique in order to deal with the possibilities of multiple angles of attack.
The When-it Happens, not the What-if In retrospect, it is nearly impossible to be able to learn multiple systems or styles in short durations; you should have a solid foundation in some style or system to communicate effectively like the numbering system. Individuals that attend seminars and workshops will gain more informed knowledge of Escrima but without a foundation will end up with an uncertainty of choosing the appropriate self-defense technique to respond to an attack, but I guess something is better than nothing. More often, the curiosity of the constant “What if” questions arise, but in reality, it is more of the “when something happens” question. When I heard this statement from Dentoy, he fundamentally changed my perspective on how to look upon such a question. Challenging to understand when first hearing this; it takes many hours of work to understand the profundity of this observation and become able to recognize what can happen next. One analogy to help understand this is the ‘angle number 1’ attack, there are many techniques to choose so which one will you choose, in a millisecond your mind will have to assess, decide and act, muscle reflex might initially help get
your weapon in place to block or counter but at that moment of touch what comes next is what you should be concerned because if you have not trained properly it will be difficult for you to recognize the window of opportunity to respond to prevent that next thing and this is one reason there are so many defense techniques against the obvious heavy striker, the snap hit striker, the light feinting striker, and so on, but if you recognize the type of attack, you will be better prepared. To know how to employ a style is much harder than to use a technique. At first read, this may seem to contradict to what I had just written, but if you are only able to employ a style as a defense and fail to recognize its weakness in the moment of engagement what choice will you have except to receive the blow as intended and whimper those last sounds of air. Keeping an open mind to all martial arts and its core of unique deadliness to even cross-train in one art you may not agree with may gain you some insight into the concept and understanding of why such a style of martial art even exists.
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What's Next? As the sun approaches the horizon, in the span of 30 plus years I have enjoyed learning the complexities of my Filipino martial arts heritage, it is a very deep and profound discovery of how much it has impacted the history of the Philippines and what the early Filipino migrant workers brought with them to America just to escape poverty and how they contributed to the libera-
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tion of the Philippines during WWII. They must have been so brave or desperate to travel such long distances to a new world or that this new world could not be as dangerous coming from a place where carrying a bolo on your hip was common in the Philippines. A disclaimer of preferred terms and usage of the first-name basis in this article is because my jour-
ney and those that have shared my path in this know it was a time when all of our teachers all preferred to be called by first name basis, and after many years we called them ‘Uncles.’ So please do not judge me for that unless you have grown up in this place and you are Filipino you will not understand this level of cultural heritage. We can save that story for another time. As for now, it is sad to see that greed and ego of this generation who have learned the Filipino martial art from Stockton are now manipulating the freedom and heritage of the Filipino American culture that made Stockton great at one time, claims of ownership and rights and no others. Apparently, for-profit and greed have metastasized like cancer, and these individuals take advantage of the misinformed and practice movements that are far from the original bolo generation only to have created a fragmented community of Filipino martial artists in Stockton.
Many experts of that generation have grown from the tiny mustard seed into a strong oak tree and practice in private places away from spying eyes as it once was during the Spanish occupation in the Philippines. It is only natural that evil will eventually turn inward and devour itself, but for now, only those with the honor of heritage and culture and those who respect that foundation will endure. Honor and respect to the memories of GM Leo Giron, GM Angel Cabales, GM Gilbert Tenio, Master Juan Iliab, and huge thank you to Maestro Den Revillar, who still resides in Stockton, CA. Come What May! Let God Sort Them Out! - Maestro Dexter Labonog, Stockton Filipino Martial Arts
Dexter Labonog http://martialarts-history.com/Dexter_Labonog BRIDGES OF RATTAN, BOLOS AND DAGGERS • Dexter Labonog
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HERMIT TRAINING Mahipal Lunia
"... it is about developing consistency in your training and using various methods to combat boredom and familiarity in training. The more methods you layer into your stick, or for that matter, any weapon training, the better will be your chances of learning a new skill and amplifying the results."
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IT WAS A LONG DRIVE from the High Sierras back home where we had spent a long week training. During the drive home during a long bout of silence, somewhere in the back seat came an overly exaggerated sigh “Sensei; these drives can be hard and take a toll. Also, the connectivity is so bad in the mountains.” “Forget the phone. Forget the world. Leave it all behind. These trips are a pilgrimage, a Haj, a Teerth Yatra”, I said as we drove through a forest of burnt and blackened skeletal trees; all that remained of an Oregon forest after a fire a couple of months previously. “Even Emerson and his disciple Thoreau spoke about the hiking in the mountains as a pilgrimage. The pilgrim culture is a spiritual embrace that is core to an American experience. And think about it, this is what a Shugendo is... the mountains is the way. One must disconnect from this known world, to go deep into the recess of one’s inner world. True ‘Magick’ dwells in that House of Belonging.” They have heard me ramble many times about the mountains, con-
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necting with nature, and leaving the known world behind. Fearful of hearing another rant about the benefits of nature, one of the students quipped, “Sensei, how do we train to retain all the material we learn?” “Sun, moon or rain,” I said, and they completed my favorite simile with “We train, train and train.” “But Sensei, we can’t be in the dojo all the time, how do we continue to grow?” he asked somewhat exasperated. “Hermit Training,” I answered. There is a reason the great swordsmen of Japan were called “Kensei.” “I was introduced to the term ‘Hermit Training’ by the reclusive Master “JC” Caberio. He captured the essence of training alone with that term. It means you get to work on yourself, diligently, and consistently. Like a hermit in the mountains, working on his Magnum Opus - himself, you got to work on your way into yourself through your art, and from these first steps emerges the beginning of liberation.” “If you want to pursue mastery,
you got to follow the 10000hour rule, meaning do more repetitions than most will even dream. You got to do it until you can’t get the methods wrong, even if you tried. For this, you need to create opportunities to train everywhere possible. And, most importantly, training by yourself.” “But how?” he pleaded. Let me answer this by saying most of my teachers have taught me various methods of training alone. Let me share some that have worked wonders for me. HERMIT TRAINING • Mahipal Lunia
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1. Kata
2. Whole Form Training
While studying Japanese arts, there was a significant emphasis on kata. Solo training of this type requires a specific way of learning to break things into smaller components and delivering them with precision.
I used to complain to my two Senseis about not having training partners close by. Especially in an art such as Jojutsu and Kenjutsu, most if not all forms are two-person as such, presenting a unique challenge.
There are many ways to work the kata including:
Both Sastri and Vilarie Senseis instructed me to work both sides of the two-man katas that form the backbone of our system. They told me of stories from back in the day when a few high-level tests had the tester showing both the Tori and Uke’s form for each technique. The reasons ranged from everyone else had died in recent wars, and only one person was left alive who knew the entire system, to the secrets of the system had been passed down to only one person. Nevertheless, when done correctly in context, following the Tori/attack part followed by the Uke/defender part, it brings an entire form of understanding of the system. It will help create a symbiotic circuitry and expand your awareness.
• Varying speeds • With dynamic tension/isometrics (look below) • Changing each set
directions
with
• Blindfolded When trained right, kata becomes an enacted ritual, opening one up to true initiation into the secrets of the system. And done right, they always lead you beyond the system. The kata is the boat that can be used to cross the stream. Learn how to ride across and afar at will, and it can even take you to places you never imagined. While it is fashionable these days to laugh at kata, you will do so at the cost of your growth. Beware.
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I utilize this extensively, not just the Aiki arts but my other pursuits as well, with significant effect.
3. Component Training In this method of solo training, break down very complex techniques into segments/components. Drill them until you have smoothness in the technique and transitions. Now move to the next section. Once you have the components worked, tie them up together and go into complete form training.
50%, 75%, 90%, 100%, and then a few reps of shooting for 110%, yes, you heard that right, aim for 110%). b) change the rhythm of the training, use the beats of one technique to work the other. In this way, you will develop a whole new way of learning the technique and learning YOU. The beginning of true liberation can begin here.
4. Vary Your Speed
5. Carenza/Shadow Boxing/Aerobic
Beginning students often try to do things very fast, and this is to their peril. If you cannot do something slow well, it is highly unlikely you will be able to do it well at all.
All arts have some form of shadowboxing. During shadowboxing is when you get to express yourself fully, perhaps even transcend your mother system.
This lesson is often highlighted in the shooting world. If you have seen Mark Wahlberg’s movie ‘The Shooter,’ you hear the sniper’s creed, “slow is smooth, smooth is fast.” There is a lot of truth to it. There have been so many occasions that Maestro James Keating has instructed me to “slow down some more, smoothen it out. Change the beat, the rhythm, the pace. Now do it some more.”
“Carenza” or the Filipino term for “shadowboxing” is only limited by your imagination. Some ideas include but not limited to a) hand skills b) legs only c) weapons (let your imagination soar) d) weapon in non-dominant hand carenza e) working patterns in different levels of balance and resistance
With this in mind, take your techniques and run them through a) various speeds (25%,
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6. Resistance Training in Technique Not a very big fan of this, as many times it is performed incorrectly. For example, adding weights on wrists and ankles changes the motion, feel, and timing of the techniques.
If you are ‘old-school,’ use bicycle inner tubes. If you consider yourself a ‘new-school’ kind of practitioner, take a look at the Stoops and Python striker aid tools.
However, there are some delightful resistance methods one could employ. One drill I learned from martial brother Chris Charnos (an original Ed Hart and Jesse Glover student) is using cycle tubes to work on sticking practice. One advantage of this type of training is that it offers resistance throughout the motion and allows one to ‘feel pressure’ and be able to apply ‘educated pressure.’
Remember, these tools will only do what YOU intend to do; in other words, you are still responsible. Choose the drills and corresponding resistance systems carefully. The most important rule for me is ‘whole body, not parts.’
The trick IMO is to have a type of resistance that does not isolate any particular muscle but employs the whole body in every motion.
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7. Aerobic and Anaerobic/Tabata Training/Insanity No gas and all your fighting goes down the drain. One does not rise to our aspirations; one sinks to the level of our training. Consequently, this means working on all forms of aerobic and anaerobic training. Aerobic training entails working in the presence of oxygen to metabolize fuel. Anaerobic exercise involves working in the absence of oxygen, where muscle cells must rely on another process to fuel contractions. Aerobic training provides the body the fuel to power your rocket ship. Best to work this with sustained effort over time like running, doing multiple sets of kata, and maintaining a constant heartbeat.
during these situations will result in the body resorting to anaerobic forms of quickly metabolizing energy over short periods. During these scenarios, it is also crucial that one executes techniques in a controlled and deliberate manner. The Best way to cultivate this attribute is through a regime of sprints and techniques done to a Tabata methodology. 20 seconds of ultra-intense exercise (at an intensity of about 170% of VO2max) followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated continuously for 4 minutes (8 cycles). Now pick your favorite technique combinations and run them through the cycle.
Most fights will get into high-intensity scenarios. The high adrenalin rush that occurs
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8. Methods
9. Stretching the Movements
Beginning with the advertisements in the back pages of a comic book where Charles Atlas promised he could with turn a 98-pound weakling into a new man with his proven method, two other men’s programs shaped my thinking of physical conditioning. As a teenager, I came across Harry Wong’s book, ‘Dynamic Strength.’ (Unique Publications, 1982). Both systems provided a solid base. Yet, it wasn’t until I began learning the ‘Morris’ method of conditioning. Even at 70, his punches pack a solid wallop. He is truly a pioneer who is super hard to describe. Don’t take my word for it; look him up.
If isometrics forms one side of the spectrum, the other side would be what I call ‘feeling the stretch.’ In this method of solo training, I focus on the stretching/relaxation part of the drill. For example, when training punches, I focus on the full stretch of the biceps rather than the contraction of the triceps.
Rather than reiterate what I have learned from Mr. Morris, I will post the link to his excellent article here. https://www.facebook.com/morris. method/posts/886476784715396
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Run all your drills on this spectrum a few times if you want to introduce a new way of moving into your training. I learned this from Manong Ron Saturno. The full effect of this type of training is especially evident when working with weapons.
10. Inhabit the Opposite In the most basic sense, this entails cross-training in the exact opposite contexts of your favorite methods. If you primarily train in a soft Aiki or Chinese Internal Art, then sign up for lessons in Muay Thai or Boxing. If you are an empty hands person, go work for a while only with weapons. If you are a graceful art person, go workout in the functional effectiveness spectrum. AND VICE VERSA.
Not only will this will enhance your understanding of your movement and perception theory, but it will also cause the body to develop new mechanosensory neurons in your muscles expanding the range and variety of the potentiality of movement.
11. Train with the Mind Srini Sastri Sensei hammered into me the habit of working the techniques in my mind every night as I was about to fall asleep. Neuroscience research has long confirmed that this kind of training triggers the same portion of the brain that you would during actual movement and is proven to be a quick way to double your workout time by only using any time you have to ‘run with the mind.’ To get a fuller understanding of these methods look at the work coming from the former eastern bloc. An excellent place to start is the book ‘Super Learning’ by Sheila Ostrandler (Mass Market Paperback, 1982). In many ways, autogenic training is similar to someone undergoing self-hypnosis. - Lie down and don’t move a muscle. - Start from your legs tense the whole body and then relax, move with this from legs to the top of your head, progressively relaxing each muscle. - Once fully relaxed, bring your consciousness to the front of your head (where your third eye is) and start to project movies of what you want to learn.
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- Watch these movies from three perspectives. First, watch a film one where you are the star of the film and experiencing it first hand. Perspective two: you are viewing the movie of you performing correctly. Perspective three: you are watching you watching the movie of you doing the methods. These tend to code into the body-mind in exciting ways. This particular method is what worked best for me to move from a predominant Japanese movement metaphor to a SE Asian metaphor. Try it, and you might amaze yourself with what is possible. (For a detailed understanding of these perspectives look up ‘Perceptual Positions’ and how to use them.)
12. Environmental Training
13. Learning Control
Work your forms in all weather and environments. If you cannot make it work everywhere, there are some serious reconsiderations you will be forced to make.
In my early training with Manong Saturno on ‘Lock & Block,’ I would make frequent contact and leave marks. Every time I hit him, I was both embarrassed at my lack of control and a little worried about his patience as my feeder. Manong maintained his composure and continued to feed me attacks in a kind manner.
As a starting point, take your favorite techniques and work them in a) water b) slippery ground/grass c) mountains d) informal work clothing (not your gi) with formal shoes e) snow f) the dark You get the idea. See where you are least capable and figure out how to overcome the inadequacy.
One day he said, “maybe we get you to skip lunch every time you hit me,” and we both laughed. That evening based on a conversation with him, hit upon the idea of striking my lunch literally. String my lunch fruit by a string and practice fast strikes to it, with one catch. Do not touch the food. Trust me; if you hit that apple or banana with a strike, you are not eating it. Very quickly, this taught me good control with a weapon. And guess what you can do this anytime with any number of techniques.
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14. Training for Distance and Timing The pendulum rocks it for this. One of the critical innovations of Maestro Sonny Umpad was shared with me by one of his students Maija Soderholm. Hang a small weight by a string such that it swings with ease. Now swing it as you execute your strikes/cuts against its while being in motion. Maintain your distance and manage your timing. Exceptionally cheap to build. Fabulous return on investment. Here is a clip of Maija flowing with the pendulum https://youtu.be/P1ZFYdSFlxE
15. Tennis Balls or Coconuts M-San was a hardened Kenpo teacher who grew up in the ‘grey world’ of post-war Taiwan. As such, his survival on the streets depended on solid skills. One of the ways he would teach evasion was to have us stand against a wall and throw full-size coconuts and tennis balls at us. Our task was to avoid the ball and punch the coconut. Now I am not sure I would whole-heartedly recommend this strategy, but it makes you one hell of a ‘headhunter.’ Every member of the training group got thrown out of more tournaments than I can remember. The reason being that everyone became skilled at evasion and good ‘headhunters.’ You can use a modified method to handballs and coconuts to a double string (like a speedball) and then work on evading and striking with your stick/knife. If you are seeking the headhunting game, this will amplify your game many folds.
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16. Ready State Triggering
17. Handicap Training
Ready state is what I call being in the zone, ready to fight. In other words, a state of mind where your senses open up fully and the body is super relaxed, prepared to respond in the best possible way.
Handicap training revolves around getting one, two, or three limbs out of the game. And then performing with what is left. It is surprisingly tricky, and if you don’t train it, you will not be able to perform.
It is also about learning to control the fear/fight/flight state and being able to direct the body’s ability to perform under tension.
This drill where we would tie up limbs and then fight came from Sastri Sensei. He taught us that “a samurai could lose a limb or two, but still has to perform. In his mind, he is already dead, but he still must perform. To protect and serve those who he loves.”
Although this state will not be attained magically after a lot of work, one will finally come to understand the syntax or how the body comes to arrive in this relaxed state. Syntax. That is the secret.
Remember, you don’t rise to the occasion, you drop to the level of your training. And for this reason, don’t ignore it.
Pay close attention to how you get to this state. Which muscles relax in what order, and what thinking/language brings you to it. Create a chain that can be brought out on command. Want to learn more? Study State Control from a top-rated NLP teacher.
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18. Sense Deprivation Training Take one of the senses out of the game as you train. For example, if you are working with your stick, some options are - work blindfolded - block out your breathing to 20-30% (various pieces of equipment help with this) - shut out your hearing completely - go into extreme weather and clothing to remove any ‘felt sense’ of the world These methods will get you to move and use your proprioception in interesting ways, and improve your overall body-weapon connections and maps.
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“If you want to pursue mastery, you got to follow the 10000hour rule, meaning do more repetitions than most will even dream. You got to do it until you can’t get the methods wrong, even if you tried. For this, you need to create opportunities to train everywhere possible. And, most importantly, training by yourself.”
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19. Big, Strong, Fast and Light In working with Mushtaq Ali Ansari, he shared a method of training from the Indonesian systems. He often said for you to learn how to wield the walking cane or the blades follow the four-fold rule of learning. - Make your movements with the new principle/form big and slow to code the movements in - Once you have the movement down, add power to the movement with coordinated breathing - Next layer in speed to your form - Finally, make the whole movement light This particular syntax worked well for me as I worked with the walking cane and kampilan training. Steal it, make it yours, and see the beauty of this old Cimande method to all your training.
20. Autosuggestion, Subliminal Training, and Clear Intentionality When working on a new skill set, clearly state in writing what you seek to achieve. Once you have done this, make it a point to mark out clear times in the day when you make this intention explicit via autosuggestions to self and moving the body into a state of all possibility. When you have reached this open state is where learning happens generatively. We all have this state where a glyph like unfolding is possible, and thoughts cease. Those who have trod these paths before us practiced moving meditation as part of their training. And like those who came before us, we have to discover our unique syntax to this state. Lastly, create your subliminal track with binaural beats to hammer these suggestions into your subconscious mind. These are methods used by the super-elite athletes around the world, so don’t deny yourself.
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At this point, my students asked, “where do we start?” “Whatever is most accessible to you, and calls you forth. For, it is about developing consistency in your training and using various methods to combat boredom and familiarity in training. The more methods you layer into your stick, or for that matter, any weapon training, the better will be your chances of learning a new skill and amplifying the results.”
Conclusion They all nodded as they kept taking notes, and it would be another few hours before we got home. This article was meant to shed light on some methods of personal solo training with your sticks, knives, or anything else. Use this as a starting point. Experiment and research what works best to unlock your unfolding in a glyph like fashion. From this unfolding will your trust and expression emerge. May you offer the most beautiful of emotions into the world. Swing away. - Mahipal Lunia
Mahipal Lunia @theimmersionfoundation
@immersion.foundation
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TRADITIONAL STICK FIGHTING: COMMON THEMES OCEANS APART Burton Richardson
SINCE THE DAWN of time when two untrained human beings have picked up sticks and attempted to grievously harm one another, the resulting bludgeon-fest has always been predictable. They put the stick hands behind them, lower their heads, and step in with repeated forehand strikes to the noggin. Not pretty. Have two seasoned stick fighters spar, and you will see unique approaches unfold. Some styles will stay relatively stationary, some will circle on the periphery, and others will cut distinct angles. Certain styles call for a fighter to stand tall, and still others to crouch or kneel — all depending on environmental factors, such as the slope or the slipperiness of the ground beneath them. Methods from areas with a high rate of rainfall often prefer lower stances and simple
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footwork to mitigate slipping and falling, which can prove to be fatal during combat. The characteristics of the weapons used will also influence the style. Weight, length, and balance determine how the sticks are most efficiently wielded. One swings the massive Samoan “nifo’oti” war club with different body mechanics than a short Irish shillelagh. Cultural values also make an impact. In some regions, standing your ground “to battle it out” is the most fearless approach. Another group may esteem simplicity and efficacy, so movement and subterfuge are valued and emphasized. The range of possible factors give us distinct arts from which we can all appreciate and learn. But there are specific aspects common to traditional stick fighting systems, regardless of where in the world they originated.
There are two fundamental aspects of martial expression found worldwide ‘war-dances’ and ‘the fight.’ A war-dance may be choreographed or spontaneous. Sometimes it is both, where practitioners are free to rift off a learned pattern as they swing the sticks impressively or delightfully and sometimes both simultaneously. War-dances are done solo or with a partner in a manner where there is no actual attempt at dominating each other. Many war-dances have an indigenous musical accompaniment creating a rhythmic motion that is pleasing to the eye and beneficial to the body. Dancing brings people together so an entire village can socialize and strengthen familial bonds. The fight is where each partner does their best to dominate the other. The intensity varies between types of fighting. Fights can take place in many ways. They may range from relatively safe sparring, where controlled strikes or protective armor minimizes injuries. On the other end of the scale, they may engage in extreme sparring where the combatants have only their skills to protect themselves from serious injury. Traditionally, both dancing and fighting were emphasized in most stick fighting arts because it produced the chief desired result: an efficient, functional warrior.
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Let’s examine two arts from vastly different cultures, which are oceans apart to highlight similarities in their approach to stick fighting. The art of Kalis Ilustrisimo from the Philippines is roughly 7000 miles away, from the South African Zulu practice of “Nduku.” I had the privilege of training in both methods in their homelands. With Tatang Ilustrisimo in Manila, I was able to train with him for a total of one month over two trips. In South Africa I trained with the Zulus for a total of three weeks over four visits. The training in Manila was typically six hours per day, while in Qua Zulu Natal,
it was roughly three hours per day. The training was rigorous, but, in my experiences, devoid of malice. The practitioners trained me hard because they wanted to help me to be my best. I should note that Kalis Ilustrisimo is primarily a swordbased art, but there is a robust stick-specific emphasis as well. Before delving into specifics, allow me to relate my first experiences of how these masters treated a stranger from a distant land who asked them to share their method of stick fighting. In 1994, I went to Manila as a fight choreographer for the shooting
Group photo at the Binondo gym in 1996. From right is my student Levi Bussanich and Master Tony Diego. In the middle is Master Christopher Ricketts. To Ricketts's right is current Grandmaster Tom Dy Tang. Far right is the great fighter Dodong. 112 | The Immersion Review
Tatang working outside my backhand strike. 1996 in Luneta Park. He rarely gave a full backhand himself because this check is so powerful and leaves one vulnerable.
of an American film project. (I had made two previous trips in 1980 and 1990.) By this time, I had 14 years of training with Guro Dan Inosanto in Los Angeles and was also training with Punong Guro Edgar Sulite. Edgar knew Manila well, so I asked him if he had any suggestions for training. He immediately told me to train with the great “Tatang” Ilustrisimo. Remember, this was a time before the internet went mainstream, and there were no yellow pages in the Philippines, so Edgar instructed me to go to
Luneta Park. He assured me that I would find Tatang there most days of the week. A few weeks later, I woke up in Manila, shook off the jet lag, and headed outside my hotel. I had a week before cameras started rolling, and I was going to make the best of the ample free time. I did not know where Luneta Park was, and I did not care how far away it was. I was determined to go there and search for Tatang. I got in a taxi and said, “Luneta Park, please.” The driver turned
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Tatang applying a painful wrist lock after a disarm. Note that he is holding my thumb for a secure grip, and is using his body to apply tremendous pressure to my wrist.
Tatang doing a classic Ilustrisimo technique of intercepting my backhand sword attack with a simultaneous forearm to forearm redirection and neck slash. Luneta Park, 1994.
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Discussing the intricacies of the art with, from left to right, Master Christopher Ricketts, Grandmaster Tatang Ilustrisimo, and Master Tony Diego. After Tatang's passing, the Grandmaster title was passed to Tony. Luneta Park, 1994.
around and looked at me with wide eyes and said, “Luneta Park?” His animated reaction made me think the park must be extremely far away. I said, “Yes, please.” He faced forward and pointed out ahead of him and exclaimed, “It’s right there!” Sheepish, I tipped him and exited the vehicle. My Dog Brother name wasn’t Lucky Dog for nothing. How fortunate to be right across the street. I soon discovered that Luneta Park is enormous, upwards of forty acres. So, I jogged all over the park. I didn’t find him the 116 | The Immersion Review
first day, but the second day I saw a man in the corner of the park doing empty hand forms on a cemented area. It wasn’t Karate or Kung Fu. It looked like Kali. I approached the man and, after a few pleasantries, asked if he knew of a man named Tatang Ilustrisimo. He replied, “Tatang? He’ll be here any minute.” Then his eyes looked out beyond me, and he said, “There he is!” And there he was. A slender man in his late 80’s ambled toward us. I introduced myself, telling him that I was a student of Guro Dan Inosanto. He smiled kindly, and
Working counter for counter with Master Christopher Ricketts. He was highly skilled and very intense, but we laughed hard and often during our training. Luneta Park, 1994.
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the training commenced, just like that. A few hours later, Tony Diego arrived, and he immediately helped train me too. The next day Christopher Ricketts showed up to help in training ‘The Americano.’ I trained six to eight hours a day the entire week, spent several weeks on the set, then delayed my trip home so I could spend more weeks training with Tatang and his crew. They held nothing back, feed-
ing me information and working me until I was able to duplicate the movements. As soon as they felt I had it, they moved on to the next principle or technique. When I finished that first day with Tatang, I went straight to a Sony shop around the corner from the hotel and bought a video camera. It was one of the best investments I ever made. I captured a lot of my training for further study. Tatang wanted me to learn, as did Tony and ‘Topher. It was very touching.
With Grandmaster Ilustrisimo and Levi Bussanich after another amazing training session. Even at 92 years of age, Tatang would train us for hours at a time. He would get up and demonstrate, then sit down and coach from there. When something wasn't understood, he would stand up and go hands on. Every session was magical.
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Two of my favorite sparring partners. These two men spent a lot of time sparring with me, and never injured me once. They always were laughing and having fun while applying their art.
Less than a year later, I was in Johannesburg, South Africa, to choreograph the fights on another film. As the production neared an end, I engaged in an ongoing discussion with the producer, director, and star of the movie about where we would visit after we wrapped. All three of them ended up experiencing the splendor of Victoria Falls. I opted to go into the heart of Zulu territory in the hopes of finding warriors who would share their stick fighting methods with me.
It all worked out exceptionally well. I found a Zulu man named Blessing who spoke English well. He gathered several young men together and told them that I was there to do some ‘Nduku stick fighting. They looked at each other quizzically, not sure what to make of this, but they relented, although not entirely enthusiastic. I left the first lesson with some minor bruises, but with a great appreciation for the art.
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An impromptu sparring session with a Zulu. He was explaining aspects of the large shield, usually used with a spear or an axe. That turned into playful sparring. Note how much fun he is having. That was typical of the sparring sessions.
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When I showed up again the next morning, the young men were still puzzled, but when I arrived for the third session, all barriers fell, and they embraced me like a brother. As in the Philippines, they held nothing back, working with me to improve my skills as quickly as possible for the remainder of that week. I went back to the same village unannounced a few years later, and you would have thought a long lost member of the tribe had just returned. There was a joyous celebration. Like in the Philippines, they not only shared their art; they gave me their hearts. I hope that gives you an idea of the spirit in which these traditional stick fighting aficionados passed on the information. Both groups' method of sharing was filled with generosity and goodwill. Now let us compare some technical aspects. Kalis Ilustrisimo, like many Filipino systems, uses a rattan stick or “olisi,” “baston”, etc. in the dominant hand that is usually 3/4 -1 inch in diameter. It is generally 28-30 inches long, but there are styles that use significantly shorter or longer sticks. The other hand is empty or carries a knife for support. When facing an adversary, if the stick is in the right hand, the right
foot is usually forward, closest to the adversary. ‘Nduku generally utilizes a hardwood stick in the strong hand that flares to a head at the end. At times spherical, other times, the sphere is bisected to create a sharp edge around the diameter. The stick or “sagila,” “isikhwili,” “iwisa” is either natural, i.e., cut from a straight branch that has a natural gnarl, or a fabricated stick carved from a piece of hardwood. Finally, a fighter will grab ahold of the “ubhoko” a long defending stick nearly the height of the fighter. If the sagila is in the right hand, the left foot is usually forward so that the defending stick can create a formidable barrier to the opponent’s strikes. Since the defending stick is closest to the opponent, a small cowhide shield or “ihawu” covers the defending stick hand to protect it from strikes. As you can see, both the implements and basic stances of these two methods are very different. But there are similarities. Each of these systems has a dance portion. In Ilustrisimo, the “sayaw” is moving the sticks in a free, smooth, and elegant manner. At times it is performed with full power and speed, the sticks buzzing through the air. Performances
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This man made the stick fighting shields that protect the hand which holds the defending stick. It is a long process, but the resulting product is extremely durable.
This is a bruise from a sparring session in the early 2000's. I felt it when the blow landed, but it wasn't terrible. But, to my surprise, my calf remained discolored for over three years. 122 | The Immersion Review
of the sayaw can include swords, double sticks, single stick, stick, and dagger, etc. In Zululand, the stick dancing is usually very vigorous and war-like. Accompanied by drumming, singing, and whistling, the dancers engage in group choreographed dances, or they break out into freestyle movements where the dancers swing their sticks accompanied by high kicking and stomping. There is a definite flavor to the actions that are distinctly Zulu. The dances are graceful, explosive, and impressive, all at once. There is another similarity often omitted in modern stick training- the fight. From light sparring to hard sparring to all-out fighting; all include unscripted, free form ritual combat as a vital element of the system. Free form ritual combat is an important and traditional training method handed down from their Zulu forebearers. It is a very scientific approach. You have a technique you think will work? Then prove it against someone who is fighting you. The mentality is that simple. But the fighting element has fallen to the wayside in many modern systems of stick fighting. I have concluded from my observations and experience (I used to do this myself) that modern systems tend to confuse the dance with the fight. If we
remember that a fight is characterized by attempting to dominate an actively resisting partner or opponent, then we see that many conventional drills performed with a compliant partner are martial dances designed to improve coordination, target acquisition, and flow. When one partner stands with his arm outstretched while the other goes through a series of techniques, they are engaged in the form of dance, regardless of how fierce the combatants look. They are developing attributes used in fighting, but they are not fighting. The traditionalists say, “You want to get good at combat? Then engage in combat!” There is nothing wrong with the dance, as it enhances athletic attributes and is good for the spirit. Tatang Ilustrisimo emphasized moving the stick in an extraordinarily fluid and tension-free fashion. I shot video footage of him wielding a sword that is pure magic. When he practiced application, he displayed the same velvety smooth qualities that he did while moving the weapons solo. A problem does arise when practitioners erroneously think that being proficient in dance and cooperative drills directly correlates to fighting proficiency. Frequently, this leads to practitioners who
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know a lot but can apply little under pressure. Many traditional stick fighting systems, like Kalis Ilustrisimo and Zulu ‘Nduku, ensure that this error does not befall their practitioners. How? By having them regularly engage in various forms of non-cooperative combat. Imagine that first day in the Zulu village. How do you think my first lesson went? You might assume that the first lesson taught was how to hold the sticks and how to stand. In time, the lesson would progress to exploring the primary offensive and defensive tactics, right? Not at all! My non-English speaking teacher placed a stick, defending stick, and shield properly in my hands, picked up his accouterments, faced me, and made a universal gesture for “come on, let’s fight!” I was sparring within the first minute of training. Why did they choose that route? Because this was genuinely traditional training, and they assumed I wanted to learn how to fight with the stick. So, we fought. With excellent control, I might add. I must say I wasn’t sure just how bad it was going to be, but they were kind enough to go at a moderate speed but hit lightly. They also covered the sphere of the stick with light padding wrapped in electric tape. That made the
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blows more bearable, but the ever-motivating pain factor remained. How about training in Manila with Tatang Ilustrisimo? The first day was getting to know me, basically determining if they wanted to teach me. They shared quite a bit, but it was day two when the training started. Early into the second day, an experienced student who had been practicing with an instructor from another style returned. The other instructor had changed this student’s posture, so he hunched over as he warmed up; a big no-no in the Ilustrisimo system. Having the head up and as far away as possible from the opponent’s weapon is very important. Ilustrisimo’s actual combat experience in many sword to sword encounters in his youth, during WWII, and afterward bore out the methods of the family art that passed down to him. The hunched over posture was not viable. So how was the student’s posture corrected? Explanation? Debate? Elucidation? No, they went directly to a scientific, evidence-based method. They had him spar with ‘soft’ sticks and no protective gear against a very athletic Ilustrisimo devotee. I can tell you; those soft sticks were not that soft! They had a rattan
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core with a thin foam covering encased in thin nylon fabric. After a few minutes of moderate intensity sparring targeting only the hand and leg, the returning student did not make the desired adjustments. He continued to bend forward, which put his head closer to the opponent’s weapon. A sharp command informed the men the head was now a target and to up the intensity- all the way up! There I am witnessing a full power stick fight with no protective equipment save a thinly padded weapon. After just a few sharp head strikes, guess what? The fellow straightened his posture. But this man received a severe beat down from the younger, athletic fighter. The bout concluded with the returning student giving up after a barrage of strikes that were punctuated by a brutal leg kick. After being lectured, the beaten man was instructed to hand the stick over to me. That’s right; it was my turn to take on the young athlete. We went at it quite hard, but with a good spirit of competition and camaraderie. He only tried to hit me in the head once. Why would they subject me to that? Simple. They wanted me to learn how to fight well, so they made me fight. Not out of malice and neither to
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prove dominance. Only with the intent to enhance my skills. That is how the traditional arts do it. They developed out of the need to fight, so engaging in fighting is the core of their training. All other aspects of the art, including the dance, serve to improve the sparring performance. You find this method in Zulu stick fighting and other African systems, such as Ethiopian “Donga” stick fighting. You find sparring still present in some of the Filipino martial arts, although the majority have moved away from it. Traditional Portuguese “Jogo Do Pau” is sparring based, as is French “La Canne.” There are newspaper accounts in Brazil from the early 1900s of Portuguese stick fights as entertainment alongside Catch Wrestling, and Jiu-Jitsu matches. I was able to see a little authentic Egyptian “Tahtib” stick fighting when I was in Cairo. I asked the father of the young man who took my wife Sarah and I on a camel tour about stick fighting. He told his son to get the sticks. The young man had a look of dread because he knew it was going to hurt. But that is combat preparation. Another trait shared by Kalis Ilustrisimo and ‘Nduku is that their methods of sparring emphasize the use of intelligent tactics. When people practice
fighting, their defense becomes formidable, so feinting and drawing attacks become highly developed. These set-ups are what allow a fighter to score on a similarly trained opponent. As in chess, each skillful player has the same tools. It is the strategies employed that determine the winner. In addition to the laughing and joyful practice, the most common thread I have experienced during my travels and study boils down to one thing. All truly traditional stick fighting systems include the element of unstructured learning through sparring or fighting. They don’t take a linear, Western school system approach to education. This type of approach guides the student from memorizing a system to experiencing the realm in which the system must operate. Individuality is encouraged if the creativity eventually leads to success. This pragmatic mindset bases itself on the need to prevail in combat. To paraphrase Bruce Lee, memorizing every stroke of
swimming on dry land is not going to save your life in the ocean. You must get in the water! In our day where we have a very low likelihood of stick-to-stick forced combat, sparring provides another advantage. Because sparring requires the approach to be practical, the wisdom we gain relates to those battles we face in everyday life. If you know how to stay calm and deal with someone coming after you with a stick, you will be better equipped to deflect life’s assaults and create solutions that are beneficial to all involved. Developing a comprehensive problem solving ability is probably the most significant benefit that we can derive from our traditional stick fighting experiences. Then life becomes easier. Maybe that’s why the fighters from Manila, Philippines to Eshowe, South Africa were so joyful. Enjoy your training! - Burton Richardson
Burton Richardson @JKDUnlimited
@jkd_unlimited
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STICK FENCING AND CANNE ITALIANA Guido Caporizzi
The effectiveness of the cane can only derive from a broadly developed movement that launches it with vigor. Tightening the moulinet would mean depriving the sport of the cane of its substance. - Bernard Plasait, French savate champion and politician
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Stick Fencing and Canne Italiana Known in France as “la canne” and in England as a cane, the walking stick was a self-defense discipline practiced in Europe from the time of the Romans. Throughout history, the walking sized stick contests enjoyed a popularity between the end of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. Particularly widespread in Italy and later in France, only from the second half of the nineteenth century was it practiced as a real regulated discipline. At first, it was restricted to military training in the Italian sale d’armes, as preparatory to the study of the saber, later spreading to the military barracks of France, Belgium, and Hungary. The diffusion of the French “la canne” in Italy was made by Maestro Zerboni who introduced it at the Andrea Doria Gymnastics Society in Genoa and by Maestro Manusardi in Lombardy. It should be noted, however, that the French canne was nothing more than the Italian stick fencing imported into France by the Italians during the Renaissance period and later revised by the French, though solely in terms
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of vocabulary: several historians recognize this fact including the preeminent French authority on Canne and Savate, maître Sylvain Salvini. Stick Fencing thrived until the beginning of the twentieth century, despite many edicts prohibiting its carrying in public. Only those persons with disabilities or those having real work-related needs were granted an exemption. Around the 1930s, with the decline in the fashion of walking sticks, the art risked disappearing altogether from the salle d’armes. In France, cane fighting continued to be practiced, but for the most part only by devotees of French savate by men such as Roger Lafond who had begun to practice French savate and fencing with his father in Paris. Roger Lafond served in the army from 1933, and from as early as 1937, he trained with the Joinville battalion. With the start of WWII in 1939, Roger Lafond was
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sent to the front, subsequently captured by German forces he interned in a P.O.W. camp where he began teaching canne and fencing to fellow prisoners. When he refused to teach his art to the Nazi guards, they banned him from further practice. After the war, his fame as a canne master spread, and in 1960 he taught his art to Patrick Macnee, the actor of the hit T.V. series The Avengers. Following the Second World War, the sport of canne underwent a new development in France, becoming “Canne de Combat,” an alternative to the Lafond method. Instead, in Italy, cane fighting, known as “Canne Italiana” inspired by the precepts of traditional fencing, continued autonomously under the guidance of maestro Italo Manusardi and his nephew, Lorenzo Ravazzani Manusardi.
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The Milanese Cane School and Canne Italiana Milan is the city that, by the middle of the 19th century, saw the publication of the first Italian articles on “Bastone” or stick fighting and Savate. Savate, also known as Le boxe française, savate boxing, French kickboxing, or French foot fighting, is a French combat sport that uses the hands and feet as weapons, combining elements of English boxing with graceful kicking techniques. Only foot kicks are allowed, unlike some systems such as Muay Thai, which allow the use of knees or shins. “Savate” is a French word for “old shoe or boot,” and Savate fighters wear specially designed boots. The “Trattato teorico pratico di Scherma col Bastone” (1854) by Giuseppe Cerri was the first publication to describe the use of the two-handed staff in Milan, with lessons and exercises. In 1869 the manual “Trattato di Box-Libera ossia difesa personale di Luigi Carmine, Maestro di sci-
abola, bastone e ginnastica, già istruttore di stato maggiore” was published. This book, according to French historian Sylvain Salvini, is a plagiarism of the “Manuel de la boxe française et anglaise” by Louis Leboucher, even if maestro Carmine had a verifiable and documented knowledge of fencing, gymnastics, wrestling, and boxing. Gianluca Zanini, in his re-edition of the famous Treatise of Master G. Cerri, points out that in Milan there was familiarity with the use of weapons, as confirmed in the “Guide di Milan” that noted that between 1827 and 1889 there were up to 22 fencing halls, with 42 Maestros teaching.
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First Half of the 19th Century From the time of Luigi Carmine of the late 19th century to the second post-war period in Lombardy, and specifically in Milan, only one other treatise on stick fencing was published. Master Giannino Martinelli wrote “Trattato di scherma col bastone da passeggio,” a book in which he adapted the saber technique to the stick. The part of the publication dedicated to personal defense targetted officers of the Milan municipal police, who regularly armed themselves with walking sticks. The book covered the use of the stick both for sport and self-defense. Another book published in 1930s, “La difesa personale” by Carlo Volpi, dealt with self-defense using weapons such as walking sticks, knives, Savate and Jiu-Jitsu, cannot be considered as original, as it is merely a translation of Jean Joseph-Renaud’s “La defénse dans la Rue.”
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Second Half of the 19th Century, the Birth of Canne Italiana Emerging from these historical roots, the Manusardi Academy was born in the 1950s, later developing its style of walking stick fighting called “Canne Italiana”. The founder of the academy, Arrigo Manusardi, continued his family military tradition of combat, gymnastics, and wrestling, and then established relations in France, to increasingly spread the sport of savate which was already practiced in Genoa and Milan. Arrigo Manusardi wrote four books, published by the Milanese publisher Zibetti, on the disciplines he taught: “Jiu-Jitsu e Savate per difesa personale. Manuale pratico” of 1958 followed in 1959 by “Ginnastica educativa. Manuale pratico” and in 1960 by two additional texts, “La boxe francese (la Savate). Difesa personale e sport" and then “Lotte olimpiche. Greco-Romana e stile libero”. In 1968, following
the death of Arrigo Manusardi, the eldest of his three sons, Italo Manusardi, founded E.N.B.F. - I.T.A.L.I.A. (Ecole Nationale de Boxe Française d’Italie) to continue the work of his father. March 7, 1969, was the historic date of the first international Savate match between France and Italy. The most famous Italian sports newspaper, the Gazzetta dello Sport, commented as follows: “Nice Italian victory in Paris. An interesting match of French kickboxing took place in the Wagram Room between the teams of France and Italy, won by the latter 2-1. The Italians, led by Italo Manusardi, beat the French at one of their favorite combat sports”. On this occasion, Italo Manusardi attended a high-level cane match, which he already knew about having seen it practiced several times in Genoa and partially learned from his father Arrigo who, before becoming the founder of the Lombard school of Savate, had been a brilliant student of the famous cane master Roger Lafond. Italo was so impressed by the match that he decided to improve on the sport and spread it throughout Italy. The handling of the cane, whose technique was in some ways like that of the dueling sabre, was
made easier for Italo Manusardi thanks to the fencing techniques learned from the famous master Wolfram Werner at the German School of War during WWII. Attending the prestigious Genoese school of master Lazzaro Delfino, together with maestro Mario Pavani, allowed Italo Manusardi to further refine his skills as a maestro and fencer. At the same time, thanks to contacts with France and having access to historical manuals to study the history and evolution of the cane, Italo Manusardi was able to carry out personal research that gave further impetus to his passion, leading him to create an original Italian method for the interpretation of the cane, or the Canne Italiana. The inspiring principle of this new discipline was to consider stick fencing not only a sport but also a perfect introduction to traditional dueling with metal weapons: Canne Italiana represented the perfect fusion between traditional canne and saber dueling. Italo Manusardi thus began to teach Canne Italiana to his Savate students, including his young son Renato and his grandson, Lorenzo Ravazzani Manusardi, who learned all the secrets of his style from his grandfather. Subsequently, grandfather and grandson began to avidly spread the sport of Canne Italiana, strictly based on
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the traditional system of Roger Lafond and different from modern Canne de Combat. With the birth of the “Sala d’armi e codice d’ onore Lazzaro Delfino”, the study of Canne Italiana was extended to the two-handed staff: the result was a style of its own, a fusion of Canne Italiana and French canne, thus arriving at a unique way in the handling of the two-handed weapon. Canne Italiana in the New Millennium In 2000 the synergy between the Manusardi Academy and the historic gym S.G. Pro Patria 1883 - Milan, led to the creation of a real structure dedicated to Canne Italiana. At that time, the “Academia Canne Italiana” introduced its full-contact version: as “Full Contact Canne Italiana” where the fencing technique of Canne Italiana blended with the fighting techniques of Savate, with stick grips, disarms, direct shots without the need for a moulinet and the two-handed grip. In just a few years the Full Contact Canna Italiana style became unique in its genre for its elegance and effectiveness, giving rise to a period of very intense activity: a national network of practitioners and stick experts emerged, international introduction seminars and
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Canne Italiana courses were held in Paris, thanks to Maître JeanPierre Julemont, European savate champion and great friend of Italo. Television and newspapers were also interested in Maestro Italo and Canne Italiana: in the academic year 2004/2005 the station TV SKY SPORT 1 broadcast a television show where the head of the school Italo Manusardi and his nephew Lorenzo, interviewed at the S.G. Pro Patria 1883 Milan gym, described the history and the technique of Canne Italiana and demonstrated exercises and fights. Master Italo Manusardi, still working at the age of 80, was then interviewed in the spring of 2009 by the national T.V. channel R.A.I. 2 to talk about his longevity. In the interview, Master Manusardi described Canne Italiana while his nephew Lorenzo demonstrated some sporting and defense techniques.
Research and Development of Weapons The development of Full Contact Canne Italiana, with its potential significant degree of physical impact, led to a need for research and development of equipment and materials that offered adequate protection to practitioners. A new arrival made a significant contribution in this sense: Guido Caporizzi, savateur, in completing the entire academic path leading to his attainment of the black ribbon in Canne Italiana, began to passionately devote himself to the weapon of Canne Italiana, with a special interest in its safe practice. Wood Treatments Together with the laborious job of working with scarce and fragmented written documents was also the significant obstacle of overcoming the barrier of confidentiality of the most orthodox masters of the various stick disciplines, protective of the secrets of their weapons. However, due to the seriousness and commitment of Guido Caporizzi, he succeeded in convincing them that their precious technical knowledge would not be passed on to self-taught or undeserving laymen: Guido learned from the masters the woods to choose
and the ones to avoid, the proper phases of the moon and the season to cut the sticks. Additionally, he learned to strip, straighten, and temper them by fire. Finally, he learned how and at what temperature and humidity to season and store them. Other information handed down from master to pupil, included “oiling sticks once a day for a week, once a week for a month, once a month for a year and then once a year forever.” Soft Sticks for a Soft Approach The constant work in the salle d’arme also highlighted the need to create suitable sticks for novices who wish to approach Canne Italiana without immediately purchasing expensive and complete fencing equipment. Guido thus designed soft sticks that, although slower and not high performance, allow beginners to try their hand at Canne Italiana without protection, but in total safety. Alternatively, an inflatable stick, which could be inflated and then deflated after use, became another option for easier transport of otherwise long and bulky sticks used in public demonstrations. Rubberized Cane A key creation was the invention of a “rubberized cane,” completely covered with a natural
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rubber particularly suitable for Canne Italiana. Thanks to this technical cane created by Guido, in the event of the cane breaking upon impact, especially during Full Contact Canne Italiana, any dangerous, resulting splinters are retained by the rubber. Master Italo Manusardi, wishing to reward this achievement, decided to give a special mention of honor to Guido Caporizzi, who had created it. An exemplar of one of these rubberized canes is in the section dedicated to stick fencing at the Agorà fencing museum in Busto Arsizio, a renowned Italian museum dedicated to fencing. Technical Peculiarities of Canne Italiana The characteristics that distinguish Canne Italiana are: The circumduction of the wrist: derives mainly from the saber technique and has the function of giving additional strength and fluidity to the movement of the weapon, initially triggered by the arm, at the time of making specific strikes. The “moulinet” or cane twirling: the cane being a light blunt weapon and unlike the saber, which is a heavy, sharp, and powerful weapon, its effectiveness derives, almost of necessity, from a widely developed large rotary move-
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ment that lends energy to it. It is, therefore, the sum of speed and centrifugal force that gives an effectiveness to the strike made with this light weapon. Tip thrusts: these are mostly thrusting like we do with the saber, are made at different heights and different targets. Whipped strikes: consist of the ability of the fencer to use the fingers in cutting blows to provide a further push to the weapon after the moulinet, a split second before the weapon impacts the target implying the development of considerable sensitivity of the fingers for the so-called “snapping” and sensitivity in timing. Arguments in Support of the Italian and French Cane Systems There are arguments, of equal value, in support of both the Italian and French systems. The Canne Italiana organizes itself around moulinets, and its blows are predicated on a moulinet because we believe, as also claimed by French savateur Bernard Plasait, due to physical reasons the power of the blow derives from the moulinet. Tightening the moulinet to increase speed would mean depriving the cane sport of its substance. Modern French canne de combat
has instead almost eliminated moulinets, believing that blows carried without a moulinet are faster and efficient. In Canne Italiana, we believe the speed of execution derives instead from intense specific training, as proven by master Lecour who, as we read in “Traité de Canne, boxe et baton” (anonymous), was able to deliver two hundred strokes per minute.
Modern French Canne de Combat employs six strokes “brisé/ coup donné en tête,” “latéral extérieur,” “latéral croisé,” “enlevé,” “croisé tête,” “croisé jambe” thus excluding the thrust, believing that these slow down the action. In Canne Italiana, on the other hand, thrusts are still present and considered very effective, particularly in Full Contact Canne Italiana.
STYLES OF CANNE ITALIANA Canne Italiana Accademica (Light Contact): Is the academic version of Canne Italiana, limited to the use of the cane only, with blows carried out with full control and light contact. The practitioner must be able to use the canes equally with the right or left hand, without distinction. Canna Italiana Contatto Pieno: Full Contact Canne Italiana combines the fencing techniques of Canne Italiana with savate strikes. Strikes can be carried out with or without moulinets, at all distances and heights, as would potentially happen in a hypothetical street brawl, though concerning some basic safety rules. Doppia Canna: This consists in the simultaneous use of two canes (one for each hand) mainly as an academic exercise in dexterity, in order to increase one’s manual ability. Studied and further developed by Sergio Rallo, savateur, instructor and one of the managers of the Manusardi Academy, the guiding principle is to achieve total control of the independence of the two hands, where one cane parries and protects while the other carries out offensive strikes: all dynamic parries or strikes are preceded by a moulinet which is the distinguishing feature of Canne Italiana.
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Two-Handed Staff: Is a heavy weapon is used mainly with strikes preceded by a moulinet, giving even more energy to the strikes thanks to the centrifugal force and weight of the arm. Moreover, due to its weight and length, it is almost exclusively handled with two hands. Vertical moulinets from bottom to top and vice versa, forwards or backward, are reminiscent of a kayak stroke. One does them using horizontal circular blows, slippage of the stick in one of the two hands, and by lateral strikes that give the two-handed Canne Italiana a peculiar style and elegance. The manner of holding the stick is one of the ways to identify the Italian and French styles.
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DEGREES/LEVELS One-Handed Levels:
Canne
Italiana
Canne Italiana has three grades or levels, called Ribbons, with the colors white, red and black in progression where black being the highest level is granted after passing an examination before a commission: White Ribbon involves the knowledge of basic techniques and training in semi-contact fighting, called touché combat. The matches have into one or more rounds and paused upon each successful strike of one of the two opponents. Red Ribbon instead requires full knowledge of the Canne Italiana technique and training in light-contact fighting. The matches are without interruption and divided into two or more by-the-point rounds. Black Ribbon, as the highest martial level, requires knowledge and the practical application of Canne Italiana for self-defense. The matches are full contact, with no regulatory restrictions, and are entirely free, with judges and referees who assign points
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based on the real effectiveness of the techniques used. To reach this level, adequate knowledge and the practice of savatè is necessary as Chausson/Savate techniques are used. Two-Handed Levels:
Canne
Italiana
Three degrees or levels, called Ribbons, with the colors white, red, and black in progression with black being the highest level is achieved after passing an exam: White Ribbon involves the learning of the techniques of the Italian method. Red Ribbon, involves the study of French techniques and combat in the two different styles. Black Ribbon instead involves the practical application of the two methods in mixed schools, Italian versus French and vice versa, and the technique of both systems in the handling of the staff.
WEAPONS One-Handed Canne Italiana
Protective Gear
One-handed Canne Italiana for novices - a soft padded or inflatable cane that allows beginners to approach Canne Italiana without protection and in total safety.
Stick fencing mask following F.I.E. standards (mesh steel resistance 1600 NW) with the protection for the nape in plastic (both for academic style Canne Italiana and Full Contact Canne Italiana).
One-handed Canne Italiana for academic practice – a cane of chestnut or nutwood or other similar wood, made from a young barked and unlathed sucker, having the following characteristics: Length: 90-95 cm. Weight: must not exceed 160 grams, including wrapping. Wrapping made of rubber or other material suitable for containing splinters from breakage. Two-Handed Staff Two-handed staff: a staff of chestnut or nutwood or other similar wood, made from a young barked and unlathed sucker, approximately 140 cm long and weighing 400 grams.
Upper body armor, such as martial arts, riot control, hockey, and biking armor, is mandatory for Full-Contact Canne Italiana (use of a fencing jacket under armor is optional). Athletic supporter and cup in P.V.C. or hard plastic, to be worn under pants (both for academic and Full Contact Canne Italiana). Elbow, knee and shin protection for martial arts, riot control, hockey, rollerblading or biking (both for academic and Full Contact Canne Italiana). Gloves suitable for martial arts or ice and field hockey; (both for academic and Full Contact Canne Italiana).
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WEAPONS (cont.) Valid Strikes and Targets: Strikes made with a moulinet of the wrist or elbow, or with at least half a rotation of the cane except for point shots which reach the targets with the tip of the weapon, are considered valid. One-handed thrusting strikes are permitted to valid torso targets at all levels; mask thrusts are valid to the front of the mask. Targets: Head: with mask (thrusts and slashes). Torso: with padded (thrusts and slashes).
armor
Right/left arm: entire arm. Right/left leg: entire leg. Hands: with a glove (back of the hand). Invalid Strikes and Targets: Strike to the groin and feet are forbidden. In academic Canne Italiana, uncontrolled strikes are prohibited; strikes must not be heavy-handed but delivered to the target without excessive force.
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EXTERNAL LINKS Video Canne Lafond: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ7tK9i3u5I&t=44s Interview TV SKY SPORT 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vwDJoOyiJU Interview TV RAI2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KS6cLKGBClk=121s Canne Italiana slow motion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rV2ql63e-KQ Sparring with no armor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Rrol9J7MQU Black Ribbon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLwNpxeNQsE Disarmament: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D339Z0GP4Ms&t=61s Canne full contact: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2n90YPd7Io Acknowledgments Special thanks to Ms. Luana Hegglin, a professional translator: without her precious support for the preparation of the Italian documents, this article would not have been possible (luana.hegglin@gmail.com).
Guido Caporizzi @guidonair STICK FENCING AND CANNE ITALIANA • Guido Caporizzi | 147
AN INTERVIEW WITH
SENSEI SASTRI:
JO JUTSU STAFF TECHNIQUES Jeevan Gowda
RECENTLY I HAD the honor to sit down with my oldest martial arts teacher, Sensei Srinivasan Sastri. Sensei has been guiding me in my martial arts practice since I was 19 years old. Now at the age of 85, he has been practicing martial arts for nearly six decades, training in the samurai arts for more than 40 years. I find it best to ask simple questions and let Sensei do what he does best - teach.
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Jeevan Gowda: So, what is the advantage of staff training? Sensei Sastri: Well, first, it will help with the coordination of your body. If you train with no other weapon, or if you are from an empty hand art it improves the coordination. When you pick up any staff, it becomes an extension of your hand and body! Your legs, your hand, your breathing all these work together to move your staff. Moving everything together dramatically improves your coordination. Secondly, a good art will teach you various aspects of using a stick/staff. Striking to different parts of the body, using various types of strikes. Then there are several techniques you can use, such as throws, chokes, and sweeps. All these various aspects of “Jo” training are improved. The staff will improve your coordination in life. Also, all the techniques you use. Be they striking or throws. How to reach a moving opponent and adapting to the situation. Even if you do not have a traditional staff, then you can use whatever is at hand to protect yourself with your art At least that is what a proper staff training means to me!
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JG: How does energizing the stick help with your striking and blocking?
turn the force. Then you can move on into your next strike or block.
SS: Energizing the stick is something I can tell you about and show you, but it’s up to the individual to pick up the stick and feel it. They must learn it and know it. To make the staff a part of themselves.
This may sound like a very simplistic way of explaining this principle. Some people may have objections to this, but that’s the principle. The energy of your body becomes part of that weapon. If you don’t understand it and think it’s hocus-pocus - so be it! I guess I’m full of it like so many others (he laughs at that last comment).
What do I mean by that? Well, it’s the same as any good Karate instructor would teach you. When the punch comes, the hand is not stiff. It starts loose and at the end of the movement it tightens. The hand relaxes and retracts. That’s energizing a punch. When you’re holding a staff, don’t let it be dead. Cultivate a feeling as if the staff is an extension of your hand. In this way, the energy flowing from your hand must flow through the stick to be effective. The energy flows from the center of your body. In empty hand styles, it’s also the same. The power comes from your center, and at the last second, you’re throwing that energy. The same way the energy is going through the stick and causing more damage. When you’re blocking, this energy helps you feel the force of a block, unlike a dead stick, which will only help you absorb the force. A live staff will help you 152 | The Immersion Review
JG: Sensei, what is better - footwork or speed? SS: Well for us, footwork means “Tai Sabaki,” or “moving the body out of harm’s way.” So, if you’re going to fight speed against speed, then you are depending on your own speed. If you’re not faster than him, you’re going to lose. You cannot depend on speed. You must use an intelligent way of negating that speed and not follow your opponent’s way of fighting. Being the follower and your opponent, the leader. He expects you to defend or go back. With Tai Sabaki, we don’t stand and defend; we go around! So which techniques do we use to negate speed? In our system, there are three modes: 1. Block and counter 2. Move out of range 3. Moving into attack Let’s discuss the second one, stepping out of range. The attack is coming very fast. Moving back for a fraction of a second and then going immediately on the offensive. You are focusing on the strike coming for you, just moving enough to avoid the strike. To be able to do this, one must practice exhaustively.
back in a defensive mode for a billionth of a second and the next billionth of a second your stepping in on the offensive move. Once you’re there, there are hundreds of things you can do. You need to practice millions of times to get the timing right. I’m not an instructor who says a few months of my class, and you’re an expert. You must pay your dues! When the strike is coming, if you’re not inside the strike, inside the working end of a sword or a staff of a knife, if you’re not inside the working end and close to the body, then you will lose. So, you must get inside. Why inside? Because his body is the one throwing the fist. The body is the one holding the weapon. So, you must hurt the body. Of course, a knife fighter wants to cut your hands; a stick fighter wants to hit your hands. Everyone wants to hit your hands. That’s fine, but when you move in close enough that you’re almost kissing him, then you can strike his center. Then you’re unbalancing him!
For instance, you’re stepping
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JG: Even with a longer weapon/ staff Sensei? SS: Yes, you go in with a longer weapon! Yes, even with a longer weapon, let’s say a gun. The first thing you have to say is “I’m dead”! I want to get that fear of the gun out of me! YOU won’t be able to do it by just thinking about it. I practice it and tell myself I’m dead every day. YOU must pay your dues! YOU must learn it! YOU must make it a part of your thinking! Because once you consider yourself dead, you have nothing to fear. Because fear will hold you
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back. For example, a guy with a gun (is) standing eight feet or more away. Unless you’re Superman, you can’t cover the distance. You must be smart. He is pointing at the enormous mass of your body. In response you take a long diving roll at a 45-degree angle. Then change angles and move in again. He must follow your movement. By the time he realizes the changes, he will most likely miss you. If he doesn’t miss, well I can’t protect you from a hundred different situations! You have put in the effort, the thought when facing a gun. How do you get out? That comes with learning and training every day. So, figure it out!
Staff Versus Blade JG: A lot of my teachers would teach me the staff and the blade separately. They would tell me they were separate philosophies. So, what are the similarities and differences, and how does staff training help your blade work? SS: Well, I’m not a great believer in learning weapons one at a time. There is nothing wrong with learning the staff one day and the sword the next. I don’t care if it’s a sword or an axe or a machete. Because if you look at it, there is something common to every one of these weapons. If you learn a block from your empty hand form, then put a stick in your hand, that’s a block too. So, you can also use a longer stick or a sword and block that way. So, the basic principle of a block with a weapon of any kind is the same. The only difference is the length of the weapon in your hand.
you must break that bone before you can cut. So, the same with a knife. It’s chopping. You need to take out that person’s shoulder, his hand. Completely destroy it by cutting it off. So, everything has a common factor in it. You must see that. If you’ve been taught to learn one art first and then another later, I’m sorry. I don’t agree with that! Of course, it’s a good idea to learn empty hand fighting Because that builds a lot of coordination. So maybe if you practice empty hand for a year. You have that coordination and weapons become easier.
The similarities are always there. Whether it is a staff or a blade, it’s always chopping. If you take a stick and stop right before the moment of contact, then it’s like a dead blow. But if you strike through the body, it is a more effective strike, a more painful strike. You’re not here to scratch that person. You break that bone. Even with a knife, AN INTERVIEW WITH SENSEI SASTRI • Jeevan Gowda | 155
Future of Martial arts in the Modern World JG: You were talking about fighting someone with a gun. That’s a modern-day interpretation of an ancient battlefield art
other thing coming! So, do not be overconfident. Always accept the fact you will be struck, shot, cut!
SS: Well, once again, when you talk about facing a modern-day weapon. I fall back on the techniques I have learned. You must know your Tai Sabaki. How to step out and back in. So, you have moved yourself out of harm’s way
I’ve said it from day one to all my students. Accept it! Don’t say, “nothing’s going to happen to me.” Don’t say “my martial arts are so good I can face a guy with a gun, and he’s not going to shoot me.” In my previous example of taking a roll, you may get shot, but the damage will be minimal. So, when facing any weapon, the other guy can get lucky. Sometimes in a boxing match, the guy who’s not so good gets a lucky shot, and they go down. Anything can happen. There are so many variables
Let’s not forget as a martial artist, as I have always taught my students: Be prepared every day when you go to class to say: I will get hit I will be knifed I will get shot
I will get kicked
So, there’s no hard and fast rule. To get out of a situation, use your mind and body to help yourself to minimize the danger.
But your movement is going to minimize the pain. Minimize the damage. If you think you’re never going to get hit because I’m so super good, you have an-
Modern battlefields skills cannot compare to those taught in an ancient art because they didn’t have the same weapons they have today. Take, for instance,
I will get punched
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a missile defense system where you have a low level, mid-level altitude, and a higher level. Like ancient Japan there would be three levels. Soldiers kneeling with swords, behind them would be a row standing. Behind them a row with long spears. So, three different levels. So, there are many levels of “ryuha,” “battlefield techniques”. I should say battlefield ideas. Because I’m sure generals today study the old battlefield techniques The first and foremost thing is not to get encircled. Regardless if it is ancient or modern warfare. The only difference being the weapons. I cannot say much more about modern and ancient battlefield weapons. Though I’m sure there are many universal ideas and philosophies.
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Regarding the Future of the Art JG: How do you think our art is going to advance? Especially as now we teach a varied group of students. They are all very educated and a very different group. SS: Well as you said, most of today’s students are high school and college students. So, I always treat them as highly intelligent people, and I talk to them in that manner. Secondly, I do not teach the old way (which is not going to work), where you must believe everything and not question me. “Just do what I tell you and respect me.” I do not ask for that. Modern students are not going to do that. Because their philosophy, the way they’ve grown up, and how they’ve studied in school or college is completely different. So, they’ve learned to think in this environment. So, you can’t force them to respect you, force them to learn. You must earn the students' respect. The students must have an exchange of information. If they have doubts you have to answer it; you must show them.
Modern day teaching is not the old way. Teach them honestly. Try to teach a certain amount of information. If it goes beyond the hour of class, say “Hey guys, I’ve got to do another 15-20 more minutes. I hope you can stay.” Show them that you’re more interested in them learning, rather than your time. Because no kid today must learn martial arts, they don’t need to. They are doing it voluntarily, giving up their time. So, as they respect your time, you should respect their time. If they don’t stay, deal with them accordingly. You might not do this again, or you might not ask them. Bend a certain amount and no more. As an instructor, don’t bend back so much that you’ll fall. Students must be in class to learn if they are yelling out questions. “I saw something in a movie.” Well then go somewhere else, don’t bother me.
Srinivasan Sastri httt://www.theimmersiondojo.com 158 | The Immersion Review
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DOG BROTHERS MARTIAL ARTS’ SEVEN RANGES AND STICK GRAPPLING Marc “Crafty Dog” Denny
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Does Grappling Happen in Stick Fights When our instructional series came out in 1993, one of the most controversial aspects was our use of BJJ influenced grappling. We heard things like, “You didn’t see that in the death matches in the Philippines!” or “Your grappling only happens because of your head and hand gear!” The first assertion is in error. Grappling did happen in stick fights in the Philippines. For example, I remember when GM Atillo of Balintawak Eskrima came to teach an evening seminar at the Inosanto Academy. One of the things GM Atillo was famous for was a fight in Cebu, which he lost to GM Cacoy Canete of Doce Pares.
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One of the first things he did was show us a copy of the rules for the fight the two had signed. One of the rules clearly stated, “No grappling.” The question presented by this duel is both clear and obvious— if grappling does not happen in a stick fight, why the need for the rule? The answer was this: GM Cacoy was a black belt in Judo and had blended his Judo with his Doce Pares Eskrima into a system he called “Eskrido” with the last two letters being the last two letters from the name Judo. The other eskrimadors of Cebu knew of his skills in bringing Judo to bear, and so, in search of a test of Balintawak Eskrima vs. Doce Pares Eskrima, it was agreed to exclude grappling from the fight. The next thing GM Aillo did was show us a picture from the newspaper the day after the fight wherein GM Cacoy had him bent over in a reverse headlock while whacking him with the stick. “You see! He cheated!” In short, I think this story clearly shows that grappling can and does happen in stick fights, even at the highest levels in the Philippines. So, this brings us to the other 164 | The Immersion Review
major criticism in this regard of our fighting: “Your grappling only happens because of your head or hand gear! Without them, you would be defanged with ‘hand hits’ and ‘stopped shots’ to the head and face!” Of course, in many of our fights, particularly with less experienced fighters, this is quite true! That said, our hand gear is far lighter than many appreciate. Indeed, we now have many fighters whose gloves are leather with no padding whatsoever. Broken hands are not rare at ‘Dog Brothers Gatherings of the Pack’ ®. It should be noticed that this usually does not stop the fighter from continuing. So, why then wear them at all? The answer is to protect the hand from being ‘cheese gratered’ on the opponent’s fencing mask. Concerning the fencing masks, the first thing to note is that they are masks, not helmets. While they do diminish the impact to the head, people can and do get dropped. Concussions do happen. As a result, people quickly learn to protect their heads. What our gear does mean, however, is that the fighting part of the learning process can be un-
dertaken and survived to the point where one has the genuine ability to fight without any gear at all. Of course, this is more dangerous than would make sense for a combat sport ritual fight but, the proof is in the pudding — One can regularly see skilled fighters in Dog Brothers fights entering into and establishing grappling as part of the fight without getting hit. (For the record I do note that Top Dog, Salty Dog, and I were all willing to do so when the UFC approached us about being a special event between the semi-finals and the finals back in the early days when its format was ‘Eight men enter, one man, leaves.’ Concerned about the potential for political backlash, the UFC backed off with a gracious letter saying we were “just too extreme for the UFC.” | https://dogbrothers.com/ufc-letter/) Doing this has two parts—getting to the stick grapple and knowing what to do when there. Let us look now at the first of these. DBMA SEVEN RANGES & STICK GRAPPLING • Marc Denny | 165
Getting to the Stick Grapple As a fighter and a teacher, I developed what I call ‘the seven ranges of weapon fighting.’ In the West today, most Filipino Martial Arts systems and styles teach the concept of range by breaking it down into the three ranges of Largo, Medio, and Corto. These are usually translated as long-range, mid-range, and close range. For most teaching purposes, these three ranges suffice. In the early days of my Dog Brothers path, I noticed that many people with highly developed skills were not showing them when they fought. Indeed, they often looked a little different from rather untrained fighters. Often this led them to doubt themselves and the Art. I began to think about this. What I realized was that most people train in two-man drills and that the drills are principally in either Media or Corto range yet WHEN THE FIGHT STARTS IT STARTS OUTSIDE OF LARGO and most people, beyond trying to be quicker and/or more powerful, haven’t a clue as to what to do out there or how to get to the ranges where their skills lie IN COMPOSED BALANCE. Thus, often, little or none
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of their cultivated skills show up in their fighting. This thought was the beginning of the understanding that led to the seven ranges. It was, and is, my great fortune to have been trained by some of the greatest FMA teachers such as Guro Dan Inosanto and others. From them I learned to appreciate that some schools in the Philippines organize their teaching methodology around more than three ranges. For example, a cover story in ‘Inside Kung Fu’ magazine in the early 1980s showed Guro Inosanto demonstrating much more than the three generic ranges. Similarly, in my very brief but valuable training with Grandmaster Ramiro Estalilla of Kabaroan Eskrima, I have been exposed to a concept of range very different from that of the three generic ranges. I mention these examples because I wish to make it clear that although the Dog Brothers Martial Arts expression of seven ranges may be distinctive, and, we hope of value, there is no claim to be the only one with more than the three basic rang-
es, nor is there a claim to be better than those with three. So, let us look at them. Two of the seven ranges lie outside of Largo-Medio-Corto, and two lie inside. These ranges do not bump up against each other like bricks; instead, rather like the links of a chain, they overlap. Understand too that this is all only ‘a manner of talking’ and should not be taken too literally. To use the JKD metaphor, once the canoe gets you across the river, you do not need to carry it on your back as you continue on your way. Fights are dynamic, and in the application, the ranges blend freely. Stick Fighting Hurts
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Snake Range As I studied and was hit by Top Dog over the years I have come to appreciate that he has a unique way of moving before contact is made, both in stickwork and footwork, that distinguishes him from all other fighters I have seen, even ones trained in the same system as he is (Pekiti Tirsia). Recently I have come to attribute this to his time in high school playing the sport of Lacrosse. If I have my history right, Lacrosse was an already well-established sport amongst the Native American Iroquois Confederacy at the time that the English first arrived in North America. In a rare moment of historical accuracy in a Hollywood film, this was acknowledged in one of the first scenes in the movie ‘Last of the Mohicans’ wherein at a settlement the Native Americans can be seen with sticks with a small net/basket at one end playing a game in the field. The game today is played principally in the schools of the northeastern states of America, but in the last few years, it is beginning to spread further. In its modern sport incarnation, the players wear a helmet with a mask that is something like a hockey helmet. There is upper 168 | The Immersion Review
body protection similar to, but decidedly less protective than that of American football. There are elbow pads and gloves similar to those of ‘street hockey’ (i.e., dramatically lighter than ice hockey). The game allows strong frontal checking and use of one’s stick to strike the stick of the man with the ball to knock it out of its basket. The protective gear is for the errant strikes that are a normal part of play. Players with the ball learn ‘to cradle’ a continuous movement of their stick to protect it from being hit. Or if the stick is hit, to protect the ball from being knocked out of the basket while running/crashing through the opposing team towards the goal. Cradling is also used to fake defenders into committing too soon, thus enabling passes to teammates or shots on goal on other lines. The speed of the game at the high school, university, and now professional level needs to be seen to be truly appreciated. My theory is that the evasive and crashing running of Lacrosse done in conjunction with the cradling motions of the Lacrosse stick is the origin of Top Dog’s distinctive stick movement in the range before contact is made.
The fencing masks are not helmets, KOs are possible
Anyway, I like putting nicknames to things, and to the sinuous, flowing quality of Top Dog’s stick movement, I put the name ‘the snaky stick.’ The term has nothing to do with ‘snake disarms.’ This is the Filipino Martial Arts after all, and consistent use of terminology is prohibited! Haha. In DBMA, we define ‘The Snake’ as “the skill of moving your stick to protect your hand, hide your intent, create your opening, and mask your initiation.” Although the starting point is based upon what Top Dog does, we also draw upon the movements of several other quality fighters as well. No one structure, even that of ‘the best, works best for
everyone, and no one structure solves all problems. The material of the Snake range in our curriculum also includes how to analyze and solve your opponent’s structure. If you can quickly recognize your opponent’s structure and already know its underlying strengths and weaknesses, you have fewer choices to make and hence can react more rapidly and confidently. It is also important to remember that there are times in a fight, as well as situations in the street, that one wants to avoid engagement and to keep the opponent(s) away. This development of this skill is also part of our curriculum for Snake range.
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Weapon Range Weapon range is still outside of Largo. It is the range where the weapons strike each other — the shorter the weapons, e.g., pocket knives, the less relevant this range. In your basic stick fight, depending upon the dynamics, this can be a critical range in the hands of a fighter who understands it, but even then, not necessarily so. However, when the weapons are longer, it is likely to be essential. For example, when two men of roughly equal skill face of with staffs, it is probable that the weapons will make contact with each other before anyone is hit. Within Weapon range, there are three basic sub-categories: meet the force, merge the force, and follow the force. The meaning of ‘meet’ and ‘follow’ are obvious enough; but then there is to ‘merge.’ My awareness on this point was triggered by Grand Master Ramiro Estalilla, whose fascinating Kabaroan system has many longer weapons, some of which are projectile weapons. A merge is, as we use the term in DBMA, where the force of my strike on my opponent’s weapon is approximately at an angle of 90 degrees to the line of force of
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his strike, i.e., halfway between meet and merge. The purpose of a merge is to knock your opponent’s weapon off course and disrupt his control of it to create an opening for your follow up strike. There are even angles where the mere impact on the weapon can accomplish disarms. A scientific understanding of this range can open the door to a composed, balanced entry into the hitting ranges (Largo/ Medio/Corto) and is very valuable. Now let’s take a look at the ranges inside of Largo/Medio/Corto.
Greater fighting measure and different dynamics of the fight due to the weapons
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Hand is a major target
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Clinch/Standing/ Grapple Exactly as it is named, this is where both fighters are tied up while standing. As defined in DBMA, Corto can be a similar distance, although it is usually a little bit further, it has a very different dynamic; there, apart from the possibility of trapping, the fighters are not holding on to each other. Here, by definition, they are. In Real Contact Stick Fighting, almost all entries to the clinch/ standing grapple are on the high line. To try to shoot low from the greater distance of a stick fight is to expose the top or back of one’s head to a full force stick shot. Because of the requirements of coming in with one’s head protected, the arm positions of the tie-up are often somewhat different from empty hand standing grapple. There are important differences in the dynamics as well, as anyone who has gotten cracked in the head with a punyo (butt strike), thrust in the belly, whacked in the third leg with the stick, ‘fang choked’ with the stick, or thrown with the stick can attest. Furthermore, in a stick fight, it is not uncommon for a standing grapple to open out back into the striking ranges. These differences do not change the fact
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that the skills of a stick fighting standing grapple must be on top of a good base-though it may be tempting to do so as you explore what can be done with the stick, you ignore the empty hand standing grapple game at your peril.
Techniques for closing tend to be on the high and mid lines
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Ground Grapple The name is self-explanatory. In the next section of this article, we will examine it more closely. As a teacher as well as a fighter, it has been my experience that this concept of seven ranges is of great practical use. A fighter trained in these additional ranges AND THEIR INTEGRATION will have both the skills and understanding of these ranges. He will not be baffled at how to get to where his Largo-Medio-Corto skills apply. He will have a more composed mind and a more definite sense of mission of how to get into these ranges technically and with the composure necessary to make his opponent feel ‘the wrath of the rattan.’ Similarly, when the fight gets tied up, he has the skills and understanding to respond more fluidly and spontaneously. The ability to integrate these ranges is key. For this, in DBMA, we have ‘ the triangle from the third dimension.’ The three points of the triangle are the weapons, the limb, and the head/ body.
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To apply the concept, we have three basic modalities: Combinations. Attacking Blocks. Occupying Strikes. All three of these require a high level of integration of footwork and weaponry; typically, in what we call the ‘one for one’ relationship—for each strike or block with the stick, there is also a step. For those who like to impress themselves and others with how they can blaze with a stick, this means they will have to slow down the speed of their stick to the speed of their fee and can be extremely challenging to the ego—people are confronted with the fact that they are not as good as they thought they were.
Once on the ground, the stick can be used to hit, for leverage, and for choking, often provoking unsound reactions that a MMA-BJJ fighter would never otherwise do.
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In 1990, three years before the UFC, Marc began training BJJ with the Machado Brothers, principally with Rigan Machado and brought BJJ to Dog Brothers Real Contact Stick Fighting
The Stick Grapple Perhaps it will be of interest if I begin with a bit of history: The Dog Brothers came into being in 1988. Though this was well before the BJJ revolution, at my suggestion, grappling was allowed. Previously Top Dog, ‘the Fighting Force’ around whom we coalesced, had avoided it for fear of scaring prospective playmates away. At 6’4” and 215 pounds with a background as a defensive end for Columbia University football and a background in Lacrosse, this was a legitimate concern! However, with the “After Midnight” group at the Inosanto Academy from which the bulk of the original Dog Brothers came, we had a group that psychologically was up to it. Our thought process was that 176 | The Immersion Review
what we did was a fight that starts with sticks, not a stick fight. It would have been artificial to rule grappling out when our experience was that it happens. As Top Dog would say, “There’s no way around it; it just does.” However, for the next couple of years, except for Top Dog’s discovery of the fang choke, we did not have a clue as to what we were doing. Carl Franks, a student of Relson Gracie of Hawaii, had fought with us in 1987 and 1989 at the Inosanto Academy, and I had seen what was then the underground Gracie footage. So, when Chris Hauter (now a 5th degree under Rigan Machado) introduced me to the Machados (nephews of Carlos Gracie) in the summer of 1990, I was ready to
act. As the oldest and the smallest of the three of us at the core of the pack (Top Dog, Salty Dog, and me), it seemed to me to be a good idea. Without telling anyone, I went off and began training with the Machados. In this pre-BJJ era, the results were as electrifying for us as the UFC was soon to be for the unarmed martial arts world. Top Dog was impressed and began with the Machados too. (I also introduced Guro Dan Inosanto to them. He went on to become a black belt under Rigan Machado). Salty Dog, however, was bummed. There was no BJJ in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1990. So with the goal of surfing over the grappling wave coming at
him he built on his base as an instructor in Muay Thai under Ajarn Chai Sirisuite by going into Krabi Krabong, the military weaponry art from which the sport of Muay Thai is derived building on his natural talents he became a man against whom it was formidably challenging to close. His lead in this was to become an important strand in our fighting. DBMA Stick grappling is like a game of pinball when three balls are released at once. If you pay too much attention to one ball, you lose track of the others and down the chute they go. Similarly, in stick grappling, there are the three simultaneous games of Kali, empty hand, and stick grappling-and just like that pin-
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ball game, you can rack up some huge scores if you can keep track of all three. You can use Kali to make your opponent make a jiu jitsu mistake that you finalize with stick grappling. Conversely, you use jiu jitsu to make him make a kali mistake. For example, if the man is in your guard and seeks to post as an initiation to a pass of your guard as he would in empty hand, play Kali and just crack him in the elbow with your punyo and bring him to you, where you can play stick grappling and choke him with the stick. A stick grappling guard can be very aggressive. It is exhilarating and a good game for an older fighter to have in his bag of tricks. Is this FMA? I leave that for others to say, but IMHO the FMA has always integrated foreign influences—its “open architecture mindset is an important reason why they are so good! For example, the espada y daga or sword and dagger strand of the art was heavily influenced by the Spaniards. So, while I recognize the validity of the question “Is-it-still-real-FMA-ifyou-bring-in-BJJ?” I feel that it is if you do so in a way that builds upon the core understandings of the Art. - Marc Denny
Marc Denny @marc.denny1 https://dogbrothers.com
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APPLYING STICK FIGHTING SKILLS IN THE MODERN ENVIRONMENT Mark Human
Part 1 As a child growing up in Pretoria South Africa during the 1970s and 1980’s, formal martial arts training was quite limited in scope. Unlike firearms, this was particularly evident when it came to edged and impact weapons training. After a year of proverbially having my face up against the dojo window, watching the adults-only Japanese Kobu Jitsu weapons classes, my Funakoshi instructor vouched for myself and one other student, both of us 12 years old. He had allowed us to attend the Kobu Jitsu classes on a trial run basis, and this it turned out was my introduction to formal weapons training. During this time, I was also ‘playing sticks’ with the local gardener, a kind and caring Venda man named Joel. A few times a week, when he had a break, we would try to ‘tag’ each other for around 15-20 minutes at a time. We used lightweight PVC rods as makeshift knobkerrie’s (attacking sticks) and a lightweight piece
of willow plus a t-shirt wrapped around our shielding stick and hand for protection (he never used the African terms). During school holidays, my forays into fighting extended to ‘stick fights’ with the neighborhood kids using sticks for striking and dustbin lids or for shields. Many times these games have begun in a spirit of fun devolved into frayed tempers, the odd cracked knuckle, and sometimes broke out into rock-throwing fights. As for Joel, after a couple of years, he moved back to what was then called Venda Land. Looking back, I think I was his practice dummy. I never considered or had any clue as to the heritage of African stick fighting. I did not experience this as training like my Kobu Jitsu classes, this was just fun and play fighting. Little did I realize that my path into adulthood would be influenced by both my formal training and informal playing to develop a training regime for dealing with violent criminal attacks.
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A Modern Combative Look at Stick Fighting in South Africa Before leaving South Africa as a young adult, I had added a few gradings to my martial arts repertoire, completed a degree in sports sciences and military mustering as a Biokinetician. Completing this varied coursework helped me immeasurably in understanding the psychology, human mechanics, timing, and recognition skills needed to succeed in close-quarter combat. After six years of living, training, and working abroad, my wife Kelee (she had been away from South Africa for fourteen years) and I returned to live in Cape Town in 1998. We were both ‘armed’ with a good martial arts background and practical experience in the field. South Africa had plenty going for it, but violent crime had started
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to become a genuine part of daily life. Within no time, we were drawn into training and problem solving to deal with violent criminals. Our first substantial training contract was with a company responsible for stopping cable theft along the railway line on the most dangerous stretches of a track just outside Cape Town. Response units would face firearm, knife, machete, and impact weapon attacks. Our job was to train team members in close-quarter firearm retention and use. Along with firearms training, we were tasked with presenting training and use of tactical batons and OC (pepper spray) to counter edged and impact weapon attacks and to effect arrest procedures.
To make a real difference, we realized that we couldn’t overlay our pre-conceived ideas onto a dangerous environment, where simple mistakes could cost a life. We had to understand the mentality and anatomy of those with whom we were regularly engaging. Time spent working in the field with teams to affect arrests and understand what they were facing would ensure that our training was congruent with the training programs we would develop. The Cape Flats gang and informal settlement areas that bordered the tracks meant dealing with these threats was part of the daily routine. We formalized early threat recognition and linked the appropriate skills to pre-empt ambushes. Along with training and skills, a large part of the success of this
program could be attributed to the fact that staff were brought in from ‘outside areas.’ As a result of the team living outside the area, they did not have to worry about returning home or leaving families at home in gang-infested territories. Previous situations had made us aware the outcome could be severely compromised if team members were part of these communities, but that’s another story all on its own. One thing was glaringly evident when the element of surprise was removed, and these criminals had to fight, regardless of the weapon in their hands, their skill set often resembled the attributes common to African stick fighting. We were also fortunate enough to have many team members that had grown up in the middle of the stick
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Early days playing sticks and knives putting things to test
fighting culture, with some still participating in informal township tournaments on weekends. We would take every opportunity to ‘play sticks and knives’ with them during training sessions. (something we still do as part of training whenever the opportunity presents itself). These experimental bouts would be instrumental in understanding how to deal with these attributes when occurring in the field. Because of time restraints available to transfer understanding and skills to team members, we
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would have to breakdown the skills and attributes of a complex challenge into an easy to understand and effectively countered threats. We analyzed and dissected the ability and attributes criminals were using in the field. From this point, we developed an easily remembered set of intensive pre-emptive and countermeasures. More importantly, we could provide team members with, on the job effectiveness, and bring them back safely after their shifts. Our team members would have
to be taught to recognize, match, and deny their enemy their skill sets. I must admit that, for the task at hand, I was indifferent towards how the culture or heritage of African stick fighting had permeated the world of criminals and gangs over the last century. In any case, I am sure most of the gang members and criminals could not care less about this heritage any more than you or I would be concerned about how cream filling gets into doughnuts.
1998 and regularly provide training for various teams that face criminal and gang violence in the course of their daily duties. Skills are used effectively in the field by park rangers, Mountain Men Security, response officers, and civilians.
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Life-Saving Tools of the Trade Firearms are a prominent and important part of the solution to dealing with violent criminal attacks. Still, for numerous reasons, they are not always the best first-line option and many cases not freely available to all members of security teams. Standard equipment for many is often OC Spray (pepper gas), a collapsible tactical baton, and a pair of handcuffs. Tactical batons are used to effect arrests. In South Africa, they are used effectively to pre-empt and counter one or more violent attackers armed with small blades such as the Okapi’s and kitchen knives, machetes, pangas, hammers, and longer impact weapons. Long weapons
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Medium weapons
Small weapons
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An understanding of these violent attacks and the effective use of these tools can mean the difference between life and death. The range of threats faced here in South Africa daily means the content structure of baton training differs in both mindset and application to the curriculums presented for the use of tactical batons in first world environments. If the current patterns of formal and informal transnational migration persist, threats to civilians, security and law enforcement officers will become an increase. Consequently, sooner or later, first world countries will have to adapt their mindset, skillset, and even legal constraints that limit effective personal safety. It also suffices to say that good combat skills are universal, and many of the skills and tactics in African stick fighting are common to many of the stick and blade arts around the world.
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Park rangers - baton and OC spray application for arrest procedures
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KEY ATTRIBUTES AND TACTICS OF BATON PROGRAMS USED BY TEAMS WE TRAIN Power Striking
Thrusting Strikes
Power striking utilizing the whole body is necessary to generate enough force to stop life-threatening attacks by disrupting a violent attacker’s structure, limiting their mobility and ability to continue to grasp their weapon. Targeting large muscle groups does not provide consistent stopping power when dealing with committed, adrenalin or “Tik” (a local variant of Methamphetamine) fuelled attackers with intent to kill. To stop these attacks, we target the following areas to disrupt structure by breaking joints and bone. If it sticks out, we hit it.
Thrusting strikes with the collapsible tactical batons are used when distance management is compromised. These are thrust into torso, throat, or face areas to create space between the threat and team members.
• the Wrist • the Elbow • the Knee • the Shoulder (Acromion and Scapula) • the Head
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Highlighting effective striking targets
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OC and Baton used in synergy to counter blade threats
Simple Tools Working Synergistically (Baton and OC spray) Depending on the nature of the threat and the level of force necessary to stop attackers, the baton and OC Spray are utilized and prioritized interchangeably.
spray, which serves to manage distance as well as disorient attackers to set up and safely deliver targeted power strikes with the baton.
Because of the short periods to transfer skills, the use of the baton as a blocking tool is not emphasized. Targeting with power strikes and thrusts with baton is used in combination with OC
OC Spray can be a very effective tool, yet results and reactions are too inconsistent to be relied on as a tool on its own consequently, team members may be required to utilize their batons should the
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OC and Baton used in synergy to counter blade threats
results not be effective. With the use of OC, we have categorized five key reactions to OC Spray that our team members have to recognize and deal with when defending themselves or effecting arrests.
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KEY ATTRIBUTES (cont.) MDW Multi-Dimensional Warrior (MDW) Classification for Reaction to OC Spray and Appropriate Use of Batons 1. Effective compliant: The typical reaction to OC Spray is to cease resistance and comply with instructions. It is not necessary to use any other force to gain compliance. 2. Effective non-compliant, non-aggressive: When attackers are sprayed with OC Spray, their response is to cease resistance yet not comply with instructions often curling up in a fetal position. This can be a dangerous situation for our team members as it requires empty hand control tactics that can expose them to concealed weapon threats. However, any use of force such as striking with the baton viewed as the use of excessive force. 3. Effective, not compliant, and aggressive: It is not an uncommon reaction for attackers even though OC spray has a painful effect on them to continue to launch aggressive attacks. In these situations, the use of the baton is necessary to disrupt and stop attacks to avoid injury to team members. 4. Ineffective or delayed response: Should an attacker not be affected or have a delayed response to OC spray that the baton should be in a position to disrupt the continued attack. 5. Trained response: Overall, we find that an overreliance on one tool will not adequately deal with all the types of situations we encounter. Instead, we should be mentally and physically prepared to draw upon other tools to ensure the successful resolution of an encounter.
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Stick fighting is still a common part of the lives of many those we come across in our line of work in South Africa. For us, this means that we often run up against those who resort to the body mechanics and weapon manipulation of traditional African stick arts when employing other weapons. To this end, I have included a section on Zulu stick fighting to give a brief overview of how this traditional pastime persists.
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Nguni stick fighters in traditional dress
Part 2 Here I provide a simple background of Nguni stickfighting and highlight some of its most common attributes. The reader should beware of falling prey to the idea of thinking that what you read here is an exhaustive description of the art. There are many individual styles and subtleties beyond the scope of this article. Before we go any further, I would like to thank Jacques Sibomana Chief Executive from the Ultimate Stick Fighting Championship (USF Championship) project and a promoter of indigenous African stick fighting
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for sharing thoughts, debating concepts, providing information and stock photographs for this part of the article. The modern roots of Nguni stick fighting in South Africa can be traced back to the mid-1600s, in the Umhlatuze valley in Natal (There are differences in opinion as to the exact origin.) The legendary Shaka Zulu was a fierce competitor as a child and formalized stick fighting that incorporated the use of a spear and knobkerrie as part of training for his warriors.
Mark Human meeting with Jacques Simbomana to share ideas on stick fighting
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Kids playing sticks
By the late 1800s, stick fighting was less of a warring art and was being used as entertainment at celebrations such as weddings and to settle personal or local disputes. Well embedded in black South African culture, stick fighting was, and still is, a part of the coming of age ritual in many rural tribes. With a steady rural to urban migration of people, stick fighting has moved into the townships and city life. It is not uncommon to see laborers in areas like the dockyards of Cape Town or kids in the street ‘playing sticks’ when they get some free time.
Jacques Simbomana with Nguni sport fighting competition sticks
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‘Underground’ tournaments with rudimentary rules are regular events in township areas, a source of income, and betting opportunities. These underground tournaments often lack experienced fighters, judges and are, in part, are responsible for injuries and deaths that taint a proud cultural tradition. There have been recent attempts to formalize Nguni stick fighting as an exciting cultural sport with precise safety precautions and rules designating explicit tar-
geting, scoring, submission, and knock out guidelines. Although popular, it has failed to become a structured mainstream sport or formalized martial art like the Filipino stick fighting arts. An example of this is The Ultimate Stick Fighting Championship (USF Championship) project, whose aim was to develop and promote indigenous African games while positively impacting and contributing to the well-being of various communities across the continent.
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A BREAKDOWN OF THE MOST COMMON ATTRIBUTES OF TRADITIONAL NGUNI STICK FIGHTING - THE BASICS The Use of the Lead Hand The use of the lead hand with a shielding stick, a protective wrap such as a jacket or t-shirt. The lead hand (shielding hand) serves the following functions: 1. Shielding and blocking incoming strikes 2. Probing and attacking 3. Ranging, distancing, and timing 4. Redirecting and distracting 5. Pinning your opponent’s arms In summary, it serves to protect the fighter while setting up openings for backhand attacks. The back hand (Weapon Hand) serves the following functions: 1. Striking and counter striking 2. Redirecting and distracting 3. Secondary blocking options
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Front shielding stick and rear striking stick
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High guard position protecting the head area
High Guard A high guard is used to protect the head area, with both striking stick and shielding stick held above the head as fighter’s close the distance. They with clash shielding sticks while trying to land blows by flicking strikes around or over their opponent’s guard. Stretched Guard or Open Guard The stretched guard is more common when fighters are separated by more than the length of their striking sticks.
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Stretched or open guard position
Open guard application in JNR Divisions Ultimate Stick Fighting Tournament
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Opposite extremes on foot work
Blocking and counter striking
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Footwork For the most part, the lead foot and shielding stick match with the striking stick held in the back hand, there is seldom a lead change in hands or feet. Stances range from less than shoulder-width right to very wide stances when delivering overhead or power strikes to the legs. Unlike many empty hand arts, and because of the weapons reach, fighters are not overly concerned with kicks to the legs or knees, so it is not uncommon to see a ‘straight knee’ on the front leg. Most footwork involves linear shuffling for distance management and timing, both for attack and evasive movement. Although less formalized and with higher variances in stance length, this resembles basic boxing footwork or Kali retirada footwork.
swinging the front leg back out of the way and then back forward again, setting the leg firmly on the ground in the lead position. Timing and Targeting The knobkerrie’s primary design function is to smash a skull so, although not limited to targeting the head and neck area, this naturally dominates most serious engagements. Targeting the joints and limbs is also common, especially in sporting events. As the knobkerrie is an impact weapon, it requires force to smash bone. The whole body is used to generate force and the knobkerrie with its hefty ‘knob’ tip used for powerful strikes and counter/recounter strikes - generally with a one for me one for you timing. - Mark Human
A fighter will often use what we call a ‘rock step’ or a back step with a hanging leg to evade an attack to their front leg and follow up with a powerful counter strike. This involves placing the weight on their back leg and
Mark Human @mark.human.9
@mark_human_mdw
https://multidimensionalwarrior.co.za APPLYING STICK FIGHTING SKILLS • Mark Human
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STICKS AND CHIVALRY Bryan Cannata
MOST MARTIAL ARTISTS are familiar with the work of the Dog Brothers and their dedication to full contact stick fighting or the various Filipino martial arts and their use of sticks in combat. Another lesser-known form of full-contact stick fighting has and is continuing to evolve across the world, this one with a medieval flavor. In Berkeley, California, on the first of May, 1966 a themed party was thrown, and a medieval tournament held. From that tournament, an entire martial art and culture grew. It is likely that right now, as you read this, on a field in a camp-
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ground or perhaps a public park or even someone’s backyard down the street, two people circle and stare at each other through the ocular openings of heavy iron or stainless steel helmets. Their breath even and controlled. Narrowed eyes measure the slightest movement or shift in weight. A gauntleted hand tightens against the grip of a 36-inch long rattan baton with markings to represent the edge of a sword. Wooden shields adjust fractions of an inch to cover a leg better. A foot shifts and sinews tighten. The tension in the air is palpable.
Photography: Tim Tyson
In a fraction of a second, one of the combatants explodes forward with speed surprising for a 200-pound man in 30 pounds of armor. Shields and bodies clash with a sound reminiscent of two cars in a head-on collision. One of the combatants nimbly sidesteps to gain position on the unprotected flank of his opponent. A baton lashes out. Its tip moving faster than the strike of a rattlesnake. The blow finds its target. The crack from the impact,
as loud as a gunshot, explodes through the air. The struck opponent shouts in a loud voice, ‘Good!” He then bows his head, takes a knee, and offers his baton, handle first to his opponent as an acknowledgment of defeat. The winner salutes the loser as the next contestants make ready. Or perhaps the two combatants reset for another pass.
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Photography: Tim Tyson
Part experimental archeology, part costume party, the Society for Creative Anachronism, or SCA, has quietly expanded across the United States. It is now a worldwide non-profit educational organization with thousands of participants and chapters across the globe. At last count, one in five participants take part in martial activities, and many of them pursue it with a passion and ardor that most martial arts organizations would wish their members had. It would be easy to dismiss the SCA fighters as a bunch of silly weirdos in homemade medieval-ish armor playing children’s
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games. However, at this point, with over fifty years of research and pressure testing of techniques and tactics through unscripted, highly competitive, full force tournaments, SCA heavy combat has evolved into a legitimate martial art and combat sport with a philosophy, jargon, styles, ranks, and schools of thought. It is also, only until recently, the one organization where you could take part in battles with near, if not surpassing, a thousand combatants on each side. The SCA has grown large enough that entire industries have sprung up to support the need for equipment.
I found the SCA in 1988. It was summertime. I was an 18-yearold private in the United States Army at my first duty station. I had been studying martial arts at that point in my life since I was eight or nine years old. I was obsessed with all forms and styles of martial arts from all cultures, particularly the sword and blade arts. One Friday evening, my barracks roommate invited me to a “fighter practice.” When he explained what he planned on doing, I will admit that I was dubious. It sounded ridiculous. Intriguing but ridiculous. He showed me his ‘suit of armor.’ It was an amalgamation of conveyor belt and poorly hammered sheet metal with hockey gear
and volleyball pads. It seemed to me to be more Mad Max than Lancelot or William the Marshal, but I was game. I downed the last of my drink and said: “Why the hell not.” It was close to payday, and I only had enough money for maybe a pizza in my bank account, so going somewhere, anywhere that did not involve the outlay of cash, was better than hanging out in barracks. Besides, he told me I would get to see people fight. We left the fort and made our way to a suburban house in a culde-sac filled with more cars than meant to park there. My roommate grabbed a duffel bag full of his gear out of his hatchback and led me to the back yard.
Photography: Tim Tyson
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The back yard was full of people. Some were running a BBQ grill. Others were in various states of getting into gear. My first thoughts were of a gladiator ludus. I suspect the training grounds of ancient Rome had a similar atmosphere. Everyone was joking and talking with each other, but there was an underlying seriousness. Not a single kit looked like an actual suit of medieval armor. The roots were there, but the Mad Max flavor was omnipresent. A couple of guys put on their
helmets picked up their shields and sticks, and gave each other a knowing nod. One of the combatants wore a red belt around their waist. I would learn later that the red belt marked him as a squire of a knight. They made their way to a barren circle of dirt in the center of the yard. I heard one of them say, “let’s warm up with some slow work then pick it up when we are ready.” They started moving and swinging their duct tape covered sticks at each other in slow motion. The pace increased with each pass. Finally, one of them asked if the
Photography: Tim Tyson
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other was ready. With a wordless nod, they reset to the center of the yard. You could see the gears shift. The body language changed, and they began to fight in earnest. They swung at each other with speed, control, intent, and power. Every time a blow was blocked with a shield, the sound would echo off the neighborhood buildings. Throughout the exchanges, they would shout “Light!” or “Good!” or occasionally “Flat!” as their opponents’ weapon struck home. I saw
immediately that this was not some adults play-acting as I had mostly expected, but two committed martial artists practicing their art. The fighting continued throughout the evening. When it became too dark to see, large floodlights continued to illuminate the backyard. Various people answered my questions, explained the rules, and in general, tried to give me a much better understanding of what was going on. Their enthusiasm was contagious.
Photography: Tim Tyson
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While the SCA has many and varied activities within its boundaries, the current article will focus on the martial aspects. In theory, the heavy combat within the SCA replicates the foot combat tournaments of the Middle Ages with all its honor, chivalry, and pageantry. The reality is that it is a 20th-century
Photography: Tim Tyson
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stick combat sport flavored with the trappings of medievalism. There are one on one tournaments as well as mass group battles. As time has progressed, the gear and equipment have improved significantly from the early days of conveyor belt armor and freon-can helmets. Because of the rules, other influences, and rattan weapons, it cannot
be called a re-creation of medieval European martial arts. SCA heavy combat must be looked upon and judged as a modern combative sport. The ruleset of SCA combat is unique on many levels. To compete in the SCA as a ‘heavy fighter,’ a person must first undergo a period of training. Then at a sanctioned tournament, the fighter must pass through an authorization bout. This bout is not to show skill, but instead, demonstrating that the fighter is not a danger to themselves or others in the competition. Initially, the fighter faces a significantly more skilled fighter that can control the fight while two referees watch and evaluate. The fighters move through three phases. There is an inspection of armor and weapons, and a quiz to determine if the new fighter understands the rules. From this point, two fighters go through several passes where the more experienced fighter takes a mostly defensive posture, and the new fighter is allowed to go full-out. Once his abilities are recognized, the new fighter can strike with proper power and accuracy and display a controlled aggressiveness; he moves to the next phase. Here the more skilled fighter takes on a more active role, attacking and pushing the
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newer fighter into what can be uncomfortable positions. At this time, the fighter is evaluated in his ability to understand how to ‘call’ the blows he receives and not react poorly to being struck with force. If struck in the head or body, the fighter has lost the bout. If struck in the leg or arm, the fighter must give up the use of the struck limb for that fight. In the final phase, the two combatants enact a full tournament round. The combatants fight until one of them loses. Once the third phase of authorization is over, the marshals and the experienced fighter discuss the new fighter and their performance. If found satisfactory, the new fighter will be registered as an authorized fighter and will be allowed to fight at any SCA event. The first or most obvious thing that stands out for many is that it is up to the defeated person to declare that they are defeated. A ‘Marshal’ will supervise a fight for safety, but they are not in the ring to appoint a winner. Personal honor, integrity, and proper behavior in the competition are significant. When struck by a blow with sufficient force from their opponent, the struck person will call out ‘Good’ and usually either fall to the ground or take a knee to show the crowd that they have lost. If the blow
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was not of sufficient force, the struck combatant would call out ‘light,’ and the fight continues. In keeping with the idea that the rattan batons are sword simulators, fighters judge blows as either incapacitating or fatal. A well-placed blow must strike with not only the proper amount of force but also with appropriate edge alignment. ‘Good’ or ‘telling’ blows possess enough force that if the participants were not wearing protective armor, bones would easily break. There are no divisions for heavy combat. Men and women of all sizes and weights compete on the same field against each other. Because of this rather egalitarian approach, grappling and striking with anything other than a weapon is disallowed. It allows the maximum number of people to compete safely yet still have the same level of intensity that any different weight rank bracketed.
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Within the SCA, there is a medieval based hierarchy that denotes mastery. In the fighting community, those of a masters level are referred to as knights. Knights are awarded a white belt, gold chain, and spurs to denote their title and rank. To become a knight in the SCA takes on average about as long as it takes to become a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Less than three percent of all fighters in the SCA reach the level and rank of Knight. Knighthood is awarded when the circle of knights decides that a fighter
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is their peer. In other words, the candidate must show that they are at the same skill level as the rest of the knights. There is a saying in the SCA, ‘ Knights are not made. They are recognized.’ A knight is expected to not only show skill at arms but also embody the chivalric ideal and follow the chivalric code. It is part of a knight’s duty within the SCA to pay attention to the fighters and encourage their progress and guide them along the path. Knights take squires. Squires are
Photography: Tim Tyson
personal students of a knight. The knight teaches the squire the chivalric code as well as how to fight. In turn, the squire serves the knight, often taking on classical duties such as maintaining the knight’s armor and gear. A person does not have to become a squire to become a knight, but like in all sports, it is more comfortable with a good coach. The batons used by SCA fighters are at a minimum one and a quarter inches in diameter. The average baton is around one and a half inches in diameter. The average length is 36 inches approximating the length and weight of an actual steel broadsword. Over the years, SCA heavy combat has developed its techniques. Many of them would be very familiar to an escrimador or practitioner
of any other blade and stick art. The mechanics of the blows vary slightly to compensate for the heavier weight of the rattan used by SCA fighters. There are only so many ways a human being can swing a stick or sword. Forehand and backhand weapon strikes are as you would expect, but because of the use of a shield, the fighters become skilled at hitting with power from odd angles and in ways that would be surprising to many. One of the more unique techniques is a ‘wrap.’ Similar to a back cut with a saber or Bowie knife, the wrap strikes the opponents back with the back or inside edge of the baton when in extremely close range. At medium range, the leg becomes a primary target. It can also be used at long range to strike around a block.
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Photography: Tim Tyson
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Footwork for the SCA heavy fighter takes on the familiar angular patterns of the Filipino martial arts or, in some cases, a style of movement similar to a modern boxer. The primary goal is almost always to move to the opponents’ flank and take up a dominant position whereby one can strike the opponent yet remain protected by your shield. The more skilled fighters even seek to position themselves in such a way to their opponent that they are using the opponent’s shield to cover themselves as well. SCA combat is not just limited to sword and shield. There are multiple weapons forms that people practice. All of them are analogous to weapons that existed in medieval tournament and war, such as two-handed sword or spears or various forms of halberd type weapons. For safety, all weapons are of rattan except for spears made from a specific type of fiberglass. To go into much more detail about the SCA and its martial arts would take a much longer study than this space would allow. I do hope this article gives you a bit of insight into a thriving martial art and sport that is not often talked about outside of its participants and encourages you to take a bit of time and explore. STICKS AND CHIVALRY • Bryan Cannata | 223
Photography: Tim Tyson
For many of the participants, it is just a weekend warrior hobby, much like those in strip mall dojos across the world. But to many others, it is a ‘way’ in the philosophical sense, a modern approach to the chivalric ideals and warrior culture ethos of the past. Within that way is found self-improvement, self-understanding, and perhaps eventually self-mastery. For more information on the SCA, they can be found online at www.sca.org. - Bryan Cannata
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Bryan Cannata @bryan.cannata.5
TAPADA STAFF William McGrath
IT WAS DURING the summer around 1979 or 1980 that my Pekiti-Tirsia teacher, Leo T. Gaje, came back from one of his frequent trips to the Philippines with an interesting staff style he learned during his visit. He called the art “Tapada” and said he had learned it from an old man in a rural part of his home island of Negros. (Sorry, I don’t recall more than this. As a kid living in NYC, I wasn’t much interested in the staff at the time, and these techniques were from a different art than the main one I was training in).
Note: Tapada is a different art than the better known Tapado” from Romeo ‘Nono’ Mamar of Negros. Tapada uses a flexible rattan staff the same overall height as the user, while tapado uses a stiff hardwood staff that comes up around the height of the user’s elbow. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find any information on Tapada through a Google search; but here are the techniques I learned.
The Staff Rattan is a vine and, therefore, tapers over its length. The most pronounced taper is near the base, where the vine exists the ground. You will need a rattan pole, a bit thicker at the base than the one you would use for one-hand use in Pekiti-Tirsia (for my XL size hands, this equals approximately 1/ 1/2 inches at the thickest end for a Tapada staff).
The staff should measure the same height as you and have some flex in it when you swing it quickly up and down-maybe not quite as much as a fishing pole-but pretty close to it. It’s the spring of a bending rattan staff that adds extra velocity and, therefore, the power to the uppercut portion of your strikes; and these uppercuts are the focus of this system.
Spacing - end
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The Grip Hold the Tapada staff with your left hand at one hand length from the bottom. Your right hand should grip the staff just high enough so that your hands will be on either side of your thighs when you bring the staff down in front of your legs.
The Stance Stand with your right leg forward, feet about shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent. Chamber the staff on your right shoulder (I’m going to assume that most of you are right-handed and not, as they say in Latin, among the “sinister” folk :-).
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Grip
Space between hands
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Basic Strikes 1. Technique one is a basic forehand diagonal strike that hits downward, stops when the left hand is even with your left hip, and returns using the loading of the bending rattan to power the return upward. 2. Here we have a double bounce version of the number 1 strike. You use the flexible nature of rattan by stopping the strike at hip height and doing a short “double bounce” which loads the staff twice as it moves at speed in short, quick strokes in the short-range between the height of your hips and heart. 3. Hold your left hand by your hip, with the tip of your staff pointed at your opponent’s heart. Bounce the tip horizontally back and forth about the width of a man’s shoulders. You can do this in a straight line back and forth, or if it is easier for you, in a tight figure eight. 4. I find this one an interesting strike and a preview of the rest of the set. You strike downward as in number 1, but on the return, you use the loaded bend to power through a clockwise circle with the tip of the staff.
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The Footwork The footwork used in Tapada is simple and based on the length of your opponent’s weapon. If it is shorter than your staff, then simple forward and back shuffle steps will do. If your opponent’s weapon is the same length as your own or longer, use the following: If the opponent’s lead hand is to your left side (i.e., if his right hand is forward), then step to your left with your left leg and strike on the left side of his weapon (left when viewed from your side. From his point of view, you will be striking on his right). If your opponent's lead hand is on your right side (i.e., if he is left-handed, with a left forward grip), then step to your right with your right leg and strike on the right side of his weapon (right when viewed from your side. From his point of view, you will be striking on his left).
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Point Guard
Chamber
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THE SET A. The downward strike is the left side line of the A; you bounce part way up and drop again to the right side line, uppercut and then return to the chamber. B.
The uppercut has two circles.
C.
The return has a half-circle, then strikes up.
D.
Same as C, but moves counterclockwise.
E.
Three horizontal hits, then the return strike.
F.
Two horizontal hits, then the return strike.
G.
Half circle with horizontal.
H. Your uppercut is blocked, so move horizontally to escape blockage, then an uppercut. I. Downcut, then two horizontals to block counter-attacks, then an uppercut. J. Instead of your down-up cuts looking like a straight line, it looks like an elongated loop. (good for when you need to go around an opponent’s weapon, instead of powering through it). K. Do the right side of the K (like a sideways V). Useful for countering leg attacks. L.
Vertical then low horizontal.
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M. Two double bounces moving left to right. N.
One double bounce moving right to the left.
O.
Clockwise circle.
P. Clockwise circle, then two uppercuts, one short then one to the chamber. Q.
Two clockwise circles, then uppercut.
R.
Circle then “K” cut.
S.
Clockwise then counterclockwise circles.
T.
Vertical, high horizontal.
U.
Like “J” but moves counterclockwise.
V.
Like “U” but sharper bottom.
W. Two double bounces moving right to the left. X. A forehand down, then come up halfway to the chamber, backhand down, uppercut. Y.
Half a backhand, full forehand.
Z.
Backhand, forehand, horizontal block leg.
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Technical Stuff The remainder of the strikes in this set rely on the ‘alphabet’ as they call it in pekiti tirsia. The first movement of most of these techniques will be the same, a diagonal downward forehand strike, but your return will be different and describe a capital letter. My opinion is that most of these techniques were just an excuse to make you practice a variety of angles to make you more mentally flexible and unpredictable in a fight. You could probably cut these down to eight or ten main movements and do just as well. (Note: please remember that I learned these techniques 40 years ago. Add in that I haven’t shown these to anyone in about 20 years. Therefore, my memory is fuzzy on all the details, and you should not take my description of each technique as written in stone.)
Remember, it’s this uppercut during the return to the chamber that is the main strike in this set. The various things you do during the ABCs are what set up the uppercut. You will also notice that there is no thrust in this system, which makes sense if you are using a flexible rattan staff that might bend during a thrust and, therefore, not transfer all of its power into the opponent. The last time I showed this material to someone was to a Kung Fu practitioner, and he did several things that looked similar to his flexible spear but finished using the thrust as the primary attack: which of course, made sense with that sharp blade on the end of his weapon. - William McGrath
The directions in the set are for what is done after the downward strike and during the return to the chamber. Therefore, read most of these as “downcut-counter his response with this letter-uppercut and return to the chamber.” William McGrath @william.mcgrath.92372
@tuhonbillmcg https://pekiti.com
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END OF ISSUE 1
VOL 1
Stick Arts ISSUE 2
Traditional and Modern: False Dichotomies
For the martial arts comprehensivist
Top - Mahesh Kumar Ramakrishna Bottom - Mestre Avelino & Mahipal Lunia
VOLUME 1
Stick Arts ISSUE 2
Traditional and Modern: False Dichotomies
118
92
Dr. Marco Quarta
Bethany J. Dillon
First Things First: The War Club in Native American Warrior Arts
The Italian Stick Fighting Tradition: A Journey from the Middle Ages to the Contemporary Era
138
52
Pedro Silva
JC Cabiero
The Pure Art of Angel Cabales Serrada ng Escrima
22 T. J. Desch-Obi, Ph.D
Grima: the Venezolano Moderno Style
Jogo do Pau and the Differences between Dueling and Group Combat
154 Vincent Tamer
(Post-Script) Strife and Folklore: Discovering the Rural Fighting Art of Jogo do Pau
40 Jorge Prina
Bonafont Argentine Cane Combat System: Combat with a Tango Flavor . . .
CONTENTS
Traditional and Modern: False Dichotomies
Vol. 1:2 - Stick Arts
182 Toby Cowern
Sticks: Branching Out
190 Henri-Robert Vilaire
The Art of Jo Jutsu
70 Mahesh Kumar Ramakrishna
Indian Lathi
14 Jigaba Bwaira
African Stick Fighting in Maguzawa/Hausa and Zulu Cultures
206 Stevan Plinck
The Staff in Pentjak Silat Sera
TRADITIONAL &
MODERN FALSE DICHOTOMIES WE WERE IN A SCHOOL HALL learning to tie knots for our Boy Scouts merit badges. As a ten-yearold kid, I just stared at my manual and twisted my piece of rope in all kinds of ways, trying to look busy and hoping nobody would notice I had no idea what I was doing. One of the older, cooler kids saw me flailing away uselessly and, with a smile, said to me, “Here, let me show you an easy way of tying a clove hitch.” He took my piece of rope and held it two in both hands, then, with a few quick, deft twists
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of his fingers, tied a clove hitch. I was impressed at his abilities and felt so good he actually would talk to me and not just sneer at my incompetence. He went over it with me a few times until I got it, and I felt good. I can tie a clove hitch, and an older guy likes me. “Why are you teaching that kid that? That won’t work!” I looked up and, for the first time, noticed an older overweight man in his 60s sitting in a fold-up chair about ten feet from me. The teenager responded with a smile, “What do you mean?
From the Editors
This is the best way to tie a clove hitch!” “How are you going to do that to a tree with a 20-foot diameter? What good is teaching that kid when you have to tie a clove hitch to a big tree?” The teenager just shrugged his shoulders and walked away. The old man looked at me and said, “C’mere kid, I’ll show you how we used to tie knots. I’ll show you how to tie knots like a lumberjack. Put your arm up! Now watch, you got to throw the rope around the tree and catch it on the other side like this,” he said as he gently tossed the rope around my bony forearm, cinched it up, and tied a nice clove hitch. “This is how you do it out in the forest.” Then he showed me a timber hitch and told me a story about how, when he was young, he used to cut and haul logs from a forest. I was in heaven! A
real lumberjack was teaching me how to tie real lumberjack knots. I left with a swollen head and a smile like a Cheshire Cat. Let’s fast- forward 25 years, and I’m cutting trees and dragging them through the Amazon rainforest. I remembered what that old man said, as I threw my rope around some trees that I just cut and pulled trees down to the river and lashed them together to make a raft. My girlfriend at the time looked at me like I was Crocodile Dundee, Daniel Boone, and MacGyver all rolled up into one. Or at least that is what I think she thought as she watched me. ‘Tradition! These old guys knew what they were doing,’ I thought to myself. This works a lot better than twirling your fingers to make a knot. However, to be honest, while the old ways worked best this time,
From the Editors | 5
they are not always the best option. What matters for someone faced with a challenge in their everyday life such as a violent encounter is to successfully emerge from the situation in a way that can be judged as victorious. That is what matters, not whether one best relies on traditional or modern means. From an evolutionary hoplological viewpoint, the body, in conjunction with material technology occurring within specific environments, has adapted itself over the last 50,000 years to push, pull, throw, or launch objects or jump and run in efficient and effective ways. How these fundamental principles of movement manifest themselves is contingent upon
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what a culture feels is appropriate, right, and normal, the technology available at the time, and the individual’s potential to enact these moves. With this understanding, a hoplologist’s concern is not with what is traditional or modern. Instead, a hoplologist looks at how people continually draw upon what is considered traditional and what is identified as modern to successfully engage in combative acts. In such an inquiry, questions arise such as: What factors led some arts to persist and others to die out, and others to change radically? Among those arts that have persisted, what has been preserved? What are some of the reasons an art has changed, and how has this change manifested itself
in the art? Or, how is the art being used by those practicing it today? In the second release of the Immersion Review, eleven highly trained martial artists explore the connections and disjunctures between what has been called “traditional” and “modern” through their personal practice of their arts. First, turning our eyes to specific communities, the reader is introduced to three warrior cultures from the continent of Africa. In each place, the ethos of the warrior and learning the traditional modalities of combat in a modern world is valued and treated as a relevant and enduring method of preparing young men to withstand the vagaries of a modern world. While an incredible amount of knowledge about African history has come to light, the history of Africans in the Americas is still yet to be known. Many Africans that came to the Americas with the first European ships were conquistadores, free servants, sailors, and slaves. Many of them took off to the interior, where they created independent communities and forged alliances and trading relationships with Indigenous peoples and different European communities to maintain their freedom. Other times, these communities isolated themselves
to such a degree that they came to the attention of coastal elites only in the 1990s. Arising out of the struggle to build themselves new lives was the development of a number of combative traditions that are still unknown to those interested in martial arts. Dr. Desch-Obi has kindly shared with us a few lines about one school of the 30 schools of Afro-Colombian grima open today out of what must have been dozens 50-75 years ago. Here he gives the reader a history of the origins, development, tactics, and some of the life histories of practitioners of the school of venezolano moderno. Staying in the New World, around the same time that the wild west frontier in North America was coming to an end and the cowboy was being turned into a ranch hand, similar social and political conditions were occurring down South. Between the Rio de Plata and Parana Rivers, the once immense grasslands of the pampas where men and wild cattle could roam free were slowly being fenced off by barbed wire and privatized. The wild gauchos who once owed allegiance to no-man, no-god, and no-law, were reduced to scrambling for temporary paid labor to ward off starvation and poverty.
From the Editors | 7
Forced to move to urban areas, they competed with hordes of immigrants fleeing poverty and political repression in Europe and the Ottoman empire. Many of them ended up working in newly established industrialized abattoirs set up to process and export beef in refrigerated ship-holds worldwide. In this mix of rural and urban, native and immigrant, traditional and modern, Jorge Prina writes of the new cultural forms arising from the blend of the old and the new, and new ways of fighting emerging from this jumble of people, technologies, and times. Then, the ever-reclusive JC Cabiero channels the spirit of Angel Cabales in his fascinating article on serrada. Some authors here, by contrast, have cast their gaze wide to examine the combative traditions that once created empires, fought off neighboring enemies, or resisted the onslaught of colonialism. In these articles, the reader can get a hint of how the past still informs and shapes the minds and bodies of practitioners today as they draw on traditional weapons to make sense of and deal with age-old issues in a modern world. Asana Mahesh Ramakrishna, while ostensibly identifying the use of the staff—or lathi—in the combative traditions of India, provides a fas-
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cinating overview of the wealth of indigenous combative traditions still extant in India today. Only recently, the Immersion Foundation has been able to open these doors to outsiders that have been closed for so long. Stay tuned for further work on this part of the world. Moving across the Atlantic to the New World, Bethany June Dillon takes us on a historical panoramic journey across the Americas and through time to marvel at the wealth, diversity, and long history of the weapons developed by indigenous peoples: how they armed themselves, trained their youth, and fought a range of rivals and enemies, and how these old ways are adapted and used to navigate a modern world. In the same vein, Dr. Marco Quarta provides a panorama of armed combative traditions from all over the Italian peninsula. Beginning back in the Middle Ages, Dr. Quarta introduces the reader to paintings and instructional manuals proving the existence of an old, wide, and varied approach to fighting with sticks used up and down the peninsula. Bringing us up through the present, Dr. Quarta presents some of the prominent exponents of stick/blade fencing and the schools they began that one may still train in today. Then
going down into the rural Mezzogiorno, we learn about the wealth of secret societies dedicated to the pursuit of protecting or exploiting one’s community, who still operate and have lately opened their doors to strangers and hosted modern competitions. Changing levels, so to speak, we dive into a hoplological or pragmatically oriented exploration of the pragmatic corporeal knowledges, developed in conjunction with material technologies designed to overcome those who would stand in one’s path. There are fans of MMA who proudly boast the Octagon is the best place to judge an art’s practicality.
I would suggest the point has merit but fails to consider how people actually fought in the past and still fight today under a range of circumstances—situations where the attributes learned in the Octagon are not always the most relevant or practical. No matter how many social media masters say differently, ambuscades, mass attacks being chased down streets and through alleys by groups of armed men, have been the way many people since time immemorial have experienced violence. In the mountains and down in the river valleys of northern Portugal, this was a real everyday concern up until 50 years ago. From a rural hard-working people determined to maintain
From the Editors | 9
their land and dignity in the face of all who sought to take them away, the art of jogo do pau emerged and has persisted until today. Looking at today’s reduction of martial arts to one-on-one encounters, Pedro Silva describes some of the strategic and tactical issues between one-on-one combat and massfights in their numerous configurations with just a humble stick for protection. Then, coming from a modern Special Forces background, Toby Cowern looks at the multiple attributes a simple stick possesses and how it can aid one in a wide range of challenges one may encounter in everyday life.
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From here, we are taken back to two Asian traditions, one derived from the military elite of feudal Japan and the other from Java’s laboring and elite classes. Befitting an organized, hierarchical, and literate society, Sensei Vilaire provides a list of principles, weapons, and ways of using different lengths of sticks as taught in the kaze arashi ryu. Writing of the West Javanese art of silat sera, Stevan Plinck provides an overview of his art through the concept of base-angle-leverage to maneuver any sized weapon in any situation one may come across.
What all these authors have recognized is that the traditional is not a moribund museum piece suitable for folkloric exhibits, nor does it hold all the secrets of combat. Neither is it true that the modern is merely a hodgepodge of moves taken from a few different styles and called something new; or alternatively, that the modern is a more scientific, effective, and efficient way of doing things. Our bodies have not changed too dramatically since the Neolithic Revolution that led to the beginning of settled villages, the domestication of animals and crops, and the need to acquire more or defend the property that one had. In this struggle, new technologies and new tactics were continuously introduced. Training the youth to prepare for combat in settled areas led to a plethora of unarmed and armed fighting styles of various forms of lethality and ways of training or practicing to prepare the youth for their expected obligations as warriors. Weapons change, rules of engage-
ment change, but there are a limited number of ways to use the body either offensively or defensively to maximize a move’s power, efficiency, and efficacy. Sticking to Western unarmed combative arts, such moves as “Ruby Robert” Fitzsimmons solar plexus punch, Jack Dempsey’s falling step punch, or Lancashire’s holding head in chancery, are bread-and-butter moves that have withstood the test of time. They are often forgotten and reintroduced time and time again to upcoming generations who find them useful. Each generation trains many of the same moves as those who came before them, because it works. What martial artists, warriors, and fighters have always sought out is a way to move the body in conjunction with material technology that is effective, efficient, and judged by one’s community as the proper way to take a guy out. And it is within this pragmatic logic that the traditional and the modern lie.
Michael J. Ryan, Ph.D Managing Editor
Mahipal Lunia Executive Editor
From the Editors | 11
MEET THE TEAM CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Mahipal Lunia Explorer-in-Residence, The Immersion Foundation Executive Editor, The Immersion Review @theimmersionfoundation
@immersion.foundation
http://www.therenaissancepath.com http://www.theimmersion.foundation
Michael J. Ryan, Ph.D Managing Editor @michael.j.ryan.54
@garrotero1
https://binghamton.academia.edu/MichaelRyan
PEER REVIEWERS Juha A. Vuori, Ph.D Michel Farivar, MD Consulting Editors
PRODUCTION Hana Shin Editor & Producer
John Rutledge Production Assitant
The Immersion Review, founded by The Immersion Foundation, is a conduit for penetrating insights in combat and combative behavior. It is a space for the dedicated martial artist, who dares to seek ideas from diverse fighting systems. The Immersion Review is a peer-reviewed journal for the martial arts comprehensivist. FOR EDITORIAL AND ADVERTISING INQUIRIES, PLEASE CONTACT: thereview@theimmersion.foundation
AFRICAN STICK FIGHTING IN MAGUZAWA / HAUSA & ZULU CULTURES Jigaba Bwaira
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WE ARE AN ORGANIZATION called Mukhanda International; we research and practice African martial arts both in Africa and the African diaspora, such as the Caribbean, North and South America, and ancient black peoples in Asia, e.g., Negritos in modern Thailand. This article will explore African stick fighting among the Maguzawa/Hausa and Zulu cultures, together with is’cima or the Zulu empty-hand combat never seen outside of Africa, and Kadiya Maguzawa or Hausa stick fighting, as seen in the context of an older and broader Maguzawa/Hausa martial culture. Finally, we will conclude with a brief discussion of stick fighting in Rwanda.
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MAGUWAZA / HAUSA
The Gangi Brotherhood The Gangi brotherhood is a pre-Islamic pre-Christian Maguzawa/ Hausa warrior society. Wasan gangi is the Hausa sword fighting system done with one or two swords enabling a Hausa warrior to fight multiple opponents. Kadiya is Hausa stick/sword fighting and done with a long staff or a stick/ sword in each hand. Kokawa or combat grappling, was once part of the grappling aspect of dambe, the fist-fighting and kicking sport; even though both arts have separated, only the Gangi brotherhood practice the complete system. Yan tauri is the generic name for Hausa armed combat, including swords, sticks, knife, and empty hand counters to armed attacks. Sword skills among peoples such as the Ashanti, Yoruba, Nupe, and Nagasawa/Hausa are legendary, and their reputation for armed skills continues into the present. The Gangi brotherhood still practices an older, rougher form of dambe that relies on the use of
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knees, elbows, headbutts, and grappling in its repertoire. Today, grappling has split off from dambe and is known as kokawa. However, for those of the Gangi brotherhood, it is still part of dambe. Dambe damisa is also known as leopard boxing because, up until the recent past, fighters would at times wrap their strong-side punching hand in a cloth dipped in resin glue or honey and then cover the wraps with shards of broken glass. Alternatively, men could fight with their punching hand with a type of knuckle-duster to increase the power of their blows. Men could also fight with wrist knives or shanci. The kadiya stick, sword, and knife fighting arts are all still the preserve of the Gangi brotherhood. When one joins the Gangi warrior association, they are taught these fighting arts in addition to the pre-Islamic Maguzawa spirit system called Bori, which is similar to Yoruba Ife.
Kadiya Stick Fighting As mentioned before, yan tauri is the generic name for Hausa armed combat systems. A sub-art of yan tauri is a form of stick fighting, or kadiya, done either with a single stick or with a stick in each hand. In the past, kadiya was used to train warriors to handle swords and was also a civilian self-defense weapon. Even now in 2019, in Hausa land, Nigeria, people still carry sticks as protection. And kadiya is still used for self-defense and as a local recreational activity. As a recreational pastime, kadiya takes place as full contact stick matches occur with no body armor, but just one’s skill and fast reflexes to protect oneself.
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ZULU WARRIOR CULTURE & MARTIAL ARTS Impi Embovu Impi embovu is the spear/shield system created by Shaka Zulu. The umkhonto is the spear, and the shield is ihawa or isihalangu. There are many ways to use this combination of weapons. Ukubhula is to strike the enemy on his face with a shield. Following this is ukuhlaba ngenhlabelo, referring to the ubhoko or the long rod in the center of the shield, used for stabbing at the enemy’s ankles, feet, and shins. Ukuvika is a technique to block with a shield by holding it in different positions. Ukugqema or ukugqimuzana are techniques of striking with the spear and clubs used in war. Learning these techniques occurred via a war dance called ukugiya. Ukugiya is the solitary display of fighting against an imaginary opponent. It is similar to shadow boxing done in Western arts and solo forms done in Asian arts. In this case, it is purely African. Apart from ukugiya, Zulu warriors practiced impi embovu by charging against
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each other with blunted spears to habituate the warrior to the clash of arms with an enemy. Zulu warriors also have an empty-hand system, variously known as isibakela, amanqindi, or amankomane. All these names refer to Zulu methods of empty-hand fighting, relying on headbutts, knees, elbow, grappling throws, and kicks. Bone-breaking techniques, pressure point strikes, and chokes are also part of the repertoire. Zulu warriors also practiced their martial arts by doing the ukugiya war dance, showing their kicking prowess that would serve them well in combat. Techniques used included the front kick, side kick, and roundhouse kick. These kicks were part of the impi embovu as well as isibakela, Zulu fist-fighting that was popular as far back as the late 18th century when the legendary emperor of the Zulu Empire, Shaka Zulu, was born. It’s interesting to note that the front kick, sidekick, and low roundhouse
kick are also typical in the African combative games of ’ngolo from Angola, dambe in Nigeria, and by extension, capoeira and other African-derived martial arts in the Americas. A British soldier in the Anglo-Zulu wars of 1879 wrote in his journal how a front thrust kick from a Zulu warrior had knocked him flat on his back, breaking a couple of ribs in the process.
ty-hand-translated stick fighting techniques. Please note in Sotho that push kicks to the opponent’s lower legs, stomach, and rib cage are part of stick fighting.
Is’cima: Zulu Empty-Hand Combat Stick fighting techniques can be translted into bare-hands applications. When Zulu men faced a ban prohibiting them from carrying induku sticks in nearby urban areas, they transposed stick fighting techniques to empty-hand variations. At some point, it became known as is’cima or “off switch,” probably because during a fierce stick fight, one does get their lights switched off with a strike to the head (a K.O.), hence the name. Other tribes like the Sotho and Xhosa also have variations of emp-
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· Jigaba Bwaira | 19
Conclusion From the Maguzawa/Hausa in Nigeria to the Banyarwanda peoples in Rwanda, and onto the Zulu of South Africa, African martial arts are found in every corner of the continent but remain largely unknown to outsiders. Who, for example, knows of the mfuh warrior society, the army of the Nso peoples from the northwest region of Cameroon, West Africa? The mfuh warrior society came together to protect the Nso people during their long migrations over the centuries. In charge of protecting the Fondom traditional ruler of the Nso, mfuh warriors relied on the nyui.
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GRIMA THE VENEZOLANO MODERNO STYLE
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T. J. Desch-Obi, Ph.D
“MORE EXTENSION ON YOUR ATTACKS!” directed Maestro Nabor as he instructed my partner Lucy and I through an educational sequence of venezolano moderno, the most recent of all Colombian grima styles. These two-person fight choreographies were the basic method by which Afro-Colombians had been trained to stick fight for well over two centuries. The techniques and approaches to combat taught in such sequences depended heavily upon the style being studied. The more than thirty styles of grima could be organized into five categories based on historical depth and taxonomy of range, tactics, and strategies. In previous publications, I have outlined some of the characteristics of the numerically dominant classical and neo-classical styles of grima. This brief article will explore the history and practice of the most recent branch of grima—the tulueño moderno family of styles— through an oral history of the two most prolific living masters of venezolano moderno.
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Grima was the umbrella term used by Afro-Colombians to encompass a range of distinct martial arts styles that utilized the stick, lance, machete, or unarmed body for attack, and corporal dexterity for defense. At the heart of this complex was the use of the stick as the initial training weapon in the vast majority of grima styles. The oldest lineages of grima are unanimous in distinguishing their arts of grima from esgrima, or fencing. The latter, they say, is a Spanish term for European sword fighting, while their arts built on the use of the stick and machete are properly called “grima.” It is possible that this distinct terminology was linked to the Afro-Brazilians term grima meaning “fighting sticks,” and thus a parallel to the Venezuelan stick fighting arts referred to collectively as garrote, or “stick.” The classical styles of grima date back to the time of slavery in Colombia and appear to have been first developed in the country’s southeastern area, also known as the Pacific region. In the region that is now Colombia, gold min-
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ing was the primary driver of the economy. As mines were stripped, miners continued to move south as mines peaked along the Atlantic coast, the Caribbean coast of northern Antioquia, and then by the 18th century, in the Pacific region. Enslaved peoples frequently attempted to run away from their enslavers and became maroons, self-liberated individuals who formed a series of communities outside of areas controlled by the Spanish. By the late 18th century, references appear to the fighting capacities of the maroons and their preoccupation with dueling. The oldest lineages of grima styles trace back to the areas of such communities. These classical grima styles appear distinctive from earlier African Atlantic stick fighting arts such as the kalinda of the circum-Caribbean, particularly in terms of their educational system. While older grima styles maintained vestiges of the double-hand method of using a stick as found in kalinda, these were incorporated into a distinctive grima educational system based upon two-person choreographies.
After the abolition of slavery in Colombia in 1851, the conservative party launched a civil war aimed at toppling the liberal government and re-establishing slavery in the country. Afro-Colombians rushed to the liberal side and became the backbone of the liberal army, defeating the conservatives and ensuring the end of slavery. For the rest of the second half of the nineteenth century, Afro-Colombians
continued to play a large role in the military abilities of the liberal party. The most feared of these were the grima experts known as Negros Macheteros. These Afro-Colombian grima experts fought with stick and machete, frequently transforming their sticks into more lethal implements by adding a blade at one end. There were many local and national conflicts between the liberals and the conservatives. The
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most devastating was the Guerra de los Mil Dias—The War of a Thousand Days—that raged from 1899 to 1902. Herbert Spencer Dickey, a North American doctor working in Colombia, described the psychological effect of Negros Macheteros in the conflict. Dickey emphasized that the use of rifles in this conflict was largely ineffective due to poor training, limited ammunition, and the lack of uniform armament. Rather, the real carnage was the result of special companies who fought exclusively with arme blanche—cutting, thrusting, and percussive weapons. The most skilled macheteros hailed from the Cauca Valley of the Pacific region and neighboring Tolima. In both regions, there were special companies led by renowned grima experts such as Cinesio Mina, Tulio Varón, and General Ramón El Negro Marin. Even as late as the 1930s in Colombia’s conflict with Peru, Colombia’s antiquated guns were no match for Peru’s modernized army and weapons. In desperation, the government called in 1932 for the formation of a new battalion of macheteros, who successfully stormed the enemy’s encampment in the battle of Tarapacá. The majority of grima styles emerged over
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the time from 1851 to 1932 when they were militarily important, yet all these styles were fundamentally civilian in nature. In the Afro-Colombian communities after abolition, individuals learned grima for entertainment and self-protection. Grima stick fighting games were a widespread pastime in the rural communities, where most people worked on private fincas, or small scale farms or sugarcane plantations. Stick fighting was a competitive but friendly form of entertainment that often accompanied drinking. Workers on cattle ranches or sugarcane plantations similarly played grima with sticks in their work breaks as a form of entertainment. One popular game in certain areas was a tournament style with the loser of the competition having to pay for the bottle of alcohol that the participants enjoyed during the game. Many exponents of grima, also known as grimistas, also learned the art in order to protect themselves at work and in social conflicts if the need arose. Potential students had a wide range of styles to choose from, the most recent being the tulueño moderno long-range styles.
Venezolano Moderno: History & Practice Around the turn of the 20th century, a new family of grima styles was emerging—the tulueño moderno styles of relancino moderno, juego de compass, and venezolano moderno. This family of styles emphasized stick play more than the majority of neo-classical grima styles, which were primarily blade-focused. The original tulueño style, relancino moderno, was created by an Afro-Colombian family—the Valencias—in the tiny community of Caimos near Tulúa. Their family art integrated some defensive strategies from relancino, the body position and foot-
work of español, and the counter-striking of the sombra style into a unique approach to combat. Disciples of this system later went on to develop two new variants—the juego de compass, which added an emphasis on extended footwork, and venezolano moderno, which purportedly combined relancino moderno with elements from Venezuelan garrote. Yet both styles are primarily derivative of relancino moderno and—apart from the two-handed staff techniques found in the juego de compass—virtually indistinguishable in terms of style of play. Practitioners of these styles
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preferred to play at long range with a stick in each hand and target their strikes to the opponent’s attacking arm rather than block, which had been the custom in the classical styles of grima. The new family of arts remained isolated in the region surrounding Caimos for decades. Then in the late 1940s, a civil crisis known as La Violencia led to armed conflicts between liberal and conservative forces that made life in the region difficult. Entire communities had to flee to safe havens, including Palmira on the far side of the Cauca River. The tulueño moderno styles spread inland with these migrants to Palmira, where venezolano moderno rose to prominence through the work of the prolific masters, Maestro Nabor Rojas and Maestro Jose Quevedo.
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Maestro Nabor was born in a small community called Galicia to parents Antonio Maria Para y Maria Blanca Rojas. His father, Antonio Maria, was an adept of the classical relancino style of grima, and Nabor and his brothers came up with the desire to learn themselves. His aunt’s husband, Tomas Alvares, agreed to pay for the tuition so that at the age of eleven, Nabor could begin his first formal grima training with the Angel brothers—Pedro, Luis, and Marcos who taught the español style. Unlike most schools that began students with sticks or wooden machetes, in this school, they began right away with a stick and a live machete. However, Nabor’s training ended on his second day of training with Maestro Marcos.
“
He asked me if I was ready, and I said, I am. I organized myself with my stick and machete in a good stance and waited for him to give me [an educational choreography] like he had done the day before . . . when instead I felt a blow from his machete and saw a part of my hat floating away like a bird. I took up the piece of hat and marched out to show my uncle . . . .”
Nabor’s uncle, himself an expert in relancino, confronted the master and defeated Marcos in a duel, which brought Nabor’s training in the español style to an end. After this, Nabor’s family moved to Palmira to escape La Violencia. There, Nabor and his brother met Maestro Ramon, who first introduced the tulueño style of venezolano moderno into the rest of Colombia. Maestro Ramón Aguilera learned venezolano moderno at a very young age in the area around Caimos. In 1936, he had attained the rank of maestro at just sixteen years of age. Maestro Ramón became an itinerant grima instructor and opened grima academies in Chocó, Quindio, Tolima, and Cundinamarca. He returned to his
hometown to fulfill his military service, then worked for two years in the police force before returning to his life as a grima instructor. In the escalating violence of La Violencia, Maestro Ramón fought in many lethal street altercations: “They sought him out because of jealousy; because although he was a young man, in the games when he played grima, he hit everyone a lot. So, a number of rivals developed jealousy and said if they couldn’t deal with him playing [grima], they would deal in real fights. So, they sought battles with him . . . for this reason, he had to come here . . . in order to not have to fight so much.” When Nabor saw Maestro Ramón’s game, he and his brother were immediately convinced that this was the style for them.
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Their training began in a community outside Florida called San Antonio de Caballero, or more popularly, Chicharros. Maestro Ramón taught them in the afternoons from Monday to Saturday when they were finished working on the sugar plantation, Maria Luisa. Students of his generation made a contract for the entire course for 125 pesos, paid at the rate of 2 pesos per week when the plantation employees averaged around 20 pesos per week. In Ramón’s academy, Wednesdays were set aside for theory. “On Wednesdays, he didn’t give a [physical] class; the teaching on Wednesdays was pure theory, pure strategy . . . . He made a circle of the disciples and walked around them with his glasses on and off dictating . . . how to enter a house, how to leave a house, how to get down, how to best get back up; everything was strategic, he had a tremendous teaching of theory.” At the core of this theory was the concept of malicia, or cunning. Malicia was a strategy found throughout all grima styles as well as other African diasporic martial arts such as capoeira and garrote. Malicia was more than just a collection of tricks; it was an African-Atlantic philosophy that taught the weak how to overcome
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their oppressors. This philosophy was personified by the Western African trickster heroes such as the hare and the spider, who overcome their stronger rivals via tricksterism. These African tales were passed down in Colombia, where Anansi, or spider, and tio conejo, or uncle hare, were celebrated for overcoming larger, stronger animals through malicia. Grima masters taught their disciples various practical aspects of malicia, including how to walk around a corner to prevent ambush, how to safely exit a building, and how to overcome an opponent whose physical skills outmatch one’s own. The other
five days were dedicated to the physical components of the art. The venezolano moderno curriculum was generally broken up into three or four compendiums. The first was a series of nineteen or twenty choreographies called classes. These two-person choreographies taught students the fundamental strikes, defenses, and footwork patterns of the art. The second compendium was the defensive practice called ronda. Here, the student had to apply all the defenses learned in the choreographed sequences, to attacks that would now come without a set order. The ronda was designed
to teach the student to defend himself, first unarmed against attacks with a stick, then with stick against stick, and finally integrating machetes and knives as well. The third compendium was the juego de malicia, or game of trickery. “This is a feigned fight between two contenders—or you hit me, or I hit you.” While the first and second compendiums emphasized dexterity and defense, respectively, the juego de malicia now introduced the strategy and practice of creating and attacking an opponent’s openings. These open sparring sessions were usually practiced with each exponent typically having a stick in each hand. The practice sticks were made of a wood called guasimo that was lightweight to avoid serious injuries. Students first trained in the more supportive atmosphere among their cohort. Later, they would have to test their skills against students from other schools. Grima academies regularly traveled to have encounters with other schools. These were at times friendly exchanges but on other occasions designed to test rival grima styles or even rob students from other academies.
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“
There were a lot of academies and a lot of rivalry in the game, so we had to travel to other parts and other schools here, in Tulua, Andalucia, Cali, Pradera, Florida, Candelaria . . . we circled all these towns. In almost every neighborhood [of these towns], there were schools and there were stick battles. If it wasn’t in one part, it was in another.”
These meetings often began with formal invitations. “The master wrote a letter, and it was signed by two or three disciples as witnesses, then the other master responded in a like manner, and they established dates and venues for the encounters.” Once at the event, the visiting master would first make a presentation of his students, then the hostmaster would present his students. There was often a time for dialogue and exchange between the two styles, particularly when they had different styles. “My masters would often say to the other master, ‘Show us your art,’ so they would show us some of what they call cruza or paradas—educational choreographies—like the angel parada, the spider parada,
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the drunkard parada, etc.” But the heart of the encounters was always the juegos de malicia. These games would begin with friendly matches between students of the two schools. The rounds in these encounters lasted for five minutes—whatever you could accomplish in those minutes, whether you touched or didn’t touch him. But all was friendly and polite, always shaking hands and offering each other luck in the game. The game took place inside a ring. The ring size varied by school and style, often around 3 square meters, and almost never more than 4 square meters. Drinks usually accompanied these encounters. “There was never a lack of liquor
as we didn’t play drinking soda, just pure sugarcane liquor, beer, etc. This always warmed up the games, as there were always a few who were susceptible . . . and they went from the heart of a pigeon to the heart of a lion.” Both for the alcohol and the desire to not lose face in front of students, the most heated matches were usually the games between masters. These were normally also with practice sticks, but at times were played with machetes instead. Thus, masters often entered such matches with spiritual protections called ventajas, or advantages. When work on the sugarcane plantation in Florida dried up around 1963, Maestro Ramón moved the academy to Palmira, where he
rotated his time between three locations he had secured in the neighborhoods of Obrero, San Calletano, and San Pedro. After five years, Nabor had become a contra-maestro, or assistant instructor. When Maestro Ramón opened schools in other towns, Nabor would be left in charge of the academies in Palmira. “I was serving as contra-maestro for five years; [Maestro Ramón] didn’t come during the week because he had other academies in the municipality of Pradera, so he was busy there, and I was teaching here. He only came Saturdays in the afternoon—the day that all the disciples form the three localities got together—so that he could check how they were progressing.”
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Nabor excelled in the academy but felt challenged when it came time to teach on his own. “And for five years I was there acting as contra-maestro, but he also wanted me to teach on my own . . . . But I was afraid to take on all that responsibility because in those days the game was very rough. There was a lot of competition between rival schools, and masters from other academies wanted to come by and destroy the school [through challenge matches].” So Nabor only began teaching in secret. His first disciple, Teofilo Becerra, completed the first compendium around 1966. He presented this first student to Maestro Ramón, who approved of his student and encouraged him to take on more students. So Nabor took on his first cohort of clandestine students and eventually opened his own academy. When he presented them at the Saturday reunion of all of Maestro Ramón’s disciples, Nabor was formally declared a master, and his academy would become one of the two largest in the region. The other was led by Maestro José Quevedo.
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Los Gavilanes José Quevedo was born in Palmira in 1949. As a very young boy, some friends of his took him to watch a grima master teaching a student in a nearby backyard, and from there, his interest was piqued. Later, when he was a teenager, some friends who played grima began to instruct José in a bit of the venezolano moderno game. When he was 15, he traveled with them to meet their maestro, Luis Arturo A.K.A. Pucho Cruz, also from the epicenter area around Caimos. Maestro Pucho, already matured well into his sixties, accepted young José as a student in his academy where José traveled every weekend for training for five years. After completing his training, José had to pass through a grueling test to become a formal graduate. In Don Pucho’s academy, the entrega was a graduation testing ceremony that required the participation of around four other masters. “When they are ready to graduate someone, the pure masters get together to give an objective look at the disciple to decide if he is ready or if he is still lacking a bit, in which case they may say that he is still lacking and needs two or three months to work on [some aspect of the art].”
As in other lineages, José had to demonstrate his mastery of the twenty cruzas and two rondas where he had to defend himself against a machete and knife, respectively, and face each of the masters with sticks. In addition to these three elements found in all schools of venezolano moderno, the lineage of Don Pucho also contained a fourth component to the curriculum: the pandilla, or gang attack. This was a difficult form of play in which the disciple had to spar against four individuals at the same time. This was no easy feat and might have to be done with any weapon. “[In the pandilla,] there was a concept of the masters that they laid out four sticks, four machetes, and knives. The person who was going through the entrega said to the masters, ‘Master, you choose what you would like to play me with.’ They would say, ‘Fine, let’s play with [sticks, machetes, or knives].’ In these entregas, it was different than in training; in training, you used plastic or wooden knives, but for the entrega, live knives were used in order to know if you could defend yourself for real or not.”
Five years after he began his formal training with Don Pucho, José passed his entrega, giving him the authorization to take on students of his own. Maestro José went on to pass on his art to hundreds of students in the area of Palmira. Rather than establish a private academy, Maestro José, along with his seven brothers and few close colleagues, established Los Gavilanes—The Hawks— a large collective academy. The first location for the Gavilanes was on 14th Street where there was a permanent training ring 4 meters wide. After ten years, the academy moved to another building in the Obrero neighborhood, and then after another ten years moved to the San Pedro location, which remains an active academy. Like other schools of grima, Maestro José and colleagues took their students to play with their masters throughout the region in closeddoor encounters.
The Gavilanes also spread the fame of their school by demonstrating their art openly. While his master’s generation was generally secretive about their knowledge and didn’t openly advertise their academies, the Gavilanes did numerous shows at the community fairs that took place in the wider region. At these festivals, they also organized tournaments open to anyone who wanted to compete, but also formally invited known academies. These public tournaments generally provided each competitor with a dull machete. Competitors were required to wear white shirts, and the machetes were treated to leave marks on the competitors’ clothes so that there would be fewer arguments due to fighters denying that they had been hit. Between public performance and tournaments, the Gavilanes openly attracted many students.
GRIMA
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The tulueño moderno family of grima styles began with relancino moderno in the region of Caimos around the turn of the century. By the 1920s, the style had evolved into two other variants that shared the same style of play. The homeland of these arts became the site of intense bloodshed during La Violencia, leading many families to travel inland to Palmira. There, between the closed schools of Maestro Nabor that followed the traditional closed-door training policy, and the Gavilanes who openly promoted their school in public performances and tournaments, the reputation of venezolano moderno became firmly entrenched in the region around Palmira, where it remains the most active style.
T. J. Desch-Obi, Ph.D Author of Fighting for Honor: The History of African Martial Art in the Atlantic World
GRIMA
· T. J. Desch-Obi, Ph.D | 39
BONAFONT ARGENTINE CANE COMBAT SYSTEM COMBAT WITH A TANGO FLAVOR . . . Jorge Prina
THERE WAS A CANE FIGHTING SYSTEM in Argentina that existed at the beginning of the 20th century, in the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina—Buenos Aires, the cradle of the tango. And this story began like this . . .
History With the arrival of the year 1900, a new century began. Over the last few years, Argentina had shifted its economic base from small landowners selling their surplus to Europe to an industrialized export-oriented economy bringing the country wealth rivaling that of Europe or North America. Money flowed in, and the rich became even wealthier. For the gauchos of the pampas, life turned out differently. The expansion of a hacienda economy fencing in the once wide-open spaces in the mid-19th century reduced the range of the herds of wild horses and cows that had roamed the savannahs for centuries. With the disappearance of the herds, the traditional source for the economic livelihood of the gaucho disappeared as well. The increasing implementation of modern rational methods of managing livestock and the plow-
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ing-under of grasslands for wheat cultivation resulted in a sharp decline in the demand for the type of seasonal labor the gaucho had depended on. As a result of this profound economic shift, many gauchos ended up migrating to the urban zone around Buenos Aires to work as unskilled laborers and avoid starvation. And so, the wild and free life of the gauchos slowly withered away in the face of industrialized progress. The increasing demand for Argentine foodstuffs by Europe and the USA called for a pool of disciplined docile workers. They had to be willing to work hard on a regular schedule and low pay to keep the economy growing and the money pouring into Argentina. In addition to not having a large enough labor pool to fulfill the increasing demands of an export-oriented economy, the existing workforce was not ready to do the kind of labor demanded of them. The former life of a gaucho did not prepare him for a life of spending his workday off a horse. On top of that, he was not ready to be tied to a time clock and under the command of a supervisor who probably had no idea how to ride a horse, lasso a wild bull, or fight with a knife. Seeking more dependable and less
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independent-minded workers, government-sponsored immigration initiatives led 6.6 million people, mainly from Italy and Spain but also other parts of Europe and the Ottoman Empire, to migrate to Argentina and work in the numerous factories springing up, or, alternately, to colonize and farm the immense tracts of land recently taken from local Indian nations. Dreaming of lush farms and high-paying factory jobs, all too often, their dreams were unfulfilled. Many immigrants ended up joining the once free-roaming gauchos in the slum neighborhoods, or arrabales, that grew up around the abattoirs or the docks along the southern banks of the Rio de Plata, separating the rich from the poor of Buenos Aires. Here they worked in brutal conditions for long hours and low wages. Despite this or because of this, Buenos Aires developed into one of the great cities of the early 20th century. It was a city rich in knowledge and with great cultural diversity. Porteños, as the inhabitants of Buenos Aires were known, lived within a strict racial and class-stratified society. On the one side was the rich, often of European descent. Among the elites, at this time, a class of entitled rich young men known as The Dandies came of age.
On the other side of the river dividing the city were the de-tribalized Indians, Afro-Argentines, Euro-Indians, Afro-Indians, and poor immigrants who often lived a hand-to-mouth existence in the arrabales. Among the day laborers, longshoremen and factory workers were those who lived in the space between legal and illegal activities, known as malevos, taitas, or compadres. These were the people who worked when they could find it, who drank all night long and danced the tango in the little bars tucked away in narrow and dirty alleys. These were the men who often had nothing in life but their honor and a knife to defend the one thing they held more precious to them than their life—their reputation that lived on long after they shuffled off this mortal coil.
Argentina was similar to much of Latin America. At the time, throughout the rural parts of the continent, a man’s skill with the knife was highly valued and often tested by those seeking to burnish their honor at the expense of others. From a young age, it was typical for a father, uncle, or older male relative to give their young male relatives a small knife, or guri, as it was called, and instructed to stab any other little boys who harass, molest, or otherwise bother them. From the late 19th century up to the 1930s, young males from all walks of life were initiated into boyhood in this manner.
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It was there in the arrabales, where the rhythms of the tango played all night long into the early morning hours, that the history of the working class and criminals was written, often in blood. After long hours engaged in back-breaking labor, working class men would go the small run-down shacks to drink and dance with the women who relied on paid survival-sex as their trade. In the evening hours, the criminal class of males, having woken up only a few hours before, would dress in their finest clothes. Then they would head out to the same bars to meet up with their women who hustled the working men for money, to meet up with colleagues to plan new money-making schemes, or to relax after having made a good “score.” In these dives of roughcut lumber, a few half-drunk and bored musicians would play rough tunes where couples could dance the tango, and bartenders could serve harsh rum that would allow their clientele to forget their troubles for a few hours. It was a rough time full of rough, unsophisticated people.
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The popularity of this atmosphere spread beyond the arrabales and up to the educated, refined “good folks” neighborhoods of Buenos Aires. With time on their hands and money in their pockets, the Dandies seeking adventure and good times would gather together in groups for protection and journey to the nightlife offered in the arrabales. Guess what would happen? Time made the tango trendy, and the Dandies wanted to meet the malevos, and what happened . . . ? Imagine the thoughts and feelings crossing the minds of these malevolent, handsome taitas and compadritos, when seeing a group of Dandies entering his “place”— elegant and sharply dressed like a waiter from a nice restaurant, with polished shoes, buttoned-up suit, and a funyi hat on top of their head. They wore a suit of clothes that would easily cost the men here at least six months’ pay. What happened had to happen, blood flowed, and so on . . . but that’s the place where we are going, a place that existed long ago.
Born in 1875, Arturo Bonafont grew up interested in sports and physical conditioning and later in life dedicated himself to teaching fencing at the exclusive GEBA, or the Gymnastics and Fencing of Buenos Aires, an aristocratic club of the time. Bonafont had a passion regarding combative arts and researched them assiduously, getting his hands on recently published works on Japanese jiu-jitsu or the self-defense methods with the walking stick by Pierre La Vigny. Not satisfied with reading the latest books on self-defense, Artu-
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ro and his friend Jorge Newberey went down to the arrabales where the best street fighters hung out. There he honed his skills in bouts of unrehearsed and unrestrained combat. Armed with a blend of printed works and real-life experience, Arturo returned to the elite gymnasiums of Buenos Aires, and it is there that his experience in street fights with the support of his friend Jorge Newbery was taught. Here he devoted himself to training these upper-class boys to defend themselves with a cane against the knife of the malevos. At this time, the walking cane was a normal part of the everyday dress of men of substance, and Arturo continued to teach his unique brand of self-defense for many years. By the time the 1930s rolled around, Arturo felt the need to document his method in writing and share his hard-won insights to a broader audience, in a book entitled A Method of Defending Oneself with a Cane on the Streets. Due to the difficulties of life, Arturo never published the second volume of his method of self-defense. Still, in print over 70 years later, a testament is owed to Don Arturo Bonafont, as he is the father of the use of the cane in self-defense in Argentina.
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The Techniques This system relies on an inverted, or ice-pick, grip. The system is not a dueling art but strictly of self-defense. It is easily learned and a practically oriented art. The first thing Bonafont makes clear to the reader is that the cane must always be in motion unless they can be sure they are a safe distance away from the armed opponent. Every part of the cane, from the fist gripping the cane to the regatonón, or the tip, is identified, discussed, and evaluated in terms of its combative value.
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The Bonafont system is composed of both immobilizing locks and strikes. Guards are natural and straightforward. Attacks come at a fast and unpredictable angle. The footwork is simplified and accounts for dealing with single and multiple opponents in either closed or open spaces. After much experimentation and training, we can say the inverted Bonafont grip is better adapted for self-defense situations than the cane held in the traditional saber grip. Relying on a saber grip requires cocking the arm back to generate power, thereby showing the opponent your intent. The inverted Bonafont grip is structurally faster, as it depends only on the movement of the wrist and therefore minimizes any telegraphing of one’s intention. Another advantage of this type of grip relates to maintaining an optimum distance of a cane to generate the power needed to injure an opponent. In contrast with the inverted Bonafont grip, the cane wielder can remain closer to his opponent than if he were using a saber grip. This grip, along
with precise footwork, allows one to attack and defend oneself at a much closer distance. Moreover, the unique grip will enable strikes from a wide number of unusual angles. Combined with thrusts using a two-handed grip near both ends when in very close proximity, as well as low kicks and trips, this makes for a powerful system of defense against knife-wielding opponents.
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Techniques, flow, and distance appreciation was trained in solo exercises and sparring matches. A practitioner trained to handle himself against a committed unrehearsed knife attack by one or more opponents. Remember, at the time, like every malevo who carried his knife, every gentleman carried his cane, a symbol of high social status. It was this symbol of his position that he learned to use against those armed with knives, not other men with canes. A veteran of many fights, Don Arturo once said, “I had a vision that a man of peace arming himself with a cane of solid wood with some committed training could easily master the art of self-defense when called upon to do so. A solid cane of hardwood used to support a man of peaceful intent [can], in the hands of a person skilled in the art, easily become a very effective weapon for self-defense.”
The Bonafont cane fencing system is still alive and well—you just have to find someone to teach you. Those of us who have fought with sticks know it is important not to lose one’s weapon. To that end, Don Arturo said, “One must follow through with the blow of the cane. It must be swung with intent as to avoid your opponent grasping your weapon.” This is advice from a man who fought in the streets, a real master of fighting. Currently, the system is being disseminated and taught by Eduardo Festorazzi and Jorge Prina, both natives of Buenos Aires, the birthplace of Bonafont. Jorge Prina is a South American champion in full-contact stick fighting in 2015 and 2016, and available for the education, dissemination, or demonstration of the effectiveness of the Bonafont system, defended as Arthur would have liked, with the cane!
Don Arturo Bonafont continues: “At the moment when defending ourselves has become essential, we must instantaneously observe the position, attitude, demeanor, or aggressive movement of the adversary to apply our attack by arresting or counteracting his in the act of his initiation. To see and execute with the speed of lightning all at once.” BONAFONT ARGENTINE CANE
Jorge Prina @ tacuara.dpu
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THE PURE ART OF ANGEL CABALES
SERRADA NG ESCRIMA JC Cabiero
A MAN FROM BARRIO IGANIA, Sibalom, Antique, the Philippines of the Visayan Islands, once decided to expose to the public his weapons close-quarter fighting art, which he called serrada ng escrima. This man was Angel Cabales (1917-1991), escrimador. Let us digress a bit to put this into a meaningful context. The term escrima-
dor is a marque bestowed only to a deathmatch-proven skilled fighter by other escrimadors in the Philippines. More importantly, only an escrimador can develop a fighter into another escrimador, thus proclaiming that fighter as an escrimador—not a self-proclaimed escrimador. It was in Stockton, California, in 1966, where Angel
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opened one of the first Filipino Martial Art schools in the United States of America. Angel Cabales once explained, “I call my weapons fighting art serrada because I fight very close, inside to my attacker, to block and take them out right away, and serrada means close, inside—very close! That is my fighting style.” Angel Cabales was very gracious in giving part of his life to training me in serrada. It is Angel’s truth that I bear witness to. Angel’s teachings are grounded in the rawness of the art of fighting and the connectedness with life itself. Angel would say to me, “When you are a fighter, you are the same person every day. When you eat or when you fight—
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you are the same person.” At first, I did not truly understand. However, as years of training with Angel transpired, I finally realized what Angel was telling me; I have to be the same person whether I am training with him or living my daily life—I must be who I am. Then I will be real to myself and in my art of fighting. Otherwise, if I am one person learning how to fight and being another person in my daily life, I am not real and cannot be one within myself. I would not be able to see the truth, to know the truth, and be truthful to myself and in the art of fighting. Angel was also telling me, I must be pure in heart to excel in life and reach the highest level of consciousness and spiritual realization. This will show
me the truth of my weakness and strength in life and my training. As Angel’s fighter/student, I developed my weakness into strength and advanced my strength to another level of consciousness. Blessed with the gift of the truth in the art of fighting, Angel had been well-educated in the barrio streets, the jungle, and backroom bars of the Philippines, not from books, a school, videos, TV, internet, or social media. It is this rawness that makes his art of fighting come alive. To clarify how this Filipino fighting art evolved to exist in the USA and get exposed to the world, we need to relate the historical happenings to the whole outcome, placing these events in perspective.
Angel Cabales learned from early childhood how to be a survivor on the unpaved earthen calles, or streets, in the barrios. A slight digression: the word barrio is derived from the Arabic noun, barr— meaning “land or open country.” During this period, the Arabic word, barrī—or “of the land”—was applied to villages and rural communities that lay in the territory surrounding a town or city. Barrios were often considered disreputable and dangerous by government standards. To survive the streets in the barrios, one had to be mentally strong, alert, have pronounced physical prowess, and, most importantly, street smarts. Those who did not know how to fight with street smarts did not
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survive the streets of the barrios; it was just that simple—nature’s law of survival. Angel told me his street survival training began in his childhood with his natural boxing skills, which he felt was innate. He explained to me, when growing up, he enjoyed boxing and relied on his rudimentary boxing skills to defend himself against other kids. He never had boxing lessons, but in many fights, he was able to defeat his opponent. Other times, both kids beat each other to a pulp, and the fight stopped due to mutual exhaustion. As he became a teenager, he included the rattan with his boxing skills because other teenagers were fighting with rattans. One time he said his weapons fighting skills and abilities increased as he got older. He attributed his ironclad defense abilities, as seen in his in-tightness, good body balance, and body positioning, to his raw boxing skills. From this base, he developed a prediction for fighting in close range. And this is how his fighting style developed to survive in the streets of the barrios. One day, while still in his teens, Angel stated, a stranger from the mountains of Cebu in the Visayan Islands came to see him. He found out later that this stranger was also a great warrior of the land, a legendary escrimador, also known as
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Dimasalang—or “One who cannot be touched.” Also known as Feliscimo Dizon, he was a great escrimador and considered as a member of the Doce Pares group composed of the 12 best fighters of the Philippines. Dizon told Angel that he had heard of his pronounced fighting skills and abilities in his journeys throughout the barrios as word travels quickly about upcoming fighters who are developing a fearsome reputation. Dizon wanted to see for himself the fighting caliber of Angel, and soon enough, Angel had to defend himself once again. Dizon was impressed with Angel’s iron defensive skills and abilities, attacks, and ability to end a fight quickly. In 1932, at the tender age of 15, Angel Cabales began his rigorous and intensive training under the watchful eyes and tutelage of Felicisimo Dizon. Angel absorbed the knowledge of Felicisimo’s weapons fighting art very quickly—this was the main reason Felicisimo was inspired to train this young man in his weapons fighting art of escrima. From that moment on, the two rapidly became close friends developing into sangre familia, or family by blood; thus, Angel’s legacy began. Angel explained to me that Dizon had great respect for his fighting spirit and sensed that
he had the character and personality, especially living in the barrios, to make him his student/ fighter. At that moment, Dizon acknowledged Angel as a member of his sangre familia. He immediately took Angel under his wings, mentoring the young man. He expanded Angel’s fighting knowledge through his method of armed combat, which was known by every fighter on the island as decuerdas—meaning in Spanish, “the
winding of,” like winding a watch (i.e., torquing of the body). Angel explained to me that Dizon never named his fighting style—it was the village people who saw Dizon fight who named his style decuerdas. Thus, decuerdas was branded on Dizon. Soon after that, other fighters called him The DeCuerdas Fighter. Angel indicated to me that Dizon utilized the streets and countryside for their training ground and
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used real situations in the barrios and in the roughest part of the city against the most hardened fighters to test his learning capacity and ability. Angel said, “Dizon would train me in his fighting based on many types of angles of attacks using one or two rattans, long and short blades—or espada y daga—and with a knife or two knives. Then we would go into a barrio or the most dangerous part of a town or city, and Dizon would have me challenge the toughest fighter. Each time, I would take out the other guy without waiting or thinking; just sometimes I block him, then I hit him many times. Other fights I would smack him first and keep smacking him until he gives up or was knocked out!” Angel specified that he would defeat his opponents within three to eleven seconds. For the most part, during these times, the rattan was the weapon of choice; other times, the blades would come out if the opponent desired. Angel emerged victorious in every fight. While most defeated fighters loved to fight another day, albeit badly bruised, some did not survive the encounter, especially when the blade was involved. As each day turned into weeks, weeks into months, and months
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into years, Angel progressively developed his skills, abilities, and knowledge comparable to his teacher. It wasn’t long before Feliscimo and Angel were challenged in deathmatches by other escrimadors trying to burnish their reputations. From village to village, city to city, bars, and shipping docks, Angel said that most of these challenges took place with a short and long blade, and every time, he and Feliscimo ended the matches quickly, even when the odds were stacked against them eight against two. The challenges continued as they journeyed throughout the Philippines, and they left a long line of bloody but living opponents; others were not so lucky. All of Feliscimo and Angel’s deathmatches lasted only three to eleven seconds; once the weapons came out, both men did not hesitate to eliminate their opponents. After many years of this type of training and deathmatches, Dizon finally informed Angel his training had come to an end—he must now venture on his own. Though parting was painful, each had to walk their path and begin new journeys. Feliscimo Dizon returned to the mountains of the Philippines, and Angel started the next chapter of his life on a ship headed for Alaska, where new challenges and adven-
tures awaited him. Eventually, he settled down in Stockton, California, where in 1966, he revealed the Filipino Martial Arts to the public. Angel always told me, in our native tongue of Tagalog, “Wala pang nakuha—maliban kung ito ay nakamit,” which meant, “Nothing is ever gained—unless it is earned!” In other words, the more a fighter immerses themselves in the rigorous training of the pure art of serrada ng escrima, their fighting skills, abilities, and knowledge will increase. The effort that a student puts into practice can be seen in their blocking and attacking. Additionally, and even more importantly, it will determine how they will handle their moment of truth. And this is the reason why Angel drilled into me the axiom that the foundation is the heartbeat and structure of his armed close-quarter combat art. Angel knew if the fighter had a solid, strong foundation, then the fighter could build upon this utilizing their skills, abilities, and knowledge to move into Advanced Weapons Training (AWT). However, if the fighter’s foundation were less than compact and robust, even if he advanced into the AWT portion of the art, his art would still be of inferior quality. Angel always
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reminded me of this lesson, telling me during our training sessions, “If you are weak in your foundation, you will be a weak fighter!” Angel’s close-quarter combat weapons system, first and foremost, is adaptable to any fighting art. He often said to me and many others, “My fighting style works good with any fighting style—it is compatible with what you already know!” Angel’s close-quarter style is very simple and direct. In-tightness, economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of movements form the basis of his art. One blocks and attacks with bad intentions, striking vulnerable targets while seeking to circle behind the opponent. If the opponent hesitates and there is an opening, attack first and keep on striking those vulnerable targets and circle to the rear of the opponent. Angel often stated to me: “When you block, you got to hit. When you hit, you hit, hit, until he is no more! If he doesn’t hit you first, then you must see the opening and hit him first, then hit, hit, hit until he is no more!” Angel’s famous words spoken to me and the world was, “Hit a man three times, and he will fall!” These are not shallow or posturing words, but words Angel translated into execution in real life deathmatches. In his attacks, he called
his execution Triple Strikes—targeting vulnerable targets of the opponent’s head. Finally, decuerdas, or torquing of the hips, is the key in Angel’s Triple Strikes. So, no matter what fighting art you know and learned, anyone can find Angel’s close-quarter combat weapons fighting art and enhance one’s fighting skills, abilities, and knowledge in the art of fighting. Every fighter is different, and training is tailored to their attributes. However, all training goes through, first and foremost, The Foundation, and second, AWT—or Advanced Weapons Training. And afterward, students progress into Master Level Training (MLT) with more realistic attacks and movements from the master trainer, to expose any weaknesses in their movements. During the fighter’s training, the fighter has fully developed their skills, abilities, and knowledge in mastering their movements in MLT. From this point, the fighter progresses to the next, highest level of consciousness and spiritual realization: Escrimador Level Training (ELT) to mature into a true pure escrimador. Training as an escrimador is continuous and everlasting—always being humbled by life. This is Angel’s Way.
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Angel’s weapons fighting art is ultimately a high-level sharp-edged weapons fighting art. It encompasses in-tight fighting, body balance, body positioning, body angling, economy of movement, and motion. Also, it stresses efficiency and effectiveness in execution, evasiveness, and fluidity in defensive and offensive movements. Just as necessary is the ability to reverse, mobility in attacking, and adaptability in fighting tactics and strategy. In today’s modern world, the blade is often still the weapon of choice for many predators. Angel realized in any blade attack, the attributes of his weapons fighting art will determine whether the defender of the attack will survive their moment of truth. Angel would often tell me during our training sessions: “You must always have balance, all the time when you are moving when you are defending yourself. When you block and counter, you must have balance, and you always try to get your opponent to lose their balance. Remember, when there is no balance, it is hard to defend and harder to attack because there is no balance!” I comprehended through the years that this was one of the basic rules of the art of self-defense. Angel was an escrimador who was masterful at getting his opponent off-bal-
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ance; once this occurred, Angel, an in-tight fighter, would zoom in on vulnerable targets, attacking with slicing and/or thrusting with his blade or blades. His weapons fighting style was for survival, self-preservation of life— not for demonstrations, ranking, exercise, or school-type controlled environment training. Blocking the blade is a high-level art form; it takes a high degree of skill, ability, and knowledge to execute. Knowing how to coordinate body positioning and body angle with
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the block is the root of the art, in conjunction with the essential primary attributes of body balance, coordination of mind and body, and footwork. Most people practicing knife self-defense usually face square to their attacker, and in doing so, provide a lot of targets to attack. This makes the blocking execution against the knife attack much more difficult to defend; so the learning process becomes more of jumping back to avoid being cut then jumping in to cut, which is becoming the most common practice seen. A trained blade fighter
understands efficiency, and effectiveness is always the sought-after goal. Angel would say, “Do not waste time in movement; be direct, do not be fancy, and you must be very in-tight!” In other words: Economy in movement, simple and direct, and in-tightness are the keys to survive a blade attack! At one time during my training, working deeper into Angel’s art, there was no longer a structure during our training sessions. I learned to expect the unexpected and express my fakes, picks, pulling, pushing, jamming, trapping, reversing, and sticky stick from all angles. Angel enhanced my footwork style of shuffling, angling, circling, crossover stepping, and rapid stepping while hitting—a readily identifiable characteristic of Angel’s movement. Angel once reflected upon the importance of tactics and strategies in combat with a statement. It is both profound and straightforward, reflecting the raw barrio environment Angel once fought in and lived: “In real, everything goes, there are no rules when it comes to your life!” Fighting is for one reason and one reason only: to take the attacker’s life within three to eleven seconds! Furthermore,
Angel would tell me, “If you take more than three to eleven seconds, you will give the attacker a chance to knock you out or kill you!” I must reiterate, Angel’s art is not for tournament, ranking, or prestige. There is no exercise or drills like hitting stick to stick; in Angel’s training, when we feed a strike, we strike the body, and the defender must block. Angel believes this is the only way to learn how to defend yourself in a life and death situation. Angel Cabales proved his fighting skills, abilities, and knowledge in over 100 deathmatch challenges in the Philip-
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pines. Working on the fishing boats off Alaska, he was attacked by five very large Canadians in California. Over the years many escrimadors challenged him, and he emerged victorious from every encounter. We hope and pray we will never have to fight for our life during our time on earth. However, we realize every day someone dies violently at the hands of another. Consequently, if our moment of truth happens—we know based on our gladiator-type training that, deep within our heart and our belief in
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God, we are ready to eliminate the bloodthirsty evil person from this earth within three to eleven seconds. The Pure Art of Serrada ng Escrima is now my path, and if a fighter so chooses, of his/her own free will, to seek the purity of Angel’s weapons fighting art, I will say this: My teacher, Angel Cabales, was enthusiastic about teaching with his heart to all fighters hungry to learn his weapons close-quarter combat fighting style. Following in his footsteps, so too I shall continue the same passion as my mentor/ teacher/trainer/family escrimador Angel Cabales, in training voracious fighters. Suppose the fighter has the discipline and diligent durable energy to train often. In that case, the results this fighter will “gain” will be a wide-ranging understanding of the true knowledge of Angel’s weapons fighting art. For all the fighters who will search and seek me out, I will, with all my heart and soul, endow Angel’s Truth—through everything I have been taught/trained by Angel Cabales. Mabuhay ang the Pure Art of Cabales Serrada ng Escrima— forever!
ELEMENTS OF THE PURE ART OF SERRADA NG ESCRIMA The most significant aspect of what Angel taught me was the elements of his foundation of serrada. As I mentioned previously, the foundation is the “heartbeat and structure” of his close-quarter combat weapons fighting art. One cannot learn Angel’s style of weapons fighting without completely learning the foundation of serrada. In the foundation training of the Pure Art of Serrada ng Escrima, the training application is deterministic—Knowable Outcome training. In other words, I know what strike will be applied, and I execute a block that is predetermined in the structure (In AWT, it becomes stochastic—meaning, one whose state is non-deterministic).
As Angel’s fighter, I learned to utilize simple steps to keep my feet underneath my shoulders and maintain a fundamental comprehension in vertical fighting, such as pugilism—which Angel loved. 2. Body Angle Angling my upper body at the optimum side position, limiting the target amount to the attacker. In other words, instead of moving forward with my body square to the opponent, I turn my body sideways so all the opponent will view is the side of my arm and body, providing fewer targets to attack. 3. Body Balance
Angel taught me the importance of:
In conjunction with body positioning and angling, Angel taught me always to be balanced in the execution of movement.
1. Body Positioning
4. Timing
45-degree angle in stepping forward from a neutral position (square body with feet together) and utilizing the 80-20 footwork, which is 80% of my weight in my front leg and 20% on my back leg.
In my training with Angel, he taught me how to gauge the timing of my opponent, allowing me to be effective in my execution of movements.
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5. In-tightness
7. DeCuerdas
In Angel’s style of weapons fighting, I learned right from the beginning that I had to be very in-tight with my movements. I always kept my arms and hands close to my body in the execution of movements. Angel drilled me never to extend my arms to block or hit. He trained me to comprehend that, as soon as I extended my arm away from my body, my movements became inefficient and ineffective, including losing Body Balance.
This is one significant aspect Angel learned from Dizon: body-torquing for power. Angel instilled in me the key skill of torquing my hips to produce the power I needed to defend myself and in striking my opponent with bad intentions. He told me that self-defense was created for the small man, and a small man must learn how to block and hit like a very big man. He indicated that big men are rarely attacked because they are very big. Big men always attack the small man because they are small. Nature has a way to balance this, and the fighting arts for self-defense and self-preservation came to LIFE! He said to me, “Never hold back; always fight for your life—because your life will depend on this!”
6. Economy of Movement and Motion in Execution (no wasted actions) Angel taught me the critical importance of concentrating on utilizing direct and straightforward execution in my movements. In other words, when I execute his style, I must always use the minimum amount of movements—instead of taking three movements to accomplish my block, I utilize two movements. He educated me, advising me if I did not need to move my arm, hand, or feet to complete my block. And if it did not provide any added value in execution, then I must eliminate the wasted movement.
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I train fighters to their optimum potential, preparing them for their moment of truth—this is how Angel trained me. A master trainer develops the fighter within their capacity and then expands that capacity through being patient, supportive, informative, and truthful, exposing all weaknesses. This is the knowledge I learned from Angel Cabales. Angel’s weapons fighting method is alive, and in constant motion—never stationary. Angel’s weapons fighting art is only geared for the realities of life; in true combat, anything goes! My training method involves this stochastic process, providing many different looks/approaches in the attack. This assists in improving the fighter’s focus, concentration, steadiness, relaxed yet total readiness, controlling of all emotions. Defects must be exposed during training sessions, developing internal self-control: as one example, training/developing the fighter to control his emotions, for the mind and body are a perfect symbiosis—any stimulus or outside factor equally affects both. An aggressive frame of mind produces a physical reaction that can be detrimental to their life—in other words, taking control of your emotions instead
of letting your emotions take control of you! In Advance Weapons Training, I begin training the fighter to recognize his internal emotional content, for it is critical that the fighter understands the truth of who they are—eliminating not only wasted movements, but putting aside egos, pride, etc., and eradicating all false self-confidence. Instead, one must cultivate a high level of self-control. The fighter must practice this internal self-control 24/7 in their life. Once the fighter can succeed consistently—not only during hermit training or regular training sessions but in their daily activities— this demonstrates that the fighter has achieved internal self-control permanently, and transformation of self-control becomes the Fighter’s Truth, forever—an attribute that extraordinary fighters have (Angel’s Truth) . . .
JC Cabiero @jc.cabiero
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INDIAN LATHI Mahesh Kumar Ramakrishna
MY NAME IS MAHESH KUMAR RAMAKRISHNA, and I am happy to be a part of The Immersion Labs to bring my experience in showcasing one of the popular forms of Indian martial arts practices across India. I started to practice silambam and kuthu varisai (the name for lathi comes out of silambam of Tamil Nadu state) at the age of eight and completed it at the age of 18. I then started researching, teaching, and then traveling across South India to gain more knowledge. It has been a long journey since then, and it is still going on.
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Introduction to the Lathi The Indian lathi is a bamboo staff, which is hard as steel. I cannot compare it with any other weapon available in nature as regards its strength and durability. Today across India, the lathi is often the preferred weapon of choice. The use of the lathi has a long history in human history. Archaeological research has uncovered evidence pointing to the use of staff by Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens to hunt. There still exist hunting and gathering tribes in parts of remote India today who rely upon lathi, spear, bow and arrow, boomerang or valari, deer horns or madu, and small sharp weapons like a dagger for hunting and defending their territories against farmers and bandits. The Indian subcontinent is one of the oldest on mother earth and has made significant contributions in all fields of human knowledge. The journey of ancient Indian warfare has its own significance as the Indian subcontinent was well versed in the arts of war. Strategy, tactics, and weapons were developed in the field of battle and used successfully to defend our land for thousands of years from invaders from Asia and Europe. As India became occupied by invaders from West Asia (in the 15th century by
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the Mughal empire) and Europe (in the 18th century by the British), the colonial overlords banned the training and practice of the arts of war. India’s warriors suffered a major blow through the imposition of this edict. Additionally, it proved to be a great challenge for those who struggled to keep the arts of war alive for the next generation. Possessed of a profound understanding of how to teach men how to fight, groups of warriors came up with the idea of training the next generation in the lathi, as it was not among the weapons banned by the colonial authorities. In the end, this turned out to be a prescient move on their part, as seen in the fact that police throughout India still use the lathi as the first weapon of choice for crowd control or other security issues. Before India won its independence from British colonial rule, hundreds of independent kingdoms made up what later became the nation of India. After independence in 1948, India was reorganized into one nation, made up of 29 states and seven national territories. Today, many of these states have their own martial art traditions. However, in all these regions, the lathi is the primary weapon of choice.
Looking for the roots of Indian martial arts, we turn our eyes to the writings known as the Vedas. One of the oldest Vedas dating back to 1700-1100 BC mentions the existence of Indian martial arts in the chapter entitled the Dhanurveda. The Tamils of south India are among the oldest populations in India. Over time they have amassed a rich written collection. Among the Rigvedas dating from 1500-1200
BC, several hymns—attributed to the hermit sage Agastyar—known as the Kampu Sutra, describe advanced fighting theories in verse. Furthermore, the Akananuru and Purananuru books that make up the Sangam Literature of the 2nd century BC also reference existent martial art traditions. Tamil civilization contributed to a range of arts and sciences such as martial arts, siddha medicine, music,
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dance, architecture, stone, metal sculpture, and many others. I hope this brief selection on the wealth of writings on Indian martial arts hints at the wealth of literature on this and other subjects. As I have written earlier, India consists of 29 states with their own indigenous martial art traditions. With this in mind, I will discuss some of the martial art traditions in several states. Tamil Nadu If we pass back through history and look at a few of the highlights of Indian martial arts, we turn to the establishment of the Shaolin Temple in China and its relation to Bodhidharma. In the year AD 500, the Prince of Kandhi Puram, present-day Kanchipuram, took Indian martial arts to China and established the Shaolin Temple. During this time, the names, por kalai (armed battlefield arts), kuthu varisai (unarmed combat), and varma kalai (the arts of attacking vital points), served to identify and organize martial arts. An examination of the historical records shows many instances where Tamil rulers exported the Indian martial arts of silambam, kuthu varisai, and varma kalai to East Asian countries. India’s relation to combat has changed dramatically since
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then as new technological changes in warfare relegated many of these sophisticated, efficient, and effective systems to memories held by a handful of warrior castes or local villagers who saw the value in these martial knowledges. Today, the local martial art of Tamil Nadu is referred to as silambam after its main weapon, the bamboo staff. The repertoire of silambam consists of a wide variety of weapons, showing its long and bloody history. Among the weapons taught today are the long bamboo staff, the short bamboo staff, madu, the val kadiyam (sword and shield), the surul val (flexible sword), the et (spear), the kodali (ax), the pichuva (short knife), the kutthu vall (S-shaped curved dagger), the kattna, etc. Understanding the value lathis held throughout India’s history is found in accounts from the 17th century AD. During these times, writings tell how the Kings Puli Thevar and Dheeran Chinnamalai had a military unit armed solely with staff named Thadi Padai. In those tales passed down, Indian heroes such as Veerapandiya Kattabomman and Maruthu Pandiyar relied on their skills in silambam in their fight against the British army.
Today, the popularity of the staff can be seen in the wealth of different styles still practiced, such as: kuravanjee, charapatta, idyappa nayakar, karnadagam, paravee silambam, tulukanam bar, tulukanam, ramarbanam, naga basham or nagam 16, marathiyam markanam, tomman kuthu, kalla pathu, assupathu, panayaree mallu, iyangari varesai, dhevar, sal patta, kadambam, etc.
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Silambam training begins with the student mastering footwork patterns first before progressing to fighting techniques. Once a person masters the use of footwork, he will then be handed a silambam staff and taught various patterns called vaaral, or twirling staff moves. In the vaaral, the staff moves bottom to top 180 degrees on each side of the body. Training such as this is typical across India. Footwork patterns are done in geometrical patterns beginning with pinnal, or twisting. Once mastered, a person can turn 360 degrees without making any foot movements. Nadai, or walking, by contrast, is where one moves both forward and backward on a line.
Nadai is composed of ten different sequences. First is neirkot nadai, or usual walk, which we do in our daily life. The practitioner can move both forward and backward while the body remains facing one direction.
The second is the thullal, or hopping walk, where both legs move simultaneously. Here, the right leg will occupy the space of the left leg in the move. This pattern operates in a straight line going both forward and backward.
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The third is the thaaval, or jumping walk, where both legs move simultaneously, creating a space of one meter and then holding the new position. Thaaval is made in one direction, both forward and backward.
The fourth is pinnal nadal, or twist walk, which is a way of walking where the legs twist around each other. This move helps us move up to 360 degrees if needed and helps take up a defensive position. Here, the body moves in one direction in a rolling flow until it stops at the point where one’s attention is needed. This movement is also done on a straight line, both forward and backward.
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The fifth is sarpa nadai, or snake walk, which is a move in which one moves in a crisscross fashion. It is a tactical type of footwork pattern with both defensive and offensive possibilities. As with many patterns already described here, one may move either forward or backward.
Sixth, girkey or circle move, is a move made to change the direction one is facing as needed to maintain a comfortable stance. This pattern is composed of two parts, known as the pin-girkey and mun-girkey. Both girkey patterns further divide into four parts: quarter, half, three, fourth, and full. To make a pin-girkey, we must move the back leg first, and to make a mun-girkey, we must first move the front leg.
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The seventh is pakka nadai, or a sideways walk, where the practitioner will rotate their body 180 degrees twice, altogether covering 360 degrees. This pattern works standing still or moving forward or backward.
The eighth is peratal, or roll walk. Here, one walks in a straight direction where the body moves in a rolling flow until the practitioner arrives at a spot where they determine they must be. These moves occur in both a forward and backward direction.
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Kuthu Varisai translates into “freehand combat” and is also known as kai silambam. It is based on movements of animals such as the tiger, snake, eagle, and elephant. Kuthu varisai was known as adi thadi and ghata gusthi. Pedi varisai concentrates on joint locks and immobilizations and goes under the names of malyutham or gusthi. Korvai is a name for shadow fight, which is like a karate kata or kung fu keun. The actual training is done only with two individuals; one attacks and the other defends. We can see this kind of training taught to Shaolin monks, as illustrated on the wall paintings of the Shaolin temple:
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The main person in the painting with black skin is an Indian, and the person of lighter color is a Chinese monk. If you get a chance to see ancient muay thai and compare it with kuthu varisai, you will find many similarities between the two as well. The advanced form of freehand combat is known as varma kalai, in which an aggressor targets the opponent’s vital points. These vital points are observed and attacked by using varma thundu kattai or different mudras. Mudras
are symbolic gestures often practiced with the hands and fingers to strike the human body’s vital points. The different mudras are called chakra mudra, vishnu mudra, thrisula mudra, shakti mudra, gaja mugam mudra, kudhrai mugam mudra, sarpa mudra, sangu mudra, nandu mudra, etc. Interestingly, this art derives from an aspect of the South Indian healing art of siddha medicine that developed to benefit common people in curing certain aches and pains. In other parts of India, this form of medical treatment is known as Ayurveda or Marma Chikista.
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Most of us know about acupuncture. What many Westerners do not realize is that the historical records state that this originally was an Indian science. Chroniclers write, in the 5th century BC, of the South Indian sage Siddhar. He also was known as Bhogar per the last wishes of his teacher, Bhogars Guru Kalanginaathar, or, as they call him in China, Confucius. Tradition claims Bhogar traveled to China to spread the knowledge of siddha sciences throughout China, where he is remembered today as Lao Tse or Bo-Yang—the founder of Taoism. Bo-Yang was a key figure propounding the theory of duality of matter—the male Yang and female Yin—which conforms to the siddha concept of shiva-shakti, or positive-negative forces. Today, many people recognize this form of treatment in Chinese acupuncture.
energy), pitta (fire energy), and kaphaghliuk (water energy).
Varma kalai is a profound subject and deserves a more in-depth explanation. According to the ancient understanding of the body, there are about 108 chakras. Out of the 108, only six are important chakras. There are also seventy-two thousand nadis, of which 14 are essential and three of which are extremely important. Then there are energies, including ten vayus (gaseous energies), vata (air
Madhya keralam kalaripayattu, practiced in the central part of the Kerala State, combines northern and southern styles. Thekkan kalaripayattu, practiced in the southern part of Kerala, focuses predominantly on freehand combat skills and marma, or attacking of vital points. One begins training kalarippayattu in the morning with hours devoted to mastering
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In brief, we will be in good health only if our body has a balance of all of the above. Any changes in the flow of energy will cause illness and sickness. Kerala Kalaripayattu is the martial art practiced in Kerala state, which dates to the 2nd century AD. Kalaripayattu is traditionally taught through the gurukulam system. This art has been exposed to the outside world for almost two decades now. There are three different systems of kalaripayattu. First, there is vadakan kalaripayattu, also known as tulunadan, kadathanadan, or vattanthiruppu sambradayam. These forms of art are located in the northern parts of the state and oriented towards weapon-based fighting skills.
basic footwork and stances named after animals such as the elephant, lion, tiger, snake, wild boar, etc. Blunt weapons are then picked up and trained. Finally, students begin training with edged weapons. The most common weapons used in kalaripayattu are the staff, short staff, thala (a short stick used for attacking vital points), sword and shield, spear, bow and arrow, dagger, and the flexible sword. Andhra Pradesh Kara samu is the name used for staff training in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The Andhra Pradesh warfare lineage goes back to the 13th century Vijayanagar empire of the Konaseema region. Today, it is known as Rayalaseema. The native fighting system of chedi talimkhana or yudhkaushalya is often abbreviated to talimkhana or simply talim in the Urdu language. An exponent of this art will master a wide range of weapon sub-systems, including the baku samu (knife fighting), katti samu (sword fighting) madu (double deer-horns), as well as the flexible sword. Training begins with footwork practice very much similar to silambam training. Once the teacher is satisfied with the student’s footwork training, instruction with the staff begins, and finally edged weapons.
Andhra Pradesh has a minor tradition of empty-handed traditions. They are limited to gusthi (wrestling) and puli attam (tiger dance). Performed only by senior martial artists who paint themselves as a tiger, the tiger dance is composed of martial art sequences. In the recent past, those who painted themselves as tigers would never face a challenge again. As of today, this prohibition has fallen by the wayside. Now anyone can paint themselves as tigers and perform martial art routines. Every year, villagers here participate in stick fighting melees during the Banni Utsavam of Sri Mala Malleswara Swamy Temple at Devaragattu in Kurnool district during the festival of Vijaya Dasami. If anybody seeks to understand how a staff operates in battle mode, I recommend visiting this village. On this occasion, thousands of villagers gather, divide themselves into two groups, and attack each other with staves and fire-staves (staves set on fire on both ends). At times people lose their life, and hundreds of people will get very badly injured. This is the only place in India where we can find such a practice.
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Karnataka In Karnataka state, the training for martial arts takes place at a site known as the garadi mane, or the traditional training hall for gusthi wrestling. It is also a place where another form of martial art training is practiced, like kolu varase (staff fighting), kai varase (freehand combat), bijli (the flexible sword), katti varase (sword fighting), and baku (the dagger). There is another martial art tradition in Karnataka known as thulu or banta, which is currently practiced along the coast of Karnataka. Karnataka has had a long and convulsive history of fighting off invaders’ attempts to take away its freedom. Finally, the British succeeded where many had tried and failed before them. In silambam, there is a style known as karnadagam, whose origins lie in Karnataka but has spread as far as Sri Lanka and Malaysia. Maharashtra The mardani khel is a martial art developed in the 16th century among the Marathas. The name Marathas derives from the word Mar Hut, meaning “you will only leave the place when you die.” Mardani khel is a warrior art dedicated to instructing its practitioners in the use of armed techniques for use in
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single combat and against several opponents. Among the weapons used in this form of art are lathi, staff, sword, shield, spear, dagger, kukri, double deer horns, and bow and arrow. The training starts with footwork practice similar to silambam training, with other weapons added later during the training regime. Bihar, West Bengal, and Orissa Pari khanda is a fighting form created by the Rajputs and is a living tradition in many parts of Bihar state. The word pari means shield, and the word khanda means sword. Khanda has also given birth to a local dance form named the chhau dance, incorporating other local martial techniques. The Paika, a class of warriors from Jharkhand, Orissa state, are also renowned practitioners. In Bengal state, it is known as raibesh. Chhau is the name of the traditional dance-drama of the eastern regions of India and consists of three sub-styles. The three styles of chhau are named after the district or village where they originate, in seraikella chau of Bihar, purulia chau of Bengal, and mayurbhanj chau of Orissa. In Orissa state, the occasion of the Puri Jaganath Chariot is a reason for many public lathi demonstrations. As with many of
the other weapons systems already mentioned, beginners must first master the footwork. Next, they are introduced to the staff and finally edged weapons. Rajasthan, Utthrakhand, and Uttar Pradesh Several terms traditionally refer to the martial arts in northwest India, but the most common today is shastara vidiya, or the science of self-defense. Here, swordsmen practiced their techniques in routines using sharp swords. Freestyle sparring occurs with wooden staves used in place of sharpened blades. In all three of the states, the lathi is a common tool used in everyday life, serving several purposes. As time has passed, practice with the lathi is becoming less and less common in these states. Himachal Pradesh Thoda is a martial art form practiced in Himachal Pradesh. The name thoda derives from the round piece of wood fixed to the head of the arrow. The history of thoda goes back to the days of the ancient epic of the Mahabharata when bows and arrows were the primary weapon of soldiers who took part in epic battles.
Punjab Gatka is a complete martial system practiced in Punjab state. Gatka emerged in the 16th century, developed by the Sikh gurus to protect their community from the Mughal warriors pouring in over the Khyber Pass. In fact, the founder of the Sikh religion, Guru Nanak, was born into a Kshatriya or warrior caste family. The Sikhs are the only community in India permitted to carry weapons in public. Mastery of gatka relies upon footwork movements, called panthra, and is trained for many hours to develop precise stepping and moving of the body. According to the precepts of gatka, it is the footwork that balances the entire body while using weapons. One does panthra in all different directions. Once a student has learned panthra, one may readily use the 18 different weapons that make up the armory of gathka, such as the barcha (spear), the chakram (flat steel ring), the khanda (Indian sword), and the dahl (shield made of steel or leather). Other weapons include the katar (double-edged dagger), the kirpan (short curved dagger), the lathior marati (bamboo staff), the tapa (battle-ax), the tir kaman (bow and arrow), etc.
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Manipur Thang-ta is an armed component of the indigenous tribal Manipuri martial art also known as huyen lalong. Traditionally, this was a village art of warriors. During the 18th century, kings would select local champions who would engage in duels where they fought from first-blood duels to deathmatches with champions chosen from amongst rival clans. Duels such as these were not free-forall affairs but governed by strict rules of conduct (even after the duel, the loser traditionally lost his head at the hands of the winner). The armed component of thangta originates out of the system’s main weapons, the thang (sword), and the ta (spear). Unarmed huyen lalong is called sarit sarak and is used in conjunction with thang-ta when the fighter loses their weapon.
I have provided a brief overview of the wealth of martial art traditions over my vast and beautiful country. India has a long and deep history of warrior traditions and other forms of physical, spiritual, and intellectual education and cultivation. I hope the readers who have come this far have enjoyed these brief descriptions. Maybe someday, some will even make their way over to my country and begin training in one of these wonderful, beautiful, ancient, practically oriented, and effective traditions. Thank you.
Mahesh Kumar Ramakrishna @silambammahesh
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FIRST THINGS FIRST:
THE WAR CLUB IN NATIVE AMERICAN WARRIOR ARTS Bethany J. Dillon
WE HAVE ALL HEARD of individual Native American warriors and their daring feats of bravery and skill. Over and over again, These men stoically faced certain death in the quest to resist the invasions of explorers, government agents, and colonists. Representing another world, another way of life, they poured over every crevice, river, and burial ground in the Americas, looking for gold and silver and furs. Some of the names of the great men and women who stood tall and fought for the freedom of their people include Sitting Bull, Geronimo, Chief Joseph, Capitan Jack, Cochise, Crazy Horse, Blue Jacket, Little Turtle, and Lozen. From the first Indian uprisings against the Vikings by Inuit warriors in Vinland in AD 1010 to the last Apache holdouts from the band of Cochise in the Sierra Nevadas of Mexico in the 1930s, the stories of these Indian
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warriors still excite the hearts of all who hear of their deeds. Today’s fascination with Indian culture and history drives the imagination of researchers, historians, and archeologists. Although they have done much in preserving, recording, and sharing their discoveries, they have glossed over one significant aspect of daily Indian life: one of the most culturally profound, somewhat obvious, and necessary practices of the Native people— the warrior arts. These traditions originated long before European arrival and would have disappeared long ago, if it weren’t for a handful of practitioners across the globe working to keep the ancient and effective traditions alive. In Missouri, the Native American Warrior Arts—or NAWA—dedicates itself to the revitalization of the Native Warrior practices. NAWA focuses on the dances, games, history, wrestling, weapons, and warfare of the Native Americans of all the Americas. For over 30 years, researchers from NAWA have bent their knees before Native American elders, dancers, researchers, and historians to learn the warrior
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arts of the First Americans that our ancestors passed down through the generations and, to no small degree, have been erased by time, violence, and change. But far from it, many of these arts are tirelessly preserved, used, and recorded for future generations. Unlike the martial systems of Asia, the indigenous combative repertoires of the Americas have received little recognition due to the systematic destruction of the corpus of knowledge Native Americans had developed over the centuries. These conditions have led to several misguided and sometimes willfully mistaken ideas regarding the warrior arts of the Native Americans—misleading ideas such as: Indians were savages armed with simple weapons who charged head-on into the fray of battle with no ideas of tactics or strategy. The truth is that every Indian nation developed and possessed sophisticated and adaptable military tactics along with a set of armaments that supported a warrior culture that was unique to every tribe, city-state, confederation, or empire.
Training
Warrior Traditions
It is a fact Native Americans trained and mastered their weapons and themselves, in the same way professional warrior castes such as the samurai, sohei, and ninjas of medieval Japan cultivated their skills. Survival demanded no less in the harsh extremes and, at times, heavily conflicted lands of the Americas. Warfare itself was prevalent long before European arrival, and Indians fought over access to natural resources, slaves, as well as honor or prestige. Some nations lived in fortified walled villages to deter raids from enemies. Other less populous nations had to rely on taking advantage of natural hiding places and the skills of their few warriors to survive.
The middle to late 1700s proved to be a time of significant change for the Indians of the Northern Plains. By this time, they had linked up with Indians of the Southern Plains such as the Kiowa, Ute, and Comanche, to obtain a steady supply of horses. The introduction of horses to the plains had a profound impact on their traditional lifeways. With a herd of horses at their disposal, they could range farther in search of food sources and enemy villages to raid. They could collect and transport a more considerable amount of material goods and therefore accumulate more wealth. Consequently, the once foot-bound Indians created a unique mounted warrior culture that has captured people’s imagination around the world.
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Young Plains Indian males began their training early on. As young children, they would help set up raiding camps and watch the spare horses while the older boys and men attacked enemy settlements. As they grew older, they would take actual part in skirmishes and raids, knowing the fastest way to
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increase their wealth and status within their community was to boast of their skills in warfare and maintain a greater herd of ponies. Indian women also enjoyed wider latitude in their expected behavior and were accorded greater voice in political decisions than was allowed to European women at the time. Within the Iroquois confederacy of present-day New York and Canada, women often took over the warrior education of young males when their fathers left on raids. Mothers would often work while supervising the children sparring with makeshift weapons such as cattail reeds and sticks. Although there was a general understanding regarding the gendered division of labor, still there were many great female warriors, such as Nanye-hi of the Cherokee, Pine Leaf of the Gros-Ventre/Crow, Running Eagle of the Piegan/Blackfoot, Pretty Nose of the Arapaho, and Buffalo Calf Woman of the Northern Cheyenne. All these women and many more cemented their reputations as fearsome warriors over the years.
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Sport and Warfare By the year 1428, in the Valley of Mexico, the Triple Alliance of the city-states of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan, better known as the Aztec empire, formed large urban centers. In addition to daily and weekly markets for feeding the population, these areas featured monumental ceremonial centers, pyramids, and wide paved avenues filled the urban zones. The Aztecs built aqueducts linking springs from the neighboring mountains to the city-states surrounding Lake Texcoco. At the time, the gods demanded a steady supply of human blood to nourish themselves. And as a result, there were continuous raids into neighboring kingdoms, as competing empires sought to expand their domination and ensure a steady supply of prisoners to act as ballplayers and sacrificial victims. Passed down from the earlier Olmec empire, the ballgame, once known as ullamaliztli, was central to Aztec cultural life. As it relates to this article, some scholars suggest that teams learned to play as a single unit as the Aztec arm prepared to maneuver and fight as a single unit. The transposition of war and weapon techniques into a sport can be found across both continents—
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from ballgames played among the Olmec, Toltec, Mayan, and Aztec, to wrestling competitions among the Inuit and Yup’ik, or the game of stickball among the Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Creeks of Mississippi and Alabama. Stickball movements were easily transferred to a war club, highlighting the connection between warfare and sport. Common to every Indian nation in the Americas is the use of a stick and club for nearly every aspect of life. From hunting to sport and warfare, the stick has been integral to the everyday life of Native Americans. Let us expound further upon the history, importance, and application of the stick and club in the Americas.
War Clubs The use of sticks in resource management strategies and warfare often intertwine through the historical record of the Americas. For example, throwing sticks to kill small animals was prevalent throughout the Americas. Later, they modified sticks to increase their range and accuracy, as seen in the latter atlatl, or throwing spear. Archeologists and ethnologists have documented the use of sticks in other contexts. They have also described how many villages at specific times of the year would mobilize group hunts meant to corral animals into a pre-arranged clearing where the trapped animals could be clubbed, butchered, and distributed to the families of the villages. As the stick became integral to resource management tactics, one does not have to stretch their imagination to see how this technology could transfer to crush the skulls of political enemies. Or they asked the spirit of one’s ancestors to imbue one’s club with special powers needed to excel in the hunt or raids.
As societies evolved, the simple stick would likewise change to suit the needs of the warrior, hunter, or shaman. In the Americas—or Turtle Island, as it is also known— the stick would transform into a beautiful and deadly weapon. Modifications to a simple club include the emergence of stone war clubs. Restricting myself to one example, among the Yup’ik of central Alaska, wooden and stone clubs are widely used in various tasks among these communities. To give one example, the hakapik is a massive wooden club with a hammerhead on one end of the head of the club and a metal hook on the other end. Over the centuries, the hakapik has proven on many occasions to be a valuable tool to hunt down both four-legged and two-legged prey.
Description and Decoration According to accounts left by settlers, soldiers, and journalists, war clubs were especially popular amongst the North American Plains Indians. Here, Indians preferred stone-headed war clubs that took a variety of shapes. Handles were carved from hardwood and decorated with colors representing blood, warfare, protection, deities, or the afterlife. Often, human trophies such as scalps either lined or trimmed the end of the handle. Rawhide, buckskin, or sinew served to attach the stone club to the handle. Clubs like these could be up to 30 inches long in certain areas.
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Ceremonial clubs were much longer than war cubs and decorated with beads. Brandishing these clubs, warriors would stand amongst other warriors at some warrior post or gather to recount their war deeds. In one account that has come down to us, an Ojibway warrior by the name of Bebon Waushih recounts his war deeds with a ceremonial war club. Surrounded by the council elders at his warriors’ post, he told what he had done:
“On my very first expedition, a long time ago, Broken Wing was my War Chief. Our war party walked many days before we came upon the camp of the enemy. It was larger than we expected. It had more than fifty warriors. We had but ten. Outnumbered, we could not storm the camp, and so, we waited in hiding, keeping watch on their movements. On the fourth day, our scouts spotted four of the enemy headed from the north. We hid on top of the ridge. The enemy walked below in the gully. They were laughing and talking, so we knew where they were. Broken Wing gave a signal, and we rushed upon the warriors. Being young and quick, I reached the enemy first. I leaped upon the one walking in front. Before he could raise his war club, I struck him down. Before he lay still, I reached out my knife and cut a portion of his scalp. On that day, I became a warrior . . . .” Johnston, 1994:64.
In addition to the stone-headed war clubs and battle-axes were the ball-headed war club, gunstock war club, and tomahawk. Gunstock clubs, named so due to their similarity to the end portion of a musket, were used mainly by Eastern Woodland, Central, and Northern Plains tribes during the 18th and 19th centuries. The arrival of Europeans with their knowledge of metallurgy contributed to modifying existing war clubs to accept one or more blades. Adding these blades meant that those clubs were now capable of hooking, pulling, or thrusting motions with a threeinch or longer point(s). While the flat portion was ideal for slapping, the blunt end was good for crushing bone, and the pommel for jab-
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bing. Grips varied between each of the three points of the weapon, as portrayed in several 18th-century photos, such as blade face down, blade face up, or reverse grip. The reader should keep in mind that not every gunstock club has a blade. Owners of war clubs often decorated them to enlist the power of the spirit world—or medicine as it is known in Native American culture connoting spirit, power, energy, or mystic potency. In North American spirituality, one accords a great reverence to the four directions and the circle, and this cosmology shapes almost everything an Indian does. From the four directions—West, North, East, and South—come the four winds. Na-
tive Americans taught that the world in all its mystery works in circles; and colors, paints, patterns, songs, dance, certain plants, and animals all had spiritual power and meaning. Animal parts, such as claws and feathers, human trophies, tattoos, shapes, places, persons, and objects, had some amount of power. For example, among the Wyandot, who once ranged across the state of Ohio, the word arendi means “spiritual power or medicine.” Medicine brought to the battlefield would enhance the warrior, so a warrior brought them onto the battlefield. There, he put his war paint, decorations, and weapons together with great attention and ceremony.
The act of bringing medicine weapons into battle was a vital aspect of a warrior preparing for battle. These were weapons brought solely for the attributes they would imbue upon the warrior. A warrior’s medicine shield or any other weapon could serve as a form of magical protection and power. Decorations were not only a means of enhancing power but displaying the power residing within a weapon. Markings and colors could distinguish a warrior and his weapon from the others (especially significant when counting war deeds so the warrior could increase his status) and provide him with the skills to allow him to return home. His social status, power, and expertise would be on full display
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in the way he decorated his horse, clothing, and himself. The trained warrior always kept more than one weapon at his, and sometimes her, disposal. For example, the gunstock club could have found use in conjunction with the war shield, lance, hawk, and knife. In the Northeast, the ball-headed war club was a carved piece made typically of beechwood. This weapon was hand-held instead of being a throwing weapon. It had a thinner gripping area widening into a larger, fixed wooden ball at the end. Movements with the weapon were tight to mid-range, explosive, and hard. Tactics such as rushing, ambushing, and attacking the enemy head-on with the weapon were not uncommon. As with other war clubs, decorating them with beads, paints, carvings, hair, fur, and other animal parts made them a personal expression of each warrior. Among the warriors of the Iroquois confederation, war clubs often depicted scalp and wound tallies, deities, and spirits revealed in his or her dreams. While on the other side of the continent in
what is now British Columbia, the Haida lined their war clubs with whale teeth and representations of totemic animals. Iroquois warriors also carved their military exploits into the weapon, enumerating the number of enemy engagements they participated in and the number of captives they had taken and killed. At times, warriors inscribed their personal tattoo patterns onto their weapons. With this decoration, the weapons themselves became imbued with the power of the spirits, resulting in a substantial psychological effect upon the warriors’ enemies. Warriors were known to leave their club at the forefront of a gruesome massacre as a personal calling card for the carnage he had inflicted. Chroniclers noted this type of calling card during the time of King Philip’s War (16751678). After one fearsome battle, a survivor picked up a war club from the Seneca or Mohawk found lying on the ground. What made it such a special find was the decorations of the tattoos of its bearer and the tally of numerous scalps.
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In contrast to Iroquois custom, ball-headed war clubs along the Pacific Northwest coast had different markings. Wooden clubs shaped like police batons or baseball bats were carved and used in war and hunting. The animals inscribed on weapons provided the power of the animal. It also attracted the animal nearer in the case of hunting. The notebooks of Captain Cook describe the methods and technology of the Northwestern Indians in writing:
“These people (Nootka people, British Columbia) have bows, and arrows, spears, slings, short truncheons (clubs) made of bone and a small pick-axe . . . . From the number of their weapons, it may be reasonably concluded that they frequently engage in close combat; and we had very disagreeable proofs of their wars being both frequent and bloody, from the number of human skulls that were offered to us for sale.” Cook, 1984:541.
Supporting this description, the book, Arms and Men On The Northwest Coast, describes how:
“Some of these clubs were made of ground stone, wood or bone and were lined with sea otter, shark or whale teeth for ripping the flesh. While the Indians of the northwest coast possessed projectile weapons, they relied much more on hand weapons. Clubs and daggers made of stone, bone, or hardwood, which were their favorite arms.” Fisher, 1976:4.
Others were long and machete-shaped, some long paddles with carved handles and decorated to the degree that they were useless in combat; however, they had a unique societal and cultural importance. The Polynesian warriors of Hawai’i had several types of clubs whose use and applications are handed down to those worthy of passing on the flame and of Huna na mea huna—keeping secret what is sacred. Some clubs were de-
signed for close-quarter combat. As a rule, true koa’s today should not be elaborated further in this article beyond the names of the club/stick weapons themselves: ho’e (paddle), ko’okoko (short staff), ko’oko’o pokole (long staff), ku’eku’e (knuckle duster with shark teeth), lei-o-mano (club with shark teeth), maka pahoa ko’oko’o (double-edged dagger at the end of short staff), newa (club), palua’o newa (double clubs), and pike (15-foot spear).
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Tactics and Use Up and down the Mississippi river valley and surrounding tributaries, beginning around 3500 BC and lasting in a much diminished form until the late 16th century, many great urban centers rose up collectively known as the Mound Builders. These metropolises seemed to have served as a melting pot of native cultures from all four directions. The adoption of ritual practices, as well as artifactual, architectural, and artistic exchange can be found among many of the historic site remains. One of the largest cities, known as Cahokia, thrived from AD 1050 to 1350. Here, several unique weapons have been uncovered by archeologists over the years: “On January 28th, 1948, a somewhat mind-boggling discovery occurred. A wooden object was found which seemed to be sort of a club. On removal of the wood, five shark teeth were found with eight flint blades” (Perino, 1950:61). The club—wooden, flat, and lined with great white shark teeth—was similar to Hawaiian clubs and was used for ripping, disarming, cutting, and slapping. Located thousands of miles away from the nearest ocean, in the Midwest at the
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Cahokia Mounds Site, the weapon itself dates back to about 12000 BC. The teeth are a product of the long-distance exchanges that crisscrossed the Americas centuries before Europeans set foot on the soil. For the Mississippians of Cahokia, the bow, arrow, spear, atlatl, mace, stone-headed war club, stone war club, shark tooth war club, and the wooden club were their primary weapons. Across the Southern Colorado Plateau and Upper Rio Grande drainage zone arose a wide group of communities who were known for building stone and earth dwellings on the sides of canyon walls (only accessible by rope ladders or narrow trails), great ceremonial houses, the construction of a 30-foot wide arrow-straight stretching for dozens of miles, and exquisite pottery. From 200 BC to AD 1500, the ancestors of present-day Pueblo Indians, known as the Anasazi, produced and used to great effect weapons known as fending sticks. The scholar Ross Hassig speculated that the grooved and curved sticks served as short swords for close-range fighting (1988:294295). However, their use continued up throughout the present time as rabbit throwing sticks.
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Just South of the Anasazi In Southern Arizona and Northern Mexico, and not long after the Anasazi faded away, a vital weapon among the Pima Indians was the potato masher war club. The handle of this weapon ended in a sharp point while the head had an inverted truncated cone shape and was flat across the head. Pima warriors used the weapon in smashing blows and upward ramming motions into the face of the enemy combined with wrist rotation movements meant for pounding. Blocking would be near impossible given the size and proportion of the club, and so warriors carried a shield for protection. In battle, a portion of the men fought with this club and a shield alone—covered with rawhide stretched over a cottonwood frame with a handle in the center. Piman-made shields also had a loop of rawhide by which they could sling them around their neck in a resting pose. Furthermore, shields were decorated with swirls and dizzying patterns intended to disorient the enemy. Oral narratives tell how their designs and associated “magic dizzied those Apache who armed themselves with a lance, or bow.” Once they were disoriented, it was easy to close in upon them and club them down. The Pima, Yuma,
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and Maricopa warriors would all wear thick fabrics, strong enough to withstand bladed assaults from the Apache. The Apache themselves eventually began to use the club as their lances were useless against the Pima, who had adapted to their constant ambushes. Designed to make heads roll, the Apache war club was a fearsome weapon. A wooden handle met with a ball-head end was a deadly but simple weapon in the hands of a skilled warrior. It was one of the older Apache Indian weapons, and the Apache would make use of young trees to construct formidable war clubs. Then when the club began to decompose, it was discarded and a new one carved. The Apache also utilized jawbone war clubs whose hitting point was the toothline of the jaw. The teeth were sometimes polished and sharpened to the degree they could cut through the enemy’s armor and flesh. Its handle was decorated with the typical hide and feathers, as functionality among the Apache was more important than decoration. Stone-headed tomahawks also saw use on the battlefield. Moving further south into central and southern Mexico not too long after the abandonment of Cahokia for reasons we still do not under-
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stand, similar urbanized empires arose with their ways of waging war. The weapons of choice were long wooden war clubs and lances lined with inlaid, razor-sharp obsidian and used in warfare and duels. Both the macahuitl along with the lance were the main weapons of choice in the Valley of Mexico. The name macahuitl derives from the Nahuatl language meaning hand-wood, and would have a longer handle or more extended bladed portion when used in combat. The club often saw use in conjunction with a rounded, painted, and feathered hide shield. The weapon itself required wide sweeping motions meant to lop off limbs. The blades were fragile and unsuitable for impact as they would shatter, which made blocking a task primarily required of the shield. According to Hernan Cortez, the weapon could cut the head clean off his horse. However, despite the technology that assisted in the survival of such a belligerent nation, its designs were no match for the long pikes and swords of the finest Toledo steel. Further south in the Yucatan peninsula, a Mayan club was found in a sacred Cenote or well at Chichén Itzá. The club is a curved stick with longitudinal facial grooves and decorated with sacred colors and
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symbols. Archeologists also found similar weapons in the north of the valley of Mexico at Tula, the capital of the old Toltec empire, and various sites throughout northwestern Mexico and the southwestern United States. Archeologists speculate that they acted as a defense weapon against atlatl darts. Up high in the Andes mountains, the run-down western side of South America, Incan club and stick technology, in contrast to those further north, was entirely distinct in function, shape, and use. The Incas, who only reigned from 1488 to 1533, must have taken much of their knowledge from earlier empires that wielded battle-axes, heavy stone maces, and the macan as sword-club into battle. The macana, a word of Taino Indian origin, was a type of sharpened sword-club used by Indians throughout Central and South America and is related to the macuahuitl of the Aztecs. The Inca developed a macana-spear with a long wooden handle and a stone or copper star-shaped head with six points. The macana was intended for use in close-quarter combat and could easily crush through skulls. The macan was either used separately or with other weapons as part of an arsenal that included boleadoras, spears, bows and arrows, and slings.
Aggressively expanding their rule while ruthlessly crushing their neighbor’s military forces, Incan armies relied on psychological warfare and intimidation tactics before any physical contact occurred. Armies would approach the battlefield in complete silence at first. Then troops would maneuver in an organized fashion to allow for military parades to break through the lines as a show of order, discipline, and combative ability. The exchange of challenge songs and responses followed by insults and taunts spurred the morale of the army. If the enemy did not retreat as a result of this show of force, the actual attack would begin. The first line of Incan soldiers would lob missile weapons at the enemy until hand-to-hand combat fighting occurred. If this did not lead the enemy to withdraw, the second wave of soldiers would round the flanks to surround to finish off or capture the enemy. The overreliance on sheer numbers as a military tactic served well against their enemies in the region. But it would prove a great weakness upon the arrival of 168 disciplined and motivated Spanish in 1532. At the battle of Cajamarca, Spanish armed with guns, steel lances, and horses overwhelmed the Incan capital. They captured,
kidnapped, converted, removed, and submitted the Sapu Inca. They took his throne and claimed the land in the name of Spain and the church. While the Incan capital and the urban elite fell in a sudden swoop, Incan resistance in the countryside continued for many years, until finally, in 1572, the Spanish were able to capture the last Incan Emperor Túpac Amaru and sack his capital of Vilcabamba. Going eastward over the crest of the Andes and descending into the Amazon river valley, warfare bloomed. The region’s war clubs were about chest height and useful for dramatic swings and harsh
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blows that were able to crush bone and open skulls. Such was their effectiveness that they were the desired weapon of the jungle before machetes and, much later, guns. These war clubs were often utilized as canoe seats until conflict arose in which the weapon was available for a swift deployment in combat. Other clubs were paddle-shaped, sword-shaped, cube-shaped, dagger-shaped, wooden-ax-shaped, and spatulate-shaped. These paddle-shaped clubs and spatulate-shaped clubs were used all up and down the Orinoco river valley and used among the Arekuna, Wapishana, Makusi, Arawak, Warrau, Oyana, Koróa, and Umáua. Like the macana and macahuitl, these clubs had a thin edge capable of causing cutting blows though not sharp enough to lop off limbs. Indians living along the coastal forests of northeastern Brazil
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were known collectively as the Tupi. In the face of conflict, they armed themselves with bows and the two-handed paddle war clubs, poison darts, and spear-throwers. In contrast, one of the Tupi Indian groups, known as the Tapiruru, employed an atlatl alongside the club, which was wielded in their free hand and could efficiently serve as a fending stick and a secondary weapon. According to one Dutch commander, “. . . they fight with bows and arrows, javelins with stone points and wooden clubs” (Barlaeus, 1647:323-24). Armed with spatulate-shaped tapered clubs with handles wrapped in cords, these Indians proved to be a fearsome enemy. The mercenary John G. Stedman wrote a book of his life fighting against the Indians and maroons of South America in the mid-1770s, describing a flared quadrilateral war club:
“I must not forget that every Indian carries a club, which they call Apootoo, for their defense. These clubs, made of the heaviest wood in the forest, are about eighteen inches long, flat at both ends, square, but heavier at one end than the other. In the middle, they are thinner and are wound about with strong cotton threads, to be grasped, having a loop to secure them around the wrist, as the sword-tassels are used by some cavalry. One blow with this club, which is frequently fixed, a sharp stone scatters the brains. These are used by the Guiana Indians like the tomahawk by the Cherokees, on which, besides other hieroglyphical figures, they often carve the number of persons slain in battle.” Stedman, 1796: 396-397.
Clubs attributed to the Carib or Culima in the Guianas and the Orinoco-Amazonian lowlands had carved representations of serpent goddess, water, and frog spirits into them. These designs invoked the spirits into their lives. They also served to show one’s status as a warrior by displaying marks of those they have killed. The peoples of the Amazon often smoked
tobacco mixed with other natural substances to intoxicate themselves before a battle, to enhance warfare, hunting, and healing, and to commune with the spirits and the deceased. As both a spiritual and belligerent practice, the hallucinogenic plants yakoana, ebene, and yopo are part of everyday life.
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In conclusion, stick and club technologies have evolved far from the simple rabbit hunting stick and into a wide range of culturally distinct and engineered weapons that were effective to the survival of not only the Native Americans but the entire human race. To record the history of war clubs, including their cultural and ceremonial importance and historical evolution across the Americas, would be a lifelong project. A lifetime would pass before one could record every detail, advancement, methodology, and cultural symbol or practice, even by committed groups of individuals. That is why a group such as NAWA, consisting of contributing members, researchers, historians, and combative experts, is not only a great historical/cultural resource but a living tradition meant to keep the warrior arts alive and remembered in their entire glory.
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SELECTED REFERENCE
Bethany J. Dillon’s book, War-Torn: A Look At Warfare In North America Before European Influence and its sequel, War-Torn: The Arrival.
Perino, Greg. “Cultural Clues From Cahokia.” In Cahokia Brought To Life, edited by R.E. Grimm, 59-61. Greater St. Louis Archaeological Society, 1950.
Stedman, John Gabriel. Narrative of a Five Years Expedition against the Revolted Negroes of Surinam. Original 1790 manuscript edited by Richard and Sally Price. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1992.
Bethany J. Dillon @bethany.dillon.90
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THE ITALIAN STICK FIGHTING TRADITION A JOURNEY FROM THE MIDDLE AGES TO THE CONTEMPORARY ERA Dr. Marco Quarta
ITALY IS LIKE AN ALCHEMIC furnace: different cultures merged, transformed and forged into something new and unique for centuries. Beginning our story with the glory that was once Rome, the Italian peninsula was the center of an international culture, where arts converged and evolved. The history of Italian martial arts is no exception. Indeed, the name “Arts of Mars,” or Art of the Roman God of War Mars, suggests how relevant these arts were among the ancient Romans. Characterized by vibrant military culture, Romans emerged onto the Indo-European landscape with unique tactical and technical martial legacies. Foremost, it was the legions military technology that enabled Rome, over several centuries, to conquer much of western Europe, parts of Asia, and the lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea.
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Source: Atalanta Fugiens (1617) by Michael Maier.
Similarly, martial rituals, such as the gladiator fights, whose roots lie in central Italy’s even more ancient Etruscan culture, were disseminated and popularized across the Roman Empire. Moreover, strongly influenced by the ancient Greeks, martial arts evolved around the cult of the Hero. The original Olympic games
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held from 776 BC to AD 393 were based on martial exercises and trials. The winner was elevated to the status of Hero, inspired by the mythological champions, and crowned with the leaves of the laurel tree. Arts such as orthepale (standing grappling), pale (ground wrestling), pychmachia (pugilism), or pankration (all-in fighting), did not die in Greece or Rome.
Lottatori pancrazio, Roma, 3rd century BC, Villa Medici.
Medieval Stick Fencing The use of the stick as a weapon martial art was a key part of these traditions. Writing in the 4th-5th century AD, the Roman author Publio Vegezio Renato, in his Epitoma rei militaris, recounts soldiers trained in the use of the gladio (sword), using simulacra (wood trainers). Similar practices continued for centuries in Italy. During the medieval era, a significant
number of documents show the use of sticks and swords together. Additionally, there are many medieval paintings and miniatures showing images of duels with sticks. An example is the painting entitled the “Duel of Champions.” Often these images show the fighter using a secondary weapon or a pro-
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tection on their left hand, such as a cloth or a small shield. The use of the second hand is a typical characteristic of the Italian fighting styles, which will become perfected later during the Renaissance, with the use of the spada e daga—the rapier and dagger. Italian fencing is known as scherma accompagnata, or accompanied-by-the-other-hand fencing. In particular, the practices of double swords and double sticks were an essential aspect of Italian martial art traditions. Fiore de’i Liberi’s Flos Duellatorum (The Flower of Battle) (1409), is probably the most important late medieval manuscript of Italian martial arts. In this work, Liberi presents a practical fighting manual based on his direct experience as a warrior on the battlefields and a master instructor of European knights. Writing in Latin, Liberi, in the introduction, describes how he survived many duels against one or multiple opponents using these arts. Liberi then decided to pass his secrets to nobles and princes through his manuscripts, which have proved difficult for us in the modern age to decipher. Switching to Italian, Liberi describes the different guards, techniques, and tactics he had used. Liberi goes on to display a comprehensive and variegated plethora of unarmed and
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armed arts, including wrestling, dagger, swords, armored combat, or horse-mounted combat. Reinforcing his readers’ view of himself as an instructor of the highest caliber, Liberi portrays himself as a “crowned master armed with two sticks” in his book. Underneath the image, the words of the master state, “E quello che cum bastone faco cum la spada lo faria,” or “And what I can do with a stick, I can do with the sword.” Similarly, a few years later, one Filippo Vadi represents himself in De Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi (The Art of Fighting with Swords) (1482), in the identical guard as Liberi using two sticks. The Renaissance and the Science of Fighting In Italy, during the transition between the medieval and the Renaissance periods, we learn from historical documents that martial arts curricula revolved around the use of various swords, daggers, unarmed fighting, and sticks. In particular, the city of Bologna played a critical role. Here in Bologna, the first university in the world was established in AD 1088, spawning a multitude of academic sciences. Among these, martial arts became a science itself, called scherma, or fencing. During this time, scherma was described by the Renaissance
Masters as “the art of efficiently defending while counter-attacking.” Tirar di scherma, or “doing fencing,” at this time did not mean only sword fencing, but also shortrange fencing with the dagger alone as well as the dagger and the stick. Demonstrating the wide variety of armed combat available at the time, a Guido Antonio di Luca was teaching stick fencing, along with long sword or sword and buckler or the small shield. In the work La Verra Antigua (The Ancient Truth) (1550), a fencing master by the name of Caravia presented a detailed technical description of a fight between two warriors using sticks, drawing on the terminology and techniques or guards used for sword fencing at the time. Moreover, during the Renaissance in Italy, martial games based on stick fencing were widespread across the peninsula. An interesting example is the Battagliole, or “Battle,” in the medieval city-state of Venice every other year. At this time, the bravest working-class men of the two main factions of the city would arm themselves with thick heavy fire-hardened sharpened staves and don armor or some form of protection. Suitably attired, they met on the opposite side of one of the footbridges linking the islands in the Venice
Source: Flos Duellatorum (1409) by Fiore de’i Liberi, Pisani Dossi manuscript.
Source: La verra antiga dei Castellani, Canaruoli, e Gnatti (1550) by Alessandro Caravia, Venice.
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Source: Trattato teorico-pratico della scherma di bastone (1854) by Giocanni Cerri.
The Modern Era lagoon. At the sound of a whistle blown by a referee, men would rush at each other, belaboring and thrusting at each other with murderous intent. If the blows with the stick failed to subdue an opponent, he could be tossed over the guard rails or forced over by the squeeze of men eagerly seeking to get a few blows in of their own. To forestall a watery death, men from each faction would wait in small boats near the bridge, ready to pull their waterlogged compatriots out of the water and onto the boats before they sank to the bottom of the canal. Far from being an isolated curiosity, there are documents and reports of legal duels using sticks all across the kingdoms of the Italian Renaissance.
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In Italy, the science of fighting evolved across the centuries, and stick fencing was part of this evolution. If we jump to the 19th century, we find a rich literature by fencing masters publishing books on stick fencing. For example, there is the manuscript by Giuseppe Cerri, Trattato teorico-pratico della scherma di bastone (Treatise on the Theoretical-Practical Use of Stick Fencing) (1854). Both this one and Francesco Cajol’s Guida Pel Maestro di Scherma di Bastone (Guide for the Master of the Stick Fencing) (1865), focus on two-handed long sticks. Conversely, Giovanni Ceselli’s Giuoco Ginnico di Bastone (Exercise with the Stick) (1902) deals with one-handed stick fencing. Miannino Martinelli’s Trattato di scherma
col bastone da baseggio (Treatise of Fencing with the Walking Stick) (1908) describes specialized fencing techniques for self-defense, teaching how to fence with walking sticks or canes. During this time, the use of stick fencing derived from an academic and military tradition of Italian martial arts. Also, for these reasons, styles and schools of traditional Italian stick fencing survived history and persist today. In Genoa, for example, the Bastone Genovese is still taught by Claudio Parodi. Fighting with a staff and walking stick, knife, and unarmed fighting styles based on a pre-sportive form of Greco-Roman wrestling all make up its curriculum. Moving a little more north, in
Milan, the fencing tradition of the Manusardi family has continued for generations. Currently, Lorenzo Ravazzani Manusardi teaches modern fencing, the dueling art of swords, Italian one-handed canne, the two-handed long stick, and traditional pugilism, which includes kicks, similarly to Le Boxe Francaise. Signore Manusardi is a professional fencing master like his uncle Renato Manusardi and his famous grandfather, Italo Manusardi, a fencing champion and instructor of the last century. Italo was a skilled stick fighter, swords fencer, and an expert in pugilism who fought successfully all across Europe.
Source: Trattato di scherma col bastone da passeggio (1908) by Giannino Martinelli. Source: Del Bastone manuscript (late 18th / early 19th century) by Adolfo Borromei.
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The Regional Lineages
Cielo e Meraviglia
We briefly described above how fencing evolved from the medieval era to the emergence of the Renaissance Bolognese School and then in the 19th century into a sophisticated academic, aristocratic, and military tradition. Since the medieval age, we have learned from historical documents that a “popular” version of the stick fighting arts was also present in Italy. Martial art traditions were also widespread among shepherds and farmers, who carried a stick with them daily. For many of them, the sword was expensive, prohibitive, and unfamiliar.
A magnificent example is the Italian region called Puglia, an area rich in schools and traditions of stick fighting arts. In the North of Puglia, particularly in the Ofantina Valley, the fighting art called Cielo e Meraviglia, or Heaven and Marvel, persisted. Not a dueling art, the Cielo e Meraviglia instead focuses mostly on self-defense. From the evidence we possess, it is thought that this art evolved from 18th century Italian fencing traditions prevalent in the region at the time. Emerging from a harsh rural environment known as the Masserie, the Frantoiani (owners of small olive tree orchards) lived in small walled villages for protection from neighboring large landowners or bandits. The Frantoiani could not afford to pay private soldiers and warriors for their protection. Due to necessity, they developed specific methods with the stick and the knife—their common tools— instead. This school’s recreational or dueling aspects are indeed minimal due to the hard life, isolation, and limited social life in the Masserie. Instead, the school is characterized by fighting within a very close distance of one’s enemy and uses not only a sophisticated strategy but also physical strength and skill, typical of Frantoiani due to
Nevertheless, these people lived a harsh and dangerous life. They developed stick fighting arts to defend themselves, often generated or inspired by the other military or academic fencing arts. Several of these traditions persisted all around Italy, frequently conserved among family styles or in secret societies. Many of these styles are still alive today.
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their harsh and rough life. Cielo e Meraviglia was more popular in the past centuries, even if the masters of this art kept their knowledge amongst themselves. At present, the only instructors alive at this time are Nunizo Galante and Domenico Mancino, both of whom learned at a young age from Nunzio’s grandfather and other skilled Frantoiani. Domenico Mancino defines the school he inherited more like an artisanal art, based on
master-to-student direct teaching and measured learning. This approach is opposed to other traditions of the region focused on ritual dueling, where the art is instead transmitted to a broader audience or shared in social events. In the tradition of Cielo e Meraviglia, one can use the stick with one or both hands. Techniques and tactics operate at both long and short-range distances.
Master Domenico Mancino demonstrating Cielo e Meraviglia, late 20th century.
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Stick Fighting in Manfredonia The area of Manfredonia, or as it was initially known, Sipontum, was settled in ancient times by the Greeks. Local traditions tell that Diomedes, a hero in the Trojan War, founded the town. Long a flourishing town, Sipontum was a colony of the Samnites, an ancient Italian people the Romans feared and hated passionately. For a short time, the town fell into the hands of Alexander of Epirus, uncle of Alexander the Great, in 335 BC. Rome finally extended its rule over the region in 189 BC, and the town became a major port along the Adriatic Sea. After the Roman empire fell, Germanic Lombard Kings of Italy and Byzantine emperors fought over the town. It was even sacked and burnt by Slavic raiders in the 9th century. For a time, the town served as a base by Arab slave raiders from the emirates of Sicily. Earthquakes, malaria, and slave raids led to the town’s almost total abandonment until the last Hohenstaufen King of Sicily, Manfred, relocated the few inhabitants left and moved them a few miles north to the newly built town of Manfredonia in 1250. Over the centuries, the multicultural environment of the bustling port with its inhabitants and visitors affected and shaped the fencing arts of Manfredonia. 128 | The Immersion Review
Regarding its martial traditions, it was common to giocare, or play, limited-contact types of sparring and practice stick and knife fencing on the boat trips crossing the Adriatic and Mediterranean seas. Naturally, this led to a lot of cross-cultural martial influences. Although initially used by the locals to protect themselves against wild animals and bandits, eventually, the art turned into a gioco, or game, of fighting ability and dueling among champions of different families and groups. Traditionally, this knowledge is passed only within a family. In these modes of transmission, the father did not teach his son but his brother’s son, while his brother took over his nephew’s education and training. There are several reasons for this. Partially, this tradition belongs to ancient knight orders and a knight’s training and education. As it took shape in Manfredonia, around the age of seven, a father would send his young son to his uncle to learn the art of stick and knife combat to teach filial piety. The son must always show respect and deference to the father and could never strike him. The father could be his advisor but could never act as his mentor in the art.
Interestingly, the art has its own language, called the lingua serpentina (language of the snake), or Favella (The word), a secret coded language used to share the rules of conduct of the art among initiates of the secret societies in the region. Different levels of understanding would accrue to the initiate depending on his rank. From these ancient traditions and communities, across the centuries, these societies became known as onorata societas, or societies of honor. Then for historical rea-
sons, it was divided into two orders: first, the Uomini di Vita (Men of Life and Honor), also known as Cavalieri di Umilta (Knights of Humility); and the latter became known as the Uomini di Malavita (Men of Bad Life). Later on, these Men of Bad Life would form underground criminal organizations such as Mafia, Camorra, and the ‘Ndrangheta. The Men of Life were men of peace, operating in a closed hierarchical rule-based group. The leader was called Capo di societa (Head of the society) or Capo ba-
Trimigno family of Manfredonia, mid-20th century.
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stone (Leader of the stick). He acted as a judge and a peace-keeper in his town or region, where the common people consulted with him for the many issues and problems they faced. The first written documentation, showing the official establishment of these organized societies in Manfredonia, dates back only to 1920. Still, according to the oral histories, its roots go back to the time of the crusades. Trimigno Family Apulian Stick Fighting In the city of Manfredonia, many different families continue, in a secretive way, to carry on their art of stick fighting. Kept secret for historical reasons for centuries, the art of Bastone Pugliese, or the Apulian stick, has now been codified and taught as a family style. In 2011, competitors from all over Italy and parts of Europe came to the area to compete in the first Italian stick fighting championship. The region of Puglia is also known for the Scherma di Coltello Pugliese, or Apulian knife, which is expressed as three local styles: Taranto, Foggia/Bari, and Brindisi/Lecce. One of the most known experts of this art is Maestro Luciano Trimigno, who learned the art from his father and his grandfather, one of
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the most renewed knife and stick fighters of the last century. He learned within the tradition of Foggia/Bari, which, based on family oral traditions, is believed to be originated from ancient chivalric codes based on honor. In particular, this tradition emerges out of the dueling art. Today, the entire family of Master Luciano Trimigno (including his father, now an old man, his cousins, and his son Giuseppe) is involved in running the school. By contrast, as it developed in Manfredonia, the fighting style is the result of many different influences, intrinsically embedded into the history of the harbor-city, as we noted above. In this multicultural environment, different influences affected and shaped the fencing arts. The Apulian stick is a tapered hardwood stick held by the thin side. In the past, peasants, farmers, and shepherds typically trained their art underneath the cactus-fig plants or ancient olive trees whose fruit they depended on for their livelihood. Different from other lineages in Manfredonia, the Trimigno family also has a tradition of using 28-inch (70 cm) thin hardwood sticks or manichetta, used singly or with one in each hand.
Vuovolo Stick Fighting School In Manfredonia, related to the Cavalieri d’Umilita, is another school under the leadership of Giuseppe Vuovolo. Giuseppe Vuovolo describes his school as rooted in codes of honor and ancient warrior ethics. Giuseppe Vuovolo himself explains: “In our tradition, the adept is expected to sacrifice for the weak and to fight for the Truth.” In his youth, Maestro Vuovolo experienced many different Italian traditions learning or fighting with those he met traveling through the South of Italy in his youth. Due to his varied adventures, the method he learned has evolved and differentiated itself. In particular, his stick fencing school tradition was passed to him by a Maestro Borgia at a young age. Interestingly, he also learned the fighting arts with knives and sticks from Aupilian Gypsies. In this tradition, adepts take a vow to assist, discreetly and in secrecy, justice for anyone in need. They support and mentor the youth based on the ethics of honor and humility. Also, they train fighters in such a way as to instill in them a strong and stable personality, mediated with sympathy and wisdom. The students here learn the ancient fencing art, in particu-
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the community, mediate conflicts, bring wisdom, and restore peace and order. One does not volunteer; one must be chosen. Only then is it possible to reach the “source of humility,” based on esoteric traditions. Candidates and their family members must have a clean and honorable history and background for seven generations. The apprentice is then instructed on the regole di vita, or rules of life, to learn how to conduct their new life based on honor and tolerance, trained to manage fear and to develop a brave heart, with a lucid, focused, and moral mindset in every situation. The adept is rigorously prepared in challenging physical training. They are educated in mastering fighting and defense with empty hands, with a stick, and with the coltello chiuso (closed knife), or a fusto (thin, flexible stick). Cavalieri di Umilta of Manfredonia, late 19th century,
lar, the knife and stick. With this knowledge, they can defend those in need and maintain order and peace in their community, following the codes laid down by the ancient knights’ orders to which they trace the origin of their society. Masters of this art vow to defend
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A well-remembered local champion of this system was Matteo ‘Ntrlingh’, who lived early in the 20th century. After learning this art from a local elder, he moved to Buenos Aires, where he challenged others in a series of public tournaments, earning himself the title of “Champion of Argentina,” before returning to his homeland, in Manfredonia. Back home, he formed and trained a select number of candidates. Their legacy
is still alive today. The School of the Cavalieri d’Onore e Umilta of Giuseppe Vuovolo maintains and preserves these ancient traditions. Maintaining the purity of the art passed down to him by all his instructors, Master Vuovolo has committed himself to train new generations of Knights of Humility, preparing them in the ethics and honor of the Code, respecting the law, the order and justice, and the martial art practices. Giuseppe Vuovolo and the other masters of this tradition teach in private and
public places, sometimes giving public tournaments and exhibitions during special celebrations or in local festivals in the area of Manfredonia. Maestro Vuovolo is also an expert in other martial arts, for which he opened his first school in the 1970s. Scherma Salentina In the south of Apulia, there is another martial tradition known as the scherma salentina, or fencing from Salento, based on sticks and knives. Part of the Brindisi/Lecce
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fencing style, this tradition is probably one of the oldest styles in the region. It is a sword/knife dance known as Pizzica—The Dance of Knives—or as it is also known, The Dance of Swords. Also, part of a fencing and dancing tradition, the martial art is still alive and practiced in the town of Torrepaduli during the Festa of San Rocco. The Festa of San Rocca is a sacred celebration where local fencing societies and their instructors gather to challenge each other. These challenges are friendly, but old or new issues are sometimes brought up and resolved during the challenge, blurring the line between a friendly match and a serious duel. Most of the time, the challenges of the time are resolved in the Ronde,
or Dancing Duels, where the two men are surrounded by a circle of people and music players. During the Ronde, the fencers adhere to specific rules and follow secret coded movements to hide the different master’s secrets and tricks. In this way, the fencing masters use the dance to resolve conflict without dueling with real blades or sticks. Some of the known instructors are: Leonardo Donadei, son of the famous and great fencing Maestro and Knight Don Raffaele Donadei, Flavio Olivares, Alfredo Barone, and his son Salvatore Barone. A long-term student and public conduit to the art is Dr. Davide Monaco, who currently runs the semi-public school in Lecce.
Sicily and Other Regions Another Italian region that is rich in Italian martial stick arts traditions is Sicily. Several families and martial art lineages still populate the Italian island that was colonized by kingdoms and empires all around the Mediterranean for thousands of years. To mention a few examples: in Riposto, Catania, a Maestro Carmelo Tangona and his family teach a two-handed stick style, together with a short stick; in Siracusa, Maestro Raffaele Irmino teaches the paranza, using a small stick that is also the base for a specific Sicilian knife style; in Vastumi, close to Palermo, the Piazza family teaches a long stick style that can be handled with one or two hands.
Other regions have their stick styles, such as the taccaro in Naples. Here, a very short stick was used in close range, while the verra, a long and heavy stick, resembles the medieval bordone, a heavy stick used by the road traveler for centuries. The variety in length, shape, weight, and material of Italian sticks is rich and complicated and would require a separate article to elucidate fully.
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Conclusion Our journey is coming to an end. In this article, we explored a few examples of how the Italian Peninsula collected and evolved martial arts in a “genome” unique to its own throughout two and a half millennia. All these arts share a common structure, highlighted and brought to perfection by the scienza della scherma—science of fencing and fighting—based on precise principles such as modo, tempo, and misura (geometry, timing and measure). Even in modern times, in regional or family traditions, we can identify the commonalities of the fencing structure, ter-
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minology, and principles across all Italian martial stick arts. However, each lineage and tradition evolved its peculiarities, styles, strategies, and techniques. This phenomenon is the result of the diverse cultural, local, and social histories of the areas and the needs of the people who kept the arts alive. But this is Italy. It is a beautiful and unique country so rich in conflicting historical layers that it is inevitable to get entangled in its thousands of colors, musical languages, delicious varieties of food, unique genetic traits, and of course, its beautiful martial arts.
Dr. Marco Quarta @marco4quarta
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JOGO DO PAU AND THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DUELING AND GROUP COMBAT Pedro Silva
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I STILL REMEMBER THE DAY I googled about the jogo do pau schools. Except for a couple of posts, it seemed that there was nobody actively practicing it in the North of the country. My curiosity got the best of me, though, and I had to visit the places mentioned and ask around. So, one day I got in my car and off I went with just a camera and my curiosity. That day, the decision I made proved to be the best choice I made in my entire martial arts career. What I found along the years blew my mind! What I found gave me the keys I needed to understand the combat arts beyond the dueling context and understand the art of fencing. Jogo do pau is a traditional Portuguese fighting art. The practitioner uses a wooden staff, reaching to nose height. The use of the staff relies on a two-handed grip, although sometimes a one-handed grip is employed. It’s one of the few European martial arts that still exist more or less as practiced one hundred years ago. The word jogo has a double meaning—it can mean skill or game. The word pau means stick or staff. In this way, the term jogo do pau is the “skillful use of the staff,” or the “staff game.” It’s important to
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point out that the word jogo is also used in the Spanish, French, and Italian fencing cultures to describe their indigenous combative arts. Although there are no known documents about the origin, there is no dispute that jogo do pau came from the North of Portugal and/or the old Galiza, or Galician territory. This area of the northeastern Iberian peninsula at one time had been alternately under the rule of Spain and Portugal hundreds of years ago. According to the documents we have available today, the first mentions of jogo do pau date back to 1825. The honor of publishing the first instructional manual goes to the city of Guimarães in 1886. Based on oral histories handed down to us, we are sure it is much older than this. During the 19th century, jogo do pau was an activity only practiced in the North of the country. For the North of Portugal, the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century proved to be difficult times. Farmers, fishermen, and merchants in the North began migrating to the urban areas of the South seeking a better life. Bringing with them everything they could pack on their back, they also brought along the sticks and their knowledge of jogo do pau.
In the modern urban city of Lisbon, the old village art of jogo do pau transformed from a village art of self-defense once used by men to protect themselves from gangs of bullies, bandits, thieves, or packs of wild animals. In a new place under modern conditions, it became more refined and domesticated. Here, the old village art of attack and defense was transformed and taught as a dueling game where two similarly armed contestants fought each other. These changes never made their way back up North; the old ways of doing jogo
do pau remained strong. In the North, the art focused more on one man fighting multiple opponents. Not only was it taught differently, but it also had a minimal number of blows in its repertoire. Let us pause here and take a step back to put this shift from village fighting art to combative sport in a historical context. The idea of sports as an institutionalized rulebound game played between equals on a level playing field emerged in the 19th century. Like the rest of Europe at the time, physical enthusiasts in Portugal caught up in
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this sports craze, introduced foreign sports into the country, and transformed local pastimes into indigenous sports. Jogo do pau underwent a similar yet different route, though. Nevertheless, resisting the pull to become a standardized sport, jogo do pau eventually became a dueling art in the more urban South. Back in the North, up through the 1980s, the area of Fafe still relied on the staff to resolve disputes. At times these conflicts were between two men, and other times one man found himself facing enemies from all sides. Statistical evidence collected for a study on the presence of jogo do pau in Fafe suggested that in the 1980s, approximately 90% of the men in Fafe had some facility with jogo do pau, and no man would leave his house without carrying his staff in his hand. In the small villages of the North where jogo do pau still exists, the men worked hard and did not have internet access until recently. In their downtime, many young men, like their fathers and grandfathers before them, played jogo do pau to while away the time and increase their skill with the staff in case the need arose. For these men, playing jogo do pau was as normal as playing football in the backyard for
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Mestre José Leite Quéu, around 1980.
young people in the more urban areas of Europe. For a few, it is a tradition that runs in their blood. Unfortunately, jogo do pau is slowly disappearing in its old heartlands. I’ve found a few different places where the staff culture still exists in some form or is undergoing a revival. However, the only place in the North where I found it to be alive and growing is in the northern Portugal region of Fafe; there is a village by the name of Cepães. Throughout the region, jogo do pau was very popular up through the late 20th century. However, one man did notice the declining
interest of young people to pick up the stick and jogar. Seeing this potential loss of an intangible cultural heritage by the youth, one man by the name of José Leite, popularly known as Mestre Quéu—or in English, Instructor Quéu—took on the task of increasing the popularity of the art of jogo do pau back to what it once was. He talked to many of the elders in the region
and brought together many local practitioners to help preserve and spread the art. Although he died in the 1980s, Mestre Quéu’s legacy lives on. Two of his students, José Avelino and José Carlos, each with more than 50 years of experience playing jogo do pau, continue to teach around Fafe in the way they learned long ago.
UNDERSTANDING JOGO DO PAU Let me begin this section by defining some terms as we understand them so I can delve deeper into an explanation of the art.
Dueling Duels are combative acts conducted with two similarly armed people fighting within a set of mutually understood rules. The goal is to disable, draw first blood, or kill the other person. Group Combat Then there are types of combat where one person faces a group or two groups of combatants facing each other. In these melee types of fights, there is usually an unequal or asymmetrical number of jogadores (players), between the groups, or the men are asymmetrically armed. For each of the groups involved, the goals of the outcome are different. In the case of the outnumbered group, the principal aim is to survive, escape, or delay the fight. Among those with the numerical advantage, the goal is to kill, disable, or capture those they face.
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In the stories passed down in Fafe, men relied on jogo do pau when faced with unequally numbered melee situations and one-onone dueling encounters. Overall, though, groups of armed men ambushing one or two people was a genuine threat in the recent past, and as such, learning to deal with these types of situations was stressed in training. Asymmetrical combat is the most common and dangerous form of fighting. Combative encounters like these often led to both antagonists and sometimes bystanders ending up in the hospital. At times people would die as a result of their injuries. As is common throughout many parts of the world where state control is weak, and there is a tendency for people to resort to violence to resolve interpersonal disputes, vendettas and blood feuds are a regular occurrence. They can last for years and get passed down
as part of a family inheritance. Many of these blood feuds had their beginnings over events relatively minor, such as a bad joke, perceived slights or an insult, all the way up to more serious issues of cattle rustling, or a woman’s affection or lack of such. The prevalence of a feuding culture became such a threat to public safety that at one time, the National Police issued an edict forbidding men to bring a staff to the local weekend trade fairs, a site where most fights occurred. Remember, this was a rural area with people’s
homes scattered across vast areas, and stores and markets were far away. Locals would regularly attend these weekend markets to buy and sell food they grew or livestock they raised, or salesmen would bring in goods, clothes, or other needed items from larger cities. Weekend markets were also an opportunity for men to get together after working on their farms all week and meet up for a cup or two of wine or up to 120-proof locally distilled aguardente, talk, and socialize. Needless to say, this was the site where many fights began
The two Mestres in Cepães school: José Avelino and José Carlos Melo. Castro Daire, Portugal, June 2018.
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and took place too. On the other hand, This was also a place to pass the time, evaluate one’s skills, or establish one’s reputation for possessing superior skills among friends and neighbors. There was a time back in the 1940s when local festivals held jogo do pau competitions. Before beginning, a few rules were agreed upon, and a referee whose opinion was
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respected was chosen from among the crowd. Group fighting is, as we all know, far different from deuling. It is not that one is superior to the other; it’s just two distinct components of combat. It’s impossible to compare their true essence. Let’s delve into this in greater detail.
Mindset, Context, and Aims The wrong mindset will get you in trouble. Mindset must be in line with one’s goals. The context of the situation determines one’s intentions. In analyzing a situation, it’s essential to know the skills and abilities of those a man faces. There are always explicit or informal understandings of how combat takes shape among those embroiled in a fight. Dueling is always rule-bound, contrary to many people’s ideas of fighting as pure chaos with no cultural norms, rules, or understandings. Winning occurs through mutually agreed-upon understandings of actions such as drawing first blood, damaging the opponent so that he cannot continue, or through a judge or contestants’ decision to stop. Duels to the death were a lot less common for legal reasons and the threat of blood feuds. Dueling is also far less stressful than the melee fights because the rules are often agreed to in advance of the combat, meaning the number of variables that can come into play is far less numerous and, therefore, easier to control. Due to the controlled nature of this form of combat, dueling tends to be more abundant in variations, tricks, and cunningness. Finally, there is more space for personal creativity and self-expression.
Other pre-arranged understandings in a duel limit the variables involved, thereby shaping the way a duel unfolds—how victory is to be achieved or acknowledged, whether or not fighting will take place on level ground, whether or not a duel will occur with an even number of combatants on each side, if both parties will arm themselves with similar weapons, and the wearing of any protective equipment, are all crucial factors to agree upon. Due to these conditions, the individual’s skill level has a more substantial impact on the outcome of the action than more informal types of combat. Training for a duel, one’s skill set tends to develop over time through hours of repetitive movements. Individuals seek to sharpen the attributes, attacks, and defenses they find most natural and useful. Some prefer to close in and end the combat quickly. Others might prefer to move around and be content to counter and move away, wearing the other man down or running out the clock. We all can see that phenomenon in any dueling game, be it sports or not—boxing, grappling, chess, stick fighting, judo, Olympic fencing, etc. In each case, the individual acting within a sys-
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tem of rule-bound cultural activities shapes the way the combat proceeds. This understanding is plain to see in jogo do pau when playing contra–jogo (group games) or dueling with each other one on one. Various elements of combat, such as attacks, defenses, footwork, and tactics, must be tailored specifically for the type of combative situation one engages in to attain the goals one set out to achieve. Melee fighting is a different animal. To engage in a melee type of combat, one must pay attention to at least two particular factors unique to this type of encounter. Melee combat is a form of combat where two sides possess their own weapons, tactics and strategies, and mindsets. First, let us look at the outnumbered side and assume all those involved are similarly armed. The critical factors in this combative mode come out of the number of attackers and the type of terrain in which the attack is taking place. For the outnumbered, the mindset is not about winning but surviving. One is being set upon by a group of people with a serious intent to injure those they face. At these times, almost every rule is out the window. As regards one’s mental state: chaos, uncertainty, fear, euphoria, fast decision making, and fatigue are factors that will shape how the
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combat evolves and finishes. Tactically speaking, the outnumbered tries instead to survive or delay the start of the fight, wait for reinforcements, or sacrifice oneself and take the beating for the greater good of the family or the village. On the other side, we have the force with superior numbers whose tactics, mindset, and goals are entirely different from the outnumbered. In jogo do pau, we practice a melee game called the roda do meio, or “in-the-middle-of-thecircle game.” Here, a group of men known as picadores (pike-men) surrounds one man known as the batedor (striker). In this game, the dominant-numbered group is like a group of predatory hyenas hunting a buffalo. The dominant-numbered group will maneuver in the realms of possibility, taking advantage of opportunities, reviewing tactics, and monitoring risks at their pace. They control the fight; they are patient, cautious, and deadly. The outnumbered group, by contrast, must react to the moves of the dominant-numbered group.
Strategy and Tactics Many people mix or abuse these terms. Strategy is a plan of action designed to win a war, while tactics are the steps used to win a battle. A strategy is concerned with the long term, and tactics are focused on the short term. Valid strategies are the ones that fit both the context and the goals of a situation. Logical tactics are the ones that obey and fit a strategic plan. From this, it follows that, since one-on-
one dueling and melee combat are two different modes of combat, each mode calls for its own strategy and set of tactics. It may strike you as a familiar refrain, but it is profoundly true; the primary strategy in jogo do pau, as in any other combative art, is to strike and not be struck. It is as simple as that! One can identify and train general tactics involved in such a strat-
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egy, with different variations and personal traits or tricks that each player keeps up his sleeve, making each combative act a unique encounter. In contrast, however, in melee types of combat, there are two additional strategic ideas in addition to the one-off striking and not being struck that need to be taken into account. One belongs to the dominant-numbered group, and the other belongs to the outnumbered group. Strategically, in jogo do pau, the inferior force will seek to push away the group, to create holes and escape. The superior force, though, will seek to surround and enclose the inferior force. In that sense, there are different general tactics specific to the type of set-ups trained. Reconstructing the modes of combat a man might find himself in are known as jogos. In this way, a jogo refers to a specific geometric terrain, a particular number of opponents, or the specific behavior of one’s opponents. In sum, each game represents a strategic and tactical problem to either side of the group combat—both are training!
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Techniques & Training Methods In the martial arts community, one often comes across the idea that a style is the same as a paradigm. I only agree partially with this idea. Let me explain why, but first a question: After all, what is a style? A style is a specific and often personal approach to a particular weapon, context, and goals. A style is one person’s expression of the fundamental components of a root art. For example, the term fencing describes training using percussive and bladed weapons to prepare an individual for combat weapons. Thus, the core principles and guidelines of fencing must be present in the styles of fencing. In other words, the type, shape, and weight of a weapon shape every expression of fencing. In the same
vein, the ways weapons evolved through combat must also be taken into account. Since it is hard to agree on what fencing is and is not, a study and analysis of different styles worldwide is needed to reveal the essential concepts that define fencing. A review of this sort would begin by establishing a matrix of core principles and a clear understanding of the context, culture, and time in question. From this point, our findings would need to be tested and validated, just as by a scientist in a laboratory. I claim there are universal fencing principles, but each weapon has a specific flavor. A so-called universal style is thus impossible to conceive. A stick is a stick; it just changes in dimension. It is what it is! From school to school, the stick remains the same object. What will change are just the ways one manipulates the stick offensively and defensively. There’s nothing wrong with a style unless it does not reflect the universal principles of fencing. To conclude this section, a style is about specifics and specialization inside a common root. Whether it is or is not called fencing, is not relevant.
Specifics and specialization in the fighting arts come with the training methods. Training methods are what make a coach different from another coach, a master different from another master. In my opinion, they are what make a style different. In jogo do pau, the specialty is the staff. In the Cepães school, we have our unique way of training it and other technical specificities that are different from other schools—we have our style. Training Methods All our classes follow the same format every time. First, we start with the basics, which we call regras, or rules. Then we move to the group jogos, finishing with dueling—or contra-jogos. I estimate that 90% of the time, we focus on group jogos. The remainder of the class we devote to contra-jogos. Among the contra-jogos, there is a wide variety of sub-jogos meant to drill specific attributes, techniques, or combinations. In the group jogos, we train one versus two and one or two versus three or more. Like the contra-jogos, these group jogos have many variations, and we train them as if we were in a different spatial environment, such as in a village square, a narrow street, a wide street, or up against a wall.
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To summarize, our jogo do pau structure is very simple and straight to the point. Classes stress group training—this is unique. We do not focus on developing the individual’s skill over the group. We are all part of a group, and we can fight as a group or as an individual. BUT we learn and train both in a group format. The syllabus is straightforward; there is not a name for every blow or parry. It
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works more on a simple language, a lot of observation, and practical application. We learn by doing the same thing again and again. Another thing I must emphasize is the importance of basics. Present in every session and understood by all is the idea that the basics are key: the mechanics, the stepping, and the correct understanding of fighting principles.
I hope that by now, the differences between dueling and group combat are more apparent. I tried to demonstrate why one is entirely different from the other, by using general models and the unique lessons from the style of Cepães’s jogo do pau. In the way we train the staff, the duel only happens when the group has failed its primary job—namely, to work as a group. The group is like a protective cloak for every member and a nightmare for an outnumbered force. There is no magic in this context. If the group is functional, the players know their role, strategy, and tactics; it also demands that they know the enemy’s behavior. In our methods, all players experience all the roles in the different games. I believe this method trains the brain to read the context faster, orient, decide, and act accordingly. Here I draw on Boyd’s OODA loop structure of the human reaction process. With this type of training structure, the mindset can react successfully against new or unexpected situations.
resort. Fighting with an advantage is the heart and soul of combat. And a group is a significant advantage! We can also read from this that every jogador knows how to handle and recognize impossible odds and the mercilessness in being ultimately left alone in the role of the batedor as a lone person dealing with a group assault. Because the picadores will not challenge you one by one and risk injury, they will work as a pack. They will face you as a group and force you to move so that you get tired and must give up, or so that you make a mistake that opens a window to take you out. And from all this, maybe we can learn that no man will risk his own life if it is possible to drain his enemy of stamina and then capture or kill him with less effort. One needs to learn a lesson: fighting with an advantage is the heart and soul of combat! See you around!
Out of all this, the reader can see that the true martiality in Cepães’s jogo do pau is that every jogador knows how to work in a group FIRST, and that the duel is the last
Pedro Silva @pedro.fma
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Post-Script:
STRIFE & FOLKLORE DISCOVERING THE RURAL FIGHTING ART OF JOGO DO PAU
Vincent Tamer
IT DIDN’T TRULY dawn on me that I was heading to Portugal until I had made it to the airport that day. For an American who has become deeply interested in the study of history and culture, it is an incredibly important pilgrimage to travel to Europe to rediscover one’s origins. When I imagine Europe, I imagine the millennia of history that have brought me to where I stand now. Portugal was the perfect destination for my homecoming to the Mediterranean, as I could celebrate not only the beauty of Iberia but also the fighting spirit of a traditional means of self-defense. Jogo do pau is a rural stick fighting practice that translates literally into “game
of the staff.’’ Within the municipality of Fafe, some thirty minutes outside of Porto, there was much to celebrate, as jogo do pau is experiencing a small renaissance. Twelve schools coming from all corners of the small country arrived in Fafe to exchange, demonstrate, and plan for the future of the treasured fighting system that has come close to extinction on several occasions. This was the pivotal moment for The Immersion Foundation to make a hoplological expedition to Portugal to document the art of jogo do pau in stunning 4K resolution. I must say, it was an absolute privilege to film and learn the basics of such an old form of justice.
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The Justice of Fafe In the surrounding municipality of Fafe there is an age-old adage, “the Justice of Fafe,” which is often paired with an image or statue of a common man wielding a large stick or club, his hand gripping the jacket of another (presumably wealthy) man. If justice is not upheld in the town, the town will surely uphold justice! Historical records show mention of jogo do pau as early as the 1800s, but the form of self-defense is surely much older than that. Men would carry sticks of all sorts such as farming implements or a means to keep
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distance between themselves and the angered bulls they managed over, so in that culture a weapon to deal with a single rival or a gang from another town was always at hand. The melee style of swinging a large chin-high staff began to take root not only as a means of staying alive but as a form of bonding and enjoyment for townsfolk. While the “games” and duels that were played can be casual and lighthearted, although always accompanied by shouting and taunting, they were primarily for the purpose of teaching one how to de-
fend against a single attacker, and even more commonly, a group of attackers. It is even rumored that the fighting style was used by Lisbon guerrillas to fend off French troops in the Peninsular War in the 19th century. Jogo do pau is deeply woven into the folclórico, or folklore, of the Portuguese people. Traditional rural clothing is often donned at local fairs as participants dance and sing the songs of the past, telling stories of quarrels or romances halted by an interloper and ultimately resulting in a duel with staves. While these seem as quaint nods to history, we later found out the harsh reality of rural life and how necessary it was for a man to possess the ability to wield the stick, as it was literally his lifeline. He could easily be killed in some dispute over land or over his lover without a means to defend himself. The Justice of Fafe solved many problems that were not to
be spoken of afterwards, problems that the government of that time wouldn’t care to deal with. Jogo do pau’s popularity slowly waned over the years as the stick became a less common tool amongst men who were dissuaded by church and state to give up the implement of the field. Why carry a stick when you are trying to leave the old days of strife behind? There was also supposedly no need to carry a weapon when the police were on guard. However, during the facist/corporatist regime beginning in 1926, there was a brief attempt to shape jogo do pau into an official sport fencing art of the country (Silva). The end of the “golden era” of the art was in the 1960s, ten years after stick fighting was banned in the public (Silva). There was a brief resurgence in the 1980s followed by a sharp decline, leaving us where we are now.
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This Is Jogo do Pau It was earlier in February when the Immersion Foundation’s CEO and Expedition Leader, Mahipal Lunia Sensei, and I met with Oscar Cunha and Pedro Silva, two jogadores or players whom we became fast friends with. Lunia Sensei made the acquaintance of Pedro through Dr. Michael J. Ryan, professor of anthropology, who served as resident scholar on The Immersion Foundation’s first hoplological expedition to Barbados in 2018. After having spent months in Portugal seeking out endemic martial arts to no avail, Dr. Ryan found Pedro online demonstrating jogo do pau with the rest of his school in rural Cepães, Portugal. “I saw the melee fighting and I knew this was the real stuff that I had heard about. Modern jogo do pau is most often seen in one-on-one duels rather than fights with multiple combatants. It was as if I were peering into a window to the past” (Ryan). Soon after, Dr. Ryan introduced Pedro to Lunia Sensei, and the plans were made to bring Pedro and Oscar—the son of his Mestre (master/teacher) Avelino Cunha— to The United States to represent jogo do pau at Stickmata, The Immersion Foundation’s second martial arts seminar that highlighted the myriad forms of stick fighting.
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Oscar and Pedro showed the wild fury of jogo do pau to a crowd of inveterate martial artists when they closed out the Stickmata seminar. The duo brought a fierce energy to the floor, energizing the attendees who were near exhaustion from the expansive three-day event. They ended their set with a rambunctious duel that resulted in various ash staves being shred to bits during the conclusive frenzy to their session. For most in attendance, this was an introduction to jogo do pau; many of them had not even heard of the art until that moment. Witnessing the raw spirit of this art had my mind blown with its sheer power. It was this skillful and bold presentation that brought Lunia Sensei to propose that The Immersion Foundation should travel to Portugal to document the art. The fact that highly skilled players of jogo do pau were a rarity pushed the issue further. The Immersion Foundation was set to play a critical role in the revitalization of JDP. A large demonstration and conference was to be held near Porto later that year unifying the existing schools of the rural art. The role of The Immersion Foundation would be to not only document the differ-
ent schools of the art but to fully capture and create a video archive of the system of the Cepães school that Oscar and Pedro are part of. The expedition would be in a similar spirit to TIF’s first expedition in Barbados, which was to document rare and often unheard-of African Diaspora arts. I personally felt a little bit of apprehension to commit to the adventure, as we would return from Portugal ten days before my wedding, but I simply couldn’t best my excitement to embark on my first adventure to Europe and to reprise my role as Director & Cinematographer of this exciting archival. For this second expedition, we outfitted ourselves with two excellent digital cinema cameras from Blackmagic Design, a serious upgrade for image quality over our previous setup. The choice was made for high-end video equipment, as the footage needed to stand the test of time. When working with disappearing cultures, quality is crucial and there are often no chances for a second take, so we had to make them count. I set up the redundant hard drives for data protection and organized the gear as best as I could for our small crew of two, knowing from our previous expedition that mobility is always a factor
for us! We drafted up a shooting schedule as best we could for the five-day trip, knowing as little as we did about the timing and locations. We would come to find out that the Portuguese operated on a much looser schedule than we had planned for. In May of 2018, we arrived in Porto and were immediately brought to the residence of Oscar’s father, jogo do pau Mestre Avelino Cunha. Oscar’s mother, Maria, prepared a traditional filling Portuguese meal as Oscar’s sister, Liliana, gave us a sunset tour of their vineyard. Mestre Avelino is retired but shows no sign of it. He works tirelessly in his vineyards or on his cultural projects within his village or in the greater municipality of Fafe. Until midnight we took part in a major aspect of jogo do pau: eating, drinking, and talking together. Stories were told over glasses of vinho verde, fresh wine that has only fermented for a few months resulting in a low alcohol content and a fizzy texture. Oscar would often say throughout the night, “This is jogo do pau!” It is this communal art of eating that cements relationships after playing a few jogos, or games. By the end of the night, we were fully updat-
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ed on the lifestyle of the jogador and were already feeling fully immersed in JDP without even holding a staff. The night ended well after midnight; we had to prep the camera and gear and then quickly get some sleep to ward off the jet lag. The following day, we began our filming with the entire Cepães school at their local church, a place where they would come and practice for decades. The entire school donned the standard uniform of a jogador, clad in white dress shirts, dress shoes, and black pants. It was like a scene out of history with the ancient church serving as a backdrop to the training and players as young as about ten years old swinging a staff in the roda do meio, in which a lone jogador must fight his or her way out of the center of a circle of picadores, the pikemen thrusting with their staves. This was truly a sight to behold: shouting men swinging sticks with a historic bucolic church as a backdrop. The entire scene was so visually rich that finding the right shot was natural as I followed the jogadores around. Seeing all of this spirited training was a reassurance of the future of JDP.
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The school ran through their routines as a national news program, Praça da Alegria, filmed them and interviewed Oscar, Pedro and the two Mestres Avelino and Carlos. Apparently the reporter became more interested in the story when they found out about the two “Americanos” who came out to film the rare art of jogo do pau, so much so that they interviewed Lunia Sensei on The Immersion Foundation’s mission to preserve and foster this age-old fighting style. When asked why he made the decision to travel to Portugal and archive the art, he replied, “It’s one of the last living [fighting] traditions in Europe. I think of it as a national treasure. Fighting and independence are very closely tied—when you lose fighting, you lose your independence, and then you lose your identity. So in many ways, when we look at these old arts, it is a way of maintaining that identity.”
Training with Mestre During our time in the areas of Fafe and Cepães, we witnessed the creation of the staves used in practice. These are often created from the trunk of a lódão tree (Celtis australis) and shaped into a strong yet extremely flexible weapon. Maintained with olive oil after each training session, the sticks are often cut to chin height to create the perfect length for long-range stick fencing. Mestre Avelino had a garage full of these staves, some passed down to him by his father. Descending from a line of JDP players, Mestre was the only child amongst his ten other siblings who took up the staff. He began training jogo do pau at the age of twelve and learned from many different teachers in the Fafe area as his own grandfather refused to teach him. For some in the JDP culture, dueling or even practicing with one’s son or father is seen as a taboo, as one does not want to foster aggression within the family. Amidst filming with the Cepães school, we had chances to practice the art ourselves with Oscar and Pedro, getting an in-depth review of the basic elements of JDP. Expedition Leader and inveterate martial artist Lunia Sensei even got an
opportunity in the busy schedule for one-on-one training with Mestre Avelino himself. Mestre inculcated the movements with the staff to Lunia Sensei in a free-flowing “conversation” with the weapon. The training went largely unhampered by the language barrier between the two of them as Mestre taught the basics of the art from afternoon until the sun began to set. The instruction was given instinctually as Mestre swung at Lunia Sensei, calling for him to respond, as he taught blocks and hand placement on the staff. The experience for Lunia Sensei was wonderful and humbling; he was especially impressed with Mestre in how he was so passionate and skillful. He recalls a dinner session with Mestre Avelino: “Sitting in a restaurant soon becomes a lesson with this man. He has done jogo do pau for longer than I have been alive, and it truly shows” (Lunia). The training took place on a small concrete lot attached to the same historic church. This was a place that many (if not all) of the jogadores in the area grew up receiving the same lesson from the same Mestre. This was truly an honor for us!
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The Iberian Connection More schools began to arrive from all corners of the country in the following two days before the big jogo do pau demo. As the various schools warmed up for a public evening demonstration, we filmed each set and caught a glimpse of the many shades of jogo do pau. The different clans of JDP offered the full timeline of the fighting art’s evolution into modernity; from more traditional games being played, with jogadores dressed in the classic folclórico bucolic garb, to theatric stick fighting presentations in which JDP’s Celt-Iberian past was on display, to fully padded and protected sport sparring matches, all forms were seen. Two of the schools consisted entirely of teenagers, as JDP is making a comeback as an extracurricular activity in public schools. Somewhere in the middle of this spectrum falls the Cepães school led by Mestres Avelino Cunha and José Carlos Ferreira. The entire school dresses in a polished uniform of a white dress shirt and black slacks, bringing a gentlemanly element to what many would consider a wild art form. The fierce nature of jogo do pau is alive and well with the Cepães school, whose hard hits are unguarded by any form of padding and whose battle shouts and
loud provocations can be heard all throughout the church yard that they practice in. They possess the bravery to train unarmored, yet swing their hard wooden staves as hard or harder than the sport players. Their rowdy playing catches the attention of all, like a gateway into a historic brawl. Amongst the twelve schools in attendance there was a foreign element, an extension of the Cepães school consisting of eleven men from, of all places, Sweden. It was the similarity between JDP and the Iberian longsword, the montante, that drew the first members to Portugal to learn from the Cepães school. The use of the montante has become popular in the Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) community and has seen a surge in the growth of practitioners. Even during our first dinner, Mestre Avelino produced from his shed a montante that was gifted to him by his Swedish students. He roared at us as we ate our dinner, thrusting the huge weapon at us in a demonstration of how similar the wide sweeping movements are to that of the staff (hampered of course by us being in a small dining room). Several of the Swedish members shared their thoughts on
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how learning JDP brought life to their montante practice, which was studied from various old texts and in many ways lacked context. The group games of JDP translate nearly seamlessly to the scenarios of the montante; both weapons were utilized mainly for crowd control or to handle large groups of attackers. What are known as “games/jogos” with the staff are just scenarios in which the one jogador must defend himself against groups as large as ten. In some cases he is completely surrounded (roda do meio), in some cases he has two men flanking him (um a bater dois) and there are games designed for confrontations in the tight alleyways of the town (jogo de quelhas), along with one-on-one dueling (contra-jogo). Within the realm of the montante, the scenarios are called “plays” and often feature the same tactics of sweeping movements of the blade, covering one’s front and back with one swing as a form of crowd control. A New Chapter At sunset the twelve schools assembled and began their parade to an amphitheater in the town square of Fafe. Navigating the city streets, which were already riled up due to a victory in a state soccer match, the marching jogadores caught the
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attention of the town, garnering a deep sense of pride for this tradition. The parade made a stop at the city hall where the mayor presented the head of each school with an award, commemoration for their upkeep of tradition. Lunia Sensei also received an award for his dedication to the preservation of the art. It was truly a proud moment for Portugal as a near-extinct cultural practice was being recognized by the local government. Soon after, the schools demonstrated jogo do pau for the audience of fair-goers at the amphitheater, some of whom had not even seen JDP before. All shades of the game were witnessed: the two schools consisting of teenagers demonstrated the art as a means of attaining athleticism, several schools brought theatrical elements to their games, and many schools wore traditional men’s garb harking back to the 1800s; there was the modern rendition, where the participants wore protective gear and bashed each other with padded staves, and there were styles focused on one-on-one dueling where we even witnessed hidden spear-point blades in the staves. While all displays of JDP were celebrated, it was the Cepães school and its Swedish offshoot that demonstrated the fiercest JDP,
breathing life into the art with each taunting shout at whoever was in the middle of the circle. I was operating with the camera over my shoulder for an exhaustive three hours in order to capture all of the action—something I felt the next day. However, it was worth it to remain true to the energetic style of JPD with energetic camera work. In a shining moment during the set of the Cepães schools demo, Oscar stepped into the roda and blew the circle of attackers wide open with a fearsome display of staff work as the crowd of onlookers cheered. It
became clear why his father Mestre Avelino referred to him as “a terror!” The bar has been set high for JDP due to his efforts and that of the Cepães school. Over the course of five days, jogo do pau had truly sunken its way into our hearts as we immersed ourselves in the culture, food, and fighting style of rural Portugal. A highlight for me was to get a better feel for wielding the staff, building upon some previous experience from Oscar and Pedro’s visit back in February. During that time we
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were introduced to all the group games, and I was able to learn the movements of the roda do meio. While I was filming in Portugal I was taking careful note of the movements to refresh myself, and I gratefully accepted any short lesson I could partake in during breaks in recording when spontaneous bouts would strike up amongst the schools. The temptation to continue to film or train was a constant struggle, with filming winning almost every time. A personal takeaway for Lunia Sensei was witnessing the humble and highly skilled Cepães school of jogo do pau. “They treated everything with great care and respect. These are hallmarks of mastery and a rich tradition.” He noted similarities between jogo do pau and Indian silambam, an art that may have even cross-pollinated with JDP as the Indian state of Goa was once part of the Portuguese empire (Lunia). For Pedro, the expedition was an emotional experience. “It was the first time getting foreigners interested in our culture (outside of the Swedish players)—it isn’t a mainstream thing. We’re a little group. Everyone was surprised.” In particular, a moment that moved him was witnessing The Immersion Foundation filming and interviewing the various jogo do pau
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schools as they practiced at the local church before the public exhibition. That place is truly hallowed ground for him as well as many other jogadores. In his reflections, Oscar explains how this expedition was a leap for jogo do pau and that, through the transmission of the footage, “the art will reach places that we never thought of.” He concludes that, while he feels the traditional style of jogo do pau will never be a popular art, at least the theatric and sport aspects may also boost in popularity as a result of this work, which will ultimately lead some practitioners to the traditional ways. Growth within the ranks of the Cepães school is slow but steady, and the number increases every month. For Oscar and the other jogadores of Cepães, their ways cannot be sacrificed in order to gain popularity; “We want to keep the art exactly as it was by the teachers and by their teachers. It must pass down whole and we must assure it stays that way” (Cunha). Our stay in Portugal was short and our days long but I knew I had to take part in at least one roda for my time there to feel complete. On our last day, Mestre Avelino led a training session with the various schools. Towards the end of the session, he began to lead the Swed-
ish school through the roda, and he encouraged me to put the cameras down and join. I moved both of the cameras to the side and out of harm’s way and let them roll as I stepped into the circle. The game was completely exhilarating and a major cardio gauntlet as I fought my way out, a truly unforgettable experience that left me craving more training. Needless to say, this won’t be my last roda! When touching down in London on our way home, both my Sensei and I took note of the difference we felt outside of the un-hurried municipality of Fafe. We could still both feel the insignificance of time from the country life, which was in stark contrast with the rushing British travelers. We both agreed that the effect jogo do pau had on us was something to be cherished, as we had managed to travel through time with the simple yet furious game of the staff. A Mission in Pioneering & Preservation Many don’t realize the value of something until it is gone, or until someone else shows interest in it. When asked if the expedition helped jogo do pau’s image in the public eye, Pedro explains that, “the fact that foreigners were there filming and exploring [the art]
made jogo do pau more important and revitalized our understanding that the art is a treasure. It is something that we need to keep, something we need to fuel and make people more motivated to get involved with. Someone cares; this is not forgotten.” Since the expedition, various new endeavors have been underway for the Cepães school: lodão tree planting in cooperation with the mayor of Fafe and a local elementary school, a presentation at the elementary school in which Mestres Avelino and Carlos taught the children about jogo do pau, as well as another collaboration and exhibition event, an encontro, on the horizon. “For jogo do pau to prosper, the Portuguese people and government have to understand that this art is unique in the world, that it is amazing,” Oscar explains. “The different schools must be united. We have to create a structure, programs and projects to get the young engaged in our tradition.” While the widespread acceptance of JDP may seem too lofty of a goal, we can see these very programs Oscar mentioned taking shape in the afterglow of the expedition. Pedro notes on the proliferation of JDP that, “there are no nationalistic ideals, at least for us in our group. We agree to show and share JDP as long as it is
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not prostituted out. They must use it well and defend it well. We don’t care what nation you are from, we just want passionate players. We don’t advertise, no marketing. We screen people, we teach everyone but not everyone.” While the main objective of a hoplological expedition is the documentation of a fighting system and culture, a happy side effect tends to be the resurgence of the art and culture itself. Bringing American foreigners in and then giving these local martial artists the spotlight will always ignite the hearts of the youth, who have found a new interest in an old way of life. “The kids pick up the tradition and philosophy and carry it forward into the future. This is a national resource,” notes Dr. Ryan. It is not only that the culture benefits from having a means of self-defense and a vibrant pastime, but it goes much deeper than that. A much overlooked benefit to these fighting arts is the heroic spirit that they cultivate without needing to risk life and limb. Dr. Ryan refers to the significance of the stick as “a material expression of a social safety brake against unrestrained violence. They [the fighting parties] can be bloodied but left alive. The village feuds might not break out because of that, young men
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can transition from boy to man [experience essential violence] and not kill the other guy. The non-lethality of the stick is key.” I would argue that, at least in Westernized countries, specific practices with these invigorating qualities are soon to be a thing of the past if not rediscovered and rekindled. As Dr. Ryan puts it, “young men needed to do dangerous things to prepare themselves for the vagaries of life, to stand strong and fight with their brothers against threats.” The jogo do pau expedition will be opened up to the public eye with a “docu-instructional” (documentary & martial art instructional) film detailing the first comparison of the various operating schools of jogo do pau. The film will allow viewers to connect with the Portuguese tradition and give them a taste of the art with instructional segments taught by jogadores Oscar Cunha and Pedro Silva as well as Mestre Avelino Cunha. A portion of the proceeds will go towards the jogo do pau artists and the rest of the proceeds will fund future hoplological expeditions. The Immersion Foundation also plans to host Mestre Avelino, Oscar, and Pedro for a future USA seminar.
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THE IMMERSION FOUNDATION
The Immersion Foundation was founded in 2017 with a mission to pioneer martial arts education and cultural preservation. What started as an act to hold a small seminar blossomed into a collaboration of epic proportions. Mahipal Lunia Sensei and his small aiki jujutsu dojo (of which I am a part) in Mountain View, California, launched a series of global events, referred to as “Labs,” hosting martial art masters from around the world. Beginning with a three-day exploration of edged combat arts, Legacy of the Blade was TIF’s maiden voyage into game-changing martial art events, bringing some of the most dedicated and skilled martial artists together to teach and explore under one roof. Following soon after Legacy of the Blade was Stickmata, an examination of stick fighting arts from locales such as Barbados, Italy, Japan, and of course, Portugal. However, these ILF Beacon events aren’t the only endeavors made by The Immersion Foundation; ILF Laser Focus events are smaller and more frequent mini-labs that ex-
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plore a single art in detail, offering a contrast to the big labs that are held annually. The Immersion Foundation also carries forth the torch of hoplology, the study of human combat behavior and performance, a field that was dormant for nearly thirty years. Traveling off the beaten path to locales such as Portugal, the Philippines, and Barbados, The Immersion Foundation has been striving to document and archive at-risk and unknown martial arts on ILF Spotlight Expeditions in order to spread awareness and preserve martial systems for academic study. Armed with high-end 4K cameras, The Immersion Foundation has now archived twelve distinct martial art systems from several countries such as Trinidadian kalinda, Italian Cielo e Meraviglia knife fencing, Filipino tapado, and Māori rongomamau, to name a few. These archived arts can be held for future generations of martial artists far and wide, ensuring that these systems remain alive and thriving!
WORKS CITED
Cunha, Oscar. Personal Interview. 2 June 2020. Lunia, Mahipal. Personal Interview. 15 May 2020. Ryan, Michael J. Personal Interview. 21 May 2020 Silva, Pedro. Personal Interview. 2 June 2020.
Vincent Tamer @vincent.tamer
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Various Expressions of JDP
STICKS BRANCHING OUT Toby Cowern
MANY ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE will rightly address sticks in the martial arts and self-defense context. I want to widen the scope a little and consider sticks, staves, and similar on a broader front, which I would classify more in the realm of personal safety. I’m approaching this not only from the martial perspective but also, and extensively, from the survival instructor’s viewpoint, which I work in extensively. In the historical record, and even in some modern-day areas, we can see sticks carried and used extensively in hunter-gatherer and herding societies. It is quite fascinating to look at the logic behind
this not only for an understanding of legacy but also to see what is still valuable and applicable in today’s living. I’ll highlight four of the many predominant reasons why people still carry sticks. Typically, we need to think more about staff than stick as most carried are on average approaching 2 meters (6 ft) in length or more and typically 2½ cm (1 in) or more in thickness. Our four reasons are: 1. Stability 2. Investigative / Assistive tool 3. Direction indication 4. Protection
Stability
1
They are visible in the modern landscape. Canes, crutches, and variants thereof abound to assist people with varying mobility problems. The more undulating the terrain, the more use a staff becomes to everyone, whether it be in general ascending or descending of terrain, all the way through to specialized techniques in higher-risk features, such as crossing rivers, illustrated here:
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The specific environment will largely influence what size the staff is to be and its use. Of note and interest, here in the Far Northern climes, staves are used year-round, but far more heavily in the winter. As a ski pole, historically, the Sami used just one long pole, as opposed to the more generally accepted use of two shorter ski poles.
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Investigative / Assistive Tool
2
Peeking under rocks, reaching into holes, and separating dense foliage all present potential hazards in many regions due to the animal threat. Snakes, scorpions, and smaller or larger animals possibly mean that reaching and treading where you can’t see is not a good idea. Depth-checking water or snow levels as a vital part of reading the terrain is also greatly assisted with a good staff. Even to reach those places out of arm’s length, knocking fruit from a tree, or pushing a piece of rope onto a branch to secure shelter or similar is all com-
pleted more efficiently and safely—these are two hugely important factors for constant consideration in all environments—with staff in hand. Finally, our staff often purchases a significant mechanical advantage for various manual tasks when used as a lever, brace, or anchor. As a stake, it can offer a supportive and stable platform, still in use today for widely varying tasks, and often seen in the employment of optics (rifles, telescopes, etc.).
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Direction Indication
3
From the humble, but practical sun compass:
To the elongation of more than just the finger—meaning the staff, in general, can be used to more accurately point out a specific direction or place to look in, minimizing the danger of misunderstanding:
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To the extremes of precise utilization for specialist tasks, as in the case of a tracking stick:
Our staff offers a vital and widely varying means of expression and communication, both historically and now.
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Protection
4
Here, we segway back to the bulk of discussion and employment of sticks in this issue. If we drift away from pure self-defense, though, where we are typically thinking of a human threat, we can see in terms of buying distance from an alternative (such as animal) threat, where a staff is a huge bonus. There is a litany of accounts of fur trappers dispatching kills in the traps using sticks (bludgeoning) or sharpened or modified sticks as spears to penetrate vital organs or pin an animal in place to be dispatched by other means. We can even take a brief glimpse of the incredible development of the bow released from the form of a stick and the substantial progressive step that meant for our hunter ancestors . . . Historically, many indigenous rites of passage revolved around killing a particular animal (usually an apex predator) in a certain way (typically with staff or spear). Here in the North of Scandinavia, even up to the turn of the 19th century, (brown) bears were hunted and
killed with sharpened staves. No mean feat when considering all factors!
So, our humble stick usage always has, and ever will be, only limited by our imagination. Still, a glance into our past often offers some incredible examples to look into and spend some time learning.
Toby Cowern @tread.lightly.14
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THE ART OF JO JUTSU Henri-Robert Vilaire
History KAZE ARASHI RYU IS an integrated martial arts system consisting of weapons and empty-hand arts. The system works as a single art, although subdivided into sections for ease of learning. They are: aiki jujutsu, the art of receiving and redirecting an opponent’s energy through throws, joint manipulation, and other principles of body mechanics and movement; atemi jutsu, the art of striking to vital targets and pressure points with the hands, arms, feet, and other body parts; ken jutsu, the art of fighting with blades, including all lengths of swords and knives; and jo jutsu, the art of fighting with staves, or sticks, of all lengths, bladed or non-bladed. At higher levels, the system sets different weapons against each other. In addition to the four pillars of the system, here are supportive arts: tessen jutsu, the art of fighting and communicating with a metal fan, and obi tai waza, the art of restraining and controlling an attacker utilizing a strap and/or a rope—which are fundamental to the system.
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Principles Numerous martial arts organize themselves on a number or series of techniques per grade: 5 for a white belt, 10 for a yellow belt, 15 for a green belt, etc. In contrast, kaze arashi ryu revolves around four fundamental principles that weave through every part of the system. The techniques then become a variation or demonstration of how the principles are applied. Critically, one should remember that all four principles are applied to every technique regardless of whether one is performing aiki jujutsu, ken jutsu, or jo jutsu. The first principle is ryu ha, which deals with strategic planning from both an individual and group perspective, which is the fundamental principle of the system. For example, when facing multiple attackers, ryu ha suggests the optimal strategy to adopt: Where, when,
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and how do you attack? These are only a few of the questions to consider when facing such a situation. The goal of ryu ha is to help you paint a picture of the landscape, so to speak, so you can very quickly understand the best strategy at the time. As the confrontation progresses, the second principle, toate no jutsu, or the art of physically and mentally affecting an opponent to put him in a state of unbalance, becomes extremely important. Toate no jutsu includes connecting or communicating intent and positions that weaken the opponent’s body before subduing. How you position a person’s body before applying a technique is the difference between whether you resort to brute force or grace to affect the subjugation of the opponent.
The third principle, tai ichi, refers to the idea of body-as-one or the art of starting from and moving through your center. This principle teaches one to remain in balance, able to move freely in any direction, armed or unarmed. In kaze arashi ryu, we always assume there are multiple attackers. So our movements reflect eliminating one attacker while preparing to attack or defend against the next. Proper balance and position are critical to success. Taisabaki, or body movement and positioning, enables you to move from one circle to another without interrupting the flow of energy.
The fourth principle is in-yo. Commonly referred to as yin/yang, this principle involves the use of opposing forces that, when combined, maximize the effectiveness of the technique. Often in our techniques, we are pulling the body in one direction while attacking in the other. Or we are hyperextending a joint while exerting force in the opposite direction, maximizing the effect. An example of this principle in other arts is the pullwhen-pushed approach to defending oneself.
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Jo Jutsu The art of the jo within our system derives from a monastic tradition of using staves or sticks, yari (spear) and naginata (halberd) to protect oneself. Jo jutsu is the name given to the curriculum of principles and techniques that involve various lengths of staves and staff-like weapons. Along with ken jutsu (the art of bladed weapons) atemi jutsu (the art of striking vital points), and aiki jujutsu (the supple art of harmonizing inner strength), jo jutsu forms one of the four pillars of this comprehensive system. The three main sizes of jo used in kaze arashi ryu are: the dai jo, or a stick five to six feet long and referred to as a bo; the chu jo, or a stick around four feet long; and the sho jo, a stick about 24 inches long. The exact length of each staff will depend on the size of each exponent of the art. The sho jo being short and very manageable, is also used in pairs and is incredibly useful in the hands of a trained practitioner. Also included in the jo jutsu curriculum are jo-like weapons such as the yari/spear and naginata/halberd, allowing jo jutsuka (students of the art of the staff) to familiarize themselves with sticks of any length, with or without a blade attached.
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Manipulating the jo is not merely a matter of swinging a stick. With each strike or parry, the entire body adapts to allow for the most effective use of the jo. All changes of body positioning—or taisabaki— emanate from the hips. The hips act as the center controlling the
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entire body. An essential aspect of the parry or block called boubisuru is that the attacker’s weapon is driven into their body to start the process of toate no jutsu—weakening the opponents’ body to increase the efficacy of the technique.
The system is composed of a unique set of blocks (boubisuru), strikes (atemi), body movements (taisabaki), throwing techniques (nage waza), chokes (shime waza), sweeps (otoshi), and locking of the arms and legs (garame). Beginning students learn to parry and strike with the jo. Each new taisabaki form builds on the one previously learned until students are practicing forms that combine parries, strikes, guard positions, and double and reverse strikes. A student learns each form with the three lengths of jo with minor variations. As a result of the extensive and intensive amount of training required, mastery of the art calls for a deep investment in time and energy. Suppose one considers the jo to be an extension of the arm. In that case, one eventually realizes many empty-hand techniques are transposable to the jo. A person holding a stick in their hands does not mean that any technique must be limited to those learned with the jo. The stick is an additional element useful to overcome an attacker in any defense situation, but not the only factor. In kaze arashi ryu, techniques from atemi jutsu and aiki jujutsu are combined with methods of the jo to enable the defender to be as effective as possible
in their defense. After parrying an attack, it may be more practical to strike the aggressor with an elbow, knee, or other body parts before completing the technique with the stick. If attacked at close range, a punch or kick may be the most appropriate defensive response before immobilizing the opponent with either a stranglehold, a joint lock, or even a combination of both. Bearing in mind that the jo is an extension of the arm, the practitioner will develop highly effective combinations should the need arise. While manipulating the jo, it is essential to remember that it is in constant tension, or in-yo. Typically, the top hand is pushing the jo down while the lower hand is offering resistance upwards. When held horizontally, in-yo is emphasized as a torsional or twisting of the staff in opposite directions. In this way, the staff is firmly held, providing maximum impact for atemi. Alternately, it acts to maintain a firm grip on the staff, opposing any attempt to disarm the operator. In contrast, the sho jo, held in either the left or right hand and the middle, allows both ends to attack or defend.
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Taisabaki Use of Strikes Utilizing the Jo Taisabaki is the principle of moving through the ten angles of attack and defense. It is a method of moving the body to neutralize any angle of attack, leaving the attacker open for the most effective counterattack. These angles of attack and defense are the same, no matter whether you have a sword, staff, or nothing in your hand. For example, when you see the kiba dachi, or horse stance, these are utilized against straight thrusts to the middle of the body. If you are attacking with your fist, it’s a straight punch that is like karate; if you had a staff in your hand, it’s a straight thrust with the staff; if you had a sword in your hand, it’s a straight thrust with the sword. If you were talking about an attack where one uses the defensive steps of tenkan dachi—overhead attacks with a fist, sword, beer bottle or whatever—it’s still that same angle of attack. Once you know what the angles of attack are, you can pick up any weapon and, with little training, attain a degree of proficiency. For taisabaki irimi dachi, the ball of the foot moves through the center and out at a 45-degree forward angle, and it is suitable against
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a straight or hook punch aimed at the head. Taisabaki kiba dachi starts again with the outside foot scribing a half-circle as it moves forward and out at a 90-degree angle and is most effective against an attack aimed at the torso. Taisabaki tenkan dachi starts by taking a small step forward then tenkan-ing—turning the body approximately 180 degrees to avoid an overhead or uppercut attack. Taisabaki tani dachi is especially useful against low attacks, and it’s where you step back, moving through your center on a 45-degree angle. Taisabaki koran dachiare is best described as postures and forms a T-stance. If you trace the path that the feet make, for all ten taisabaki, you will inevitably scribe a circle. Critical aspects of taisabaki are ma-ai, or the distance between attacker and defender, and koran, or cat-stepping. The length of the weapon and the type of attack used determine which taisabaki step or steps to perform. Koran is mainly used to move in rapidly on an attacker at a distance or to move away quickly to create a greater range. In cat-stepping, you take an extended step and let the other foot follow. Koran looks like a close-tothe-ground springing action; it is not a hop and comes into use when
the length of the attacker’s weapon is longer than your own. Ma-ai is about being aware of the length of the attacker’s weapon and the distance between you, so you can move to an advantageous position. A unique feature of the taisabaki is that, as you step, the ball of the foot comes down first, followed by the heel. Developed at a time when armed conflicts were frequent and men fought on all types of terrain, one had to be very careful where to step to avoid losing their balance and potentially their life. Boubisuru Utilizing the Jo For taisabaki irimi dachi, the preparatory phase involves raising one end of the jo while supporting the lower end from underneath and stepping in at a 45-degree forward angle. Thus, the force of the attack is not met head-on but parried upward. The block concludes by tenkaning the rear leg and reversing the positions of your hand. In this way, the opponent’s jo swings to the inside, and you are on the outside of their attack. From this advantageous position, you can conclude with more atemi, locking, or throwing techniques. The aim of taisabaki kiba dachi is to deflect a front-thrusting attack. Stepping to the side, raise the outside hand overhead while support-
ing the lower part of the staff from underneath. To gain a more advantageous position, raise the inside hand while the outside hand drops, and you step forward towards the opponent. This motion throws their jo back, unbalancing them, and allows you the upper hand. Taisabaki tenkan dachi are deflections that emanate as a result of an overhead attack. Simultaneously you raise your forward hand to meet the attacking jo and make a tenkaning motion away. Once you complete this motion, you complete the block by keeping contact with the opponent’s jo as you pin it to the ground or into their body. Again, you are outside of their area of strength and can easily counter. To effectively use taisabaki tani dachi, the staff in the rear hand reaches out. It then performs a rowing type of motion, reaching over the top of the attacker’s weapon and directing it back across your front. A critical aspect of this technique involves rocking the forward knee back out of the line of attack so one can quickly gain the offensive by rocking forward to within striking distance. For taisabaki koran dachi, the backhand is up, and the front hand underneath supports the jo.
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Atemi (Strikes) Utilizing the Jo Striking is a critical component of the kaze arashi ryu system. If done correctly, it can mean the end of a confrontation or, at the very least, allow the practitioner the opportunity to apply the appropriate control or throw to end the encounter. Strikes break down into two categories: tenshin (attacking strikes) and sen sen no sen (counterattacks). Before any tenshin strike, a practitioner will try and open up an opponent not just by knocking the attacker’s weapon out of the way of an opponent but by disrupting their balance and weakening the opponent before launching an attack. Using the forward end of the jo, the practitioner directs the attacker’s weapon away from their center and back to the opposite shoulder. Once deflected, the jo returns quickly, generating a powerful whipping momentum as the other hand moves forcefully outwards to ensure the strike is more effective. The counterattacks follow the same taisabaki motion, as men-
tioned in the blocks. A great deal more torsional twist is exhibited in the strikes resulting in a whipping motion. The first strike, or taisabaki irimi dachi, are oblique cuts made at a 45-degree angle and are intended to strike the side of the neck or clavicle. Taisabaki three and four can take on two distinct forms depending upon whether you are attacking or counterattacking. The attacking taisabaki involves stepping in and delivering a stomach thrust. The counter strike to this is stepping off to the side, bringing the jo up over their head, and circling it around to strike the center of the attacker’s back. In both instances, the point of the jo is the principal point of attack. Taisabaki tenkan dachi are straight overhead attacks and an upward thrust on a counterattack. With every strike, the opposite end of the staff is tucked up underneath the arm and not the armpit. This motion allows for an additional distance and freedom of movement when transferred to
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other techniques because the elbow is not locked out. Taisabaki tani dachi are strikes aimed at the knee region. They come into play when you are moving forward to strike the opponent’s front leg. The tenshin or counterattack is identical except that the leg is stepping back on a 45-degree angle. Taisabaki nine and ten are a combination of the two strikes: the stomach thrust and the overhead. These can be performed either in pairs or alternated and is the same for the counterattack.
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Nage Waza (Throws) Utilizing the Jo All the nages begin by aligning the jo across the uke’s—or attacker’s—upper chest close to the neck following the line of the jaw. The use of toate no jutsu and tai ichi are the two fundamental principles involved in off-balancing the attacker. Once the jo is in place, the tip of the jo pushes down while the bottom end moves up. Hence this reversal of position represents a subtle form of in-yo. As this transformation is developing, the center is moving back towards the attacker’s triangulation point. The end of the jo remains in contact with the person as they fall
to the ground. You must stay close to the opponent so that the throw precedes the finishing lock or strike. What may not be evident when viewing any of the techniques is that the initial placement of the staff on the attacker is a strike that flows into the lock or throw. Shime Waza (Chokes) Utilizing the Jo The jo is especially effective when applying chokes because of the incredible advantage gained with a lever. The greater the distance be-
tween your hands, the greater the amount of leverage available—up to a point, of course. The jo also provides solid support to either press with or against depending upon the choking area. In general, three major areas are susceptible to choking. The first and most apparent is against the front of the neck or larynx, preventing oxygen from entering the body and carbon dioxide from being expelled. With enough pressure, the larynx can be compressed or collapsed, causing
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death. The other two points are on either side of the neck involving the carotid arteries. The attacker will lose consciousness due to restricted flow of blood, and consequently, oxygen, to the brain. An effective choke works by applying pressure with the joint and your forearm in opposite directions, or in-yo. You can also take advantage of several pressure points. For instance, placing the staff against the back of the neck, just on the side of the spinal column, and your forearm against the larynx can result in the simultaneous attacking of a pressure point and rendering of the opponent unconscious. Otoshi (Dropping an Opponent) Utilizing the Jo Otoshi is a series of movements involving several movements such as sweeping the leg, locking, and throwing. Using leverage like that used in shime waza, attacking pressure points in the leg can be very useful in locking and directing or throwing the opponent. For instance, in taisabaki one and two, the staff is placed between the attacker’s legs across the pressure point and then twisted as you push them. As a result, prevented from maintaining any sense of balance, the opponent is compelled to fall forward or becomes susceptible to being pulled backward.
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Defense against knife attacks is more effectively handled with locks, whereas parries, thrusts, and strikes work best against another staff. It is worth mentioning that otoshi techniques remain relatively unchanged for each size of jo, whereas this is not the case with ude garami. Because of the number of similarities between otoshi and ude garami, learning one system becomes easier once one has mastered the other. Ude Garami (Arm Locks) Utilizing the Jo Ude garami is undoubtedly the most complicated section of the system. The reason for this is that locks differ considerably between the different sizes of staff. Due to different staff sizes, a successful lock requires more attention paid to body positioning and accuracy in staff placement. Primarily in ude garami, the staff is used to lock the opponent’s arm in a position either in front or to their rear. Pressure points are used to a greater extent, primarily when the sho jo is employed. All this motion, combined with the pressure point, leads to very effective techniques. With the dai and chu jo, all eight taisabaki positions call for the arm wrapping around the jo with the wrist touching the small of the
opponent’s back. Each technique starts from a slightly different angle, but through proper body motion, all finish up at the same place. When using the sho jo, each technique begins with a quick lock against the opponent’s wrist. In either case, you secure their arm and lead them to the ground.
Jo jutsu is not an easy art to learn, nor is it mastered in a short time. Mastery of a weapon comes through mastering one’s own body, mind, and spirit, a goal which many aspire to but few attain. Because of the intrinsic qualities of the jo, however, proficiency in self-defense can be gained in a relatively short period by those with the necessary drive and determination to devote themselves assiduously to the study of one of Japan’s most traditional and respected arts. Kaze arashi ryu is not a beautiful-looking art to practice; it is a brutal art meant to cause severe pain or death. Its function as a fighting art is to be combat-effective. Everything we do, even while learning the principles, is with combat efficiency in mind. Nevertheless, it does require a certain amount of grace and poise to practice. Ken jutsu develops power; jo jutsu promotes coordination; and tessen jutsu builds grace and fluidity. The blend of combat effectiveness and elegance combined with a fundamental principle base makes kaze arashi ryu a unique art to practice.
Henri-Robert Vilaire Henri-Robert Vilaire
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THE STAFF IN
PENTJAK SILAT SERA Stevan Plinck THROUGHOUT HUMANKIND’S existence, before the invention of writing, all human cultures have utilized some version of the staff. Staves are—along with rocks—our first tools, the earliest weapons past bare hands and feet. And they are just as effective today as they were ten thousand years ago. Being whacked on the head with a heavy stick will do as much damage to a skull now as it did when
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people were running around in fig leaves or bearskins. Techniques have evolved, but people’s bodies mostly have not. Staves can help you walk, pry up a log to reveal food, and skillfully used, lay low an animal or human attacking you. With a long stick, you can help carry things looped over the ends to stir a fire or to pull somebody out of quicksand. Put a point on a staff; it becomes a spear, the queen of close-quarters weapons, and with sufficient skill and numbers, a hunting tool capable of taking down a mastodon or a lion.
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Many martial arts consider a staff to be the most versatile of handheld non-projectile weapons. Many cultures still have people walking with staves, and all of them use a shorter version—the cane. There are few places on Earth where somebody with a gimpy leg cannot carry a stout cane, and it doesn’t need a sword hidden inside to be a dangerous weapon. As with most societies using such tools, the Indonesians developed myriad ways of employing the staff. The village arts of Indonesia are many; there are hundreds of variations, and so the ways of
One doesn’t fight the weapon; one fights the opponent wielding it.
employing hand-held weapons will also be different, depending on the art. There are, however, only so many efficient ways to use a tool. Eventually, anybody seeking those ways is going to come up with something that looks like something someone else discovered. At some point, Little John’s staff from the band of Robin Hood of Nottingham Forest is going to look something like one swung in Japan, China, or Indonesia. There are a lot of ways to use a fist, but doing it without breaking one’s hand narrows down the effective methods. “Boxer’s fracture” is a term that is used by doctors frequently for a reason. That metacarpal under the little finger doesn’t like smacking into a hard body part, and the expression, “Big bone beats little bone,” is as true today as it has always been. Breaking one’s hand is not generally considered the most effective way to defeat an opponent. Our fighting system, pukulan pentjak silat sera plinck (usually short-
ened to silat sera), developed in western Java, is a synthesis of several other arts, including Indonesian, Chinese, and even elements of brawling brought to Jakarta by European sailors. While it is primarily a blade system, featuring knives and swords of various sizes and shapes, it does employ staves and spears, as well as empty hands, with blends of striking and grappling techniques used in conjunction with force-multiplying weapons. The art is named in honor of its founder, a mysterious fellow called Sera, supposedly for his hoarse voice. However, it could have been for his tricky manner, owl-like wisdom, or maybe that he had a particular shade of red hair, all of which the term can mean, depending on dialect, accent, and spelling. Bapak Sera, according to our oral history, had a clubfoot and a deformed arm. He distilled an effective style to compensate for his disabilities from several fighting styles he studied over the years.
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One of Sera’s senior students, Mas Djut, helped his teacher formalize the art for those who had healthy limbs. And as did many martial artists, when they saw a useful technique done by somebody else, they promptly swiped it and incorporated it. Sera, sometimes written as serak, was brought to the U.S. in the early 1960s by a Javanese immigrant family, principally under the guidance of Paul de Thouars, one of four brothers who practiced martial arts in Java, Holland, and the United States. Initially a closed-door art restricted to Indonesians or Dutch-Indo-
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nesians, sera today has continued to evolve under de Thouars’ senior students. The silat of Bapak Sera and Mas Djut consists of interlinked laws and principles. It’s less about power and speed, and more about timing and position. Any weapon used—biological, or an extension of the human body— must follow the laws and principles of the system, and by so doing, achieves a continuity and coherence that makes it more effective. The staff—sometimes called toya, tisng, or kayu—can be of rattan, bamboo, wood, iron, or steel. One of the practice versions we use is made from a 1.5-inch-diame-
ter high-impact PVC pipe with capped ends and is sturdy enough for moderate contact, inexpensive, and easy to find. Indonesian staves typically range from as short as three or four feet to five or six feet long, an inch-and-a-half to two inches in diameter.
One of the most significant advantages of a staff is reach. An adept with a staff can keep an attacker with a knife or even a sword outside his cutting or stabbing range. It is beyond the scope of this article to teach specific techniques, but we can address some general rules that apply not only to the staff but to all the weapons we use.
Size does matter. I would rather have a five-foot-long hardwood staff in hand against a knife or sword than be waving an eighteen-inch stick or my bare hands.
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For example: covering the highline, low-line, and the center-line. On the face of it, this would seem self-evident; a knife to the inner thigh can nick a major artery and kill as quickly as a stab to the heart, so failing to cover either one is risky. A stab to the shoulder or the front of a thigh will find fewer serious targets than the organs and vessels in the torso. Police learn to shoot to center-of-mass for a reason—the spine, heart, lungs, liver, spleen, and the bowels are there. With a staff, it is possible to cover more of one’s body without moving the weapon. If you are holding the staff with one end on the floor and the other straight up, and you are behind it, you are covering high, low, and center. When an attack comes, you can deflect, block, parry, or counter high or low. At times, one cannot cover everything; by the nature of a counter or initiated attack, there will be a transition from defense to attack. However, the default position in our art, one to which we return as soon as possible, is to protect both high and low lines. If you see a sera practitioner with both hands in front of his face or both in front of his groin, you won’t see them stay that way for long, and you might want to beware of a trap. Some-
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times what looks like an easy shot might only appear to be such. Another example: we use a triple-word term to describe what we consider a critical function in sera—base-angle-leverage. (We aren’t the only ones who practice this, of course; it is a discovered principle, not one we invented, but it goes under different names.) Here, before we go on, a little physiology: voluntary muscles work by doing just one thing—they contract. With the limbs as different kinds of levers, this results in two convenient ways to view motion: pulling or pushing. These actions are also hits, blocks, and parries and with an edged weapon, a cut, slash, or stab. A push sped up? A hit, a block, or a parry. A stab. A pull can be a throw. Or a block. Or a hit, or a parry, or a stab. It depends on the intent and position and the tool used. Back to base-angle-leverage—when we speak of base in this instance, we are talking about footwork, but also balance and position. We differentiate between lower- and upper-base, which might seem counter-intuitive and a bit of a stretch for that term, but we know what we mean.
Angle is a push—or a hit or a block or a parry, or whatever . . . Leverage is a pull, likewise the same. Since we consider this fundamental to our art, these are an unspoken part of every action. We believe that, if you have all three done correctly, you can unbalance any opponent, no matter how big or how skilled, and once they are unbalanced, you have the momentum. With all three, the largest attacker will go down like a chainsawed tree—it is simple physics.
When using a staff, these three principles work the same as in bare-handed. An opponent is open to striking, being blocked, or upended, and one should not feel limited to the stick; hands, elbows, knees, feet, shoulders, all the other weapons are still available.
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One of the problems, as we see it in some martial arts, is that when using an impact or edged weapon, fighters tend to rely on it alone. If somebody is putting all their energy into blocking a stab by a right hand, the attacker’s left hand or a foot or elbow can do serious damage.
One doesn’t fight the weapon; one fights the opponent wielding it. The underlying system of sera is the same, regardless of the weapon(s) used. The patterns of learned movement won’t be precisely the same with a fist or a short knife or a staff, of course, but the principles will be. So, targeting, back-up, feints, changing lines of attack, moving your targets off-line—not only do they work with the staff, you will likely have more time to affect your techniques. We believe that timing equals distance, and if you are outside your weapon’s range but inside mine? If I can hit you, but you can’t hit me? It is my advantage to lose. Too, we believe that underestimating an opponent is a bad idea. If I think you have a knife, and you don’t? It doesn’t cost me anything to be wrong. If I think you are empty-handed and you have a
It’s less about power and speed, and more about timing and position.
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· Stevan Plinck | 215
concealed knife? That could be a fatal mistake. Assuming the worst and being prepared for it is generally a better idea than assuming the best and being surprised when the worst happens. In our staff work, we tend to practice against each other using them.
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An opponent who is equally skilled and equally armed is more dangerous than one who is less or unskilled and sporting inferior weaponry. If my opponent has a weapon equal to mine? Then other factors decide the outcome.
Size does matter. I would rather have a five-foot-long hardwood staff in hand against a knife or sword than be waving an eighteen-inch stick or my bare hands. With a spear, which is but a staff with a point, and one that can have sharp edges, there are more options, but nearly everything one can do with a spear other than slashing or stabbing is replicable with a staff, and using either end, much like escrima sticks can mimic blades. As many arts do, we employ drills to get used to handling a fighting staff. These drills are not something one takes into a serious dustup.
Learning a weapon requires mindful practice, and the whirls and twirls and counter-for-counter get one used to the balance and feel and range of a tool. Just how far can it reach? How to choke up on it when the action gets close? Moving in balance while striking or blocking? Some of these things are more productively practiced as solo drills, watching in a mirror. As with our forms, the djurus, we like to think of such drills as primary ways to move efficiently. One metaphor is the ingredients of flour, sugar, water, and eggs. These ingredients all go into baking cakes, cookies, pie dough, or donuts. It all depends on how much and how they are mixed. Sometimes, a stick is just a stick, but a well-practiced staff can be a lifesaver . . .
Stevan Plinck @Pukulanpentjaksilatseraplinck
PENTJAK SILAT SERA
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Stick Arts VOL 1, ISSUE 2
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END OF ISSUE 2
VOL 1
Stick Arts ISSUE 3
Maintaining & Reimagining Arts
For the martial arts comprehensivist
Top - Maxime Chouinard Bottom - Keegan Taylor
VOLUME 1
Stick Arts ISSUE 3
Maintaining & Reimagining Arts
218 Steaphen Fick
20
The European Quarterstaff
Maxime Chouinard & Nathan Featherstone
Bataireacht
196
240
Nicole Holzmann
Roger Norling
La Canne de Combat
Joachim Meyer, the 16th-Century Fencing Master
174 Alejandro Rodriguez Buenafuente
Juego de Palo Canario
Rondel Benjamin
92 Keegan Taylor
116
50
A Journey through the Monastery of Kalinda
Mahipal Lunia Speaks with Keegan Taylor
Warriodhood: A Deep Discussion
Kalinda
60 Mahipal Lunia Speaks with Rondel Benjamin
Life and Strife: An Ongoing Conversation
CONTENTS
Maintaining & Reimagining Arts
Vol. 1:3 - Stick Arts
138 Scott Park Phillips
Reclaiming the Magic of the Chinese Staff
150 Damon Honeycutt
Monkey Kung Fu Staff
164 David Giomi
Shaolin Staff in the 21st Century
296 Adam H. C. Myrie
Stick Fighting in North Africa
270 George E. Georgas
The Greek Stick/ Staff Fighting
318 Ethan Minor
The Bando Staff
MAINTAINING REIMAGINING AND TRANSLATING MARTIAL ARTS TURKU IS THE OLDEST CITY in Finland. This means that it also has the country’s oldest cathedral. Like many such large buildings, it was not completed in one generation, but was modified and made grander as the centuries went on. It is a constant reminder of past times, though, as is the city’s medieval castle that was host to royal intrigues of both Swedish and Polish kingdoms. The ruins of a bishop’s castle in the neighboring town tell of how such contests were not always peaceful.
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Like a medieval cathedral or castle, systems of martial arts need maintenance in order for them to be passed down through the centuries. This is particularly so, as technologies of fighting have long since made close-quarter combat less significant for victory in battle. Even the mighty walls of a castle can become obsolete when cannons can fire into its yard from a hill across a river, something unimaginable at the time of its construction. Yet, like a cathedral, some martial art systems are about
Editorial by Juha A. Vuori, Ph. D
more than the building or the technology they used to wield. Ways of fighting can contain philosophical, cosmological, and other forms of belief, and serve other functions beyond prowess in violent engagements. Indeed, forms of combat, even when performed ritualistically, in sport, or in theatrical forms, can work to join a community together. The simile of a cathedral can offer some insights into the longevity and passage through time of mar-
tial art systems, but it also has its limits. Indeed, people who train such systems are not as stationary as grand buildings. For example, the migration of people has meant transportation and translation of martial arts to new social, cultural, and political surroundings, too. A society where weapons like knives are ubiquitous affords different forms of individual civilian conflict from one where weapons are illegal. Concomitantly, not all arts are displayed in public for all to see or participate in. As such, forms
Editorial | 5
of martial art have developed to serve certain needs, and these, too, can change with the times and as things around them evolve. Even the religion and its interpretation practiced in the Turku cathedral has not remained the same as the society and its mores around it have transformed. This has also affected who is allowed to use force on whom, and in which kinds of situations. While Europe is currently experiencing war that has caused a refugee and energy crisis and may yet result in famine elsewhere, the long trend has been the reduction of violence in societies around the world. While social, economic, and political disparities are perennial, most states limit the right and means of inflicting bodily harm on citizens. Far gone are the days when some members of society could be beaten, tortured, or even killed with impunity merely based on their social position, creed, or gender. When this happens today, it can gain worldwide attention. Even capital punishment is rare among the countries of today. Such a state of expanding negative peace in most societies has implications for martial arts, too; if the immediate use of a combative skill, especially in armed form, is less and less likely in the everyday, why
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should the art be maintained? Similarly, how can one find enough people that share an interest in carrying the knowledge forward when its practical use is becoming increasingly remote? The articles in this issue of the Immersion Review show how martial arts have been maintained and continually reimagined over the centuries to suit the needs of the holders of their legacy and those who choose to learn from them. Such passage through time and context raise questions about what is essential about an art, and about what gets lost when the art is transplanted to a new setting. Is it possible, or is it even wise to seek to popularize a once semi-restricted dangerous type of knowledge? Is it better perhaps, at times, to keep it, or versions of it, going through pre-modern face-to-face interaction, away from the gaze of the public? Some of the articles approach such questions by suggesting that it is better to maintain older forms of transmission, while others emphasize adaptation to contemporary mores and ways of conduct. This dilemma is not always a question of either/or, as while something is always lost in translation, it still retains something of the original.
[Photo credit: Mika Hanski, 2021]
Editorial | 7
Forms of stick fighting that may have been quite popular and widely practiced have later become frowned upon in many societies. As the need for sticks in everyday life and the mores of societies have evolved, the practice of stick fighting has become rare, or disappeared altogether. Maxime Chouinard and Nathan Featherstone open this issue of the Immersion Review by presenting us with such a history in the case of bataireacht, or Irish stick fighting. While this martial art was at one time widely practiced to the extent of characterizing Irishness itself, it eventually became more obscure and has been removed from popular imaginaries. The art has been maintained in the margins, though, and is being adopted for use in mixed styles of stick fighting like the Dog Brothers Gatherings. The article goes through the living lineages of the art and how it is practiced, and lays out its future.
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Kalinda is an example of how stick fighting can be more than just about physical engagements. Rondel Benjamin introduces this way of fighting that encapsulates hybrid forms of African and Indian life that inform Trinidadian culture. Here, fighting with sticks is part of a larger system that incorporates spiritual, educational, cultural, and healing aspects. These also feature in the ongoing discussion on kalinda between Benjamin Rondel and Mahipal Lunia, some of which is provided for us here. For kalinda, maintaining ways of fighting is a way to recover old ways of being, heal the community, and rejoice in the building of a better future today. Indeed, Keegan Taylor tells us about his personal journey through the monastery of kalinda. The recounting and discussion of the deep meanings involved in a free-play with gilpins on a beach in Barbados between Taylor and Mahipal Lunia rounds off the special feature on this tradition in this issue of the Immersion Review.
Mentioning staff-fighting to an average person on the street in many parts of the world would probably evoke images of Shaolin monks. Indeed, China has a long recorded history that is replete with martial strife, and contains many philosophical and cosmological traditions. Accordingly, it is also its own microcosm of martial art systems and styles, as well as traditions of opera and theater that still display martial art elements. Scott Park Phillips makes a connection between popular comic theatrical performances of monks and Chinese literary classics. Together, they have informed the tradition of the staff work of Shaolin monks, but they were present in seasonal festivals that predate the famous temple. The play with staves served a ritualistic practical purpose in educating dragons to keep the weather harmonious in order to provide for good harvests. The sexual connotations of an enlarging and hardening staff have often been edited out of the play and performance, but Phillips makes an argument for reclaiming the magic of this tradition.
Damon Honeycutt presents us with a different take on the Journey to the West by discussing some of the staff work within monkey style kung fu, or the “cudgel of the great sage.” Here, the myth of the king is interweaved and informs the practical application of the various forms the staff can take. In this sense, the staff is about more than just a practical implement— it maintains cultural traditions. To round off the issue’s section on Chinese staff arts, David Giomi gives us a look into the pragmatic generation of chi energy in using the Shaolin staff in the 21st century. The staff works here as an implement for learning how to cultivate and concentrate the kinetic energy of the body.
Editorial | 9
Traditions of martial art that have been maintained for centuries do not always agree on what is the correct form or interpretation of certain techniques or other aspects of the art. Such disagreements can also include the terminology used in the art, or even its name. Alejandro Rodriguez Buenafuente gives us a sense of this aspect of martial art maintenance through his documentary analysis of the juego de palo canario, a form of stick fighting practiced on the Canary Islands. People have varying motives for why they train martial arts, and such varying personal viewpoints can evolve into a tradition stranding off into directions that aim to maintain folk traditions while others prefer to treat the art as pure sport. Indeed, many martial arts have been developed for warfare or self-defense to later take on formal modes of sport. This is also the historical trajectory of la canne de combat that we are introduced to by Nicole Holzmann. La canne has its origins in sword fighting that was still part of how the more well-off warded off unwanted encounters on the streets of Paris up until the French revolution, which
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eventually banned sword carry from civilians. During the belle époque, the sword was replaced by an urban walking cane that took on the role of the sword in such encounters. With development in men’s fashion, canes became less common. At the same time, many masters of the art of la canne were lost to the World Wars. The tradition has been carried on to today in the form of a formal sport that Holzmann showcases for us. While some arts have been maintained, and made grander with the passage of time, forms of life around such constructions tend to transform at a quicker pace. Indeed, many forms of fighting have been lost to time. Still, some discontinued arts have left historical traces of their practice either in the form of archeological finds, cargo lists of ships, court records, or even manuscripts and treatises that concern the techniques of fighting. Beyond the maintenance of living martial traditions, such traces have allowed new generations to explore some aspects of these old forms of martial art.
Indeed, people are fascinated with past forms of life. The cathedral and castle of Turku form the backdrop for Turku’s annual medieval market where historians and archeologists from the University work together with blacksmiths, jewelers, other craftspeople, food vendors, and amateur actors to enliven and reenact the medieval history of the city. A part of the old town is cordoned off with wooden fences, and visitors can experience medieval sights and sounds. Luckily, the smells are limited to pigs roasting on a spit, and such savory smells as the sewage system are not reverted to quite so olden times.
[Photo credit: Mika Hanski, 2021]
Editorial | 11
View of Turku Cathedral from Vartiovuori Hill. [Photo credit: Otto Jula (Creative Commons License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en)]
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As interest in medieval ways of combat has increased in the 2000s, the market these days also hosts a medieval tourney with horse-men jousting with lances and armored individuals engaging in buhurts. In other parts of Finland, there are also Viking markets, where groups of people engage in scripted Vikings-versus-city-guard engagements with appropriate gear. Indeed, interest in recreating old weapons, armor, ships, siege machines, and even entire medieval castles using technologies available at the time has concomitantly led to an interest in reenacting ways of using these new-old artifacts. As the professional historians involved in this type of enlivening and embodiment of cultural history tell us, reconstructing a lived past is not possible. Written history is inevitably a narrative reimagining of past events and ways of being. The same holds for archaeology. The traces of the past cannot render a full account of what actually happened, and particularly what they meant at the time. Indeed, even the international organization involved in the embodied reenactment of mainly European history before 1600 is jestfully named the Society for Creative Anachronism.
Hoplologists interested in past forms of combat that may have since been abandoned face the same issues and hurdles in their research. HEMA has become an established form of martial art, yet even its practitioners realize that embodying weapon techniques from manuals is a reimagining of movements and uses of techniques. While the medieval tourney-enactments in Turku are informed by HEMA practice, there is no such basis for the Viking fighting arts. While there are numerous Viking artifacts that include swords, there is essentially only one tapestry that visually describes the way they fought. Not all cultures have produced drawn or written records of their ways of fighting. Discussion on this aspect of contemporary martial art practice in this issue begins with Steaphen Fick’s historical review of European uses of the quarterstaff. The article gives a summary of European manuscripts on long weapons through several centuries and is a great introductory resource for anyone who wants to conduct their own explorations into these historical records and the forms of fighting in them.
Editorial | 13
Roger Norling follows this general review with a more focused introduction of how Joachim Meyer presented the use of polearms in his weapon manuals from the 16th century. When reimagining such ways of fighting, it is prudent to take into account the weapon technologies of the time, the context of combat, as well as the laws and customs that concerned armed combat. These provide for vital insights for the practical testing out of the techniques and mechanics described in the treatises themselves. George E. Georgas leads us into Greek uses of staves in fighting. Ways of fighting are not only depicted in manuscripts, but myths, legends, and stories also indicate how weapons have been used in earlier times. The article once again points to the importance of historical and political context in discussing how various periods of occupation and changes in ways of war impacted the use of staves for fighting. Still, staves and skill in fencing could come in handy even in the 20th century, when knives were used as the implements of political assassinations and attempts at them, as Georgas recounts one such attempt that took place in Japan.
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Adam H. C. Myrie’s article explores the use of sticks in ancient Egypt and the Maghreb region through the history, basic techniques, and the current place of stick fighting there. This represents North African efforts to preserve the history of fighting arts based on research of oral and other non-written forms of passing on traditions. This work has then been formalized within associations as ways of training, and published in newly written manuscripts. Once again, the training and traditions have taken on different forms that can emphasize sport activities or more cultural forms. Ethan Minor presents the past and current ways of applying the bando staff as it has been used in Myanmar. Staves have not only been ways of self-defense or combat in conflict, but they have also had more civilian uses in maintaining health, procuring food, moving in environments, and providing shelter. Like with so many other forms of combat, the same implements can be used to both hurt and heal when it comes to the staff. Accordingly, there is a close connection between the staff and its user, beginning from the manufacturing and choosing of the staff to its practical application.
Reimagining forms of martial art properly requires the same kind of sensitivity as transcultural ethnography, anthropology, or study of history. Indeed, a hoplologist needs to be wary of the possibility of succumbing to “cultural colonialism” in their investigation. Explorers should not assume or impose universal ideologies or values, even when things can be tested out competitively “in the cage.” Whether one is studying hoplology within maintained systems of martial art or exploring historical forms with discontinuities, there is a need to do so within a shared space of understanding among cultures that requires a perpetual task of translation and reworking of one’s particular position. When this is done properly, a hoplologist may transcend one’s own culture in the evaluation of one’s own and others’ cultures through their ways of fighting. This is so
despite the fact that different cultures have different standards for the admissibility of ideas, whether those concern cosmology, religion, philosophy, or other standards of knowledge. Academics have the luxury of distance and set standards for their practices of research. The practitioners and keepers of an art, though, inescapably face the dilemma of translation through time and culture. How does one maintain arts that were developed and used in wild frontiers when a specific type of expressive honor-bound masculinity was tied to celebrating extremely risky behaviors, such as gambling, excessive drinking, and public acts of violence? The establishment of a modern centralized government has often meant the end of this type of general masculine behavior and the retreating of such activities to the corners of so-
Editorial | 15
ciety. Practices of class and other social stations, as well as systems of honor in mainstream or more marginal parts of society, have also had a bearing on forms of martial art. Some forms of art have lost living connections to their roots entirely, yet have been resurrected by later generations, which may allow for more diverse groups of practitioners to partake in the art. Those who pick up the mantle after a long disjuncture see such lost arts as still providing benefits to a practitioner in a contemporary world. Yet, what is lost in these types of moves? Do deadly arts that have survived or that have been resurrected inevitably merely become a folkloric dance bereft of all risk and danger? What would this mean for the future of martial arts? As full-contact combat sport—whether armed or not— has shown, though, these types of activities are not without even the risk of death. Indeed, it is problematic to demonize the sportification of an art. Sportifying an art is not all about loss; it can still maintain
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the memory of past forms of being and allow for risky behaviors and contests among people so inclined. At the same time, sportification, like festivalization, can serve political purposes when connected to nationalistic ideologies and ideas of martial bodies. Indeed, society, culture, and politics all matter for practicing martial arts, and for understanding them academically. Accordingly, many arts have been kept within families, tribes, or other restricted groups while maintaining different moralities from those found in mainstream society. Such arts have been quite effective in particular times and places. The issue remains what happens when such traditional forms of transmission are continued, when they are reinvented, or sportified. What is retained, and what is lost in their translation? Answers here depend on the reasons for why someone trains, teaches, or maintains an art by other means. Is the purpose practical application, intellectual or spiritual enlightenment, sport or other forms of competition, cul-
tural discovery or appreciation, self-expression, or simply physical exercise? All are valid reasons and result in various views on what is the essential part of an art to maintain or transform. Similarly, is the context for the use of an art military, constabulary, or civilian? Is the art used to serve, or has it been appropriated by the state, or is it used to work against forms of oppression, whether sanctioned or not by the state? Is the practitioner committed to work within the law, bend the rules or mores of mainstream society, or even break the law? As the articles in this issue have also shown, a martial art can be deployed to suppress communities, but it may also be a means of resistance against such structures. Indeed, a martial art can be about more than its combative aspects. It can be about recognition, healing, community, and spirituality, about maintaining, reimagining, and translating ways of being.
Juha A. Vuori, Ph.D @ juha.vuori.54
Editorial | 17
STAFF / TEAM CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Mahipal Lunia Explorer-in-Residence, The Immersion Foundation Executive Editor, The Immersion Review @theimmersionfoundation
@immersion.foundation
http://www.therenaissancepath.com http://www.theimmersion.foundation
Juha A. Vuori, Ph.D Professor of International Politics, Faculty of Management and Business Tampere University, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1487-2961
Mika Harju-Seppänen mika.harjuseppanen@gmail.com
PEER REVIEWERS 2 Anonymous Reviewers
PRODUCTION Hana Shin Editor & Producer
The Immersion Review, founded by The Immersion Foundation, is a conduit for penetrating insights in combat and combative behavior. It is a space for the dedicated martial artist, who dares to seek ideas from diverse fighting systems. The Immersion Review is a peer-reviewed journal for the martial arts comprehensivist. FOR EDITORIAL AND ADVERTISING INQUIRIES, PLEASE CONTACT: thereview@theimmersion.foundation
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BATAIREACHT A ONCE-FAMOUS IRISH MARTIAL ART COMING BACK TO LIFE Maxime Chouinard & Nathan Featherstone
IF YOU GO TO IRELAND today, it is unlikely that most of the people you will meet will be aware that a martial art was once extremely popular in their homeland. Mention that it was called bataireacht, and you will undoubtedly raise eyebrows. Explain that this was the art of using the shillelagh, and you will get many varied reactions.
BATAIREACHT
· Maxime Chouinard & Nathan Featherstone | 21
Until the late 19th century, you would have been hard-pressed to find a parish in Ireland where no one practiced bataireacht, to the point where it became somewhat of a preconceived notion in other European nations. If you were Irish, you were surely quite an expert at stick fighting. This idea is now extinct, but bataireacht itself is not, though it is incredibly rare, especially in its country of origin. In this article, we will examine the history of the practice and explore the living lineages that are still taught today—how it relates to the modern martial arts scene, how it is perceived in Ireland, and finally how this is all shaping its present and future. Where It All Started As with most martial arts dealing with sticks, it is extremely difficult to pinpoint the origin of bataireacht. The job is made even harder due to the fact that, before the 18th century, Irish history was almost exclusively shared through oral tales, and descriptions of daily life were put under writing, more often than not, by foreign visitors or invaders. The written descriptions we have of Irish fighting methods before the Williamite War could probably stand on a sin-
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gle sheet. Nevertheless, there are clues that can be found in those descriptions. We hear of clubs in the Irish Heroic Tales, such as in The Destruction of Da Derga’s Hostel, where warriors are said to carry “great clubs of thorn with bands of iron.”1 We also hear of an insurrection in a Dublin friary in 1381, where monks used clubs called crannibh.2 It should not be surprising to find weapons like these in Medieval Ireland, as the cudgel (a ball-headed club) was common all over Europe at the time, as can be seen in countless representations, including in Ireland. Although they were probably not a new phenomenon, we read with increasing frequency about faction fights and the sticks used in
1 Charles W. Elliot, ed., Vol. 49, Epic and Saga: Beowulf, The Song of Roland, The Destruction of Da Derga’s Hostel, The Story of the Volsungs, and Niblungs, The Harvard Classics (New York: Collier & son, 1910). 2 Mervyn Archdall, Monasticon Hibernicum: Or, A History of the Abbeys, Priories, and Other Religious Houses in Ireland; Interspersed with Memoirs of Their Several Founders and Benefactors, and of Their Abbots and Other Superiors, to the Time of Their Final Suppression (Ireland: W. B. Kelly, 1876), 69.
Daniel Macdonald’s “The Fighter” (1844).
BATAIREACHT
· Maxime Chouinard & Nathan Featherstone | 23
them, by the very start of the 18th century. In 1710, William Moffett, an Irish instructor, writes one of the first clear descriptions of the weapon in a poem: “And at these fairs he ne’er was seen Without a cudgel and a skeen; A cudgel of hard thorn or oak, With which he many craniums broke.”3 The origins of faction fighting are shrouded in mystery. It could have appeared as part of traditions around pattern days, or could have simply been a continuation of raiding wars fought among the Irish clans before the 17th century, which incidentally shared many organizational commonalities with faction fights. The term covered many different types of group fighting, held during festive occasions such as fairs, weddings, funerals, or sometimes to settle feuds between factions such as 3 William Moffett, Hesperi-Neso-graphia: Or, a Description of the Western Isle. in Eight Canto’s (Printed and sold by J. Baker, 1716).
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the Liberty Boys, Shanavests, Caravats, Four Year Olds, Three Year Olds, and many others. The fighting could be done for pleasure, or deadly intent, though in all cases deaths could occur. Certain authors, like William Carleton, drew a line between party fights, done for political and/or religious motives, and faction fights done for more abstract reasons. Although stick fighters, or bataires, were mostly men, women were also represented in these occasions, sometimes as stick fighters themselves, which was apparently more common within the Traveller community, but also using makeshift flails made from handkerchiefs filled with stones.4 It would be easy to think of such encounters as groups of violent thugs swinging sticks haphazardly—and this is very much how they 4 Mícheál Ó hAodha and T. A. Acton, Counter-Hegemony and the Postcolonial ‘Other’ (Cambridge Scholars Press, 2006), 65.
are perceived today by most Irish people—but the reality was quite different. Bataires not only attracted attention because of their fights, but also because of the skills they exhibited in a martial art that was referred to as boiscin (fencing) or bataireacht (cudgeling). Allanson-Winn, an Irish peer and famous figure in the boxing and fencing scenes of Victorian Britain, had this to say of the stick fighters he observed in County Kerry: “Sometimes a great deal of skill is displayed, and I often wonder whether a really expert swordsman would be much more than a match for some quick, strong, Kerry boys I could pick out.”5
Coat-dragging was a ritualized way of declaring a fight. A bataire would drag a coat on the ground, daring anyone to step on it, expressing the desire to fight. Coat-dragging is still an expression in Ireland today, denoting someone who is looking for trouble. Erskine Nicoll's “A Call to Fight” (ca. 1860).
Winn’s opinion was reflected in similar stories—sometimes even reported by their opponents— where bataires bested trained 5 Rowland G. Allanson-Winn and Clive Phillips-Wooley, Broad-Sword and Single-Stick with Chapters on Quarter-Staff, Bayonet, Cudgel, Shillalah, Walking-Stick, Umbrella and Other Weapons of Self-Defence (London: G. Bell & Sons, 1911).
BATAIREACHT
· Maxime Chouinard & Nathan Featherstone | 25
A group training bataireacht outside a tavern. Charles Mackenzie (ca. 1805), National Library of Ireland.
swordsmen. Bataireacht was taught in families, and, as with many vernacular martial arts, we read of children learning by imitating the adults. While adults fought, children sparred with sticks nearby. Many schools were also said to exist around the country: “Professional teachers of the art seem to have been numerous. Down, apparently, to the first quarter of the last century, there was at Cahir, Co. Tipperary, a school for the teaching of stick-fencing, and the instance seems not to have been an isolated one. A choice selection of fencing-sticks used to be placed
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on a stand in the street opposite to this establishment. A grown male person handling one of these sticks through curiosity would be asked by a pupil of the school: ‘Are you able to use that stick?’ and the answer being in the affirmative, battle was at once joined. Thus did the school advertise itself.”6 We do know what bataireacht looked like, thanks not only to quite a few historical sources, but also to a few remaining lineages. The image we have of the art is 6 P. Lyons, “Stick-Fencing,” Béaloideas (1943): 269-272.
remarkably consistent—A mainly one-handed art which uses sticks held around the third or middle section. The lower part, called the buta, is used to protect the arm, and serves as a kind of guard, not only to block but also to cover. When blocking, the buta can be used to strike simultaneously the opponent’s strike being returned at him through a fulcrum effect.
The stick is typically gripped with the thumb up along the shaft, a detail that again comes back in nearly every historical description. This may appear strange to proponents of martial arts where the common wisdom is to hold the weapon in a hammer or handshake grip, for fear of being disarmed, but it is actually quite the opposite in bataireacht, where a hammer grip is judged to be more unstable due to the lack of control.
San Francisco Sunday Call, August 20, 1905, page 4.
BATAIREACHT
· Maxime Chouinard & Nathan Featherstone | 27
The story is told of a young man about to set out for the fair of Ardagh, when his old father, telling him to guard himself, twisted the young man’s stick out of his hand with a quick twirl of his own. “There you are now boy! Didn’t I tell you not to close your thumb over your fingers? Up along the stick you should put your thumb to give you power over it.”7 Some people today saw these skills being practiced. The historian Marianna O’Gallagher (19292010) from Quebec City once told me that her father Dermot (18911977), a former mayor of SainteFoy, knew how to fight with a shillelagh, a skill he had learned from his father Jeremiah who emigrated in 1860 from Macroom in County Cork. Unfortunately, he never showed much of it to his children, but she did learn a few things which were identical to what is
taught today.8 Unfortunately, the O’Gallagher style disappeared, but the little which was shared helped to confirm our knowledge of the practice. By the mid-19th century, a major social upheaval came to hit faction fighting and, by association, bataireacht. While the British colonial authorities mostly turned a blind eye to faction fighting, by the Victorian era, they started to suppress it with a renewed fervor, due in no small part to the complaints of industrialists who saw faction fighting as a threat to the economy, encouraging absenteeism and discouraging investments.9 The downfall of faction fighting was not entirely caused by British repression, though, as other factors played in. Following the Great Famine, Ireland saw a renewed movement for indepen8 Marianna O’Gallagher, “Marianna O’Gallagher,” January 1, 2008, http://irelandmonumentvancouver. com/side-3-the-100-names/the-100names/marianna-ogallagher/.
7 Kevin Danaher, “Who’ll Say Boo to a Mulvihill?” Irish Digest 1st ed., Vol. 71 (1962): 48.
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9 “Irish Faction-Fight,” The Journal of Civilization; Its Necessities, Progress and Blessings (1842): 61.
The widow of the mysterious Donald Walker published a posthumous book in 1840, where, among things such as wrestling, boxing, and fencing, her deceased husband included the shillalah. Walker’s entry is short, but gives us some rare visual details of the techniques. His comment on bataireacht being “not a very scientific amusement” illustrates some of the contempt that the elites had of the art. Donald Walker, Defensive Exercises (1840).
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dence. The Home Rule movement, which aimed to increase the political power of Irish citizens, saw its demands rejected time and time again by the British government. Among the reasons invoked to reject such democratic changes were faction fights. Newspapers caricatured the Irish as a violent people, or sometimes even an inferior “race,” unable to control their impulses and, as such, unable to govern themselves.
In reaction to this, the Irish elites pushed for alternatives to faction fighting. The Gaelic Athletic Association was in part created to counter the rise of British sports in Ireland, but also as a means to offer an alternative to faction fights—one that had clear written rules, and, as such, was much eas-
Jafsie teaching bataireacht in the Bronx, 1928 [Source: Fox Movietone].
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ier to control.10 It does not seem that the idea of making a sport of bataireacht was ever truly considered, and so the art slowly disappeared from the public eye. Nevertheless, bataireacht was not completely extinguished. In 1905, an anonymous author in the San Francisco call gave us one of the most detailed descriptions of bataireacht techniques, complete with photographs. In 1928, bataireacht even made it on the screen, as Dr. Condon, a.k.a. Jafsie, is filmed giving a lesson in New York City. Faction fights with blackthorn sticks were still reported as late as the 1930s, and in the 1960s and 1970s, shillelaghs were wielded by residents of Northern Ireland wishing to protect their neighborhoods, as evidenced in television news reports. Living Lineages As I hinted earlier in this article, bataireacht is not simply a thing of the past. Though the art is now extremely rare, we now know of at least two distinct lineages, with perhaps more to be uncovered. 10 David Storey, “Heritage, Culture and Identity: The Case of the Gaelic Games,” in Sport, History and Heritage: Studies in Public Representation, ed. Jeffrey Hill (New York: Boydell & Brewer Group, 2014).
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Antrim Bata: King of the North Antrim bata came onto the public stage in the early 2000s, thanks to an online discussion group on Irish stick fighting, created by the late Ken Pfrenger. Around 2005, a member of the Ramsey family from County Antrim came upon this group, hoping to find other people in Ireland who, like him, knew and practiced bataireacht. I visited Ireland in 2007, and having heard of bataireacht, I was curious to know if I could find somewhere to try it. I joined the discussion groups, and was told by Louie Pastore to contact Mr. Ramsey,11 who agreed to teach us. We met in Cork, where he was visiting family, and he showed us what he had learned from his family. The number of techniques was rather impressive, with more than 40 techniques ranging from strikes with various parts of the stick, parries, punches, kicks, and grappling. Our aim was not to become instructors, but by the end, we were unceremoniously given permission to teach. After three years of practicing together, we decided to open up the practice to others.
11 As he has asked his complete name be left out of the public realm, we only refer to him as “Mr. Ramsey.”
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Antrim bata was named as such in honor of the county where it was practiced. The Ramsey family moved to Ireland in the 18th century at the latest, and married with local Irish families. As this martial art is vernacular, it is almost impossible to draw a clear history, as records were not kept. The family lore does say that certain ancestors were active in faction fights, with one nicknamed “Ticketyboo,” who was said to be quite an expert. The family also competed in the combat sport most commonly associated with Ireland today—boxing. Antrim bata is probably the most representative of bataireacht as practiced by most Irish bataires. It relies most often on a one-handed grip, leaving the off-hand free to strike or grab—a much needed option in a busy faction fight—or to control an opponent’s stick, but it is also free to block strikes if needed as well as throw rocks or other smaller objects to the opponent, as was de rigueur in most of these fights. The grip is very fluid in Antrim bata. The hand placed at the third allows for a very strong protection and quick strikes, but gripping the stick by the top with the off-hand allows one to rapidly extend their
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reach. The off-hand can also come unto the stick to strike in what would usually be a punching or grappling range, or alternatively, both hands can move to the lower end in order to create space when outnumbered, a grip that would look very familiar for practitioners of jogo do pau or Italian bastone. Antrim bata also preserved many rituals, some appearing to be direct holdouts from faction-fighting days. Catholicism of course played an important part. For example, before a fight, a fighter is told to engrave crosses on the soles of their shoes, and to pray to their chosen patron saint.12 Once the fight starts, fighters begin to “stomp” and “wheel.” Those peculiar habits are recorded in many descriptions of faction fights, and could even be linked to medieval Irish warfare. The fighters start to rhythmically stomp the ground with their feet, all the while shouting war cries, poems, insults, or all of those at the same time. This is done as a warm-up routine, but also as a means to intimidate and 12 In the modern day, we do not demand that students pray. They are instead encouraged to take a moment to silently focus in the way they see best, be it actual praying or meditation.
distract the opponent. To that latter end, fighters are encouraged to talk while fighting, in order to keep creating distraction, but also to relax themselves. Various other traditions also exist around bataireacht, many of them centered around the trees used to create sticks. Hawthorn, for example, while being quite close to blackthorn, is generally shunned as a source of terrible curses. Blackthorn itself is associated with war and is said to be inhabited by malevolent spirits that will seek vengeance if a stick is cut down during certain nights.
The high guard in Antrim bata (2007).
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Antrim Bata practice.
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The Doyles: The Dance of the Whiskey Stick The Irish diaspora has held on to and preserved many Irish customs even as they have come into decline in Ireland. This is especially true of the Canadian communities in Newfoundland, an area that was heavily populated with Irish immigrants. This is where the Doyle family style came to be and where it survived. Also known as Rince an Bhata Uisce Beatha in Irish or the “Dance of the Whiskey Stick” in English, it is often referred to as RBUB in short. The current head of the family style is Glen Doyle, whose living family style was brought over from Ireland by his ancestors and taught to successive generations of the Doyles living in Irish Newfoundland, Canada. He was in turn taught by his father Greg Doyle, a decorated war veteran who served in the Canadian forces during the Korean war. Glen Doyle started training in the art of boxing in 1969 under the tutelage of his father, Greg Doyle. In 1972, Greg introduced Glen to a family legacy, an old and almost
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forgotten tradition: the art of Irish Stick Fighting. Keeping in line with the authenticity, the style was passed on clandestinely. Martial arts worldwide, especially family styles, were often kept secret, a trend that still occurs in many aspects of Irish society even to this day. Glen’s realization of the effectiveness and functionality of his family’s style of stick fighting pushed him to ask his father for permission to teach outside the family to anyone who wanted to learn. For years, Glen’s father denied him permission to teach anyone outside the family, until sadly fate stepped in and changed the face of Irish stick fighting forever. In March of 1998, Greg Doyle was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and the final talk between father and son covered every aspect of their lives together and resulted in Glen getting his father’s full support to share their family style with the rest of the world. From this point on, Glen would go on to teach his family style to a number of instructors who would travel from across the globe to learn under him and see the style flourish once again.
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Nathan: I first became aware of RBUB and Irish stick fighting in general when I was in high school sometime in the mid-2000s through the online discussion group. I was doing historical re-enactments at the time, and began to become aware of HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts). This led me to question if Ireland had any martial traditions of its own and, after long research, I came across references to bataireacht, which eventually led me to the Yahoo forum on the topic. This forum was a rich source of information, with Glen and many other teachers and researchers being involved. The one chief characteristic of RBUB that—to most outsiders— looks unique is the grip. The stick is held in a third grip similar to other styles, yet the stick is held in both hands horizontally to the floor with both palms facing down. The stance very much resembles that of a boxer with the feet apart and weight dropped low. While there are many things with-
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in RBUB that are reflected in other styles, its main unique feature is the overall meta of the style—that is, to engage the enemy in order to break distance, and to remove their ability to use their range, while still being able to attack. This is done by a series of blocks and counterattacks, and once this is accomplished, the horizontal grip comes into its own, allowing the use of both ends of the stick in an almost quarterstaff-like fashion—yet more reminiscent of boxing—as well as the ability to push your opponent away through using the middle section of the stick.13
13 Maxime: It is important to note that, while RBUB has its own way of delivering these techniques, most of them are not unknown to other styles. From the perspective of Antrim bata, RBUB appears to have focused almost entirely on a set of techniques we would call “infighting,” which are techniques used to fight from a punching or grappling range.
Nathan Featherstone, instructor of RBUB and AB captain at the Rambling Kern School, Dublin.
Maxime Chouinard, Head Instructor of Antrim bata.
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Back into the Fight: Bataireacht in the Wider Martial Arts World As bataireacht started to grow once more, it began to attract the attention of other martial arts. Both of the authors actively sought to create links with different groups, as well as experience how bataireacht itself would fare against more established styles. Maxime’s Experience Maxime: For myself, I was already active within HEMA, and so this was a fairly natural fit. I found quite a lot of interest, though the nature of Antrim bata, being a more classical lineage-based art, proved to be a bit of a black sheep in the historical martial arts scene, especially since the movement itself is primarily focused on swordsmanship—stick fighting being a fairly niche corner. As a newcomer—a strange concept for a martial art that is older than many more popular ones practiced today—Antrim bata was quickly put under the considerable pres-
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sure of the very competitive martial art scene. Although the style proved that it could very well hold its own against any other stick fighting style, it needed to truly prove itself in order to be taken seriously. Meeting Sébastien Poirier, a.k.a. Pirate Dog, in a seminar I was giving in Montreal, I was invited to attend the Montreal Dog Brothers Gathering in 2016. Those Gatherings are, in most of North America and Europe, considered to be the most extreme stick fighting events. I joined and fought at the event, which proved to be a major milestone for myself and Antrim bata. It was a great learning opportunity, and also proved that Antrim bata was able and willing to step up to the challenge of the modern martial art scene. Antrim Bata brings along some truly unique riddles to most sparring partners that are unaccustomed to its quirks. From an outside perspective, the strike may look rather light, and the grip fairly limiting in reach. The opponent usually
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finds rather quickly that not only the grip allows for powerful and rapid strikes, but also allows to dynamically change the reach of the weapon, which almost universally proves to be the most challenging aspect for martial artists used to more fixed measures.
A sparring session with the local Dog Brothers, 2020.
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Antrim bata also brings to the table European fencing concepts, which are rarely well understood outside of HEMA and of course Olympic fencing circles. Questions of timing and distance are profoundly integrated, and in my opinion, represent a major advantage for Antrim bata over many other styles.
Nathan's Experience Nathan: Prior to learning RBUB, I was actively practicing and competing in a variety of combat sports such as BJJ and MMA. This helped to shape my outlook on Irish stick fighting and martial arts in general, especially in regards to the need to face resisting opponents. Since there are not many weapon-based martial arts practiced in Ireland in general, this forced me to look outside of Ireland, which brought me to the Dog Brothers. My first exposure to the Dog Brothers was at a sparring day in Aberdeen. While this was only one day, it helped me to understand changes I needed to make in my own training as well as some new approaches I needed to undertake with my students. Later that year, I would travel to Switzerland and take part in my first Gathering of the pack. This is an event open to all, which allows people from all styles to come and participate. Now, as the Dog Brothers
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will readily admit, there are certain differences between a “real” fight and those fights that happen at a gathering. The obvious ones are that the sticks used in the latter case are often rattan, and that there is safety equipment. Now, while the safety equipment is minimal—usually gloves and a fencing mask—it still allows you to take certain hits without serious injury, which, for obvious reasons, is key. Also, while some of the rattan sticks I spar with weigh the same as my shillelagh, they are two very different materials in the way they affect an opponent. For safety reasons, I would never spar with blackthorn, as it would be far too likely to seriously injure, unless they were heavily armored, which creates its own set of artifacts. My first fight was an eye-opening moment for me, as I was determined to only use RBUB on my opponent. However, straight from the start, the issue for me became apparent. My opponent could tell I had two options: attack his hands
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with stick punches or jabs, as they would refer to them, or close in on him. Having hit his hands with little effect due to the gloves, rattan, and lack of wind up in the stick punches, I then attempted to close in. However, he was aware of this and backed away quicker than I could run, angling off and using his left hand to keep me at a distance. The rest of the round went much the same, with me trying to close, and him fending me off and landing shots as I tried to close. In my subsequent fights, my attempts to engage led my opponents to grapple me instead, which led me to be badly hip-tossed by my opponent at one point. Needless to say, this led me to reassess my own flaws and what I needed to do in order to make RBUB work in this context. Let me say: this is not a critique on RBUB, but rather something that is true of many traditional arts. There are certain considerations that were not relevant at the time, or in some cases, that simply did not survive to be passed down.
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Over the coming years, I spent a lot of time training with my students, and I was eventually able to figure out some ways to get RBUB to perform well in this context. Mainly, it meant finding ways to make the art a better fit in this setting. As RBUB revolves around closing in on an enemy who is in a group or without room to retreat, waiting to rush in and using footwork to get my opponent into a corner or next to a wall often served me much better. One thing I can confirm about RBUB is that it gives you a large toolbox of techniques to use from close range, and when these techniques are drilled with grappling in mind, it allows you to overwhelm opponents who are used to fighting at a longer range. To me, it is truly an infighting style, and serves itself best at this close range.
Nathan throwing a stick punch—a titular technique of RBUB.
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An Old Art Colliding with Modern Perceptions Although bataireacht is still alive and well with a well-documented past full of interesting stories, and there are hundreds if not thousands that can be found in period newspapers, travelogs, fighting manuals, and oral stories, many today still perceive bataireacht as
an unskilled practice—that it was simply men picking up sticks and hitting each other haphazardly. This perception is due to many things, which we shall examine in more detail, but it is not an easy one to change, as it is truly and deeply ingrained in an active rejection of the culture of faction fighting itself.
An example of the sort of political propaganda that shaped the stereotype of the Irish as violent club-swinging sub-humans. Thomas Nast, “The Day We Celebrate,” Harper’s Weekly Magazine, April 6, 1867 [Source: The New York Historical Society].
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Nathan: After coaching Irish stick fighting in Ireland—for what I believe is now longer than anyone else has on the island—it has given me a deep understanding of not just the style, but also of how it is perceived by the Irish people as a whole. This is something I think many people outside of Ireland do not quite understand. Over the years, attitudes have begun to change and people are now far more receptive to learning about Irish stick fighting compared to a decade ago, but there are still many negative ideas linked to the art that are both deeply cultural and historical, and I will do my best to illustrate this based on my own experience. One of the first and most common issues I have encountered is that most people simply do not know that a thing such as Irish stick fighting exists, which is usually closely followed by a disbelief that something like bataireacht existed, or that it was a martial art. When exposed to the history of the
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art, many become more open to the idea. However, for some, even when exposed to the facts, the idea of bataireacht is still impossible to accept. As often, they will admit faction fights did happen, that folk martial arts existed in every other country in Europe, that they did practice with sticks, but that it was not a martial art. Sometimes, this is often linked to a modern conception of what a martial art is. By this, I mean a practice that has ranks, titles, manuals, and a clearly laid-out syllabus. However, most indigenous arts lack this, as they were often practiced by the working class, who were often illiterate. Few martial arts in Europe, and even in Asia, would fit such a definition of martial art until recent times. Another deeply rooted belief is that bataires were simply just beating each other up with clubs, and that there was little to no skill involved. This is something deeply rooted within Irish culture and, I believe,
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somewhat of a colonial hangover. The faction fighters were depicted in this fashion, as were many Irish people of this era, and, as a result, this can often be seen by how the era of faction fighting is portrayed in Irish media and historical interpretations. Finally, one of the areas of contention is the fact that RBUB and Irish stick fighting in general are more popular and more widely practiced outside of Ireland. This, I find, often creates a sense of distrust amongst Irish people, who then consider that these arts are likely fabricated. However, like many aspects of Irish culture, the Irish diaspora has successfully preserved many aspects of Ireland’s cultural heritage, and so, it is not strange that this form of self-defense would be preserved, too. Looking forward to the future of Irish stick fighting, my hope is that the work being done by myself and many others to preserve and promote these arts will see them survive and flourish for generations
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to come, as I feel it is an important part of Irish cultural heritage. I feel that, with the correct approach and continued efforts, Irish stick fighting will continue to grow over the coming years. Maxime: My own experience has been very similar to that of Nathan, the main difference being that I teach outside of Ireland. I find that, interestingly, the popularity of bataireacht is inversely proportional to the presence of negative Irish stereotypes in the local popular imagination. Bataireacht is very popular in places such as France or Russia, for example, while it is somewhat popular in North America, and it still has a difficult growth in Ireland. In Canada or the United States, the image of the fighting Irish does not carry the same weight, and is often looked at with light amusement or fearful reverence, depending on the way it is portrayed—this to the chagrin of the Irish people, who have been trying for more than a century to dispel this stereotype.
A certain understandable fear also exists of Irish culture being appropriated by ignorant “Plastic Paddies.” As Nathan noted, this feeling is truly underestimated in North America and is important to address, if bataireacht is to have any future in Ireland. This initial belief that I was actively—either intentionally or not—spreading ste-
reotypes and invented traditions, resulted in many Irish nationals being openly hostile to what I was doing. Presenting a different take on the history of bataireacht, one that goes away from the Victorian propaganda and cartoons, has been rather successful at proving that this is a serious martial art worthy of being preserved.
Antrim bata workshop, 2021.
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Antrim bata seminar in France.
I often compare the history of bataireacht to that of Japanese martial arts. Both came into very similar situations in the late 19th century. Indeed, the Japanese, who had just thrown out their warrior overlords, openly rejected their martial arts in favor of western practices, to the point where many
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schools closed down, and Japanese bujutsu almost tipped into oblivion. It was through the work of a few dedicated individuals that the image of Japanese martial arts—that of overly violent brutes and bullies, more concerned with fighting each other than moving forward—was completely changed
to what it is today: a noble practice of personnel growth seeped in a spiritual aura—miles away from how many saw it in feudal Japan. Unfortunately, bataireacht had no Kano, Baez, or Kenkichi. Some important Irish figures of folklore studies, like Patrick Lyons or Kevin Danaher, tried to elevate perceptions of the practice, but with little impact, unfortunately. On that note, I will finish with this quote of Danaher, which is still worthy of consideration today: “The great Fighters are gone, this hundred years, and their dust is lying in Kilfergus and Templeathea, Rathcahill and Rathnaseer. They were men of their time; and though it all seems very foolish to us now, they admired strength and skill and courage. We could do worse than they, and we certainly have no cause to be ashamed of them.”14
Maxime Chouinard @ chouinard1
14 Kevin Danaher, “Who’ll Say Boo to a Mulvihill?” Irish Digest 1st ed., Vol. 75 Issue 1 (1962).
Nathan Featherstone @ nathan.featherstone.3
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KALINDA AN INTRODUCTION TO THE TRINIDADIAN STICKFIGHTING ART Rondel Benjamin
THE ART OF KALINDA IS AN ancient art form traditionally played in Trinidad and Tobago during the carnival period from January to February. It is uniquely indigenous to the island but interestingly blended with various elements of visiting fighting arts from other diasporas and cultures, such as gatka from the Sikh Indian traditions and some Venezuelan garrote.
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Stickfighting is heavily influenced by African warrior origins brought here by the enslaved peoples coming from the Mother-Continent. According to the writer Maureen Warner Lewis, the art form in and of itself called “kalinda” began as a ritualized mating dance, performed by the men in the village to the resonating sound of the drums surrounding the encircled space known as the gayelle. The men would challenge each other to the sound of the drum, dancing and performing movements to its rhythms, creating ritual, channeling ancestral power, and competing for the right to choose a woman from the enamored crowd. When the dance became heated, encouraged by the rapture of the drum, these danced battles would erupt into a desire for greater aggression. In turn, the barely contained energy generated would cause the men to be launched into another space where the ritualistic combat would be played out to its bloody end. In modern times, kalinda burst forth from the chains of slavery just like the African people themselves, intertwining itself into the very culture and the people of Trinidad and Tobago. Kalinda and other expressions of a people kidnapped and stolen from their
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homes took root anew in various aspects of the everyday life experience of society. Rural communities such as Moruga, Talparo, Mayaro, and Gran Couva are notable examples of this transplantation. Kalinda is a way of life that embodies the key aspects of African life and traditions encapsulated in this treasure chest, as it were, to be opened by those who interact with it in many ways. The practices and rituals surrounding the game in itself are an experience difficult to imagine because there is almost no experience like it unless one interacts with it in some way. Fighting Styles Examined Trinidadian stickfighting is primarily a combat style that pits two batoniers, or stick fighters, against each other. Competitors are ultimately trying to best the other, ideally drawing first blood from the head. The competitor seeks to deliver skillful shots to the scalp or forehead via a precise strike delivered from a dual-handed attack system. Competitors fight with a stick that is approximately four and a half feet in length and the width of the average quarter or coin. The stick style is unique because fighters hold the stick with both hands and can strike with either hand while also utilizing the
stick to defend against blows. The footwork can be quite athletic and varying in styles, similar to that of a boxer. Other times, it entails more rooted stances with a subtle type of encroaching footwork to close gaps between the opponents to attack and mount defenses. All of these variations take shape in a dance-like manner to the drum’s beat and rhythm, much like its martial cousin, capoeira.
Fights occur in a space called the gayelle—a ritual space at the four-corner junction of the village. The site is symbolic of a crossroad interaction for returning ancestors to re-enter this world. Ancestral worship and recognition are critical components of the art, and the gayelle is one of the elements that facilitate this integral part of the equation.
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Whereas combatants in typical fighting styles face each other in what seems to be organized and timed encounters, with fighters chosen by either an informal or formal referee, kalinda is much different. The energy generated by the beating drum, the excitement of the spectators, the vibe, the energy, and the sheer willpower of the fighters as they enter the ring seeking to manifest their glory or destiny, combine in a volatile way. At times the place feels like it will spontaneously explode in a massive fireball. Fighters may huddle together in the gayelle—multiple opponents at a time dancing to the beat of the drum until fighters recognize that a particular pair is more inclined to do battle with each other than another. They would then dissipate out of the ring and allow the battle to begin. In sanctioned competitive bouts, the ringmasters choose fighters, referees, and judges who regulate the fights and select winners, based on knockouts, blood drawn, or the referee’s decision. Music and Kalinda Kalinda, or “the way of the drum,” is a unique combat art because it revolves around the music. The musicality of the art form requires great study because of its depth.
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Usually, the music is analyzed separately from the fighting art itself. There are particular songs sung around the gayelle called lavways, which can be referred to as the battle hymns of the fighters, echoing the sentiments of the African Caribbean warrior as he prepares for battle and faces his own mortality in the form of an able-bodied terror standing before him. The chantelle sings the songs, whose sensitivity to the vibration around the ring allows him to determine what to sing as he leads the drum section, called bateria. The chantelle also takes the crowd’s pulse, who follow along in a call-and-response system he leads. Three drums comprise the bateria: the buller (bass drum), the fuller (rhythm drum), and the cutter (solo drum). The buller drum plays a very distinct rhythm similar to the gallop of a horse running, while the cutter plays a precise rhythm done in syncopated beats from the buller drum. The fuller drum blends the other two drums, providing a balancing effect to the sound. These three drums primarily make up the section; however, other drums are free to join in and add to the energy as long as the cutter drum is not bothered, smothered, or intersected—all other drummers are welcomed. Traditionally, rum
kegs used to carry and store rum were stripped and used to build a drum. Unfortunately, the practice has since died out, and the djembe drum can be used as a fuller or cutter drum. Still, the best for playing the buller rhythm has a wide bass and bottom. Men often use chac chac (maracas) to accompany the rhythms, offering a mid-frequency sound to the overall rhythm emanating from the drum and bark and call from the chantelle and crowd combined. An equally important point to note in the powerful role of the lavways themselves is that the songs depict various combat scenarios of the warrior himself. Song lyrics revolve around fatalistic topics ranging from telling family members not to allow anyone to wear their clothing when they die, to the recognition and acceptance of jail time for their intended activities. These songs also include ideas that potentially enhance the warrior spirit, promoting within the individual warrior-emboldened ideas about themselves with songs referring to fighters as lions and tigers and even wild, ravenous dogs of war. The songs can even allow the fighter to achieve a flow state, especially with the accompaniment of the drums and chorus sung by the crowd.
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African tradition and rituals profoundly inform stickfighting in Trinidad and, not surprisingly, line up with the spiritual expressions of all other African cultures. Various ritualistic preparations are part of the system to get a fighter ready for his season of combat. There are a series of protocols for preparing one’s body, mind, and spirit for the experience of kalinda well before the time of competition and the fights. These rituals involve ritual bush baths with special herbs helpful in cutting off negative energy accumulated around the combatant. They also provide powers of protection as these baths combine with specific prayers and activities intended to assist the stickfighter in getting ready for war and avoiding death and injury. Ritualistic preparations also surround the creation of a fighter’s stick. First, it is important to note that a fighter’s stick is as significant as a soldier’s rifle—and even more so, as stickfight folklore states that the right stick can even brake or defend against a gunshot. Acquiring your stick from the forest involves going into the forest and receiving permission from the chosen poui tree to acquire its body to make your stick. The person must cut the branch at a specific time called the dark moon.
This time ensures that wood has the least water saturation and is strong in crafting. Upon its final crafting by either the fighter himself or a skilled stickfight craftsman, it can go through a series of rituals and obeah (magic) that can make the stick quite deadly. The stick can often inflict bizarre injuries and even cause death by simply touching or striking an opponent. And it is for this reason that fighters cloak, guard, and prepare themselves with these baths and even say specific prayers before entering a ring to protect themselves against the effects of obeah and other supposed forces that are real threats to a stickfighter. Ultimately, the art of stickfighting is played by the warrior-spirited man of Trinidad and Tobago in defense of his community and his duty as being stalwart to an ancient calling embedded within him. Many warrior cultures have settled here and called this land home. And as a result, men of all races enter the ring now to embrace their warrior spirit and work out their salvation through the church of kalinda. The lure of fame and glory and the spoils of war, such as social acceptance and “fair maiden’s hand”—so to speak—await the celebrated victor of a stickfight challenge. Motivat-
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ed by this force of crowd-shared love, support, and gratitude, men of all skill levels and walks of society enter the gayelle unconcerned about the dangers. Alcohol, a necessary fuel to the fire within the space, also emboldens men to go forth into a “nest of demons,” as it were, and often fall to the blows of a superior warrior. Nevertheless, most times, it is done in the spirit of the game, which ultimately is a test of a man’s mettle and paying homage to the ancestors through ritualized violence, which has a deeper meaning for the community. Deeper Meaning While many may reduce stickfighting to a glorified bloodsport or a battle between drunken old men in front of a rum shop, others agree that this game is far more than naysayers may simplify it to be. Aside from the incredible skill required to practice the art, it is an opportunity for a man to engage his best self. In many instances, the seeking of perfection and calm in the face of adversity, as well as the dance and fight component, lend to a Zen-like quality which instills in a person the need to be effortless in the face of seemingly insurmountable adversity—to essentially be beautiful in the face of all that
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is evil, terrible, and overwhelming; to confront your demons head-on and conquer them not only in actions but in spirit, temperament, and deed. Kalinda calls forth the entire community to stand and witness their champion, bare it all for the sake of the others, and to show exemplary manhood and warriorhood to upcoming youth, planting the seeds of nobility, honor, and respect within them. To defend oneself and community, that is the bois1 man code. Kalinda ultimately teaches about paying homage and honor to one’s ancestors, as the game is powered by a sense of remembrance of the past and those that came before them, and it is a form of reacquiring identity not only for the fighter but for the community at large.
1
Pronounced "bwa"
Rondel Benjamin @ rondel.benjamin
KALINDA INTRO
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The conversation below is part of a larger project of The Immersion Foundtion, for putting two long-term practitioners of martial art traditions in dialogue with each other in order to: 1) push them to explain aspects of their art in greater depth; 2) to push each other to bring out other equally interesting aspects of their art they both find interesting; 3) and finally to find a common ground where these arts or their concepts come together.
Benji: I would like to lay out the structure of what we are doing in the Bois Academy. I think this will allow us to see some of the key concepts and core areas of study that we use. The Bois Academy is a collection of practitioners of the three central kalinda arts. As practiced in Trinidad and Tobago, kalinda comprises stick fighting, also known as the bois, the gilpin or machete or
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LIFE & STRIFE AN ONGOING CONVERSATION Mahipal Lunia Speaks with Rondel Benjamin
cutlass, and a flexible weapon art that covers everything from the six-foot bullwhip to what we call a bull-pizzle, or a short flexible cable. Additionally, there is a series of improvised combat arts, including the icepick, white-handled razor, and bottle. We also have the improvised use of the belt, which is part of the old Trinidadian Police Force, CLS tactics, and the sap. These are arts that the Caribbean diaspora had never articulated as a complete system. Because of our pedagogies and the way we pass information on, sometimes people fail to see the interconnectedness and the structure, whereby they cannot articulate and identify what we are doing as a system. I will give you a classic example. Descriptions of African diasporic arts use the term “games” versus “arts.” Our pedagogical model uses play and layered gaming to create information or knowledge transfer. Because it is gaming, it is nonlinear and not defined by belt ranks. They are not just unconnected individual games but designed with the specific purpose of creating a skill that ensures personal survival.
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I use a real story to elucidate this concept from when I was four years old. I used to go to my grandfather’s uncle. He was a sailor. We called him Achoy, or Great Uncle, a strange name for somebody of Afro-Trinidadian descent. His name and one of the names of our family were Korean, which is Wilson. But when we did the DNA testing, the results came back showing we had Vietnamese and Chinese ancestry. These family members would have passed through Suriname into Trinidad. He learned the kalinda suite. What he would have me do when my parents brought me to visit him, he would keep me on the porch with him because I was the boy. He had me butt his hand, and then every time I butted his hand, he would change the place of his hand, and then he would make corrections. If I butted with the wrong place of my head, he would rap me with his knuckles, and it would hurt. If I butted the right way, he would laugh and reward me. Years later, I found out that he was teaching me the art of the big knuckle, which is the five points of the head that we use. Because you never actual-
[All photos in this article were taken from The Immersion Foundation’s first hoplological expedition to the Southern Caribbean. To access The Secret Fighting Arts of the America, a unique docu-instructional series based on the expedition, please visit: https://immersionfoundation.podia.com/ilf-caribbean-expedition]
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ly butt with the front part of the forehead, there are too many capillaries. Once you butt with this part of your body, it slashes open, and blood runs into your eyes. They would butt with the two top corners, the top of the head and the back corners. Every time I saw my granduncle, I would play the game with him. When I went to school and got into fights, I started butting guys. I realized that I was learning to fight. As I got older, we would play tripping games. He was an old guy on a chair. He tripped me every time I came there, and I fell down and hit my shin. I did not know that he was teaching me knocking, a very
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classic African diasporic game that runs all the way from Louisiana to Brazil. Knocking is an art that occurs from the knee down with the feet or shins to disrupt balance or cause pain. I remember when I was eleven years old, I lived for a while in the States. Then, when I came back to Trinidad, I had an American accent, and the little children would pick on me, which made me really frustrated. My mom sat me down and said: “Listen, this has to stop. So, this is how we’re going to stop it. Every time you see them, you are going to kick them in the shins and run. You are going to kick them
in these two spots. They are going to either fall or scream out in pain. Because you are faster than them, you’re going to run, and when they get tired, you’re going to find them, and kick them again and run. Eventually, at some point, they are going to get really scared of you because you’re not going to stop, day after day, every time you see them, just kick them, and run. By the second week, the principal’s going to call me in. That is okay. When the principal calls me in, I’m going to say, Rondel, you shouldn’t do this. This is wrong. Do not hit other people’s children. The next day when you see them, kick them, and run again. You are going to create a mental mindset, and every time they see you, they are going to give you the space and leave the room. They will want no part of you.” That was my introduction to guerrilla warfare, Caribbean style. When you look at the idea of terrorism, I knew it as a child. It was because I had to fight a gang of six boys who were bigger than me, but I knew if I caught them on their own, and I hurt them bad enough and disappeared, eventually I would break their will because they were not willing to take it as far as I would. That was a game, too.
In these family games, I learned two things: using my head as a weapon and using my legs as a weapon. Then there is the classic Caribbean, what we call a “cowl path(?)”1— which is slapping. Those are the three directions: back, forehand, and behind the head. There was also a game we played as kids we called “clout for clout.” To summarize everything, I have said up to now: we had open-hand striking, the use of the head, and the use of feet. Now that I am old, I recognize that these are games that most children who grew up with me knew. At different periods in a boy’s life, they would learn these things. It could be our older brother, uncle, or your mother who introduced these ideas or games and then left you to explore them on your own. You would then come back and say, “Well, I tried this, and it didn’t work,” and they would make a correction. Our pedagogical model blends skill development with experience but is not classifiable in the traditional martial arts way. That runs right through the gamut of all our combat arts in the Caribbean. The Bois Academy became a place where we started collecting all these different combat forms. 1 Not clearly heard on the recording for transcription [editor].
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Non-Linear Learning Our main objective in the Bois Academy was four-fold: to immerse ourselves in becoming living experts of the culture; to videotape it, archive it, obtain written reference of these forms; to track down lineages, locations, or accounts presented in media, newspapers, or disseminated through popular media, documentaries, videos, cartoons, comic books, or songs; then we seek to disperse it because we believe that with African diaspora arts, there is a tendency for the arts to come under cultural attack in the regions they are from. One
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of the best ways to protect these forms is to take them out of this region and seed them in other locations. That is the goal of the Bois Academy. We then had long conversations with our compadres—our allies— in the capoeira angola community, specifically a guy called Cobra Mansa. He came to Trinidad to spend time with us to visit some of our elders and our teachers. He said we were missing one key: “You have to understand that in diasporic arts we must elevate the
physical, financial, and spiritual environment of our elders and masters.” That is one of the problems with the diaspora. The masters generally were able to pass the information on because they all lived outside of the system. They were what we call in French Patois, “those who live on the periphery of society.” These are generally men and women of lower class or who live in rural communities, who were not indoctrinated by Western education, and who could pass on traditions in their most original form, outside of the control of Western influences. Be-
cause of that, they generally lived in a great deal of poverty and were not recognized. That became the fifth step in the Bois Academy. We then researched and filmed a series of documentaries, competed in international competitions, and really started developing a deep understanding of the form. Then some of the old masters heard of us and came to where we were competing. During the initial phase of this research, we did not have any instruction. We had just watched and applied what we saw. From this time, they began to initiate us,
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because when they looked at what we were doing, they said, “Right, you’re following the old way. You all have the right energy. And we now have confidence that we can open up and teach you.” That is when we came on to the formal instruction in kalinda and gilpin. Because of this, we soon started having a lot of success in the national competitions, and then we came to the attention of the whipmaster. He decided, “Yes, you all are somebody who I can now pass on my family lineage of whip arts.” Once we entered this phase, the Bois Academy became a site that acted as a type of collective of the combat arts of the region. The old masters started showing us things like white-handled razor, icepick arts, and so on. Through this journey, the philosophical opinion of kalinda became clear, and the core concept of creating a safe space to allow persons to experience the mechanisms of liminal transport, and then, doing what we call “pointing,” or helping people return back from the liminal transport system and improve. We believe this philosophical underpinning links to an ancient Fulani concept of be-
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coming a stalwart. Combat practitioners like Dammyé from Martinique, Kalinda from Trinidad, and KoKobale from Puerto Rico were all described by the phrase, “and he became a stalwart.” It is to become somebody of great integrity and character, somebody who can be depended upon by the village and community to seek interest, somebody who was capable at all times of bearing the yoke of oppression and countering it with skill. Not necessarily skill in physical violence, but the ability to navigate peace intelligently, especially under risk and pressure. And this brought a whole new layer to what we were doing. All I wanted to do was to hit people with sticks
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at first. But now, there was this unfolding, this access to a series of technologies and a set of information lying under the surface of what we do, not often articulated but very available. We saw multiple spaces in our cultural forms, where this ethos is expressed at a world-class level of excellence. The mechanism of achieving excellence is through culture because it is so subtle in its expression and easily missed. It made us transform the structure of the Bois Academy into what it has become now. There is a series of eight intersecting circles. One of these is the combat arts. Two is what we call the wisdom school, where what we
set up is a safe space where the elders are willing to share the information and the mechanics of the culture to initiated members of the community. The combat art school and wisdom school spawned a fascinating thing that I think would be very exciting for anybody who understands archetypes. The standard archetypes for warriors and combatants fall within the classic Jungian models of the Lover, the Magician, the Warrior, and the King. We do not
have that model. We have an integrated model of the True Hero, the Dancer, the Lover, and the King. However, it is not the king in terms of a royal king but a king of meritocracy. In the Kongo-Bantu culture, it is the leader of the mbongi, or the sacred space in each village where the village collects and gathers all this information and knowledge overseen by the king of the mbongi. It is not a royal bloodline king, but the king elevates everybody to this sacred
safe space by drawing everybody in the community. Because of his prowess, he keeps the space open because he is not somebody anybody could bully or challenge. This model of the Caribbean man— the joyful, beach-going guy with the shirt open who can sing well, dance well, and is super physically competent, is the same model that Georges Hébert drew on when he designed his Natural Gymnastics. Many people do not know that Natural Gymnastics became the origin of the modern military training method in France. This integrated series of overlapping games came from a man who observed Caribbean people during the 1902 volcanic eruption in Martinique. He saw how capable they were when pregnant women were fleeing the eruption and swam out to a distance of two miles into the sea and tread the water for hours with their children. Western thinkers recognize the archetype in the Caribbean of a certain kind of capability. But the mechanics of how they get to the capability is not quite clear, but Hébert was one of the guys who recognized this. They do a set of different things I call “Geo-Practice.”
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Georges Hébert was a French naval officer from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He also designed what we call obstacle courses and is regarded as the inventor of parkour by some. He also developed this whole health system called the “diagnostic method.” This archetype naturally lends to anybody involved in any form of performance-based environment: being able to access the transcendent self under stress. Performing artists, playwrights, actors find themselves pulled into the skill in the method. Mahipal: Basically, a method of accessing flow. B: Correct. But flow is one step; flow is what we call a “crossing.” After you cross, there is the river, and after you immerse yourself in the river, there is the other side. The other side is where we try to get to. M: Yes, I meant flow as getting into that greater harmony, so that a download happens, and that it is the download that manages this world, rather than you trying to impose on it.
B: Exactly. That is one of the challenges of the kalinda method. It requires access in an altered state before teaching. We do not actually teach people in a normal state and then hope to find flow. We teach them to access altered states and then teach them in an altered state. They return with the download. Because you are not really teaching them, they are teaching themselves. In our pedagogical model, you have to find your dance; you have to find your flow; you have to hear your own drum in your head. We have the combat school, wisdom school, and thirdly the performing arts, or performance school. What happened naturally, as I recognized that all of the people in the combat schools started learning how to heal trauma, this became the fourth school. Plant-based medicine, physical manipulation, and energetic manipulation are natural. This whole healing culture is particular about how they eat, when to fast, when not to fast, what to drink, and what not to drink. The interaction with plants and spirits, which is alcohol, is all sacred and ritualistic and not for pleasure, which is common among
warrior cultures globally. In kalinda, it is done organically and induced from an altered state that is hard to articulate. For example, you tell them, “What plant should I use for this?” They say, “Well, go and ask, and come and tell me what they told you.” All right, and then they will come back and say, “Well, I guess I had this dream.” They say, “Good, then take this, and this, and this.” It is a reverse model and often misinterpreted as vodun or obeah. When someone misunderstands technology, it is perceived to be magic. The Caribbean is famous for its magic. But it runs from New Orleans to Brazil and is systematically applied in a very rigid structure. It is not magic; it is just a technology that is organic and delivered in a mechanism that is so foreign to Western thought and even different from Eastern thought. It does not fit in the two main models of thinking, and it gets discarded. Out of that process, the majority of our students have started engaging with academia. I suspect this is more to do with the founders, myself and Keegan, and our slant, where we wanted
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the world to see the majesty of what we have. We recognized that we needed to help form allies and structure, not to follow the Western model but to allow dialogue to begin with Western thinking. We have five people in the Academy who are working toward their Ph.Ds or master’s degrees. We have a series of steps and a set of research and archives that they can access to start sharing different elements of kalinda with the academic world in order for us to have it recognized for what it is.
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The last in the seven schools inside the Bois Academy is what we call the survival school, where you learn all the survival skills from indentureship and slavery and how to cook and find food in the forests. These are skills for when there is a hurricane or COVID-19. None of these stickfighting elders have any stress. If there is no electricity or no laptops, they go up into the forest; they know where everything is, how to get it, how to construct lean-to’s, how to live just with a cutlass in the woods. One of my principal teachers by the name of David Brown, spent 15 years living wild in the woods, a maroon. His experiences and insights, his survival skills are part of what we are passing on.
The Role of Bantu-Kongo Cosmology The last thing is what we call the initiation school. We have an eightweek program, where we are trying to condense a set of information and skills to present to our initial students to validate whether they can enter the higher schools or not. As in most Kongo or Ba-Kongo cosmological processes, we believe the uninitiated, who do not speak the language, should not learn the inner secrets. That does not mean you cannot use Western thought and language to teach a non-Westerner, but first, I need to teach you the language of kalinda. Kalinda is for everybody, but not everybody is for kalinda. We have to see those who qualify themselves, whose spirit and energy align with kalinda. We believe ritual is its own living thing and the ritual itself protects and guides. Kalinda chooses who she wants or who she does not want. Once they initiate, they can enter these different areas to focus on developing special skills and then lead in those areas. The Westerners here in the 1600s and 1700s could not understand what was going on with the Africans. It was so terrifying to the Europeans that there was legislation
specific to African males having a blade or a stick longer than three feet in all the Spanish, French, and English-speaking territories. Having one meant immediate jailtime. What blew my mind was: why would you jail a slave because slavery is already imprisonment? It means Europeans felt an extra level of discomfort because of how skilled these Kongo practitioners were at their art. And from here is where we kind of step into what we call “Kalinda 101.” What are the eight things that make kalinda unique? The first thing is kalinda, “the way of the drums or Ka-inda, the way of hurt, or the way of harm.” Another way of defining the word is “drumming the hand,” which does not make sense unless you understand that Ka is a portal. We step into it to allow trance and induce altered states. In the kalinda secret arts, music is true transcendental engagement. All kalinda spaces have a musical function. A gayelle, our circle of practice, is not so much a physical space as a psychical-musical space. The drumming and chanting allow people to access what Westerners call “flow.” It allows us to cross the kalunga line, which is a major concept. Kalinda is the one stick art I found in Africa and in the
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Western world that holds the stick flat across ambidextrously. That is a symbolic, metaphysical grip as well as a tactical grip. It allows for dexterity and a cause of intention. It is also a visible reminder of “as above, so below”, which runs right through our region as one of the mantras of the practitioners of our art. We recognize that there is a physical world, but there is also a metaphysical world; there is a world of hard reality, but there is a world of immediate access to ancestral knowledge, which they believe is the reverse of the physical world. Holding up the stick like that means I now challenge you to cross this line, that we both have an embodied guile. It is a portal that allows us to intersect worlds so that we are not only fighting physically, but we are fighting in the other world, too. M: Very hermetic, very Egyptian. B: I actually think it is very Bantu, too. I believe Bantu thought is what influenced what we now call Nubian thought. Nubian thought is what influenced Egyptian thought. So yes, very hermetic. There is a lot of good research that shows how the Bantu peoples became Sub-Saharan. They were not
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always Sub-Saharan. They were pushed into sub-Saharan Africa by the Arab expansion into North Africa. Like in Bantu thought, our gayelles are circular, and so every circle must be built on a cross. This cross has the kalunga line and another line. Each of the four points is related to the speed of daily travel of the sun. Midnight-midday, duskdawn, death-rebirth. It is very Egyptian in every way. We always travel anti-clockwise around the circle in capoeira, dammyé, mani, kokobale, gaga rara. I could go through every art from Louisiana to Brazil, and their core method, physical structures, and the aura of the drums. The way we travel in the space designed with music is almost mirrored. It is precisely the same thing when you see it and understand. When you look at Bantu thought, people do not realize that Bantu-language-speaking communities run from the tip of South Africa up through Central and East Africa. It is so important because when you look at slave records, the first set of enslaved did not come from coastal Africa. They came from Central Africa. It was Ban-
tu language communities whom we brought from the 1400s to the 1600s. From the 17th century to the 1800s, the Western coastal Africans began to sell neighboring peoples. First, you sell your enemies. Much of what we call Caribbean thought and energetics, our forms of spiritual practice, our magical practices, the foods we eat, the way we engage in space is very Central African. When I started recognizing the sacred symbols, we used the new ones: crosses, stars, circles, structures, as well as musicality. The practitioners would mumble things like, “You’re behaving like a real old Kongo-boy;” “You have real Kongo in you.” When you talk about early umbanda circles in Brazil, there was even a Candomblé patio of Angola and capoeira angola. When you talk about Kongo Square in Louisiana, and the kind of old practices of this region, the way they would use feathers, everybody thought that they were copying a Native American Indian. They are not. The Black Indians in Louisiana dress like Kongo fetish war practitioners from Benin, Togo, some parts of Ghana, South Africa, and Nigeria, down to South Africa.
This understanding of the movement patterns and the societal structures matches how we build the Bois Academy. We created the Bois Academy along kalinda’s secret society lines. At the time, we failed to recognize we were organizing the structures along the lines of Kongo practices. Because they did not have regional kings, they had regional village organizations. Even their spiritual beliefs are not like the Orisha, or a belief of the embodied God. You revise the energetic system, the sun, or the energetic system, and you venerate these energetic systems as systems.
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Crossing the Kalunga The next block that triggered us was kalinda’s understanding led to an older word, which is musundi. This refers to how the Africans fought in Haiti and the upper Caribbean. Some early work on the 1500s in Marian Juana Lewis’s book explained the emergence of musindia and rara bands in the Dominican Republic, known as the gaga bands that would train and practice their skills. We started to recognize that in Trinidad, we practice the same art. But we could not figure out why until we found out about the wealthy Haitian planters just before the Haitian revolution. That is something called “seguridad population” in 1790. Just before the revolution, Trinidad told Haiti that anyone who had enough money could come here and be given a lot of land. Pre-Haitian revolution people populated the whole of Trinidad, just before enslavement. Some of the lwa or spirit ways I know were sung in the Haitian revolution and had concepts from Haiti. That is why Trinidad and Haiti have such similar cultural practices, because, in many respects, we are a seed of Haiti. Musundi is really a model for the ecology of practice required for
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kalinda. You take a young boy for training and emphasize movement to build agility. Then teach them to dance, then use whips, sticks, and finally blades and how you progress through relevant attributes both psychologically and physically. Fear management controls body mechanics. There are older capoeira practitioners from Belém do Pará and Maranhâo. They saw the way we trained and said, “Oh, you’re still in a very primordial capoeira,” where they said this is more like batuque. This is the old stuff. We do a lot of head butting and tripping in kalinda. This is phase one. We carry people through that. The next phase is where we have the drum and the mastering of different drumming patterns, the songs, how to use the songs, and the drumming patterns to manage and teach fighters. In our forms, what is called the “little master” or the “small master” are actually the drummers. The drummers can communicate in-flight, in real-time, directly to that deep sense of the person who is fighting. Step forward, step back, move to the left, move to the right without words and cognition. We have this whole communication system built into the Ka, or the vibrational
energy that jumps. For us, drums are not drums. Drums are living things made up of ether and many energies. After we teach kalinda and drumming, we end with drumming as a liminal transport. But to enter drumming as a liminal passport, we have to pass our students. Canboulay is a word often defined as “burning” or “killing,” but it does not really mean that. It really comes from other words, a Kongo word to speak about fire procession. I am sure you know that fire
processions are about cleansing. There is a ritualized cleansing process combined with it. M: The things of this world are left here, and only the pure can enter there. B: Correct! We will not let you cross if we do not set you up to cross. We know that if you are crossing and you are not right, you will get stuck. That is why in native thought, soul retrieval is an actual task of shamans, that peo-
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ple sometimes cross on their own without being induced and initiated in the process. Sometimes you have to go and get them back. What many people call PTSD is in our tradition conceptualized as people who have crossed due to the situation of battle but do not know how to come back. One of our main forms of religious practice in Trinidad is Shango Baptists. It is a synchronization between Christianity and Kongo practices. When we put people into a process for initiation, it is called “mourn-
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ing” or “morning.” You always ascend with a pointer when you go through the mourning ground. A pointer is your guide, but not in the sense that they are carrying you to cross you. The pointer’s job is to point you back home because they know that they can help you cross any boundary. The real hard thing is getting you back and what happens when people cross. They do not know that when they cross, they enter, instead of what we call liminal, the inter-liminoidal. When they start trying to get that feeling
back, they go to drugs, sex, gambling. Those are shortcuts to try and get to the liminal, but they always lead you down the wrong path because you are not purified. You have not been through the fire. The canboulay processes are how we prepare you to cross and how to get you back. It cannot be done by those who do not know, another problem. You cannot read it in a book or watch a YouTube video. M: It is not a four-week course on the internet. B: We teach you to come back, which is really about personal protection and has nothing to do with the stick. It has to do with all these psychic and emotional steps of fear control management, spiritual protection, psychic protection, and then we lead you into this pathway that allows for transport. We help purify and cleanse you to get ready for the next phase. The next phase is, he who has traveled becomes self-aware, he who is self-aware becomes self-actualized, and finally, the self-actualized naturally recognizes the need for communal actualization. You have to return and give it to those who need you. That is where we
help people transition self-actualization into communal actualization. The fancy term in Caribbean literature is African dance society. They recognized very early when they brought Africans to the new world, that if they did not leave them to attend to their spiritual and psychic selves, they would revolt. They would say, “we’re going to leave you alone; you’re going to do your thing. We’re not going to tell you what to do. We’re going to turn a blind eye to what you’re doing.” A lot of what we now call Afro-American behaviors and Afro-Caribbean behaviors were developed in what we call “windows of time.” These windows of time always involve drumming, dancing, fire, and games. One of the things that our research in the Bois Academy is forcing us to do is that we have to rethink what we call a “slave society.” We have to really rethink the position of the Africans in their society. The powerlessness that is assumed, was not there. The cooperation with the process was not what people thought it was. The constant negotiation between the enslaved and the un-enslaved needs to be taken into consideration, and the way
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the society was structured and the structuring of society to promote the actualized self and liberation. That is a big step that people who are initiated in kalinda must understand: the concept of community and how a community really works. We are not talking about democracy or communism. Rituals were actualized and connected to the ease of possessions to lead you forward. Once we walk them through the African dance society models, we train them and provide codes of conduct that are lacking in much of the diaspora community. We can introduce them to our main concepts in the Bois Academy where we call kalinda the source code. Kalinda and canboulay are literally ascribed to be the source of salsa, tango, calypso, bomba, plena, and like every musical form. When you research its origin, those two words come up: bamboula and kalinda. The Caribbean way of being, which produced, for example, the most successful sporting team in modern sport, which is the West Indies cricket team that no one has beaten for 30 years. When you have exceptional conduct, when you produce the first-ever black American to fly, to have a pilot’s license with a Trinidadian, when you look at Kareem Abdul Jabbar, a Trinidadi-
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an, when you look at Colin Powell, when you look at many luminaries, figures of thought in the Western world, who are of African descent. What all these people share is a way of approaching space and a world that has yet to be identified as a methodology, but definitely is effective and it is in clear display consistently. You know, you look at, for example, a lot of the most successful American athletes, and you continually find Caribbean roots, you know, you look at baseball and its successful guys, Cubans, Dominican Republic guys, they all are running on a system of being that has not yet been identified.
The Caribbean as the Birthplace of a Globalized World Trinidadians are a people who have spent the last 500 years under the effects of globalization, multiculturalism, and multiethnic interaction. We have had to tend to many problems for a long time that this world is now running into because of technology. We were forced into very small, confined spaces on the tiny little island where we have had to work through. For example, when you look at Tamil and Madrassi culture from India in places such as Jamaica and Belize, places where you find some of the oldest versions of it. When you look at Caribbean French Creole fashion, the most important cloth is called “madras cloth.” What everyone thinks is the Martinican and Dominican, all these cultures have this patchwork pattern cloth. The cloth comes from Madras or Southern India. On all those islands, there were Madrassi. Madrassi and what we call French culture in the Caribbean is very deeply interconnected in their food, clothes, and their beliefs. When you look at Ja-
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maicans, they are famous for two things: Rastafari and marijuana. Where did those two main ideas come from? The Rastafari? They were highly influenced by the yogis and the sadhus. The marijuana that came to Jamaica came from India; the famous Jamaican concept of the bhang is really a drink that came from India. We have a lot of complexities in our region of culture that are highly interwoven that have produced hybrid cultures. M: I think one of the big reasons the stories get lost is that the influence of the Indian diaspora is not taken into consideration. They were not accepted by either side. B: Well, yes and no: they were accepted, but they were not. There has been an omission, or a degree of acceptance. When they came, they were very accepted. The problem is not the first generation. By the time you have the third generation, it suddenly becomes the enemy. I suspect that has something to do with the 1920s and 30s in India, and how partition triggered off stupid things in the Caribbean, where there was a drawing away from the bonds. There was a new narrative written. Certain thoughts were introduced into some of the elites among Indian
society that drew them away from the lower class Indian culture that was bonding naturally with the Africans. In Trinidad, it happened interestingly. When the British began to pull out, they gave all indentured laborers land. When they gave them land ownership and did not give the Africans land ownership, it automatically created the final divide. Even when they left India, they gave land away to create conflict. They left conflict in place. The war they left is to this day in Trinidad. The two communities are split. If I talk to anybody born prior to 1940, they all grew up in the same villages doing all the same things all together. I talked to the old Indian farmers, and they said they were taught to farm by the Africans because they did not know how to farm. These conditions and the Africans have been here for almost 250 years. There were whole things about the geography, topography, and the plant life that the Africans knew that they taught to them. There was no conversation about Africans not knowing how to farm, Africans being lazy. Then all of a sudden somewhere around 1920, this rift occurred, and then the narrative changed. But because we have been interacting for so long, we have a lot in common.
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Being Trinidadian is really about a way of being. This way of being can only come about by a sense of deep joy and deep play, to come to a place of deep play and deep joy. Games do four things; 1) teach me how to survive; 2) teach me how to heal; 3) teach me how to grow and take on things, to look after things as they grow, make sure it grows right; 4) provide the glue to tie society together. If I do not have these four elements, I cannot have that sense of deep play. Yoga teaches access to alternate states. But yoga does not have risks. Certain types of exercise and movement-based systems can allow us to access altered states, meditations, or whatever. The problem, or the way the kalinda world perceives it, is that they do not then take that state and pressure-test it by playing. This is how it was taught, but it is not a six-week course or an eight-week course. You have to be born into it. But if you are not born into it, then you need to have a long apprenticeship with somebody in that world. Initiation is an investment, so not everyone will be let in. Once you are initiated into our family, if you come to me at any time, I have to see you. If you say, “Benji, the
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police are in front of my house, I just killed my neighbor,” I have to show up. If you are in court, I have to show up. When you are in jail, I have to come to see you every week. “How are you doing?” “Remember what you were taught, find your way back. You made a mistake.” The question is, can you keep accessing this state? Can you fix this in this life or the next because the understanding of the Kongo spiral and what we call the multiverse, ourselves, understanding that our self is not just one cell, that it is multiple cells, and that multiple cells interact with multiple cells that all interact with one grid cell. Each person we teach is part of our cells. We care for them as ourselves. That is very difficult in our modern time. I tell them, “You do not understand. Now we are tighter than blood in some ways,” because the way we see it, we see the strands of the DNA. We say there are two strands. What is DNA? It is information. One strand of that DNA is your genetic strand, or your genetic data. The second strand is the information that you take in from outside your DNA. These two mix over time, and that is how
it spreads. This is the reason the word “guru” is taken so seriously. What the guru does, he is the main processor of that second strand of your DNA. It is a metaphor. I do not want people to think we are injecting something. What “guru” means is “he who removes darkness from me.” That is what it means. When I teach, I take responsibility for that person for the rest of his life; not life, but lives. People do not understand that. If you are trained
in that way, then you understand how significant that relationship is with most people. In the West, they do not get it. They look at me like, what the hell are you talking about? So, I stop talking about it. There are two or three martial concepts that ring deeply true. We hold a stick in this pattern in a cross. Our movement goes along with the cross, the V, the circle, and then when those become dynamic,
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they create the spiral. Our movement system is in those shapes. If you look at capoeira, the footwork is on a V. But sometimes the kicking techniques are on a cross. So, you have X’s on crosses. When you combine X’s and crosses, and they start moving, you have these three-dimensional spirals all occurring in this space where there are multiples of these things going on all at the same time. M: The circle beats the line, the spiral beats the circle, the spiral cuts through the line again. B: Those are very distinctive things. It is one of the things that makes me very curious about the only other stick art that feels that way to me. I was talking to a practitioner of kali in Europe. I reminded him that the part of kali that you are looking at may not be the part that works. He said, “What do you mean?” I said, “Do you know about oracion? Do you know about the tattoos?” He said, “What tattoos?” I said, “You all are practicing kali that’s been passed through a Western filter and organized by Western minds, and not this lifelong bond, where I may show you one thing and then tell you, ‘Go fight,’ and then you come back and you tell me, ‘When I was fighting this happened and I got cut here.’ I
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can say, ‘Right! Because let us work on this now.’” Then the teacher might send you, like Sony Umpad did, to go and spend some time doing cha cha cha. Or go hang out by the bar. With my capoeira mestre, one of the tests to attain the rank of mestre is he would carry you off to get you drunk and tell you to start a fight in order for him to see how you’re going to handle yourself. Those are the old ways, and I am not saying that those are ways we follow now.
Most people buy a martial arts service, so they think, “Oh, I paid you, so this is mine.” I say to them, “Take it, let me see if you can make it yours.” You cannot pay me for kalinda and not drum. I told them, “Do you know the old kali drumming pattern?” He said, “What kali drumming patterns?” If you do not know how to drum the kali songs, then the patterns that they are using in the music, you might miss it. He said, “How do you know that?” I said, “I do not know that, I am
not a kali practitioner. Just when I look at it, it feels very similar to kalinda in a different kind of way, because they are an island people. They have multiple cultural influences like this storm is similar to our storm, but their mix is just different from our mix.” One of the things that has helped me the most is how this has allowed multiple martial art forms from around the world to interact and become visible. Some of the stuff you all have done, for example, with the Māori type of practice, with the jogo do pau, the way they interact with the Bajan sticklickers and the Italian stick fencers. It creates clarity for us because it creates a portal space, that gayelle space where ideas conflict and cooperation occurs. There is conflict and cooperation. It has helped us be more confident in sitting in ourselves and our form and saying, well, this is who we are. We do not need to go to kali to prove that Trinidadian kalinda is good. We do not need it. Kali is a brother art or sister art. We love seeing kali practitioners. Nobody loves kali more than me. But what I do is just as valuable. What the Māori do, which people thought was a performance singing and dancing, is what we do too, sing
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and dance. When I see them sing and dance, I see that they know what they are doing and do not need to explain it. You have to be crazy to do this. I have to be crazy to see as I saw. There is a clip of the Māori working with you. I saw what they were doing with their stick and the way they held a stick with two hands, and I felt at ease. The two-handed approach to combat has relative merit. Other cultures recognize the relative merits, which is different from our merit, but they still recognize it. I do not need non-practitioners to understand it, but other practitioners get me. For example, now I found out about lathi. The way they hold the stick makes me at ease because there is a traditional folk performing arts in Trinidad called biraha. There were four troupes that used to travel around Trinidad, doing martial style plays in little circles with willows, what you would call gungguroo(?).2 It was not kata; it was pre-kata. Inside of that form and the songs were a lot of hidden art forms. When I saw them 2 Not clearly heard on the recording for transcription [editor].
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dancing the biraha, I smiled; I knew what they were doing, even if nobody else knew. When I asked a man in his 90s who knows it, “You were doing this, this, and this, right?” he shook his head and said, “How do you know that, boy? How do you know what I am doing?” I said, “Are you doing it?” He laughed. He said, “Those who have eyes will see, I don’t have to tell you because you know.” It felt good that he recognized my ability to recognize, and we do not say a single word. After, we just smiled. As you must know this is how the East Indians passed on some information by creating these traveling folk troupes with singing, dancing, and performance, but they were not only singing and dancing. I see the model is turned upside down in the east, and this is not something that is well understood here. M: Arriving at the arts, any art, it was the highest offering to a god. The keyword is the “highest offering to a god.” It is not a sense of entitlement where he is a misunderstood artist of the West. He is a struggling artist. No, that is the privilege that you go through, the privilege you are granted to make the offerings to God, but not un-
derstanding that shifts the whole thing. I keep telling people this is my self-expression. I respond, “First show me you have a “self ” and show me the self is able to express itself. Before you dug me out. This is my self-expression.” That is something that may come after a lifetime of hard work.
M: I find it ironic and funny that both of these strands keep going apart, and they disappear for a while. Then guys like you and me come back and say no, they belong together, and start pulling those threads together.
B: It feels comfortable to share your ideas and have people who have seen enough of other forms to help recreate lost connections. This is one of the challenges we have in the Caribbean form. We have a cloudy history. If your history is erased, you become a slate onto which I can write as I want. When they did that, they created a space for us to write anew. Our people took what they had and built new things. Now we have Afro-Indo diaspora arts that are new in some ways. They are not African, and they are not Indian. There is something else. That is part of our deep beauty now.
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[Photo courtesy of Maria Nunes, 2015]
A JOURNEY THROUGH THE MONASTERY OF
KALINDA Keegan Taylor
[Photo courtesy of Maria Nunes, 2015]
KALINDA, ALSO KNOWN AS “stickfighting” in Trinidad, is a martial tradition involving two batonierres, or bois men, competing for warrior supremacy by exchanging licks and blows with skill and strategy in an attempt to subdue or draw first blood from their opponent. I have played the game for more than a decade. I consider myself a diligent student of the game, its methodology, history, and the unique and varied elements making up the tradition.
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Uniquely positioned as an Afro-martial art, kalinda has many roots from the African continent, transported to the Caribbean by the enslaved peoples in the early 16th and 17th centuries. My first encounter with the game was challenging to pinpoint because, coming from Point Fortin in Trinidad, it is common to run into stickfighting in these rural communities. It engrains itself naturally in these areas known to hold and carry on the spirit of our ancestral traditions. My interest in kalinda is rooted in my personal love for music. Bois— or bwa, as it is also known—is rooted in the African tradition and thus is heavily influenced by drumming. And this rhythmic element was one of the major things that drew me to the game. Indeed, many people are affected and seduced by the drumming in kalinda. The infectious rhythms and pulsating beats are responsible for many of the major elements found in the game. I had to learn all of this in my early days of development and exposure to the game with its many fighters and masters. They imparted their knowledge, each with their own unique methods of teaching their skills to me, as I watched, learned, and experienced the game of kalinda for the very first time.
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David Matthew Brown To honestly explain how I learned kalinda, a solid platform to begin this story would be with the few masters I have had the opportunity to learn with over the decade or so I have been in the world of the stick. David Brown, also known as Acid, was a very prolific stick fighter whose smoothness with the bois and his light feet and rhythmic movement made him an enviable player in the gayelle. The gayelle, the name of the ring where fighters meet to compete, was his domain, and he enjoyed putting on
a show for his anxious audience. David’s dance was truly his power. He captivated his opponents with his footwork and charisma before raining down blows of bloodletting force upon the heads of his competitors. I wanted to learn this skill from him. His method of teaching is forever etched in my memory. I am not exaggerating when I say that my journey into kalinda is much like an old Chinese kung fu movie. Seeking out
the master, humbling yourself to his skill, and then beginning your own laborious training was truly the experience I had that directly mirrored these old Chinese classics. David was very easy-going, smiling, and clever during training sessions. Still, you never felt that this was going to be easy. In retrospect, I think he was always giving me a hard time because he wanted to impress upon me that this game
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David “Acid” Brown [Photo courtesy of Maria Nunes, 2012].
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was a brutal bloodsport where one could imagine oneself losing their life in the ring. He did not want me to underestimate the seriousness of the game or my opponent. David first taught me to dance. The term “dance” refers to the rhythmic movement of one’s feet. Stickfighting draws upon and links to the beat of the drum, and the opponent’s position, who likewise is dancing. Finally, it links will, skill, and ability to strategically and effectively deliver vicious blows to your opponent. We initially trained to African songs via CDs by Ella Andell, a famous African spiritual singer. Her voice and music took you into a trance that facilitated the development of the skill and mindset needed for the game. We eventually started training with drummers present. With a musical accompaniment in the background, I made a deep-dive into an immersive experience allowing me to feel an actual stickfight, which I had yet to experience. After getting a handle on the footwork, we moved on to the braking, or defense. In a kalinda bout against your opponent, you are likely to face a barrage of blows
that can kill, disable, or maim you if not defended. Therefore, your first call of action would be to be able to defend yourself. David taught the five basic block cycles, which utilized both hands holding the four to five-foot stick with one hand on each end to create a blocking structure for mounting an effective defense. The angles taught covered the head from an overhead strike and included angular blocks that protected the side of the head and neck on either side and other blocks that covered the ribs on either side. These blocks cover the areas of the body mainly focused on in any attack in a stickfight game. After learning foot movement and blocking, we moved on to the full play of the game. Here at this point, we begin to strike and be struck and ultimately be able to dance, brake/block, and strike as a complete and seamless rhythm in time with the music, drums, and your opponent. This type of coordination is quite taxing on the nervous system, as David’s prancing about in front of you, coupled with his deceptive steps and rhythm, is enhanced by his unorthodox yet beautiful movements. All this
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combined to create devastating effects on his opponents, allowing him to successfully score blows on his unsuspecting victims. I cannot tell you how many times David would have hit me in the early part of my development, but I remember breaking a finger and still having to train with it despite the pain and immobility this injury offered. David showed little to no mercy. It was then I knew I was no longer in a traditional dojo or martial arts class. This was lifeand-death training, and I was in the middle of the jungle with a real lion hungry for food. With little opportunity to back down, this constant pressure aided in developing a rugged mindset that allows competitors to walk into a ring to fight someone, defend against deadly blows, and have the fortitude to deliver them. The songs or lavways sung around the games to the beat of the drum prepare the proper mindset.
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Kali I also have to mention that my study of kalinda took me to the remote countryside village of Moruga, where I met David, but I also encountered other stickmen who each had their own unique skills. After training with David, I met a fighter named Carl Kali Swamper. Kali was a truly dashing rogue if I had ever seen one. Shrouded in the mystery of being a famous fighter of old and being feared for his out-of-the-ring criminal antics, I was determined to learn this boxing-like technique he brought to the game. His footwork and the way he approached the game were quite different from David’s. Upon being granted a training session with Kali, I was privy to his training tips that have stayed with me to this day. Interestingly, Kali and I never faced off in mock battles in his preparation of my skill for the real gayelle. It would always be some unfortunate teak tree in the forest that would be my op-
ponent. I would deliver countless blows onto this tree during our sessions as he sat nearby, instructing me on my hitting methods. His approach was very methodical, as he explained very intricate tactics and strategies that opened up the game’s complexity for me. He created plays drawing on elements of human psychology and physiology embedded in the system. We created plays and anticipated human behaviors with footwork, faints, and pseudo- strikes to eventually create situations where an opponent would be set up like a chess pawn to be hit and cut by the style Kali played. We dubbed it the “hummingbird style” because the footwork was similar to a hummingbird traversing the air with the sole objective of sinking its piercing beak into the flower of blood that is my opponent’s skull. Kali’s hummingbird technique also relied heavily on drums; yet, his method called for one to find their own rhythm during the game and create chaos and confusion with off-beat strikes, building pressure on your opponent to induce failure.
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Keegan & Kali
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Left - David “Acid” Brown [Photo courtesy of Maria Nunes]. Right - Kali (top) and Keegan with Congo Bara (bottom).
[Photo courtesy of Maria Nunes (left) and JP.Production Studio, 2020 (right)]
Congo Bara To diversify my technique and acquire as much knowledge as possible, I simultaneously sought out the training and expertise of an old grandmaster of the game called Congo Bara. Congo was an old man in his 70s who possessed a hardcore approach to the game. His style was almost devoid of dancing. It was very direct and reminiscent of the old samurai drawing/cutting styles that would get you cut down with one or two very straightforward yet powerful strikes. His teaching method was
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less formal than the other players I learned from in my early days. He told stories about how he would have approached cutting a man in his days. You would be wise to listen, watch, and learn from these stories because, in reality, they were table-top reviews of masterful plays that were quite detailed and a remarkable display of his memory and prowess. Unlike David in his rural backyard and Kali’s forest training, many of these stories and teachings I learned in the comfort of his living room. Still, it
was no less impactful, as he taught the power of the crawl. This intimidating footwork style involves a steady and consistent control of space as one advances in a straight line towards the enemy, striking at the most opportune time during the advance. Psychological methods intended to induce failure to block by the opponent during such advancement were one tactic. I would obtain much of my psychological warfare training during these training sessions.
Congo Bara did not believe in mercy and often quarreled with me for not approaching the game with enough desire to hit and take out my enemy in front of me. Initially difficult to grasp in the early stages of my development, this would become a valuable strategy as I grew in the game and even in my life afterward.
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Stokely A lot of my style and tricky nature was learned from the “Thief,” a.k.a. Stokely. Stokely was another older gentleman in his late 50s to early 60s, considered the best of the older heads. He was unanimously considered the best dancer, was very fast, and was equally deadly in delivering blows to his opponents. Stokely based his teaching method on his “Thief ” footwork pattern. Once you mastered it, you would hardly have to deliver blows, as your footwork was almost like a spider’s web. If you were good at it, you would inevitably be successful in seducing your opponent with a display of footwork that would eventually set them up for a busted head just by the way he would dance and place you into position for cutting.
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I must admit that, in my early days, learning the timing from Stokely was very difficult because I considered myself to have two left feet, but kalinda was able to improve my timing and footwork. Solo practice and time gave me the gifts I possess today, allowing me the ability to combine all of my learning from these masters I have been fortunate enough to meet. I am inevitably grateful for the meeting, training, and learning from these amazing fighters, as they each possessed unique skills and qualities necessary for success in the dangerous art of kalinda.
My work now is to sort out and understand the true nature of what I have learned and to be able to combine the skills imparted to me by these masters. More importantly, I have to truly understand what it means to me as a whole and assimilate the knowledge to combine with my own natural, in-built attributes. There have been many other teachers that I have learned from, with much of it being very indirect. Observing players fight against other players and listening to the many wonderful stories told within the fraternity were also quite educational. Observing
the game around the gayelle is also quite instrumental and a key element in learning as well. If all lessons had come from the gayelle or even the training grounds, I fear I may not have lasted this long to tell the tales on account of the danger of the game itself. Nevertheless, I remain grateful and open to the many lessons that the game has in store for me and the other methods and platforms that will continue to reveal themselves to me in my development in the Monastery of Kalinda.
Keegan Taylor @ keegan.taylor.96
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WARRIORHOOD A DEEP DISCUSSION
Mahipal Lunia Speaks with Keegan Taylor During their interview with Michael J. Ryan, Keegan Taylor and Mahipal Lunia discuss the dangers of digital forms of teaching martial arts and their play with live cutlasses during the Barbados expedition.
Keegan: Children are coming up with a different kind of thing now. My son is a very good example of the average kid. The average kid is about our average when we were coming in. Looking at their minds, they can still play, they can still go outside, they can still have fun and interact with stuff outside. But they also have an almost as equally big or even bigger appetite for the digital world, digital space. That combination between the hungers for those two worlds is creating a new landscape for learning. I say that to say that games like stick fighting and some of these traditions: we have to find new ways of passing them on that can be applied in the real space. Real space is still fun. I was in a drum session two days ago and I was wondering, how can I digitize this? I can see digitizing almost every other experience, even the sexual experience. But I do not know how we are going to digitize what drumming and all that does. Whereas you might hook up some neurons in your brain and feel excitement and your heart pounds, there is so much we do not know about drumming. You may be able to begin synthesizing that experience. In the same way, things like Kalinda and stick fighting and oth-
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er traditional stuff, what I know in terms of my culture. But there are other things as well that we think it is necessary to pass on as an art form. I think things are being passed on in the real world in real time. Yet it is being affected by two things. First is the current generation’s responsibility in instilling information and finding new ways to instill it. Secondly, the actual usefulness of that information to the next generation and how they think about that. According to my philosophy on that knowledge, a lot of the stuff that we are doing now is not going to get us to where we need to go. Children already know that. How do I give you Kalinda if you are starting to write your own script for the future? Do you think it is important for Kalinda to be there in your new digital, or whatever world that is coming? I think it is. But is it really? That is just my personal philosophy. Mahipal: I hear you. Let me add a thing here. I think digitization is great. But as you know, when you go into the world of the digital, it is zeros and ones. There is something very primal and something really great about the analogue experience. Whether it is Kalinda,
[All photos in this article were taken from The Immersion Foundation’s first hoplological expedition to the Southern Caribbean. To access The Secret Fighting Arts of the America, a unique docu-instructional series based on the expedition, please visit: https://immersionfoundation.podia.com/ilf-caribbean-expedition]
or Shastravidya,1 or any other art, usefulness is important. But so is physical and ancestral archaeology, at least the way I think about it. It is a way of connecting with the ancestors in such a rich way that when we lose that, we also lose who we are and where we are in time. The danger of digitization, 1 Shastravidiya is combative system from Northwest India. Written records mentioning this art go back to the 16th century. However, oral traditions give it a much earlier origin date. Shastravidiya should not be confused with Gatka, a martial art from the Punjab and practiced by the Sikh.
and I say this as I am watching my little girl here. Like you said, the new generation is far smarter than we were. But the danger is that everything is digital, it is very easy to lose track of who we are and where we are. It is easy to get lost in everything else. Without a firm standing of - Boom! This is who I am, and - Boom! This is where I am, and Boom! When my head breaks open or when my skin is torn, and this blood comes out. It is real. There is something very human, very visceral; something very ancestral. It teaches you courage. Courage in
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the absence of challenge is not really courage. If we lose courage, I think something is lost. Those are my thoughts. I would love to hear what you think. K: Yes, definitely. I think I appreciate that, Mahipal. As I told Michael earlier, when you asked me what my thoughts on the trip were before and then after: what do you guys get to nerd about martial arts at our level? I mean, Benji and I would go on for years. We would be driving to one place or another for three hours. We would talk about a range of things, including martial arts. He was the first person talking about the idea of Hoplology to me, about people going to places and studying warriorhood. I was like, “That was an actual thing?” Having these kinds of discourses, it triggers other aspects of me. I do not get opportunities like this on a daily basis. Coming back to the point, I was in a drum session two nights ago. The things that happened to me there, I am telling you, there is no way that I could see that being digitized. Not even the greatest ability of AI could reproduce what happened. Not what I felt, but what happened to me. I was transformed in one night. The person talking to you - if we had spoken before that, it would be a different conversation.
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M: I hear you. Maybe you did not want to go here, but I am going to take you there anyway. Because in some ways when there is something visceral and blood comes in, I think it also wakes something else up. I am not sure that can be woken up digitally. Let us bring it down to earth. Look at even something as simple as a mass. You hear a mass on a television set or audio. You can feel something, but in the presence of somebody who actually is doing the mass, and they actually understand what the mass means, including the ritual murder, if you will. It evokes something entirely different. That understanding only comes very viscerally. I do not think it can come digitally. This is my thinking at this stage. Things may change 50 years from now. That visceral, that blood, that sweat, and that fear, the real fear that your stick may break and open your head. It does something else. K: The direction that this is going is a question about what humanity is. Definitely, we exist in different states or forms. I am not even talking about crazy Star Wars things. I am talking about who I am as a person with my thought patterns. It is independent, but it is also subject to my physical flesh and the way that I feel. These
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things are opposing, because feelings and emotions are part of me as a being. You sit down in this flesh body, and there are things that are going to be there, even when you leave: the drive, the energy, and the emotions. I am marveling these days at how marijuana is amazing. It is interesting how, when you feel a particular way, a very definite amount of data can be correlated by a mind in one way. When you are feeling another way, you can come up with a whole next equation with that same data. It is telling me something about what it means to be human in the flesh.
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M: I completely agree with you. This is where I was going. When you get into the digital world, you are entirely in the realm of the neocortex. When we are actually dealing with physicality, we are getting into the cerebellum. This is where how I am, how my body proper is in space, how it is in this geography, changes. Just activating the frontal brain is great. It can give you interesting ideas, send you on trips, but if the body does not go along, then what the hell! K: This is exactly where I am in my thought and in my research. Let me
bring it all back to the experience of the martial arts. For example, this is a big one for us: the advent of the Zoom sensei or the Zoom instructor. One of my colleagues seems to be doing a good job at excelling at Zoom by having a very simple setup with a thriving Taekwondo school. I think it is scary because that could become a norm. This could mean that there is a lot to be lost in translation. These are the things that we are talking about right now. I feel like that is literally what we know we lost from 100 years ago because things always have to change. Things that benefited and maximized the human experience; some of it had to be let go. This is where I am coming to. Let us say, for example, COVID. Let us just say people stop shaking hands 100 years from now. What will be the reason for that? Because 100 years ago, people got COVID partly from shaking hands, but then what would be lost is that we know the feeling of an embrace when you come up from a party. People are going to be looking at us, my kid might be like after 50 years and be like, “Dad used to hug and get sweaty for Carnival.” “Oh, my God, eew!” It is like looking back at Woodstock and be like, “What’s going on there? All you free-love types.” But we know
things have been lost. It makes me think about what the Egyptians in the ancient times knew about that was so everyday and commonplace that it has been totally lost to us now. That is why I am saying the human experience. That is just where my mind is, it is not like I am finished with the thought process. This is where the ideas are bouncing around. M: I agree with you. The way I see it, I think the danger is in everyone thinking they just have to look at video instruction. For example, you can get just about any art in the world for 20 bucks, you can get a tape on it, and you can, quote unquote, “Learn from a world-famous master.” If it is really that easy and that simple - that just activating the front of your brain with a digital thing gives you skills - then everyone would have improved tremendously. You do not find that to be the case. The reason for that is I think your frontal brain, which is doing the strategy, the tactics, the fantasies, if you will, it is living at one speed. If the body does not live with it, if that integration does not happen, you will not enter into a state of flow. If you are not happy with the flow, you are not going to fight; you are not going to be able to live.
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K: We can really get deep into some of these mythologies. For example, let us take two fictional ideas: the idea of the Jedi warrior and the idea of a supreme AI soldier of some sort, whose abilities have been enhanced by nanotechnology of some sort. Those two characters just came to mind because of our conversation. What is the lived experience I am having now? What if your whole memory is wiped like Jason Bourne, but your skills are still intact? We know this happens because the brain-body has started learning. There is an added advantage when it is time for the body to act, when the brain and body come together. I was meditating on this about two nights ago. There are things I learned from my teachers that they literally did not teach me. It is just the way they said, “Do this,” and then they would hold my leg a certain way, or they would touch me a certain place and say, “Do that” without saying it with their mouth. I learned from King Kali. But I learned from most of the people I was around. But why I say I learned from Kali is because we spent a lot of time together. When we would go places, I would just retreat into myself and watch him like a movie, and then both
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knowingly and unknowingly started practicing his mannerisms. The way he spoke to people, the woman, the children, if he had to be upset before he was upset, what were his triggers. Being able to look at that informs literally everything I took away from a stick fight or that I was conscious of. M: This is where the danger of people who are just thinking and making maps and models of everything is. They missed the meat of it. What happens is, they think they figured out what a map or a model is, but they do not understand the physicality and the intentionality involved. K: In Barbados, we tested our martial arts. Could we now test what you are talking about? This body’s infused cerebral connection versus a skill-based connection? Could we test those two human beings: the person who is physically and mentally realized and the person who is absolutely mentally realized? It is the way I feel. What is the meat? M: What I am saying is this is one of the reasons we started the Hoplology expeditions. There are way too many armchair experts, who basically can figure out and say, “Okay, this is what this art does,
or this is what that art does.” Or this is what this teacher can do, or that is what that teacher can do. They are very good at criticizing, because their mental model only shows them a very small aspect of what they do. But like you said, part of learning is being with that ancestral knowledge, with those teachers. It is not what they show in a class or when they are fighting, but what you absorb from everything around them. That cannot be gotten from a videotape. That cannot be gotten from trying to map out and say, “I have built a model of this.” You have to live it. Everything that has light will also have darkness. Everything that has dark will also have light. The problem is the guys who build these models; they only want to model the light and not understand that the thing that builds, that light is coming from that place of deep darkness. The closer you get to light, the greater your shadow. The moment they try to break it out, they start the process of judging: this is good, this is bad, or this is how it should be done. I will do this better, blah, blah, blah. They lose the whole structure of what made things come alive.
K: I agree with that 100% because it is just recently I realized that it is like asking yourself, “Keegan, do you know that you are a shitty person? You know that you are the bad guy in someone’s story? Do you know that you hurt people? Do you know that you have fucked up? You have gone on stage and performed horribly. You did shit in a stick fight.” But you also did great in stick fight, you also did great on your stage, you are also amazing to people, you are also the hero in someone’s story. Where do I get off in changing or judging which version of Keegan I love? I can do that. But I could also accept the totality of myself, and then understand the true power of it. Some of the things that I am able to do come from the so-called fucked-up-nature that I at times assume. Some may say, “Man, you are a bit too intense, bro. Why cannot you just take it down sometimes? Why do you always say things like that?” But the way I would just say something very bluntly and not realize how hurtful it probably was is also my ability to run in front of something that someone else would not run in front of. In a verbal way, it is expressed as me being blunt. But in a physical situation, it is reflect-
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ed in how I might be a couple of ticks faster than the average person when it comes to being tactical or responsive. That is what I am. I accept that ugly, dark space. Those ugly things that we do not like about ourselves, I think it all comes back to what we were saying about the teachers and absorbing things that make things work. When we go deeper into what we are talking about, we are going to start understanding what really makes people tick, operate, and be able to execute certain types of martial arts. In your Hoplological journey, you have seen cultures, and not necessarily martial arts alone, am I right? M: 100%; it is not just cultures. I also see what most of polite society might call the dark side. Everyone pisses on fighters until their village is attacked, then you are worshipped. In times of peace, you look down on them. But yes, you are right. You have to look at the culture. You have to look at the relationship with violence. I was talking to Michael one time, and I said that one of the most beautiful moments in Barbados was when you and I both played Gilpin. You did not know me, I did not know
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you. Here we are in some other bloody foreign country. We are like, okay, let us feel each other out. You remember that, Keegan? K: That was an entire topic before you came online. But yes. You know, I would love to talk about that again with you. M: I will tell you my experience of it. There were times when Keegan cut me. There were times that I cut him, and both times, we tasted the mythical blood. I do not know if Keegan remembers that. I remember it like yesterday. There was also both a respect, and a sense of, “Okay, this is interesting.” I think the game with Gilpin bonded Keegan and me more than anything else. That was very dark, because he was calling his gods and I was calling my gods, and he knows what I am talking about. K: This is why I am saying, Michael, that there is only one way for you to really understand what happened there. That is for us to talk about it. Because the things that happened there were the beginnings of something else for me. As I said before you came online, Mahipal, I was getting to know you just as much as I was getting to know me in that moment. It
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was closer to a sweet Capoeira game for me, and I have never had a sweet Capoeira game. Meaning my body and my physicality has never allowed me to express what I have been able to express in other art forms. What I see others get out of a really great Capoeira game in Brazil. That whole flow. I have been able to taste a few different alternate realities. Just simply marijuana and some mushrooms. Both can be very extreme experiences. I am sure there are others. But you see flow. The most difficult question to answer in stick fighting is, “Why do you play stick fight?” I have come to understand that is just like asking, “Why do you play blades? Why do you do that?” I think the primary feeling is because this is where my soul can access flow in the highest from. You run to that drug, because of the places where you can have that unique flow, that unique thing, especially, if you are a warrior, or are interested in bloodline; this particular chemical concoction that is only found from the practice because my genes are spliced to react to this agent. That is why I receive a certain type of flow that draws me to play stick fight or draws me
to do Dambe boxing, or Laamb,2 or whatever. That is it. For me, on the beach - I need to think about that, because things are happening even now. M: This is what I was saying. I think a part of that flow is also us being able to access what society calls a dark path, or a dark part of ourselves to bring that out, where you are cutting the guy’s neck and you are drinking that blood, so to speak. You cannot do that in normal society. Yet it is a part of who 2 Dambe is a recreational fist fighting competition of the Hausa people. Competitions are held regularly in Nigeria at present. Originally, Dambe was restricted to butchers and fishermen caste members but now are more open. Dambe matches at present consist of three rounds of no set time limit in duration. A round can end in a number of ways: if someone is too injured to continue; if there is a lack of activity; if a referee calls a halt to the round; or if a body part other than the feet touch the ground. Laamb from Senegal is a form of traditional West African wrestling permitting strikes with the hand. The goal of a bout is to lift the person up and dump the opponent outside a given area It is now considered a national sport and has garnered a large audience of fans who watch the bouts in person or through other forms of media.
we are going back tens of thousands of generations. We are proof that our ancestors survived. It was not all hugs and loves and singing Kumbaya. I assure you of that. I think the more we access that memory, the more, by modern standards, people will say, these guys are unethical, or these guys are violent, or these guys are this, or these guys are that, but it is very special when you run into somebody else, who has also awoken that part of themselves and that part of that ancestral memory, and found a way to express it and honor everyone who came before. For me, that was magical. I was telling Dr. Ryan, I said, “Dr. Ryan, that was very special, that was very intense, it is not something that happens every day.” K: To me, that was such an unscripted event. That moment was so significant in our lives. Yet it was so insignificant in terms of us not looking out for that. It is like it almost did not happen. It was powerful because we, you, and I, had an exchange the day before, in the ruins. We were sharing and we were talking a few things. We did lay hands on each other; we did a few things. You saw me and I saw
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you in our own ways. The following day was quite dangerous, I think. It was dangerous because it was two egos. By ego, I do not mean arrogance, but I mean it was two people who were really serious people in their own rights, and who did not know each other. There were a couple of human beings in terms of this intellect sitting encased in the flesh. The flesh in itself is seeing things while the intellect is seeing other things on that beach. Now the beach is significant too. Where we did this stuff is significant as well. What was happening, I know you mentioned calling on the gods and all of these things. I remember it happening physically in my head. But I knew for a fact that having the blades in my hand, and having that conversation with you, felt like a Capoeira dance that allowed me to reach a state of flow, that allowed me to just sit back and look at myself, that allowed something new to be accessed in me for the first time. I think other than in practice, and with Benji, that was the first time I had ever fought with anyone with blades, period. What made it significant is that you are not just someone. Sure, it was not a fight to the death. But it was serious. I know it was serious because of what happened afterwards. I can tell you about some
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of the stuff that happened there. There would be a time where I will be feeling myself. I will give you a cut. You will be like, “Oh,” and I feel myself again. I will be like, “Okay.” So, there was that. I came here to dominate. Then I was beautiful, not dominating. Then I got to dominate again. I know for me; I personally love excellent sportsmanship. I love to see beautiful warriorhood. That is what it was. M: That is what it was. Because even though we both got into that place of dominating and saying, “I will live, and you will die,” there was still deep respect. I was telling Dr. Ryan why that moment was so significant. Michael was like, “Oh, I just remember a little bit of it. Why was it so significant?” I said, “No, that was one of the highlights of the whole thing.” It was so much in the flesh. K: To juxtapose, the scene with Benji3 did not happen the same way. I think Michael had asked me 3 Benji and Keegan played Gilpin on a parking lot the morning I arrived while most of the crew was scouting a location for the days filming. I was amazed and fascinated seeing the two men play with a pair of short machetes in each hand using what to me evoked a very African way of moving the body.
what had happened, and it was difficult to explain. But it makes sense, because it was when you are dealing with blades it is always more than blades. I think blades, sticks, and stones literally invoke some of the most primal emotions in someone. For the wielder as well as the person who is about to receive the threat. It kind of breaks it down to brass tacks. I do not want to seem like the guy who jumps off the building and says, “I do not believe in gravity,” but my brother, gravity believes in you. That principle I think is what martial arts does for us. It allows that visceral learning of this physical realm that you are in. M: I think it also does one other thing. As I am thinking about that day on the beach, I think it is what separates men from boys. K: Pretty much. In today’s PC culture, though, what is a man? Because there are different types of men, you know that, right? Mahipal, you have become a bit toxic there. M: They can call me toxic; they will call me toxic until someone attacks them, then I will be their favorite friend. But you know what I mean, between men and boys. The boys,
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they become experts at telling you what they think you are doing. But they can never do it. They will never put their skin in the game. What men do is, they actually put the skin in the game first. The understanding comes after putting the skin in the game. What boys do is they want to understand, build maps of things. What they will also do is, “Oh, I already understood this, so I do not have to do it.” And they move on to the next thing. But if you are talking about warriorship, the warriorship will not exist until you have men. I know in this PC world, it is not good to say, “Be a man,” but I will say, “Hey, man, be a man and be a woman and be a whole man be a whole woman.” If you do not like that, do not listen to me. K: That is simple. It is about the transmission of these energies in the new space that is being constructed. It is being constructed at a very quick rate. Teachers, and digital archivists like us need to find a way to preserve certain experiences. At least that is how I feel. I feel like I just want to create a nice way to feel the past, or the things that have been lost. I think virtual reality technology is something that is interesting. Now bear with me, you
guys, I do firearms training. That is an area I focus on. I had not been to the range for quite some time. I went over to a friend’s house, but I do my practice at home. We put on the VR, played this game. It is basically a shooting game where these robots are coming up to you and you have to be in weird positions. You open a room. It is not like you have this toy gun. That is physical. You are in a real scenario. I was able to perform kind of good at the game, in the first go. He was like, “Wow, you did really well at that on the first time you did that, how come?” I was like, “Well, yeah, I kind of understand the game.” But what I was more interested in is the fact that I was able to create a good score; while my brain knows it is not a real threat, VR has a way of being really, really real sometimes. How do I translate an art form like stick fighting or some kind of thing where the physical feeling can still be there? All the stuff we are talking about where we understand the physical spiritual penetration is still required. I am guessing, as I said before, the kids that I know are being exposed to the digital, yet they still want the physical realm. But the digital realm has to keep up.
M: But I think that the digital should follow the physical, not the other way around. If you just take the video game metaphor, what happens when you get shot? You take stupid chances, you get shot, you die; you just reboot the game. You have not learned consequence. What happens if you and I fight, and you do a stupid mistake? There is a consequence, there is going to be blood. What that blood will do, what that blood does, is it actually gets you thinking better. This is the old brain and the new brain coming together. If we just train the new brain, it is very easy to get lost in the fantasy and lose touch with the body. I think the AR and the VR, they have a role to play. They are nice things to do skill enhancement. But skill acquisition has to be in flesh. K: Is this something that you see as a breakdown that already exists? Or can we say that these are the elements for a white paper or thought study on this kind of digital-meets- physical-flesh type of thing in the whole training industry? Does this impact us? How? For me, it is a significant thing. M: I think these are just thoughts that I have been developing since
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this COVID nonsense started. With a lot of the Zoom lessons happening, and people talking about, “Oh, we will study this over Zoom.” I kept fighting it because I said, “What Zoom will not teach you is feel.” I think about it this way. It is very simple. It is as simple as this. It is all adults listening too, so I will just say it. You can watch all the porn in the world, but it is still your right hand that is your best friend. When you are with a per-
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son, you actually feel that. There is an emotion. There is a touch, and you grow old together. You may not have the same bodies, but there is still something real. That is the difference. K: That is the difference. Holding on to that wildly human experience and not forgetting that that has value, too. M: I think a lot of people shun violence. A lot of people shun the war-
rior ethos. They just want the good part of it without the bad. What is good and what is bad is redefined in every generation. K: I want to say something. I feel like I am a sub-average consumer of general world content. For example, I frequent Instagram, I am in touch with the so-called things. My headspace in terms of entertainment and culture, I can really be average in terms of my thought. I can tap in and, if I were to classify what you guys are seeing right now, I would say that is so not where the culture is going right now. To hear you say to me, as a warrior myself, who is functioning in our non-warrior world, it felt like a bit of a reminder even to myself. I would love to say, “Yeah, I know this already,” but when you hear it and it resonates a certain way, it means that you know it already. But did you? Are you guys putting that shit on the shelf too long? At the end of the day, you are right. Kids need to breathe and to feel. Like my kid had an experience the other day with blood and being hurt. I realize that seeing your kid go under some kind of physical pressure is always difficult. There is no better feeling than seeing who they are. It does not mean that
they come out of it looking like a ninja versus them falling apart and crying like a kid would. Just seeing who they are in that moment is something in itself. I was lucky to see my son deal with it when a curtain rod came down on his head and busted his head open. He did not know it was that serious. He was continuing to play and then the blood started running. When he realized what was going on, he shut down. He is trying to be this character that he was creating from watching Spider Man. I was like, “Son, you have to be strong.” Then, at that moment, he just cried out and went crazy for probably 45 to 50 seconds. For the rest of the time until they put the plasters on his head, that little kid was a soldier. I was like, “Yo,” I could not help the pride that I felt in him. Just the other day, my friend lost his daughter. That kind of stuff. It really deals with you differently. It caused you to think of your own circumstance. Why is it that kids have to feel suffering? Why do they have to go through the things that they have to go through? M: Because it reveals who they are: if we do not have shit done to us, if you do not know what deep betrayal is, you will never
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know what true love is. If you do not know what deep pain is, you will not know what deep pleasure is. If you do not know what it means to have your world broken down for you, or to you, you will not know how to reconstruct it. I think when the stuff happens 99% of the time, you have no control over what is happening to you or why it is being done or who is doing it. A kid dying; cannot have been through that, there is no logical explanation to it. But in that moment, something is revealed in you. I think we go through this period of intense madness, and that madness either extinguishes you, or you come out stronger. I think it serves a purpose. But then again, somebody else might not get it. That is the way I see it. K: That is an appreciated way. It does not help that I am also a subscriber to the warrior ethos. We are kind of encouraging each other’s ideas here. But I know for me, having a deep introduction like that to my son built my bond to him, knowingly or unknowingly to him. Despite that moment being ugly, I met my son in a deeper way. M: You got to know him beyond the mask.
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K: Yes. I have thought of him and the idea of him deeply, especially over this week. My son loves to play superheroes and dress up. I actually think he believes that he is heroic. He believes that he has to recover from a situation. When you see things happen, he cries, and he falls, and he gets up, he rubs, he goes back into like a super serum recharge. He is four going on five, but I have been seeing that coming up now. I wonder how much of it is nature versus nurture. Or is this the type of soul that has been downloaded into this body? There is definitely strength there. M: Big Questions. Save that for a nice bottle, and when we come down to Trinidad, because that conversation will go on for a while. K: This is real. And this is one of the best ways I have spent a Saturday evening in a long time. Needless to say, I miss you guys.
This converstaion was originally featured in Strands of Strife and Life Vol. 1 - South Caribbean Fighting Arts (2021) by The Immersion Review.
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RECLAIMING THE MAGIC OF THE
CHINESE STAFF Scott Park Phillips
THE FIGHTING STICK IS the magical weapon of Sun Wukong, the wild-enchanted monkey of China’s religious theater tradition, worshipped and adored by people of all ages. Sun Wukong is an Indian yoga master much like Hanuman and a Buddhist initiate, who achieves enlightenment, and whose name implies opposites—a
dumb-vain personality and a sage emptiness. He is the model of an Iron Body Master, a form of training that makes the body impenetrable and indestructible. Sun Wukong’s staff is the weapon of the fighting Chan Buddhist monks of Shaolin Monastery. Shaolin was an austere religious institution with a large orphanage and
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a public theater. Performing arts troupes regularly visited to perform at regional festivals and in hopes of acquiring a few trained “little monkeys” destined to become actor-acrobats. This explains why monks who took vows of non-violence also became experts in martial arts. In the boring version, the staff was initially a walking stick with a bell at one end used for collecting alms, but there is a story—the staff was the first weapon wielded by the god Vajrapani, or Thunder Hands. He was secretly working in the kitchen at Shaolin when it came under attack by bandits; he grabbed a long hot poker from the hearth and joined the fight. But more likely, the fighting stick came from comic theatrical performances of drunken, sex-loving, meat-eating monks who also happened to love fighting. This performance tradition predates Shaolin Monastery and is an apropos example of life imitating art. Sun Wukong appears to be a characterization of such a monk. His fighting stick is a cosmic chaos-creating penis. His epic, Mon-
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key’s Journey to the West in Search of Enlightenment, under-shadows the improvised sexually explicit version, which troupes performed after midnight to crowds of men known as “bare sticks.” The term “bare sticks” (guanggun) refers to the penis of an unmarried man. Unfortunately, before the 20th century, about 20% of the male population would never have an opportunity to marry because of burdensome dowry and concubinage obligations. Bare stick was a de facto legal category that included monks. By law, bare sticks received more severe punishments for comparable crimes. They were, as a rule, an unruly bunch. The word for stick/staff/cudgel (gun) also means “scoundrel” and is the likely origin of the American slang, “goon,” which is pronounced the same way and only came into use in the 1930s.1 Sun Wukong named his beloved gun “Needle” because it would 1 Although its etymology may simultaneously come from the Tamil goondas, which means the same thing and may have some distant connection to Chinese as well.
shrink to the size of a sewing needle when not in use and tuck nicely behind his ear. Before he stole it, it was a magical pillar holding up the Dragon King’s palace under the sea. When inspired, Needle can grow as large and hard as the pillar it once was. As the warrior-hero of bare sticks, Sun Wukong symbolically releases his sexual frustration by giving the Dragon King a good thrashing with his enlarged Needle. In China’s original theatrical-ritual-festival-fighting culture, dragons are responsible for keeping the weather regular and harmonious. Sun Wukong is one of many
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exorcist-gods who are called upon to give the Dragon King an educational beatdown when he causes a flood or a drought. In practice, Chinese communities would hire actor-acrobat-martial-artists to enact a theatrical exorcism by performing this story—as education for the gods. Bare sticks, who often worked as porters, developed their own dark paths to enlightenment. The porter’s pole became a ubiquitous improvised weapon because it was illegal to bring weapons into the Chinese Capital, which had a pop-
ulation about one million for most of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Porters carried a stick with a basket on each end. The baskets were two chaotic swinging pendulums that the porter would synchronize with his own center of mass by extending his mind out beyond his body. This is the basic training for the internal martial arts method of counterbalancing. In this method, referred to in the tai chi classics as “be like a scale” and “go left to go right, go up to go down,” one constantly neutralizes all incoming forces. Sun Wukong’s size-changing Needle has a profound martial-religious significance extending to all stick fighters. For example, a
martial artist may begin by changing the weight of his stick with his mind, enacting, imagining, and visualizing it as alternately heavy and then light. This type of practice leads to emptying one’s arm of all intent and desire so that it floats up and down effortlessly. The stick is held such that it becomes empty along with the arm. Following this, one attains complete emptiness of the entire body traveling through space. Finally, contact occurs with the enemy/ opponent, who is empty and exorcised of chaos-inducing desires. The stick is the liminal pathway for passing emptiness back and forth. Sun Wukong, the monkey, and his friend-enemy, Zhu Bajie (the Pig),
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become fire and water respectively when they fight, trading positions with the stick in between them. They represent the creation of the Golden Elixir, a Daoist meditation technique associated with martial prowess in the theatrical convention. Emptiness is the source of an exorcist’s potency. Sun Wukong’s body is made empty by his yogic cultivation, making his body as hard as a stone. His method of achieving emptiness is comparable to a similar approach used in the Japanese tea ceremony in which one picks up heavy objects as if they were light, and light objects as if they were heavy. Over time, the practice causes the imagination
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to become a source of whole-body integration. It pre-activates the muscles and bones, enlivens balance and perception, making fine adjustments at lightning speeds. This is a top-secret way of training to fight into emptiness while in an adrenalized state which distorts one’s perception of size, weight, and resistance. Adrenalized states were associated with possession by the gods. These dark paths to enlightenment were transmitted through the theater and were sources of everyday encouragement for bare sticks. For hundreds of years, massive theaters built of bamboo or bare sticks were a common sight during rural festivals. These same bare-sticks
construction techniques are still in use today. I watched a scaffolding made of bamboo and zip-ties go up on a five-story building in Hong Kong in a matter of minutes. To watch it go up was to witness young men embodying the martial prowess of the swinging monkey, zip-ties in their teeth, tossing and spinning poles in the air. The destiny of such temporary constructions is to return to their potential state—a simple pile of sticks—in the same way Sun Wukong puts Needle back behind his ear. A few years ago, I had a limited opportunity to study the Sun Wukong role with Paulie Zink. He does a form of daoyin, a Chinese yogic tradition I translate as “tun-
ing and emptying.” His particular daoyin comes from the nearly extinct Daoist animal-role acrobatic contortionists of Chinese opera. It includes some thirty animals and insects, both earthbound and astral. One notable thing about Paulie Zink’s exquisite monkey-stick fighting is ground fighting with a stick. The Northern Shaolin movement patterns I learned as a child worked as stick fighting without the stick. In such a manner, empty-hand forms are transposable to stick forms without significant changes to the movement. I learned a continuous two-man Shaolin stick fighting routine that repeats using an AB-BA interlocking loop. It is
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excellent martial training for timing and distance. It is equally suited for carrying on an improvised dialog about the nature of enlightenment or a comic lovers’ quarrel over a mutual affection. The martial arts of Shaolin Monastery developed as a case of life imitating art, performances of transgressive monks having sex, and getting in fights. At the monastery, the art was refined by the discipline of Chan Buddhism, becoming the basic training for Beijing opera. Before the 20th century, Chinese martial arts were a form of performance intended to educate the gods. One of its purposes was to convince the gods to behave better by modeling disciplined, upright, and courageous conduct. The martial arts were an integral part of the festival culture—transgressive and full of comedy. After the Boxer Uprising (1898-1901) ended in national humiliation for China’s gods, martial artists, and people, Chinese society responded by adopting the West’s tragic view of history and religion. We can summarize this view as “a stick is nothing but a stick.” In the first forty years of the 20th century, martial arts were cut off from centuries of enlightenment and enchantment. They were stripped of theatricality and sacred stories. The once glori-
ous laughter-and-war orientation of martial arts collapsed in its native context During the Boxer Uprising, tens of thousands of bare sticks converged on the Capital, wielding swords and magical sticks possessed by Sun Wukong and other gods. They believed they had attained his powers of invulnerability, only to be shot down by foreign guns. It is easy to see why Chinese society instituted mass anti-superstition campaigns in hindsight. All was not lost. Thanks to Bruce Lee and the Shaw Brothers, the spark of original glory survived in the kung fu movies. Many martial arts geniuses were also preserved by modernizers who invented pure martial arts and then taught it alongside YMCA-style athletics. This short cultural history of the stick in Chinese martial arts is a glimmer on the surface of a deep ocean.
Scott Park Phillips @ scott.p.phillips.7
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CUDGEL OF THE GREAT SAGE APPLICATION, HISTORY, & PERSONAL EVOLUTION OF THE MONKEY KUNG FU STAFF Damon Honeycutt
not seeing you fruitlessly grasp snarled teeth make for dangerous encounters for again and again I meet you in an unfriendly manner
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STORIES, ARCHETYPES, AND personal mythology informed my martial journey from a young age. I read the Go Rin No Sho1 while studying danzan-ryu jujitsu at the Medford Judo Academy. Reading the Mahabharata inspired me when I learned yoga with Paul and Suzee Grilley, and even the role of Sun Wukong when I was an apprentice to Qi Jianguo of the Beijing Opera. These stories informed my idea of practice and launched my never-ending journey for answers that lay outside of rhetorical knowledge and theory. While I was a student of both dance and music at the California Institute of the Arts, I had the honor of studying with Paulie Zink. The training was in-depth, arduous, and always at night. His methods were unique and powerful, and he created a space in his garage in Burbank transcending the surrounding environment. The sense of place created an altered state of being that informed my training and thus 1 Published in the West as The Book of Five Rings, by Miyamoto Musashi.
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awakened me to ideas, skills, and methods that are difficult to arrive at without passing through a similar gate of knowledge and practice. It is because of that time with Paulie Zink, and how it has continued to inform my martial arts up to this day, that I call myself a practitioner of da sheng pigua men (大聖劈掛 門), or more popularly, “monkey style kung fu.” I also believe, as did the celebrated Chinese general, Qi Jiguang, that, “although each one has its own specific proficiency, still as they are handed down, the traditions are incomplete, some missing the lower part, some missing the upper.” All the elements of my training come together as a synthesis of my choices, which has forged my passionate, personal relationship with tradition, research, embodiment, and conflict. I feel these elements in me pushing me onward. And with this in mind, here is a partial and incomplete aspect of the ongoing journey of my evolution.
Monkey Style Kung Fu Monkey style kung fu, or da sheng pigua men, is named in honor of the Great Sage, Sun Wukong, also known as the Monkey King in the Ming Dynasty novel, Journey to the West. Nevertheless, I feel that this is a misnomer, much like the “monkey staff ” case discussed below. In this article, I will explore my findings, insights, and technique gleaned from years of training in the above art and following the myth of the Monkey King to other teachers that sparked ideas, clarified specific skills, and supported me in my evolution of this style. This article is about my take on technique, tradition, and training
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methods. The skills and opinions I put forth are my own, informed by my direct experience with masters of martial arts and embodied research in performance as well as scholarly and mystical modalities. My goals with this article are to: • Make more people aware of da sheng pigua men’s techniques, especially the weapon and fighting principles, and what makes it unique in skill and scope from my perspective; • Add to the body of work and contribute to the field of hoplology; • Create a dialogue about different trajectories of martial tradition.
What makes the monkey staff different? Is it a “staff,” or does it just have the shape of a staff? The answer is not apparent. The name of Sun Wukong’s famous weapon is ruyi jingu bang (如意金箍棒), or “do-as-you-will cudgel.” Monkey staff is hou gun (猴棍). The last character raises an important distinction between bang (棒—a cudgel) vs. gun (棍—a staff). Even though the weapon looks like a staff, its usage is dissimilar, as suggested by its name and its material. Usually, one works with staves made from wood, rattan, or, for the sake of argument, another organic compound.
Forged from metal, the monkey staff is different. Some are steel, most are aluminum, but mine is titanium. “In performing the staff form, the master uses a silver staff to honor the Great Sage, Sun Wukong / Monkey King of Chinese folklore.” Because of this, the techniques used for combat are different yet related to other forms of staff fighting. As noted by Zink and Matsuda (1999), “the monkey staff techniques are completely different from the conventional stick-fighting techniques found in other kung fu systems.” The monkey cudgel is incredibly strong and unforgiving. It cannot be cut with
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a blade and only bends under extreme weight. It is thus heavier, and flowing movements such as spinning and flourishes are minimal and generally slower. When used close to the body, the body becomes a series of resting shelves for positions, launch points for power, and sticking points for radial attacks and defense. Hand and foot placement on the weapon is modular. The monkey cudgel was tailor-made to the practitioner in the tradition I learned. Its height is to either the chin or eyebrow, and its diameter needs to be comfortable in the hand, not prescribed by systematic constraints.
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The emphasis on movement comes from the lower and middle dantian (丹田—“elixir field” or “field of qi”). How I first like to describe the dantian as it relates to movement is to imagine three spheres gliding on top of each other from the base of the pelvis up. We also need to look at the shape of the torso as a whole. The shoulder and pelvic girdle work as a pivot and stopping zones for targeting in conjunction with the limbs to guide and aim the weapon. This technique helps generate force and momentum. However, it can limit the range of the engagement. There are basic movements like the one above
that are done thousands of times to make them second nature to develop this skill. Once done to one’s satisfaction in a static position, you can implement them while moving and then drop them down to monkey-style height. Eventually, it does help to do many of the static drills without seeing yourself in the mirror. Slowly take away the necessity to visually correct one’s movements and begin to bring a sense of self-awareness into the body, fully and kinesthetically experiencing one’s movements. This added awareness gives the practitioner the ability to “listen to” the flow of the weapon.
As far as fighting attitude with the da sheng pigua men goes, the system I learned develops and explores five virtues: • Stealth • Evasion • Intimidation • Destructiveness • Cruelty
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This applies to open hand as well as weapon work. In the open hand arena, I feel a lot of attention mistakenly focuses on the forms of da sheng pigua men (i.e., the five monkey forms or the Pigua Lifting and Cleaving style conjoined with it). I, however, am choosing to focus on the five virtues, as they are usually not addressed. When applying the five virtues with hand-to-hand fighting in the order listed above, I have found that the techniques, when distilled from the art, seem to be created to fight the same opponents repeatedly. The origin story of the da sheng art states that it was created in prison by Kou Si in the early part of the last century. The name, Kou Si (寇四), translates to “bandit number four”. I would surmise that he had to fight and/ or deal with similar situations repeatedly. Looking at this environmental constraint, I can see how the above virtues would help one deal with a pecking order among the other individuals imprisoned with Kou Si. I would like to eventually do more in-depth research on this specific topic, for there are
many practitioners in the world that could help support or nullify this theory. It would also be helpful and very informative to look at other systems of combat developed or adapted to a permanently locked environment to see where, if, and how the methods and strategies would be similar or different. Once out of prison, the question arises regarding the types of transmissions, whether full or partial, still existing and any modifications made over the years. In these types of systems, fighting skills are often hidden in poetics. While I withdrew to the mountains of Vermont to refine my skill through meditation, solitude, and training in nature, I composed the following poem based on my theory: not seeing you fruitlessly grasp snarled teeth make for dangerous encounters for again and again I meet you in an unfriendly manner
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Preparatory Skills - Grips, Stances, and Essential Basics When I lived in Connecticut and was studying under Hu Jianqiang, one time during class, he once told me, “Jibengong (基本功—essential basics) good, anything possible! Jibengong bad, be careful!” He always quietly laughed when he said this. This moment sank into my conscience and continues to inform my practice. The weapon needs to be an extension of the body. This is an axiom expressed in many martial arts. In training to use the monkey cudgel, one must first feel comfortable with the essential basics of a typical staff. Then the practitioner applies and translates those skills to the heavier metal weapon. Unlike lighter weapons, the monkey
cudgel begins to have a mind and spirit of its own, and that mind/ spirit is directly related to gravity and inertia. The needs of the technique demand a slow cultivation of dynamic strength coupled with a high level of sensitivity and dexterity. Being strong alone to cause damage is not enough, nor is just having a supreme technique to flourish one’s skill. Both roads can lead to wielding the weapon. However, to understand it, you must be informed by both. The fact that the cudgel is more or less tailored to the practitioner allows one to get in touch with the five virtues of combat. The following is my interpretation of these virtues. Stealth is the first. Stealth
is more than being unseen or invisible; for this reason, da sheng pigua men is an excellent art for such skills. Nevertheless, in this article, I want to address how to apply stealth while in a confrontation, specifically with the monkey cudgel. As I mentioned before, the cudgel is more or less tailored to the practitioner. This gives the weapon an individual relationship to the person wielding it. It is a long cylinder to easily carry and blend in with other types of pipe or metal tubing, and you can grab it anywhere, for it is not sharp. Also, given the nature of da sheng pigua men and that it is low to the ground, the application of many techniques both for attack and defense are executed from a low horizon line, making it difficult and unusual to react to.
Evasion is next on the list. This can be dodging, rolling, and running. However, to truly evade, one needs some creativity. A strategic withdrawal, or maneuvering of one’s opponent or opponents, is essential. This may entail luring them into uncomfortable situations, using objects or people around you to benefit your survival. Intimidation is one of the most simian and primal aspects of our art. This quality is more than just showing off your skill or bashing something with your fists or a weapon. There is a silence within intimidation cultivated through practice, meditation, and knowing violence in oneself. If you look at animals when they return your gaze, there is a charge that puls-
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es through you. The monkey cudgel is an excellent tool for this. It is a frightening weapon to work with. All the damage you can do to your opponent, you also inflict on yourself if you are not well-practiced, lose control, or are careless. Of course, this is true for any live weapon, which can cause lethal damage with the simplest of skills. Destructiveness is causing havoc and disorder. It can be seen as an amalgam of the first three virtues woven into fluid strategy. A plethora of means can accomplish it: with direct confrontation, coercion, damaging of one's surrounding environment, or surprise attacks against your opponent, which does the most damage with the least effort. That is wholly different from cruelty, for when one reaches down into themselves to attack with cruel intentions, the damage is long-lasting, crippling, and, in my opinion, more of an intention to maim and disfigure your opponent rather than to finish or submit them.
2 Climbing the cudgel is not part of Paulie Zink’s system but is seen in other Chinese monkey systems (editor).
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Another advantage to the metal cudgel is that it cannot be easily cut or split with a blade. Not only that, but it can also cause damage to a blade edge upon contact, even in defense. The weight from an attack on the monkey cudgel, especially a full swing, can cause severe concussive bludgeoning damage more easily than a conventional wooden stick. The monkey cudgel is also very good at destroying objects, such as armor and weapons, and causing blunt trauma to whatever lies behind them. Its very density can allow the combatant to feel empowered to engage heavy list melee weapons such as hammers, axes, and pikes. Though the cudgel might not have the speed or range of a spear, it can more than make up for that disadvantage in the hands of the right user with its crushing gravitational power and formidable density.
Another often overlooked aspect of the cudgel is that you can climb it.2 This is famously demonstrated in several forms where a monkey stylist will perch in an iconic Monkey King pose. While super cool to do and a lot of fun, it is also harder than it looks, as there is more to climbing the cudgel than meets the eye. More practically, you can hang from it and do pull ups, create a bridge, lean it on a barrier, climb up it with confidence, and then pull it up and take it with you. Of course, metal weapons also have drawbacks—specifically, electricity and water. Like any long metal weapon, the cudgel might as well be a hand-held lightning rod. Water makes the metal slippery and thus difficult to handle, and because it is metal can lead to rusting. A thin layer of cloth tape will help with the slipperiness if you choose to wrap it.
Damon Honeycutt @ damon.honeycutt.52
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SHAOLIN STAFF IN THE 21ST CENTURY A LOOK AT THE PRAGMATIC USE OF CHI FOR POWER GENERATION USING THE SHAOLIN STAFF
David Giomi
NOBODY KNOWS THE EXACT origins of men using a staff as a weapon. Somewhere long ago, one of our ancestors figured out that if they picked up a long stick instead of a rock to hit with, they could get more leverage and distance to hit from. As soon as a second person picked up a big stick to defend themselves, the art of staff fighting was born. It can be found in all cultures around the globe. Brief History of Shaolin Temple As the story goes, when the Indian monk Bodhidharma (also known as Ta Mo in China) arrived at Shaolin Temple in approximately AD 520-527, he found the monks to be in such poor physical condition that they could not keep up with their spiritual studies and meditation. He then developed exercises to strengthen the monks’ mind, body, and spirit. This is often considered to be the beginning of the mind-body connection that many of the traditional Asian martial arts are famous for.
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Fundamental Staff Many traditional systems, particularly those of a Chinese, Okinawan, or Japanese origin, trace their lineage to Shaolin Temple, and most teach the staff as the first weapon introduced to beginning students. The fundamental level of staff training will often focus on weapon familiarization and manipulation, coupled with a strong foundation in proper body mechanics, paths of motion, basic attack and defense. Traditional arts from the Chinese, Okinawan, and Japanese lineage will also generally have preset routines, or kata (forms) as well. Staff training has long been considered the foundation for all the “long weapons” in traditional Chinese martial arts. With the large amount of long weapons available in the traditional martial arts arsenal, and the spear being considered the “king” of the weapons, it is easy to see why a strong foundation in staff fundamentals would be essential. Staves would also be inexpensive to make and readily
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available, as many tools used for farming or daily chores took the shape of a pole or staff. In the modern era, there is a great deal of interest in “everyday carry,” or EDC items (a quick Google search showed “about 1,170,000,000 results). Everything from concealed carry firearms to knives, phones, and even chapstick, make the list. In earlier times, a walking stick or staff was a common accessory, making the staff the perfect EDC of its day. As a side note, I currently reside near the Sierra-Nevada mountains, and walking sticks (staves) of various lengths are a relatively common sight, especially as one gets closer to, or into, the mountains. Even here in town, they are not so uncommon as to draw attention.
Beyond the Basics While all of the fundamental training has great value and multiple benefits, nothing in this category is necessarily unique to Shaolin training. Many systems train the staff and use the same patterns of motion, and the same body mechanics. The foundation of Shaolin training, at least theoretically, is the integration of mind-body synergy for advanced martial arts and health cultivation. To truly look at staff from a Shaolin perspective, we need to look at the use of chi/ki in regards to staff training and usage. Tenured traditional martial artists will be familiar with the concept that the practitioner needs to focus the chi to the tip of the weapon. It stands to reason that if we have not yet learned to focus chi in and through our bodies, then we will not be able to move chi through a weapon. Before we can look at manifesting chi in weapon use, we first have to look at the use of chi without a weapon to enhance power generation.
Many excellent translations of ancient texts and “poems” on chi are currently available. Some describe the different types of chi and indepth methods for its cultivation. Others translate “poems” which offer obscure insights that need to be pondered and discerned. While it is generally acknowledged in internal martial arts and chi kung circles that there are different types of chi, the focus of this article is in the pragmatic usage of chi as it relates to power generation and practical application, in a manner that can be utilized relatively quickly. When discussing the concept of chi in a pragmatic context, I often refer to the modern definition as “bioelectric energy.” However, even then, the concept of being able to manipulate bioelectric energy to use when striking in a combat situation brings to mind images of “using the Force” and cartoonish video game fireballs. All of the chi—or energy—cultivation practices I have learned are accepted as being very longterm study. I have heard stories,
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seen demonstrations, and even felt chi being manifested; however, I have still yet to see it used in allout combat. To be clear, I am not saying it is not possible, just that I have yet to see it myself, which means, for me, there is quite a bit that is taken on faith in this training. That being said, I enjoy the trainings involved, and feel much more healthy and vibrant when practicing them, and find that this has value to me, whether I end up being able to manifest chi energy in a combat situation or not. However, our quest is to find an obtainable form of energy manifestation that martial artists can work on and use “in the now” while continuing to work on internal practices for health, vitality, and for the possibility of future martial application.
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Demystifying “Chi” If chi for martial arts application is the cultivation and manipulation of the body’s natural energy, then would not an advanced manipulation of the body’s kinetic energy be a form of using chi? If kinetic energy manipulation is a form of chi generation, and if the yi (the mind—specifically, the intention) leads the chi, then it stands to reason that developing a high level of manipulating the body’s kinetic energy would have value in the development of the skill of manipulating chi for health or martial arts purposes. All of the principles that tenured martial artists were taught still need to be in place. Proper breath, body alignment, intent, timing, and so on are all still necessary. With these in place, we also need to look at kinetic linking and progressive or staggered vs. simultaneous application.
It is well known that kata/form training, empty hand or with weapons, are meant to develop a myriad of attributes, including power generation. In fact, most of us have heard on numerous occasions regarding forms that “that is where the secrets are hidden.” Whether that is so or not is beyond the scope of this article. However, the development of focused power through forms/kata is often touted, and is fairly obvious, even to the casual observer.
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Timing is Everything Most master instructors of traditional martial arts emphasize that the key to maximum power is to synchronize the timing of the breath, the intent, body alignment, and a firm, deliberate step—similar to a stomp—with the strike, with great emphasis on the foot and the strike landing in a coordinated manner. This is well known, hardly a secret, or a very open “secret,” if one at all, and bare feet can be heard stomping on gymnasium floors in traditional martial arts tournaments around the world most weekends, usually with great flourish. Most of us know this, and most of us teach this. It takes countless repetitions that turn weeks into months and months into years to perfect this timing, and most of us practice this for years on end. But what if this is wrong, or at least, not quite right? It is fairly well known that the old masters would hide knowledge. What better way to hide knowledge, than train stu-
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dents in a way that would make it so that all it would take is a small tweak, a slight adjustment in timing, to make it work? Or, what if they did not know? It is not uncommon for some masters to learn and impart some of the more subtle aspects of their arts almost by osmosis. Some students get it, some do not. Sometimes even the instructor is not exactly sure what they are doing or how they are doing it. Watch some of the older masters that are known to have an unusually high amount of power generation, and really observe their timing. Not their sparring timing—focus on the timing within their own bodies as they move.
Here Is the Key The true timing is that, rather than simultaneous, the foot lands a millisecond before the strike, transferring the kinetic energy generated by the body into the strike. This allows kinetic energy manifested in the body to transfer into the strike, be it empty-hand or weapon, and at a higher level into the opponent. When applying this to a weapon such as the staff, we need to take that kinetic energy and let it continue through the body so it can transfer in and through the weapon. This still requires years of diligent practice and a very highly developed sense of timing and energy manipulation; otherwise the strike turns into two strikes. In other words, instead of channelling all of the kinetic energy into the strike, it would cancel with the step, and the power would diminish greatly as it would require a new generation of energy. Here is an exercise to demonstrate the point: take your staff and drop it on concrete so that it lands flat— i.e., both ends land as close to simultaneously as possible. What
happens? Nothing. When the ends of the staff land at the same time, the kinetic energy discharges at the same time and has nowhere to go, so it cancels itself out. Next, take your staff and slam one end down well before the other (but let it go) and watch what happens; the staff will bounce back and forth, jumping from end to end. If you watch closely, you can often see the staff vibrating in the air as it bounces. One more exercise with the staff: take the staff by one end and slam it violently against a concrete floor and hold on to it. We all know what will happen—an incredibly uncomfortable sensation as the staff vibrates violently in our hand. Extremely uncomfortable. What just happened? We created a dynamic surge of kinetic energy by slamming it on the ground, and that energy has to go somewhere. Since you are holding on to it, the kinetic energy has nowhere to go except back up the staff and into your skeletal structure.
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It is understood in internal martial arts circles that the chi (kinetic energy?) travels through the body through the bones, in a spiraling manner. It is interesting how the old internal masters were supposed to be able to transfer chi to their opponents’ bodies. Was it “magic,” or just science and great body mechanics, with a proper understanding of how to use their kinetic energy?
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With all the details in place, including proper skeletal alignment, the body reacts similarly to the staff in the exercise. A dynamic surge of energy can be created and directed through a weapon, or into an opponent. This is not easy. It still takes years of practice, and there are many details that need to be in place, such as breath, intent, alignment, timing, and many more, but it is achievable.
The Real Secret The bottom line truth is that all of this has very little value if it cannot be applied in all-out combat. If it cannot, it remains in the realm of martial arts parlor tricks, and a quick search on YouTube shows “martial arts” parlor trick artists being exposed more and more. The good news is that those of us interested in traditional martial arts, even esoteric martial arts, can bring these martial arts into the new millennium to a higher level than have ever been achieved. The key is in the training method. Here is the most valuable martial arts “secret” taught to me by Burton Richardson: The JKD Unlimited training method. The key is in progressive resistance. You can take all of your techniques from combat arts ancient or modern,
and run them through the JKD Unlimited filter. What does that mean? Sparring with progressive resistance. Start off light, keep it safe and fun, and you can functionalize almost anything! It may not look exactly like it did in the traditional kata, but it is not supposed to! The amount of information available today in the martial arts world is unprecedented. Along with that, the advances in training equipment allow us to make everything from free sparring to staff sparring fun, safe, and functional. Those of us with a love for traditional as well as modern arts can bring these arts to new heights, as long as we test our theories in the “lab” of live, safe sparring.
David Giomi @ david.giomi
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DOCUMENTARY ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE
JUEGO DE PALO CANARIO Alejandro Rodriguez Buenafuente
Translated by Michael J. Ryan, Ph.D. Generational Transmission: Ángel González Torres (1949), Tomás Deniz Hernández (19001983), Nicolás Morales Martín (1865- 1944), José Morales Martín (1854-1935), Pedro Pestana Gevara (1832-1905)
THE JUEGO DE PALO OR THE juego de garrote is a tradition stretching back centuries. On the Canary Islands, when two people demonstrate their skills of the juego de palo in private, or more often in front of an appreciative public, the intensity of these matches can vary. Matches can range from a performance-oriented exhibition during celebrations to a match with a more severe intent that might occur during a more private duel. In the Canary Islands, beginning around the middle of the 1970s, there have been several ongoing disagreements over the terminology and techniques of the juego de palo canario. These disagreements have, thanks to the internet, even turned into transnational debates. As a result, there is a broad range of opinions about the art ranging from the introduction of “invent-
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ed” techniques derived from selfstyled “traditional” family schools to the increasing acknowledgment of several recently invented “Canarian martial arts” including lucha del palo, lucha del garrote, lucha del tolete, arte del palo, or mano’ canario. At present, the situation can be especially confusing. Those who wish to know more about this art can contact the two officially recognized organizations: The Federación de Juego del Palo Canario or the Federación de Lucha del Garrote Canario.
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We can date this confusion back to 1975 when the first association dedicated solely to the juego de palo canario was set up to promote and teach the art of Canarian stick fighting. To be clear, Canary Island wrestling, or lucha canario, was also part of this movement, although there had been formal clubs dedicated to this art since the 1940s. It turned out this was a radical change as it meant these once local and semi-secretive family-based arts would open up to train outsiders. The results of this move turned out to be analogous to a baseball player not only hit-
ting the ball and running the bases, but also to being in charge of scoring the game. In other words, the newfound efforts to promote, teach, and create an infrastructure for the juego de palo canario led to several competing and conflicting opinions. One major drawback, seen by long-time practitioners, was the eagerness that new practitioners promoted themselves as masters of the art, thus offering their unique training and interpretations of it, without really understanding the art at all. By the end of the decade, one could observe the coexistence of a traditional folkloric point of view of the art, as seen in the earliest publications devoted to the juego de palo. On the other hand, there was an alternate point of view that sought to treat it purely as a sport, as seen with the 1978 publication of a set of rules to guide its activity. This move to promote the art as a sport began a new phase where some interested parties sought to substitute the original name, “juego de palo,” for another one that was supposed to be more acceptable to everyone. For a while, this group tried to substitute juego de palo for banot, the name of an ancient wooden weapon used by the indigenous Canarian warriors.
In 1982, a new association, the Palo Canario Association (ASPAC), exerted a significant influence on this debate, calling for the elimination of the word, “juego” (game). Instead, in 1984, the leader of this group suggested changing the name of juego de palo canario to some variation of juego de palo. Beginning on the island of Gran Canaria, some practitioners started using the term, “lucha de garrote” (stick fighting). They felt substituting lucha de garrote for the juego de palo brought out the original war-like intent of this art that was once hidden by the villagers by using the term, “juego de garrote,” in the face of a hypothetical, and never proven persecution of practitioners by local authorities. In 1985, another new association emerged on the island of Tenerife. The Association of the Juego de Palo (AJUPAL) came up with a new definition of the term, “styles.” This proposal tried to safeguard the traditional lines of the transmission of the art, which customarily had been passed down through families with their own sticks of various sizes, and with their own ways of holding and manipulating the stick. In this way, they kept the tradition alive, so the younger
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generation of those families could claim its heritage. Although the AJUPAL contributed to the protection of these family styles, it also placed too much effort in institutionalizing ways of holding and moving the sticks, resulting in severe problems between competing branches of one family. Specific methods of grasping and manipulating the stick were considered to be the sole property of a branch of a family, so it was felt that another branch of the same family had no right to use them. Towards the end of the 1980s, the government recognized nine separate styles of the juego de palo canario. Seven of these styles used a medium-length stick (appx. 4 feet high, or level with the individual’s heart), and two styles used a long stick (appx. 6 to 12 feet in length). Other groups have taken to re-introducing the palo chico, or “small stick” (the size of a walking stick), which had disappeared by the 20th century. In 1993, the government of the Canary Islands extended its jurisdiction over the juego de palo with the law of Canarian Sports, creating two regulating organizations: the Federación de Juego del Palo Canario and the Federación de Lucha del Garrote Canario. Following their lead on this, the Fed-
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eración de Juego del Palo Canario embraced the AJUPAL’s proposal regarding the definition of “styles” that considered the juego de palo a folkloric tradition with competitive fencing having no role in the tradition. However, opposing this viewpoint, the Federación Lucha del Garrote Canario promoted a sports-oriented type of juego de palo canario where all those interested could compete under a set of unified techniques. While the debate has continued, competitive events under the auspices of the Federación de Lucha del Garrote Canario began in 1997. Regarding the continuation of traditional practices, both federations have had problems in representing everybody. In fact, more than half of the actual known practitioners have declined to join both groups. On one side, the Federación del Juego del Palo Canario has restricted the number of official styles to what they have already recognized. The refusal to acknowledge any other style than those already included in the federation shows how difficult it can be to try to promote traditional styles or lineages. Moreover, it may be especially true when attempted through an officially sanctioned institution dedicated to exclusively promoting the art of the juego de palo as a sport.
On the other hand, the Federación de Lucha del Garrote Canario proposed a singular technical interpretation, officially distancing themselves entirely from any connection with practitioners of older, more traditional schools, including those representatives who were present when the idea first arose for convoking the federation. Such is the case of the traditional school of Francisco San-
tana who was initially present as an original member of the ASPAC association and ended up turning his traditional school into a sporting club as an affiliate of the Federación de Lucha del Garrote Canario. But what is remarkable about this man’s actions is the attention he put into writing up a description of technical statutes to expressly exclude the use of the palo chico (walking stick). What
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made this such a strange attempt was that the palo chico was long held to be part of the repertoire of traditional Canarian weapons. Moreover, the Federation Juego de Palo has recognized the palo chico as a traditional Canarian weapon. In 2003, after a series of failed attempts, the original promoters of the lucha del garrote and its corresponding federation succeeded in forming an association specifically to recover the “lost” traditions of the palo chico. The newly formed National Association of Tolete Canario (ANTC) lobbied for the elimination of the earlier, more traditional use of the phrase, “juego de,” or “game of,” commonly used to describe combative traditions in Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Italian, as well as many other languages. Instead, they sought to promote the term, “lucha del tolete,” meaning “cudgeling” or a “fight with cudgels,” and towards the end of 2010, sought the assent of the Commission of Sports and Indigenous Sports, an organized body under the General Director of Sport. This group also unsuccessfully lobbied for the official recognition of a third federation with the title of “juego de palos cortos,” or the “game of the short stick / walking stick.”
Finally, we must review how in 2010, a process of promoting the coining of the term, “Artes Marciales Canarias” came about with the convocation of the First International Congress of Canarian Martial Arts. A surprising result of the conference was the number of groups which, with the explicit collaboration of the Federación de Lucha del Garrote Canario, enthusiastically supported this exaggeratedly traditional martial art conference. The president of the Federación de Lucha del Garrote Canario was also a board member of the Tagore de las Artes Marciales Canario. Noticeable in the proceeding of the conference was a proposal asserting the status of now-extinct traditional combative art of juego de la mano, or juego de mano, as a type of ancient fist-fighting, and that it had definite links with other forms of documented Canarian combative traditions.
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The Situation Previous to the Associations and the Institutional Intervention: the Historical Story We have tried to summarize the confusing situation that occurred to Canarian combative traditions from 1975 until the present moment. There is a clear historical chain of evidence to support the existence of Canarian martial arts with written documents describing these traditions dating back to the beginning of the 18th century. Here, in these writings, we can find the specific use of the term, “juego del palo,” and a description of the art. The origins of the juego de palo canario probably lie in the indigenous culture of the Guanches, as documents from the 16th century suggest when writing of “Canarian challenge matches.” Written records by Spanish administrators, bureaucrats, travelers, priests, and others show that there were regularly held competitions among the Guanches (indigenous Canarians)
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who dueled in a highly regulated way. Opponents threw stones at each other, belabored each other with sticks, lunged at each other with obsidian knives, and finally engaged in the form of standing belted grappling with each other. Men gathered in specific areas delineated as competition grounds where judges and juries kept the competitors safe and the action going. All of this points to the intent not to hurt each other, but to show off their courage and skills. A possible link in these public challenge types of matches to the medieval European world, suggests the presence of Spanish influence on the practice of public dueling. One problem in making this link is the fact that dueling and jousting among the Spanish were not very common at the time of the conquest and settlement of the Canary Islands.
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In conclusion, though, there is no evidence of a tradition of public stick fighting in the Iberian peninsula between the 15th and 20th centuries, except in the case of Northern Portugal, the Azores Islands, and the island of Madeira, where stick fighting is documented only from the end of the 19th century. A link between the Canarian traditions and the Portuguese-colonized Atlantic Islands, including the indigenous Canarian inhabitants, may exist. Still, more evidence is needed before we arrive at a firm conclusion. On the other hand, there is evidence of the existence of another possible link, this time to West Africa, where there is a great deal of historical and ethnographic evidence pointing to the existence of regularly held public stick fighting matches. The expression, “juego del palo” or “juego de palo garrote / lata / vara / tolete / chola / mano,” points to several Spanish language terms relating to the handling of a palo in both an offensive and defensive manner. The word, “jugar,” or “to play,” has a meaning that is little used today but still is defined in current dictionaries as “the handling or manipulating of a weapon.” In the more specific case of the Canary Islands, what is interesting, for example, is when the
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poet Viana regularly speaks in his epic of the conquest, of those “who ‘jugar’ with sticks, maces, swords, two-handed longswords, or pikes.” These weapons were not only restricted to the Canary Islands at the time, but were common throughout Western Europe, as can be seen in any pre-20th century Spanish manual of arms. From a merely practical point of view, the juego de palo (de garrote, etc.) indicates an ability or knowledge allowing one to subdue another in a violent situation. The way these combative traditions took place, as with many other useful skills, is that the juego de palo has come to be developed more as a recreational pastime than a method of self-defense or dueling, both in the Canary Islands and many other sites. Besides, if we stick strictly to the Spanish or Portuguese languages, the term, “juego,” appears repeatedly to identify and describe popular traditions of fencing, as well as other stick fighting traditions, that currently exist in Venezuela, Colombia, and the Philippines.
Source Documents As previously cited sources show, indigenous stick dueling matches were first explicitly recorded as juego del palo as early as the 18th century, describing it as a “dangerous game that can end in the death of one of the practitioners.” Reading this, one must keep in mind that this chronicler is describing a type of popular public demonstration without specifying an exact location where these
types of events took place. Due to the lack of specificity regarding where these matches took place, the scanty evidence suggests they could have occurred anywhere in the island chain. The second mention of the juego de palo in the Canary Islands that we can track down dates to 1750, in the town of La Laguna. In this document, a chronicler describes the demonstration of fights usually during village festivals, but also
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as a technically sophisticated warfare-oriented practice, from which we can understand from the account one can even “take lessons.” Besides, he continues, it possesses a practical use in situations such as when facing an armed bandit, where one’s knowledge of the juego de palo can not only provide a means of defense, but be a method that could result in the death of the aggressor. The terminology used to describe such an aggressive, combative system in these documents is the “juego del palo.” Other terms found in existing documents include the terms, “jugar el palo” and “jugar el garrote.” From a document dating from 1820, we find a third citation with an account of these kinds of events, which is of interest for us, not so much for the appearance of the expression, “juego de palo” or “juego de garrote,” as these terms are often not used; what we find instead is a passage describing several challenge matches with sticks by men on the island of Fuerteventura, and a description of the best way of gripping what is called a “garrote,” which is a unique Castilian term at the time. In an old illustration, we can see two men fighting at a little distance from each other with two
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palos a little taller than themselves. What is especially interesting in this illustration is the fact that there exists a third party that appears to be interacting with the two combatants. One could hypothesize the existence of a fight between three contenders, but this would be counter to all we know of how the art developed on the island. This is unlike the stickfighting art of jogo do pau of Portugal, where adherents regularly trained against multiple opponents and for being ambushed from behind. More likely, this illustration points to the existence of a judge/referee who is responsible for seeing to it that both contestants hew to the already agreed-upon terms of a clean match. The figure of a judge/ referee is without a doubt known to exist in the later times, not only in the juego del palo, but also in the lucha canaria (Canarian wrestling), as a “fair man.” It would be safe to say, this man was a direct predecessor of the actual referees of the lucha canaria at present. The presence of a judge-referee character is also widely mentioned in the 20th century, both in the written records, and oral histories of the challenge matches of the jugadores del palo. Written records describe these types of personages “who were employed with great ea-
gerness” by those involved in these types of duels. From this source, we get the impression that men did not go off to a secluded place to settle conclusions, but are more interested in demonstrating their skill and courage with a modicum of rules, in a way that to modern eyes appears like a sport. The account only dates to the beginning of the 19th century, a time when such words as “judge” or “referee” were not in general use in our language. In 1900, a short story by the local author, Benito Pérez Armas, described in detail many of the social aspects and customs of this tradition. This story takes place in the city of Tenerife during the middle of the 19th century, in a place called San Miguel de Abona, and in the cañadas (ravines) near the active volcano of Mount Teide. Here, a famous jugador del palo from the northeast of the island was looking to challenge someone to a public duel without being too concerned about having any rules to guide the match. Also included in this story are accounts of an allout type of fight between a jugador and three adversaries, and, finally, a private duel. Some notable aspects of this account include what seems to be the arbitrarily interchangeable use of the words, “palo”
and “garrote,” as the reference to the weapon used. Also, the author of the document even takes note of how these weapons were subject to regulation, noting how the “regulated” dimensions of these weapons should be checked to ensure they reach from the ground to the shoulder of the person holding the them. Finally, the author uses the term, “arte de jugar el palo,” or the “art of stick fighting,” to identify the number of different events he has written about, suggesting a shared understanding of what this art was among the islanders. Also relevant is the identification of two distinct “schools” of the juego de palo existing at the time. One of these schools uses a type of grip very close to what Diston reported 80 years earlier, where the operator would hold the stick around a third of the way from the end on both sides and strike with both ends of the stick in what is known as the juego de trozos y punta, or “slash and thrust style.” The other school called for the stick to be held with both hands towards the butt-end of the weapon. If the operator sought to switch up his attacks or blocks, it would first be necessary to determine which end of the stick he would use to strike. Then, the operator would swing the stick in a circular mo-
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tion to grip it by the other end. In what seems to be a contradiction, this school is known as the Escuela Majoera, or the “Goat School,” referencing a local species of goat native to the island of Fuerteventura. From 1910 until now, the ethnographer and anthropologist, Juan Bentencourt Alfonso (1847-1913), would include the most up-to-date information available at the time in his exhaustive and unfinished multi-volume, “History of the Guanche People” (1995). In Chapters 13 and 17 of his book, entitled “Juegos Beñesmares Gimnástica,” the author draws on ethnographic data collected in his investigations of the pastimes of the indigenous inhabitants of Tenerife. In these
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chapters, he based his evidence primarily on creating links from the ethnographic data collected in his investigations in the countryside to the historical data from old documents. In the case of the juego de palo o garrote, as he called it, he also mentions two distinguished schools of garrote. Juan Betencourt goes on to talk of the two great schools of trozo y punto, or “slash and thrust,” and the palo largo, or the “long stick.” In detail, he carefully describes the technical characteristics of a variety of the second (palo largo) school—what he identifies as a mano fija, or “fixed grip,” and the juego cerrado, or “closed game”— while including the stances and
footwork patterns. He goes on to explain how they should be used at specific times to produce particular results during a match. Finally, he goes so far as to point out the regions of the island where the other school predominates. The attention to detail shown in the writings makes one think that Juan Betencourt had a teacher, and that he was an active participant in this art. It might have been the same person of whom it was said: “in our youth, we were well acquainted with this manly sport.” Finally, we need to address that which was previously written above regarding the whirlpool of confusion resulting from the innumerable debates over the cor-
rect terms to use to describe the juego de palo, that began back in the 1970s. As regards proper terminology, let the reader be reminded that Juan Betencourt used the terms, “juego del palo” or “juego del garrote,” as well as “juego de palo o garrote,” interchangeably with no problem. In fact, he would often include these terms in the same sentence as he would use the terms, “palo,” “garrote,” or “estaca.” An interview in the newspaper, Today, tells the story of a 76-yearold jugador by the name of José Morales Martín from the village of San Andrés, and his exhibition of the juego de palo the following day in the bull ring in the capital
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city, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. In this appearance, he showcased at least three of the lines of transmission best known from the northeast of Tenerife, appearing very competent, like a maestro. This was not the first time that it was recognized that he displayed the skills of a master. A photograph dated from 1920 shows him with a palo in his hand. A handwritten note on the picture from one of his students says, “Nicolás Morales, Master.” Overall, this ended up being a well-done interview that illustrat-
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ed some of the technical aspects of the juego de palo. In the conversation of this man, we see a master who does not resemble those stereotypical business-oriented teachers of East Asian martial arts that we often see. Instead, we see a master teaching solely out of the passion he has for his art, and the appreciation his students show him.
In this passage, D. José is clear: “. . . my students never failed to show me a lack of respect.” Continuing, he answers, “yes, sir; I still call myself a man from the countryside . . . because it costs a lot less,” and talks about how he doesn’t charge a lot for classes: “two or three pesetas for a class.” Furthermore, he affirms that, in the past, he had learned from women and had lived in Cuba during two periods of his life, totaling at least 20 years in all. His teaching method is of interest to us, as it is conceptualized and taught in a systematic pedagogical manner. Each lesson builds on the previous in such a way that, as a student, one could gain a good level of skill in minimal time: “I explained that the juego is like one lesson from a book. You do not need much more than one month of training, and then you are ready.”
and make an inventory of his skills and abilities and then make a decision of what to do.” Continuing to elaborate on this train of thought, José Morales Martín recounts how one time when he was fighting against four jugadores de palo at the same time, “I was only hit one time in the head. Me alone, against four men fighting with my head cracked open during the fight.” The emphasis on the necessity of a practically oriented knowledge adaptable to any situation is also present in his views on the different lengths of palos. When speaking on the use of various lengths of palos, he advised students thus:
As to the content of his teaching, he says:
“Do the same things with a short stick what you would do with a long stick. However, with a palo largo (tall stick), you can hit a man anywhere, but the palo corto (short stick) is best to defend any attack. A bastoncito (walking stick) is all you need.”
“I want it to be clear that we teach a practical, useful type of knowledge, which can be called ‘self-defense.’ But that what I teach, I can tell you I go wherever I wish to go and go whenever I want to go. So, every jugador I come across must himself look deep down in himself
Finally, one realizes that, when one has a true understanding of the juego, “one can even defend oneself from a palo of any length with only a penknife in their hand.” Then one comes to understand that they do not even need a weapon—“. . . that the juego de palo
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(fighting with sticks) or the juego de mano (fighting with the hands), it’s all the same.” Towards the end of the interview, he suggests that one eventually reaches the point where their understanding deepens to such a degree that they can knock down an aggressor without causing him any injury, in this way attaining a pure victory. “If you do not believe me, I tell you to strike me any way you want without holding back, and I will throw you to the ground, so you end up with your belly facing the sky.” Notwithstanding everything above, the interviewer made clear that he did not need a demonstration from the old man to believe his claims of what he can do to the interviewer. Furthermore, the interviewer understands the great respect he has for his art when he refers to the juego de palo as an “honorable art”—“I believe that the juego de palo is an ancient and honorable art, from the time of the Guanches.” The fact of the public exhibition of the following day led to the interview and many mentions recognizing the many semi-public demonstrations of his skills, as he continues to regale the interviewer of his many adventures:
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“One time in Cuba as I was saying, I saw four black men sparring with machetes. I stopped to watch them, and they came up on both sides of me and said to me, ‘what are you looking at, Isleño (somebody from the Canary Islands)?’ And I answered them, ‘I stopped to look because I enjoyed it.’ They responded, ‘The art of the Isleños only works for the garrote and does not work with the machetes.’ I became enraged and responded by yelling, ‘The art of the Isleños works with whatever comes to hand.’ Then they began to smile, and we ended up all becoming friends.” Between 1935 and 1975, many registered documents pointed to the regular performance of a considerable number of public demonstrations or exhibitions. Of these the most interesting here is the one from Puerto de la Cruz, dated 1938, between the jugadores, Tomás Déniz Hernández and Domingo Gutiérrez Martín. We also have the good fortune to have footage of Tomás recorded with a Super 8 camera. In this footage, one can clearly see an example of the juego de palo largo, which corresponds to other sources already mentioned in this article. Moreover, there is also a short recording of him shot in 1953, with one of his brothers.
We only have written documentation from one of the only public competitions put on in 1955—although oral sources usually mention the semi-private character of these affairs at this time that often took place at the Plaza de Toros, or the bull ring in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The lucha canaria competitions are often associated with such towns as Güímar and La Orotava, and featured, among others, a few women who gave public demonstrations of their skill in the juego de palo, such as Doña Luciana Díaz Rodríguez. A chronicler writing of this has this to say: “The impending combat had aroused a great expectation in the sportswriters of Tenerife as being the first time that a woman hailing from Tenerife who has stepped into the marked boundaries to engage in the juego de garrote.” To conclude this brief review of source documents of the juego del palo, we feel compelled to remark on an interview done in the late 1950s conducted by the journalist, Luis Álvarex Cruz, with a wellknown female jugadora. With her, we hear a phrase that thoroughly summarizes the real sense of the sometimes-reviled name, “juego,” and why there is another reason for the misunderstanding of the name.
“The maestros do not teach anything but the ‘science’ behind the art, anything else, no . . . so there is an element of the art that cannot be learned. Each teacher has an edge, an intuitive realization. It cannot be taught and cannot be learned. So, everyone must discover it through their own means.” Conclusion We believe that one especially significant result emerging from a review of the available documents is a clear image of the juego del palo from the mid-1970s, drawing exclusively from available information during this time. There is a conviction that this image is hardly affected by what is subsequently known about the tradition, to the date which I have taken as a reference, so we propose it is valid to describe the principal characteristics of the juego del palo of the Canary Islands in the following manner—namely: 1) The juego del palo canario is a pre-literate systemized repertoire of tactics for operating a weapon; in other words, a “juego,” and, in this case, with a “stick” with aggressive intent.
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2) The technical systemization of the art does not restrict itself to the handling of a variety of wooden sticks, but also relies on a more fundamental set of combative-oriented concepts implemented with, or without, a range of different weapons. These concepts integral to combat form the basis both for fencing (juego de palo) and pugilism (juego de mano); in other words, leaving out, in general, the grabs and holds that would best correspond with its Canarian cultural counterpoint, the Canary wrestling. These concepts form a part of a technical repertoire that affects both offensive and defensive tactics. 3) In contrast to the widespread idea regarding the general secrecy surrounding the practice, the documents show that teaching was open to the public, and evidence advertising paid classes is documented as far back as the 17th century, so that any traditions of secrecy could have been seen an exception to the generally held view of the transmission of the art. 4) There is a pattern of public demonstrations in Canarian society beginning from pre-European times until the present in the form of exhibitions, festivals, challenges, or public competitions that were
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not intentionally hidden, and, at times, held quite open to the public. Clearly, the term, “juego,” was merely a descriptive term and later given a cultural meaning. The sources demonstrate that, without a doubt, the popular idea that the juego de palo came out of some remote past and subsequently became a quaint sport, is absolutely false. There is a history of public demonstrations showcasing its practicality and usefulness for self-defense. 5) Several documents show that regulated competitions were an institutionalized aspect of a traditional juego del palo from at least the middle of the 19th century. There is no reason we cannot assume these types of regulated contests did not exist even earlier. In fact, we believe it should be a manifestation of the indigenous inhabitants. These two aspects go back as far as the 16th century. 6) From a strictly technical point of view, and central to stick fencing, the documentation shows the existence of two broad tendencies. One involves the firm grasp of the stick at, or near, the center of the stick, while the other hand grasps towards one the ends. If one seeks to grip the other end of the stick, one simply slips the one hand up to
the center while the second slides to the other end. This is called the “juego of two ends” (juego de dos puntas) or the “game of strikes” (juego de trozos). One may also firmly grab the stick about a third of the way up in a way that both hands are gripping one end of the stick. The hand toward the end remains stable. If one seeks to switch to a completely different grip, though, the stable hand can move, and the other hand can take the role of the stable or fixed one. These ways of gripping the stick are known as the juego por una punta, juego de palo largo, juego de mano firme, or the juego de recogidos.
terreno (“juego of continuous moving”), also known as a juego abierto (“open juego”). The first examples seem to correspond more with the juego de palo largo y mano fija (“juego of the long stick and fixed hand”) of the first group,m while the second appears more typical of the juego de puntos y trozos.
7) The available sources also tell of two other strategic ranges of seemingly lesser importance. One involves maintaining fixed postures and moving the palo to either the outside or inside of one’s body depending on the opponent’s movements. This game is known as the juego de cuadras firmes (“juego of strong stances”) or alternately as the juego cerrado (“closed juego”). Finally, there is another juego that avoids meeting force with unmovable force, with a tendency to launch attacks at unpredictable times or unfamiliar angles—known as the juego sin cumplir con las cuadras sobre el
Alejandro Rodriguez Buenafuente @alejandro.rodriguezbuenafuente
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LA CANNE DE COMBAT Nicole Holzmann
DUELING WITH SHARP weapons was an upper-class phenomenon from as early as the modern age until the end of the 18th century and often resulted in severe injuries or fatalities. It was also customary to carry an epée to defend oneself against assaults in cities like Paris. The French Revolution put an end to that, banning all swords and other fencing weapons from the streets of France. And anyone caught dueling was severely dealt with by a judge.
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At that time, criminal gangs had already established kicking techniques that they called "savate" after a designation for “old shoe” and utilized canes as weapons. For the upper class, being stripped of their sharp weapons but used to carrying canes as walking aids or as a fashion statement, the idea of adopting the kicking and cane techniques as a self-defensive alternative was not far-fetched. And so, savate and la canne found their way into France’s gymnasiums
and fencing halls. While the techniques of English boxing had been incorporated into savate and had become known as boxe française around 1830, la canne became part of the standard repertoire of weapons taught by fencing teachers. They further developed la canne techniques based on sabre fencing. Different styles and directions shaped by different masters emerged, and soldiers in the French army learned savate and la
canne. These defensive weapons were unified in 1843 by Louis Leboucher in his work, Théorie pour apprendre tirer la canne en vingtcinq leçons (“The theory behind learning how to fight with la canne in twenty-five lessons”). Towards the end of the 19th century, the streets of Paris became safer, and the self-defensive aspect of la canne became less important. In 1899, Joseph Charlemont pub-
lished his textbook, L’art de la boxe française et de la canne: nouveau traité théorique et pratique (“The art of la boxe française and la canne: new theoretical and practical essays”). In this book, Charlemont championed the shifting of savate and la canne to a more sporting-oriented event. His method was employed when la canne was a demonstration sport in the Paris Olympic Games of 1900 and 1924.
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With World War I came the decline of the two arts; the era of the Belle Époque was over, and walking canes became unpopular. Many practitioners and masters had fallen in battle. After World War II, it took some time until savate and la canne recovered.
In the 1950s, Roger Lafond established a unique method. The attacking strikes became more circular with an extended forearm mainly out of the wrist, still strongly resembling sabre fencing techniques. Attempts to further develop la canne towards a dynamic and modern competition sport, setting up rules and eliminating dangerous strikes, followed in the years. A repertoire of techniques became standardized and described in Maurice Sarry’s book, La Canne: Arme de defense, sport de combat (“The walking stick: defensive weapon, combat sport”) from the late 1970s, which is the basis for the sport that we today know under the name, “la canne de combat.” In the same time frame, savate underwent a similar development from a mainly self-defensive art towards a competitive sport. From 1965, French savateurs organized themselves in a national commission called Comité National de Boxe Française, and ten years later, the French Savate Federation was founded, uniting both la boxe française and la canne de combat under one roof. The first la canne de combat competitions took place in 1979 and saw the establishment of the first French championship one year later.
Another ten years later, in 1985, the International Savate Federations, or FISav, was founded. World championships in la canne de combat were first realized in the French overseas department of Ile de la Réunion in 2004, initially as a separate event and with a four-year frequency. Since 2016, la canne de combat world championships joined with savate assaut, the light-contact variant of boxe française, and a two-year cycle. Today, national federations from more than 60 countries and all five continents belong to the International Federation. The FISav is a member federation of the GAISF (Global Association of International Sports Federations) and was featured in the 2013 World Combat Games in St. Petersburg, Russia. Currently, the FISav is applying for recognition as an Olympic sport. Alongside la canne de combat, several associated cane and staff disciplines were developed with or parallel to la canne—for instance, the addition of savate kicks to the la canne strikes known as la canne chausson (“cane with slipper”), or the variant with two sticks, double la canne, which is based on la canne techniques to a great degree but using two hands and carried out with either 140 or 120 cm staves.
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Historically, up to the shoulder height is the batôn fédérale. A longer staff of between 160 and 180 cm, traditionally up to nose height and used with a different gripping technique, is common for batôn de joinville. Their unique swinging techniques distinguish it from other methods. Several different groups in France have experimented with competition formats for several of the associated disciplines. So far, only la canne de combat has established itself as an international competitive sport. World Combat Games 2013 in St. Petersburg, Russia. [Photo courtesy of Ollie Batts]
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TECHNIQUES OF LA CANNE
With its development towards a competitive sport, most self-defensive elements of la canne de combat were deemed too dangerous and no longer practiced. Some of its techniques, movements, and tactical rules might appear counterintuitive to practitioners of other martial arts. Overall, la canne’s techniques are more fluid and spacious than short and effective. The proper execution of the strike is as important as the target hit itself. Consequently, la canne is an elegant and stylish sport that is very appealing for spectators. Before we get into more detail about the specifics of la canne de combat, we would like to note that, as the sport is relatively young, the rules regarding the competition setup and the techniques are in
flux and have been subject to various changes over the years. Regulations may also differ between different national and international federations. Our explanations aim to take this into account. The weapon used in competition is a straight and slightly conical 95-cm-long cane weighing between 100 and 120 grams, made of chestnut wood and wielded with one hand. The lower quarter on the thicker end is designated as the grip area and may be wrapped with tape to reduce slipping. The “upper quarter” or quart supérieur is the hitting area. While it is allowed to use the entire cane length to parry incoming strikes, only the upper quarter is a valid area to hit your opponent’s target areas.
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There are three designated target areas: the head (from the sides, the front, and the top, but not the back), the torso (the area below the breast and above the pelvic bone, depending on the rule set either only front and sides or all way around) and the lower legs (below the knee and above the ankle, and all way around). The protective equipment consists of a padded jacket, trousers and gloves, a padded fencing mask, shin pads, and a breast guard for female athletes or a cup for male athletes.
The fighting area is a circle with a diameter of nine meters, denoted by markings on the floor. Unlike classical fencing, where the athletes only move forward and backward, cannists are free to move in every direction within this area and leave the fighting axis by moving to the side, which is called décalage or débordement. Consequently, the footwork and movements in la canne somewhat resemble martial arts like boxing or savate rather than the classical fencing disciplines.
La Canne de Combat World Championship 2014 in Budapest, Hungary. [Photo courtesy of Ollie Batts]
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In la canne, there are six striking techniques. Each strike needs to fulfill six technical criteria for a hit to be valid. We will only describe two of the strikes in more detail. The techniques are distinguishable by their trajectory plane, whether the attacker executes the strike on the exterior side of the body (i.e., the side of the weapon-holding hand) or the interior side of the body (i.e., the side opposite the weapon-holding hand), and for the
vertical strikes, whether they target the high or the low target areas. The techniques are: the latéral extérieur (horizontal exterior), the latéral croisé (horizontal interior), the brisé (vertical exterior, high line), the croisé haut / croisé tête (vertical interior, high line), the enlevé (vertical exterior, low line) and the croisé bas / croisé jambe (vertical interior, low line). The horizontal strikes can target all three areas, while the vertical ones are limited to either the head or the legs.
La Canne de Combat World Championship 2014 in Budapest, Hungary. [Photo courtesy of Ollie Batts]
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SIX TECHNICAL CRITERIA FOR LA CANNE DE COMBAT STRIKES The cannist has an obligation to:
1) Prepare a strike with an armé 2) Carry out a lunge/fente when attacking the legs 3) Respect the horizontal or vertical plane of the strike 4) Carry out the cane rotation behind the spine 5) Engage an open >90°, shoulder-arm angle in the moment of target contact 6) Fully extend the arm with the cane in prolongation of the arm at the moment of target contact
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The initial position for the strikes is usually the so-called garde normale, where the foot corresponding to your weapon hand is slightly in front, and the cane is pointing upwards in a neutral where it is not endangering your opponent’s position. It is, however, also allowed to carry out strikes from the garde opposée, with the foot opposite of the weapon hand leading. However, for most people, the execution of the techniques seems to
be easier from the normal guard position. It is allowed and customary to change both the guard position and the weapon hand as one sees fit. The ability to change one’s guard position and weapon hand is an important feature in la canne de combat. It ensures that you can attack from every position and out of every situation, no matter how and where you or your opponent have moved within the circular fighting area.
Evolution of latéral extérieur, including guard (far left) and armé (third from left) position
Here, we would like to illustrate the technical rules for the la canne de combat strikes with the example of the latéral extérieur (horizontal exterior) strike. Like every strike, the latéral extérieur begins with a preparation movement. First, the armé: the body is rotated by 90° into the direction of your weapon hand (i.e., exterior), so clockwise if you are holding the cane in your right hand. With this rotation, you place your weapon hand
behind your spinal cord and bring the cane into a horizontal position over your head, the tip of the cane pointing toward your opponent. In the execution of the strike, the cane has to fulfill a full circle until it reaches the target. The largest part of the circular movement of the cane has to occur behind your spine. At the same time, the horizontal plane of the strike maintains its integrity. Practically this means that, from the armé position, you
first only move the cane in your hand. When, during the rotation, the cane passes behind your body, you extend and straighten your arm and start your delayed body rotation. The cane is supposed to finish its rotation together with your body, hitting your target from the side. During the last quarter of the strike, the weapon arm is fully extended and elongated until contact. If your opponent is not your size or if you attack the torso, it is, of course, not possible to carry out the strike with the cane perfectly
The fente arrière (backward lunge).
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horizontal. Thus, it is allowed to deviate from horizontality slightly. However, there must be no kinks or waves in the overall trajectory. And the cane point must not drop or rise out of the modified plane. One must carry out a lunge or fente when attacking the legs to avoid a diagonal trajectory. Due to the fente, the cannist’s body and thus the cane’s trajectory is lowered, facilitating the horizontal plane of the strike. In a fente, one leg has to be bent (while rules differ on the extent of the flexion), and one
needs to stretch out. In la canne, we distinguish between two kinds of lunges: the fente avant (forward lunge) where the front leg flexes— this is basically the same lunge as utilized in classical fencing—and the fente arrière (backward lunge), where the front leg stretches out and the back leg is bent. During an exchange, the cannists often change their relative position to each other. It is not unusual to see both lunges carried out to the side rather than strictly forward or backward. The fente avant and the fente arriére can still visually be easily distinguished, as, in the former, both legs are parallel, while in the latter, the bent leg is orthogonal to the straight leg. The horizontal interior strike (latéral croisé) is carried out in the same way as the latéral extérieur, only the direction of body and the cane rotation reverses.
Target areas in la canne de combat: head, torso, and lower leg with fente avant.
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Likewise, vertical strikes work after the same principle. For example, let us look at the vertical exterior strike (brisé) that is aiming at the top of the opponent’s head. First, you take to the armé position by turning your body 90° clockwise, as this is again an exterior strike, and move your hand behind your spine, roughly at hip height. The cane lies on the plane along the fighting axis, which runs through you and your target. As for the vertical strikes, it is not always feasible to point the cane tip perfectly at your opponent. In these cases,
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the circular movement of the cane is reducible to about three quarters of a circle. In the brisé, you rotate the cane behind your spine, at first keeping your hand fixed at hip height. Only when the cane is in the rising phase of its trajectory behind your body do you start extending your arm and rotating your body. The cane is then supposed to hit your opponent’s head from the top while your arm is fully extended and elongated at the moment of contact. Ensure neither your hand nor the cane leave the vertical plane at any time during your strike.
Evolution of brisé, including guard (far left) and armé (third from left) position.
“The fact that la canne excludes close-distance combat is in contrast to most other martial arts and adds the challenge of correct distance-setting in every situation of the dynamic exchange during a bout.”
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Apart from the six technical criteria that all have to be met for a strike to be valid and score points, four more criteria come into play in the interaction with the opponent. The first is the obligation to abide by the parade/esquive-riposte (parry/evasion-riposte) rule found in foil and sabre fencing, where the first cannist initiating an attack has the right to complete it. The opponent can only overtake this right of way when the defender avoids the hit by either a parry or by dodging the strike and answering with a riposte right away. This avoids situations where both cannists hit a target at the same time, disregarding the objective of hitting without being hit. The second additional criterion states that only the last quarter of the cane can make contact with the opponent. This narrowly defines the distance at which you are allowed to hit. The fact that la canne excludes close-distance combat is in contrast to most other martial arts and adds the challenge of correct distance-setting in every situation of the dynamic exchange during a bout. This was established when la canne moved away from self-defense towards a competitive sport, and close-range techniques like strangleholds or two-handed parries were discard-
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ed. Classical fencing does possess close-range techniques like the attack out of the neuvième parry, or pulling your weapon arm high and behind your back close to the rear shoulder. However, it is customary to pause the bout if the fencer’s bodies touch or if the exchange gets too unclear for the judge to follow. However, in fencing, you usually want to close the distance to your opponent when attacking, while backward movements are normally for evasion. In la canne, it is also sometimes necessary to open the distance when attacking. This is achieved mainly by footwork, but specific techniques like the fente arrière (backward lunge) can be used to open the distance to your opponent during your strike. This particular lunge does not, for example, exist in classical fencing. The third criterion is about the impact of the hits, which are supposed only to be a touch and without force. La canne de combat is a light-contact sport that does not focus on the strike’s effectiveness or harming an opponent, but rather it is about technique and scoring points. The last criterion covers the designated target areas: the head except the back, the torso between the breast and pelvic bone, and the thighs between the knee and the ankle.
Esquive-riposte Top: Left cannist partially dodges by lifting her front leg while preparing her own strike. Bottom: Right cannist dodges by jumping while striking.
Later, additional rules came into play to prevent dangerous or destructive play. For instance, it is prohibited to destroy your opponent’s distance by advancing into an ongoing strike—the anti-jeu rule. In competition, a referee is present in the fighting area who is responsible for the correct proceeding of the bout for the safety of the fighters, such as remarking on rule violations. There are three scoring judges, one sitting at every 120° around the nine-meter-diameter circle, to cover every viewing angle. They have the complex task of evaluating whether hits were carried out according to the criteria— as the fight is not stopped after
each hit as in fencing, and the judges only have a very short time window to do so. Rather than mentally ticking off boxes for one criterion after another, the judges assess the “global image,” or l’image globale, and whether the techniques are free from dissonances. They then score by hits, either done openly by lifting a blue or yellow colored flag associated with the fighter who scored a hit or using concealed clickers. An alternative scoring system similar to the one used in savate or boxing is currently in trial. Here, the judges evaluate which fighter is predominating according to their observations and then assign a score for each round. A bout consists of three to five rounds
“La canne de combat is a light-contact sport that does not focus on the strike’s effectiveness or harming an opponent, but rather it is about technique and scoring points.”
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[Photo courtesy of Svetlana Drobinskaya]
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of one and a half or two minutes. Another more casual competition format is where teams of two or three cannists take turns in a bout of up to nine minutes. This method of scoring is employed in three well-established and annually held friendly team competitions in France: the Titis Parisiens in Paris, the Miladiou in Toulouse, and the Bazhataeg in Quimper. As you might have remarked, la canne is a very technical sport, and the technical rules for the validity of the strikes might appear daunting for the la canne novice at first. Having previous knowledge in other martial arts, especially savate, will surely facilitate your entry. Although it visually is not necessarily recognizable, the principle of body rotation with a punch or kick is an element in numerous martial arts. And once you tackle the techniques, la canne leaves a lot of liberty around the sole techniques and gives room to develop your own style. Also, the limited number of six striking techniques and two lunges might appear quite restrictive at first glance, but combinations and variations, such as secondary techniques like feints, jumps, turns, or cane manipula-
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tions, are allowed as long as they are not violating any rules. Some of the latter have been developed recently by athletes, but others have a historical background. Charlemont, for instance, described in 1899 already that voltes or “turns” can be employed when fighting against several opponents and should be used to move towards free space. Lately, there have been attempts to emphasize the stylistic aspects of la canne de combat by modifying the competition rules. These trends aim towards awarding points for style and a broad variety of applied techniques rather than solely focusing on hits. La canne de combat has a lot to offer: on the one hand, it is a dynamic and tactical competitive sport; on the other hand, it is quite technical but elegant at the same time. As a young sport, there is a lot of room for creative development and contribution to shaping it in the future. If you have the opportunity to try it out, grab it!
[All photos in this article were provided by courtesy of Henti Smith, unless otherwise indicated.]
Nicole Holzmann @ nicole.holzmann.980
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THE EUROPEAN QUARTERSTAFF A HISTORICAL REVIEW Steaphen Fick
THE QUARTERSTAFF IS AN iconic weapon used in history and fiction for self-defense and war. Staff weapons are some of the oldest weapons of war and defense, and every culture has staff work and uses a long staff for combat. In the European tradition, we do the same, and it is used as a training tool for other weapons as well. The staff was most commonly cut from ash, oak, or some other hard
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wood. Higher quality staves were also often tipped with metal on either end to add to the force of the strike. We have all seen the picture or video of Robin Hood fighting Little John with a quarterstaff on a bridge over a creek, but how did they use the staff weapons? In the European tradition, the staff weapon is taught as a staple in the mar-
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tial tradition. The “quarterstaff” is called so because you hold onto one quarter of the staff and hold three quarters of the staff between you and the opponent (Figure 1). The use of the staff changed in Europe when the staff moved from self-defense usage to more sporting usage. In war settings, the staff was held with a long part extended forward more like a two-handed sword. Once the staff was being used more for sports, the practitioners started to rely more on methods and techniques of “halfstaff (Figure 2).” When using the staff in the “halfstaff” grip, the practitioner is closer to the opponent and therefore not as much force is developed in the strike. When you are using the staff in the “quarterstaff” grip, you hold the staff to your measurements; the back hand is the length of your forearm from the butt of the staff, and your lead hand is the length of your forearm above that. When holding the staff like this, you are using your staff as you would hold and use a two-handed sword.
Figure 1
Figure 2
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The quarterstaff
Le Jeu de la Hache is a French manuscript that translates to “The Play of the Axe,” written around 1400 by an anonymous Milanese fencing master who was in service to Phillip II, “the Bold,” the Duke of Burgundy. The poleaxe is a knightly weapon that was used for warfare and for dueling. The poleaxe is a staff weapon that has a dague (dagger) at one end and a queue on the other end that often has a butt spike. The poleaxe has a hammer and a spike right below the dague. The poleaxe is a crushing weapon with thrusting points at every angle. When the word “pole” is used in the word “poleaxe,” it is not talking about the haft of the weapon; the hammer is called a “pole” or “poll.” The poleaxe is also another name for the battle axe.
The halberd
The author of Le Jeu de la Hache says that you should hold the poleaxe so that you have space behind your back hand; that you can use the queue to defend with and you can start with either the dague or the queue forward. When you are holding onto your weapon, you cannot cross your arms against your body because of the weight of the weapon. When you have your right foot forward, you should have your right shoulder forward. If your left foot is forward, your left shoulder should be, too. You can shift your grip so either hand is leading, but you need to transfer your hands so that you do not take one hand off the weapon and are able to keep contact with both hands on the haft of your weapon.
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The poleaxe (left), bardiche (middle), and partisan (right)
The bec di corbin
When you hold the poleaxe in the middle of the haft, they call it demi hache. Because of the weight of the weapon he also says that you can “. . . give him a hard blow with all your strength, simply to see whether you can hurl him on the ground.” Almost all the footwork in Le Jeu de la Hache are passing steps when you use the dague or the queue so that you are moving the ends of your weapon with your footwork. In 1410, there was a manuscript called Fior di Battaglia (The Flower of Battle) written by Fiore de’i Liberi. He was a master in the Bolognese style. In his manuscript, he shows techniques for the spear, the poleaxe, and the club. He uses the spear in the fashion of the longsword. Many of his guards for the spear are the same as we see in the longsword. His spear work includes thrusting and cutting techniques. You will even see some of the techniques in the mounted combat section when he is using the lance from horseback. Fiore also teaches actions with the pole-
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The lochaber
The spear
axe and says that many of his techniques come from the longsword section. He uses footwork to his advantage that allows the player to move off the line, so that he can control the center line and dominate the line of the adversary’s attack. With his footwork, he uses steps called Accressere (the advance), Discressere (the retire), Mezza Volta (the passing step), and Tutta Volta (the complete turn where you move your body around the staff weapon as opposed to moving the weapon around your body). In the 1540s, Paulus Hector Mair published a two-volume collection of German fencing manuscripts1 that included every fencing treatise that he could obtain. In his manuscript, he has instructions on the use of the short staff which he calls the spiess (spear), the lance which he calls langen spiess (long spear), the poleaxe which he calls the mordagst (murder axe), the halberd, and what he calls the peasant stick, a tree branch around three and a half feet long. 1 David James Knight and Brian Hunt, The Polearms of Paulus Hector Mair (Paladin Press, 2008).
The Swedish axe
Figure 3
Figure 4
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The short staff is a thrusting spear just over six feet long. Mair states that “the short staff is the base of all long weapons.” Mair uses the Latin name hastula, which is a diminutive form of the word hasta, meaning spear. He suggests that the fencer should stand in a linear stance and use linear footwork (Figure 3), and use the short staff as a training tool for the spear. In his section on the short spear, he tells the reader to hold the staff with the back hand at the end of the staff and with the lead hand around the middle of the staff (Figure 4). He also describes techniques that hold the staff in “half-staff,” in which you hold your hands about shoulder width apart and with an even amount of staff extending out on either side of your hands.
When he teaches the students about the long staff (the pike), he is using a staff that is 12 feet to 16 feet long. With this long staff, he holds the staff with his back hand at the base of the staff and his lead hand at arm’s length with a slight bend in the elbow, or alternatively, with both hands held together at the end of the staff when you are pushing your staff through your lead hand so that your hands come together in a thrust. This grip gives you the greatest reach possible with your long staff. He also uses the long staff by moving the staff in his hands so that he is in the middle of the staff with his hands a little wider than shoulder width. He uses this half-staff grip for closing in on his opponent.
staff weapon, you can use any staff weapon. At the beginning of his section on staff weapons, he says that: “. . . foreasmuch as I am of opinion that all of them may be handled in manner after one waye, it shall not be amisse if I declare the reason thereof . . . holding and maintaining always for my conclusion that the skill of handling of them helpeth a man to the knowledge of all the rest, for as much as concerneth true Arte.” He also gives instructions on the use of the bill, the halberd, the partisan, and the javelin. Because these weapons have thrusting points as well as cutting edges, he suggests that you can thrust and cut with
The poleaxe and the halberd are used in the same way as the short staff. The movement of your hands from the end of the staff to the middle of the staff also means that the practitioner can use the staff to enter range to grapple with his opponent (Figure 5). In a manuscript called His True Arte of Defence written by Giacomo di Grassi in 1570 and translated into English in 1594, di Grassi gives instructions for using the staff as a defensive and offensive weapon. He says that if you can use one Figure 5
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this tool, and points to the dangers of each of these techniques. With these tools he suggests that you take a low guard with the hands somewhat distant and the point of the weapon directly towards the enemy. Copies of this manuscript can be found online at: https:// wiktenauer.com/wiki/Giacomo_ di_Grassi In Joachim Meyer’s manuscript called Gründtliche Beschreibung der Kunst des Fechtens (Thorough Descriptions of the Art of Fencing)2 first published in 1570, he teaches the use of a variety of weapons and says all of them find their fundamentals in the dussack. His quarterstaff is also used to teach his techniques for the two-handed sword and the halberd. Meyer says that if you are right-handed, you should hold the staff with your left hand on top and with your right hand at the base of the staff. In this grip, your right hand should be about a hand’s width from the end of the staff while the other hand should be at arm’s length (Figure 6), but slightly bent. He says that this grip gives you more options for thrusting and one-handed strikes. Meyer 2 Joachim Meyer, The Art of Combat: A German Martial Arts Treatise of 1570, trans. Jeffrey L. Forgeng (Frontline Books, 2020).
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The dussack
Figure 6
says that you can also hold the staff in the middle with your hands just a little wider than your shoulders; however, the most common grip in his treatise is with your hands closer to the end of the staff (Figure 7). Meyer says that you should stand in a narrow stance with your left foot in front and your right foot behind at 90 degrees, with your weight more to the front leg (Figure 8). Your stance is in a profiled position whereas in Swetnam and Silver the stance is more of a wider stance so that your body is at about 45 degrees to the opponent.
In his 1599 book, Paradoxes of Defense3, George Silver talks about the use of two types of staves—the short staff and the quarterstaff. When discussing the length of the short staff, he says: “ . . . the perfect length is measured by standing upright, holding the staff upright close by your body, with your left hand, reaching with your right hand your staff as high as you can and then allow (add) to that length a space to set both your hands (approximately the width of your shoulders) . . . these lengths will commonly fall out to be eight or nine foot long.”
Figure 7 (top) & Figure 8 (bottom)
The boarding pike (half-pike)
ger, or rapier and poignard. Silver has four guards with the short staff: two high guards and two low guards, two with the point up and two with the point down. He also says:3 “ . . . (and) if a blow be first made, a thrust followeth; & if a thrust be first made, a blow followeth; and in doing of any of them, the one breedeth the other.” Silver says that the short staff has the advantage against the battle axe (this is the poleaxe), the bill, or the halberd because of its nimbleness and length. The short staff is also known as the half-pike and was a common weapon on the sailing ships of the day that were used to protect against boarding actions from other ships. He says that the short staff will have the advantage against opponents with two swords, sword and dag3 George Silver, The Works Of George Silver: Comprising Paradoxes Of Defense And Bref Instructions Vpo My Pradoxes Of Defense (1898), ed. C.G.R Matthey (Kessinger Publishing, 2010). 232 | The Immersion Review
The grip that George Silver suggests is that you should have about a foot of length behind your rear hand on any weapon in which the hands may be removed and be at liberty to make the weapon longer or shorter in a fight at your pleasure. The long staff could be up to 12 feet long and the pike could reach up to 16-18 feet long. Some of the other weapons that the short staff may come up against on the battlefield could be things like the battle axe. The bill, the battle axe, and the halberd were usually around five to six feet long. In his 1617 manual The Noble and Worthy Science of Defence, Master Joseph Swetnam also talks about the use of the quarterstaff. He has two guards that he suggests for the staff: the high guard and the low guard.
Figure 10 (top) & Figure 11 (bottom)
In the “low guard” (Figure 10), Swetnam says that: “ . . . you should keep the point of your staff aimed at the face of your opponent with one hand at the very butt end of the staff, and the other a foot and a half distant. Looking over your staff with both
your eyes. In this guard the hands are low, and the point of the staff is high, but not so high that you cannot look over the point at your opponent’s face.” Swetnam’s other guard is the “high guard” (Figure 11). In the high guard your hands are high, and your point is low towards the
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ground. Swetnam says that you use this guard if the opponent attacks you with a blow or thrust to a low target below your “girdle-stead.” This would be around the navel. He says it is very important that, when you use the high guard to defend against a low attack, you should swing your staff in a circular movement to strike the attack away. He also says: “ . . . (by) turning the point of your Staffe towards the ground, but be sure to strike it with that large compasse, that the point of your Staffe towards the ground, but be sure to strike it with that large compasse, that the point of your Staffe may pitch not in the ground.” When you defend against a thrust or blow in this fashion, he suggests that you should let go with your forehand so that the adversary cannot hit your hand, and the back of your staff will still protect the upper part of your body. Most of Swetnam’s defenses are done with blows, and his offenses are completed with thrusts, which we see as the predominant style of fencing in the 17th century.
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In both systems by Silver and Swetnam, the stance is such that you match the like foot to like foot. If the adversary has his right foot forward, then you should have your right foot forward. When you are standing in your guard, you should not cross your arms in your grip. If you have your right foot forward, your right hand should be on the top of your grip. Swetnam calls this the “true carriage of your Staffe,” and Silver calls this grip the “true grip” of the short staff. Silver says that if you are using a long staff, over eight feet long, it is important to keep your hands close together. In the 19th century, we see a resurgence of the “Grand Baton” used as a training tool in savate, and Alfred Hutton taught the Grand Baton in the form of the Italian two-handed sword called the spadone, which was a popular two-handed sword of the 16th and 17th centuries. In the 19th century, we see the first renaissance of HEMA (Historic European Martial Arts).
At Davenriche European Martial Artes School, the quarterstaff is taught in the Italian tradition. We use the staff with the rear hand about one and a half feet from the end of the staff (or the length of your forearm from your wrist to your elbow; this is also the length of the medieval thrusting dagger) and the lead hand the same distance from the rear hand as shown in the pictures here. The stance we use puts your body at a 45-degree angle to your opponent, to facilitate both thrusting and cutting techniques. We do not cross our arms in our movements because we do the same techniques with
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the spear, the staff, and the poleaxe. When we move from one side of our body to the other side, we do our transfer without taking the hand off the staff. The way we do this is by opening all the fingers on the lead hand except for the thumb and ring finger (Figure 12). We slide the rear hand up to connect with the encircling fingers of the lead hand (Figure 13). Once the rear hand has contacted the lead hand, we slide the
Figure 12
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lead hand down over the new lead hand without taking it off the staff (Figure 14). As you bring your rear hand to your lead hand, your staff should be straight up and down, thus maintaining your defense in the transfer. Do not step forward until you have your staff upright in front of your body so that you are moving behind your weapon. This allows you to develop power in your strike without ever taking your hands off the staff.
Figure 13
Figure 14
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Figure 15(a)
When you are moving your staff in circular motions, your lead hand stays in place at full extension (but not locked) and the rear hand moves the point using your lead hand as a fulcrum (Figure 15(a)(d)). This is the kind of action that allows you to do beating attacks to the opponent’s staff without moving your defense away from the front of your body. There are many techniques in the use of staff weapons in various manuscripts. There are several German manuscripts that show the spear used alone as well as with a sword or buckler, as shown
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Figure 15(b)
in Gladiatoria, MS KK5013.4 Whether it is a staff alone, one that has end caps to add to the weight of the strike, or one that has complex ends such as the spear, the poleaxe, the bill, and the partisan, the techniques and movements of the staff are similar. There is another master who wrote in the Bolognese tradition that takes the teachings of Fiore de’i Liberi and teaches the reader the same kind of techniques for dueling rather than usage on the battlefield. The author is Philippo di Vadi Pisano, 4 The MS KK5013 is a German fencing manual from circa 1430 that is currently in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria.
Figure 15(c)
Figure 15(d)
who wrote his manuscript called De Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi (On the Art of Swordsmanship).5 I will end this article with a verse from Vadi’s manuscript in the poleaxe section: “Knowing how cunning human nature is, and for everyone who is practiced in the art can understand all the actions depicted and shown in this, my little work, mainly of the sword, the axe, the spear and the dagger.”
5 Philippo di Vadi, De Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi (lulu.com, 2019).
Steaphen Fick @ steaphen.fick
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THE USE OF POLEARMS:
JOACHIM MEYER, THE 16TH-CENTURY FENCING MASTER Roger Norling
JOACHIM MEYER WAS BORN in 1537 in Basel of today’s Switzerland. His father, Jakob, was likely a papermaker and a cutler and may have moved to nearby Straßburg sometime before 1560. Joachim Meyer was noted as a burger and cutler in Straßburg in 1560 when he married a widow named Appolonia Ruhlman. In his short, 34-year life, he became a renowned fencing master, teaching burgers, dukes, and princes and authoring five or six extensive fencing treatises, three
Portrait of Joachim Meyer, from Gründtliche Beschreibung der . . . Kunst des Fechtens (1570), public domain. [Courtesy of Wiktenauer by HEMA Alliance]
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preserved, two of which are translated into modern English by Dr. Jeffrey Forgeng. Meyer wrote one treatise specifically for Duke Otto von Solms-Sonnewalde, who likely received Meyer in 1568. His second treatise, Gründtliche Beschreibung der Freyen, Ritterlichen und Adeligen Kunst des Fechtens (A Thorough Description of the Free, Knightly and Noble Art of Combat), was printed and written with both young boys and experienced soldiers in mind. This was an exceptionally innovative and even revolutionary treatise in its pedagogical approach to teaching martial arts, teaching not just how to fight but also how to
learn how to fight. His third treatise was never completed or published and is a collection of older fencing treatises by earlier fencing masters, as well as a section of his own—on the rapier—bringing together his own learnings, having studied under Italian, Spanish, Neapolitan, French and German fencing masters. All three treatises are directly attached to predominantly protestant dukes and princes. The second was the printed treatise dedicated to Johann Casimir—Count Palatine of the Rhine—a powerful man serving directly under the emperor.
Source: Gründtliche Beschreibung der . . . Kunst des Fechtens (1570), public domain .[Courtesy of Wiktenauer by HEMA Alliance]
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In 1571, a year after publishing his printed treatise, Meyer had taken an appointment as fencing master at the court of Duke Johann Albrecht of Mecklenburg. He was the same duke who gave the Freifechter von der Feder their first official recognition in Schwerin but seemingly caught ill while traveling to Schwerin and died two weeks later. The Early Years Meyer’s time was an intense period of violent conflict, primarily between Catholics and protestants, various protestant groups, and infrequent mass murders of jews.
Mass slaughter was frequent on the battlefields and in city streets. Of course, the Ottoman Wars in Europe were also in constant awareness, with the Battle of Lepanto in 1571—the very same year that Meyer died. Strasburg, where Meyer lived, was right in the middle of the conflict areas. Just five years after Meyer’s death, we see Count Palatine Johann Casimir, to whom Meyer had dedicated his printed 1570 fencing treatise, leading protestant troops outside of Straßburg.
Source: Gründtliche Beschreibung der . . . Kunst des Fechtens (1570), public domain. [Courtesy of Wiktenauer by HEMA Alliance]
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Contemporary Weapons of War Common weapons of war were the Reitschwert (a cut-and-thrust rapier), an early saber named with a Czech word as dusack, the Schlachtschwert or the great two-handed war sword, the halberd, and the pike. Of course, dagger and grappling were also necessary skills, as was fighting in half or full armor and on horseback for some burghers and nobles. Treatises on group combat in this time are scarce, with most (e.g., Machiavelli with his L’arte della Guerra of 1521) referring to Vegetius’s De Rei Militari, and Roman warfare at military commanders rather than troops. Individual combat practice occurred in the fencing guilds, at university or in private, with hired fencing masters or relatives. Contexts for Combat War was, of course, a ubiquitous context, but far from the only one. The pike and the halberd were vital weapons. Elaborate artwork by Frans Hogenberg or the treatises on war by Johann Jacobi von Wallhausen give us an idea of how intricately designed such warfare could be, at least on the planning stage, before both opposing sides clashed together. Complex forma-
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tions were designed to be adaptable to different circumstances, with three front layers of pikes always able to reach the enemy and troops placed in such a way as to enable both easy retreats for exhausted fighters and advancement of others to face new threats. The battlefield was not the only place for war, though. Just as important was urban warfare, with town militia fighting to protect a city from mercenary soldiers, either outside of or on the city walls, or in the streets, sometimes with pike combat on a narrow street, under a hail of roof tiles thrown by the townsfolk, and shots from arquebusier or crossbows raining down. Every household had to provide a man who would serve in the town militia and as a town guard, keeping the city streets in order. Apart from the clergy and Jews, men were required to be armed, and since drunken brawls and even the occasional riot were common, this was no small task. Conflicts between university students, who lived under church law, and burgers, who lived under town law, were also widespread. Naturally, self-defense was another important context for combat, not least when traveling. Likewise, dueling was a risk most men would
Source: Gründtliche Beschreibung der . . . Kunst des Fechtens (1570), public domain. [Courtesy of Wiktenauer by HEMA Alliance]
have to consider and accept under certain circumstances. These contexts were regulated by different laws and customs, restricting what one was allowed, expected, and required to do, with actions that sometimes would surprise us because they might seem dishonorable. In other cases, they might appear stupid as we don’t understand the historical mindset. For this reason, to truly understand these martial arts, it is not enough to just study the weapons or techniques, but we also have to look at history, the customs, how people thought
and behaved in these contexts, and why. Otherwise, it will just lead to empty mimicking of movements, with no understanding of why an action is performed in a particular manner, thereby risking us to, over time, start executing it in a lacking manner. Law and Customs A brief note on laws and customs before I get deeper into the martial arts that I study and teach is in order. Laws regulated all behavior, but it was not uncommon for custom to supersede the law. It
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was especially true for violent conflicts where the defense of honor, body, or family was concerned. Important, however, was to be able to prove that you sought not to escalate the conflict yourself. Witnesses were important, as was your own behavior and conduct. Learning first to strike the opponent with the flat of the blade was crucial to avoid thrusting, which was held in deep contempt if used against one’s own fellow citizens, both in a civilian and military context. Proper and honorable behavior was also important in the
numerous Fechtschulen, the rather bloody fencing tournaments where the fighters won by scoring the highest bleeding wound on the opponent. While unusual, fencers sometimes received fatal injuries in such tournaments. Such incidents were closely examined similarly to any lethal incident in society to determine whether the behavior was criminal. Characteristics Meyer himself wrestled with the same issue I now face, stating:
“First, because this knightly art is grasped with the fist and practiced with the application of the entire body, and so must be learned more through experience than out of books . . . . The other cause is that this knightly art of combat hardly allows itself to be written in books, or composed in writing since it must be executed through the practice of the entire body in the work. Since I have experienced this cause myself, I hold it, as intelligent people can judge, for the greatest and most weighty, but as with the first, I must again acknowledge (as I have said), that every art can be shown with less trouble, and may also be more readily grasped by the learner with the hand through the practice of the body when it is presented in good order.” Translated by Dr. Jeffrey Forgeng, The Art of Combat, 2008).
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Source: Gründtliche Beschreibung der . . . Kunst des Fechtens (1570), public domain. [Courtesy of Wiktenauer by HEMA Alliance]
I will still try to describe some of the aspects that I have found of particular note, and have focused in particular on, in my studies of Meyer’s combat art. Earlier Masters As already touched upon, Meyer was part of a tradition, a lineage of masters, extending back to Johannes Liechtenauer, seemingly, in Meyer’s case, via masters and treatise authors like Hans Talhoffer, Hans Lekuchner, Martin Syber, and Jörg Wilhalm. Upon reading these texts, it is possible to see influences and inspiration from Austrian Freifechter and Trabant
(bodyguard) Andre Paurñfeyndt and his printed 1516 Ergrundung Ritterlicher Kunst der Fechterey, which format-wise bears a distinct resemblance to Meyer’s printed treatise. Likewise, the dagger section of the same Meyer treatise bears a striking resemblance to the dagger teachings of Achille Marozzo and his treatise of 1536, the Opera Nova, with a statistically significant percentage of overlap between the two. Finally, his last, unfinished fencing treatise contained copies of fencing treatises by Martin Syber and Sigmund Ringeck, Martin Huntfeltz, Jud Lew, and Andre Liegniczer, all of whom he must have known.
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Versatility
Weapon Another
The intent behind the combat art that Meyer taught was to create versatile fighters. It was one system, working with particular principles, but applied to many different weapons, with techniques and principles that often, but not always, extended over all of them. The “weapons” were:
The structure in his second treatise is likely the same as what the fencing guilds followed in their teaching progression. And roughly the same treatise by Austrian fencing master Paurñfeyndt layous out: longsword, dusack, rapier, rapier & dagger, grappling, dagger, quarterstaff, halberd, and pike. The longsword lays the foundation for everything, especially the dusack. The dusack, in turn, lays the foundation for the rapier, and the rapier then ties it all together. The quarterstaff, in turn, lays the foundation for the halberd and the pike.
1. unarmed 2. dagger, dusack, or early saber 3. two-handed longsword 4. cut & thrust rapier, rapier, and dagger 5. quarterstaff 6. halberd and pike In conjunction with the above, one learned to fight with all contemporary weapon categories, including large knives, swords, spears, and more. Essentially, one learned to fight with any weapon at hand, or just their own body, including what today would be considered “dirty” tricks, like attacking the testicles or breaking fingers.
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Groups—One
Teaches
All of them are, of course, also weapons in their own right, used both in civilian and military context, 100 years after Meyer’s time. The longsword became more specialized, taking on the shape of the Schlachtschwert, the great two-handed sword. These types of weapons served asymmetrically numbered scenarios to protect dignitaries, banners, and cannons. Longswords saw service as late as in the late 17th century by town guards and were carried by ship captains fighting as the last man on deck.
Differences Between the Three Polearms The use of individual weapons occurs according to shared principles. Yet they are also all different, requiring different handling. And the principles are embodied differently in other techniques. At least at higher levels, underneath it all lies a core understanding of what connects it all and what parameters are at play when working with the principles. Here, core terms like vor (before), indes (meanwhile), nach (after), nachreissen (traveling after), fühlen (feeling), sterck (strong) & sweche (weak), hert (hard), and wech (soft) are central to the understanding of leverage, feeling with the weapon, and timing. These terms are also elusive and hard to grasp for the beginner. The quarterstaff is clean and straightforward and teaches you how to move, thrust, strike, parry, wrench, shift your weight, and time your steps with the motions. However, the halberd makes things far
more complicated, as the halberd blade is for cutting and slicing soft targets, the point for thrusting, and the hook useful for punching through armor. The whole halberd can hook and wrench both the opponent and his halberd and block and parry incoming strikes. Finally, the pike magnifies everything by many orders, with 9 pounds and 18 feet, requiring both strength and stamina, alongside fit body mechanics. Naturally, you can also not swing around a pike in circular or cross-cutting patterns the same way you do with quarterstaff and halberd. Like all polearms, it requires good judgment, both in training and certainly in combat, as Meyer and Giacomo di Grassi stated explicitly.
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ANATOMY OF WEAPONS
The Parts of the Quarterstaff The staff has four divisions in use. First, the forward part, about a hand’s length from the point, is handy for striking and deflecting incoming strikes and thrusts. The part near the leading hand is used for greater leverage when the weapons are bound together. Finally, the part between the hands can sometimes block a strike, and the back end is used for striking or wrenching. The Parts of the Halberd The parts of the halberd are essentially the same, with the addition of a point for thrusting, a blade for cutting at soft targets, and a hook for reversed strikes against helmets or hooking and controlling the opponent’s halberd. The halberd head also commonly has semi-circular areas in the top part, sized and used for controlling the opponent’s weapon, be it a pike, a halberd, or a sword. The Parts of the Pike The parts of the pike are the same as those of the staff, only with the size of the areas considerably greater and used somewhat differently.
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BODY & WEAPON MECHANICS While starting out with the longsword, as taught in the treatise by Sigmund Ringeck, and the early longsword treatise named Hs.3227a—the so-called Döbringer treatise—I soon threw myself headfirst into the study of Joachim Meyer and in particular his halben stangen—the quarterstaff. Ten years later, I consider myself lucky, having started at the end of the treatise with one of the most challenging and most dangerous weapon categories to learn and master, i.e., the polearms. While the operator can use muscular force to manipulate bladed weapons, this is not true for the polearms. You have to use proper body mechanics, using posture and what I refer to as “crossroads,” but which are key stances for changing the weapon’s motion. I soon also realized that this particular way of moving runs underneath all of the treatise
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teachings, not just the polearms. It is a single, cohesive system and way of moving in combat, regardless of weapon, meaning you move more or less the same way with the longsword as you do with the halberd. It is quite possible that earlier masters also taught this similarly. Still, few earlier sources are as explicit or pedagogical as Meyer is with his treatises, so we can’t tell as clearly with those. However, looking at certain sources, like the treatises of Hans Talhofer and Albrecht Dürer, would seem to indicate strong similarities even in this particular area. I will now try to describe this way of moving in more detail. Let’s begin with the most central thing of all, namely . . .
1. Weight Shifting, Footwork, and Extension Central to learning how to move this way is to learn to use weight shifting. This is similar to moving when you shovel snow, reach back, and then scrape forward, and push the shovel full of snow over your shoulder and side. It is similar to moving with a scythe, shifting the weight between the left and right foot. With Meyer, you do this in a low stance, going front to back, with the feet commonly kept in an L-shape at 90 degrees. This weight shifting is also part of the footwork, where the rear leg straightens out. The foot is kept on the ground, accelerating the whole body for as long as possible before the foot leaves the ground, much like motocross riders sometimes break just before the jump, as once in the air, acceleration is no longer possible.
2. Core Rotation To move in a controlled fashion, you need to be able to move in balance, and this is where the concept of core rotation comes in. The torso rotates around your core as if a pole ran through your skull and torso when you step. Doing this allows you to fight in any direction of the compass, even spinning 180 or 360 degrees. 3. Twisting Another central aspect to the body mechanics is twisting, where the leading foot twists outward as the rear heel rises, leaving the toes in the ground. This twisting lets you extend the rear shoulder forward by several inches, compared to when leaving the foot straight ahead. Twisting allows a more extended reach towards your opponent while liberating your whole torso for more unrestricted move-
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ment with the weapon as you pass through, though, and to the various stances. This also prepares for the step, as the twisting of the leading foot provides better stability, setting it near the angle it should have at the end of the passing step done with the rear foot. 4. Leaning & Tilting At the end of the various steps you make, you can complete the weight shifting by leaning your whole torso forward to reach farther to the back or the side to get a better angle—or to protect your upper body, but always only as far as you
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can with maintained body control. Never go lower than you can manage in actual combat, but train to go as low as needed in real combat. This is advised explicitly by Meyer. The head, in turn, can also be tilted away from the opponent’s weapon, as it is a common target and, therefore, should be kept as safe as possible. 5. Grips & Grip Shifting Another fundamental skill taught in the system is “varied gripping” and “grip shifts.” The leading hand can grip the quarterstaff or halberd with the thumbs forward or
toward yourself, and the same is true for the rear hand, although it is usually held with the thumb forward. Holding the quarterstaff is primarily done at the end, the backhand mostly at the chest, at the flank or heart, and the left— leading hand—almost, but not fully, extended, high, forward, or back by the hip. The leading hand slides and shifts positions as you work with the staff, with a wide grip when you need stability and structure—for example, in parries or in wrenching—but a close grip, with hands
together at the end of thrusts, when striking the opponent or the opponent’s weapon. Single hand strikes and thrusts are also frequent, even with the pike in a few techniques. In a few techniques, the rear hand also slides toward the leading hand—toward the center of the staff—so you can use the back end for wrenching and controlling your opponent’s staff while striking with the forward end, all in circular, wheeling motions. To shift your grip to reorient the thumb direction of your leading
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hand, rotate the staff back, with the hand roughly at head height, just behind you on the left, opening up the grip to a “hello” before regripping. To switch to a reversed grip, ensure the rear maintains a “bind” with the opponent’s weapon. One keeps the pressure on but lets the rear hand rotate over the butt, never letting go—then, lifting the back end while throwing the forward end down, rotating it for a complete vertical strike from above. 6. Striking & Striking Lines The most fundamental movement and exercise to practice is “cross-cutting,” or cutting in the shape of an “X,” where, if you use a halberd, you cut from your left, with the left hand and blade high, cutting diagonally down toward your right, first shifting your weight forward. Still, as the halberd comes down by your side, shifting your weight back, pressing the rear end down, the halberd is held diagonally behind you. The point comes forward to a good
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thrusting position, with the leading hand held right by your head, slightly above, and the rear hand extended fully behind you. Shifting your weight forward again, you extend the halberd, cutting down diagonally toward your left with the hook. Extend it, so it is stretched out somewhat diagonally in front of you, and with your rear leg, upper body, rear arm, and the halberd together forming a perfect triangle. Let the halberd fly back with the leading hand resting by your left hip and the rear hand at shoulder height, extended crooked before you on your right side. Complete the whole sequence by letting the halberd go up behind you, recentering your rear hand over your heart, with the halberd extended high behind you on your left. This is a basic exercise that includes several of the key stances of the quarterstaff and halberd: the Oberhut (high guard on the left), Mittelhut (middle guard), Unterhut (low guard), Wechselhut (chang-
ing guard), Oberhut on the right, Steürhut (rudder guard), and Nebenhut (side guard). All of these stances serve as starting and ending points, but more importantly, as points of transition, where you can choose to change the motion and direction of the weapon. And as Meyer notes, it is on the way there that you observe the opponent and decide where to go once you reach the stance, the “crossroads.” Of course, you can also just as well cut diagonally from below, or just high-low, low-high, again like shoveling snow. You can also strike horizontally, along the middle line, vertically, along the centerline, or at any necessary angle. All of this should naturally be practiced with the simple quarterstaff first, then doing so the same way, as if you had a halberd head attached, minding the blade and hook as you strike from left and right. You can strike in two different ways. You can use a wide grip, commonly done with hands together,
or just a single hand holding the staff. In the latter case, the dominant, strong hand is best for control. In the odd technique, striking with the back end is also done, but for the most part, striking is done with the forward part, about a hand’s length from the point. The same is true for deflecting a strike or thrust from your opponent. The quarterstaff is most effective when used with large, circular strikes, combining weight shifting with extension to add more power to the strikes. But regardless of whether you attack, defend, or aim to provoke your opponent, all the strikes pass through the guards as you keep in constant movement, resting in guard only briefly. 7. Stances & Guards Regardless of weapon, there are several stances and guards available. You learn to perform different techniques so that you can respond to an attack wherever you find yourself in your movement between attack and defense. The
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polearms, in particular, are distinctly asymmetric in the use of guards, meaning the left and right stances can be distinctly different despite having the same name. For the staff, you have five (plus one) named, “primary” stances: there is Oberhut (high guard) on the left with the point up, Mittelhut (middle guard) straight forward, Unterhut (low guard) on the left, middle, and right, Wechselhut (changing guard) which isn’t named, but exists with other weapons, is shown in the art, and is necessary for the entire movement, Oberhut on
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the right with the point forward, Steürhut (rudder guard) extended hanging diagonally to the side before you, and Nebenhut (side guard) with the back end forward on the right and the staff diagonally back by your left hip. The Nebenhut and the Steürhut also come in variants that involve looking directly opposite, behind you, just making minor adjustments with the body to enable that, without moving the weapon. The halberd, in turn, uses the same stances as the staff. Interestingly, two more stances used with
the staff and halberd, and other similar polearms, are shown in the art but not mentioned in the text—here borrowing a term from the 14th century Italian fencing master Fiore de’i Liberi, Meyer also shows a stance reminiscent of Fiore’s Tuta Porta di Ferro (“Full Iron Gate”). It is like the Steürhut, only with the weapon not extended in front, but held closer to the chest, still diagonally forward, and with the rear hand reversed, with the thumb aimed at the end of the staff. Meyer also shows something reminiscent of the German Zornhut (guard), but exaggerated, with
the halberd held above your head, point hanging down behind you. Meyer never names or mentions any but they are shown together in Image L in his treatise of 1570. The pike, finally, also has eight named guards: Oberhut on the left, Mittelhut, also called Gerader Versatzung (straight parrying), Feldhut (field guard), which is the same as Mittelhut but holding the pike in the middle, Unterhut (Alber / the “fool”), Oberhut on the right, Dempffhut (suppressing guard). Nebenhut, and Wechselhut, but the names are in part used somewhat
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differently. The weapon’s weight sometimes necessitates letting it rest on your body while threatening your opponent; for example, the Oberhut on the right has the pike resting on the left shoulder. Nebenhut has here taken the place of Unterhut with other weapons and has the point extended forward and down. In contrast, Unterhut, in turn, now has the point up, with the back end by the forward knee, close to the Alber stance, which Meyer mentions as one of the main guards for the pike but never describes. Finally, the Dempffhut is unique to the pike, with the point aimed forward and up and the back end resting on the rear thigh, using a very wide stance, ready to suppress incoming pike thrusts. 8. Targeting Also closely related to striking lines is targeting. First, you divide the enemy into four quarters: left and right, high and low, with the horizontal line placed roughly at heart height. These are called the “Four Openings.” Similarly, the
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head is also divided the same way, with the horizontal line placed below the eyes, right where the neck starts. Much of the targeting taught by Meyer with bladed weapons aims at three weakly protected areas— the neck, the flank below the ribs, and above the knee. Naturally, the power of the polearms means that even with armor, the impact of a strike or thrust will be massive. Common for foot soldiers in his time was half armor, where the lower legs were unprotected and therefore good targets. The face and the hands, too, were commonly unprotected for practical reasons, and consequently, the two were important targets. However, halberds, staves, and spears found use both on the battlefield and in civilian context by burgers, bodyguards, and town militia—therefore, also used against opponents not wearing armor, allowing for more free targeting and breaking of bone and joints.
9. Thrusting & Durchwechseln (“Changing Under”) Equally important to the striking is the thrusting, and most commonly, they are of the “pool cue” kind, with the weapon sliding through your leading hand to a brief, close grip. Thrusts mostly come from a horizontal position—the Mittelhut—which Meyer makes up for half the fighting, with the rear hand starting at the right flank, and the leading hand extended. Commonly, it requires a “gathering step” first, where the rear foot moves toward the leading foot, as you move up or down to the horizontal thrusting stance—the Mittelhut—and then complete with a wide step with the leading foot, landing the foot as the thrust hits at full extension. At times, extend both arms up, thrusting in from above or outside an opponent’s parry. Very common with the thrust is feinting, provoking your opponent to move toward a particular direction, but disallowing the enemy a
bind by dropping your weapon underneath, letting the opponent’s weapon fly over, so you can thrust in on the other side. This can transform into a complex game of trickery, where you only pretend to go underneath, and as the opponent takes the opportunity to thrust straight in, as you let your point drop, you strike it away and counterthrust—and so on . . . . 10. Wrenching & Hooking The back end of the quarterstaff or halberd is also perfect for wrenching the opponent’s neck, wrist, or forearms, causing the opponent to let go of the weapon. The halberd head can also be pressed against the opponent’s throat, forearms, or shins. Likewise, the halberd head comes in handy for hooking both the head of the opponent’s halberd, neck, arms, behind the knee, or the lower legs.—preferably at the Achilles tendons, which causes immense pain, forcing the opponent to step and lose balance.
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11. Economy of Movement The economy of movement is quite characteristic of the system and often misunderstood by students of earlier masters within the Liechtenauer tradition. While particular strikes can appear wide, they are economical and fast. Furthermore, all predefined and named stances connect through actions such as cuts, strikes, thrusts. In fact, different edges of bladed weapons, and all actions, in turn, are con-
nected through the stances. As you attack, defend, deflect, or have your own attack deflected, you should commonly strive to return to the closest stance, letting the weapon move by itself toward it. This preserves your stamina and strength while saving you time for a counter.
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12. Deceiving, Provoking, Taking, Hitting Quite central to Meyer’s style of combat are the words, Reitzen, Nehmen, Treffen (provoking, taking, hitting). Simply put, this means that you can provoke your opponent with an attack using your weapon against an opening or body language to force your opponent to move in a specific direction, opening himself for a strike. Other strikes and thrusts
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displace the opponent’s weapon, using power, structure, angle, or leverage to gain an advantage. Yet other strikes hit the opponent. A strike may also do several of these simultaneously, displacing the opponent’s weapon and hitting the opponent in the same motion. And a feint that the opponent doesn’t aim to defend is, of course, completed as a hitter.
13. Tactics & Psychology Unlike Pietro Monte and his late 15th century fencing treatise, Collectanea, where he divides combatants and their mental and spiritual natures by the four humors—blood (sanguine, active, enthusiastic), yellow bile (choleric, uncontrolled, anger), black bile (melancholic), and phlegm (apathy)—Meyer defines combatants by a seemingly more practical list of characteristics, roughly here translated as:
“overly aggressive and a bit stupid fencers,” “inexperienced but artful opportunity-seeking fencers,” “safety-first fencers” who only take a target when they are sure to have it and know they can retreat safely, and “passive and apathetic fencers” who just wait for the opponent to act.
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Meyer favors the third style in his own fencing, however, also stating that: “[t]he third will only cut to the opening when they not only have it for certain, but have also taken heed whether they can also recover from the extension of the cut back into a secure parrying, or to the Defence Strokes; I also mostly hold with these, although it depends on what my opponent is like.” Translated by Dr. Jeffrey Forgeng, Art of Combat, 2008).
Source: Gründtliche Beschreibung der . . . Kunst des Fechtens (1570), public domain. [Courtesy of Wiktenauer by HEMA Alliance]
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Now, Meyer teaches us what approaches and methods to use against all these types of fencers, but not only that; he also tells us that we should learn to appear to belong to all four to deceive our opponent and depend on the opponent’s particular nature:
“Now as the first ones are violent and somewhat stupid, and as they say, cultivate frenzy; the second artful and sharp; the third judicious and deceitful; the fourth like fools; so you must assume and adopt all four of them, so that you can deceive the opponent sometimes with violence, sometimes with cunning, sometimes with judicious observation, or else use foolish comportment to incite him, deceive him, and thus not only betray him concerning his intended device, but also make yourself room and space for the opening, so that you can hit him that much more surely.”
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A general guiding principle for all combat is to go with your weapon from the opponent’s body to the weapon, controlling it, so you are kept safe from harm. Likewise, you move from the weapon to the body, applying pressure to your opponent so you can exploit a given or created opening. Finally, you should retreat safely with a threat, like a strike. Another guiding principle is to go from a strike to a thrust and a thrust to a strike, again sticking to the economy of movement, going a short and fast route to your target. Studying, Teaching & Sparring with Polearms Luckily, when studying the combat art of Joachim Meyer, we have both quite detailed text descriptions regarding the use of our bodies and the mechanical manipulation of weapons and the body of the opponent, and advice on how to think, on psychology, character types, and how to manipulate them, and much more. The use of terminology is fairly restricted, instead of aiming to let students learn well from a book, without the use of personal eye-to-eye instruction. We also have magnificent artwork from the studio of Tobias Stimmer.
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Carefully designed scenes, complete with square floor tiles, help us understand the angles of the feet and the relative position and angle of the opponents. The artist carefully illustrates the angle of the weapons, teaching us how to use the weapons in various applications of techniques. And with actions caught in mid-motion, we can even learn quite specifically how to move from the artwork. It is quite stunning, and little, if anything, ever exceeds it in quality, earlier or later. Over the more than ten years that I have studied and taught this art, I have tried many different approaches. I have even learned a little bit of jogo do pau and naginata. I have closely examined recordings of and literature on staff traditions worldwide—in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe. Training with polearms is dangerous as we use “sharp” weapons, and no protection outside of actual armor protects you. Of course, in history, people didn’t typically practice in armor, instead mostly just wearing regular clothing, using control to keep the fencers safe. It is also the approach I finally made a choice to adopt, having gone through padded protection and padded or flexible
staves, only to end up frustrated with the severely restricted movement or the artifacts that inevitably come with padded and flexible weapons as many techniques are impossible to perform as intended. Good control is the only practical and reasonable solution. Naturally, such control doesn’t come quickly or easily, especially with such powerful weapons, which is likely why it was the last weapon category fencers learned to master on their path to mastership. For this reason, the staff became the very symbol of the fencing master. These men also used the same staff to separate the fencers in the tournaments going back to the summa rudis, or the judges and ex-gladiators of ancient Rome. So, my advice is to let students wait on sparring with polearms until they have established reasonable control over their bodies and the weapons, which usually takes several years. Furthermore, no modern protection will ever keep your partner or student safe from even a medium-powered blow from a quarterstaff or halberd or any thrust with a nine-pound pike centered on a dollar-sized point. Therefore, we have developed a unique form of sparring, which we
call “free fencing.” In this format, you are allowed to use all techniques, even the most dangerous ones, striking with full power, but under the condition that you can break your attack if you notice that your partner is incapable of defending. It might seem too restrictive, but it makes you even more observant of your opponent’s intentions and openings in their defense, all of which are essential to all close-quarters combat. I hope this brief article on Renaissance polearms combat in the Meyer school has provided some interesting insights into what I find a genuinely fascinating and forgotten part of history. I sincerely hope it will inspire you to pick up the staff and start swinging it to see how it feels. It’s a truly wonderful feeling once your body works in unison with the movements of the staff, and vice versa, with the both of you moving together in a flow with little thought.
Roger Norling @ roger.norling.7
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GREEK STAFF/ STICK FIGHTING George E. Georgas
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STAFF/STICK FIGHTING HAS deep roots in Greece; it found a use for military training and for civilians to defend themselves. The staff was easy to make as a weapon, so even a person of the lower classes could own and use it easily. For example, since ancient times, the staff served as a weapon for shepherds to protect their flocks against predators and thieves.
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Vardoukion: The Staves and Maces of the Medieval Greek Period Teenagers underwent preparatory training before serving in the Imperial or Thematic army in the Byzantine era. Training at this time was known as skrimides by medieval Greeks. During the major feast days of our saints, several physical competitions took place in front of the church as men vied with each other in stick fighting, wrestling, pankration, pammachon, running archery, etc. The mace was one of the favorite weapons used by the Roman or Byzantine army. Various names for the mace are found in contemporary sources, describing multiple types—the apelatikion, bardoukion, matzoukion, koryni, ropalon, ravdion, and sidiroravdion are just some of these terms. Humble soldiers carried the mace-like apelatai and akritai. The elite Tagmata mounted cataphracts, the nobility, and the emperor himself. Armed with staves and sword staves,1 the Acrites, a kind of frontier guardsmen unit, battled against those threatening the empire’s eastern borders. The Acrites were armed with weapons known 1 A type of wooden sword used in battle and not for training.
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Note the stance of the executioners in the top & bottom photos. [Source: Menologion of Basil II]
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as vardoukia, which was a general term that encompassed clubs, staves, and maces. According to the military manual, The Tatika, written by the emperor, Leon the Wise of Macedon, all units of the imperial army would train with wooden staves/sticks/clubs. Overall, the reconstruction of Roman Hoplomachia or Byzantine Hoplomachia is a challenging task. No fencing manuals have come down to us as they have in Germany or Italy. So, we borrowed from the methodology of experimental archaeology to resurrect these arts. We also study Byzantine literature and art to understand ancient Greek combative traditions.
One of our sources is the Acritic Epic of Basilios Digenis Acritas. Digenis was a semi-mythical person. He was once known as a Byzantine warrior protecting the empire’s borders. Researchers unearthed a great deal of helpful information about medieval Greeks’ equipment and martial arts from this epic. Here is a description of a technique with mace and staff. Because the texts come from two different books, the authors describe it as a strike to the head or scalp. The Germans call it Oberhau—a strike from above:
“. . . and emerging from the dark forest, a great wolf, and almost all felt agitated when they saw him. However, Basilios charged against the wolf, and bringing back his great mace, he struck the beast’s head in the middle, and he chopped it in half.” Theophanous, Basileiou 14:4-8.
In another book, Basilios has a duel with an apelati. Apelates were regular warbands. These warriors did not serve anyone, neither the empire nor the Saracens. Here is a description of a duel between Basilios Acritas and Filopappos the Apelati:
“He [Filopappos] wants to lift his sword to strike me, I step back with a small jump. With my staff or stick I strike at his head from above, and if he did not protect his head with his shield, my strike would have crushed his entire skull.” Digenis Acritas wins over Filopappos the Apelati, Epic of Basilios Digenis Acritas.
Both events give the same strike with a blunt weapon. In the first chapter, Basilios kills the great wolf with his mace, and in the second, he uses a staff. Basilios strikes on single fencing time without hesitation in the first event. He takes the initiative—the vor for those who follow the German fencing tradition—and he strikes the wolf on his head. It is logical because he fought a beast.
In the second situation, Basilio duels with a savvy fighter. The author describes the event from a literary point of view, but a fencer can understand the author’s intent. Attempting to understand the type of blow struck, we can deduce it resulted from three possible tactics using the same strike to the head. The first situation is that Filopappos begins his attack striking from above. Still, Basilios reacts with a
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backward jump to avoid the attack and counters with an attack, but Filopappos parries Basilios’s attack with his shield. The second way is the following: Filopappos begins his attack with a strike to the head; Basilios jumps backward to evade Filopappos’s attack and counters as Filopappos tries to regain his balance, but Filopappos manages to parry the counter; finally, Filopappos steps forward and chambers his sword to strike; but Basilios jumps forward and, taking advantage of the opening, delivers a counter strike. So, we have an attack on the preparation of the opponent’s attack, but again Filo-
pappos parries the strike. We can observe the fundamentals of fencing in this description. At times, Basilios opens up the distance to set up his attack. He evades the attack and counters or attacks on the preparation of the attack. From the point of view of Filopappos, we see him both launch and parry attacks. In the period of Latin occupation, both medieval Greeks and Latin trained with a type of sticks/staves called bastons. It was a popular type of training equally for the knights and the Greek nobles. Some of these bastons looked like rods, and others like wooden swords.
The Pammachoi working from the high guard with the matzoukion. Left: Pammachos Dimitrios Bogris; Right: Instructor George E. Georgas.
Both fighters closing into melee distance.
Fighter on the right taking control of his opponent’s elbow, breaking the balance and hitting to the head with an upper strike from the left.
A Note about Basilios Digenis Acritas: He was a legendary Medieval Greek hero. The nickname, Digenis, means “he who has two origins.” His mother was a Greek princess of the Byzantine Empire, and his father was an Arab prince. After the Arab prince became a Christian and a citizen of the empire, the two were married. With their marriage, they had a son named Basilios. From an early age, he committed many brave acts; he killed a lion with bare hands when he was a child, and there were many other such deeds. His most outstanding achievement was that he had a duel with Death in the Marble Halls at the gates of Hades. In this duel, he faced Death with his sword at hand and won, but soon after died from a disease. His last name, as it has come down to us, was Acritas; however, this was not his real last name but the name of a frontier guards’ unit. Of course, Basilios Digenis Acritas was not an actual person. Still, we learn of the spirit and the bravery of all Acrites of the empire, and the way they protected villagers from bandits and the borders from foreign invasion. They were always a small unit, which forced them to eschew head-on battles but rely on hit-and-run tactics to delay and harass the enemy until the Byzantine emperor could order his generals to mobilize and march the Imperial Armies to the threatened regions.
Katsouna, Hourhouda, and Glitsa: the Staves of the Ottoman Occupation During the Ottoman occupation, staves and sword-staves were the weapons of the poor people and the Christians. The Ottomans allowed Christians to have metal weapons if they were armatoloi, or men at arms who acted as local police or as the personal bodyguard units of provincial rulers. In the early and mid-19th century, clan leaders or the protopalikaro (champion) of the clan acted as martial art instructors to other clan members. They taught staff/stick fighting to relatives and villagers, so there
were slight stylistic differences because most of them were initially trained by the Ottomans when they served as armatoloi. Hiding in the mountains of Peloponnese were those clans that never accepted Ottoman rule, and they, in many cases, retained the style of their ancestors. The Cretan revolt against the Ottomans in the 19th century was notable in how Greek men attacked the Ottomans with staves and sword-staves at the onset of the rebellion.
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Junior High School students in 1902 practicing the “setting aside” staff movement in Heracleion, Crete, Greece. [Photo courtesy of Grand Master of Pammachon Martial Education Costas Dervenis]
The Staves of the Late 19th to 20th Centuries in Greece In the late 19th and 20th centuries, the staff was a weapon of self-defense for rural and urban populations, especially elite urban men. The popularity among Greeks carrying wooden sticks in public arose from a ban on duels and the carrying of swords. Due to the ban, many masters of arms switched from fencing with blades to fencing with sticks and canes. The beginning of the 20th century saw many fencing styles where the master at arms had undertaken an apprenticeship.
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The most popular style in Greece was the French, then the Italian schools. Most Greek fencing masters of arms also served as military instructors for the Royal Hellenic Army. Justifying the teaching of foil fencing at this time to the soldiers, they claimed fencing practice would better prepare soldiers for bayonet use. An example of someone who used his cane to save his cousin’s life comes out of an assassination attempt by the Japanese police officer, Tsuda Sanzō—a
member of the samurai class who, armed with a katana, ended up battling with the cane-wielding Prince George of Greece. Before I get to this story, though, let us go over the life and training of both men before this fateful clash took place.
Pammachon staff lesson, from the Greek students of Trebizonte School around 1911. [Photo courtesy of Grand Master of Pammachon Martial Education Costas Dervenis]
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Quick bind of the opponent’s staff.
After the bind, the strike comes in tempo before the opponent can react. The attacker is also stepping inward, changing the fencing line.
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Pammachos and Fencer of the Hellenic Fencing Federation, Filipe Faisal Waddington de Mattos-Parreira, parrying a strike from top left fencing line using one of the parries to the head, which puts him in a position to riposte easily as the opponent tries to get back or strike quickly to the opening.
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The Tale of Tsuda Sanzō and Prince George of Greece Tsuda Sanzō was born in 1855 to a family that could claim samurai status and whose ancestors served as doctors to the royal family of Iga province. After receiving the martial training accorded to the samurai of his class, Tsuda joined the army in 1872. He took part in the Satsuma revolution against the new government of Emperor Meiji in 1877. Tsuda served under the Last Samurai, Saigō Takamori (Takanaga). Young Tsudo was a great admirer of the teachings of Saigō Takamori, a living legend who followed the old traditional ways of Japan. After the devastating defeat of Takamori and his samurai army, Tsuda Sanzō surrendered, received a pardon, and joined the Kyoto police force in 1882. He appeared to be an example of a reformed samurai, but the law of bushido held steady in his heart.
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Tsuda Sanzo
On the other hand, Prince George of Greece and Denmark was born in Korfu in 1869. He was the second son of King George I of Greece, from the House of Glücksburg and the Grand Duchess Olga Constantinovna of Russia. Growing up, Prince George had a series of English and Greek tutors. Thanks to his mother, he grew up a devout Orthodox Christian. His education later continued under the Prussian Otto Lynders. An athletic young man, George loved swimming and rowing. At the age of 13, he enrolled in the Hellenic Military Academy in Piraeus, where he saw fencing for the first time, which was taught daily to the cadets. As part of his education, he learned Danish and, in 1885, enrolled in the Royal Danish Naval Academy in Copenhagen. After four years of study, he returned as a different man. Despite his outward serious mien, George, at his core, remained spontaneous, a bit unruly, and a free spirit.
Prince George of Greece
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Returning to Greece, George joined the Royal Navy and became an adjutant to King George I. Prince George was also a cousin to Nicholas Romanov, later Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. Nicholas’s father had sent him on a trip throughout Europe and Asia to meet various leaders and prepare him for the throne. After visiting the House
of Habsburg in Vienna, he came to Greece, at which time George joined his cousin for his trip. The royal fleet docked at the port of Nagasaki in 1891. The Japanese emperor honored the two princes with appropriate pomp and display. Prince Nicholas and his escort then decided to visit Kyoto. Outside the Oriental Hotel, where
Naval Cadets in fencing lesson (Class of 1890). [Source: Museum of Naval Academy, Piraeus, Greece]
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they were staying, an unruly crowd had gathered, spurred to anger by a recent letter written in blood and made available to the public threatening the Russian diplomatic mission. On April 29th, the Princes Nicholas and George, escorted by Prince Arisugawa-no-miya, traveled by rickshaws from Kyoto to Ōtsu. A police escort accompanied the 40 rickshaws used to transport the princes and their companions through the narrow streets of Ōtsu. Tsuda Sanzō was part of this detail. A few days earlier, this group had visited an off-limits Japanese temple. Overriding this injunction against foreigners and polluting the sacred space with their presence to curry favor with Westerners greatly angered some fanatics. Tsuda Sanzō, a secret bushido fol-
lower, was among them. While the visiting royal entourage was riding in rickshaws through Ōtsu, Tsuda saw an opportunity and took it. Throwing back his coat, he unsheathed his katana, the carrying of which the emperor had banned. Attacking suddenly and fiercely, Tsuda struck Nicholas in the back of the head. Re-chambering his katana, he prepared to finish him off with a second blow when George, sitting next to Nicholas, threw himself in front of his cousin, parried Tsuda’s second cut with his cane, then disarmed the assassin. Surprised and dismayed at his failure, Tsuda turned and tried to make his escape, but two Japanese drivers took off after him, tackled him, and delivered their prisoner Prince Arisugawa-no-miya.
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The Japanese Emperor Meiji was greatly shocked when he learned of the attack, to the point where he took an overnight train to meet his guest as soon as possible and offer his apologies. He was worried that the incident could be the start of a war with Russia. The two henchmen were given medals for chasing and capturing the perpetrator. Prince George was very disappointed by the blame he received from the Russian government for putting the crown prince, Nicholas, at risk by encouraging him to visit dangerous places and desecrate a temple, thereby earning the enmity of a people. Tsuda Sanzō, during his trial, claimed that he wanted to kill the prince because he believed him to be a Russian spy. In May of 1891, he was sentenced to life in a Hokkaido prison called “Japanese Siberia,” but he died on September 30th of
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the same year from pneumonia or hunger as the right to take his own life to atone for his mistakes had been denied him. After his death, the emperor himself forbade the bestowing of the name “Tsuda” to newborn children from Tsuda’s province, and his whole family was dishonored and exiled. There were even thoughts of renaming the city of Ōtsu. Even though he wasn’t allowed to return to Greece with Nicholas, Tsar Alexander III awarded George the rank of Admiral in the Russian navy. The cane with which he defended Nicholas’s life was engraved with the imperial symbols of Russia and displayed at the Benaki Museum in Athens. Even though Tsuda Sanzō trained in a martial tradition superior to that of Prince George, and despite his life-long immersion in the study of bushido, he failed to avenge a perceived in-
sult to the Japanese people. Then to compound his error, he tried to flee the scene as if he was afraid for his life or somehow ashamed of what he had done. Adding further shame to his already tarnished reputation, he allowed two commoners to tackle and arrest him—altogether a shoddy, pitiful, and amateurish attempt to emulate the feats of those samurai who came before him.
ation. Years later, in Crete during the Nazi invasion of the island, while other family members were cowering in a shelter from the shots and bombs, George, now much older, remained in the back of the roofless car wearing a military helmet, unwilling to hide.
On the other side, we have a mediocre fencer, George, who acted immediately, overcame the fear caused by the attack and parried Tsuda’s second cut with a parry on the first of the head—or a parry on the fifth if referring to modern terms—and then disarming his opponent. Indeed, his reaction resulted from training in the military academies, and it wasn’t the first time he revealed a sang-froid demeanor in a life-or-death situ-
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A Cretan striking a Nazi with his staff during the battle of Crete, as depicted in a WWII newspaper.
The last official use of staves or sword-staves in a battle in the 20th century took place during the invasion of Crete. At this time, villagers determined to protect their land, homes, and families set upon the Nazi paratroopers with farm instruments, staves, and swordstaves, then ripping the weapons out of the hands of the bludgeoned Nazis and turning their fire on those still fighting.
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Pammachon staff training in Athens with Instructor Stamatis Stamatoglou and Grand Master Costas Dervenis.
Stick/Staff Fighting in Greece in the 21st Century Now in the 21st century, we still treasure the fighting stick, following our country’s long tradition. The method of training today has three fundamental pillars: 1. The logic, the principles, and the tactics emerge out of European fencing. The staff and sword-staff movements all derive from European fencing traditions, which themselves go back to the Bronze Age. Although there have been changes and improvements in the tactics and strategy, the same fundamentals still apply.
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2. The Hellenic traditional martial education method of Pammachon and its training through war dances—the pyrichios, or the “dance of fire.” These war dances have their origins deep in the past, and there is still a living tradition of these dances being used to train young warriors. These dances prepare young men both physically and emotionally to wage war. An example of this would be the Pontian Pyrichios, the pre-battle dance ritual of the Pontian Greeks who lived around the Black Sea, 2 in what is today Northern Anatolia, Southern Russia, and Ukraine. From those dances still performed today, martial art enthusiasts of ancient Greek warfare can extrapolate ideas of the footwork, tempo, and basic moves that Greek warriors would have once used.
2 Pontus is the ancient Greek word for “-sea.”
3. The historical sources from the manuscripts, manuals-at-arms, and extant paintings give us more clues to how Greek warriors once fought. Today, the Greek stick/staff fighting is a complete system of fighting. A student begins training footwork and the gymnasio of handwork, which are physically intensive games where students learn to unlock their bodies. From this point, a student will learn the basic guards and attacks, followed by wrestling, disarms, locks, counters, and counters attacks. Training does not occur indoors exclusively; outdoor training on different kinds of ground and inclement weather conditions are encouraged.
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Staff training for the local children in Chalki island, Dodecanese, Greece, 2016-2017.
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SELECTED REFERENCES
Αυτοκράτορος Λέοντος του Σοφού, Τακτικά, εκδόσεις ελεύθερη σκέψις. Βασιλεύς Κωνσταντίνος τόμος Α, εκδόσεις ‘το Βήμα’.
Gordon, Andrew. A Modern History of Japan: From Tokugawa Times to the Present. Oxford University Press, 2003. H Ελληνική Επανάσταση, του Δ. Κόκκινου, Τόμοι 1-5, εκδόσεις Μέλισσα.
Keene, Donald. Emperor of Japan: Meiji And His World, 1852-1912. Columbia University Press, 2005. Οι Βυζαντινοί ξιφομάχοι στο Μηνολόγιο του Βασιλείου Β’, Δημήτρης Σκουρτέλης.
Perrin, Noel. Giving Up the Gun. Boston: David R. Godine, 1979. Ravina, Mark. The Last Samurai: The Life and Battles of Saigō Takamori. Wiley, 2004. Τρύφωνος Ε. Ευαγγελίδου (1898). Τα μετά τον Όθωνα: ήτοι ιστορία της μεσοβασιλείας και της βασιλείας Γεωργίου του Α΄. (1862-1898) Εν Αθήναις: Εκδοτικόν Κατάστημα Γεωργίου Δ. Φέξη, σελ. 644.
Yates, Charles. Saigo Takamori: The Man Behind the Myth. New York, NY: Kegan Paul International, 1995.
George E. Georgas https://medievalswordmanship. wordpress.com
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STICK FIGHTING IN NORTH AFRICA THE FUNDAMENTALS OF COMBAT
Adam H. C. Myrie
IT WOULD BE AN UNDERstatement to say that there are a plethora of martial arts the world over that almost every culture possesses a fighting system. Through dance, dueling, self-defense, or warfare, swords, knives, spears, axes, cudgels, and even bare hands and feet are tools for inflicting or simulating violence. The stick is one tool in the vast array of options available to the aspiring and practiced martial artist that is almost universal across all systems. A simple, usually straight piece of wood in varying dimensions acts as a weapon or a safer analog for other weapon systems. The stick is among the most versatile training tools for weapon-based martial arts, as the limits of what it can represent are bound only by the practitioner’s imagination. The stick is ubiquitous in North Africa, where over 5,000 years’ worth of traditions involve using the stick to train for other weapons of war, settle personal grievances, and carry into battle. Two of the most well-known and ancient forms of stick fighting in North Africa are tahtib and el matreg. As mentioned above, from Egypt and through the Maghreb, these two ancient arts have served in all three ca-
pacities. Among the tombs dating back to the days of the pharaohs are wall paintings representing different forms of Egyptian stick fighting. Tahtib, or Egyptian stick fighting, served as one of the three core disciplines in ancient military training. Here in this article, we will cover the use of Egyptian and Maghrebi stick fighting as training tools for other weapon systems through exploring their history, basic techniques, and current place in the modern world. A Point about Sources Before delving further into the topic at hand, there is an elephant in the room to be addressed: sources. While Africa’s continent’s history and martial traditions are ancient, these communities did not rely on the written word to transmit knowledge to future generations. While North Africa has an admirable record of keeping written accounts through scrolls, manuscripts, and stone tablets, this was not the principal method to transmit this type of knowledge. Oral history is still an essential aspect of culture throughout the continent through direct lineages of training, poetry, historical epics, song, and dance. Written accounts
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of battles by both Africans and Europeans can also serve as sources of information. There are, however, a multitude of efforts currently underway to preserve Africa’s martial arts and ensure that they do not become forgotten relics of an ancient past. For example, Dr. Adel Boulad has started the modern tahtib movement. To bring tahtib into the modern world, he traveled throughout Egypt, working extensively with living masters and experts on Egypt’s history. A renewed fighting system and a martial arts manual came from his efforts: Modern Tahtib: Egyptian Baton Martial and Festive Art. Dr. Boulad’s efforts have resulted in the successful enshrinement of tahtib on UNESCO’s intangible world heritage list (UNESCO 2013). In Algeria, the Fédération Algérienne du Sport Traditionnel took shape in 1992 to bring the ancient art of el matreg into the modern era, complete with formalized progressive class structure, leagues, and tournaments. Currently, the federation oversees over 17 leagues and 8,300 practitioners (El Watan 2011). Instructors have begun to write treatises and instructional manuals to record their knowledge for future generations.
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The History of the Arts While it is nearly impossible to determine precisely how long formalized stick fighting has been present in North Africa, existing depictions provide clues to the age of these arts. Starting with tahtib, the full name of the art is fan a’nazaha was-tahtib, meaning “the art of being straight and honest with the stick.” “Tahtib” is the word for “stick” in the Egyptian dialect of Arabic. The earliest known depiction of tahtib lies on the walls of the Abusir Necropolis in Egypt, dating back to Egypt’s 5th Dynasty, approximately 2,800 BC (Boulad 2014). On the tomb walls are representations of the three core disciplines of Egypt’s military at the time: archery, wrestling, and stick fighting. It was through these three disciplines that soldiers prepared for battle. Also inscribed on the necropolis walls are the four principles of tahtib, which form the backbone of its practice today: attacking from the rear, movement, protecting the head, and striking past the opponent’s weapon. Despite the modern love affair with the iconic khopesh, a sickle-shaped sword, the bow, axe, mace, spear, or knife were the principal armaments of the Egyptian soldier (Mark 2017). These weapons were inexpensive to produce, and the
techniques and principles of tahtib were transferable to almost all of them. Given that most common soldiers were levies from the peasant class and could afford neither armor nor formal instruction beyond basic training before being sent off to war, this is an important factor (Mark 2017). Over time as Egyptian empire-building dreams died down, tahtib eventually became something only the common folk would do during inter-village disputes, honor contests, or as a
performance art during holidays until finally becoming a recreational activity among peasants in Upper Egypt. The 1960s experienced a revival of tahtib as a dance and performance art on the stage with the Reda Dance Troupe (Bissada 2017). Tahtib appeared at weddings, cultural events, and entertainment for tourists. And so, it remained until early 2000 when Dr. Adel Boulad began his journey across Egypt to return tahtib to its martial roots.
Figure 1- Engravings from the Abusir Necropolis [Source - Wikimedia Commons]
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During his research, he found that the entire art never survived completely intact in one location or another. One village practiced one set of techniques, while another stressed another set of moves. After several years of research and intensive study, Dr. Boulad compiled the knowledge and techniques from the various practitioners, formalized them, and developed a pedagogical approach to teach this art. He called this new rebirth modern tahtib. Dr. Boulad also pioneered some changes to the art; among the most notable was opening the study of the art to women, once banned from learning or practicing the art for the length of its known history (Bissada 2017). El Matreg El Matreg has a different story. “Matreg” is the Maghrebi Arabic word for stick or baton. Historically, stick fighting served as a safer training tool for teaching sword fighting to young boys. Besides, it served as a training tool for soldiers during the Mamluk sultanate (AD 1250 -1517). Scholars support the idea that el matreg originated in Algeria’s Orania region as an art of the original North African Imazighen, or Berber peoples and Arabs. For centuries el matreg served as the primary training tool
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Figure 2 - Training with sticks and daggers [Source: Kitāb al-makhzūn jāmi’ al-funūn (~1470)]
for elite soldiers and among the common folk. Some of the oldest depictions available appear in medieval Mamluk manuscripts showing training with the stick in place of the sword—at times with a sword alone and at other times with a buckler or other off-hand weapon. From this, its origins appear in an easily recognizable form at some point in the early to high Middle Ages, though it may be older. Among the Mamluks, stick fighting served as a substitute for the various single and two-handed weapons such as the spear, saif (sword), and the tabar (axe/mace). Long after the practice had diminished as a tool for formal military training, el matreg remained a staple component of learning standard fencing. As swords and other medieval melee weapons became obsolete, el matreg transformed into a leisure activity. In 1984, the Ligue Oranaise du Sport Tradition came together, and among its objectives was the preservation of traditional sports for future generations, el matreg being among them (El Watan 2011). Over time, the efforts of this organization inspired further investment from the Algerian government in the art’s preservation as a vital part of local culture, leading to the birth of the Fédération Algérienne du Sport Traditionnel.
Techniques First, it is important to review several components such as the size and dimensions of the stick, martial context, movement, offensive techniques, defensive techniques, and pedagogical approach to understand the thinking and the conditions that led to the development of the art. While used in dueling historically, these stick fighting forms were primarily for training soldiers for the battlefield. This truth impacts how one learns to properly move one’s body in conjunction with the proper use of the weapon, protecting one’s vital areas while attacking the opponents. Without understanding these factors, the value of specific techniques and the ritualistic aspects elude the observer. Given that both of the arts discussed in this article are complex and have centuries of history behind them, the focus will be on the foundational elements of the training methods, basic techniques, and what they seek to accomplish with some brief overview of the process and rituals involved in a sparring engagement.
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Modern Tahtib The weapon used in modern tahtib is the rattan staff roughly 1.3 meters long and 2.5 centimeters thick. Rattan is preferable for its durability, flexibility, and light weight. In ancient Egypt, soldiers would train with rolled papyrus reeds (Riddle 2007). For combat, men armed themselves with a harder wood called naboot (Riddle 2007), equivalent to using oak or ironwood. Competitions are called duels or jousts and take place in a circle roughly three meters in diameter. During formal jousts, musicians playing a saidi rhythm on the doumbek, daf, mizmar, and thavol accompany the duelists. The music signals the beginning and end of a match. The pace of the music also dictates or reflects the pace of the action. Victory occurs when one combatant succeeds in landing one strike on the head on any one of the five target points (forehead, top of the head, the rear of the head, and each side of the head) or three blows to the torso for the safety of the combatants; there are no thrusts allowed. However, it is permitted to target areas such as the knees in training. Jousts take place in four stages: the bow and retreat, the gage, the codified joust, and free joust. The bow is a salute where one takes the khalfeya pose,
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symbolically obstructing the path of lateral strikes to the head from the opponent’s right arm. The gage refers to the practice of performing a rasha or sprinkling motion when the stick is swung over the head in unison by the two fighters. It allows a person to calibrate the distance and timing needed in the actual free joust. The codified joust is a run-through of rehearsed attacks and defenses, which helps build the free joust energy, which is the actual martial contest between the two fighters to determine the victor. Upon one of the competitors winning, the two fighters salute each other in the khalfeya and then retreat to the circle’s edge. Modern Tahtib’s foundations are rooted in four principles. These are engraved in stone at the Abusir necropolis in the second of four lines depicting ancient Egyptian military training basics.
Figure 3 - Saluting an opponent in the khalfeya pose [Source: HAMA Association]
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1
Starting with the first principle, striking from the rear serves three purposes. First, it helps to generate power in the attack. Like a boxer’s punch, the kinetic chain begins at the legs. The entire body is engaged in the attack, adding power and reducing the stress on the arms and shoulders of the fighter. Secondly, it hides the intention of the attack. A fighter can deceive the opponent by broadcasting an attack from one direction by leaning to one side and following up with an attack from the other while still engaging the core. Third, if fighting in a formation with several other comrades, chambering all strikes behind the back increases control and reduces the likelihood of the fighter from accidentally striking their comrades in a combat unit. Because this art developed at a time when most common soldiers did not wear armor, accidentally striking one’s comrades with a battle-axe or mace could prove disastrous.
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The second principle refers to the protection of the head. Common soldiers in ancient Egypt did not commonly wear head protection. Helmets were not common, and even in later periods, turbans were often worn in duels or on the battlefield. Otherwise, guards such as the sada, the khalfeya, and amameya were used to protect the head. In modern tahtib, the head is the prime target, as touching one’s opponent on the head during a joust is an immediate victory. As a result, strikes are almost always followed up with a defensive posture that protects the head. Figure 4 - The Sada guard [Source: HAMA Association]
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The third principle—movement— emphasizes footwork as an offensive and defensive tool. When a fighter is unarmoured, one of the best tools for guarding against being hit is to avoid the blow entirely and position oneself to return it in kind. On the ancient battlefield, when the lines would break down and combat would devolve into a chaotic melee, spatial awareness, sure footing, and constant movement became as essential as the weapon in the warrior’s hands. To train for this, practitioners of modern tahtib learn their footwork and develop their agility through a series of dance steps. One prime example of this in action is the small horse, a small step that shifts the fighter’s weight from one foot to the other. When used defensively, a fighter can strike a guard while simultaneously stepping out of the centerline of the attack. Staying in one place is discouraged. Further extrapolated, in a multiple-attacker scenario, paying attention to one’s position assists in choosing the appropriate footwork to avoid getting trapped between opponents, how many attackers there are, and where to attack them.
Figure 5 - Stepping off line in the small horse under the pyramid guard [Source: HAMA Association]
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The fourth and final principle focuses on the opponent and not the opponent’s weapon. Necessarily, if the execution of the prior three elements is strong enough, a fighter should be sufficiently protected from the opponent. The objective of each attack should be a target area on the opponent. Watching the opponent’s movements will better indicate the direction of the attack than watching the weapon itself. Focusing on the weapon rather than the fighter reduces the response time needed. The priority changes from threat management to becoming the threat, pressing the opponent to focus on defense instead of offense. The proper striking technique in modern tahtib uses a push-pull movement of the hands, like cutting with a Japanese katana. The practitioner places the bottom of the stick in the center of their right palm. The left hand is positioned approximately one and a
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half hands above the lower hand. Taking this position is ideal for controlling the stick without compromising much of the potential power and speed. There are several exercises to assist in developing this skill. The most basic method is the use of power and control exercises. Because modern tahtib does not use protective gear, practitioners must regularly practice restraint in sparring and training. The exercise typically requires two people, but as a solo exercise, it is also beneficial. Person A takes the role of attacker, person B is the defender. Person B will hold the stick in one of five defensive positions (either side of the torso, either clavicle, or the top of the head). Person A will strike with the weapon at the target area covered by the defender. First, the sticks will make contact, then person A repeats the attack but stops just shy of touching the stick of person B. Person B removes
Figure 6 - Performing a power and control exercise with a lateral strike [Source: HAMA Association]
the stick from the guard position for the third strike and exposes the target area. Person A then attacks the exposed area but stops short of touching it. One achieves this by reversing the push-pull movement to a pull-push. Successfully executing the action during the power and control exercise turns a strike at full speed to a light strike to avoid contact. Performing power and control exercises trains the fighters to exercise speed, proper striking mechanics, and control.
Additionally, it promotes proper technique, safety, and familiarity with the strikes. Beginners stand in one position while striking and blocking. More advanced practitioners practice moving around while practicing power and control exercises.
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El Matreg There are various forms of el matreg—for the street, for league competition, and as a reconstructed art for the battlefield. Variations include a single-handed stick, a single two-handed stick, two single-handed sticks, or canes. Some forms of the art allow for kicks to the legs or midsection. For this article, the focus will be on el matreg as a method for training in swordsmanship with both one single-handed stick and two single-handed sticks. A duel in el matreg takes place in a space agreed upon by the fighters. Contests begin with a salute, which is a slight bow and touching the tip of the stick to the ground. After the salute, the fighters will exchange blows, where first one person will attack with four pre-arranged blows while the other defends, then they will switch roles, and the other person will deliver four pre-arranged attacks before beginning the contest. Winning occurs by contacting one of the target areas, at which point the fighters will salute each other and then end the match. El matreg is a fast-paced contest of wits, where the two fighters will try to outwit each other with feints, redirection of an opponent’s blows, and quick footwork.
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The stick used in el matreg is traditionally cut from an olivewood tree and measures roughly 1 to 1.3 meters in length and between 1.5 and 2 cm in thickness. Rattan or oak are reasonable alternatives in the absence of olivewood. Though wrappings are not necessary, a stick can have corded or leather wrappings that cover up to 1/3 of its length. The stick is gripped at roughly a forearm’s length away from the bottom. This allows for better balance and reduces the likelihood of it slipping from the hand. The proper grip for el matreg changes based on what the fighter seeks to accomplish with the stick. There are two basic grips associated with el matreg: The defensive grip—customarily used in parries and concert with the knuckles, it can be used as an analog for practicing edge alignment. This grip reduces the give in the stick when receiving a blow. The hammer grip—the most common grip which can be used both offensively and defensively. The benefit of this grip is that it increases the reach to the angle of an attack at mid-strike and during weapon recovery. The last is the handshake grip.
Figure 7 - The defensive, hammer, and handshake grips [Source: HAMA Association]
Strikes in el matreg are done in an arc motion, drawing the point of percussion on a curved trajectory and drawing the hand back. When using swords against an unarmoured opponent, this has several functions. First, the strike makes contact and draws the blade against the target area, increasing the blade contact. Second, this motion assists in recovery and guards against partially pulling the weapon back or following through and leaving the weapon out too far due to lack of control. Instead, this controlled motion pulls the weapon back and immediately chambers it for another attack without slowing, stopping, or awkwardly changing the direction. Third, it is a defensive maneuver to keep the hand and forearm safe from attacks. Most of the swords in North Africa, save a few exceptions like the nimcha, are absent a knuckle bow, and some of them, such as the common saif, do not have cross guards at all. Other weapons for which this system is applicable, like the tabar/battle-axe or mace, have no hand protection. For this reason, the lower arm is an especially vulnerable target area. To
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keep the hands and forearms of the fighter safe from injury, taking guard positions that expose the hand and arm or full extension of the arm when not in mid-strike are discouraged. The empty hand is kept in two positions, as seen in Figure 2. Most commonly, one holds it at the chest with the elbow tucked, chambering it for defensively deflecting thrusts to the face, initiating grappling at close quarters, or disarming an opponent. The hand to the chest also holds off-hand weapons, such as a separ (buckler) or a knife. The other position for the off-hand is on the rear hip. Defensively, this provides fewer options for a fighter, but it is far safer for the off-hand, as a missed parry might mean a landed blow to the off-hand if held at the chest. The basic footwork in el matreg is not the same as one would expect from a single-handed fencing art. Instead, the foundational footwork is more simplistic and mostly walks towards, around, or away from the opponent while avoiding crossing the legs.
Unlike modern tahtib, el matreg has 14 targets: – A cut to the left and right temples – A cut to the chin – A cut to the top of the head – A cut to the left and right clavicle or shoulder – A cut to the left and right elbow – A cut to the left or right sides of the torso – A cut to the left or right knee or thigh – A thrust to the center chest – A thrust to the neck or under the chin Despite there being 14 targets, there are only 5 main categories of attack: tarcha barrania – a strike from the outside (the side holding the weapon) tarcha dekhlaniya – a strike from the inside (the off-hand side) lahiya – a strike from above ras – a strike from below d’aefarr – a thrust The parries and guard positions all cover the target areas of each attack.
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The same parries can be static or active, depending on the movement’s objective. Attacks can also blur the line between categories. For example, strikes to the clavicle are a blend of the tarcha and lahiya categories and apply to both single and double sticks. With two sticks, there is an additional defensive technique in which the two sticks cross each other to catch heavy blows or bind and control the opponent’s weapon. This cross-blocking technique effectively redirects thrusts, adding leverage against heavier weapons, and clearing the opponent’s weapon from the line of attack to open for a riposte. When using el matreg as a training method for battlefield weapons, ambidexterity is encouraged and often referred to in treatises and accounts of battles. A practitioner trains attacking and defending with both the right and left hands in training. During Mamluk Egyp-
Figure 8 - A Mamluk on horseback carrying a tabar battle axe [Source: Kitāb al-makhzūn jāmi' al-funūn (~1470)]
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tian times, this was common as warriors on horseback needed to be proficient from both sides of the horse. If, for example, the dominant hand suffers any injury, skill in a weapon’s use with the other hand becomes necessary for survival. The most basic and effective exercise to train proper mechanics and accuracy is to run through the 14 attacks and parries with a partner, both making and at times not making stick-to-stick contact. Depending on the practitioner’s skill, this is dome standing in one position and with more dynamic footwork. Other exercises include flow and strike drills that focus on recovering the stick after hitting or missing a target and memorizing various patterns, similar in theory to a boxer’s combinations.
Figure 9 - Mamluks training for ambidexterity [Source: Kitāb al-makhzūn jāmi' al-funūn (~1470)]
Stick fighting in North Africa is a dynamic, versatile, and ancient practice. It links modern-day prac-
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Figure 11 - Cutting practice on wet clay [Source: Kitāb al-makhzūn jāmi' al-funūn (~1470)]
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titioners to thousands of years of martial tradition, stretching back to the birth of humanity’s great civilizations. On ancient battlefields, mastery of these techniques prepared warriors to protect themselves and their comrades with various tools. They learned footwork, defensive postures, and targeting and developed the muscle memory to make this practiced knowledge second nature. Tahtib has survived the thousands of years of conflict that rocked ancient Egypt, from its unification, through many invasions, and colonization. Today, its legacy is carved in stone and in the soul of the drum that beats as staves clash in a friendly contest. El matreg has also stood the test of time, long after the sword and battle-axe gave way to the pistol and rifle. Once a battlefield art, now
Figure 10 - Cross Blocking in El Matreg double stick applied [Source: HAMA Association]
the victor shakes the hand of the vanquished at the end of the joust, and each goes their separate ways. Time will only tell what the future of these arts will be as they become more organized and grow in popularity. For now, at least, let the players play as they continue the legacy of those forgotten beneath the sands of time.
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REFERENCES
Bissada, Anne-Marie. “Egypt’s 5,000-Year-Old Secret Art - Tahtib.” AllAfrica. May 27, 2017 (accessed January 5, 2019). https://allafrica.com/stories/201705290170.html. Boulad, Dr. Adel. Modern Tahtib: Egyptian Baton Martial and Festive Art. Shanghai: Budo Editions, 2014. El Watan. “Sports traditionnels: Une caravane pour la promotion d’El Matrag.” El Watan.com. January 30, 2011 (accessed January 3, 2019). https:// www.elwatan.com/archives/sports-archives/sports-traditionnels-une-caravane-pour-la-promotion-del-matrag-30-01-2011. Mark, Joshua J. “Weapons in Ancient Egypt.” World History Encyclopedia. March 22, 2017 (accessed January 1, 2019). https://www.ancient.eu/article/1035/weapons-in-ancient-egypt/. Riddle, Jonathan Wayne. “Ancient Egyptian Stick Fighting.” Electronic Journals of Martial Arts and Sciences. August 2007 (accessed January 6, 2019). https://ejmas.com/jcs/2007jcs/jcsart_riddle_0807.html. UNESCO. “Tahtib, jeu du bâton.” UNESCO Multimedia Video & Sound Collections. 2013 (accessed January 6, 2019). http://www.unesco.org/archives/ multimedia/?pg=33&s=films_details&id=4360.
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Adam H. C. Myrie @ ahc.myrie.7
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Ethan Minor
THE BANDO STAFF HISTORY AND APPLICATIONS:
PAST & PRESENT SURVIVAL! SURVIVAL IS THE mother of necessity. The internal drive to survive has been an instinctual imperative for both humans and animals throughout history. Through the gift of instinct, humans have discovered myriad ways to ensure their survival and that of their clan. This quest for survival led humans to utilize the natural resources available to
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them to their advantage. The staff, which is just a very nice stick, has been an essential tool for survival since early Homo descended from the trees to the savannas. The ubiquitous stick can dig up roots, finish off wounded animals, and threaten those seeking to harm them. The stick underwent a re-purposing and discovery of new purposes as early Homo evolved into
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big-game hunters, agriculturalists, and empire builders. As far back as the 6th century, people began migrating from the Tibetan-Burmese highlands down into the Ayeyarwady, or as it was known, the Irrawaddy River valley that flows through Myanmar or what used to be called Burma. Here among the farming communities, staves are used today as in the past to dig seed holes. Longer staves had lanyards attached to thresh harvested grain or to take part in innumerable tasks a farmer must do. The Staff as a Multipurpose Tool Staff use has also been documented on and off the battlefield to serve multiple duties. After a battle, rigging a pair of poles together served as stretchers. Or a pair of staves tied together could act as a travois to transport large amounts of gear. Long poles proved helpful in extending one’s reach. Staves help one ascend or descend steep ravines or traverse chasms or canals by walking on top of the poles or vaulting across them. The modern-day ladder combines parallel poles with multiple smaller dowels connecting them perpendicularly at regular intervals. The ladder, though complex, is still a form of the staff at heart. The use of the staff for walking was once a common sight across the
globe throughout many centuries. Monks, priests, pilgrims, and other solitary or devout individuals have kept the staff as one of their few possessions during their pilgrimages and travels. These traveling aids served them well against bandits, highwaymen, or wild animals. Healthcare is an essential piece of any person’s life, ancient or modern. Whether farmer or soldier, the ability to heal oneself or others and return is critical on or off the battlefield. Many cultures worldwide have viewed the staff as a symbol of healing. The first well-documented staff symbolizing a healing tool was representations of the Greek god Hermes. Hermes carried a staff with two snakes wrapped around it. However, the Caduceus, some claim, goes back to the images of the Sumerian god Ningshizida from the ancient city-state of Lugash. Now it is familiar to all as the symbol of modern Western medicine. The staff ’s practical medical uses include acting as a massage tool to increase blood flow to weary muscles and taxed organs. Traditional massage with a staff strokes such as effleurage, percussion, and kneading, are all improved. The hardness of the tool allows for deeper penetration and more even weight distribution. The leverage
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provided eases the strain on the person providing the treatment. Additionally, an arm-sized staff can be used as a roller or poker to help dig into hypertonic muscles and agitated joints, relieving ligament adhesions. When employed in the form of bando yoga known as dhanda, the staff acts as a guide and support to help align the spine and stretch the limbs and trunk of the body beyond their usual capacity. On a more esoteric level, the dhanda represents the spine and is used as a visualization aid to channel prana or ch’i. With all these applications, be they in military or medical contexts, the integration of breath through the staff is essential for allowing the staff to become part of the individual. Traditional Burmese thought believed everything was alive with a spirit, so removing an object from its habitat removed its connection to its spirit. For this reason, bando practitioners commonly infuse their staves with some of their spirit using breathing patterns, heartbeat synchronization, and other meditation techniques. In this way, the staff becomes a living extension of the person’s body instead of an inanimate object wielded by the practitioner.
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Martial Uses of the Staff The origin of the bando staff lies in the Kingdom of Pagan, the first kingdom to unify the regions that would later constitute modern-day Burma (Myanmar). Originally the kingdom was founded by a collection of Tibeto-Burman-speaking warrior tribes who came down the Irrawaddy River valley alongside soldiers of the Nanzhao Empire that reigned North of the valley in present-day Yunnan. Settling at a place they called Pagan in the 9th century, the small fortified town expanded into one of the major kingdoms of the region. Over the next two centuries, the Kingdom of Pagan spread and assured the dominance of Burmese ethnicity, language, and culture in the region. As a ruling military elite, the warrior-citizens of Pagan had to maintain their military skills to ensure obedience from the conquered populations. Although the Pagan army relied on swords, spears, and bows and arrows, the staff was also part of their armaments. The staves used by warriors from this part of the world had to be strong and durable when fending off soldiers mounted on horses or elephants, or attacks by trained war dogs.
Choosing the Type and Length of Staff It was essential for soldiers and warriors of ancient times to expertly use the available tools. The versatile, convenient, and readily accessible staff was an obvious choice. Traditionally, each individual had to choose their staff. If one’s life hinged upon a preferred weapon, it must be of sturdy material, something nearly unbreakable and able to bear a considerable weight without losing structural integrity. For this reason, in the United States, the American ironwood tree is a common choice for the bando staff practitioner. Ironwood makes a good staff due to its fibrous nature and dense cellular structure; it tends to fray instead of cracking or splitting. Choosing a staff length is done relative to the size and build of the person intended to wield the staff. A short staff, called a “fist stick,” may be the length of the person’s pinky finger or the distance between a person’s thumb and pinky. An ideal short staff is the length of a person’s arm, and an exemplary middle staff would be the approximate height of the person with their arm extended above their head. A long staff is the height of the person with their arm extended above the head with an additional arm’s
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length. The relative nature of the size of the staff ensured the user would be able to control it for blocking and striking and other effective maneuvers, while at the same time allowing for the tool to be the appropriate size when used for digging, land-clearing, prying, levering, or other practical uses. The circumference of the staff must also be relative to the relationship to the user’s needs.
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Selection and Preparation of the Staff Once one chooses a suitable branch, one can cut it with care. Today, handsaws are preferable to chainsaws, which often leave jagged edges and tend to destroy the tree’s bark. The bark is vital for the staff, so bando practitioners prefer to leave as much of the bark intact as possible. When the staff has been
chosen and cut down with care and intention, the user then sets to it with either sandpaper or sandstone to round off and smooth any rough edges, knots, or burrs found on the staff. The practitioner’s hand must slide up and down naturally without any hitches or catches that could create friction points for the user. Natural curvatures in knots are welcome on the bando staff. Natural features such
as these are advantageous to the wielder. A flared bottom at the end of the staff is useful for creating a club. Midpoint knots are useful as an indexing grip so that the user knows precisely where their hand lies along the staff ’s length. Also, some curvature can help create more force and increase the speed of travel through the air. Bando employs a beneficial practice of curing and conditioning weapons.
After sanding the staff smooth, a seasoning product such as linseed oil comes next, with the staff soaking for up to 90 days. The impregnation of the linseed oil into the staff modifies the structure of the molecules and produces an incredibly water-resistant, hard, yet slightly flexible weapon. Staves treated in this manner are often as hard as metal or poles and can bend and flex slightly. They do not shatter or crack upon extreme use. A final step of coating a staff with polyurethane will ensure that this impregnation and treatment will last for many years of rigorous use. Staff Lengths The need for different lengths of staves is also important. A smaller version of the staff, which fits into one’s hand, is a fist stick. A fist stick protrudes outside the fist on both ends, often with pointed or hardened tips, and is easily concealable in a pocket or a purse. With the addition of a lanyard, it can become a very powerful, medium-range weapon. Both military and police techniques employ baton or small flashlights by drawing on traditional fist stick techniques. Fist sticks are also convenient for traveling or concealing when openly carrying weaponry is not legal.
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Forearm to arm-size staves are considered short staves as seen in modern-day use as the police baton or riot baton. A staff of this size is suitable for close, hand-tohand combat. Police employ the riot baton for crowd control, and at times to clear streets of rioters or protestors. The medium staff is commonly the height of the practitioner plus the length of their extended arm. The medium staff is the weapon of choice in many bando forms. The use of such a staff combined with nimble footwork, known as “Mandalay,” “Middle Staff,” or “Dissident Son,” permits an effective defense against multiple attackers on uneven or broken-up terrain. Staff Grips When holding the staff, bando employs three gripping styles; the forward grip positions a great deal of the length of the staff behind the user, the middle grip positions one’s hands on both ends of the staff, and the rear grip positions the majority of the staff in front of the user. In addition to the type of guard one takes up when picking up a staff, the orientation of the hands is also a crucial consideration. One can use an overhand grip with the palms down, an un-
derhand grip with the palms up, or mixed grip with one palm up and one palm down. These grips change according to the user’s needs, moving from front to middle to rear grips and changing through mixed overhand and underhand grips. Moving rapidly through the gripping variations creates not only an artful flowing movement, as demonstrated in kata, but effective, powerful use of the weapon. Bando Fighting Technique As a martial system, bando relies on removing oneself away from the line of attack and then supporting this movement with a block or a parry if need be. Since blocks can often generate an incredibly high amount of force, parrying and deflecting is preferable to a hard block or a perpendicular block when one uses the staff to stop an incoming blow. Direct blocks create undue stress on the user and the weapon and are challenging to sustain over long, extended engagements. Faster, agile movements of dodging and deflecting are preferable due to their sustainable nature, as well as the tendency to create a moment in which parries and deflections leave the opponent open for a counterstrike.
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Striking with the staff targets the lower portions of the body, such as the feet, ankles, and knees, because it is more challenging to defend the lower half of the body. It is also more difficult to see the strikes coming, as most originate below the attacker’s eye level. Blows straight to the head, shoulders, arms, chest, and abdomen are employed, though easily deflected or blocked. Strikes such as these need to be set up where the opponent is vulnerable to a strike to the chest, head, abdomen, or worse, the neck. Stepping is also essential. Bando employs a “trident” stepping pattern, utilizing 45-degree angles to create a tactical advantage. Extended, shuffle, and full steps are used to maneuver oneself into an advantageous angle. Bando schools often have trident or star patterns painted or taped onto the floor and used as guidelines for stepping practice.
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Long Staff
Uses of the staff in Bando Practice
The long staff, often between nine and 12 feet in length, is predominantly used for combat. Against mounted targets such as horseman and elephant cavalry, it was exceptionally useful. To be able to withstand the shock of fighting off mounted soldiers, the staff had to be durable yet flexible enough to take out the legs of a galloping animal, due to the force generated from a charging elephant or horse. Tasked to deal specifically with mounted soldiers, groups of men armed with long staff successfully repelled these attacks. Other times, soldiers outfitted their staves with blades, spikes, or weights. They proved to be incredibly effective against multiple attackers. Polearms also proved effective in holding wide swathes of ground due to their reach and power. Adding a hook to a polearm added another weapon, for example, to pull riders from their mounts, remove the stability of the mount’s footing, and grasp or reach for weapons wielded by mounted combatants. It takes an incredible amount of stamina and strength to wield such a large weapon for any long period. Therefore, the training employed by the units utilizing these tools was rigorous and incredibly physically demanding.
Many martial arts systems employ the striking of invisible or “air” targets. Bando is more well known for its hard striking targets such as bricks, concrete blocks, hanging logs, and stones. It is not uncommon for a practitioner to hang a log from two to five feet in length and up to 12 inches in diameter from a chain and use this as a striking pole. The striking pole gives realistic feedback to the user. When one strikes a hard surface, the force generated reverberates back from the target into the user. If one has spent their time practicing striking the air the first time one strikes a real-life opponent, the possibility of the weapon vibrating right out of the user’s control is genuine.
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For this reason, grip strength and hand conditioning are critical to wield a staff weapon in combat realistically. To this end, hours of striking hard targets is required, along with recovery and healing practices to offset the abuse. The person and the staff must be strong enough to withstand the grueling training necessary.
Animal Forms and the Staff In the bando system, there are nine different animal forms. Each of these animal forms has a corresponding staff that is similar or appropriate for the animal to which it is related. For example, the “bull staff ” is traditionally larger, heavier, and denser. The bull practitioner utilizes body locking techniques to generate the magnitude of force uncommon to other animal styles. Another example is the “python staff,” which includes a slightly longer, narrower staff with an attached vine. In modern days, a rope or lanyard is attached to facilitate trapping, grappling, twisting, and pulling techniques.
links breath to the spirit and the universe. The bando stick practitioner seeks to harmonize the disparate elements of existence using the stick as an expression of this harmonization, which occurs through movement and engaging with life’s challenges with a simple yet profound tool provided by nature for the ultimate goal of survival.
A third example is the “scorpion staff,” somewhat shorter in length and circumference yet equipped with a pointed and potentially hardened or even poisoned sharp end. In these examples, the variation of the staff ’s direct relationship to the practitioner’s needs is observable. A profound link connects the nature of the staff to the history of the Burmese people. Within the grueling practices and vicious combat, a connection also
Ethan Minor @ ethan.minor.58
BANDO STAFF
· Ethan Minor | 333
Stick Arts VOL 1, ISSUE 3
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END OF ISSUE 3
VOL 1
Stick Arts ISSUE 4
The Ring of Fire Part 1
For the martial arts comprehensivist
Top Left - Te Waitere Jason Paahi Top Right - Riichi Kitano Bottom - Michelle Manu
VOLUME 1
Stick Arts ISSUE 4
The Ring of Fire Part 1
56 Michael Belzer
My Path to Menkyo
146 Dr. Michel Farivar
Geijin Ryu Staff Arts
238 Riichi Kitano
Katori Shinto Ryu
210 Mukatder Gül, Ph.D
The Wing Chun Long Pole
38
Daniel Schultz
Drunken Boxing: The Staff
228
Scott Meredith
Yiquan Staff Energy
CONTENTS
Vol. 1:4 - Stick Arts
The Ring of Fire, Part 1
14 Michelle Manu
Secrets of the Lua
102 Andrea Rollo
Various Types of Fighting in Filipino Martial Arts: Modernity and Tradition
262 Michael Mulconery
The One and the Many: Hawaiian Tobosa System
Michael Mulconery
136
Romeo Macapagal
Tatang Ilustrisimo's Combat Efficiency through Measure
222
Roedy Wiranatakusumah & Gending Raspuzi
History and Development of Ulin Limbuhan
166 Te Waitere Jason Paahi
Traditional Māori Martial Arts
334
The “Barabara” and Basic Long-Weapon Approach
MARTIAL ARTS IN THE
RING OF FIRE THIS ISSUE OF THE Immersion Review steps into the Ring of Fire. Even today, the notion of martial arts tends to bring to mind mainly East Asian forms of armed or unarmed fighting. Those versed deeper in the field may include Southeast Asian forms in their denotations. Still, despite these persistent imaginaries, martial arts can be found all around the world and, indeed, all around the Pacific. In the present issue of the Review, we trace the seams of the Pacific tectonic plates, the literal Ring
4 | The Immersion Review
of Fire, and cover arts all the way from Hawai’i, New Zealand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and China, to Japan. This journey through the fiery seams of the Pacific presents us with some of the panoply of fascinating indigenous forms of fighting that can be found within the ring. This issue includes many firsts. Although widely practiced outside Japan, Katori Shinto ryu has remained secretive about the advanced understanding of their tactics and techniques. In this issue,
From the Editors
though, we get some sense of ways of using long weapons in this art with a century-long unbroken lineage of teachers and teachings. We will also get to read about two lesser-known indigenous arts, namely Ku’ialua, the ancient combat art of the people of Hawai’i, and Mau Rakau, the traditional Māori fighting art from New Zealand. Martial art systems in the Ring of Fire are not only about physical confrontations and prowess in them. Indeed, maintaining the legacy of a martial art system can
also be about maintaining forms of life, and maintaining communities. Kumu Manu opens this issue of the Immersion Review by presenting us with the history and weaponry of Ku’ialua, the ancient combat art of the indigenous people of Hawai’i. Even though its public display was for a time forced underground, it remained a means to maintain forms of commitment, honor, integrity, respect, and perseverance as forms of life. The article provides us with a view on various combat tactics and the implements used in Lua.
Editorial | 5
Our next stop is in China, where Daniel Schultz shows us how the staff is used in the style of Drunken boxing. Shultz goes through the three common ways of using the staff in Chinese arts, namely the dragon pole or single-ended staff, the box or double-ended staff, and the old man staff. These ways of holding the staff accord with the progression of a practitioner from an “infant” to a “cocky teen,” and finally to an “old man.” Like with many other forms of Chinese staff arts, its applications in Drunken boxing concern profound principles and philosophical ideas. Our exploration of Japanese arts begins with how Michael Belzer, who has had an important role in preserving Donn F. Draeger’s hoplological archive, describes his path to the rank of menkyo in Shindo Muso ryu jojutsu. The beginnings of this journey go back all the way to the 1970s, and show a glimpse to a past era of martial training and pioneering international exploration of Japanese martial arts. Belzer’s path also showcases the multiple aspects of Japanese martial
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culture that go beyond the use of weapons and unarmed techniques, like the value of learning calligraphy. Indeed, training martial arts can be as much about culture and philosophy as fighting skills. Andrea Rollo begins the presentation of Southeast Asian arts with a discussion of different formats of stick dueling in the Philippines. Indeed, agreed-upon engagements with sticks have abided by a great number of different rules or conventions. Some sports associations have detailed rules for giving points in matches, yet the times of old had shared understanding of what was appropriate in different types of stick fights, and what the criteria of winning were. Fights could consist of merely “marking” a place where there would have been a hit to “full play” where nothing was out of bounds. Rollo suggests that this is the origin of the notion of the legendary “death matches” retold outside the Philippines. As such, death did occur as a result of such duels, but it was not always a necessity. Indeed, stick duels could range from friendly
[Photo credit: The Ring Of Fire by GaryMachen]
plays between masters to serious challenges where the health and life of the players was at stake. Full duels were not always limited to the use of sticks. Indeed, one legendary figure of such contests was Antonio “Tatang” Ilustrisimo. Accordingly, the Southeast Asian leg of our journey in the ring continues with Romeo Macapagal’s discussion of measure in Ilustrisimo’s fighting system. While there are multiple categories of measure,
the most famous one is to have the opponent miss you by “one inch” while you are able to reach them with deadly effect. The mastery of simple movements taken at the right time and at the right place requires a thorough investigation of geometry and efficiency. Moving away from an attack, while doing a riposte without a parry, is one of the most important—and impressive—means of gaining such efficiency in combative engagements.
Editorial | 7
The secret to such mastery can be found in the deployment of correct footwork like the elastico-retirada and the doble carrera. Simplicity and effectiveness is emphasized in Illustrisimo’s system. Physiological functionality is also essential in the principles at play in Geijin ryu staff arts that are introduced to us by Michel Farivar. The art emphasizes the seamless transition between armed and unarmed techniques. At the same time, blocking is avoided as it hinders the flow of energy in the bodily movement. This is particularly important as Genjin ryu explores how parts and elements of the human body align in movement and deployment of techniques. Unlike in many Okinawan and Chinese martial arts, Genjin ryu does not have any solo forms, or kata, but uses partnered exercises as a form of bodily discussion. The art also does not work through categorization, but through sensory experience in applied scenarios that aim at realism.
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Allowing us a rare glimpse into Māori forms of fighting, Te Waitere Jason Paahi starts his discussion with Mau Rakau, the traditional Māori art of wielding the taiaha, a two-handed flat “bladed” hardwood weapon. This, however, is only the beginning as he situates Mau Rakau in the much wider context of the Māori warrior culture. This, in turn, contains a comprehensive set of weapons and a holistic worldview, constituting a form of life comparable—and rivaling— that of the classical Japanese weapon arts. As such, these arts are also seen as a cultural revival of “the old ways” resulting in healthier and more resilient communities. Mukatder Gül gives us insight on Wing Chun kung fu’s use of the sixand-a-half-point long pole form from the Ip Man – Ip Ching lineage. He argues that the roots of the long pole form date back to the late 1800s and early 1900s and the famous Red Boat Opera Company. When using the pole as a weapon (or, indeed, the system as a whole), key factors in play are simplicity, effectiveness, and explosiveness.
Furthermore, Gül discusses the ways in which the long pole training connects to and improves all the understanding contained in the first four forms of the system. He also argues that, unfortunately, the true form has been lost in some Wing Chun lineages. Roedy Wiranatakusumah and Gending Raspuzi shed light on the history and development of Ulin Limbuhan, a style of pencak silat specializing—perhaps surprisingly in the context of Indonesian arts— in the use of sticks. The roots of the art, however, are deeply in traditional West Javanese forms of silat. The founder of the system, Gending Raspuzi, came to realize the interconnectedness between, firstly, armed and unarmed training and, secondly, different training forms, or jurus. He also gives us a brief outline of the structure of the Ulin Limbuhan system. Scott Meredith describes the physical and energetic dynamics of Yiquan long staff training for internal energy. Although the art is historically derived from Xingy-
iquan, the training methodologies of these two arts are quite different. At first glance, Yiquan seems to begin from a rather abstract and pared-down form of solo training. At a closer look, though, the three seemingly simple exercises described by Meredith contain a wealth of concepts and ideas to start one on the path to understanding this unique art. Our journey also includes rare insights into Katori Shinto ryu’s use of long weapons from Riichi Kitano. The weapons discussed here include the yari and naginata. Indeed, while Katori Shinto ryu is perhaps most well-known for its use of the katana sword, the art consists of training with multiple weapons. When engaged in battle, a samurai had to be prepared to handle situations where their spear tips were broken and the yari essentially turned into a bo staff. Such flexibility on a battlefield requires training that supports encounters with asymmetric weapons and the use of various different types of weapons. While the weapons of the samurai are no longer in
Editorial | 9
everyday use, training with them— and thus following the principles of Katori Shinto ryu—can still instill a practitioner with confidence that translates into other aspects of life beyond combat.
set required to speak the language of Casag fluently. Mulconery finishes the exploration of Casag with a brief introduction to ways of using the barabara (staff) on its own, or as part of Casag.
Michael Mulconery provides us with a long article on Casag and the Tobosa School of Arnis-Kali-Escrima from Hawai’i. His is a rare and detailed insight into the formative years, multiple influences, and comprehensive martial arts background of the Tobosas, leading, first to the KAJI Kumi system and finally to Estilo Casag. The strategy of Casag is quite simply to use all of the eight directions to drive an opponent to angles that disadvantage them. Still, simple does not mean easy. This strategy requires one to be able to immediately translate one’s responses according to the relative distances and positions—“to speak with meaning in all situations,” to paraphrase the writer. What follows is an analysis of the different strategies, tactics, and training methodologies, not to mention the mind-
All in all, our brief tour of martial arts in the Pacific has veered open the door of some secretive martial traditions, shed light on different ways of fighting with sticks, and shared insights from personal martial art journeys. Despite the persistence of the Asian martial art imaginary, the richness of other martial traditions, too, is beginning to come to light. Like the tectonic plates of the Ring of Fire, hoplology shifts to produce new heights in comprehending the pluralities of human combatives and martial arts.
10 | The Immersion Review
Mahipal Lunia Executive Editor
Juha A. Vuori, Ph.D Managing Editor
Mika Harju-Seppänen Managing Editor
Editorial | 11
STAFF / TEAM CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Mahipal Lunia Explorer-in-Residence, The Immersion Foundation Executive Editor, The Immersion Review @theimmersionfoundation
@immersion.foundation
http://www.therenaissancepath.com http://www.theimmersion.foundation
Juha A. Vuori, Ph.D Professor of International Politics, Faculty of Management and Business Tampere University, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1487-2961
Mika Harju-Seppänen mika.harjuseppanen@gmail.com
PEER REVIEWERS Juha A. Vuori, Ph.D Mika Harju-Seppänen 1 Anonymous Reviewer
PRODUCTION Hana Shin Production Director
The Immersion Review, founded by The Immersion Foundation, is a conduit for penetrating insights in combat and combative behavior. It is a space for the dedicated martial artist, who dares to seek ideas from diverse fighting systems. The Immersion Review is a peer-reviewed journal for the martial arts comprehensivist. FOR EDITORIAL AND ADVERTISING INQUIRIES, PLEASE CONTACT: thereview@theimmersion.foundation
“BY THE 18TH CENTURY, each major island chiefdom had a Hālau Ku’ialua where was taught the martial arts science blending harmony of the loina wahine a me loina kāne (duality in nature) with mauliola (harmony of life’s principle) and with evenly balanced intellect, spirit, and emotion. As a physical art, the purest form of Ku'ialua comprises the arts of lima hāmama (open-handed techniques), including defensive and offensive strategy, stealth, invisibility, ritual participation, and ceremonial dance. Knowledge surrounding the ‘oihana lapa’au (medicinal profession), ‘oihana limalima (physiotherapy), hahā (diagnostics), ha’iha’i (acupressure and osteopathy), and mea ai (diet) completed the picture. At the onset of the seventeenth century, maximized armed tactics were introduced, augmenting the function of all major weapons, altering the warrior’s fighting style from that time onward.”1
SECRETS OF THE
LUA
Michelle Manu
1 History of the Ku’ialua The pure form of Ku'ialua or Lua, the ancient combat art of the people of Hawai’i, was open-handed or lima hāmama. It is like other indigenous combat art forms and lifestyles in the sense of commitment, honor, integrity, respect, and perseverance. The maoli or ancient ways demanded no less, or it was punishable by death. The Lua was prohibited from public display and went underground into the hula dance. Warriors, male and female, held titles and ranks in King Kamehameha’s military. As the culture changed and visitors arrived, the metaphysical way of life and its purely open-hand warfare evolved to incorporate weapons for King Kamehameha’s military and bodyguards. Wood, pohaku or rocks, shark teeth, tree bark, roots, and fish and human bones all serve as materials to create weapons. The weapon becomes part of the warrior. It becomes an extension of his or her body. In 1917, Henry Okazaki secretly learned Lua from a male kumu in the Puna district and concealed it in his art, Danzan ryu.
1 Lucia Tarallo and Natalie M. Jensen, Nā Kaikamahine ‘o Haumea: Women of Ancient Hawai’i, Daughters of Haumea (Honolulu, HI: Pueo Press, 2005), p.32. Partially re-formatted by current issue’s editors.
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History of ‘Ōlohe Solomon Kaihewalu’s Lua ‘Ōlohe Solomon took what his family taught him and chose to evolve the art of Lua, making it his expression. His mindset was entirely battle-focused—to take out as many as he could—as if he was making his way down the battlefield. Solomon taught that it emerges out of land, sea, nature, and animal movements. Examining the physical body, we learned to divide it into the man/ kane (waist down), woman/wahine (waist up including the head), children/keiki (arms), and grandchildren/mo’opuna (hands and fingers). Each family member has a job, and they must work together as a family. The father carries
mother and children—not off-balance—with a strong core, the children and grandchildren go out and, through blocks and weapons, then come home to report back to mother and protect. Like Ku'ialua, Solomon’s Lua empty-handed training consists of disciplined competition hand-tohand (mokomoko), informal boxing (ku’i ku’i), grappling (kaala), kicking (peku), wrestling (hakoko), and strangulation (ka’ane).
Deployment and Use of the Weaponry Kamehameha’s army would strategically attack in circles and waves. Encasing the opponents, the pike would rain down on the opponents. Then the combat would take place using the weapons mentioned above. If a weapon breaks or a warrior loses their weapon, the battle would continue with open hands. The cleaners would move behind the battlefront, cutting the throats of injured—but not yet dead—opponents.
WEAPONRY OF THE LUA OF SOLOMON KAIHEWALU pike – 15-foot spear ho’e – paddle iwi – 6- to 8-inch double-pointed hand dagger pahoa – single-edged dagger maka pahoa – double-edged dagger maka pahoa ko’oko’o – double-edged dagger at the end of short bo/staff ko’okoko – long staff, cane/kololu ko’oko’o pokole – short staff newa – club lei-o-mano – club with shark teeth palua ‘o newa – double-clubs/sticks ku’eku’e – knuckle duster with shark teeth ma’a – slingshot
The iwi
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LUA
· From the Editors | 21
Pike In ancient Hawai’i, the pike was one of the main weapons of the armies. All weapons had several variations and styles. These 12- to 15-foot dense weapons served the Hawaiian Royal Army in a javelin-like way, thrown overhead or underhand. As the first strategy in combat, using linear formations to advance on enemies, the pike would fly through the air with great accuracy and velocity. Ho’e The ho’e (paddle) served as a tool to travel, dig, and prepare food. In combat, the flat part of the paddle and bo (handle) was well suited to shield, parry, block, and strike, as well as to scoop and throw dirt or sand at an opponent’s eyes. To shield, the flat part of the paddle was to deflect and protect from objects intended for the head, body, and spine. The flat and blade-edged sides could strike, stun, chop, and cut opponents. The handle served to fight as would be done with a short or long bo/staff.
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(Top & Bottom) The ho’e
One of the original uses of this weapon was to dig holes to plant seeds, pound a variety of fruits, nuts, and meat, and to secure a fishing net at the shore or rocks. The combat use of this weapon is to parry and block objects thrown at a warrior. The point relentlessly pokes, spears, and seeks to tear into the opponent’s flesh. The cord at the end of the weapon is available to trap, wrap, and choke.
Pāhoa - 2.jpg
Pahoa
LUA
· Michelle Manu | 23
Maka Pahoa This tool aims to create two trenches of soil at a time and to poke holes in the ground to plant seeds, among other things. In combat, this is four weapons in one: 1) The sharp double-pointed ends can poke, stab, or go through an opponent’s eyes or any other puka (hole) of the body. 2) The two outside, carved edges are perfect for striking an opponent’s knuckles and pulling an opponent in by the neck for a set-up. 3) The U-shaped opening is readymade to trap the wrist or forearm. 4) The cord can quickly transform into a projectile to catch and hold the arm or forearm or disarm a weapon.
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Maka Pahoa Ko’oko’o After this first advance by the pike, the next wave of warriors moved steadily forward on the combat terrain equipped with shorter 4to 6-foot weaponry, allowing for more speed and maneuverability for close combat. This maka pahoa ko’oko’o is a double-edged dagger combined with a short staff. Ko’oko’o (short staff) is useful to smack the top of the waters to get the sea life in a position to be netted. Some other uses included carrying water and herding animals. In combat, the short or long staff can block, parry, strike, lock, and keep the attacker at a distance. It is also a means to take an opponent down by sweeping their feet out in a motion like a baseball swing or continuous nalu (wave) of energy.
LUA
· From the Editors | 25
Kamu Manu holding the pahoa (left) and the ho’e (right)
Kamu Manu holding the lei-o-mano & ku’eku’e (left) and the maka pahoa (right)
Kamu Manu holding the lei-o-mano & ku’eku’e (left) and the ka’ane (right)
His mindset was entirely battle-focused—to take out as many as he could— as if he was making his way down the battlefield. Solomon taught that it emerges out of land, sea, nature, and animal movements.
Kamu Manu holding the lei-o-mano & ku’eku’e Kamu (left) Manu andholding the ka’ane the(right). pololu
Ko’oko’o
Lei-o-mano
Like with the maka pahoa ko’oko’o, the short or long staff was used to go through anything it wished to. Even today, fishermen smack the top of the waters to bring sea life to the surface where a net awaits them. Some other uses included carrying water and herding animals.
Originally, this tool cut meat or anything else that needed cutting. This was four weapons in one in combat, like the maka pahoa:
In combat, the short or long staff is a perfect weapon to block, parry, strike, lock, trap, and keep the attacker at a distance. In Lua, you will see it used many ways, including in the takedown of an opponent by sweeping their knee or foot out in a motion like a baseball swing or a continuous nalu of energy.
The lei-o-mano
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1) The flat portion is used to block, parry, and strike. 2) The outside edges are shark teeth facing east and west, allowing the slicing of an opponent in both directions. 3) The handle has a blunt or sharp edge to strike, trap, poke, and tear. 4) The rope provided for this weapon to become projectile. As a projectile attached to one’s wrist, it is similar to a poi ball, creating a shredding and slicing circle of shark teeth.
The ka’ane
Palua ‘o newa
Ka’ane
One of the first uses of these two clubs was to pound drums for communication. In combat, they are used to strike various parts of an opponent’s body ranging from knuckles, wrists, arms, legs, eyes, face, soft tissue, head, and the center mass of the kino (body). The longer of the two clubs (28 inches) is held toward the end and used to check and counter. The shorter of the two clubs (24 inches) is held in the center and used to spear, poke, and strike.
This weapon’s end is two to four inches of wood or rock attached to a six-foot piece of double-braided cord. As a projectile, it is highly effective, like a whip. As an infighting tool, it can be used to attack at the opponent’s joints that hold weapons, to make strikes to the face and other soft tissue, and for its primary purpose: strangulation.
Ku’eku’e This shark-tooth weapon is a knuckle duster. With shark teeth facing east and west, it allows for slicing in both directions. The pahi or knife-pointed edge can be held to conceal the dagger or held to have the dagger facing toward the opponent. The dagger also traps, pokes, stabs, and tears. This weapon was also used by older or injured warriors who would trail back a bit from the battle to evaluate the battlefield. If injured warriors of the other side were still alive, the koa would use this weapon to finish them off.
The ku’eku’e
LUA
· Michelle Manu | 35
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Where One Can Learn the Lua There are ‘ōlohe and Kumu Lua in different lineages throughout the Hawaiian Islands. For the Kumu of the Kaihewalu lineage in North America, one can visit luamartialarts.org for more information.
Michelle Manu @michelle.manu.50
LUA
· Michelle Manu | 37
DRUNKEN BOXING THE STAFF Daniel Schultz
THE STAFF IS ONE OF THE most common and fundamental weapons found in many Asian martial arts. It has evolved from a simple walking stick into an improvised weapon like other weapons have. Throughout history, we see that evolution, from simple weapons like tying a stick to a rock together to make a mace, and later to the development of spears, swords, and other polearms. Yet the staff remains unchanged—it is essentially a big stick. You would not
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DRUNKEN BOXING
· Daniel Schultz | 39
see sticks carried into war when you could easily have a sword or a spear. So, we can see that the staff remains a more improvised weapon or an alternative to a deadly polearm for those who wish to protect themselves but not necessarily kill others. Staves were used a lot in temple systems of kung fu by monks who wished to keep to their Buddhist teachings and not kill, as well as in family systems as a weapon for protection, hiking, or carrying things hobo-style.
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The idea of the staff as the most fundamental of all polearms persists until today. Most contemporary styles and systems of kung fu include it in their curriculum at a relatively early stage. In fact, it is common for the staff to act as the gateway polearm to prepare the handling of all other polearms. It is also valuable for developing fundamental skills for empty-hand combat. Drunken staff, which is the main topic of this article, adds an extra dimension of training to staff practice. There is a lot to
unpack regarding changing paradigms in this practice. It would be a disservice not to mention them, as, like any advanced practice, it is not something secret or new but instead an extension or a redefining of the basics. First, I would like to talk about the fundamentals of how the staff works in combat. There are generally three different systems for how a staff fighter approaches combat. With the various systems you see out there, one can notice that some systems may exclusively prefer one over the others. In contrast, others may embrace multiple or all three. The first of these is the dragon pole. The dragon pole is recognized at first by the hand positions on the staff; the rear hand will be near the end of the staff, while the forward hand will be about halfway up the staff. It is also referred to as single-end staff, as the predominant use of this system is to keep the opponent far away, using the entire length of the staff to its fullest. Techniques usually include parrying with circular movements and straight attacks to the opponent’s hands to get them to drop their weapon, or to the body, head, or legs. It makes full use of simple thrusts and quick obstructing motions. Techniques will primarily be done with the forward
end of the staff while occasionally sliding the hands to make use of the other end. The three keywords often associated with spear also apply here: lan (“obstruct”), na (“seize”), and zha (“thrust)”. We treat this type of staff use as the infant stage. As the name implies, the practitioner’s skill is that of a child at this stage. A child approaching combat will be much more fearful of the adult man, so the child uses the length of the staff to keep the enemy away. Also, the child is not as knowledgeable of the world yet, so the strategy and moves must not be too complex, or the child would be in danger. The second system of staff fighting is often referred to as box staff, or sometimes double-ended staff. In this way of using the staff, the practitioner changes his grip on the staff to have his hands further up the staff. The hands will be with one on either side of the staff center. As a result, the length becomes reduced at one end and longer on the other. The advantage of this grip is providing an ability to use either end of the staff. Some systems differ in grip, preferring both thumbs to point into the center of the staff, while others have the thumbs positioned to point the same way. Though both ends of the staff are now readily avail-
DRUNKEN BOXING
· Daniel Schultz | 41
able, it would be a mistake to think that, all of a sudden, we are going to fight like Robin Hood, continuously clacking the staff together. Instead, a staff should only make one sound. That sound is the initial touch of the staves to make contact; the next move should be the one to end the encounter. So, although both ends can attack, generally, one will be used to attack, while the other will weave its way behind the opponent’s staff to strip their grip off of their staff. There is initial contact; then,
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there is a strip or a winding maneuver to clear away obstructions and attack the enemy. This method of staff fighting is at a much closer range than the previous and will not try to keep the opponent at long range but instead aims to get in close to end the fight. This method is known as the cocky teen stage, one growing into their bodies and starting to see the limits of their potential. Young teens tend to think of themselves as invincible and constantly push things to the edge. This method of staff
fighting reflects that in its style of getting in close and mixing things up a little. The third method is the old man staff. This one is quite different from the others. The grip is constantly changing, but one of the stereotypical positions would be held vertically with one hand ¾ up the staff, representing an old man with his walking stick. This method is a bit more unorthodox in its presentation. It changes between one and two hands rather than
relying on a two-handed firmly gripped method. Hand positions change constantly. This method relies more on momentum and trickery, represented by an old man. Back in the day, when martial skills were the difference between life and death, to get to an old age meant something. To get there, you must know some good tricks. Also, noting that an old man does not possess the strength of a young man, the old man must be more innovative and wiser. He is cleverly dodging while putting
DRUNKEN BOXING
· Daniel Schultz | 43
their staff by their feet to trip over, cleverly using momentum given by the opponent’s move to direct and fuel his next strike. Age will overcome youth’s strength through cleverness and treachery. The old man will not spend more effort than needed and will overcome youth with skill and brutality. With this in mind, we can see these methods ingrained in various systems; in traditional Shaolin staff systems, you can see the change between the methods and some Southern systems like wing chun that may only use the dragon pole method, meeting the very no-nonsense vibe of wing chun. Now that we have talked about the fundamentals in how they relate to combat with weapons, the next place to look would be how it affects empty-hand practice. We often look upon weapons as extensions of the body rather than a tool. When people treat them as tools, their attention naturally turns to the tool, and they somehow forget they have another hand
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DRUNKEN BOXING
· Daniel Schultz | 45
and two feet. In empty-hand combat, we do not look at our body as having two hands, two feet, etc. Instead, we regard every part of the body as a fist or striking surface. Many people tend to only think in one part of the body at a time, so when they go to punch, their legs are not doing much, and when they go to kick, their hands stop attacking. The ideal is to get the whole body working as a unit. When you add a weapon, the body gets larger. It becomes more difficult not to segment yourself. So, naturally, practicing and removing the seg-
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ments when you have a weapon will make it easier to do so when you put the weapon down. Being an extension of the body also brings up the training of getting one’s force to project beyond the body. When the body is tight, it obstructs movement, preventing the power of one’s strikes from penetrating the opponent as deeply. We learn to project force to our striking surface and into the opponent. Now, put a staff in someone’s hands, and suddenly their hands are longer. Thereby, one has
to make corrections in one’s body to get the power to reach the end of the stick and into the opponent. It essentially trains you to project your force through a longer body. Now, take the staff away again, and suddenly projecting power becomes easier as you do not have to get it to reach as far as when you had the staff. There is a drill in staff and spear training called pole shaking, which explicitly works to get power to the pole’s end. When done correctly, the end of the pole will shake violently, provided the
pole has bending capacity. One can also learn this power through equal and opposite reactions. Since this type of weapon allows us to grab it with two hands, it also allows us to add a push-andpull effect to power one motion with increased leverage. If one were to hold a staff out horizontally from the chest with the hands in the same position as in dragon pole, they would find that, when turning the waist to one direction or the other, it will cause the end of the staff to move, but that
this happened because one hand pushed while the other pulled. Turning the waist consequently moves the shoulders as well, and from this turning, we can see that one shoulder retreats while the other advances. Of course, you can apply this concept with many empty-hand techniques—for example, when one catches the wrist and elbow of the opponent. At this point, we thank the opponent for the staff they have given us, and we apply the law to their arm, resulting in a broken arm.
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Pole shaking is also an essential practice for developing internal force. The beginnings of internal force come from the use of the torso in power movement rather than the arms. My waist moves, and it moves my whole body laterally. The waist moves, and the foot moves. The waist moves, and my hand moves. This practice applies across both empty-hand fighting as well as weapon fighting. But once again, we see the staff becoming an extra hurdle to get past. Once one gets to a point where the waist
moves the end of the stick, having the core move the hands will be a much easier task. The more we dive into the fundamentals of staff work, the more crossover we can see to empty-hand training. And this is because it is no different in the end. I have no weapon but simply a long arm if I have a weapon. These fundamental theories and practices will cross all weapons and not belong solely to one—efficiency. This aspect of weapons training is always agreed on but often glossed over. There are many aspects to efficiency. One of the first is the idea of keeping the weapon between you and your opponent. There is nothing to keep your opponent at bay if your weapon is behind you. With no obstructions, your opponent can attack freely without consequence. However, this is unfavorable as there is no way to punish the opponent for their advance. Keeping the weapon between you and your opponent makes it easier to react to their attack because of the shorter distance it has to travel to defend. When armed with a sword or spear, this idea becomes more evident. A person holding a sword to the side presents a certain amount of threat, but you can still advance to take them out. But a man pointing a sword at you presents more
threats than the previous. Now, not only do you have an immediate threat to your life, but it is obstructing the way to take down the opponent, so you must first deal with the obstruction before you can take out the threat. Having the sword point at the opponent creates a lot of hurdles the opponent has to overcome without expending much energy. From keeping the weapon in front of you, next it is vital to keep in mind the importance of efficient movement. This does not mean that large expansive moves are not efficent, but rather, it is about cutting out the extraneous movement. If it takes three miles to reach the destination, then traveling two miles will not be enough, but traveling five miles would be too excessive and impractical. If I add an extra flourish to a movement, it will create openings for my opponent to exploit. To spend more effort than necessary will only gas one out. In this rule, we find ourselves in the middle. If we are too conservative with our movement, nothing will get done, but if we move excessively, we become sluggish. Balance becomes key. Now that we have covered staff in its fundamentals of how it relates to weapon and empty-hand fight-
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ing, where does the drunken part come into play? Drunken boxing is looked at as a very advanced-level martial art, but it is not how most people think. The tendency is to think it is advanced because of the acrobatic ability that is difficult to perform. This is very low-level thinking on the subject. Instead, Drunken boxing is advanced because of what its paradigm shift is meant to put you through. We learn the principles, concepts, theories, and rules through orthodox practices. The intent of this training is to lead a student in the right direction and teach them how to do their art. It is a very important step. As kids, we need rules to help teach us the difference between right and wrong. Without those rules that teach us to be good people, humans tend to learn to be selfish and work to please themselves. But after we learn right and wrong, the rules become redundant. Why would one need a rule if they already know what is right in their heart and act on it? So, while rules teach us to be effective, they become limiting. Many people will
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watch a fight knowing what styles the practitioners practiced and later say, “They weren’t adhering to the principles of their art.” If they won, why would it matter? The rules then start to work against us. We may be in a scenario, see an opening, and strike, but later be upset with ourselves because it was not a technique of our style. It is at this point we have missed the significance of the rules. We learned that the rules teach us efficiency, not to move like “A” style or “B” style. If it was efficient, then it was right. The intent of Drunken boxing is to break the practitioner out of the box of rules limiting them to move freely without restrictions. When we can do that, things become instinctual. You see in many styles how they will tell you to be upright, firm, and so on; Drunken will say, “What is upright? What is firm?” Drunken does not necessarily throw out the rules but instead bends them to their extremes right before they break. Styles teach us to be upright and have good structure and roots, so we are not eas-
ily moved or thrown off balance; Drunken will take the structure, bend it over backward, and figure out how far we can bend the rule before you lose stability. A style will say to use your opponent’s force against them and maintain vertical alignment; Drunken will take that to the extreme, let the opponent’s force completely move their body out of its normal shape, and let that fuel the Drunken practitioner’s attack. The art’s intent is not to care about the self but to go for a ride and see what becomes of the opponent along the way. The Drunken practitioner has no strategy and ultimately allows the opponent to move them, in the following momentum where the attack comes in unexpectedly. In Drunken boxing, we call them “happy little accidents.” In styles, they teach us to have firm yet movable footwork that is not easily unbalanced; Drunken will say forget that and stumble around. But this stumbling is entirely purposeful without extra movement. You should take balance to the extreme and play there.
One aspect to take away from this is that when rules limit you when the opponent breaks your positioning and causes you to break your rules, the usual next thing to do would be to get back to a good position as quickly as possible. But if you have not learned to fight without the rules, the art can break apart. So, training in a place where the rules do not sway and the opponent holds the advantageous position can become necessary to learn how to recover. Drunken boxing trains in that space already. It will train how to turn a loss into a win. With this in mind, let us go back to efficiency. It is efficient to have the weapon between you and your opponent. So naturally, the opponent wants to keep this rule while making the other break it. When you apply Drunken, it turns from a moment of the fear of, “Oh no, I have to recover,” into, “Oh, we’re doing this now.” Drunken takes whatever it gets and works with it. In this way, it helps get rid of a fear response. The natural tendency with fear is to tense up. Tensing up restricts free motion. Drunken
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teaches us to relax and follow momentum. One can look at Drunken like karma; what goes out will come back. The enemy is defeated because of his action. In this, it is the inaction of the Drunken player that allows the opponent’s action to maneuver the Drunken player to victory. We see moves in Drunken staff where the practitioner strikes over the top and behind them and lots of different moves where one ignores the concept of keeping the weapon between you and your opponent. But again, we can look at it and see that there is a reasoning behind it. The best place to be when fighting someone is behind them, because the practitioner’s options will be limited, and so will their sight, whereby a good opponent will try to get behind at all costs. It will make more sense to hit behind you in the context of fighting an opponent who managed to get behind the practitioner. If the practitioner moves one way, chasing them will take longer, as both are moving in the same direction. Coming up and over reduces that time.
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Falling is common in Drunken staff forms. Falling and rolling makes sense in the context of the opponent tripping you up. The Drunken practitioner is making the best of a bad situation and trying to survive. All this Drunken theory boils down to breaking limitations, thinking outside the box, and training to make the best of what you have. One should ideally want to have the weapon between oneself and one’s opponent. Life is not always fair, though. Ideal situations do not always happen. It is ideal to use as little movement as possible to get the job done, but sometimes more movement becomes necessary. Sometimes the long way is shorter. Now we can look back to what we noted above about excess motion. Motion is only excessive if unnecessary. We all know that a straight line is an efficient way to a destination. But it is also the most predictable way. If I thrust my staff directly at my opponent in a straight line, it is the closest distance to the target. But the trajectory is predictable and easi-
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ly blocked. So even though it was the shortest path, it did not reach its destination. Was it the shortest path in such a situation? An attack traveling along one plane is easy to track. An attack moving along two planes becomes more challenging to follow. Then the question arises: how many planes are needed? Like with successful feints that force an opponent to move, it becomes more difficult for them to change their response mid-motion. In this example, the long way was shorter because the attack along the straight line did not reach its intended target while the other did. Drunken boxing and its weapon work is an advanced practice not because it is difficult to perform but because it is about letting go. Letting go of the need to follow the rules, letting go of control, and simply making the best of things, letting go of the need to move a certain way, look a certain way, and just let be. Forms transform into formlessness. Shapes transform into shapelessness. When you let go of obstructions, you can move freely. But to let go of things, we must first have acquired them. You must first pick up a pen before you can put it down. In the same way, you must follow the rules before you should break
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them. The rules teach a concept. Once you have the concept, you do not need the rules anymore. Then you can let go. Drunken staff is just like the Drunken empty hand, except you now have more extended hands. Therefore, you have more to let go of.
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MY PATH TO
JODO MENKYO Michael Belzer
WHY SHINDO MUSO RYU? Over the past decade, I have dedicated myself to walking the path of jojutsu—the art of Japanese stick fighting. I could not have had a better introduction to the art than when I was 18 years old and training at the Rembukan dojo in 1974 under the 25th Headmaster, Shimizu Takaji, and later in 1979 under Donn F. Draeger Sensei in Malaysia. Although I was occasionally able to pick up a jo and practice with some folks between 1979 and 2007 (a break of 28 years), I really thought that my experience in Shindo
Muso ryu was limited to an excellent introduction and that was the end of that chapter in my martial career. As fate would have it, in 2007 I took my wife, Meredith, on a trip to Kyoto. While I was in Japan, I took the opportunity to visit Otake Sensei of the Katori Shinto ryu and also Ono Sensei of the Takenouchi ryu. The experiences I had at both of these dojo reignited my interest in the koryu of Japan. When I returned to Los Angeles, I decided to Google around to see if, after 30 years, there were finally any qualified teachers of the art that I started a lifetime ago—Shindo Muso ryu.
The Rembukan dojo, 1975. Back row: Mike Belzer (far right), Larry Bieri (3rd from left). Front row: Nishioka (2nd from left), Shimizu (center), Kuroda (3rd from right), Kaminoda (far right).
Shimizu Takaji (25th Headmaster) & Kuroda Ichitaro (Shihanke).
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IJF Jamboree Taping, Malaysia, July 1979.
Penang, Malaysia, July 1979.
Donn F. Draeger (Hawaii, 1980). This is the last time I saw him. He died in 1982.
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Otake Sensei of Katori Shinto ryu (Narita, Japan).
Ono Sensei of Takenouchi ryu (Kyoto, Japan).
I have to say that my life in the martial arts (starting at the age of nine in Danzan ryu jujutsu) has been filled with what I can only call “fantastic luck.” My luck continued with my Google search when Steve Bellamy and the Santa Monica Jodo Club popped up in . . . Santa Monica? That was my old hood from high school and college days!
When I met with Mishima Sensei, I shared my early experience at the Rembukan with Shimizu Sensei and later with Draeger Sensei in Malaysia. She seemed satisfied with that and explained to me that Shindo Muso ryu was not a sport, a game, or even a hobby that you can just “dabble in.” Once you start and become a member of the ryu, you commit to learning the whole art from your sensei. As with many things in life, “I had no idea what I was getting into,” even with all of my previous training and experience in various martial arts.
I believe I sent an email first and I received a polite reply from Chisato Mishima about the steps necessary to learn the art: 1. Come to an interview. 2. Watch three classes. 3. Be invited.
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Steven Bellamy (Menkyo Kaiden) & Chisato Mishima (Menkyo) demonstrating the okuden kata in 2013.
I have often said, “If growing up in Danzan ryu was equivalent to my B.A. undergraduate degree in martial arts, then the 10 years I spent under Guro Dan Inosanto learning the Filipino arts of kali, escrima and arnis, was like getting my master’s degree. This makes my training in Shindo Muso ryu like studying for my Ph.D in the martial arts.” When I arrived at Clover Park to watch my first class, Bellamy Sensei asked if I remembered any of the omote kata. I said that I did and he said: “Show me tachi otoshi.” When I was finished he said, “Good, you are doing the same style we are do-
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Guro Dan Inosanto and his drumming teacher, Buddy Helm.
ing. You are welcome to practice with us.” And so it began. I was expected to train privately with Bellamy Sensei once a week and also attend the early-morning group classes. When I was told that each student was put on a mandatory one month probation period, I thought carefully about that, and then asked for a threemonth probation. My reasoning was this: anyone can adjust their schedule to do something special for a month. Actually integrating something new into your life takes more time. As the training continued, I met the two senior students,
Raffi and Kee, and we were soon training together as a small group on Sunday mornings with Bellamy Sensei and his wife, Chisato Mishima. Bellamy Sensei has very high standards. He expects us to come to class, practice on our own and do study sessions that cover the history, customs, and traditions of Shindo Muso ryu. One of the first things I realized was that I would have to make some sacrifices in order to do this training and do it well. I had been teaching my own Wednesday night escrima class at the Circle Park dojo (in Santa
Receiving my shodan in Danzan ryu jujutsu from my Sensei, Jim Marcinkus, in 1972 (at age 16).
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Monica) for several years, and I decided that I would need to close that down. This would give me more time and energy to devote to my Shindo Muso ryu training. It was from that point in 2008 that I knew I was committed to learning the art of Shindo Muso ryu and completing the path I had begun almost 30 years ago. Signing the entrance document, nyumon-sho, was a significant event. Karunakaran from Malaysia agreed to be my sponsor, and Meredith also attended the event. As my wife, she
needed to know, and also agree to this path that I was taking with Bellamy Sensei. I helped organize an Introduction to the Jo seminar, and we attracted 20 students to this event. Two thirds of the people were from the Danzan ryu dojo, and I was quite pleased with that. From that first introductory seminar, three people began training with us on a regular basis: Brendan Dowling, William Fordes, and Rob Eiseman. Rob had to drop out due to his work schedule, but both Brendan and Bill have stayed with it along with me.
Malaysia Mike at age 22 standing with Karunakaran in one of the cabins at the IJF Jodo Jamboree in Taiping, Malaysia (July 1979). “Karuna” was the first student of Donn Draeger in Malaysia, and is the leader of the Malaysian Jodo Federation.
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Our first Introduction to the Jo seminar with Bellamy Sensei (2008). Interesting note: The San Fernando Judo Dojo is 100 years old!
Being asked by Bellamy Sensei to become his deshi was a very significant and important event for me. I knew that he took it very seriously and he carefully explained that taking the step would deepen our relationship as he also committed to teaching me “all of his art.” In 2009, I signed the shoden-sho document, which signifies that the student has now become more like “an apprentice.” Bellamy Sensei also began talking about taking a group of us to Japan so we could experience Shindo Muso ryu in its native envi-
ronment. The plan was to make it a jungyo, where we would travel throughout Japan to practice Shindo Muso ryu at different locations and dojos around the country. The trip to Japan in 2009 was an awesome experience. Most of the students of the Santa Monica Jodo group were able to make the 17-day trip. This included myself, Brendan Dowling, Bill Fordes, and Rich Kaczmarek, along with Bellamy Sensei and his wife, Chisato Mishima. We started in Tokyo and trained at the dojo of Kaminoda Sensei, who was an icon of the
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budo and bujutsu worlds, especially in the realm of Shindo Muso ryu. Kaminoda Sensei was one of the teachers I saw demonstrate in Maryland when the first demonstration of koryu martial arts was made in the United States along with Donn Draeger. I was 13 years old and saw Shimizu Sensei along with Donn Draeger and Kaminoda Sensei. Kaminoda Sensei was very gracious to our group, and we were invited back to practice with his dojo a
second time. We saw a student get promoted to his Gomokuroku, and we received a very nice demonstration of the kusarigama. In direct contrast, when we visited the dojo of Matsui Sensei, we were disrespected and ignored. It was a very strange experience for me. As a matter of fact, it was the worst I have ever been treated in any dojo in the world. The way I look at it, you can learn from any and all experiences even if it is just what not to do.
The announcement of the first demonstration of Japanese koryu to be demonstrated in the U.S. appeared in the Judo Illustrated magazine.
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The Kaminoda dojo (Tokyo, 2009).
Malaysia Mike (left), Des Roy (center), and Bill Fordes (right) at the Tokyo Shrine (2009).
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I would have to say that the most memorable part of the 2009 jungyo was our visit to the Cave of Muso on Mount Homan in Fukuoka. The hike up the mountain was an event in itself. Hearing the Buddhist chanting coming from inside the cave as we approached it really “set the tone.” Entering the cave and leaving our own jo as a sign of respect was definitely a high point. Being asked to demonstrate tachi otoshi in front of the cave with Rich truly was a “peak experience” for both of us.
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The sign at the cave entrance gives the story of Muso.
From inside the cave, there was chanting as we arrived.
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We saw and experienced many, many things on this trip—way too many to go into here. Suffice to say, it was both awesome and challenging.
Rich & I in front of the cave, after our embu of tachi otoshi.
Receiving my Sandan from Bellamy Sensei on Mt. Homan.
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Returning home from this trip met us with a surprise. Chisato’s mother’s health had taken a turn for the worse and Sensei decided that they needed to stay in Japan and help take care of her. Before we left for this jungyo, we had made many plans with Sensei upon his return to Los Angeles. The primary one was to help them develop a center for training in a variety of the classical Japanese traditions including Shindo Muso ryu jojutsu, Muso Shinden ryu iaido, shodo, and cha-
do. However, sometimes real life interrupts our plans for life. This is what happened here and quite suddenly our little yagai (outdoor) dojo of six guys had to figure out “what to do” now that our Sensei was staying in Japan. As 2010 started up, I led our first kagami biraki ceremony. We laid out the portable Shinto shrine, bowed to the rising sun, and then each of us made a small demonstration. We drank our sake and discussed how we would approach and continue our training in Shindo Muso ryu, now that our Sensei had moved back to Japan. Since we did not have a teacher able to be with us on a regular ba-
sis, our small group of dedicated students—Raffi, myself, Brendan, Bill, and Greg—really became what is known as a “Study Group.” We decided to meet on a biweekly basis, and Raffi and I would lead the group on an alternating basis. I am the one who organized the group. I really had no desire to “start teaching,” but someone had to lead the group. Raffi was the senior member of our gang, but over the next year his participation dropped off and, by the end of the year, it was just me leading the group. We continued in this way for the next two years between 2009 and 2011. We practiced regularly as a group twice a month. We also paired up individually and trained together.
Clover Park yagai dojo (January, 2010). From left to right: Bill Fordes, Raffi Gabriel, Mike Belzer, and Brendan Dowling. Our "portable Shinto shrine" in the middle.
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Kuroda Ichitaro with his sword and a sample of his shodo.
We performed several embu at different events and we each began weekly study sessions with Sensei via Skype. When Sensei began his Skype study sessions with me in 2009, he told me to begin studying Muso Shinden ryu iaido, and also to start learning shodo—calligraphy. Rats! More stuff to do! And, I am not interested at all in these two activities—from what I have seen of them.
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Sigh. Okay, just do it. I searched around and found an aikido dojo that also taught Muso Shinden ryu iaido. The dojo was just 15 minutes away, in downtown Los Angeles. The class was held on Thursday nights from 8 to 9 PM, one hour per week. I can do that. I called the dojo and spoke to Nishida Sensei. I explained that I was a member of Shindo Muso ryu jojutsu and that my Sensei in Japan was encouraging me to start learning Muso Shinden ryu iaido. I also asked him if he taught the 12 kata of the seitei iaido set. He said “Yes, we do that too.” “Great!” I said. “That’s all I
really want to learn.” “Well, if you join this dojo you will be learning both. Not just one or the other.” “Okay,” I said. “Damn!” The way I looked at it, the 12 kata of seitei iaido should be like the 12 kata of seitei jodo. Learn the 12 kata and I will have a good introduction to the use of the sword. Yes, I was looking for a shortcut. Ha ha!
watch the aikido class beforehand. It brought back good memories of my time at the Aikikai Hombu in Tokyo, way back in 1974.
Getting back to an indoor dojo was a very interesting experience. I came early and got a chance to
Nishida Sensei give me a bokken and worked with me through the basic motions: •
nuke—the draw
•
kiri—the cut
•
chiburi—the blood wipe
•
noto—put away
Nishida-sensei inside the City Aikido & Swordsmanship dojo.
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Learning the reiho to step on the mat with the sword, bowing to the shomen and then waiting for the class to begin while kneeling in seiza with my sword at my right side, was another kata to learn. The reiho included bowing to the shomen as a group, bowing to the Sensei and then placing the sword in front of us correctly and bowing to it. Only then do we put the sword into our obi and tie it to our hakama. Learning how to clean and powder the sword after each session was another kata to add to the list. Over the next several months, I really got to enjoy the focus, the silent training and getting to know the sword. I did learn the 12 kata of the seitei iaido set and also began to learn and practice many of the kata from the shoden, chuden, and okuden kata sets of the complete art of Muso Shinden ryu. I am “nothing” when it comes to the practice of Muso Shinden ryu, but I demonstrated the 12 kata of seitei iaido when I was in Japan in 2015. It was good to do it in front of my Sensei, as the use of the katana is part of his kyotei—personal teaching. While I was at an iaido session, I met Masanao-san who was here from Japan to go to college. He was
an older guy in his 40s and we hit it off. I heard about a Japan Family Day event to be held at Santa Anita racetrack and thought it would be a fun event to go to: Japanese food, music, martial arts, and other Japanese arts and culture. As we walked through the fair, I passed by a booth where shodo (calligraphy) was being demonstrated. The Sensei saw me stop and look, and she simply held the brush out to me and I took it. She said, “Sit down here. Let’s write your name.” I cannot say that I was “hooked” at that moment, but I did take her card and saw that she was teaching down in Torrance. I knew that shodo was also a huge part of the kyotei of Kuroda Ichitaro and that meant it was part of my teacher’s as well. Although he did not give me “the assignment,” I knew I had to give it a go, and try my hand to learn shodo. Two weeks later, when I walked into the shodo class, I saw that not only was I the only man in the room but also the only non-Japanese. What I had really walked into was a group of local Japanese women who had been doing shodo for years—kind of like walking into a women’s bridge club that meets every week. By the end of the class, the Sensei had “suggested” to me that “this class might not
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be for you.” However, she said she had a student that also taught shodo, lived in the Valley, and would come to my office in Glendale to teach me privately. “Really?” “Yes.” I contacted Yukari Tokumaru and she said, “Yes, I would be happy to come over to your office and teach you shodo.” Cool. During our first class she said, “What you are doing to start is really called shuji. This is what the grade school kids learn first. It is kind of like how American kids learn to print letters and numbers and then how to write in cursive handwriting.” I started by learning how to prepare the ink, hold the brush, steady the paper, and how
to start the brush strokes at the correct 45° angle. Tokumaru Sensei began coming to my office on a weekly basis. I cannot say I practiced much between classes. As a matter of fact, I approached my shodo practice like I did my iaido practice—once a week for about 90 minutes at a time with no practice in between. I also have to say that I did not look forward to each session. I never felt that I had time for it, or that “I am getting the hang of it,” either. Having said that, Tokumaru Sensei was coming to my office and I simply had very few excuses to cancel my weekly class. I kept going because I knew it was part of my Sensei’s kyotei, pure and simple.
Tokumaru Sensei (in orange) and Malaysia Mike (in black).
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As October 2011 approached, both Brendan and myself prepared for another trip to Japan. This would be the first time we would be training with Bellamy Sensei since we had left Japan in 2009. For this trip, Brendan and I would be staying in a suburb of Nagoya and not traveling all over Japan like we did in 2009. The other unique aspect of this trip was that both Brendan and I would be staying with “host families.” My family, the Nozaki’s, were a great fit for me. Ayano Nozaki owned an English school in her house and taught class after “regular school” had finished up. Her husband worked for a computer company, and their two kids were both in elementary school. Brendan and I trained with Bellamy Sensei at separate times and focused on learning the okuden set. He trained us in a very interesting way. Sensei trained with me using the sword as the uchidachi. With Brendan, he trained him with the
jo as the shidachi. Our mission, when we returned to Santa Monica, would be to bring our knowledge together and teach each other the movements of the jo and the tachi. We had many great experiences on this trip. Here are just a few of the highlights. The Okuiri Ceremony: Both Brendan and I were given a full ceremony that recognizes the first level of Shindo Muso ryu known as the okuiri. The okuiri is a letter which indicates the “probation period” is finally over, and the deshi has proven himself to be worthy of learning the oku (deeper) aspects of the art. Ahmed Mansuri acted as Sensei’s assistant. The location was inside a Buddhist temple that looked like it was right out of a kung fu movie set. It was a formal affair done in full hakama. Sensei wore his white one for this. Both Brendan and I had lost our inkan (personal stamp) that Sensei had given us back in
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The Nozaki family at home.
Bellamy Sensei’s Wall of Weapons.
Bellamy Sensei & his wife Chisato Mishima at home in Nagoya.
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2009. This was considered very, very bad—kind of like losing your passport while you are in a foreign country! So, Sensei said, “We need to stamp your okuiri with both my inkan and yours. Since you both lost your inkan you must do a keppan (blood seal). We did this by taking a sharp razor blade and cutting the top of our thumb just under the thumbnail. Then, we took the drop of blood and placed it on the okuiri document. After the ceremony, Sensei and Chisato took us to another sec-
tion of the temple, and we were given a formal tea ceremony by the owner of the temple. One of the things she asked us was, “Why did you choose Shindo Muso ryu?” She asked each of us this question. When it came to me I told her, “I think Shindo Muso ryu chose me.” As I started to answer, Sensei spoke up and told her my history in Japanese, starting with coming to Tokyo out of high school, training at the Rembukan, and learning from Shimizu Sensei; then, taking 30 years off and finally meeting Bel-
One of the several yagai dojo areas that Bellamy Sensei uses in Nagoya.
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Brendan & I sitting with our okuiri documents and Bellamy Sensei.
lamy Sensei in California in 2007. “Ever since he met me, his life has never been the same!”
The thumb cut from the okuiri ceremony.
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The Tea Sensei thought about what Bellamy Sensei had told her, then looked at me, and said in Japanese, “You are like the dirt that remains.” Bellamy Sensei explained to me that, “Although it sounds strange, she gave you a compliment.” He explained it to me like this: “When you wash clothes, first you shake the clothes to knock loose any dirt that might easily dislodge. Then, you wash the clothes and that gets
rid of most of the dirt stains. But sometimes, there is a little bit of dirt that remains. It is stubborn and persistent. The complement she is giving you is that you did not give up. You are still here. You did not quit. ‘Never giving up’ is considered a high compliment in Japan.”
pared a nice one with the long kata found in the gohon no midare set. Too bad when we arrived in Nagoya and told this to Sensei and Chisato, they said, “Nice plan, but we want you to raise your game and demonstrate what you have learned while you were here.” The okuden set. “Really?” “Yes.”
Brendan and I returned to the temple for a third time. We were scheduled to give an embu, outside on the grounds of the temple. We had known that we were going to have to do an embu and had pre-
As the 17-day trip came to an end, we returned to the temple and began our embu. The embu really did look and feel to me like it was out of an episode of the old Kung Fu TV series. The weather was cloudy,
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and just as we began, it started to drizzle slightly. A funeral was just concluding in another part of the temple, and as they started to file out, they saw the demonstration, and politely stopped to watch. The only sound you heard was the sound of their umbrellas opening up. I had one of those moments where I felt like I was “above it all” and watching Brendan and myself doing the kata like it was a movie. The embu went off without a hitch and it was the culmination of our training time for this 2011 trip.
When Brendan and I got back to Los Angeles, we continued our regular training with the Santa Monica group. My weekly iaido training resumed and I also continued my weekly shodo classes. We also continued to make public demonstrations at various events.
Bellamy Sensei dispatched us on a cross-country mission to teach Sakimukai Sensei the satsuki ame kata set. Jacksonville, FL (2012).
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The Shoseian Whispering Pine Tea House in Glendale, CA.
It was about this time that Meredith and I found out about the Shoseian Tea House located right in Glendale, up in Brand Park. It is a beautiful traditional Japanese tea house surrounded by an awesome Friendship Garden. After some investigation, I was able to locate the phone number of the lady who was teaching the tea ceremony at the tea house. Her name was Keiko Nakada, and I called her right
away. She answered the phone and explained to me that she had just been getting her energy back from an illness but she was planning to get activities started up again at the tea house soon. Nakada Sensei asked if we would like to attend the next business meeting of her group, and Meredith and I immediately said “Yes.” The meeting was a small one, held in Nakada Sensei’s house in Pasa-
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Intro to the Jo at the Shoseian Tea House
dena, with just herself and three of her students—Julie, Susan, and Ginna. We talked about the plans not only of holding tea ceremonies and classes at the tea house but also to offer other Japanese cultural activities such as budo, shodo, ikebana, and music. The City of Glendale has given Nakada Sensei’s group—the Friends of Shoseian—the use of the tea house on the third Sunday of each month. By the end of the meeting, Nakada Sensei asked if we would like to be on the Board of Directors of the tea house. I said “Yes” immediately. The next question was, “Would you like a title?” I said, “Yes.” “Ambassador would be nice,” she said. 82 | The Immersion Review
“Fine, you will be our Ambassador of Martial Arts to the Shoseian Tea House.” Meredith and I brought new energy and enthusiasm into the Shoseian Tea House. Along with each tea ceremony, we added an embu of Shindo Muso ryu to help attract people to come onto the grounds of the garden. Pretty soon, I had organized the first of several Intro to the Jo classes which were well attended with over 20 students in each class. Over the next year, we also added a shodo workshop with my teacher Yukari Tokumaru and ikebana class taught by Seiko Sensei.
I produced a very nice 12-minute video that gave the history of the Glendale Sister City Program with Higashi Osaka, the building of the Shoseian and the classes, programs and events that we were now offering. I made two versions of this YouTube video. One was in English that we could use to share with other individual groups and organizations here in the U.S. The other version was narrated in Japanese so I could take it back to Japan on my next trip which was coming up in 2013.
The 2013 trip was another great event. Brendan, Bill Fordes, Greg Poretz, Mark Willoughby, his wife Terry, and myself made up this team. Mark was from another jo group I had met in Bakersfield at a jo seminar. Bellamy Sensei had suggested to me to “invite anyone at the Bakersfield budo seminar to come to Japan with us.” So, I did just that as we had dinner with the group that night. An older guy, Mark Willoughby, approached me and said, “Were you serious? I’ve always wanted to go to Japan. It’s
The U.S. Team arriving in Japan for the Nagoya Gasshuku (October, 2013).
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Kurogo Sensei
been one of the dreams of my life.” I found out later that Mark was already an accomplished swordsmith who actually makes Japanese katana in his garage. Boy, was he going to have the trip of his life! The 2013 trip turned out to be a rough one for me. About a week into it, I came down with the flu and I was completely down and out for a solid week. On top of that, all sorts of problems were happening with my business at home. Meredith was really struggling to keep it all together. I was still able to participate in many of the activities, but at a much lower energy level.
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We learned all of the jutte kata in tandoku fashion (solo, not against the sword). We also learned the six kata of the yumidare set. We spent half the day working on some of the Matsubayashi jujutsu techniques. Three very interesting events took place that I am glad I recovered enough to participate in: •
Training with Kurogo Sensei for the day;
•
Going to the location of the Battle of Sekigahara;
•
Receiving the Gomokuroku promotion after I took my exam.
An 8th Dan named Kurogo Sensei was invited by Bellamy Sensei to spend the day with us and take us through the Kendo Renmei seitei jodo curriculum. Sensei told us that Kurogo was “the Man” when it came to final decisions about any changes with the seitei curriculum in Japan. He wanted us to train with Kurogo Sensei and establish a connection with him. I had the opportunity to be his demonstration partner for the entire day. He took the sword and I had the jo. We went through all 12 of the kihon and all 12 of the kata. His technique was very crisp and he had a great kiai. After the day of training, we went out for dinner, showed some magic tricks, and had a great time. I had a bit of a relapse after that training with Kurogo Sensei, but I was pleased that I could “hang” with him.
Bellamy Sensei sent a message to all of us that we would need to be ready to get on the road early the next day. “You’re going somewhere very important.” Early in the mornig, we all piled in the car and headed out for a road trip. Little did we know that we were headed to walk on the battleground where both Hirano Gonbei and Musashi Miyamoto fought in 1600 during the Battle of Sekigahara.
Dinner, gifts, and magic tricks.
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The battleground of Sekigahara.
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The battleground is an historic site, and there was activity preparing for some kind of ceremony that was to happen in a few days. We had a chance to walk over the different areas, and Sensei painted the picture for us with some more history and stories. After we returned to base, the next big events were examinations. I was going for Gomokuroku. Brendan and Rich were testing for Shomokuroku. Mark Willoughby was taking the grading in both iaido and jodo. The most interesting part of the Gomokuroku examination was that I was on the sword for most of the time. Bellamy Sensei said he already knew what my jo technique looked like. “Gomokuroku means that you will be among the most senior people in the dojo and it means you will be uchidachi (on the sword) and be leading them using hiki tate geiko (pulling them along training method).” Sensei always has us stand and answer questions as part of the exam. By “stand,” I mean just that: you cannot move, pantomime, or demonstrate anything. Your answers must be verbal only. Although I was still feeling the effects
of the flu, I did rally long enough to make it through the test which lasted about three hours. Sensei informed me that I had passed. Nice! Brendan and Rich partnered up for their Shomokuroku exam, and the most memorable part was when Rich was asked to spend some time working with me on some different aspects of the midare dome kata. He had not done very well on that kata. Sensei told him, “You are right on the borderline of pass or fail. I am going to give you a chance to practice that kata and then come back later and demonstrate it again.” Rich and I practiced midare dome along with Brendan. Then, after an hour, Rich took another crack at it. By this time in the trip, Rich was also sick and he had a pretty bad injury to one of his ankles— not the ideal way to go in for a “make or break” moment, but that was the way it was. There is a moment in the kata where shidachi does a tai atari (double fisted strike to the body and face) of the uchidachi to knock him back a few steps. Brendan is a big guy, probably 6’ 3”. Rich is my size, maybe 5’ 9”. Rich “popped” Big Brendan so
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hard, it knocked him down on his ass. No one lets that kind of thing just “happen.” It was very impressive. Sensei let out a cheer, Chisato stood up with a smile on her face, and I caught it all on video. Sensei said, “Well, I guess that’s a pass. Congratulations!” The even better
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news was that the new Shomokurokus had to pay for dinner for all of us. Ha ha! Mark Willoughby really had “the trip of his life.” As a martial artist and a swordmaker at home in the US, he always had a dream of going to Japan, the “home of the samurai and his sword.” Now, here he was. He already had spent a day with a
swordmaker and had an awesome experience learning the traditional way swords were made. As the trip was coming to an, end he now had the opportunity to take the grading for iaido and seitei jo. He would be awarded a Dan ranking, if he passed. There was only one teeny-weeny little problem. The style of the iaido Mark practiced was not the standard “official kata” of the Kendo Renmei seitei iaido curriculum. Although Mark knew “all of the moves,” there were just enough details and differences so whatever he demonstrated would be considered wrong. That was the bad news. The good news was that I knew all 12 of the seitei kata and
I told Sensei, “Give me an hour and I can train him to do what he needs to do.” How is that possible? Because, to get your Shodan, you only have to demonstrate five of the 12 kata. Ha ha! Then he got to select them. Mark made his choice and I helped to make a change here and there. On this particular grading, Mark also took a grading for seitei jodo. I was his uchidachi and he did very well. He is an intense guy with the jo or sword in his hand. His iaido demonstration went fine. He passed! Sensei talked with him afterwards and gave him guidance and homework to do when he returned to the U.S. Even if he had not passed, the whole experience would have been “the best.” Talk about a “peak experience” for Mark!
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As the 2013 trip came to a close, we all agreed that the person who did the best, had the best attitude, kept the best spirit, never complained, and always supported usm was Mark’s wife, Terry—especially as a non-martial artist, coming along for the ride, and for the first time in Japan. She blew us all away!
The six yumidare kata that we also learned tandoku were more challenging because there just were no models, photos, or video that we could look at. The best we could do was watch the video of Ahmed doing them tandoku so that we could at least remember the sequence of movements.
It took me an incredible six weeks to recover from that last trip to Japan! Whatever flu bug I picked up zapped my energy longer than anything I have ever experienced. Slowly, I got back to my early-morning fitness in the MMA gym and got back to leading the biweekly Shindo Muso ryu classes on Sunday mornings.
During our last Japan trip in 2013, Sensei created an organization called the “Musokan,” or “The House of Muso,” as a way to counter the problem of the Kendo Renmei’s decision to start teaching what they call koryu kata. He made me the head of Musokan USA and encouraged me to “grow the group.” I decided to use the Shoseian Tea House as my base and hold a series of three Intro to the Jo seminars on the grounds of the Friendship Garden each year. We had already held one seminar which had over 20 students, and it was a great success. My goal with this series was to get the Musokan USA name out there and see if we could attract a few more dedicated students.
We worked hard to apply the sword movements to the 12 jutte kata that we were only able to learn tandoku (solo) while we were in Japan. We watched the videos, looked at the photos, and slowly put the sword attacks along with the jutte counters to the complete kata one by one.
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The next Intro to the Jo seminar I held attracted several aikido sensei and also a group of escrima practitioners. The escrima group spoke to me when it was over and requested that I come to their Pasadena location once a month to teach them. This is the first time a group (six men and two women) had approached me to teach them. Two very interesting things happened: They did not quit. The group stayed together and their open-mindedness (junanshin) has been quite impressive.
Musokan USA—1st Gasshuku held in Tehachapi, CA (September, 2014).
The first meeting of the “Musokan” held in Nagoya, Japan (October, 2013).
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They are learning and making progress even at two hours a month! We are working on the seitei curriculum and, so far, they have made it through the kihon tandoku (solo) and sotai (paired) and the first six kata. They are just now learning how to handle the sword by learning how to “accept” the hiki otoshi and other strikes. They even came up with a name for their group: The Pasadena Jodo Society. We had a big event here in Los Angeles when I re-established a connection with Dr. David Hall who had just published an amazing reference book called the Encyclopedia of Japanese Martial Arts. I had met Dave back in the mid-80s along with Hunter Armstrong as they were both heavily involved with Donn Draeger’s development of hoplology. It turns out that Bellamy Sensei had met both Armstrong and Hall while they were all in Japan in the 70s. Bellamy Sensei reconnected with Dave Hall after many, many years and then both of us talked to him on a Skype conversation. Dave asked for my help in promoting his book by seeing whether I could set up a book signing and lecture. I was able to do this with the Asian American Museum in Pasadena.
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Dave and his wife traveled here to Los Angeles from Maryland, and he asked our group to help him with his lecture by demonstrating Shindo Muso ryu kata to illustrate the points he was making in his talk. We treated this event as quite an honor for the Santa Monica Jodo group. Time flies when you are busy. Running my real estate management company with my wife and partner, Meredith, can be more than a full-time job. We can be on call for an emergency at a building or with a tenant at any time, day or night. Having said that, since it is my own business that I have built over the last 25 years, I have developed a network of vendors and contacts that I can rely on when the call comes in. This allows me to have much more flexibility in setting my own schedule, and this is what has allowed me to carve out the time to study Shindo Muso ryu to the level of detail that Bellamy Sensei requires of me. Returning to Japan for 10 days in 2015 and then moving on to Malaysia for 16 days, the biggest wild card in the deck was my left hip. An MRI showed moderate to severe arthritis and thinning of the protective cartilage. The pain had
progressed to the point that just the daily activities of walking, sitting down, getting up, getting in and out of the car hurt. When you think about walking somewhere and the first question in your mind is, ”How far is that?”—you know you have a big problem. Dr. Cipkenian put me completely out under anesthesia for cortisone injections which went deep into my left hip joint. The next thing I knew, it was “Time to go home, Mr. Belzer.” The first week was almost pain-free. It really did feel like someone had removed a knife from my hip! As of the second week, I started to notice pain coming back—not to the degree that was before, but still a problem. I went back to iaido for the first time in many months. I decided it was time to test my hip and my newly sharpened sword. Class went fine. Not only did my hip survive, but there was no spilling of blood—mine or anyone else’s!
Sensei, a serious talk with Meredith, and some soul searching on my part, we decided that the best course of action for the 10 days in Japan was to take the “ramp up” to the 3-day Menkyo Evaluation, “off the table.” This way, instead of things having to go harder each day, with increased intensity, culminating in the 100% effort that will be required for the Menkyo Evaluation, we could back off, take it day by day, or even session by session, if necessary. Sensei had re-formulated the plan so that this 10-day trip was the beginning of a two-year Menkyo Evaluation period. This way we could still accomplish much, learn many things, and move forward on the Path to Menkyo. At the same time, we lowered the intensity, “were smart” about my hip and my limitations, and then returned to L.A. to get my hip replaced. I recovered and then came back to Japan in 2017. In each and every training session, I still did my best and was my best.
Bellamy Sensei was quite concerned about my hip, and he wanted to monitor it carefully while I was in Japan. He wanted me to be able to go on to the second part of my trip, which was 16 days in Malaysia. After much discussion with
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My trip to Malaysia was a very interesting one. I met up with my old friend, Christopher Sanmugam, who was my age and an original student of Donn Draeger from back in the 70s. We met at the 1st International Jodo Jamboree held in Taiping, Malaysia in 1979. We have maintained contact ever since. Christopher came here to the US and attended the IJF Ha-
waii Gasshuku in 1994 and also traveled with me here in Los Angeles. Now it was my turn to go to Malaysia and travel with him for a bit. Our plan was to visit many of the instructors that Draeger Sensei took me to originally (at least those that are still alive) back in 1979. The pentjak silat Master Abdul Rhaman has passed on but his son, Sazali, interviewed me as I
Left to right: Larry Bieri, Nanis, Quitin Chambers, Pascal Kreiger, Meik Skoss, Karunakaran, Mike Belzer, and Christopher Sanmugan.
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was one of the people that Draeger Sensei brought to visit his father. I also had quite a few pictures and some video of his father that he was very interested in since he was writing a biography of his father, and most of the family photos and videos he had have been destroyed by fire or flood.
Karuna & Christopher with Pascal Kreiger.
Johnny Seow (left), Donn Draeger (center), and Pascal Kreiger (right) at the IJF Jodo Jamboree. Taiping, Malaysia (1979).
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Christopher Sanmugam & Malaysia Mike at the IJF Jodo Jamboree. Taiping, Malaysia (1979).
Bellamy Sensei has asked me to write out what my “philosophy of training” is concerning the practice of Shindo Muso ryu. Here it is: Shindo Muso ryu is a traditional bujutsu of Japan, which is a fighting art, a cultural art, and a path to follow in life. The art itself was born out of a duel between Hirano Gonbei and Musashi Miyamoto, who were two very accomplished warriors in the early 1600s. The art was designed
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for personal combat, not for use on the battlefield. The jo, which was a new weapon, and the kensho (“great enlightenment”) of Hirano Gonbei was quickly adopted for use by the dominant Kuroda clan in Fukuoka for controlling unruly samurai. The art has always been associated with the police and is alive and in use even today, by the Tokyo Riot Police. Four hundred years of history makes this art “bigger” than any one man. The art has grown, been tested in conflict, and evolved over the centuries into the art we know today. The art has been “paid for”
by the blood and sometimes even the life of its practitioners. Shindo Muso ryu is taught in the “old way” from master to student. The art is not conducive to being taught to large groups. I feel that it is both a high honor and an awesome responsibility to learn Shindo Muso ryu in the “old way,” and then to transmit it, in its entirety, to the
next generation. This is how it has been done for 400 years. Soon, I will “get the ball,” and it will be my responsibility to care for it (carry it) and then find the ones who are ready, willing, and able to do the same thing I have done. Following this path of training has made me a better person. There is no doubt in my mind about that. By following the directions of my Sensei—“Do this, learn that, follow up on this, research that, report on this, find this teacher, go to that training . . .”—my life experience
Demonstrating Kasumi Shinto ryu kenjutsu.
Donn Draeger & Karuna
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Shindo Muso ryu strengthens my mind, body, and spirit to such a degree that “I can do anything” if I put my mind to it. Transmitting this amazing art to the next generation means that both the sensei and the students have to “find each other.” This seems to happen naturally, and I think the main purpose of an embu is to demonstrate the art so that a potential student “gets the fire sparked” enough to make the approach to the sensei with the ques-
Hirano Gonbei with his new weapon—the jo.
has become richer and more expansive. Besides the training in the art itself, there are all of the people that I have met along the way, and will continue to meet. With each and every person I meet and interact with, I represent my Sensei and the art of Shindo Muso ryu. Personal character is revealed by adversity. When everything is “going right,” it is easy to say the right thing and do the right thing. When the daily grind of life throws the “whoppers” at you, that is when your true colors are shown. I believe that the complete practice of
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Musashi Miyamoto and his two-sword style of kenjutsu.
tion, “How can I learn to do this?” Each student is different and the responsibility of the sensei is to find the way to meet the student and “be a beginner with them.” Patience, respect, communication, and the willingness to “do it again and again until we get it” are the qualities of a good teacher, and those same qualities, applied to the dojo of life, make us better human beings. In the dojo of life, the qualities of respect, communication, and sincerely being interested in another person, will help us “bridge the gap” and help turn strangers into fellow travelers along the path. Once you have broken through the initial “I don’t know you, so I don’t trust you” part, you begin to share information, stories, and advice. Who knows, you might even find someone who says, “How do I learn that?” Since I am not a professional warrior or a police officer, it is unlikely that I will find myself in a situation where I am the target of an attack. In both of these professions, you will be very likely to have to use your skills in just the same way as our warriors of the past—to protect your life or the life of another. Having said that, learning the skills of a combative art such as Shindo Muso ryu teaches you the
A Tokyo police officer standing ready with his jo.
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secrets of all combat, which include understanding timing, distance, the vital targets, and the mental/ emotional conditions necessary to prevail in a conflict. The “martial art training paradox” is this: The more you train in the fighting arts, the less likely you will be to have to actually put them to use “in the real world.” There are two primary reasons for this: Your level of awareness and preparation for action alerts you to potential trouble in advance because you see “signs of trouble” ahead and take the necessary steps to avoid them. Awareness and avoidance are the most important aspects of personal self-defense. The way you carry and present yourself to the world sends a message that you are not a good target. You will not be a victim and any predator will be smart to look for another “target of opportunity.” Along with my personal philosophy of training, I have the following training rules:
No excuses. It is going to be difficult. •
Go the extra mile. “Average” just is not good enough.
•
Be helpful to others. Especially your Sensei.
•
Represent your Sensei. Do not embarrass him.
•
Strive for excellence in your jikiden. The physical performance of the kata is how people will “see” the art and appreciate it.
•
Know the history, traditions, and customs of “your art.” This is how your practice of a 400-year-old traditional Japanese martial art is put into context with your own life.
•
Seek to make connections with other practitioners. “There are many ways to be correct.”
•
Be confident of what you know, yet be ready to receive new knowledge.
•
Show up.
Along with a training philosophy and training rules, we need a motto. Here is mine:
•
Be consistent.
“You Never Know, Until You Go.”
•
Have a good attitude.
•
Keep an open mind and trust your teacher (junanshin).
•
No complaining. No whining.
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Michael Belzer @ michael.belzer.3
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VARIOUS TYPES OF FIGHTING IN FILIPINO MARTIAL ARTS MODERNITY & TRADITION
Andrea Rollo
Sports Competitions FEDERATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS, schools, and masters in the Philippines have in recent decades been engaged in the promotion of Filipino martial arts by organizing tournaments and sports competitions at both national and international levels. A large number of different styles, and the technical variety, typical of the fighting arts in the Philippines, have resulted in the existence of several different sporting specializations. The most common are generally: •
single-stick (or single olisi)
•
double-stick (or sinawali)
•
knife
But there are also competitions of: •
espada y daga (or baston y daga)
•
Filipino boxing (suntukan – also known in the US as panantukan)
•
Filipino wrestling (or dumog/ buno)
The baston, or stick, being the basic weapon in most Filipino martial arts systems, the pre-eminent specialty is undoubtedly the single-stick.
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Moreover, the large number of sports federations, coupled with the lack of a single federation that would be recognized worldwide, has led to the creation of numerous regulations. These, besides the techniques permitted, the targets allowed, and the scoring criteria, differ substantially in two main respects: the protective equipment and the type of weapon used. In short, considering only the single-stick specialty, three different types of sport fighting can be identified: •
full protection and rattan stick (top photo)
•
minimum protection and padded stick (middle photo)
•
minimum protection and rattan stick (bottom photo)
The combination of the level of protection and the type of weapon used determines the degree of risk to which athletes are subjected during the fight. In turn, the fear of getting hurt by contact with the opponent has led to the creation of specific fighting techniques and strategies that best suit a specific regulation over another.
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In his article, The Evolution of Arnis, written in 1997, Pedro Reyes considered the transformation of a fighting art into a sport to be the most important challenge the masters had to face. One of the difficulties was (and still is) creating equipment that ensures the right balance between the safety of the athlete and the realism of the fight: “Traditional arnisadores fight without protectors; fights end only when one combatant can no longer bear the pain, although referees usually step in before disabling injuries occur. That will no longer do. Weapon or [sic] similar to that of kendo has proven to be too confining. The search is on for a baton that would be sufficiently rigid to allow parring [sic] while remaining flexible enough to prevent injuries. Since those are contradictory requirements it may take some time before a suitable compromise is found. A baton of fabric-covered rubber made stiff by pumping in compressed air looks promising, although its helf [sic] and balance is different from the usual baton.” According to Reyes, another important aspect to take into account was the way the regulations influenced the fight:
“Again, tournament officials currently give higher points to blows to the head or body compared to blows to the weapons or legs. But that violates a canon of the art. The essence of arnis is to first damage the opponent’s weapon so that he cannot defend himself or strike another blow. The violation of this canon in tournament play has been deleterious. Combatants mill about wildly slashing at one another without art or form in the hope of scoring the first killing blow.”1 Basically, the sport created a new form of arnis, necessarily different from tradition, that Reyes calls tournament arnis or sport arnis.2,3 In this respect, it is important to emphasize that the cornerstone of a sporting regulation is the principle according to which the rules are established. There are two main currents of thought. One, more tradition-oriented, consid1 Pedro Reyes, “The Evolution of Arnis,” August 2019, http://www.yellowbamboohk.com/arnis/arnisarticles/ Evolution_of_Arnis_by_Pedro_Reyes. html. 2 Pedro Reyes, “Classifying Arnis,” Rapid Journal 5, no. 2 (2000): 15. 3 Pedro Reyes, “The Filipino Martial Tradition,” Rapid Journal 4, no. 1 (1999): 20.
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Advertisement for the Grand Fencing Contest at the Civic Auditorium in Honolulu, Hawaii on June 9, 1934. [Source: Dennis Francis, ed. Bridgewater Frank, Honolulu Star-Bulletin (Honolulu), June 8, 1934.]
ers sport as an evolution of the ancient duels, in which the first blow was decisive in determining the winner; another, more modern, considers sport to be the transposition of an armed street fight, where the fighter who inflicts the most damage on the opponent wins. That is why one stick-fighting match may resemble a fencing assault and another a MMA fight.
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Actually, not all Filipino martial arts practitioners agree on the agonistic practice’s usefulness. Some of them believe that using protection, even if minimal, would offset the perception of danger in a real clash. This opinion, however, does not take into account another crucial aspect. In a sport fight, the opponents intend to overwhelm each other; therefore they strike
with maximum power and speed. Their aim is to win and prove their superiority. Only the experience acquired in several and repeated matches with strong and skilled opponents allows the development of certain vital skills, which will be useful in a real fight or in a self-defense situation. These skills include reflexes, timing, distance estimation, combat intuition, and, above all, a winning mentality. Thus, considering that, for reasons that do not even need to be explained, one cannot go around the streets looking for an armed fight, competitive fighting remains the only viable possibility in which to really put oneself to the test. Ultimately, physical confrontation, nowadays conceivable only in the form of sport, remains the most efficient way for a practitioner of Filipino martial arts to test attack and defense techniques. Obviously, doing it without a helmet is out of the question. Traditional Stick Fighting In the past it was different. In the Philippines, until not too long ago, arnisadores / escrimadores used to challenge each other and fight with no protective gear.
Juego Todo, Bahad, and Patayan4 Throwing down a challenge to prove one’s technical superiority or that of one’s system was a common and accepted custom among the arnisadores / escrimadores of the past. Mark Wiley talks about this in his book, Filipino Martial Culture, where he states: “In the past, the only way for a master to test the superiority of his art over another was to engage in a patayan where the superior art would be determined by death or maiming of one (or both) of the combatants.”5 The term patayan, used by Wiley, was narrated to him by the famous master, Antonio “Tatang” Ilustrisimo. Etymologically, it comes from the root word, patay (“dead”), and can be translated as “fighting to the death.” For this reason, Ilustrisimo used it to describe life-anddeath challenges.6
4 Andrea Rollo, “New Insights Into the History of Filipino Martial Arts” (Unpublished Ph.D Thesis, 2022), http://www.kalifilippino.it/storia/ new-insights-into-the-history-of-filpino-martial-arts.html. 5 Mark V. Wiley, Filipino Martial Culture (Martial Culture Series), (Singapore: Tuttle Publishing, 1997), 98. 6 Romeo Macapagal, personal communications, January 14, 2018.
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However, not all the challenges were classified as life-and-death. The challengers could opt for different types of fighting, the rules and intensity of which were agreed upon before the confrontation. To challenge or accept a challenge, and agree on the type of fighting, the opponents used to communicate through different movements and positions of the body and weapons.7,8 The goriest type of match was the infamous juego todo. Juego means “play” or “game” in Spanish, while todo means “all.” Possible interpretations are: “anything goes”9 or “I play all,”10 but I lean towards “full play.” This term, used especially in Cebu and other areas of the 7
Wiley, Filipino Martial Culture.
8 Abundio S. Baet, “Filipino Folk Dances and the Fighting Arts,” Filipino Martial Arts Digest: Doce Pares Multi-System Style (Special Edition 2007), ed. Steven Dowd, p.6, https:// www.usadojo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/fma-Special-Edition_ Doce-Pares_Multi-Style_System.pdf. 9 Krishna Godhania, “The Filipino Duel: Its History and Practice,” in Arnis: Reflections on the History and Development of the Filipino Martial Arts, ed. Mark V. Wiley (Tuttle Publishing, 2001), 119. 10 Jasmine W. Payo, “Juego Todo, Ingenious, Indigenous,” Philippine Daily Inquirer, December 12, 2016.
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Visayas, refers to a type of stick fighting match between two escrimadores who did not use any protection and where there were no limitations that concerned types or power of the blows. Using a current terminology, Dionisio “Diony” Cañete describes them as full-contact sparring, fights that ”were conducted without protective gear.”11 Given the high number of dialects and languages spoken in the Philippine Islands, juego todo was not the only term that existed to describe a “total combat.” Abundio Salazar Baet, a master from Paete, Laguna, reports that the term was not used at all in his place of origin. Instead, the Tagalog expressions, laban sa lahat and matira matibay, or the spanish Combate general were used.12
11 Dionisio Cañete, Eskrima Kali Arnis (Doce Pares Publishing House, Inc., 1993), 89. 12 Abundio S. Baet, personal communications, August 20, 2019.
A stick-fighting match held in 1947 at the Civic Auditorium in Honolulu, Hawaii. This is so far the first known FMA-related photo published. [Photo credit: Bob Ebert. Source: O’Brien Eileen McCann, “Camera Highlights,” Paradise of the Pacific 59, no. 12 (1947).]
Roque “Oke” Valiente from Paete, Laguna (left) vs Bobet Abadier from Lumban, Laguna (right) during the Paete Arnis Tournament in 1998. [Photo courtesy of Abundio Salazar Baet.]
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According to an online forum user, whose identity I was unfortunately not able to trace, there were two other types of match. Both have Spanish names: •
the juego toque (which in Spanish means “touch, contact”), which was a sort of “controlled sparring,” where blows could cause some bruises, but not more serious damage;
the Spanish words, muestra and demostración, which both mean “demonstration”). Abundio Baet adds that, in Laguna, a light contact fight was called laban mahinan, lapat mahinaan, mustracion, or controlada (Spanish for “controlled”), and a non-contact one laban sa wala, walang lapatan, or juego no toca.”16
13 Anonymous, “About Atillo Balintawak and Balintawak History,” Dog Brothers Public Forum, accessed February 20, 2018, https://dogbrothers. com/phpBB2/index.php?topic=218.
The Spanish terms, juego toque and juego sinyas / juego no toca, which indicate two types of “controlled sparring”, are not so known in FMA circles of today. In their place, Cebu has the Filipino term, palutsanay. For instance, Abner Pasa of the Balitok system, in a survey on The Implementation of Arnis in the Physical Education Program of Tertiary School in Cebu City: A Proposed Training Program Framework, defines the word palutasanay as “controlled freestyle sparring.” Following a scale of decreasing intensity, he places this fighting format in between juego todo and muestra:
14 Abner G. Pasa, The Implementation of Arnis in the Physical Education Program of Tertiary School in Cebu City: A Proposed Training Program Framework (University of San Carlos, Cebu City.). Also published in Arnis, ed. Wiley, 152.
“The integrity of the art was protected by the practice of challenges. These challenges were usually done in a juego todo (noholds-barred fighting) faschion
15 Placido Yambao, Classic Arnis: The Legacy of Placido Yambao / Mga Karunungan Sa Larong Arnis, trans. Reynaldo S. Galang (Arjee Enterprises, 2005), 36.
16 Abundio S. Baet, personal communications, August 20, 2019.
•
the juego sinyas (from Spanish señas meaning “signs, gestures”), which did not involve any contact, and in which the blows were “called” when they arrived close to the opponent’s head.13
Finally, a friendly exchange of blows for sharing techniques and demonstrating skills was called muestra14 or muestración15 (mix of
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Newspaper article about the famous match between Ciriaco “Cacoy” Cañete (left) and Crispulo “Ising” Atillo (right) in 1983, considered the last juego todo match and public bahad that took place in the Philippines. [Source: Sunstar Daily, “Cañete-Atillo: Who Won?” Sunstar Daily 1 no. 291, Sept 18, 1983, cover page.]
[sic]. Serious injury to one or both contestants was common. On rare occasions, death resulted from the encounter. Another method was the palutasanay (controlled freestyle sparring). Palutsanay was conducted on a more friendly basis than juego todo. It was conducted in several ways. Generally, the protagonists would agree on a mode of conduct before engaging in a fight, the most common of which was one where no blow [sic] was al-
lowed to the head and the force of the blow was controlled. The winner was determined when contact was made by the weapon of [sic] any part of the body or when one conceded to the superiority of the other. Among friends, the sharing of skills is also done through the muestra or 'monstracion' (responses to certain forms of attack or combinations thereof) whereby the parties share experiences and awareness of other styles and prac-
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tices. This process also ensures the perpetuation of the art’s rich cultural heritage preserved in its oral traditions.”17 However, according to Dionisio Cañete, palutsanay is the vernacular term for “sparring”, which can generally be of two types: “The first is controlled sparring in which the attacks and counterattacks are not intended to land, but are stopped short of the point of contact. The other one is full contact sparring, or juego todo. . . .”18 From the above quotations of Pasa and Cañete, it can be assumed that juego todo is the only Spanish word that has remained in current use, whereas juego toque, juego sinya, and juego no toque have been forgotten over time and replaced by the Cebuano term, palutsanay. This is not surprising if you consider that, among the types of fighting described above, the one that arouses the most interest among FMA enthusiasts is the juego todo. It has been the subject of discussion by many FMA authors, and this, in some cases, has created some confusion regarding the meaning of certain terms. 17 Pasa, The Implementation of Arnis, as appears on Arnis, ed. Wiley, 152. 18
Cañete, Eskrima Kali Arnis, 89.
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For example, a term often used today to describe this risky type of fighting is death match. The first use of this term that I have been able to trace is in the 1977 book, The Filipino Martial Arts As Taught By Dan Inosanto, in reference to the escrima competitions that Filipinos, who emigrated to Hawaii, used to organize in the early decades of the 1900s: “Before 1944, Ellustrisimo [Regino Ilustrisimo] says he watched one of the death matches his nephew [Floro Villabrille] won when competition was legal and common among the Escrimadors in Hawaii.”19 Undoubtedly, death match is a very evocative term, suggesting the values of courage, strength, daring, and recklessness so admired by martial artists. Probably, for this reason, it was then used by numerous authors, both Filipino and non-Filipino, to refer to matches under juego todo rules. However, using death match in substitution of juego todo match is wrong and confusing. While death match could be the appropriate translation of the above-mentioned Ta19 Dan Inosanto, Gilbert Johnson, and George Foon, The Filipino Martial Arts as Taught by Dan Inosanto (Know Now, 1980), 24.
galog word patayan, it does not fit the meaning of juego todo. Death match means a “match until death,” whereas juego todo indicates “the set of rules of a match”. As a matter of fact, juego todo matches (namely “matches applying the juego todo rules”) only rarely ended with the death of either opponent. As the old masters recall, they were often organized during fiestas celebrating the Patron Saint, a situation not appropriate for the death of a man. Unpleasant situations were “resolved” once the festive event was over. Romeo Macapagal in his book, Kalis Ilustrisimo: The Archived System of Antonio “Tatang” Ilustrisimo, explains: “A prizefighter in those days went to fiestas and enrolled in tournaments of arnis or escrima which were like cockfights. The rules were simple: you dropped your stick, you lost; you gave up, you lost; you got bloodied typically in the head, you lost. And in the politics of the day, if there was a town or a barrio favorite and you were an outsider, then you lose to him. Otherwise, you would be waylaid on your way out of the town or barrio. And most places at that
Antonio Ilustrisimo showing the symbolic poses with two sticks as a premise of a patayan. [Source: Mark V. Wiley, Filipino Martial Culture (Singapore: Tuttle Publishing, 1997).]
time were in rather secluded areas with expanses of field and forest in-between.”20 20 Romeo Macapagal, Kalis Ilustrisimo: The Archived System of Antonio “Tatang” Ilustrisimo (Books Supplu, Inc, 2021), 19.
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fight in Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur.21 Although the name dumog indicates a specific style of wrestling from Panay, in Visayan this term was also used with the general meaning of “wrestling,” as we can read in the 1935 Visayan-English Dictionary (Kapulúngan Binisayá-Ininglís) by John Kauffmann:
Antonio “Tony” Diego showing the symbolic poses with espada y daga indicating a patayan. [Source: Wiley, Filipino Martial Culture.]
Fiestas were occasions for entertainment, where the inhabitants of the barrio or barangay would gather to drink, eat, watch theatrical performances, dance, and have fun. In addition to escrima matches and tournaments, dumog competitions were also common in some places of the Visayas and Mindanao. For instance, there are some old photos depicting escrima master José D. Caballero, creator of the system, De Campo Uno-Dos-Tres Orihinal Escrima, who referees a dumog
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“dúmug, Wrestling; to wrestle, grapple, struggle, scuffle. Magdúmug—or—dúmug na kamó. Wrestle now. Start wrestling. Dumúga siá. Wrestle with him. Grapple with him. Dumúgi siá. Get him to fight a wrestling bout with you. Ang mga waláy sing tinónan nagapáti gid silá nga kagáb-i gindúmug sang áswang si Fuláno. Silly folks actually believe that last night the evil spirit wrestled with N.N. Madámù nga mga pamatán-on ang magatámbong kon may dúmug. Many young fellows will attend if there is wrestling.”22 Since the early 1900s, activities during fiestas included boxing matches, and this tradition is still 21 Andrea Rollo, “Dumog,” accessed March 20, 2017, http://www. kalifilippino.it/sistemi-approfondimenti/dumog.html. 22 John Kauffmann, Visayan-English Dictionary (Kapulúngan Binisayá-Ininglís) (Iloilo: La Editorial, 1935), 115-116.
alive. Typing “Filipino street boxing” on YouTube, you can view dozens of videos where men and even children engage in boxing matches in the middle of the streets with gloves on during the country fiestas. Even women fought occasionally, but this was much more rare. To add fun to the show, Filipinos have created some nice and imaginative variations such as matches balanced on bamboo poles or bridges. These too are easily viewable on YouTube by typing “Filipino bamboo boxing.” For example in Barangay Marmol, in the municipality of Tuburan, province of Cebu, people used to fight sitting on a large bamboo tube and soon ended up fighting clinging to the same.23 In Leganes, Iloilo, instead, people stand in balance between two parallel bamboo poles, or on a bamboo bridge kept constantly wet to make it slippery.24
23 Doños Jhesryll, “Bamboo Boxing in Brgy. Marmol Tuburan,” YouTube video, accessed April 19, 2021, https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2tZmTpCsXY. 24 MARK PH, “Funny VIDEO [emoji] BAMBOXING LEGANES, ILOILO, PHILIPPINES [emoji],” YouTube video, accessed April 19, 2021, https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBsgxh2VVoI.
Another recreational activity practiced during the fiestas was and still is sipa, a particular game in which a little ball is dribbled with the feet without dropping it to the ground. Fiestas were, therefore, a time of joyful celebration for Filipinos, but also moments of competition and confrontation. The escrimadores, in particular, had the possibility to test their skills against other escrimadores coming from their own village and the neighboring villages. The participants, although conscious of the risk of serious injury, competed to prove their superiority, not to kill the opponent who, by the way, could surrender at any time. There were actually only a few fatalities in contests. The goals for competing in a tournament were varied and subjective. There were those who fought to earn the prize money, those who wanted to test themselves, and those who wanted to attract the attention of the female audience. In conclusion, the inaccurate use of the term death match (match until death) substituting juego todo (rule set of the fight) is probably due to two factors: the first is the rare chance that the juego todo matches could, in sporadic cases,
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end in death; the other factor is the feeling of danger, courage, and strength that the term death match evokes. In Cebu, another term often confused with juego todo was bahad. There was, however, a substantial difference between the two. In this regard, as reported in a quotation a few pages earlier, Abner Pasa uses the term juego todo to indicate “no-holds-barred fighting,” while in the following paragraph he describes bahad as an “open challenge,” where escrimadores face each other in juego todo matches: “Matches also took place when anyone who claimed knowledge or expertise was challenged. The rivalry between masters, generally initiated by intrigues among students from separate clubs, was resolved through a bahad. The bahad is an open challenge usually done in public where Juego Todo-type matches are conducted.”25 The difference between the two terms used is clear. Juego todo applies to the rules of the matches, which took place during a bahad, an open challenge fought by students from different escrima clubs. 25 Pasa, The Implementation of Arnis, as appears on Arnis, ed. Wiley, 152.
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In the book, Cebuano Eskrima: Beyond the Myth, Macachor and Nepangue confirm this difference in meaning and, as an example for the term bahad, they cite the famous public challenge launched by the club Balintawak against the club Doce Pares in 1964.26 On the other hand, they also provide the very first definition of the Cebuano term bahad. Literally it meant “vow to seek vengeance,” but escrimadores of the past also used it with the meaning of “grudge fight.” In their book, the two authors explain: ”In bahad, everything is supposedly 100% no-holds-barred match or Juego Todo.”27 From a legal point of view, they compare a bahad to a duel and write: ”It is claimed that the old bahad was a gentlemen’s fight. The partecipants [sic] were expected to follow the agreed though limited rules. Those who lose the fight were expected to accept defeat. Many times it was bloody and just took a few seconds, but there were also some mortalities [sic]. . . . Le26 Macachor and Nepangue, Cebuano Eskrima, 114. 27 Macachor and Nepangue, Cebuano Eskrima, 113.
Amador Chavez (right) of Arnis Rikarte en Cruzada practicing espada y daga with another escrimador at the Bacolod Arnis Club. In the back, second from the left is Jerson “Nene” Tortal Sr. of Dekiti Tirsia Siradas. [Photo courtesy of Samuele Simone, 1958.]
gally speaking, bahad is simply a duel, a formal or regular combat agreed by two individuals in the presence of two or more seconds in each side, who help facilitate the fight, which is for real of course. The motive is to inflect [sic] physical harm, damage or death to the opponent and survive.”28 28 Moreover, the authors specify that “[i]n some areas of Cebu they used the term banóg-banog for these bloody matches where the fighters moved like abanóg or hawk.”
In brief, the two references above agree on the meaning of juego todo as “no-holds-barred fighting,” as well as on the most recent meaning of bahad as “open challenge, where escrimadores of different clubs fight juego todos matches.” But, according to Macachor and Nepangue, in the old days the term bahad had another meaning; it meant a “grudge single fight, legally a duel, where the two rivals fought a juego todo match”. Evidently, with the emergence of the
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first escrima clubs and the first clashes for affirmation, the term bahad gradually lost its original meaning of “duel” and came to refer to the increasingly common challenges between different clubs. The confusion between the two terms, juego todo and bahad, may be explained by the fact that the escrimadores who were involved in a bahad (both in the old sense of “duel” and in the more recent meaning of “challenge”) fight matches under juego todo rules. However, it is worthwhile to reiterate the difference in order to avoid misuse, linking them to their context. To give an example already mentioned, the juego todo matches were also organized in the form of fiesta tournaments, but speaking of bahad in this case would be completely wrong. It exclusively refers to situations of challenge or duel. Focusing on the old meaning of bahad—that of a “duel”—it must be underlined that in the above quotation, Macachor and Nepangue use the term duel alluding to its specific meaning in European fencing jargon.
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The term duel means a formalized fight between two people. In the Italian classification, there are four main types of duels: the duello cavalleresco (“chivalrous duel”), the one aimed at resolving a dispute between gentlemen, characterized by the presence of witnesses on both sides and well-defined rules; the duello giudiziale (“judicial duel”), practiced in the Middle Ages and based on the concept that the “Judgment of God” would prove the innocence of one or the other contender; the duello guerresco (“war duel”), the one in which the champions of two armies fought, thus avoiding the mass clash; and the duello rusticano (“rustic duel”), the one fought by common people with popular weapons such as knives or sticks, without witnesses, and with less strict rules. If the duel, chivalrous or rustic, was fought for matters of honor, it was called duel of honor. In particular, from the 15th century onwards, the duel of honor in Western societies took on clearly defined features: it was fought on equal terms between people of the same social class according to rules
explicitly or implicitly accepted, and in the presence of witnesses. Generally, it could be fought to “the first blood,” when the fight was interrupted as soon as one of the duelists managed to hurt the other, even lightly, and to “the last blood,” in which it was fought until the death of one of the two contenders.29 The bahad fought by the old school escrimadores was undoubtedly a duel of honor because the duelists fought to preserve the honor of their art, their master, or their school. Specifically, it falls into the category of the rustic duel according to the weapons used and the social rank of escrimadores. As in Europe, also in the Philippines they could be fought, to the last blood, but over-dramatization 29 Duello according to the Italian Dictionary of Hoepli Editore in La Repubblica, accessed May 3, 2021, https:// dizionari.repubblica.it/Italiano/D/duello.html. See also: Duello on Wikipedia, accessed May 3, 2021, https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duello. See also: Duello Rusticano, on Wikipedia, accessed May 3, 2021, https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Duello_rusticano.
aside, in most cases the first blood was enough to determine the winner. According to Romeo Macapagal, another term for “duel” used by Filipino arnisadores and escrimadores of the past was the Spanish word, duelo.30 Among the words used by old arnisadores in Paete, Laguna, Abundio Salazar Baet recalls for instance the words, duelo de vida (“duel of life”) and duelo de caballero (“duel between gentlemen”).31 The latter, in particular, seems to be a synonym for “duel of honor.” Given the long list of Spanish loanwords in the Filipino languages and dialects, the presence of duelo as a substitute spelling of the Tagalog word duwelo is not surprising at all. What must be underlined, though, is that it was not just a linguistic phenomenon. Duel of honor was a cultural element typical of European society 30 Romeo Macapagal, personal communications, January 14, 2018. 31 Abundio S. Baet, personal communications, January 14, 2018.
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that was brought to the Philippines by the Spaniards. In a certain period of the Spanish colonization (1565-1898), Filipino arnisadores and escrimadores made that custom their own, adapting it to their needs. And so, in the arnis-escrima community, fights to test one’s skills were carried out under some form of formality, mimicking the Spanish approach. In other words, Filipino escrima duels were one of the many aspects of the Spanish cultural influence on Philippine society. It is not possible to pinpoint with certainty the date when the first Filipino escrima duels began. However, it is known that arnisadores and escrimadores kept the custom alive until the 20th century, even after it had died out in Spain. A famous bout is the one between the two legendary escrimadores, Pablo Alicante and Teodoro “Doring” Saavedra. It was held in Argao, Cebu in September 1933. Krishna Godhania, in his essay, The Filipino Duel: Its History and Practice, defines it as “an officially sanctioned match” because “the Mayor and
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other local officials were aware of the bout.”32 But the bout between Alicante and Saavedra is only one of the many examples. It enjoys a certain degree of notoriety because it was publicly organized even though there are also countless stories of hidden challenges and fights between escrimadores during that period. As well as solving matters of honor, duels could also be a way of protecting one’s economic interests. Romeo Macapagal in his Kalis Ilustrisimo book tells of a challenge by three mestizo brothers to Antonio Ilustrisimo, a famous escrima master, when he was working as a supervisor on a sugarcane plantation on the island of Negros, Visayas. The three brothers, who were also supervisors, suffering financial losses due to the growing reputation of Ilustrisimo in managing the plantation workers, thought to solve the problem with a sword duel. Macapagal comments:
32 Krishna Godhania, “The Filipino Duel,” 120. See also: Macachor and Nepangue, Cebuano Eskrima, 114.
“The dueling culture of the Spaniards was adapted as part of Philippine culture until the middle of [the] 1900s. This was perfectly acceptable practice. Challengers and their seconds followed a generally accepted procedure [Note: Seconds in dueling were typically needed to prevent a duelist from being overwhelmed by more men on the opposite side. Also, to take over if their duelist loses heart or is disabled.].”33 Ilustrisimo, who arrived at the appointed place without his second, fought against the oldest of the three brothers in front of an audience of spectators who had come to watch the event. In a few moments, Ilustrisimo, who was holding a kris, cut off his opponent’s thumb, causing him to drop his sword. The latter started to run away, pursued by Ilustrisimo. The two brothers, acting as seconds, stepped in to protect the man’s escape. In the quotation above, Macapagal points to the mid-1900s as the period when the practice of du33
Macapagal, Kalis Ilustrisimo, 21.
eling ceased in the Philippines. Specifically, in Cebu during that period, formalized individual duels were replaced by the preponderant challenges between different clubs (the term bahad was retained). With the foundation of the first escrima clubs in the early decades of the 1900s, the first disagreements began to arise between masters and students belonging to different clubs. Soon opposing factions were formed. By mid-century, Cebu city became such a battleground between the various escrima clubs that the decades of 1950s and 1960s have been called “The Golden Age of Eskrima.”34,35 Particularly fierce was the rivalry between the Doce Pares of the Cañete family and the Balintawak of Venancio “Anciong” Bacon. This 34 Perry G. Mallari, “Eskrimadors,” The Manila Times, January 20, 2010, https://www.manilatimes. net/2010/01/21/lifestyle-entertainment/life-times/eskrimadors/636447. 35 Frank Bram, FMA: Filipino Martial Arts Masters and Grand Masters: A Glimpse Into Those That Made It Possible and Those That Continue the Arts (2015), 68.
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rivalry arose even before Bacon split from the Doce Pares. In November of 1951, Vincent “Inting” Carin, who was pro-Cañete, shot Delfin Lopez, who was on Bacon’s side, and seriously wounded him.36 Tensions between the two groups subsided in early 1970,37 but did not disappear completely. The famous match between Ciriaco “Cacoy” Cañete of Doce Pares and Crispulo “Ising” Atillo of Balintawak, held at the PC/ INP Clubhouse Gym in Cebu City on September 17, 1983, is the last documented time when two masters tested their abilities to prove their superiority in a bahad. Before the fight, the two masters signed an agreement deciding upon the point system and the rules of the
match. The only forbidden techniques were related to executing techniques specific to other martial arts: “b) Wrestling is strictly prohibited in the cause of playing and will subject any participant as player for disqualification and decleared [sic] as defeated. (…) d) Judo, side sweeping, kicking, boxing, or pushing an opponent is strictly prohibited or the adoption of any karate, kungfu, and the like is prohibited and shall cause any participant to be disqualified and shall be decleared [sic] defeated for using foul play.”38 Thus, it was supposed to be a “pure” escrima stick fighting match.
36 Marc Lawrence, “Doce Pares History WW2 to Modern History,” Filipino Martial Arts Digest: Doce Pares Multi-System Style (Special Edition 2007), ed. Steven Dowd, p.8, https:// www.usadojo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/fma-Special-Edition_ Doce-Pares_Multi-Style_System.pdf.
It is not easy to categorize this match. The agreement presented the event as “arnis exhibitions,” but it clearly was expedient to hide its true nature. Prior to the event, the local radio station broadcast challenges and counter-challenges
37 “Doce Pares,” accessed August 30, 2021, https://bandalan.com/history/doces-pares/.
38 Macachor and Nepangue, Cebuano Eskrima, 116.
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on both sides. As a matter of fact, it was a stick fighting match with no protective gear and full-contact strikes, which satisfy the conditions for it to be considered a juego todo match. Moreover, even if the adoption of a point system made it a sports event, it was in fact a challenge match with limited rules as in the old bahad. The fighters were two masters of rival clubs, which also brings it within the more recent meaning of bahad. In conclusion, since it was held in front of a large audience of spectators, it can be classified as a public bahad. Joe A. Bautista, in an article published in Atlas Sports Weekly Magazine one month after the event, labels it “Arnis Duel of 1983” and writes: ”The feuding stick-master even agreed on waging a “duel to the death” in a legitimate manner under the prescribed rules and regulations of the bone-breaking, skull-cracking game. A security bond in the amount of P2,000 each was also agreed upon by the duelists, which was duly certified to by
their respective lawyers. The bond was put up, just in case of serious or fatal consequences.”39 The practice of the duel in the Philippines has now disappeared. As in Spain and in the rest of Europe, the “duel of honor” no longer has a place in modern Filipino society. Even the juego todo rules have been put aside. Dionisio “Diony” Cañete attributes the definitive end of the juego todo matches to the birth of sports tournaments with their regulations and protective gear. In his book, Eskrima Kali Arnis, he comments: ”Juego Todo has thus become a thing of the past, overtaken by the civilized rules of tournament competition, yet it has left an indelible mark in the lives of some great masters.”40 While juego todo matches happened between fighters of rival clubs, within the same school, or 39 Joe A. Bautista, “Cañete Still Unbeatable at 64,” Atlas Sports Weekly Magazine, Inc. 10, no. 490 (October 21, 1983): 31. 40
Cañete, Eskrima Kali Arnis, 89.
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among fellow clubs, sparring was a training method that allowed an escrimador to put himself to a test and enhance his skills. For instance, the members of the “Bacolod Arnis Club,” founded by Narciso “Sisoy” Gyabros in Bacolod, Negros Occidental in 1956 and active for only two years, competed among themselves or with other arnis groups in seven different modes of sparring, all of them without any protection: “Singko henerales was five-stop, pre-arrenged [sic] sparring using espada y daga. Isa kontra isa was sparring with the single stick against the single stick. Metola obra used any of the 12 methods to counter, while your opponent delivers controlled strikes by the numbers. However, the numbered strikes are not always delivered in order. Double baston kontro is [sic] aka baston was sparring with double stick versus single stick, while double baston kontra double baston was double stick versus double stick sparring. In defense-offensa nga mani-obra, both practitioners used a semi-defence, offence method with espada y daga. Seventh was the “arnis torneo”, or full contact tournament sparring. Arnis torneo was a bloody affair. Players usually squared off, going toe-to-toe, crossing their canes and daggers to engage. When the
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referee dropped his cane, the players attacked and counterattacked, striking until first hit or first blood. Matches continued until one player conceded or the referee stopped the contest and declared a winner. If someone was disarmed, he would try to counter with another disarm and continue fighting with empty hands, using kicks, punches, or submission locks. The referee declared a winner only when one player could successfully deliver his pamuno [first initial strike] or segida [series of blows]41 against the unarmed opponent.”42 In addition to the classic confrontation described so far, there were different types of traditional combat, where an expert fighter had to demonstrate his abilities in terms of balance, precision, and speed. Paya With this term, James U. Sy Jr. describes in the article, “100 FMA systems practiced in Negros,” the “style of arnis” characterized by a triangular footwork learned by training on three pieces of coconuts cut in half. Paya is in fact 41 Simone Samuele, personal communications, August 28, 2019. 42 Ronald A. Harris, “Arnis. Classic vs. Modern,” in Inside Kung-Fu, ed. Curtis R. Wong (USA: 1991), 76.
Combat on coconuts. [Source: Ned R. Nepangue and Celestino C. Macachor, Cebuano Eskrima: Beyond the Myth (USA: Xlibris Corporation, 2007).]
the Hiligaynon term for “shell.”43 However, this training method was widespread all over the archipelago and aimed to develop balance and footwork.
Roberto Bonomelli that “walking on coconut shells cut in half, he trained agile and accurate movements, keeping on crossing his legs.”44
For instance, Onofre “Loloy” Lumantas, an elderly master of Bohol, told the Italian FMA master
Coconuts disposed on the grounds were also used for fighting and challenges. In the book, Cebuano
43 James U. Sy Jr., “100 FMA Systems Practiced in Negros,” Rapid Journal 13, no. 3 (2009): 25.
44 Roberto Bonomelli, “Rotta Sulle Filippine,” Arti D’Oriente 1, no. 5 (October 1998): 29, 31.
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Onofre “Loloy” Lumantas from Bohol with the Italian FMA master Roberto Bonomelli. [Photo courtesy of Roberto Bonomelli.]
Eskrima: Beyond the Myth, Celestino C. Macachor and Ned Nepangue write:
er and at times there are only two coco shells. Every step is well calculated.”45
“Old-time eskrimadors were known to balance themselves on coco shells while sparring. By limiting movements they refined their moves. Initially one starts with the coco husk bunút or unhusked coco shells binoongan, since it is comparatively easier. Then gradually learn how to make use of the husked coco shells. The shells are usually arranged in a triangle or in a diamond by placing four coco shells in the corner plus one in the middle. The bagól [coco shell] are positioned not far from each oth-
In a biography of Jose “Joe” Caballero pertaining to the De Campo Uno-Dos-Tres Orihinal system, it is reported that, in 1936, he defeated a famous fighter from San Carlos City, a certain Horje Navado, feared for having defeated seven escrimadores by moving on three coconuts disposed in the shape of a triangle. 46
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45 Macachor and Nepangue, Cebuano Eskrima, 248. 46 Jay Dilan, “Jose Diaz Caballero,” accessed August 20, 2018, http://jaydilan.weebly.com/eskrima.html..
In the article titled “The Heroes of Cebuano Eskrima: Nemesis of Moro Pirates,” Celestino C. Macachor writes that Pablo “Amboy Kidlat” Sabanal “would challenge anyone to hit him in any part of his body without losing his footing on the coconut shells and at the same time successfully foiling all attacks. As a prerequisite, the apprentice would have to undergo full contact sparring also known as juego todo with the use of rolled upak, the outer dead skin of a coconut palm.”47 Another Cebuano escrima club mentioned by Macachor and Nepangue, whose members used to train on coconut shells, was the X3X Club of Self Defence of Carlos Samolde. Their training sessions were often held at night in the moonlight. Focusing on traditional weapons used by old-school escrimadors, X3X Club members called juego todo a “freestyle full contact sparring with the use of rubber band-bundled silhig tokog (broom from coco midribs) or bani sa saging (banana leaf stalk).”48 47 Celestino C. Macachor, “The Heroes of Cebuano Eskrima: Nemesis of Moro Pirates,” accessed July 19, 2016, http://cebueskrima.s5.com/eskrimaheroes.html. 48 Macachor and Nepangue, Cebuano Eskrima, 186-187.
Estokadas Blanco y Negro With this term, James U. Sy Jr. names the traditional form of competition between arnisadores in which the ends of the sticks were rubbed with charcoal and soot. At the end of the match, the dirtiest fighter lost the match. Estokadas blanco y negro means “white and black thrusts.”49 Sticks rubbed in soot were also used in the training phase. In the introduction of his book, Classic Arnis: The Legacy of Placido Yambao, Reynaldo S. Galang writes: “Pampanga historians write of the martial training of Pampango men garbed in white, moving swiftly and smoothly like ghosts under the pale moonlight. They trained with their ‘mutuns’ rubbed with soot, making the ‘vanquished’ easily identifiable.”50 This type of training or fighting was sometimes combined with that described in the previous paragraph. In his book, FMA Grandmasters and Masters, Bram Frank writes that, in 1933 the Mayor of Bago City, Negros Occidental, Don Gregorio Araneta invited the best bastonero of the Panay Island, 49
Sy Jr., “100 FMA Systems,” 23.
50
Yambao, Classic Arnis, 19.
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Tansiong Padilla from Iloilo, an expert in the Aldabon style, to fight against Conrado Tortal during the local fiesta. The espada y daga match took place with the two opponents balancing on three pieces of coconuts cut in half, and their wooden arms rubbed with charcoal powder. The winner would be the one who managed to mark the opponent’s shirt black. Tortal, expert in short-distance fighting, managed to surprise Padilla with a special technique that allowed him to enter his guard and hit him.51 Estokadas Bangko By this term or, in an alternative form, Bangko Binaston, James U. Sy Jr indicates an arnis form originated in Panay in which fights are performed on a bench. The winner is the one who manages to remain in balance over the bench. Bangko means “bench.”52 This particular form of Filipino martial arts was, however, also widespread in other geographical areas of the Philippines and, like the two described above, was used both in training and combat. 51 Bram, FMA, 445. Note: Tansiong Padilla could refer to Moises “Tay Panyong” Padilla Sr. or his son, Moises Soto Padilla Jr. himself, whom several FMA sources describe as “the famous bastonero/arnisador of Iloilo.” 52
Sy Jr., “100 FMA Systems,” 23.
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Romeo Macapagal, the archivist of the Kalis Ilustrisimo system, recalls that in his youth he had witnessed competitions on a bench in the provinces of Central Luzon, including Pampanga, Bulacan, and Tarlac. He points out that bench fighting is an ancient Malay tradition that is also practiced during the festive season in Indonesia and Malaysia.53 Antonio Diego and Christopher Ricketts, in their book, The Secrets of Kalis Ilustrisimo, recount a match won by Melicio Ilustrisimo against an arnisador from Pampanga who challenged him to a match on a long, narrow bench, the rules of which stipulated defeat in the event of a fall, disarming, or a blow sustained.54 This tradition is kept alive in Paete, Laguna, where tournaments of Eskrima sa Banko, the local term that indicates this ancient fighting method, are still held today, usually from November 3rd to 4th, on the feast day of San Antonio Abad, the patron saint of the Barangay Ermita. Other localities in 53 Romeo Macapagal, personal communications, April 25, 2017. 54 Antonio Diego and Christopher Ricketts, The Secrets of Kalis Ilustrisimo: The Filipino Fighting Art Explained (Tuttle Publishing, 2002), 5.
Traditional Eskrima sa Bangko fight between Gregorio “Goyo” Baet (left) and Rogelio “Owing” Alberto (right) in 1999. [Photo courtesy of Abundio Salazar Baet.]
the province of Laguna where, in the past, combat on the bench was practiced, were Paagahan, Mabitac, Famy, San Antonio, Kalayaan, Casa Real, and Pakil.55
55 Abundio S. Baet, personal communications, August 18, 2019.
A kind of variant practiced by Telesporo Subingsubing, whose system is known as Sinayoup Kali, consisted of performing offensive and defensive techniques, walking on a bamboo pole, almost 5 meters long (16 feet) and with a diameter of approximately 10 cm (about 4 inches). According to Mark Wiley,
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Arnis Tournament in Paete in November 2, 2018. [Photo courtesy of Anthony Pagalanan].
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this particular kind of training was “unique of the Moro style of Telesporo.”56 Another exclusive method of fighting, that does not have a specific name, is the one practiced by Melecio Ilustrisimo, who, according to Diego and Ricketts, “used to spar with one foot nailed to the floor through a healed, scarred hole. With his seeming immobility, Melecio would lure his opponents to where he was able to employ his unique footwork, known as lutang (floating), wherein the mobile leg would glide back and then forward to create space to effectively lure and then counter an opponent. When employed in all eight directions, the footwork is called walong apak (eight steps).”57 The source of this information is Guillermo Tinga, who was Antonio Ilustrisimo’s maternal uncle.
Romeo Macapagal, who confirms the story of the hole in his foot, describes Melecio Ilustrisimo as a prizefighter, who was famous for his walong apak. In his book Kalis Ilustrisimo: The Archived System of Antonio “Tatang” Ilustrisimo, Macapagal tells: “During tournaments, he would claim that he can leave his foot unmoved from a point on the ground. This could be marked by a piece of flat stone on which he would step, on which he would put his left foot. Or even dig a hole, perhaps almost a foot deep, where he would put his left foot and from which he would fight. So that he was not going to move away from his position and that he could defend himself and attack with the skill of his footwork, with his right foot and the skill of his hand.”58 Traditional Empty-Hand Fighting
56 Wiley, Filipino Martial Culture, 288-289. Note: The term moro, referring to the style practiced by Telesporo Subingsubing, is presumably the contraction (wrongly used) of the term moro-moro, plays of the Philippine traditional theater.
After this roundup of traditional ways of stick-fighting, eventually some traditional Filipino bare-handed fighting methods are described.
57 Diego and Ricketts, The Secrets of Kalis Ilustrisimo, 5.
58
Macapagal, Kalis Ilustrisimo, 19.
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Paligitan Carlito Lañada, master of the Kuntaw Lima-Lima system, used the term Paligitan, which can be translated as “circle fight”, to indicate a fight carried out within a circular area. In the interview with Mark Wiley for the book, Filipino Martial Culture, he reports that around the 1940s in the South of the Philippines, fighters from different villages, including his father Yong Iban Huenyo, would challenge each other on a bet. At stake were sacks of rice placed one on top of the other in a circle to form the match area. The winner of the challenge was awarded the rice.59 Sikaran Another form of combat within a circle on the ground, but involving only kicking, was Sikaran, a hobby practiced by the farmers of Baras, Rizal in the 1920s, and now a widely practiced sport not only in the Philippines but also in various countries around the world. Mark Wiley writes: 59 212.
“Sikaran is a style of Philippine foot-fighting. It was initially developed by farmers as a past time activity. The farmers would designate an area of the rice paddy, a circle with a twenty-five foot circumference, called the pitak. They would rely on the proper use of the naturally strong legs to drive their opponent outside of the circle with a barrage of kicking techniques.”60 Hukot Sumbag Brothers Jorge and Aurtenciano Jr. Miranda of the Istukada Miranda system recall that, in their place of origin, Cawillan Island, Taganaan, Surigao del Norte, Mindanao, a peculiar way of two fighters confronting each other with bare hands was by holding each other with a rope, which could be held between the hands or tied around the waist. The Miranda masters do not give a specific name to refer to this particular type of fighting, but simply call it Sinunbagay, the Suriganon term for “fist fight.” In the neighboring Gigaquit province, however, it was known as
Wiley, Filipino Martial Culture,
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60
Ibid, 185.
Sikaran fight [Source: Nid Anima, Filipino Martial Arts (Quezon City: Omar Publications, 1982).]
Hukot Sumbag. Hukot means “tied with a knot” while sumbag means “punch”. It derives from an ancient local tradition of settling feuds called Hukot Tinigbasay, a “form of duel wherein the two opponents are tied to each end of the same rope allowing just a close distance, [hacking] each other to death using a bolo.”61 On many occasions both of the fighters died.
61 Steven Egay, “Gigaquit Cultural Sports Tourism,” GCC Reports: 2008, accessed March 29, 2020, http:// gigaquitcivicclub.blogspot.com/2008/. FMA STYLES
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OTHER REFERENCES
• Aurtenciano, Miranda Jr., personal communications, August 20, 2019. • Philippines. An Act Revising the Penal Code and Other Penal Laws. Act No. 3815. Adopted December 8, 1930. https://www.officialgazette.gov. ph/1930/12/08/act-no-3815-s-1930/.]
[Translated by Simona Esposito, Ph.D] [Revised by Dott. Roberto Parravani, Ph.D]
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Andrea Rollo @ rollo.andrea.1
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TATANG ILUSTRISIMO'S COMBAT EFFICIENCY THROUGH MEASURE Romeo Macapagal
ANTONIO “TATANG” Ilustrisimo’s system is based on an accurate management of measure which enables the precise placement of strikes directly onto the opponent, very rarely needing to parry their attack. This precision of measure is predicated on a principle of evading the attack by an inch,
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or un pulgada, thus enabling a simultaneous strike on the attacker without getting hit. There are body-to-body, weapon-to-body, weapon-to-weapon, and emptyhand-on-weapon-hand categories of measure. The movements of such precise attacks are based on a Spanish fenc-
ing technique referred to as parada por romper de la distancia—literally, “parrying by destroying the opponent’s measure.” This allows the simultaneous strike on the opponent without wasting a beat to parry. This is combat efficiency. Precise geometry is used in the analysis and study of the various distances, measures, and angles of
the combatants. The varying radius of a strike as it is delivered forehand, backhand, side-to-side, left or right, downwards or upwards, and at an angle, are closely studied so that one can be in a position from which to strike at the closest reach to the opponent while they lose their measure in their attack on you.
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Moving away from the strike while still remaining in a position to hit the opponent, the defender forgoes the need to parry the attack. Foiling the opponent’s estimate of the distance sufficient to hit you by moving away while retaining your reach on him, requires only one strike from you, which reduces the number of beats needed to fulfill your technique. Movement that is needed to parry rather than to strike directly is wasted movement. Parrying requires one movement, striking after the par-
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ry requires another movement. By simply avoiding the strike, moving the targeted part of the body away from the strike, and hitting at the same time, efficiency is achieved. The foundation of this efficiency is footwork. The footwork of Ilustrisimo is based on a geometric study of distance and angle, and on the changing reach of the arc of the opponent’s weapon as it is swung at you. As the opponent strikes forehand, his arc and reach reduces; as he strikes backhand, the reach
of his strike increases. Simultaneous striking when your opponent’s reach is the farthest from you and your reach is the closest to him is done by shifting your body position relative to the opponent with footwork. This is studied first in slow motion and then practiced at increasingly higher speeds in competitive drills with the use of proper protective equipment. By moving to where the strike is exhausted, Tatang was able to get into a position where he could
reach his opponent and deliver a strike at the same time or just a split second after as the opponent struck. This requires perfect timing, which is always dictated by measure and personal reaction time in which to take advantage of an opponent’s opening or gap, either in his guard or in his attack. The basic footwork of Ilustrisimo is called the elastico-retirada and the doble carrera. The elastico is a backward movement to the left to avoid a backhand strike by the op-
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opponent. This moves your body away from the strike. By raising the heel in the backward motion of the right foot, one is able to gain reach on the opponent while his strike falls short. Against a direct overhead strike, there is also a retirada movement directly backwards, again to avoid the maximum reach of the arc of the strike while being able to deliver a mortal strike to the opponent at the same time. This backward movement can also be accomplished with an elastico directly backwards to exhaust the reach of the opponent’s strike while still being able to hit the opponent.
ponent. This means sitting down on the left leg and stretching out the right, so that one is able to avoid the arc of the opponent’s strike while still being able to reach out to him. The backward, leftward jump with the left leg stretches the body away from the strike. The retirada is a backward movement to the right along the trajectory of a forehand strike by the
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The doble carrera are small, mincing footsteps either to the left or to the right, backwards and forwards, to adjust one’s measure precisely to the angle of the strike or thrust of the opponent so that, instead of parrying the weapon at close range, one is still able to simply strike the opponent (either in the head or in other lethal parts of the body), or at least disable the weapon hand or arm. In the meantime, with the doble carrera, the left hand is able to come into play to parry or control the weapon hand so that one can strike directly into the opponent, whether in the arm, the head, or other vital parts of the body.
There is a main concept of footwork, which is called the retirada de reloj (watch), so called because its eight lines that radiate from the center follow the directions of north-south, east-west, and the half angles in-between. One moves along these eight lines to get away from the strike of the attacker while attacking the hand or arm that is brought close to you in the course of the attack.
A horizontal forehand swinging cut is avoided by moving the right foot to 3 o’clock and swinging the left foot to the right, behind the right foot, thus exhausting the swinging forehand cut while cutting at the same time at the head, neck, or other targets. For a backhand horizontal cut, step to 9 o’clock with the left foot, swing the right foot behind the left, and as the strike is used up, strike available targets.
Standing in the center of these eight directions, one moves away from the direction of the cut by stepping along the line that continues the direction of the cut, keeping the supporting foot in place, and dragging that foot to keep body displacement still in line with the angle of the strike.
While direct backward retirada footwork is useful in avoiding forehand, vertical, and backhand strikes, horizontal strikes have more reach due to the pivot of the body on the spine that adds a half body-width to the reach of the attack. Thus, a movement along the line of the attack is needed to buy time and gain measure.
In general, the bottom half of the reloj is used when avoiding strikes. A strike from overhead is avoided by going directly backward. A forehand cut is acted upon by stepping backwards and to the right with the angle of the cut and 15 degrees to the inside of the attack. A backhand strike at a 45-degree angle is avoided by stepping with the left leg/foot backwards and to the left, stretching the right knee while bending the left knee, sitting on that left leg.
By the same logic of the skeletal system, 45-degree upward cuts have one to three inches more reach, exhausting the strike beyond the 3 or 9 o’clock points. Thus, an upward 45-degree cut must be avoided by jumping forward 45 degrees to avoid getting hit while striking downwards at the attacking arm, either right or left. Again, the back foot is swung behind the forward foot enough to pivot the body to face the cut and bring one’s right hand close to the opponent’s right hand.
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Of the eight lines of the retirada de reloj, only seven lines to the side and back are used in reaction to an attack. The forward line at 12 o’clock is mostly used in attack. The lines used repeatedly are right backwards, left backwards, and directly backwards, which become the most prevalent at medium measure. These are the elastico-retirada. The horizontal and forward movements are called bisagra or “hinge,” denoting the swinging motion of the supporting legs. Strikes When the body is properly positioned by the retirada de reloj footwork, the corresponding strike must follow a narrow 15-degree angle to either inside (if forehand) or outside (if backhand), giving a clear, unimpeded line either to the arm, head, or body of the opponent. At this largo range, one endeavors not to encounter the opponent’s weapon, opting instead for clear lines of strike to the opponent’s anatomy as much as possible. The closest targets would be the point of the shoulder, the bicep, elbow, forearm, wrist, and the strong of the opponent’s weapon (i.e. about the third of its length closest to the hand).
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Practicing Measure The feeder in an attack or lunge position places his weapon with pressure on the student. The weapon is placed on the top or to the side of the head or on the base of the neck of the student. Furthermore, the weapon can be placed either horizontally or at an angle. The student moves away in a direct line opposite from the pressure, while, at the same time, endeavoring to place his weapon on the feeder. The student then is able to determine the proper measure, footwork, and angles of both the body and weapon(s) as the feeder’s weapon misses while the student’s weapon is able to have a sufficient disabling reach. These final adjustments are based on each player’s morphology, and are always an approximation of the theoretical lines and angles on the ground. To begin with, the exercise is characterized by low pressure in terms of the speed used and reach or un-reach of measure. When the student is competent at low intensity pressure, protective gear is donned, and the exercise becomes a competitive drill.
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The Doble Carrera
Striking
These are small, mincing footsteps, about the person’s foot’s length. They are intended to adjust measure once contact is made at largo range to the hand or arm of the opponent. With the weak of one’s weapon (i.e. about the third of its length from the tip) at this measure, the hand and torso can be reached interchangeably. The left hand can also touch the wrist or elbow of the opponent. This is a period for rapid strikes at close range (medium range is simply a transition).
The “punch cut” is the best way to describe the Ilustrisimo tagang eskwalado, which means “a right angle cut (i.e. 90 degrees),” but it is really 120 degrees measured between forearm and weapon. The cut is not delivered in a circular trajectory; rather, the weapon is delivered in a straight line, with the weapon protecting the hand and arm. In contrast, in circular strikes, the hand arrives ahead of the weapon.
Both weapon and empty-hand movements coincide with every foot movement. At high speed, the feet stomp heavily on the ground, and then this footwork is called darag. This is done in order to startle and confuse the opponent, with sensory feedback from four limbs—sound with the feet, strike, and pressure from the arms. In Spanish fencing, this same action is called llamar. The intention is to move to the opponent’s outside and onto his back. Your empty hand continuously pushes on the opponent’s arm, shoulder, and back all the while the weapon blows are rained on him.
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In a punch cut, the point and the length of the weapon are forward of the hand, protecting it. In a swing strike, the hand is ahead of the weapon, exposing it to parries and strikes. The Guard The principle of having the weapon protect the hand and arm all the way to the shoulder dictates the vertical positioning of the high, middle, and low guards of Ilustrisimo. The middle guard points what would be the striking edge of your weapon towards the hand of the opponent. A flat plane is imagined with the line of the weapon where the forearm and the shoulder are on one line. In this guard, one is constantly looking for an opening
into the opponent’s arm so that it can be struck unopposed while keeping one’s own arm protected at all times. This is achieved by footwork that is angled at either side of the opponent’s arm. In the low guard, the point of your weapon is constantly pointed at the hand or face of the opponent. In high guard, the weapon is pointed at the sky, with a straight arm, so that a strike at your body is easier, but foiled by a retirada or elastico. Parries Except in a few instances, parries in Kalis Ilustrisimo are not meant to stop a strike. The main intention in weapon contact is to deflect the incoming weapon to get it out of play so that an extra beat has to be made to recover it and bring it back into play, thus exposing the opponent. Weapon-to-weapon contacts can be percussive, so that the attack is thrown out of its original trajectory, or, at close measure, guided along the length of either weapon.
Romeo Macapagal @ romeo.macapagal.3
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GEIJIN RYU STAFF ARTS
Dr. Michel Farivar
Geijin ryu is a martial art that expresses its combative relevance through an understanding of the anatomy, and, amongst other strategies, the kinetic physiology of the body. This is as relevant in armed as in unarmed combat. The art maximizes, wherever possible, the potential of weapons in a strategic manner. Keeping this in mind, we can begin to explore some of the features of staff arts as understood in this discipline.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO CLARIFY from the outset, that in Geijin ryu, no distinction is made in the general approach between staves and other weapons that share their basic characteristics, other than the additional potential afforded by attaching blades, hooks, and chains to polearms and sticks. In Geijin ryu, working the staff does not involve blocking techniques. There is a clear differentiation between blocking versus infiltrative and strategic counter-strikes, in that the former involves a dead stop to the kinetic motion of the enemy’s weapon. The latter attacks the enemy at a vulnerable point and disables the attack. Blocking constitutes a hindrance to effective infiltration, interception, and counterattacks. At its most basic, the potential afforded by the use of a weapon relies on how the weapon both enhances and limits movement. Once committed to a certain movement, other potential movements or
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strategies may become less available. Therefore, within Geijin ryu, the initial approach is always a posture and method that either conceals the next movement, or is the most versatile in terms of possible approaches. Like in other combat arts, feints, exploitation of voids, and blind spots apply. Geijin ryu techniques transition in a facile manner between weapon and unarmed methods. The empty hand techniques are practiced in such a way as to be unimpeded when a weapon is introduced into the same movement. There is specific training on this. In other words, the training prepares for armed and unarmed techniques in either direction. This anticipates the very real possibility of losing the weapon during an engagement. The results are a question of the kinetics of the body. To begin with, the weapon, like our bodies, has three basic distances in combat; these are long, intermediate, and short. Naturally, these vary according to a person’s own dimensions and the range of the weapon itself. The application of distance used may also be affected by the number of opponents and other considerations, such as whether they are armed. At each range, the array of strategies and types of
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techniques change. The purpose of the encounter may also dictate the methods chosen. The actual range expressed within a technique varies in the same manner as in empty-handed fighting. This has to be intuitive in the practitioner and is acquired through training with various types of weapons and realistic combat scenarios. For illustrative purposes, we might consider range analogous in empty hand fighting, to say that a fully extended kick is long range, a fully extended arm is medium range, and anything less than that is short range. If you are using a stick the length of your arm, you would consider a fully extended arm holding the stick at one end as long range, using the stick arms bent and close to the body in a short fighting stance would be medium range, and if you were to hold the stick in the middle and apply it as a grappling implement, that would be short range. While we understand this as the most basic lesson a person would learn in any martial arts school, and might barely need mention, it is in fact foundational to everything that comes after, and the ability to transition range without the slightest thought while engaged in combat is critical. If a practitioner has only learned
to strike and parry with a weapon, and not to grapple, choke, and lock joints, they will be at a significant disadvantage when their enemy successfully closes in, especially if they are armed and capable. At a longer range, obviously, strikes take place. These are taught, due to their risk of inaccuracy, to attack the most vulnerable targets, maximizing the effect for the amount of effort. Strikes are also intended, to some extent, to presage further
movement on the part of the enemy, opening them up to vulnerability and manipulation. Strikes attack vital areas—vital in more than one sense: vital to stopping the attack, and often, vital to the physiology of the enemy. Such strikes can be aggressive or defensive. Generally, the attacking enemy has opened themselves to counterattack, and although they may anticipate a counter maneuver, they often will try to press an attack on
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a retreating opponent until they land a decisive hit. Knowing how to respond to driving violent attacks of this kind is essential in Geijin ryu training. In Geijin ryu, the mindset is not to only stop the attack and set up a retaliation; it is to capture and destroy the enemy themselves as the assumed originator of the violence. The method of striking, and where to strike, will also adapt to whether the enemy is armed with a blade, projectiles, or a flexible weapon. It is critical to apply strategy in a rational manner that eliminates the enemy’s ability to execute their attack. It is also critical to know how to respond to feints, jabs, and aborted attacks from your enemy. The ability to do so requires a psychological state, not dominated by the enemy and the danger they represent. In this area, sparring, if necessary with armor, is needed. There is a potential divergence in topic that can be exploited at this junction, exploring the changes in behavior that happen in combat when wearing armor. This is a very serious caveat to such training. To illustrate the point, try to imagine a kendo match with no armor, and noting how the strategies and behavior differ. We can return later
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to the needed psychological state for successful staff training, as it has substantial bearing on the execution of techniques. At the point of combative engagement, basic counter strategic considerations are: infiltration of the enemy’s movement; limitation of their movement while freeing one’s own, neutralizing their ability to fight; and thirdly assuming total control, and if necessary, destruction of the enemy. Naturally the application of these strategies necessitates learning evasive and counterattacking movements against many types of attacks. Evasion, infiltration, and counterattack are realized as one continuous movement.
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How this can take place, is one of the areas of training where the most training is devoted. It requires a fairly in-depth understanding of the human body: how clothing moves on the body and often hinders it; how skin and fascia work; how muscles work with joints, ligaments, and bones; how bones interface with nerves, and how blood vessels interact with muscles and vital organs; how structure and balance in the body operate in movement, and how all that operates in a bidirectional manner with the psyche. To those new to the art, this part of the training can be psychologically overwhelming. Witnessing techniques and being subjected to them confers little
understanding outside of a subjective appreciation for their effect. What is required to teach this material is that a number of subjects need to be studied, similar by category to what is taught in medical school. The kinds of charts seen in many martial arts books and on acupuncture illustrations are essentially useless without the proper instruction and didactic. Incorporating knowledge of this kind into actual fighting is not a simple matter. Overcoming natural reflexes and tendencies is difficult. This is illustrated by the observation that people trained in martial arts that utilize strategies intended for street fighting, when made to spar, will resort to styles of fighting alien to the
core of their art, and start emulating boxers, Thai fighters, and MMA competitors. What does this say about their skills taught in the school and their relative perceptions of these more competition-based arts? This point offers a broad analysis that is out of scope for this topic, but nonetheless is relevant to weapons training and the approach to the staff. To limit that discussion in this case, certain concepts are offered for consideration: certain contexts of combat are intended to test techniques, others to demonstrate or showcase them, and others to offer an experience that approximates certain important features of combat that require desensitization and cognitive adaptation.
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Returning to how the paragraphs above relate to the use of the staff draws our attention to the fact that, in Geijin ryu, the weapon—in this case a staff—is incidental. The art does not differentiate strictly one type of weapon from another in such a manner as to give name and subculture to that weapon and an associated style. This point is made because the understanding of weapons as applied in Geijin ryu does not separate out in the mental constructs of the fighter. Questions such as, “What is your favorite weapon?” ring irrelevant to Geijin ryu. Exploring further, actual stances are not assumed until the combative engagement is initiated. The staff and position of the body are in constant motion, making future movement difficult to predict. Every effort is made not to telegraph intent. Closing range and seizing the opponent require filling voids, utilizing physical and cognitive blind spots, dissonance of timing, and demoralizing the enemy by robbing them of control. For a fighter to experience the feeling of impending loss can create different psychological reactions that have to be understood, and these are not related to the element of surprise, which occurs for the enemy who firmly believes their attack is succeeding. 154 | The Immersion Review
Geijin ryu staff work applies its techniques through evasion with simultaneous counterattack in real time. Once closed in, the fighter’s body is positioned in such a way that controlling the enemy does not limit one’s own ability to respond to another attack. Geijin ryu staff work does not employ any solo kata. Like with the empty hand methods, all is practiced with a training partner. Many of the staff techniques do not only emphasize strikes as the primary method. Rather, “body work” is done, which completes the encounter with very close infighting, pins, and control or physical damage of the enemy. That stated, the technique should not lock the fighter in with the opponent in a way that extricating oneself is difficult and creates vulnerability to additional attacks from others. This is vital to survival against multiple opponents. When strikes are used, the aim is to immobilize the body through the nervous, musculature, or skeletal systems, and viscera, including the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. There are special strikes that aim at these vital systems of the body. These are all especially useful against multiple attackers.
In Geijin ryu, all objects possessing a shaft essentially qualify as a staff. Therefore, to maintain innovative cognitive processing in combat, training involves using a wide variety of tools and common objects. Although not considered necessarily by other systems as staves, what matters in Geijin ryu is combative effectiveness, and therefore, distinctions that limit innovation are considered irrelevant and are ignored. Training with tools such as a spade or rake is perfectly relevant.
For some who are interested in maintaining weapons classifications, perhaps for historical or other analytic endeavors, hybrid weapons present a possible challenge, and they might reject these as tools and not weapons. In combat, classifications of this kind have little importance, especially in a modern context, where true weapons are dominated by firearms and knives. People choosing self-defense will in many places be obligated to use whatever is available. In a manner, this puts Geijin
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ryu at odds with some traditional weapons systems. We may be tempted to think this places Geijin ryu in a category of modern martial arts derivative systems. Again, such distinctions are irrelevant when considering that many historical combat systems use tools in combat, while some traditional systems have adopted modern weapons as societal pressures changed the combative narrative. Since practice in Geijin ryu seeks to be combatively focused, the actual training methods are important to discuss. Training methods are to be understood as different from the actual techniques themselves. The understanding moves along a hierarchical cycle, from philosophical to strategic/cognitive, to understanding the human body and psyche, to training methods to techniques and back. All of these are combined in the expressed techniques of a person who has understood the art and is able to perform it. Preparation for using the staff in combat requires a blending of the comprehensive teachings of the various levels of the art. Often, the beginning student is not fully aware of this. They will be introduced to evasive body movement
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with and without the weapon, and expected to note how this affects movement and brings opportunity for engagement. Training of this sort always takes place with an opponent. Students are expected to work dexterity exercises, not prearranged kata. These will often involve executing strikes against a tree or other target. In this way, they practice combining postures, steps, and strikes, coordinating these together. Striking a tree and other solid objects, such as in cutting wood with an axe, toughens the ligaments in the arms and hands and trains the student not to lose their grip on the weapon when it makes contact. As their ability to handle the staff improves, they learn how to use the three distances against a typically armed assailant. At first, this is slow and permits the student to comprehend the mechanics of the combined strategies, movements, and techniques. This phase of training serves to make them aware of the strengths, weaknesses, and challenges in each situation. In Geijin ryu, these techniques are not memorialized in pre-arranged encounters called “kata” like in many Japanese martial counterparts. These are also different from
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the pre-arranged solo movements, also called “kata,” but which are complimentary. Geijin ryu solo movements are similar in concept to solo kata, but are a much smaller part of the training curriculum, so as to be negligible. Partnered movements are essential, yet in Geijin ryu they too are not pre-arranged or codified. Instead, these emerge from discussion, review of past techniques, and when the teacher seeks to complete an array of possible movements for a given scenario. There might be a class on how to use a staff when trapped in a choke, a nelson, or with a blade held to the throat, and various other surprise attacks. It is during this phase that the student learns much of the body and psychological dynamics. They learn to handle the staff during falls and rolls (ukemi) and how to maneuver a staff during complex combat rolls and movements down halls and along walls. These skills get the student intimately familiar with their weapon, and they start to feel connected with it, as if it were part of their body. The staff no longer consciously influences movement, and its use becomes natural. When this occurs, any staff-like object takes on this feeling. To enhance speed and dexterity, training with an iron
"I
n Geijin ryu, working the staff does not involve blocking techniques. There is a clear differentiation between blocking versus infiltrative and strategic counter-strikes, in that the former involves a dead stop to the kinetic motion of the enemy’s weapon. The latter attacks the enemy at a vulnerable point and disables the attack."
staff—hollow or solid, depending on ability to tolerate its effects—is recommended. Practicing dexterity with such a weapon not only greatly improves strength, but it also helps the student to be prudent with their movement. Hitting oneself with an iron staff is very painful—it is not recommended to use it in partnered training. Comfort with the staff increases with the sparring, typically mock weapon against mock weapon. Usually, some minor armor is needed to prevent damage to essential organs, such as the eyes and nerves in the upper extremities. At this time, the student becomes aware that an actual combative encounter with a guarded and counterattacking opponent is far more complex than practicing drills with a partner. The actual skill lev-
el becomes rapidly apparent. Here, timing and positioning are crucial and ever-changing. Minor injuries can occur; cracked ribs, bruises, and twisted ankles happen. Students must learn that combat does not stop if injured, and must work to acquire the mind frame that prevents going into shock and paralyzing fear. The experience of getting hit is not a matter of points; it is about handling the stress of combat. The student quickly realizes that fighting is nothing like the choreographed depictions in film. Having explored some of the bodily targets (nerves, muscles, joints, bones, and the vascular system) and some of the strategy for achieving access to these targets, it is important to understand that staff work in close quarters is a form of train-
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ing strongly emphasized in Geijin ryu. The rationale for this training is that an opponent facing a fighter with a staff will typically work to close the distance, where they may believe the staff loses what is perceived as its main advantage, which is distance, for the purpose of striking. The same will be true when an enemy faces a sword like the katana. It is generally understood that a shorter staff is desirable when fighting at close range. Yet, in Geijin ryu, the teaching is to adapt the fighting skill to whatever weapon is available, regardless of length. What permits the application of infighting techniques
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with staff is that, in close quarters, the focus moves away from most strikes and transitions to locks, pins, and chokes. The transition happens when swinging the staff is replaced by weaving and infiltrating into the body of the enemy through their movement. Strikes may be replaced by short jabs and short hits with the shaft between both hands. The attacker, in the commission of their attack, creates a series and array of openings to be exploited, and there are many. One of the ways an attacker can minimize the exploitation of these openings is by swinging two sticks or blades in
a whirl of motion that is difficult to follow and enter. This is seen in kali, some of the movements of silat, and Chinese styles of wushu. Even some Japanese arts also do this to a more limited extent. In this method, the individual strikes are less effective in their percussive power, but repeated strikes of this kind disorient and rapidly beat the enemy into submission, opening them for the kill. Geijin ryu also performs these kinds of swinging strikes, but much less than in the aforementioned arts. There are ways to move in and get around some of these rapid shortstick attacks, and there are ways
to break the rhythm of the movement. It requires training with a person who knows these drills. It is not easy to do, especially against a fighter who is very good at this strategy. Given that we fight with whatever is available, a coveted/preferred weapon or a staff crafted for combat is typically not available. Fighting with a rough and natural tree branch is a common and desirable alternative. Their rugose surfaces limit any sliding motion along the shaft, which is a useful feature. A treated and prepared staff may be too smooth and can be dropped from wet or sweating hands. In
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Geijin ryu, whenever possible, an untreated natural wooden staff is preferred to a polished smooth staff of the sort used in karate demonstrations. The staff should also not be tapered, although having a point on the tip can be useful. Show staves (for demonstrations) are sometimes tapered to enhance whirring sounds, probably to make them harder to grasp by an enemy. Geijin ryu typically works with thicker and heavier hardwood staffs, although bamboo sticks are
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also considered very good to work with due to their tensile strength and their special properties in striking. When a staff is very smooth, as it can be with bamboo, it can be made to grip into the enemy by rotating it along its long axis. Bamboo also has rings on its surface which can enhance traction. This point is not so important when striking but is very applicable in grappling with a staff.
Training with natural rough tree branches full of knots is common in Geijin ryu. They come in unpredictable lengths, they often have rough splinters at the end, they may be wet, and they can also break. These are perfect to teach and train in rapid adaptations to unreliable weapons, which may be the only option against an enemy armed with a blade or other weapon. In spite of the unruly and unreliable features of tree branches, properly handled, they can be very effective. Against blades, it is advised not to prune the smaller branches off before using a natural stick. The protruding branches cause tremendous hindrance and confusion to the enemy. There is mention of historical precedent for this practice in the book, Soldiers of the Dragon,1 a text on Chinese martial history. This strategy was reportedly used against Japanese warriors that had joined the Wa kuo, a pirate army that raided the Chinese coast and estuaries. One Chinese soldier would wield an untrimmed bamboo stick to entangle the samurai katana while two others, typically armed with 1 C. J. Peers, Soldiers of the Dragon: Chinese Armies 1500 BC to AD 1840 (Osprey Publishing, 2006).
spears, would stab. This example pits three Chinese foot soldiers against one samurai and is uneven, pitting skills against numbers. The pertinence of this story is, that in an emergency, a tree branch can be successfully used against a blade-wielding attacker. Another possible advantage of such natural weapons is that they are inconspicuous. There are usually no laws against their use; they lack any significant premeditation in their use, therefore supporting that they are applied primarily for self-defense. If one were engaged in a premeditated act of violence, choosing a branch from the ground with all its potential failings would be fraught with risk. With regards to using natural weapons such as tree branches, in Geijin ryu, there is the practice of throwing sticks. This originates from a well-known and ancient hunting practice. Often a throwing stick is either fashioned to operate like a spear or javelin, or like a club. In the latter case, a root ball or round heavy tree growth at one end is desirable, as it improves percussion. Staves that are specially prepared as weapons are not usually intended to be thrown, as this is a high-risk strategy in combat and the weapon may be of some value.
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Geijin ryu does use specialized staves that are specifically intended to be used as weapons. Trainees learn that a sword in its scabbard or a sheathed machete can be used in a manner like a staff. They learn that the unsharpened side of a long blade confers properties similar to a staff, and that the techniques are overlapping. Some specialized staves have iron rings, tips, and studs. These are capable of breaking bones, joints, and causing other serious and penetrating injury without puncture. They were used to match against swords and other bladed weapons. Such weapons have little pragmatic value today; they might not be legal to carry in public, and they can encumber movement in most contemporary settings. It is perhaps a small irony that the most ancient staff weapons—natural branches—and associated strategy, remain one of the most relevant today. By the time the trainee has become deeply familiar with the concepts and methods utilizing stick weapons, they train more in the free application of technique through limited sparring, wearing body armor. They learn to blend the application of timing, distance, and positioning as the conflict transitions from strikes and sweeps to locks and pins utilizing the staff.
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They learn how to work against an aggressive opponent who is trying to close in with a blade. Their staff work is pitted against a variety of other weapons, including chains, blades, and other staves of various lengths. They will teach themselves how to close in and disarm an enemy armed with a staff, as well as how to retrieve a staff that has been taken away from them. In these conflict scenarios, they learn that successfully landing a strike on their opponent does not stop or end the fight, as it would in point-oriented sports. All through this process, the student learns to maintain an adaptive cognitive approach. In the event that they drop their weapon, or it happens to break, they can transition to using empty hand fighting or use what is left of the weapon. They can blend free empty-handed techniques with one hand while holding the staff in the other. They learn through this not to rely overly on using the weapon/staff, just because they happen to be holding or carrying it. They learn to handle, in some cases, one weapon in one hand and another weapon in the other. This develops the capability to work in an almost ambidextrous manner with one-handed weapons technique.
The general approach to weapon work in Geijin ryu, as it pertains to the use of other weapons, is similarly comprehensive. The tuition of each form of weapon and empty hand training complements the other. The learning is not based on acquiring knowledge through categories and semantic memory. It is learned and reinforced through the multimodal sensory and executive experiences of applying the techniques directly to a human body in combat-oriented scenarios that strive for realism. The methods are not bound by cultural traditions; instead they are intended to be pragmatic and task-oriented. The expression of underlying cosmological influences develops through the student’s eventual appreciation that the art they are learning exists in the form that it does due to the natural systems found in human biology and physiology, which in itself is complex enough not to need the void in knowledge to be filled with myth.
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TRADITIONAL
MĀORI MARTIAL ARTS Te Waitere Jason Paahi Taura Pouwhakarae UmuTawhearangi
MAU RĀKAU IS WELL-KNOWN as a Māori stick fighting art. However, its scope is much wider than just fighting with a stick. Mau Rākau means “to wield a weapon” and is a general term referring to the skilled use of weapons. Mau Rākau covers a whole range of close-combat weapons and contains within it holistically much more than “just” fighting. Tra-
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ditionally, this art was practiced with weapons classed as matarua, or in other words, weapons with two-sided blades such as the taiaha, pouwhenua, and tewhatewha. Each of these weapons was received as a gift from a different atua (god/ spirit), and represented different elements, purpose, protocols, and ceremonial functions. In combat, however, the function was always straightforward: to maim or kill opponents.
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Mau Taiaha and Te Whare Tū Taua o Aotearoa My journey in fighting arts began with learning the use of the taiaha, or mau taiaha, in 1985 when I started my formal education in the arts of war under Dr. Pita Sharples of the Te Runanga Tū Taua mau Taiaha o Aotearoa, later to be known as Te Whare Tū Taua o Aotearoa (“The International School of Māori Weaponry”). Te Whare Tū Taua o Aotearoa was founded during the
renaissance of the Māori language and customs in order to revive the ancient art of mau taiaha among the Māori. This was an innovative program including physical fitness, Māori history, knowledge of the Māori atua (gods/spirits), whakapapa (ancestor lineage), leadership skills, and, of course, all uses of the taiaha. The taiaha is probably the most commonly known weapon of the Māori. It is an effective close-combat weapon which has been tested on battlefields and in one-onone combat for over 600 years. The taiaha is made out of native hardwood such as maire, puriri, or matai, which is cut to various lengths, depending on the specifications of a given style. The length of the weapon is likened to the human body; the tongue (tip) is used to stab and slice vital organs, whereas the body (length) is used to defend, parry, or to get in close contact with the opponent. The taiaha is not used like a club or a heavy striking weapon. Strikes are quick and accurate, and aimed to strike one-inch-deep into the body or used in a continuous movement—like the waves or the wind—until the weapon finds its mark. The blade of the taiaha has two sides used to strike key body parts in order to maim, disarm, or break bones.
The taiaha differs from a lot of stick martial arts in the fact that its user has a direct connection to his or her ancestors and Atua Māori. In fact, according to Māori history, these fighting arts can be traced all the way back to the origin of creation, the separation of Rangi and Papa (primordial sky father and earth mother), and the unbalance created between their children (Atua Māori). Thus, the traditional Māori see themselves as only a small part of nature, always connected to the universe, and surrounded by living elements and infinite energy identified as Atua Māori. Learning the taiaha is only about 40 percent physical, the rest of it consisting of psychological and spiritual teachings by which the warrior learns to be in tune with his surroundings, elements, and nature. The taiaha can also represent an ancestor, so its user can connect to him on a spiritual level and thus the ancestor can also be present in defeating an enemy. With this type of mindset and connectedness, the warrior is never alone on the battlefield, as the Māori believe that our ancestors are always with us. As an example, a warrior would use Tama-nui-tera (Atua of the rising sun), Hinepukohurangi (Maiden of the mist),
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Taura Pouwhakarae graduation (1997)
terrain, Hine-riporipo (Atua of water currents), or Tāwhirimatea (Elements of the wind) as part of their battle strategy. Sayings such as, “Taumaha waewae he kiri māku,” on the other hand, meant that, if your feet movement or body was not agile, then your skin would become wet in your own blood. Foot movement, fitness, and agility are essential to using this weapon effectively. Taiaha schools and styles varied from tribe to tribe depending on the surrounding terrain or environment. For example, coastal
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tribes’ styles would be based on the ocean, tides, and elements present there, whereas other styles located further inland may resemble the bush and be limited to the mountain terrain. Formations might also be closing in as in the forest. These various styles and tactics of the taiaha evolved and developed over time based on experience gathered from battles and duels fought. Only the most successful moves, strikes, or defensive counterattacks survived the test of time and were passed down from generation to generation.
It took me 13 years starting from a beginner to get to the eighth (and final) level, and to graduate as a master in this school of weaponry. Each stage was a journey of self-discovery, connection to culture, identity, history, combat, teaching, and mentoring. Once I graduated as a Pouwhakarae (Master) and achieved the fighting rank of Rakau kawa-nui, I was able to start my own school; however, I still felt that there were key gaps in my understanding of what traditional warrior knowledge, values, and further learning may consist of. At my Pouwaru (Master) grad-
uation, I likened my long journey to climbing a mountain, but also noted that there were now other mountains I had to climb in order to continue my study. In my search for the next mountain to climb, I met Hohepa Delamere (Papa Hohepa) who was a well-known and respected Tohunga (specialist) in the art of traditional healing and the ancient ways of the waananga (schools). He also has a military background and served in Malaysia. At that time, he had already started my younger brother’s learning path in the art of Rongomamau (traditional Māori wres-
Te Whare Tū Taua o Aotearoa
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He Tohu Atua using the signs of the elements to comliment training
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tling). I was then fortunate to be able to study with with Papa Hohepa intensively over the following years, especially the ancient school of Whare Aitu-a-Henga and other various waananga systems, the study of which would open my eyes to the wider traditional Māori worldview. This led me also to re-discover other traditional Māori weapons, methodologies, and knowledge that were not yet returned back to the world of light. Meeting My Teacher’s Teachers I will never forget the early morning Papa Hohepa took me and my younger brother for a walk to Piha Beach (a secluded west coast beach in the Waitakere Ranges). He told us he wanted to introduce us to his teachers to assist in our learning journey, as they also had assisted him in his. Once we got there, the beach was bare, and he told us to wait on a certain rock which was located between the beach and the ocean. He then left us sitting on that rock in the middle of nowhere, just walked off and left us sitting on a rock surrounded by wild surf crashing on the rocks and strong winds. After sitting there for a while, it became obvious that his old teachers were not in human form, but living ele-
ments of nature. We had to modify the way we were used to learning in a Western world, and adapt to this different reality so we could allow these ancient teachers to share their knowledge with us. These are the true masters, “counsels of the gods”; from the clouds, the wind, the rain, waves that were calm and rough, the pounding of the rocks, the sand, the birds, the insects, the past footprints of our ancestors to the current context in which I was searching for the balance between life (healing arts) and death (fighting arts). We also noticed that each element had a duality which was male and female, but these halves also complimented each other to create a balance. When Papa returned to us, he had a huge smile on his face, because we were no longer sitting on the rock, only observing, but in the water with the elements, training with his teachers. My learning path took me to study these elements, and use these teachers in the context of weapons and close combat. I still use this methodology to teach and introduce students to these ancient teachers in order for them to develop their own learning style and relationship with the elements.
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THE BALANCE OF A WARRIOR The following is a learning pathway that I adapted throughout my journey—tangaengae o te toa (“the balance of a warrior”):
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To be a great warrior in times of old, it was essential to be schooled in the art of war and instinctively know how to kill;
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To know how to kill efficiently, it was essential to know the human anatomy intricately, and to know its functions and all the vital points;
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To know the human anatomy intricately and to know the vital points in order to unbalance, hurt, or kill, it was natural and common sense to be able to balance those vital points in order to live or heal;
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To be able to heal effectively, it was essential to be schooled in the art of healing using physical, psychological, and spiritual methods;
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To have knowledge of one Atua or child of Ranginui and Papatuanuku, it was only natural to have knowledge of all the children of Ranginui and Papatuanuku, and knowledge of all elements and their significance to life or death;
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To have a basic knowledge on all Atua, their significance and contribution to warfare, healing, life, death, mana tane, mana wahine (male and female rights), humans, and animals is to learn and be aware of the natural balance in all things Māori;
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To have a natural balance in all things Māori, it is not possible to be just a warrior, but a master of all things in times of war and peace—for example: navigation, cultivation, healing, preserving ancient knowledge through waiata (song), and weaving or carving. As the seasons changed, so did our tupuna (grandfathers) naturally adapt. Traditional warriors were taught to excel and to understand how everything is connected in life and death, and in alignment with the universe.
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The rock we first met our teacher's teachers: Tangaroa, Hine Moana, Hine Kauika, Hine Riporipo, Tawhirimates, Hine Omairangi
Loss of Identity and Finding What Is Missing Due to over 180 years of colonization, suppression, and key legislation (such as the Tohunga Suppression Act of 1907) designed to assimilate the Māori population, the Māori language, knowledge, and traditional customs were either made illegal, lost, or driven underground. Land confiscations, introduction of alcohol, Christianity, and introduction of firearms
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assisted in this assimilation process. Traditions were either put to sleep, hidden, or taught by stealth within the shadows for over two generations. Throughout this period, Māori well-being plummeted. The Māori became the bottom of most western statistics, including physical and mental health, corrections, abuse, violence, gangs, and education. Also, as a consequence, European anthropologists started writing about and recording Māori history, customs, lan-
guage, and Māori way of life. Many books were written by non-Māori theorizing about traditions and recreating traditional stories into myths and legends from a distinctly Western perspective, and propagating a narrative within which the Māori were seen as a dying race. For my grandparents’ and father’s generation, this was a devastating time. For over 60 years the Māori were beaten, abused, and imprisoned just for speaking their own
Brothers-in-arms (Hawaii, 1999). From the left: Amorangi Papa Hohepa, Jason and Timoti Paahi, George Lindsey.
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language and practicing Māori customs. In my generation, we still see the after-effects on our physical and mental health, social disconnection, and psychological trauma that this period has caused. There is still a lot of distrust in sharing our traditional knowledge in fear of misuse, exploitation, and commercialization. “Rapua i te e mea ngaro” (“Seek for what was lost, hidden or stolen”) is one of the many sayings that remind Māori descendants to search for, research, and awaken our ancient treasures that were put to sleep in order to be awakened and integrated back into Te Ao Māori (the Māori world) at a later time. This would also assist in the healing process for the Māori as a whole, and enable individuals to reconnect back to their culture and reclaim their identity in all areas of Māori knowledge. The Tohunga Suppression Act was repealed in New Zealand 1962, but it was not until the 1970s that there was a push in the renais-
sance and revival of the Māori language, customs, and traditional practices. Through the revival of the language came the ability to unlock hidden knowledge within traditional songs, genealogy, stories, carvings, woven clothing, and weapons. Secrets that revealed traditional healing and fighting were hidden within the Atua, and could be understood by interacting with and studying the elements such as ocean, waves, currents, wind, forest, birds, fish, and insects. These elements also became teachers and were respected by students. In this period, the Māori experts were able to reawaken this knowledge in all areas of the Māori world. This included dispelling myths that were created in the assimilation process, such as: that the Polynesians navigated throughout Polynesia by mistake; that the Māori were a savage race and voluntarily gave up their sovereignty to a foreign power; and that the Māori were a lazy, violent, and sick people.
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Te Whare Aitu-a-Henga Te Whare Aitu-a-Henga was one of the many traditional schools that the late Hohepa Delamare brought back to the world of light. Through his instruction, this art has reemerged from the shadows into the light of this and future generations. Te Whare Aitu-a-Henga was founded and established as a school of healing and fighting arts in 1998 for both male and female students within the Hoani Waititi marae (school). It has schools throughout Aotearoa (New Zealand) and also abroad. Te Whare Aitu is a traditional Māori school dating back to the 1300s and distinguishing itself as an art of war utilizing weapons of physical, spiritual, and psychological nature. Te Whare Aitu-a-Henga can be traced back all the way to the creation itself, to the realms of te kore (void), te po (darkness), and to the separation of Ranginui and Papatuanuku when the Atua Māori were at war with each other. Each Atua Māori contributed to the art of war in its own way, including Atua Tāne (male gods) and Atua Hinerei (female gods). This included weapons, movements, genealogy, customs, and a systems-based philosophy, which allowed the stu-
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dents to study and adopt their own learning style by connecting to the Atua that suited the way they thought or what came natural to them. The student would be dedicated to these elements depending on their purpose and destiny chosen. This enhanced and developed the uniqueness of each student; for example, the lesson of the day could be based on one type of a wave in the surf and its interactions with land, rocks, wind, and other waves. Ten students could be taught the same lesson; however, their understanding, adopting, and implementation of the teachings would be very different. This was encouraged, especially if the student was to integrate learning by using various weapons, or handto-hand methods, or using the teachings in a psychotherapy context. Students today are encouraged to return back to the source to test and modify their skills. This could mean that the student returned to the beach with high surf and riptide in order to navigate through the waves without being thrown or taken out to sea. The Whare Aitu school has 12 levels and is made up of four main doorways or pou (pillars that make up the Whare Aitu):
1. Umurangi
2. Takarangi
Umurangi teaches traditional prayer, incantations, genealogy, anthropology, philosophy, astrology, history, connection to Atua, and phases of the moon and stars. Students are blessed and dedicated to Atua Rei in order to open themselves for connecting with the elements, and to be able to read the signs of the universe. Takutaku (recital) was more than a prayer, as the words within it gave you guidelines or recipes depending on what your intended purpose was. There are over 350 takutaku within this school that unlock hidden knowledge, traditional values, ethics, and key touchpoints to guide learners and teachers.
Takarangi is the doorway that teaches traditional healing, illness prevention, wellness, psychological therapy, plant medicines, massage, protection, and pressure point alignment. Every fighting art movement and weapon has a duality of balance which students are able to use in times of re-balancing. For example, the mere pounamu (short jade weapon) was used to decapitate the enemy in wartime, but during peacetime, it was used as a healing stone and also a doorway to rarohenga (underworld) when one could bid farewell to the dead and access the spiritual world. A huge emphasis is on prevention; it is encouraged to heal a sickness before it becomes a sickness, or heal a conflict or prevent a battle before things escalate to actual conflict. Rotū (hypnotherapy) and subliminal messaging through songs and chants are developed for use in psychotherapy.
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3. Tawhearangi
4. Pureirangi
Tawhearangi is the doorway that teaches weaponry (including their ceremonial use), fighting movements, physical fitness, stretching, movement, military games, battle formations, combat, and practice as a martial art. This is also linked with other traditional schools of fighting, such as Te Whare Tū Taua, Te Whare Maire, and Te Whare Ahuru. This pillar connects further also to other types of indigenous fighting arts throughout the world, and pays homage and respect to all cultures and arts of their ancestors. Tawhearangi allows students to train and practice ancient fighting arts without having to hurt, maim, or kill. This is done with sparring, games, competitions, and exercises. Sometimes in training, you are allowed to push the barriers and skills to drawing first blood, breaking a bone, or winning by submission. When we were learning, we were told that “if you break it, then you fix it,” which meant that if you hurt someone during training, then it was your responsibility also to heal them.
Pureirangi is the doorway that taught the art of killing effectively. This art was used for protection for over 2000 years, and although this doorway is currently shut, it is not locked. Students are taught to teach their children and grandchildren this art as self-defense and protection for their own whakapapa (generations). Traditional Māori fighting arts were commonly used in times of war and utilized by the New Zealand military. These killing techniques were used throughout all the major conflicts including both World Wars and the Korean and Vietnam Wars. At least three of my previous teachers have shared their kairakau (war stories) on how traditional moves or techniques were used in dispatching the enemy. Tūpou, keira and urikore were traditional assassins (both male and female) that were taught from this doorway and specialized in the art of killing without being seen or used in stealth.They were taught how to blend in with the environment and strike with stealth to either make death look like an accident or to inflict psychological trauma by how they dispatch their target.
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TRADITIONAL MAORI ARTS
· Te Waitere Jason Paahi | 181
TAWHEARANGI: WARRIOR TRAINING Military Games The art of war was taught from a very young age. The education began already while the child was in the kopu (womb) of the mother through love, songs, massage, oratory, and storytelling. Military games were developed into activities children would play to have fun and, at the same time, develop agility, competitiveness, strategy, and problem-solving skills. This allowed the tohunga (experts) to choose their students by observing their natural abilities and attributes, identifying those who may be future healers, weavers, leaders, food gatherers, navigators, negotiators, runners, and warriors.
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Teka, for example, was a competitive game in which children would propel darts amongst each other to see either who could propel their dart the furthest or how many darts each child could catch in midair. To start with, the darts would be made out of light and harmless materials. However, once the children got older, the lighter dart would be replaced with a kotaha (stringlaunched arrow) which was, during times of war, used for battle and propelled towards incoming war parties. Tirakau, tititorea, poi, and whai are examples of other games used to develop the skills, mindset, and agility which could be easily adapted into fighting movements with weapons.
Ahunga
Tapene
Ahunga are traditional exercises developed to activate the whole body, including physical, mental, and spiritual awakening, from the fingertips to toe-tips. As the children grow older, these exercises will get progressively more difficult, or become even close to impossible to complete. The key focus is to encourage children to have fun, be competitive, and strive for excellence. Meditation and prayer are also included in training in order to induce in the trainee a trance-like state that would be useful in warfare. Traditionally, before battles, the warriors would perform forms of haka which would get their adrenalin pumping in addition to opening and calming their minds.
Tapene are body and foot movements that develop peripheral vision and manipulation of the physique in order to adapt to the elements, such as the ocean, water, and wind, as well as the rising and setting sun. Tāpene moanaroa exercises were used by the students to develop and train a natural flow of movement that would enhance their weapons’ skills by aligning their body mechanics with the elements and continuous movements.
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Rongomauri
Tohi Purea (Dedication Ceremony)
The Māori strive to develop and enhance an all-encompassing sensory system including senses such as sight, smell, hearing, touch, balance, proprioception, premonition, prediction, vibrations, and feeling. This is done in order to develop instinctive values, inner strength, and life force. Developing these senses is an integral part of the teachings and a prerequisite to access higher learning.
Both male and female warriors were dedicated to different Atua Māori and, depending on purpose, the dedication ceremonies would differ. Ancient rituals performed on warriors before battle or spilling of blood opened the doorways to be spiritually connected to their ancestors and Atua. They were no longer allowed to perform normal duties, such as preparing food or interacting with their family, before their task was complete. They were placed under tapu (sacred, restricted, set apart), where they had a specific purpose either in war, death, retribution, or revenge. Sometimes preparing to go to war against another tribe or enemy was also a healing process. Unresolved issues between enemies could be healed also peacefully—for example, through intermarriage so that the future generations would have both bloodlines, and the conflict would thus be resolved.
We currently teach Rongomauri as sensory modulation wellness to health professionals when working to minimize stress and enhance wellness. Kaupare Kaupare includes war armor, as well as other means of protection and ensuring of safety. War cloaks were traditionally made with care from flax, and they shielded the wearer from weapons. Kaupare was also a system of keeping safe and protected.
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He kahu kaupare potective clothing for training
Only after a battle was fought, or blood spilled, were warriors allowed to return back to their societies. Before entering back to their ordinary lives, they would have rituals performed to lift the sacred veil of war or death. Only after these rituals could they become their normal selves again and continue to interact with the tribe as fathers, mothers, healers, food gatherers, teachers, carvers, or or-
ators. In times of peace, also the weapons had peaceful purposes as eel spears, garden implements, healing stones, fish nets, and bird spears, as well as in military games and in pounding clothing and garments. At the completion of my training with Papa Hohepa, I was given the Tohi, which allowed me to become the Sacredotal Head of Whare aitu-a-Henga.
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He tii He Tii
Nono-tī training
Hoani Waititi marae training
Sparring
Taa-karo sparring mau rakau against mauare
Te Waitere Jason Paahi (author)
Photo captions.
TRADITIONAL TYPES OF WEAPONS
During my research with the old people and written archival documents, I have identified over 150 different types of weapons with distinct names, purpose, and tribal connections. A lot of these names are also embedded in traditional stories and chants, and thus carved in history. Through colonization, Christianity, and assimilation legislation, most of this information was lost, forgotten, or written off as myths or speculation. These weapons are now brought back from the darkness into the light so that we can learn, touch, experiment, and practice with them and, especially, give life back into the past.
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I have divided these weapons into categories based on how they were used; this includes weapons from close-combat to distance-fighting. I will also briefly discuss some examples of them. Note that, because weapons belonging to Te Whare Aitu-a-Henga school were used in stealth and were hidden for a purpose, some details will not be disclosed in this article. Some of the weapons identified below vary throughout Aotearoa, Polynesia, and from tribe to tribe. Most of them can still be traced through genealogy, stories, legends, carvings, and songs. A lot of these weapons also have a tairua (duality of purpose); in wartime they were used as weapons and in peacetime
Cutting edge weapons
for other purposes. A lot of these weapons were used either by male, female, or warriors depending on the purpose or outcome required. Each weapon had specific names for each of its parts or components, and these names related to human body parts. This would then determine whether the weapon in question was meant to be used by male or female warriors.
Two-Handed Long-Edged Weapons •
Taiaha
This weapon is unique to Aotearoa; however, its origin traces back to the creation stories. It is a very effective close-combat weapon as was described above.
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•
Pouwhenua
This is similar to a taiaha, but the end is more pointed, and sometimes the blade or body is wider than that of a taiaha. It is used to stab, parry, and strike. It was also used as a land marker. •
Tewhatewha
A weapon made out of a single piece of wood, used to strike and thrust. The tewhatewha was used by war chiefs to signal to their war party various commands, usually on hilltops, or at a distance. It was also considered to be an effective close-quarter weapon. •
Piaka/Pakiaka
A weapon very similar in appearance to the tewhatewha, but made from a tree root. It was used in war times by women. Cutting Implements •
Koripi/Maripi
This was used as a weapon to slice or cut human flesh and vital pressure points.
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Short One-Handed Club Weapons •
Mere/Meremere
Commonly mistaken and confused with a patu, mere resembles a teardrop shape narrowing down to the handle and butt. It was designed to be fast and swift and to cut on impact. It was powerful enough to take off the top of the head of an enemy. •
Patu
The patu has a similar shape to mere, except the blade is round and used to pound or break bones. This difference between the mere and patu is evidenced in the oro (sound) each weapon makes when it impacts an enemy’s skull. •
Meremere
A meremere is a blend between a patu and a mere. One side of the blade represents a male and the other a female element. The difference could be heard in the sounds that each blade would make on impact both in defense and offense.
bat. The distinctive shape of the blade was also used to castrate enemies if required. •
Wahaika
This weapon was initially identified as a swordfish-type weapon, but it was also modified as a type of patu with a guardian figure for protection. Long Thrusting & Stabbing Weapons •
Huata is a 10-feet-long defensive weapon used to stab attackers from a safe distance. The huata was rested along the cross beams of palisades and thrust into attackers aimed to wound them, and thus slow them down. Warriors with shorter weapons would then finish the attackers off.
Waananga weapons used for training
•
•
Patuki
Similar to a patu, but it has a distinctive pointed shape at the end of the blade. •
Huata
Kotiate
There is a range of different types of koti; however, it is unique to Aotearoa, and used in close com-
Koikoi
Two-handed six-feet-long weapon with two pointed ends. •
Tao
Similar to huata but with both ends pointed. •
Tete Delete
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•
Tokotoko
Tokotoko is a traditional weapon about six feet in length used for defense and stabbing. It was used by the elderly to keep them safe, and to assist in walking. The term tokotoko refers nowadays to a walking or talking stick used by the elderly to hold knowledge or fight with their words on marae (court) of oratory. •
Puraka
This weapon resembles an enlarged matarau or eel spear. The shaft is made out of manuka wood and it is about eight feet in length. At the business end of this shaft, there are three or four securely fastened points fashioned from mapara. The weapon thus resembles a large fork, and it is used for stabbing. •
Matarua
Double-pointed spear, the points being fashioned out of whale bone. When fighting, it is grasped in the middle so that either point can be used to stab.
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Whale-bone weapons
Short Stabbing Weapons •
Oka
Oka is any rough stick or other material used to stab. It is used with a longer weapon to find a weakness in the opponent’s defense and exploit it.
•
Ti-Pokepoke-a-Tūmatauenga
This is a hidden dagger specifically shaped to penetrate the vital points of an enemy. •
Ti-Pokeha
This is a hidden or concealed dagger used by women to get close on an enemy. •
•
Ti-rakau
This was used in a children’s game to develop agility. However, when its both ends were sharpened, it was also used by adults as a stabbing weapon. Barbed Weapons There are also weapons that have barbed points and look like spears, but it was not common practice to throw one’s weapon away. Despite this, the warriors were taught how
Kaniwha
A spear with two points (tara rua). Each point was sharpened and hardened by fire. It is used as a spear to thrust, not as a striking weapon. •
Ti-Torea
Ti-torea has been associated with the performing arts; however, traditionally it was used as an effective stabbing weapon when its points were sharpened. •
to dodge, parry, and catch propelled or missile-type weapons.
Katete
A spear with two or more rows of barbs on its head. Katete were also used in the puwhara to throw and cast at evading enemy forces. The ends were deeply notched in order to break off on impact. •
Tete-paraoa/Tete-whai
•
Tete
Long spear with barbed ends that were detachable once impaled or imbedded into enemy. Barbed ends were made out of stingray barbs, bone, or wood, and also laced with poison so wounds would become infected.
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Propelled, Thrown, & Missile Weapons •
Hoeroa
This weapon was made out of the jaw of a sperm whale or, in some cases, from hardwood. About five feet in length and two inches wide, one end was shaped in a transverse, convex edge, and the other carved with double spirals. A rope was secured to a hole in the butt end of the weapon, so that when it was thrown, its user could retrieve it. •
Kopere/Maka
A sling, which was used throughout Polynesia, and imported to Aotearoa by early ancestors. Abel Tasman, the first known European explorer to reach New Zealand in the 17th century, recorded that stones were being cast or propelled from great distances from shore. There is also a saying describing its use: “Pukoro koha Tū hei whakaruru ki te taua.” •
Tarerarera
A short undressed spear thrown by means of a whip or cord. A deep
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notch was cut six inches back from the point as the spear was designed to break off on impact and to remain in the victim’s body. •
Kotaha
Kotaha consisted of a straight rod about four feet in length with a cord attached to it. It was used to propel a dart or a short spear placed in the ground. These missiles could also be set in fire and propelled into enemy fortifications in order to create confusion and chaos among the defenders. •
Kurutai
A stone weapon resembling a patu and attached to a cord. It was thrown at enemies and retrieved by the rope tied to the hand of its user. Traditionally, it was thrown at fleeing enemies in order to trip them up. •
Peru
A type of stone that was shaped like a small or medium-sized potato. It was used in hand as an impact weapon or propelled at an enemy.
Hidden Weapons There were also special hidden weapons used by tūpou or urikore (traditional assassins). The names of the weapons described the wounds or the effect they had on an enemy. These were used by both male and female tūpou. •
Karipiate
made out of wood, shark teeth, and obsidian. •
Mairehu
A hidden weapon, which was thrown and used to kill in stealth. •
Pūhau
A hidden weapon used in stealth to kill from a distance.
A hidden weapon used to assassinate and kill in stealth. It was
Training the mere pounamu
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•
Patuharere
Patuharere was used in times of peace as a flax-pounder, but in times of war specifically to pound the body of an enemy. •
Ti-ure-a-Tūmatauenga
A very sacred specialist weapon used by tūpou. •
Ti-pokehā
A specialist weapon used by keira (female assassins). •
Nono-tī
A specialist weapon used to strangle an enemy in stealth. •
Taiawhiau
This was a propelled weapon made out of stone and connected to its user by a rope. •
Tokiawhiorangi
Made out of blue stone and used for delivering a killing strike to the head or temple.
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•
Kotihautoki
Weapon used to break bones and necks of an enemy. Also used in hunting and breaking the neck of the ancient Moa. Modern Hand-Weapons (post-1800s) •
Kakauroa
A long European axe with carvings. •
Patiti
A short iron hatchet. •
Patu pora
Patu made from iron. •
Piharoa
•
Whakakau
Pu/Muskets (post 1800s) Types of muskets were given specific names based on their characteristics and effectiveness:
Whare Aitu training waananga in various weapons
•
Hakimana
•
Kauamo
•
Ngutu Parera
•
Putiti
•
Pu Toriri
•
Pu Toko
•
Purepo
•
Tahu Whenua
•
Tū para
There are many more weapons that were used and have not been named here. The list of weapons above is but an example of the weapons the Māori used, left dis-
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· Te Waitere Jason Paahi | 203
OTHER SKILLS
used or put to sleep over time depending on generation or purpose. Furthermore, this list does not include those weapons that could not be seen, such as psychological or spiritual types of weapons that were used to unbalance the enemy. Evidence of the above-mentioned weapons and their fighting methodology is still embedded in genealogy, stories, songs, carvings, weaving, language, and customs. Nga Tohutohu From a Western historical perspective, the Māori did not have a written language. However, the ancient Māori used different symbols to collect and capture knowledge of the universe and teach it in schools. This knowledge and these symbols were then passed on from generation to generation. This tra-
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ditional knowledge is captured, documented, and evidenced in activities and fields such as carving, navigation, house-building, weaving, tattooing, marae (courts), takutaku (chants), moteatea (lamentations), history, genealogy, and storytelling. This type of learning was multidimensional and used all the sensory systems to activate the ancient memory. Students are still encouraged to go to the source to research and find knowledge which is embedded within nature, or hidden by our ancestors to be accessed at an appropriate time or for a specific purpose. All of the curriculum and teachings of the schools such as Whare Aitu are based on this traditional practice rather than on the written word.
Parirau Awhiawhi This was a system of movement taken from the way birds interact with nature, synchronize as a flock, navigate the air currents, and hunt for food. Within this system, students will develop their offensive and defensive fighting styles, peripheral vision, and continuous motion. Students would study which of the animals or birds have similar personalities or move similarly to them. Examples of warrior birds recognized in this process were: the hokio (Haast’s eagle), karearea, kawau, toroa, kahea, ruru, and tiwairaka (fantail). Strategy and Psychology Indigenous psychology generally advocates examining knowledge,
skills, and beliefs people have about themselves, and studying them in their natural contexts. Traditional Māori psychology and psychotherapy practice can be traced back all the way to the creation, to the separation of Ranginui and Papatanuku which led to sibling conflict, disconnection, emotional distress, desensitization, anger, and unbalance which was identified as the Paerangi. Tatau is a traditional psychological art of war used to unbalance an opponent through means of conscious or unconscious activities or actions. These actions are designed to plant in the opponent seeds of doubt that can be manipulated or even used to prevent conflict. Tatau is a traditional form of assessment, analytics, evaluation,
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and strategy used both in times of conflict and peace. This art form is still used today by Whare Aitu practitioners to psychologically restore balance in professional settings such as Māori health, mental health, education, business, and psychotherapy. On the level of strategy, the student was taught ways to always see twelve steps ahead, and to use peripheral vision. Te Whare Aitu Charitable Trust Te Whare Aitu has been a non-profit organization since 1998. All teaching and training has been done on a voluntary basis, and the school has had hundreds of students who have developed their own specialized pathways of learning that enhance their own destinies in life. By using the art of a warrior methodology, our students are encouraged to be well, healthy, and family-orientated, and to strive for excellence in everything they may
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TRADITIONAL MAORI ARTS
· Te Waitere Jason Paahi | 207
do in life. The thought of charging and paying money for ancient knowledge is a controversial one. Although time is money, and people’s time should thus be compensated, to pay for the knowledge itself is debatable. I was never charged for my teachers’ knowledge or time, and I myself have never charged my students. However, I believe that there should be a reciprocal relationship between student and teacher, where the student’s koha (gifts) give something back to the teacher rather than the student just taking and taking. One way of graduating is when the student becomes the teacher, but this is done in humility and with respect. We have relied on public funding from time to time, donations from philanthropy funders, and contracts to deliver professional training to professional practitioners who may be working in areas such as Māori health or mental health. Students of Whare Aitu are also expected to sign a confidentiality agreement that protects both the ancient knowledge and the integrity of the school, so that the knowledge is not misused or exploited in any way. To date, we have had no
students that have breached this agreement. The aims of the trust are as follows: •
To promote, advance, and enhance the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi;
•
To promote, advance, and enhance traditional Māori fighting and healing arts;
•
To instill high standards of physical fitness, well-being, and a positive attitude towards life;
•
To validate and promote traditional Māori knowledge;
•
To promote traditional Māori fighting arts and traditional training methods as a sport indigenous to New Zealand;
•
To teach all ages, genders, and cultures the philosophies and values of Te Whare Aitu;
•
To create a positive learning environment for individuals and their whanau (extended family) through sharing the teachings of Te Whare Aitu-a-Henga traditional weaponry, te reo Māori (Māori language), and tikanga Māori (Māori culture).
Our future aims and goals are: •
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To re-introduce traditional Māori art back into the world
of light; •
To formalize specialized learning modules for use in the fields of education, health, social work, and mental wellness;
•
To become self-sufficient and sustainable as a charitable organization.
We currently deliver the following specialist programs: •
Māori sports and Māori martial arts
•
Traditional waananga (school) education
•
Mental well-being
•
Family healing and wellness groups
•
Indigenous training
•
Indigenous sensory modulation systems
•
Strategic family therapy
tling against COVID-19 with Māori health providers. Many of the traditional fighting art methodologies explained in this article have assisted in forming the Māori strategies used in the response to COVID-19 to ensure people are protected, educated, and safe. We are currently developing a new way of delivering mental wellness services for minimizing stress and enhancing wellness by using traditional knowledge and strengths.
psychotherapy
Currently we have active schools throughout New Zealand and Australia, and deliver, via Zoom, weekly waananga classes but prefer face-to-face training training at the source: in the ocean, on thebeach, in the forest, or on the marae/courtyard. For the past 18 months, I have also been in the frontlines bat-
Te Waitere Jason Paahi @ paahij
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THE
WING CHUN LONG POLE LOOK DIM BOON QUAN / SIX-AND-A-HALF-POINT LONG POLE FORM
Mukatder Gül, Ph.D
EVERYTHING I CAN SAY OR write about Wing Chun long pole is based on my experiences and training. The most important and authentic source for me is, of course, my Sifu Ip Ching, who taught me the long pole form and the use of the weapon. Of course, I also asked him about the historical aspects of the long pole. In addition, I am in constant contact with my friends who are themselves Sifus in several other Wing Chun lineages, such as Wong Shun Leung, Ip Chun, and Leung Sheung. Therefore, I have insight also into the different interpretations and versions of the Wing Chun long pole. My Sifu Ip Ching Ip Ching was born in Foshan, China, and is the youngest son of Grandmaster Ip Man. Even at an early age, he showed great interest in martial arts and began his Wing Chun training under the guidance of his father at the age of seven. Ip Man taught his students fre-
quently at the family home and as Ip Ching lived with his father, this gave him tremendous insights into the Wing Chun system and his father’s teaching methods. Because of this fact, he assisted his father in teaching the students in Wing Chun until his death in 1972. Ip Ching knows exactly who learned what from his father. As an honorable disciple and a committed son, Ip Ching is following his father’s footsteps as his successor in the Wing Chun system. Among others, he is honored with the titles of The Master of the Keys and The Keeper of the Art and, for me, he is currently the highest authority in the Ip Man Wing Chun system. His authority does not rest only on his knowledge of the art; the character—the honesty, patience, and the warmth he gives to a student—of this extraordinary man is equally important. It is always the person behind the martial art who makes the art successful.
WING CHUN
· Mukatder Gül, Ph.D | 211
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TECHNICAL DATA & FEATURES
The six-and-a-half-point long pole form is the fifth form in the Wing Chun curriculum and the first weapon form.
The following are the Wing Chun forms in order: 1. Siu Lim Tao (“the little idea”) 2. Cham Kiu (“the bridging arms / searching the bridge”) 3. Biu Jee (“the stinging fingers”) 4. Muk Jan Chong (“the wooden dummy”) 5. Look Dim Boon Quan (“the long pole”) 6. Bart Cham Dao (“the double-knife”)
Depending on the version, the Wing Chun pole is approximately 270-330 cm (8-10 ft) long. The tip of the conical staff is about 2.5- 3 cm (1-1.2 in) in diameter, whereas the handle diameter is about 3.5-4 cm (1.3-1.6 in). The pole is made of wood and has a corresponding weight of about 3 kg (6.5 lb). The conical form provides power and mass concentration on one point, similarly to a billiard cue.
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· Mukatder Gül, Ph.D | 213
Why Six-and-a-Half? The name, six-and-a-half, refers to the techniques of the form; there are six-and-a-half techniques to be carried out with the long pole. You could, of course, say seven, but the original name is, in essence, very “Chinese”, and culturally rooted. The Wing Chun long pole training is split into three sections or phases of exercise, as is generally the case in Wing Chun: 1. Practicing the form itself. 2. The practice of isolated techniques. 3. Partner exercises.
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It should be noted that section two is usually practiced before the first section(!). The Wing Chun long pole form reflects everything that Wing Chun is known for: Simplicity—only techniques
six-and-a-half
Effectiveness—achieve a lot with just a few movements Explosiveness—a strong, uncomplicated, and extremely dangerous weapon
History The very first known records concerning the Wing Chun system are the records of the legendary Red Junk/Boat Opera Company. There are many stories and legends regarding the genesis of the Wing Chun system before the “Red Junk,” but first written records and remarks are from the period between late 1800s and early 1900s. Also, the Wing Chun long pole is mentioned for the first time in these records and plays an important role therein, which makes sense because of the circumstances, since the junks were moved and steered with long poles on the shallow water.
Other sources and legends report that the long pole form descended from the use of a spear as a cheap alternative for it, as the spearhead was too expensive an item for the generally poor population. There are also those who claim that the form comes from the Shaolin monks since they were thought not allowed to use bladed weaponry. There exist quite a few of these conflicting narratives and theories. These, however, concern more the other Chinese long stick shapes and kung fu systems. As such, the Wing Chun long pole
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form is special and the weapon differs in length and texture from the common ones used by other systems. In consequence, the version of the long pole used on the junks is, in dimensions and shape, closer to the Wing Chun long pole than to the staves of these other systems. There are, of course, other cultures where long poles and staves are used in a similar way to that of Wing Chun. Weapon for the Elderly & Women Training with the long pole is very strenuous and power-consuming, especially in the beginning. How-
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ever, once learned, it is relatively easy for an older man or a woman to use this weapon effectively. For example, if a rider comes riding through a narrow alley, he can be pushed from the horse with relatively little force from the side (this is also an important Wing Chun principle of “using the weak side”). Another example of use: a trained swordsman fights against an older gentleman, or a woman, who does not know how to handle a sword. The chances to win this fight using a sword is close to zero. However, with a long pole, he or she can keep the experienced swordsman
at a distance with relatively little effort, and will be able to stop him from closing the distance. The Red Junk Opera Company The Red Junk Opera Company popularized Cantonese opera by traveling the Pearl River Estuary in the Guangzhou region in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It was common at the time that the actors also engaged in martial arts, as the work at the opera was physically demanding, making physical fitness and body control very important qualities. In our particu-
lar case, the Red Junk Opera was a place of reunification for the founders and developers of Wing Chun and their successors. Short & Quick Historical Summary The Chinese emperor forbade the practice of martial arts, after which the masters were pursued, hunted, and imprisoned or killed. These masters sought refuge in the Shaolin Monastery. During this time, they developed Wing Chun kung fu (which is fast and easy to learn for anyone, regardless of strength, physique, and so on). The monastery was burned
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down, and the masters fled in different directions. Ng Mui taught Yim Wing Chun, who passed the system on to her husband, who, in turn, was hired onto the Red Junk Opera Company. There were also other masters who were members of the Red Junk at the same time period. Why, then, the Red Junk Opera Company? 1. Because the actors of the opera mostly wore heavy make-up, a wanted person could easily camouflage and hide. 2. The opera troupe was constantly traveling, so the wanted person did not need to stay in one place for too long, and thus the risk of being discovered was lower. 3. On the junk, the workers were sailors, cooks, and so on. The work on ships was tough. Kung fu fighters were used to hard work and had special skills such as dealing with the long poles used to maneuver the boats with. Whether this congregation of masters was a coincidence or planned is not known. The fact is that the boats proved to be ideal for the system to be completed and improved on.
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Was the Wing Chun Long Pole Form Just an Add-On? There are different interpretations regarding the Wing Chun weapon forms. There are also different pole forms that are taught and trained. Some say, for example, that the long pole form had originally nothing to do with Wing Chun, and was just added on to the system. For some lineages, I can support this statement, because I find that the forms taught within them have nothing to do with Wing Chun. In my opinion, this separation does not lead back to the time of the Red Junk, but to modern times. Indeed, there are some Wing Chun lineages that practice a long pole form that has been taken from other kung fu systems. Why did this happen? It was because they did not learn the original and true Wing Chun long pole form. But it should be known that there is a long pole form in the Wing Chun system, so it should be gotten from where it is “complete.” I notice the same problem with the second weapon form, the double-knife (Bart Cham Dao). This, anyway, is my theory regarding the matter, due to the fact that what I see has nothing to do with what I learned and could see from my Sifu.
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Some important points: If you have been training the Wing Chun long pole form, you will soon realize how strongly it is connected to Wing Chun. The Wing Chun long pole form connects all techniques, concepts, and principles, and improves all knowledge from the first four forms of the system. The pole form trains your stance and serves your structure due to its length and weight. The stance is particularly important. That is the first thing that is taught in the first form, Siu Lim Tao (“the little idea”). It also improves your striking techniques, which is also an important part of the first form. It improves your understanding of the centerline theory, which again is an important principle of the first form. It uses the principles of the second form (Cham Kiu)—for example: angle work, positioning, and fighting or defending against multiple attackers. It trains your explosive power, which is the core concept of the third form (Biu Gee). Based on these examples, we can refute the theory that the long pole form was added to the system only for it to have a weapon form. Likewise, practitioners should worry if their long pole form makes them feel that the principles of the sys-
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tem are not implemented and promoted, or the form lacks the reference to the empty-hand techniques. Simple But Not Easy to Learn Learning the Wing Chun long pole form is neither easy nor comparable to long pole forms from other systems. Although the form itself only consists of six-and-a-half techniques, beginners will not be able to perform it. In the beginning, you have the feeling that the long pole drains all your energy. After only a short practice, you are completely exhausted. Only when you have completed the exercises to stand correctly, keep your structure, and strengthen yourself, and you are able to work longer than just a few minutes with the long pole, can you start with the actual form. Now, the form itself is about control, precision, and explosive power. The thrust with the Wing Chun long pole is (through the Cronus and the use of the Wing Chun explosive force) like a shot from the rifle. As is usual in Wing Chun, forward movement is as important as movement backward. No movement is wasted or meaningless. The length, the weight, and the acceleration of the weapon forc-
es you to stand properly, control your movements, and act economically. An exaggerated movement can lead to loss of control or loss of balance and, thus, to losing the fight or even your life. These are the challenges inherent in learning the Wing Chun pole. Once you have mastered the long pole, you will be able to keep several attackers at bay and take them out of action early and efficiently. It actually does not matter if your attacker or attackers are armed or not.
long pole is enormously important, even indispensable, for developing our empty-hand techniques and self-defense skills. The long pole enhances our attributes and makes us stronger. Training with the pole also greatly improves and strengthens our understanding of the principles and concepts of the Wing Chun system as a whole.
The Wing Chun long pole is the optimal long-distance weapon. With the simplest and smallest of movements, you are able to cover 360 degrees. In the third phase, you will learn how to use the long pole techniques against attacks with various weapons such as the long pole, spear, sword, saber, double sword, and so on. Thus, the student also learns the peculiarities and pros and cons of various popular traditional weapons. Is the Long Pole Still Up to Date? Of course, it is not that common today that we walk around with long poles, and we generally do not use them for self-defense. Nevertheless, training with the
Mukatder Gül, Ph.D @ sifuguel
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HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF
ULIN LIMBUHAN Roedy Wiranatakusumah & Gending Raspuzi
ULIN LIMBUHAN IS AN ARMED martial art system that originates from traditional West Javanese martial arts, especially the Cimande style of martial arts. I began to know the meaning of the term, limbuhan, first around 1977 when I learned pencak silat from (the late)
Mr. Moch. Saleh, and he taught me three series of forms (jurus) known as Jalan Limbuhan. Mr. Saleh got these forms from Abah Aleh, founder of HPS (Himpunan Pencak Silat) Panglipur Pusat. Abah Aleh, on the other hand, got these from Mr. Ujang, a teacher from the Cimande school.
When I learned the Jalan Limbuhan style, Mr. Saleh said that it is the basis of all armed games. If you have mastered the Limbuhan Kick, you will be able to use other weapons such as machetes, tridents (trisula, cabang), and so on. In addition, it will also be possible to perform armed moves by taking empty-handed moves from any style as the source of movement. Around 1989, I studied the cimande style of pencak silat at Babakan Tarikkolot, Bogor, from Abah Haji Darwis. I received 33 Buang Kelid Cimande forms (empty-hand forms) and 17 Pepedangan forms (weapon forms). It was only when I learned swordsmanship that I realized that the “Limbuhan Way” received from Mr. Saleh came from the swordsmanship technique. Jalan Limbuhan 1 comes from Kick Pepedangan 1, Jalan Limbuhan 2 comes from Kick Pepedangan 17, and Jalan Limbuhan 3 comes from Kick Pepedangan 4. The pattern of Jalan Limbuhan is exactly the same with Pepedangan Kick, but in the use of weapons, Jalan Limbuhan looks more varied.
ULIN LIMBUHAN
The guidance of another Cimande teacher, namely the late Mr. Beni Azhar (Abah Haji Ishak’s student, Babakan Tarikkolot Cimande), has opened my horizons even more. The 33 Cimande Throwing Kicks, which I previously understood were just empty-handed moves, turned out to be the source of armed technique. According to him, it is said that cimande’s moves were originally a sword-fighting stance, Wallohu A’lam. Since then, I have started to explore the three ways of the Limbuhan Way, the 33 Ways of Throwing Kelids, and the 17 Ways of the Swordsmanship, so that finally a systematic exercise called Ulin Limbuhan was arranged. Ulin means “game” or “science,” and limbuhan means “bat.” So Ulin Limbuhan can be interpreted as “martial arts using a stick.” It is a fact that the first known martial art using sticks in the world is arnis/kali/eskrima originating from the Philippines, an art which is now developing in America and Europe. Meanwhile, pencak silat
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is better known as an empty-handed martial art which is quite popular in foreign countries. Not many know that in pencak silat, there is also knowledge that is steeped in armed techniques, including Ulin Limbuhan. Some time ago, a seminar and workshop on stick martial arts was held in Bandung, which consisted of arnis/kali/eskrima from the Philippines and Ulin Limbuhan from Indonesia. In the seminar, which was attended by more than 100 participants, both the similarities and the differences between arnis and Ulin Limbuhan martial arts could be seen. And at that time, many people just found out that in Indonesia there is a martial art that uses sticks. After the seminar, there was a group of participants who immediately asked to open the Ulin Limbuhan practice for the public. Since then, Ulin Limbuhan has been taught to the general public. In fact, the material for Ulin Limbuhan has been planned to be studied at level 9 at the Paksi Line Pencak Silat Inheritance Institute, which I founded in 1997. However, considering that none of the Garis Paksi members
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have yet reached level nine, Ulin Limbuhan has not been taught. Since many requests to study Ulin Limbuhan come from outside, and from within the Paksi itself, I have issued the following policy: The “Ulin Limbuhan / Stick Martial Arts” training community was formed for the members of the Paksi line. Here, all the techniques of Ulin Limbuhan are taught, starting from the Cimande Discarding Kick, the Swordsmanship Kick, the Limbuhan Way, and various other complete techniques. Attributes of the practice include using complete pencak silat uniforms as usual. A training community called “Limbuhan Stick Fighting Art” was formed for the general public. What is taught here is more focused on practical martial arts. The trainees do not use pencak silat clothing but a T-shirt, training pants, and shoes. With the intention to introduce the original Indonesian stick martial art, I started, in 2012, teaching the knowledge that I have stored for more than 20 years to the general public.
TECHNIQUES AND STAGES OF ULIN LIMBUHAN EXERCISE
Ulin Limbuhan can be divided into several types of techniques, namely:
1. Basic, which consists of techniques: a. Salir, the basic technique for smoothing the coordination of limbuhan movements. Between the technique is: 1) Arrange 2) Cubet 3) Golang 4) Paksi Muih b. Sabetan, the attack and defence technique of limbuhan. Among the techniques are: 1) Post Attitude (1-5) 2) Eight Sabetan (1-8) 3) Salicure Sabetan (1-21)
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TECHNIQUES AND STAGES (CONTINUED) 2. Steps, namely stepping technique and stepping pattern. Among the techniques are: a. Guard b. Eight interpreters c. Morning d. Pancer Soja e. Pancer Serong f. Soja back and forth g. Back and forth 3. Rantean, which is a series of movements of various types of attack and defence techniques. This chain can be used as an Ibing Penca with music to accompany the Kendang Penca. Among the techniques are: a. Pathway 1-3 b. Ella c. Sleep Curling d. Guard Slug e. Tagogan sling f. Samberan g. Piceunan h. Balungbang
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4. Pairs, namely paired exercises using a pair of limbs with predetermined movements. Among the techniques are: a. Timpah Sabeulah (1-4) b. Overwrite Twice (1-4) c. Kelid (1-4) d. Paksi Muih (1-8) e. Kubetan (1-12) 5. Welcome, which is a pair exercise in the form of an application to deal with various attacks, using one or a pair of wasters. Among the techniques are: a. Welcome to Dalapan Sabetan b. Welcome Salicure Sabetan 6. Palagan, namely free combat training using one or a pair of limbs.
Conclusion and Closing From the brief description above, it can be concluded that Ulin Limbuhan is an old science, contemporaneous with the emergence of the Cimande martial arts school. However, I must honestly say that I was the one who did the selection, sorting, and preparation of techniques so that it became a complete and independent stick martial arts system.
Roedy Wiranatakusumah @ roedy.wiranatakusumah
Gending Raspuzi @ gending.raspuzi
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YIQUAN LONG STAFF ENERGY Scott Meredith
THERE ARE AN INFINITE number of ways to strengthen and develop your internal energy power, just as there are an infinite number of ways to bulk up your physical muscles. One interesting group of energy methods uses tools or weapons for training awareness, intensity, and control of internal energy. This article describes a set of long staff drills used for this purpose. I have practiced and taught traditional xingyiquan for decades. I have also briefly but intensely explored many related martial arts, including a modern descendant of xingyiquan called yiquan (意拳),
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which is well-known in Japan under the alternative name, taikiken (太氣拳). The core concepts and practices of both the Chinese and Japanese versions of this modern martial art come from the same source and are largely similar. Yet, long staff drills tend to receive less attention in both yiquan and taikiken. I have trained yiquan intensively in Beijing under the tutelage of one of the most senior Chinese masters of the art, Yao Chengguang (姚成 光). Master Yao is a superb fighter, and a martial arts genius, comparable in combative power to Bruce Lee. The training program is very
rigorous, including a vast curriculum of special stances, arm and body movement drills, kicks and leg work, push hands, heavy-bag striking, cotton-ball striking, sparring, and much more. For twelve hours a day, seven days a week, for several strenuous months in Beijing, I trained under Master Yao’s
personal guidance, together with his small group of dedicated young students. It was a fascinating experience, but this art is huge and it takes a lifetime to even begin to explore. Here, I can only present one limited and specialized aspect of the program—the long staff drills.
A typical xingyiquan staff training drill, which involves a fast 360-degree full-body spin, ending with a low drop to dragon-step (龍步) and an instantaneous shoot-out of the full length of the staff to barely touch a high, pre-designated tree-leaf target. In xingyiquan, the energy vector originates from the grounded rear leg and lower body (arrow).
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Background Yiquan is historically derived from xingyiquan, which I have trained in and taught for many years. Traditional xingyiquan includes a full set of long staff training drills, for both internal energy and battlefield applications. The physical and energetic power line of Xingyi staff techniques originates from the rear foot, and runs straight through the dantian, along the single unified vector of the arrow in the photo. This is a typical xingyiquan drill for laser precision in energetic projection, the kind of training which produced my teacher’s incredible fly-flattening ability mentioned in my book, Radical Xingyi Energetics (JXE).
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The yiquan long staff work is different, and not as well known. In this article, I will describe the physical and energetic dynamics of yiquan staff training for internal energy. For this training, it is best to use a Chinese-style pole, tapered at one end, of length six to eight feet. This is only the briefest introduction and smallest sample of the richness of these methods. For immersion in the full depths of yiquan fundamentals, you should arrange for intensive training at one of the several excellent yiquan academies in China.
YIQUAN LONG STAFF TECHNIQUES Feet In the most basic drill set, there are three different striking techniques and they all begin with the same lower body “rear” position, and all move to the same lower body “forward” position. In the starting (rear) position, your rear foot has 70 percent of your weight. Your front foot has 30 percent of your weight, and your front heel is raised a bit off the floor, not flat on the floor. Both knees are well bent. You will transition with the strike from this rear-loaded 70-30 weight distribution into a more centered 50-50 distribution, which I will call the forward position. From the rear position, you simply straighten both
legs and move forward. This moves your body forward and distributes your weight as 50-50 on both feet. It is an unusual stance in martial arts, particular to yiquan. You will basically end standing straight up, but your front heel remains slightly elevated off the floor. In all the techniques, you will move from the starting/rear position to the end/ front position and then return, on each rep. The center-weighted forward stance is unusual, but it is one of the fundamentals across all yiquan striking techniques, not only in long staff.
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Grips
Master Yao Chengguang demonstrates to the author the forward 50-50 stance for a punching technique in Beijing.
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The hand positions are the same for the three techniques. You support the end of the staff against the heel of the palm in the center of the rear hand. Then you wrap three fingers and your thumb around the staff. Finally, your index finger extends straight and close along the top edge of the staff. With every technique, you begin with the rear hand back, close to your hip. You then extend the staff with clockwise rotation, while maintaining the same grip. You rotate back counterclockwise as you return.
Rear hand grip with clockwise rotation on extension and counterclockwise rotation on retraction, for the right hand (reverse rotation directions when practicing the other side).
The forward hand grip is also invariant for every technique. You extend your thumb straight alongside the staff. Leave the top of the staff open and uncovered by your fingers, in a half-open grip. As you extend the staff into any technique, you will rotate the grip clockwise until you have turned your hand over, then rotate counterclockwise in the return phase back to the starting position (reverse for practicing the other side).
In all techniques, the forward arm straightens completely at the farthest extension of the move. The key thing is to grip softly. A tense or hard grip will kill your energy. Kendo masters grip the shinai softly, and for this drill you should do the same, using no more strength than necessary to hold the staff in position. Imagine that the staff is a living thing that you do not want to crush or drop.
Forward hand grip and rotation with clockwise rotation on extension and counterclockwise rotation on retraction, for left hand (reverse rotation directions when practicing the other side).
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Motion There are four axes of movement in these techniques. The primary three directions are: back and forth; left and right; and up and down (the staff rotation using the forearm and wrist adds a fourth). These primary directions correlate to the three techniques: crushing, splitting, and crossing (these are names I have derived from xingyiquan, not the official terms of the yiquan curriculum). In mechanical terms, you can see that these techniques are developing power along all possible vectors. This is the omni-dimensional power (混元力 or 全面力) of yiquan. The forces can be visualized as a sphere with major power dimensions specified. Beginning with the three major vectors, the student eventually learns to project force to and from any point on the surface of the sphere in which he is centered.
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The basic dimensions of omni-directional power (混元力). All dimensions are present in every technique. For left-foot forward, reverse.
•
Crush (left-foot forward) begins in position rear/up/left, is extended to front/down/right, and returns to rear/up/left. For right-foot-forward practice, reverse the left-right dimension.
•
Split (left-foot forward) begins in position up/rear/left, is extended to down/front/right, and returns to up/rear/left. For right-foot-forward practice, reverse left-right dimension.
•
Cross (left-foot forward) begins in position left/up/rear, is extended to right/down/front, and returns to left/up/rear. For right-foot-forward practice, reverse left-right dimension.
The major vector for crush is rear-front.
The major vector for split is up-down.
The major vector for cross is left-right (right-left when practicing the other side).
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The techniques are summarized in the table below: Technique
Major Dimension
Minor Dimension
Minor Dimension
Crush (崩)
rear/front
up/down
left/right
Split (劈) Cross (衡)
up/down left/right
left/right rear/front
rear/front up/down
The position before the slash (/) is the start and finish position, and the aspect after it is the extended position. The table directions are based on a left-foot-forward beginning stance. For right-foot-forward practice, the left-right dimension is reversed to right-left. Your speed of movement should be slow and deliberate. Feel the alternating activation and relaxation of each nerve cell and muscle fiber as you extend and retract the staff. You should move slowly enough that you do not fall into a crude rhythm of breath, such as extension on exhale and retraction on inhale. This work is slower and more subtle than that—breathe freely and naturally.
Purpose Your practice of these yiquan staff drills should be followed by a few minutes of standing quietly upright, stilling your mind, relaxing yourself physically, and experiencing the internal energy throughout your body that has been triggered. Over time, this quiet standing will become more and more powerful and pleasant. In daily life, you will feel that your hands are lighter and stronger, more sensitive in feeling and more precise in action.
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Beyond those obvious benefits lies the really deep internal power ( 內勁). Yiquan is a descendant of xingyiquan. The traditional xingyiquan energies of 明勁, 暗勁, and 化勁—as defined and taught by Guo Yunshen (郭雲深), the teacher of yiquan’s founder, Wang Xiangzhai (王薌齋)—are tangible realities. With practice, they will begin to pulse and reverberate throughout your body, and you can learn to feel, strengthen, and use them. For
example, practitioners of Chenstyle tai chi will find that the intensity of spiral energy (纏絲勁) in their arms is greatly enhanced by the grounded, multi-dimensional extension and rotation in these yiquan drills. The yiquan staff drills are one of many thousands of interesting methods that can be used as exploratory probes. However, you must keep in mind that this article is merely cherry-picking one extremely narrow slice of the vast discipline of yiquan. If you are interested in pursuing the art fully, you will need to enroll in a professional training program, and hopefully you will experience its great benefits and devote your life to developing its fundamental skills. This article is like a wine-tasting session, giving you only a sip from the barrel. In the present time, it is fashionable to re-define the powers of the internal martial arts using socalled realistic physiological terms such as fascia tissue, nerves, blood, glands, muscles, and bones, or else in mechanical terms such as alignment, posture, and structure. But in fact, internal power is just as real as those material things—but it is not those things.
other, is simply one instrument for immersing ourselves in this universal internal experience, which is not limited to any one style or method. The great historical xingyiquan master, Che Yizhai (車毅齋), has written that there is a power that transcends all styles. Unification with that essence is always the ultimate goal, regardless of the method or teacher: 所以練拳學者自虛無而起自虛無 而還也到此時形意也八卦也太極 也諸形皆無萬象皆空混混淪淪一 氣渾然 “Martial art starts from emptiness and returns to emptiness. When you understand this, the notions of xingyi, bagua, or taiji all melt into vast waves and vibrations, a unified resonance where there is no more “taiji” or “xingyi” or “bagua”. The power of the boxing arts does not lie in the postures, but only in the spirit and energy being fully rounded and without gaps.” – Che Yizhai (車毅齋)
Any style, whether yiquan or any
Scott Meredith
@ scott.meredith.393
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KATORI SHINTO RYU Riichi Kitano
KATORI SHINTO RYU WAS founded in the mid-Muromachi era (AD 1400s) by Iizasa Choisai Ienao (1387-1488). It is known to be one of the oldest martial arts in Japan and also considered as one of the roots of Japanese martial arts. The history of Katori Shinto ryu can go back in time as early as the era of the deities. Historically, people believed in multiple gods in
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Japan. Japanese people call them yaoyorozu no kami. The literal translation of this is “eight million gods.” Japanese people find gods everywhere and in everything, and it is common for them to worship many, if not all, of them. We do not have enough time and space to write about all the stories and history regarding Japanese gods, so I will focus on some important ones that have a connection to Katori Shinto ryu and provide a brief history of them. Of these many gods, some are considered gods of martial arts, such as Marishiten, Takemikazuchi no kami, and Futsunushi no kami. Two of these are closely related to Katori Shinto ryu: Marishiten and Futsunushi no kami. Marishiten was believed to protect the samurai in the Japanese medieval era. This is why many samurai worshipped Marishiten. The other god that is closely related to Katori Shinto ryu is Futsunushi no kami. The name, Katori Shinto ryu, came from Katori Shrine, which is located in the Katori region of Japan. It is said that the Katori Shrine was built more than 2,600 years ago (643 BC). Futsunushi no kami is a god of this Katori Shrine and has been worshipped by people, particularly by samurai all over Japan because he is a god of the martial arts. He is
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also a god who helped conquer and govern Japan in Japanese mythology. This is why he is considered to be a god for all of Japan. Now that we know two of the main gods who are connected to Katori Shinto ryu, let me elaborate in more detail. Katori Shinto ryu’s full name is Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto ryu. Tenshinsho is another name for Futsunushi no kami, and den means “from” or “hand down” in this sense. That is, Katori Shinto ryu was handed down from Futsunushi no kami to Izasa Choisai Ienao. Izasa Choisai Ienao was a servant to a lord of his region (current Tako-machi in Chiba prefecture). He was a well-known samurai and had never been defeated by any opponent. After he turned 60, he decided to give up everything and to train in the Katori Shrine for 1,000 days. One day, Katori no kami (another name for Futsunushi no kami) came to him and gave him a scroll of Katori Shinto ryu. Moreover, according to one scroll, Marishiten taught Futsunushi no kami Omote no tachi—which is the first of four kata (forms) students learn upon joining Katori Shinto ryu—before conquering and governing Japan. For this reason, even in modern days, we still carry on norito (Japanese religious chanting) of Marishiten, and worship
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those two gods in Katori Shinto ryu. From the days of Izasa Choisai Ienao, numerous samurai have learned Katori Shinto ryu and relied on it to survive. Now that we know the brief history of Katori Shinto ryu, let us move on to more details of the school. Japanese martial arts have evolved on battlefields and samurai relied on them to survive. On the battlefield, it is common to use multiple
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weapons depending on the situation, as each weapon offers some advantages and disadvantages. It was thus vitally important to know both the advantages and disadvantages of each weapon in order for them to increase one’s chances of survival. This is the reason why Shinto ryu practitioners still train in multiple weapons, even though the main weapon of Shinto ryu is the katana. Although it has been
said that some arts, such as kusarigama, have been lost over the years, they still practice kenjutsu (katana), iai (sword drawing), bo (staff), naginata (Japanese halberd), ryoto (two swords), kodachi (short sword), and yari (spear), as well as jujutsu (non-weapon physical combat) today. On the battlefield, barring some weapons that can attack opponents from afar, such as bows and arrows, yari and naginata offer samurai the longest range of attack. For this reason, samurai usually started fighting with longer weapons such as the yari or naginata. However, it is not uncommon for the weapons to break during the fight. When a yari and naginata break during the fight, a samurai was forced to use the rest of the weapon’s heft sans its blade as a bo. This is the reason why all the samurai, including higher-ranking samurai, needed to know how to fight with the bo, even though it is considered a weapon for lower-ranking samurai. Once the bo is broken, they use the katana as the next weapon. When the katana is broken, they use the kodachi. When the kodachi is broken, they use jujutsu, or unarmed physical combat. There is no place for any complaints to exist. They had to fight with what they got at that
exact moment, no matter how difficult the situation was. As you can see, they started fighting using the longest weapons, and ended with bare hands; that is, the fight evolves from the longest to the shortest weapon range. Now that we know some of the basic reasons why Shinto ryu practitioners have been learning all these weapons, let us take a look at how they practice them, and in what order. When a person joins Shinto ryu, they first learn kenjutsu (katana). There are multiple different kenjutsu techniques based on different situations in Shinto ryu, but the very first one that students learn is called Omote no tachi. Since the main weapon of Shinto ryu is the katana, and practitioners start learning the art starting from katana techniques prior to moving on to learn other weapons, it is necessary for us to know how they learn the techniques, and how they move on to learn other weapons, in order for us to fully understand the reason and system of learning other longer weapons such as the yari, naginata, or bo. Omote no tachi are the techniques for when a samurai wears armor. We take a lower stance than in other kenjutsu techniques and movements in the system. One of
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the characteristics of Omote no tachi is that the movement is big and strong, like a lion. The other characteristic of Omote no tachi is its length. Omote no tachi is significantly longer in length compared to other styles of kenjutsu. This aspect of having an extra-long kata is one of the essences of Shinto ryu. This is especially true for all the basic kata including those for the bo and naginata. One of the main reasons for this is to build cardiovascular strength, as there are multiple opponents on the battlefield, and we do not know when the fight will end. In order for a samurai to be prepared for the long and strenuous fight, they needed to build good cardiovascular strength. I would also like to introduce one of the interesting educational characteristics of Shinto ryu and Japanese martial arts overall. Since the techniques are used on the battlefield, it goes without saying that keeping the techniques hidden and secret is crucial in order for a samurai to survive in the battle. Once the techniques are known, it creates potential harm and makes their user that much more vulnerable to the opponents. For this reason, all the kata are made to hide the actual techniques. It is particularly true in Shinto ryu kata. When someone outside of the school watches them
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secretly, and perhaps tries to steal the techniques, all they could observe is practitioners hitting katana against katana multiple times. However, in the hidden techniques called kuzushi, we do not hit katana against other katana, and we always aim for counterattacks. For example, when it looks like one is blocking the opponent’s attack, it is actually taking a counter, and cutting the opponent rather than blocking. These hidden techniques are apparent in not only katana techniques, but also all the other weapons such as the naginata and bo as well. It is also important to know that kuzushi was not taught to every student. Students need first to reach a certain level to be taught these hidden techniques. As you can see, keeping the techniques hidden was crucial in Shinto ryu. For this reason, Shinto ryu has a rather unique way that students must join the school, so that they can differentiate who are the actual members of Katori Shinto ryu. Upon joining, all students must submit their blood oath. The blood oath was one of the forms in order to make any document official back in the days. It is like a signature in modern days, and was widely used in many different occasions in ancient Japan. Although the concept of a blood oath was
not unique, the way they used it was. Upon joining, students must cut above the first joint of their left ring finger with a small katana (tanto), and use their right thumb to stamp their fingerprint to complete the blood oath. When someone outside of the school came to seek training, they asked them whether they had submitted the blood oath or not, and how they completed it. If they answered incorrectly, they were not permitted to stay and learn.
Before moving on to the longer weapons, I would also like to further discuss how we learn each technique. This is true for all the weapons. We learn all the movements and techniques through kata, which is a set form and collection of many movements. Teachers show students the movements, and students mimic each movement as precisely as they possibly can. When students learn a new kata, they continue and repeat that same kata over and over
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until the new kata becomes a part of them. In the Japanese language, the word “to learn” is manabu. Manabu is derived from the word, manebu, which means “to mimic.” That is, we learn through mimicking and imitating the movements of our teachers through our bodies, rather than learning through words. In other words, we value body learning rather than brain learning. Instead of learning things through a textbook, samurai learn things through their body and make the learning part of their body. It is like learning how to ride a bicycle by actually practicing, instead of learning how to ride a bicycle by reading the instructions of how to ride it. Once you can ride a bicycle, it is impossible for you to genuinely fall on purpose. You
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can fake it, but you cannot genuinely fall from the bicycle. Your body refuses it. Likewise, samurai learn all the techniques and carve that into their subconscious self. It takes more time to learn, but once you get it, it stays with you forever. Furthermore, only through body learning can we attain and learn the precise control of timing and space, which were invisible to the students before. Through training, things that were invisible before begin, at some point, to become visible. No one knows when it happens, and it depends on each practitioner, but it will eventually happen, sooner or later. Moreover, by repeating the set form even after mastering its sequence, we can finally start polishing the internal movements, flows of energy,
and eliminating any unnecessary movements. This concept of body learning is one of the cores of Japanese martial arts education. Now that we know the principles of learning the system, let us move on to the topic of longer weapons, and start with the bo. As I mentioned previously, a bo is typically a weapon for lower-ranking samurai. However, higher-ranking samurai also knew how to use it, just in case their yari or naginata was broken during the battle. They simply used the staves of the yari and naginata as a bo. Students start learning bo techniques about two years after joining the school, after they master the basic maneuvers of the katana. In Shinto ryu, we start learning bo techniques with bo against katana.
This bo-against-katana technique is called Omote no bo. We have six distinct kata of bo against katana. Once they have learned Omote no bo, they then move on to bo against bo which is called Chudan no bo. We also have six distinct bo-againstbo kata. They are considered more advanced than bo against katana, because of the range and the use of the bo. The length of a bo is about six feet (182 cm). The unique characteristic of our use of the bo is its pulling movement. In order for us to maximize the striking range of the bo, we hold either end of it. After striking the opponent, using one side of the bo, we quickly pull it back, and hold the other end of it in order to prepare for the next attack or block. We call this movement kogu. When students
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start learning the bo, they first need to master this pulling movement in order to move smoothly and effortlessly. Otherwise, they cannot catch up with the speed of the katana, even though they have some advantage in terms of reach. For many other martial arts, such as karate, this pulling movement does not exist, and they typically hold the middle third of the bo to maneuver the weapon. It is not an argument of which is better or worse, but it is simply the different use of the same weapon. Furthermore, in Shinto ryu, the strikes of the bo usually start from the upper position (right next to the face) no matter what the intended aim of the strike is, be it head, torso, or legs. This not only hides where they are going to strike, but also confuses the opponent. There
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are, of course, some exceptions depending on the situations, but students are taught to pull the bo up at the basic level. Teachers advise students to practice pulling up the bo over and over again, and when they can do it naturally, they are also building enough muscular strength in their lats to use the bo sufficiently well. As for kata in kenjutsu, Omote no bo has many more techniques than it appears due to the hidden techniques of kuzushi. While it looks like we are blocking the attack of a katana, we are actually taking counterattacks to the opponent’s head and wrists. Since the bo has an advantage in the reach of a strike, students need to be careful not to injure their partners while they are training. This is a difficult yet interesting part of the training
of Shinto ryu; while we are moving to do one motion, we also have to have the intention of the other kuzushi movement hidden inside of the external movement. In Shinto ryu, we have been told that “if we have time to block, cut.” I would like to add the fascinating insight of this saying. In Japanese martial arts, we have a saying, “Under the cutting edge, there is hell. Step in, and you will see heaven.” When students learn kuzushi physically, and embed kuzushi into their subconscious, their perspectives start to shift. When they learn how to block against any attack, the only thing they can see is the danger of an attack. However, when they learn kuzushi, and embed that into their subconscious, the only thing they could see is the weak points or openings of the
same attack. That is, while they could only see potential danger in the beginning, they can eventually start seeing opportunities to win from the same attack that is coming toward them. Here, I would like to introduce one other Japanese term, kiki. Kiki means danger and consists of two characters. The first ki means “danger” and the second ki means “opportunity.” That is, when we have danger, we also have an opportunity. By practicing Katori Shinto ryu, we develop the ability to see opportunities under severe risks and potential danger. As you can see, Shinto ryu’s kata teaches us without words to see the positive instead of the negative. It teaches us to see the light in the darkness. It teaches us to convert risk into success.
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After students successfully learn the use of the bo, they move on to practice the naginata. Naginata is a weapon that was widely used in the Kamakura era. The length of Katori Shinto ryu naginata is a little more than eight feet (251 cm to be exact). This length of naginata is more for the samurai in the Kamakura era, and not for the modern-day naginata, which is about seven feet long. The naginata has a cutting blade on one end to cut, and also an iron cover on the other end for striking at opponents.
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Thus, in Katori Shinto ryu, we use both ends of the naginata to attack. Moreover, because of its length and weight, we hold the middle of the naginata to have better control of it. Historically, the naginata was used in one-on-one combat during the Kamakura era. However, since the weapon is long, and it needs more momentum and circular motion, it was not as suitable for a group fight, since there is the potential danger of harming the allies around you.
Students practice the naginata against katana, just like they did bo against katana. We have four kata for naginata in Katori Shinto ryu. For an outsider, some of the movements of naginata look strange and even unnecessary. One of the strangest movements might be the one where we spin during the kata, which is called Yamameguri (“going through a mountain”)—the spinning movement that completely shows our back to the opponents. Although it might appear unnecessary, this movement also has kuzushi. I would like to introduce the hidden meaning of this: as we turn our back to the opponent, we are showing our weak spot to them—in this case our neck—to lure the opponent and make them initiate an attack. When they come in for this bait to cut the neck, we block with the opposite end of the naginata, and use the blade to cut their torso. It goes without saying that students who just learned naginata do not even have a slightest clue about what they are doing. However, as they practice, they begin to see the meaning of it. It seems that the naginata has more movements than the bo or kenjutsu, which also appear unfamiliar and rather strange to outsiders, or to the new students. However, learning these seeming-
ly unimportant and unnecessary movements cultivates a very important human character, which is trust. It is a trend nowadays that people do not do things unless they see the benefit of it. However, this does not apply in martial arts. Students are expected to do things as instructed by their teachers, even though they cannot see any benefits. Questioning their teacher’s teachings is frowned upon, or even forbidden in Japanese martial arts. We just need to trust our teachers, and just need to do as we are instructed to over and over again. The benefit will come to us eventually. This is the mentality of students of the samurai and Japanese martial arts. This is especially important in the modern days that we live in. Everything is rather instant, and people tend to chase instant pleasure rather than delayed gratification. With this tendency, people will become more and more selfish, and lose the virtue of self-sacrifice. Self-sacrifice is another very important teaching of Katori Shinto ryu and samurai culture overall. We are taught to live with a code of honor. Especially, the concepts of jin and gi are two of the most important principles. Jin is compassion, or having a caring feeling toward others. Gi is justice, and the spirit of self-sac-
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Bojutsu
rifice. I would like to share one of the teachings of Katori Shinto ryu. There is a saying, “We, that is sheep.” Let me elaborate this point since this might not make sense to many people. When we write the character of gi in Japanese, it consists of two characters: “sheep” and “self.” Back in the days, the sheep was an animal that was used as a sacrifice to provide the benefits to others. For the samurai, and Katori Shinto ryu practitioners, justice means sacrificing ourselves to benefit others. However, we need to keep in mind that we do not nec-
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essarily give up our lives to benefit others in daily life. If we have to give up our actual life, it would be too extreme. Sacrificing ourselves to benefit others means to do the things that are not necessary for you to do, in order to provide the benefits to others. For example, when you are on an airplane, and find that the restroom is not clean, you clean the restroom so that the next person who uses the restroom can feel better. It is clearly not your job to clean the restroom, since you are a customer; yet, you voluntarily do it for oth-
ers. The list of things you can do to sacrifice yourself for others is infinite. A samurai always acts with this code of honor no matter how small or big the sacrifice is, and so do Katori Shinto ryu practitioners. This aspect is very important for our modern society as well—to be a person with compassion and to do things for others. Now that we know some basic characteristics of the naginata, let us move on to the yari. The yari is a Japanese spear. The length of the yari that we use in Katori Shinto ryu is a little less than 10 feet (288
cm to be exact). Needless to say, we can see many different lengths of yari throughout history, and it can sometimes exceed way over 15 feet. The long yari was especially useful to fight against opponents who were on horses. There are six different kata for the yari. Students will learn the yari after completing all the other weapons, such as the naginata, bo, kenjutsu, ryoto, and kodachi. It usually takes 10 years for students to start learning how to use the yari. The attacks with the yari in Katori Shinto ryu are usually stabbing
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with its blade, and we aim for the eyes, throat, shoulders, belly button, thighs, and knees depending on the situation. However, we are also taught that we can use the yari to strike opponents using its staff or the other end when it comes to close combat in a real battlefield. The yari is especially useful and beneficial for battle during the night. While a katana or naginata makes a louder wind-cutting noise when we cut, the yari only makes a minimal sound. Hence, it is very difficult for opponents to tell the timing of a yari attack when it is difficult to see in the dark, and when they have to rely more on their ears. In Katori Shinto ryu, students practice yari against katana during practice like with the naginata or bo. One of the unique characteristics of how we use the yari in Katori Shinto ryu is to stab the opponent with Kirimomi (creating a spiral momentum). Kirimomi is rotating the yari as much as possible and creating a spiral motion to increase the strength of piercing through the opponent. Creating a spiral momentum is the same concept as with bullets fired from rifled guns and other firearms. In addition, after each thrust, we take the yari to a lower position in
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order for us to minimize its vulnerability. One of the advantages of long weapons such as the yari, naginata, and bo is to be able to attack opponents farther away than with a katana. Still, when there are advantages, there are also disadvantages. The main disadvantage of longer weapons is their use at short distances. In order for people to understand this concept, I must first explain how a katana can win against a yari, or any other longer weapon in this regard. In Katori Shinto ryu, there is kuzushi of a katana technique called Hashikakaru (“building the bridge in between”). As you have seen, we practice longer weapons against the katana in Shinto ryu. As opponents use longer weapons, it becomes more difficult for us to fight against them with the katana, since the range of the attack is shorter. Hashikakaru is a technique to kill the distance immediately, and go into the shorter distance to have more advantage for the katana. We block any attacks with longer weapons with the katana, and immediately run close to the opponent. This technique is not apparent until the kata of yari, but we can see a glimpse of Hashikakaru in the kata from bo and naginata as well. Now that we know the concept of Hashikakaru, let me explain one way
Naginatajutsu
Sojutsu
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to prevent this attack with a katana when we use the yari. As you can imagine now, when an opponent succeeds in killing the distance and comes close to us, it becomes very difficult for the long weapon to fight. This is especially true for the longest weapon, the yari. For this reason, after the attack, we always take the yari to a lower position to eliminate the weakness, and to make it harder for the opponents to kill the distance. Moreover, just in case they try to come closer to attack us, even after we take a lower position, we use the same technique we use for the bo—i.e., pulling (kogu). When the opponent tries to kill the distance between us and run toward us, we run back as well, and pull our yari at the same time to block any attacks with the katana. During practice, we do not show the thrust after the block, but we are always finishing with the yari in the position from where we can thrust at the opponent. This is another hidden technique of the yari. These form the basic knowledge and characteristics of longer weapons such as the bo, naginata, and yari. Now, I would like to add a lit-
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tle more skill that makes it easier for us to maneuver all of these long weapons. Since the weapons are longer than the katana, we need to have more muscular strength to control them, and we also need to have more stamina. In order for us to have better control, with less physical effort, we always put either hand—left or right—on our pelvis or head to stabilize the weapon. Needless to say, there are times that neither one of our hands is attached to our body when we use the weapons, but in that case, the handles or lengths of the weapon are attached to our body for better stabilization. In this way, we can control longer weapons better and, at the same time, increase accuracy, execute attacks with more power, and preserve our stamina in battle. Just like putting one hand on our pelvis is required to have better control in all of the long weapons, there is one more thing that is extremely important throughout any weapon system in Katori Shinto ryu. This aspect is not really physical, but more spiritual. On the battlefield, or in an actual fight, it is 99 percent spiritual and 1 percent
physical. That means that even if you have outstanding techniques, if you do not have the gut to execute the technique, it is meaningless. Even if you have the sharpest katana in your hands, if you do not have the determination to cut the opponent, it is the same as if you had the dullest katana, or did not have a katana at all. Moreover, it is a very scary thing when someone is literally trying to kill you with a katana, naginata, yari, or any other weapon. Thus, it is required from all of the samurai to somehow overcome fear on the battlefield. Now, how did they achieve it? How did they overcome the fear and fought bravely? In order for us to understand this very important aspect of Japanese martial arts, I would like to dig a little deeper. The samurai were not stupid. They were in fact intellectually very smart. Here, we need to know that our brain is not programmed to be happy. Our brain is programmed to survive. That is why smart people tend to see more negative aspects in things in order to survive. This is the reason why, when we are walking on the mountain at night or go into a cave, we
are worried that something like a bear or mountain lion might come and attack us, even though the chances that they are there and will start attacking us are very low. This is called the spotlight effect. We tend, in life, to see negative things more strongly than positive things for reasons of survival. However, if a samurai keeps seeing only negative things, their ability to fight decreases. It is not acceptable for them to keep seeing the negative aspects. At the same time, it is not acceptable for samurai to be fearless. Some people might get to thinking that being fearless is good on a battlefield, but in fact, being fearless and being courageous are two completely different things. Please allow me to elaborate. Being fearless means that you have nothing to fear. You fail to see any negative aspects, and you cannot prepare for any unexpected attacks or ambushes. You might even cause more harm than good. Being fearless is like taking a selfie right on the edge of the Grand Canyon, or walking on the edge of the top of the Empire State Building—it is meaningless. Being courageous,
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however, is the complete opposite. People often overlook the fact that we need to have fear in order for us to have courage. Courage is the will power to overcome all fear. That is, courageous people see potential danger and negativity, but they overcome it with their courage. They execute things even if it is scary. Hence, samurai need to be courageous instead of fearless. The question is: how can we achieve this mental state? How can we be more courageous? These are the questions many of us need to tackle even in modern days. Let us keep these questions for now, and let us ask more questions that people might have for purposes of learning Katori Shinto ryu, an ancient samurai martial art in modern times. Some people may wonder if there are any benefits to practicing weapons such as the naginata or yari because we do not use any of those weapons in our daily lives. In addition to that, Katori Shinto ryu does not even offer or hold any competitions. Furthermore, Katori Shinto ryu even prohibits students from participating in fights. For these reasons, it is very understandable that many people develop such questions, because what they are saying makes sense in a way. I can absolutely see their point. And now it is time for
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me to answer the pending questions above: How can we be more courageous? How can we achieve it? As is explained above, the real fight is 99 percent spiritual and only 1 percent technical. That is, all the techniques you learned through all the training are almost meaningless if you cannot learn the spiritual aspect of being courageous. Katori Shinto ryu achieves this by making a big kiai. Kiai is a spiritual yell that is a distinct feature of Japanese martial arts. This is even more true in Katori Shinto ryu. As we attack, cut, strike, or perform any other attack—you name it—in Katori Shinto ryu, we make a big kiai. Some may wonder why it helps, so let me elaborate a little. For example, when you go into a haunted mansion in a theme park, you can see that many people are screaming. This is for them to reduce their fear; by screaming, people can reduce their fear tremendously. The samurai used this aspect and used the kiai to reduce the fear that they felt on the battlefield. But please note that a samurai used the loud voice or yell to overcome their fear, but they were not screaming out of fear. Kiai also has another purpose: it is to intimidate the opponent and give a shock to their physical system. We
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as humans tend to stop when we hear some extremely loud noises all of a sudden, especially when it is unexpected. It is just like: you stop walking when you hear the sound of a big car crash across the street. The samurai used this human reaction strategically to intimidate their opponents. As you can see kiai is one way to overcome fear and be more courageous instantaneously. However, voicing a kiai when they attack does not really support being courageous when one is wholly under an ambush. Therefore, we usually do not shout kiai when we block in Katori Shinto ryu. Now, I would like to explain one more aspect of how to get to the state of being calm and collected during a battle. In order for us to be calm and collected, we need to be confident. When you are confident, you are more courageous. When you are confident, you are not scared. When you are confident, you can get more things done. Then, we just need to be confident. It is definitely easier said than done. We all know we should be confident, but many of us fail. However, samurai somehow managed to be confident and Katori Shinto ryu training offers people the means of becoming more confident without them even realizing it. This is another aspect
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of cultivating spiritual strength. This is true especially when we use longer weapons. How can an ancient form of weapon training make people more confident, particularly when it does not even offer sparring or tournament competitions? There is no winning or losing during the training, either. The answer is simple: Katori Shinto ryu uses physical movement to gain access to the subconscious. Many people fail to change because they only try to change with their conscious self. In order for anyone to truly change who they are, they need to change their subconscious. This is very hard to do, and that is why it is called sub-conscious. The reason why Katori Shinto ryu training can achieve a change in the subconscious self is because it uses the physical movement to change the spiritual aspects. It is said that people can control their emotions by motion. Now, let us imagine a person with low confidence. How do they speak? How do they walk? What kind of posture do they hold? When you imagine a person with low confidence, they tend to speak quietly, walk with smaller steps, and have bad posture. On the other hand, when you imagine a person with high confidence, they speak louder, walk with big-
ger steps, and have good posture. In Katori Shinto ryu, we take big steps (about twice as big as shoulder width), make a big kiai, and maintain good posture to have better control of the weapons and produce more force. By doing so, practitioners of Katori Shinto ryu cannot be anything but confident, because their physical body becomes the same as that of a confident person. Furthermore, when we use any type of weapon, both our shoulders have to be low. We cannot raise our shoulders to maneuver the weapons. It is simply impossible. By dropping both of our shoulders in the most stressful situation, such as during an opponent’s attack, we train our bodies not to get stressed out. As you can see, through practicing Katori Shinto ryu, people can achieve a strong mental state of being cool, calm, and collected. Needless to say, there are many more physical aspects that contribute to practitioners’ well-being throughout the training, and all of them can impact our subconscious self. This is why Katori Shinto ryu can achieve the mental strength of a samurai who is ready for an actual fight.
its training system. We have also discussed how the training of Katori Shinto ryu can improve each practitioner as a person, and can make their daily life better. Although people might think that it is old-fashioned, and that there is not much to gain from it, the actual benefit that they can get from the training is undeniable. This article is not a full explanation of the training, or of Katori Shinto ryu itself, and people cannot learn everything just by reading it. But I hope that people can get a glimpse of the merits of training in this beautiful ancient art just as the samurai from hundreds of years ago did.
In this article, we have covered a brief history of Katori Shinto ryu, some of the weapons that its practitioners use to train with, and
Riichi Kitano @ riichikitanous
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THE ONE AND THE MANY:
HAWAIIAN TOBOSA SYSTEM Michael Mulconery
“As one thinks, so does one become. You can do anything if you follow through. You should always have confidence in your abilities. No matter how strong you may be, you cannot break barriers with strength alone. Strength alone is not Kali.” -Grandmaster Raymond Tobosa
Danlan sa Kasag—The Way of the Crab
THIS ARTICLE IS ABOUT ONE thing and many things. The many-things are the history, foundation, and substance of the onething. For no one-thing stands alone, and every-thing comes from something else. The “one-thing,” which is two-things, because they are inseparable, is the journey of the Tobosa brothers and their founding of the Tobosa School of Arnis-Kali-Escrima. Raymond Tobosa, whom we called Batikan and Teofisto (Toby) Tobosa, whom we called Manoy, founded their discipline after many years of study and
selection of systems of combat, which seemed to them to work together well. The Tobosa School of Filipino Fencing, as it was called early on, can also be known as Estilo Casag, Estilong ang Kasag, or Danlan sa Kasag. These terms—Crab Style, Swimming Crab Style, and Way of the Crab—are simply shortened into Casag. It is a Filipino/Hawaiian system that was developed, or we could say, “knit together,” by Raymond and Toby Tobosa in Hawaii, over a number of years.
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Raymond Tobosa “Batikan” & Toby Tobosa “Manoy”
Its roots stretch back to 1930 when Raymond Tobosa was six years old. It was at this age that his father, Maximo, a Filipino immigrant from the Visayan region of the Philippines, began teaching him the rudiments of Filipino martial arts. He taught him a straightforward style called Cinco Tiro, meaning “five hits” or “five shots.” It was a larga mano (“large hand”), more commonly known as “long-range” style of fencing. It used two basic ways of responding to five strikes and angles of attack. When Raymond turned nine, his father began to teach him methods of empty-hand combat.
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From this early beginning, Raymond Tobosa, followed by younger brother Toby, was infused with a passion for martial arts knowledge. He sought it out, as an artisan who searches for exquisite threads to form an interwoven tapestry. By the mid-1950s, the image of the tapestry began to take shape. So, this project is a brief look at the one-particular-thing, the tapestry of Estilo Casag, and the many-particular-things, the interwoven threads of an art form and system. From its family beginnings through their father, Maximo Tobosa (18961948), Casag evolved eclectically
within the Hawaiian archipelago and stretched out to the mainland and beyond. The “family” today is predominantly made up of Tobosa’s “adoptees”—those who trained directly under them, bloodline family such as grandson Chaston Tobosa, who calls me his uncle, and others whom we have adopted. The adoptees, as legitimate family members, make up the wider family, or ohana, of the Tobosa system. It is not like many families who suffer conflict between them and break apart, but it is “ohana” in the Hawaiian spirit of the word. All of Hawaii, in a particular sense, is like this. When the connection of love, honor, and loyalty is made, one becomes kānaka māori kōhanga, roughly translated as “people of the nest.” It is a distinction which identifies members of a unique community, no matter where the world may have scattered them. Tobosa arnis-kali-escrima, the Casag system, takes the “ohana” approach. As noted, the many-particular-things of this article are those things which make up the Casag tapestry. Its many-colored threads and fabrics are sewn together to tell a story. It is not unlike any other story; it is just our story.
From as early as ancient Egypt, tapestries were weaved to serve multiple purposes, not the least of which was as a record of historical events, including the stories of families and individuals. For no tapestry is weaved of only one color, but of multiple colors. Like all families, as they grow, their story grows. As the embroidery of an unfinished tapestry increases, it becomes more than it once was. Over time, the foundations of the past, the structure of the present, and a vision of the future, all become part of a family’s history. So, we must always look back and give homage to our roots—the first designs in the tapestry. Casag, as an art form, is very much like Hawaiian culture. Formulated out of the melting pot of immigrant warriors, the Tobosas developed their own approach. In doing so, they preserved many voices that might otherwise have faded into oblivion. It is, in a real sense, an “ohana” of systems brought together by destiny, on a small group of islands in the Pacific. This is the origin and foundation of the Casag system of systems. As with all martial arts systems, Casag cannot be separated from the personalities of its history and the elements which give it a life of its own.
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Five Important Elements Understanding the elements of something helps us to see how its substance is held together. Casag, and really all martial art forms, consists of at least five elements in my evaluation. These are purpose, system(s), systematics, art, and way. While these concepts flow together in the same background, as though one environment, they are also individual elements in that environment. These are like the threads I have mentioned and serve to help explain the sort of tapestry involved in a well-rounded martial art. Purpose: In philosophical terms, all things have a purpose. This notion of purpose is called teleology. The reason for something is also the goal of that thing. It is what it is, and the design itself is purposeful. Its unique teleology includes an explanation of why it exists, and how it functions. Things, ideas, and methods are all intertwined with their unique purposes. The reason for a physical thing is evident by its design.
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Ideas are non-physical; they are designed within the mind. Unless they are only in one’s mental life, they enter into the physical realm to obtain fruition. The purposes behind ideas are a bit more complex and less obvious than physical things. If ideas are not just part of one’s mental life, they must be articulated to others, so that others can see the “goal” and participate in the means to achieve it. Methods for achieving a goal vary and are process-oriented. Yet each part of the process is goal-oriented. This achieves that: once we have that, then we do this, etc. If the method is effective then the processes flow as one thing, almost indistinguishable from another. All things, ideas, and methods possess particular attributes and rationales. While some folks might not like the notion of everything having a purpose, they are only arguing for some other design. Even if they hold to chaos as being the “way” things are, they realize that chaos
is the “order” of things. In my estimation, purpose undergirds reality and anytime we ignore a thing’s purpose, we run into problems. Even if we have not discerned everything involved with the purpose, it is ignorant to presume there is none. Better to search for it than to deny it. As in all things, martial-craft is purposeful. It is the craft-of-war, the trade-of-combat, it is the study of effectively injuring, maiming, and killing an aggressor. It exists because we live in a world of fighting and wars. People want what other people have, and will take it if they are permitted. The purpose of martial-craft, then, is to cure aggression. The ideas and methods for halting aggression produce the arts which accomplish that goal. Systems: There are a number of definitions for the concept of a system. An internet search reveals that there are 112,000,000 hits for the term system. Out of the many descriptions, I found three that seem to match up with what
I hope to convey. From the Free Dictionary and Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a system is: (1) a set of things working together as parts of a mechanism or an interconnecting network; (2) a set of principles or procedures according to which something is done; an organized framework or method; (3) a regularly interacting or interdependent group of items forming a unified whole. Each of these definitions has a common theme, being: multiple elements, organized to work together in harmony. From my experience, and it is certainly true of Casag, no martial art stands alone. Even though every system has its own set of genres, the methods work together. So, there is a blade method, an impact method, the mixing of the methods, and so forth. Systematics: A concept related to system is the principle of systematics. If multiple things are employed to work together in harmony, then something must also bind them together to accomplish a unique
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purpose. Technically, a systematic methodology involves the uniting of principles (systems) into a curriculum. A systematic curriculum involves a progressive hierarchy of knowledge and skills. Now, that is a mouthful. More simply stated: a systematic approach is a step-by-step method. We must crawl before we walk, and walk before we run. Knowledge and skills are built upon each other in a hierarchy. We are brought to the level of our ability through the construction of skills and knowledge. Each morsel of knowledge and achievement of skill becomes the foundation for the next. Each serves a “unique purpose” toward a higher unique purpose. The systematics of a martial system, and of course one’s own tenacity, are what make a student into a disciple and then, into a master. It makes a master into a disciple and into a student again. It may seem like a cliché, but every enthusiast delights in the fact that the circle
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always comes back around to the beginning. Everything is the same as it was, but at the same time, it is not the same. It is like the Zen Kōan: “Before enlightenment, I chopped wood and carried water. After enlightenment, I chopped wood and carried water.” Art: I believe that if we appreciate beauty, we will see the art in all things. There are at least 734 million occurrences of the word art to be found in an internet search. Now, that does not mean much of anything, but it is interesting. While definitions of art vary as widely as do the genre to which it is applied, I believe there is an appropriate way to think about art in martial-craft. Certainly, there are martial arts, which are more about beauty than combat, and others that are mostly about combat, with no esthetic values. Yet, an art form that is both esthetic and lethal seems to me to be the best way to think of a “true to purpose” martial art. It is an art
form which is best expressed in the depths of seriousness—at the moment of its engagement. Yet, when the struggle for life and death is not happening, it does not sit dormant but moves continuously in preparation for that moment. I am convinced that martial art, as a means of combative reliance, is an art form like no other. It is created out of necessity and serves its artist and the objectives of its design. Its artistic beauty is perhaps best seen in its contrasting elements. Though it is rough and rigid, it is also supple and flexible. It is internal and it is external. It is obvious, and yet, opaque and furtive. It does not stand alone but as a collection of fluid tactics, that lives at the heart of strategy. It is purposeful and pragmatic, and its beauty is seen in the survivability of its practitioners. The great swordsman Miyamoto Musashi touched on such thoughts in his Book of Five Rings; he said: “If we look at the world, we see arts
for sale. Men use equipment to sell their own selves. As if with the nut and the flower, the nut has become less than the flower. In this kind of Way of strategy, both those teaching and those learning the way are concerned with coloring and showing off their technique, trying to hasten the bloom of the flower. They speak of ‘This Dojo’ and ‘That Dojo.’ They are looking for profit. Someone once said, ‘Immature strategy is the cause of grief.’ That was a true saying.” Way: It may seem redundant to include a principle called way when systems, systematics, purpose, and art are all about ways, in a manner of speaking. But when I speak of a way in this context, I am thinking about the personalities of individuals and families, which distinguish themselves by their approaches to something. This is similar to when we recognize a unique quality, and say something like, “It’s his way,” “That’s just the way they do it in these parts,” or perhaps, “You have
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your way and I have mine,” and so on. So, whatever it may be, a way of talking, a way of thinking, a way of training, and so on, it is how something is done by one or more people, that is a bit different from other people. All of this is to say that the Tobosas were purposeful, in their own way, as they developed Casag and its precursor system, KAJI. Like so many others in Hawaii from the early 1900s to about 1970, they were immersed in multiple martial arts systems. They were determined to systematically blend together many, to create one unique art form. While this is not an unusual idea today, not all environments are as naturally conducive to such a development as was theirs. Today, such blending is in vogue; then and there, it was as natural as the combined cultures around them. Their goal was to weave together relevant methods. They reasoned that many-things can become onething together. What is brought
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together in a common framework, like reeds bound together, becomes something new and stronger than when solitary. They were not in competition with other approaches but simply desired to bring together the threads of their own experiences and training. What they developed could not be separated from their personalities, nor those of their teachers. One of their concerns was that what they might form could be of value to others. They believed that if it could benefit others, then it was worth pursuing. Before starting this article, I looked in my den at the myriad of swords and impact weapons on every wall. I do not just enjoy them as showpieces; I train with every one of them. Each has its own unique set of attributes. Each is unique in beauty and construction, with features that give them a sort of personality. Yet, at the core, bladed weapons are designed to cut and thrust and impact weapons are
meant to wallop and break bones. Even though I have seen walloping weapons cut and cutting weapons wallop, they are simply doing what we make them do. So, the point is, we used our weapons’ attributes with their best results in mind, but they will always share some qualities, which we can put to our use. This is how I see the Casag system: when the blade is used as a blade, it thrusts and cuts best; when the baston is used as a baston, it wallops and breaks best. Whether slashing, thrusting, or walloping, the job gets done. If I have no weapon, I will not know it, until the battle is over. Though it sounds a bit esoteric, this is simply the mindset that martial artists share. One may not win the battle, but fighting as though he were dead, he will never be concerned with losing.
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Foundations There are multiple stories of Grandmasters, systems, and practitioners that have emerged from the mountains, forests, and fields of the Philippines. Such stories, however, must include those who migrated to America and other locations. They brought with them both their experiences, cultural influences, and of course, their martial-craft. It is very popular today to travel to the Philippines in pursuit of “authentic” FMA knowledge and training. That is not a bad thing, but some have been convinced or fooled into believing that, “If one’s knowledge was not obtained in the Philippines, then they have not received authentic knowledge, and their training is surely inferior.” While a location will often give us a unique perspective—I love Hawaii—and maybe even inspire us, it cannot impart the sort of knowledge that the above statement implies. The transmission of training knowledge is from person to person. It is “authentic” knowledge if the transmitter has authentic knowledge to impart. The fact is, where goes the man, so goes his land, his knowledge, his abilities, and his art. He is a book of stories and illustrations. The truth is: he is an encyclopedia to be respect-
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Master Toby and Grandmaster Raymond Tobosa (Oahu, 1968).
fully studied. As a teacher, he will open up to his students like a book. They can then respectfully read his story and make it part of their own. Those to whom he lends his book, see his land, learn his ways, and know his story at length. The idea that a place of origin holds, perhaps, some mystical quality of
hidden knowledge, is, in a certain sense, an illusion. It is, at the least, an immature view of what constitutes genuine knowledge. I would rather sit around a campfire with people from different regions, hearing about their views and experiences and learning their ways, than pursue “better” knowledge elsewhere. The sharing and melding together of ways brings about the familiarity of wisdom that founds a brotherhood like no other. In a certain sense, it is impossible to get clarity regarding Estilo Casag without having at least some understanding of its founders, Grandmaster “Batikan” Raymond and Master Toby (whom we called Manoy, our elder in the art). While Raymond is the main personality I am highlighting, Toby was there for most of it. He was Raymond’s brother, and my teacher as well as Batikan. Batikan made sure that his brother was involved, and a part of everything from the start. When Batikan died, Manoy led us. In the Casag system, Batikan is a title received as the highest achievable rank. I am uncertain of its linguistic origins other than to say that it appears to be a Cebuano term used to mean “chieftain” or maybe “revelator.” The closest
interpretation of the term Batikan seems to be the term Vatican. The Latin roots of Vatican, other than Vatican City where the Pope lives, indicate that it is connected to the concept of possessing “foresight,” or the gift of “revelation” in some context. In Casag, the title is received at the Hangin, or “Wind” rank. It is in fact a headmaster position over a main school or schools. Like all of the Casag ranking levels, it has a mission assigned to it. The mission, or task at this level, is to be a “revelator,” or revealer of the true things. Simply put, one is to be an archetype of the truth. They are to uncover or reveal the deeper significance of the art to its practitioners. Although there may be more than one person at this level, they lead in harmony with each other. If the winds are of different temperatures, they simply become a whirlwind and move together. At any rate, the title Batikan is unique. It became so synonymous with Grandmaster Raymond, that it became his name, or rather, his nickname of sorts. In fact, no one, including Grandmaster Toby, wanted to use the title of Batikan after his death. So, the title was, in a sense, retired. As far as our ohana is concerned, it belongs only to GM
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Raymond. Therefore, today, the title Pangulo Maestro, meaning “executive master” or “headmaster,” seems to best suit this position. Interestingly, the title Batikan is used by our good friends in the Derobio system. We are uncertain as to whether the title originated with Grandmaster Braulio Pedoy or Grandmaster Tobosa. We have no doubt, however, that there is a connection, seeing that they were best of friends. As noted, the Tobosa system comes from Hawaii. It emerged out of a melting pot of personalities, minds, experiences, and lands, all flowing together in the sugarcane and pineapple fields of the Hawaiian archipelago. Like the vegetable and fruit fields of California, the agricultural farms of Hawaii were a superior location to find talented martial artists. While there are many splendid places in the world, there is unique beauty and splendor to be found in a garden, where plants from all over have become rooted and are thriving. The Hawaii of the early to mid20th century was just such a growing garden. People came from many places to set down their roots and share their heritage in the community. Like beautiful plants, people will bloom where they are planted.
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They must join with the soil and be a part of it, while still being the kind of plant they are. This is how roots work. What was foreign becomes native, and yet it retains its identity. So, people—craftsmen, teachers, warriors—have a heart for their two homes, which have now become one. They bring with them their ways, skills, and abilities, and also adapt themselves to their new surroundings. They may have left their first home to walk in new fields, but they are no less than what they were when they were in the fields of their homeland. In fact, they are more. Batikan Raymond was a humble and quiet man. He was an authentic person and a father figure. He possessed capabilities far beyond what was known of him publicly because he did not seek public approval. Yet, he was certainly not unknown in the world and sub-culture of the martial arts. He has been written about, quoted, and mentioned in numerous books and articles. When enthusiasts discovered that Hawaii was a storehouse of some of the greatest FMA practitioners alive, Batikan became a sort of ambassador to them. Be that as it may, he was still a bit of an enigma to people. This was no doubt because he was not focused on becoming popular. He
simply wanted to show how truly effective these arts are. He saw them as a way and means of preservation for individuals and their communities. The Tobosas were not interested in showing off, but rather in helping people see how escrima could help them. They always encouraged people to consider what they could achieve by having the right perspective and developing the right skills. They had a serious passion for their art form and were not attempting to profit from it. They pursued it in their private lives and with their own resources. Many of us can relate to this. Raymond was a head-foreman over ware-
house operations at Pearl Harbor. Among various jobs, GM Villabrille also worked at Pearl Harbor before moving to Kuai to work in the sugarcane and pineapple fields. Master Toby held a GS-18 position in the Federal Aviation Administration, which caused him to move around a lot. I, now retired, started as an educator, but became an insurance fraud analyst/special investigator. This is not to say that making a living from teaching martial arts is somehow ignoble. It certainly is not, but in my estimation, making a living and commercializing an art form for profit are different things.
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The ohana approach is different; it is a matter of personal relationships such as a healthy family might have. Batikan loved and protected his ohana. He felt the gravity of teaching an art form that could be misused. If a person was sincere, had an upright and peaceful spirit, and was brotherly at heart, Batikan was ready to adopt them into his family and home. If adopted, they must exercise their potential by developing themselves in the virtues of the tahana (home of training). Though there are many important virtues, eight are addressed at the outset. These are: knowledge, honor, loyalty, respectfulness, faithfulness, humility, wisdom, and ability. These are both virtues and matters of study for the development of integrity. They are in harmony with a warrior-class outlook. If one becomes a family leader—a Guro/ Gura, Maestro/Maestra, and certainly, a Pangulo Maestro/Maestra—they are responsible for maintaining the peace and health of the family. So, when someone is adopted, who, it turns out, will injure or cause strife in the ohana, they
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are summarily let go. The thought is this: there is a public-self, and a private-self; the self you show others to give a good impression, and the private or real self, which may be corrupt. The health of the ohana requires that these “selves” be the same. While others may be fooled for a time, a person cannot suppress their true-self for long. Batikan’s view was that war arts are a necessary and serious craft in a dangerous and broken world. As a young man during the attack on Pearl Harbor, he knew the harsh realities of life and had come through many firsthand conflicts. So, he surrounded his ohana with moralistic barriers to help them govern their behavior. He never proposed a tangential approach to conflict resolution, but rather, a straightforward tenacity. This is similar to the approach of the sword master Miyamoto Musashi. He knew the seriousness of life and death struggles, and that while we do what must be done, we do only what must be done. Batikan believed that, after the conflict was over, we had to go forward, bearing no malice in thought, word, or deed.
The Melding and Formation of a Way Perhaps contrary to popular belief, it is not a modern phenomenon for seekers of martial knowledge and skills to study multiple methods, styles, and approaches to combat; it is consistent with a warrior mindset. Such pursuit is fueled by a deep desire to perfect one’s aptitudes and prowess in effective self-defense. While some become obsessed with gaining deadly skills and are ever-eager to test their craft, others will seek to master soldierly wisdom for the moment of true conflict. Put another way, one personality will hunt for occasions to express his violent abilities, while another sharpens and enlarges his skills while striving to avoid conflict. His passion for justice is serious, and he knows his abilities gravely threaten an opponent who might test him. He practices restraint in his responses. It is in this latter vein—the possession of powerful yet restrained abilities—that Raymond Tobosa sought multiple martial disciplines. Having been
exposed to his father’s iskrima1 (escrima) training since his early childhood, his natural inclinations were stimulated. During his youth, his family lived and worked in the sugarcane fields of Waipahu near Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu. As noted above, he recalled seeing and doing the Cinco Tiro as young as six years old. Then, at as young as nine years old, he began learning various bare-hand and weapons skills. Among the various skills taught to him by his father, he learned tactical and stylistic methods, angles of attack and defense, distancing for maximum effectiveness, and how to generate power in his strikes. As he grew, he also learned numerous striking methods or styles and how to effectively disarm an opponent. Anyone who knew and trained under Batikan experienced his graceful moves, his elusive parries, his counters, and his extremely fast and accurate strikes. When a weapon was not at hand, he trained 1 Iskrima is thought to be a Cebuano spelling for escrima, a.k.a. eskrima.
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with makeshift weapons, such as a rolled-up newspaper or magazine. He taught this to us, saying that this was a quick method of obtaining a commonly available self-defense tool. He also said that being aware of what is useful in our environment was an important skill to develop. He encouraged us to always carry a sturdy pen with us. Had the tactical pens of today been available, he would have suggested those.
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When he was young and out in the fields working, he said that they would use the center portion of a banana plant cut to 28 inches. This fibrous stalk, known as the aerial true stem, is found within the trunk or pseudo-stem. It is made of tightly packed leaf sheaths. The stem and stalk are fleshy, but also quite sturdy. It provided an efficient on-the-spot training tool, which could deliver a sufficient impact, but not one that was too damaging.
Like so many Filipinos, Batikan’s father migrated to Hawaii in search of a better life. Although Batikan did not recollect the exact town, he recalled that his father was from Mindanao. At an unknown age, Maximo learned escrima from his uncle and, at some point, ventured off with him in pursuit of knowledge and skills to be found in differing styles of escrima. Their travels took them throughout the villages and mountain areas of Mindanao (also known as Moro Island). They further traveled throughout the Negros Island regions, specifically in Kasadpang Negros province, or Negros Occidental (the northwestern half of Negros Island), and the Negros Oriental region, comprised of the southeastern half of the island. Due to the pursuits of Maximo Tobosa, it was therefore from this area of the Visayas and Moro lands, that the foundation of Tobosa kali-escrima was born. Growing up in the sugar plantation camps was by no means a soft life. Everyone worked hard and enjoyed their free time to the fullest. Sugarcane was big business in Hawaii. The plantations had been in full production since the 1840s and the lure of immigrants to work these plantations was strong. Historical
records show that from the early 1850s through the late 1880s, approximately 50,000 Chinese came to Hawaii in search of work. Then, from the mid-1880s to the mid1920s, upwards of 200,000 Japanese arrived. From the early 1900s to the 1930s, over 7,000 Koreans and approximately 113,000 Filipinos arrived. Although approximately 50 percent of these ethnic groups returned home due to the difficulties plantation owners had in supporting such populations and other factors, the melting pot that is Hawaii today had been established. It was in this multicultural environment that Raymond Tobosa and his family lived, worked, and learned. From a martial artist’s standpoint, it was a dream come true. Warrior immigrants coming to Hawaii provided a smorgasbord of systems, skills, and experiences like no other location. The expertise in empty-hand and weapons combat, to be found just “down the way,” had incalculable value for the Tobosas and other martial arts enthusiasts. In a very real sense, the pursuit of martial arts know-how in Hawaii could not help but produce a diversified, multi-styled, and multi-skilled practitioner.
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Raymond Tobosa certainly took advantage of the opportunities that surrounded him. As he expanded the knowledge obtained from his father and great-uncle, he first ventured into boxing. This was of course Western boxing, as he never spoke of the idea of Filipino boxing. Boxing was a popular pastime in the sugarcane camps. Raymond was taught boxing under the guidance of Esabello Cuba, who at the time was the boxing champion of the sugar plantation camps. He taught Raymond offensive and defensive punching, parries, and blocks. It was during this time that he learned how to execute a powerful strike, and to slip to the side and under punches to return counterstrikes. During World War II, he began training in judo under Sensei Richard Takamoto, who had trained under his father-in-law, Professor Seishiro Okazaki (1890-1951). Okazaki was the leading proponent of Kodokan judo in Hawaii at the time and the founder of Danzan ryu jujutsu. Okazaki’s system incorporated aspects of Okinawan karate, Chinese kung fu, Hawaiian lua, Filipino knife-fighting/escrima, boxing, and wrestling. These char-
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acteristics made his methods very unconventional for the time and certainly influenced Raymond’s thinking about combining combat technologies, which later resulted in the development of KAJI Kumi, his precursor to Casag. Raymond also became proficient in yawara no kata (judo/jujutsu tactics and methods), nage no kata (free practice forms of throwing an opponent), and oku no kata (takedowns with locks, armbars, and chokes). While still in Waipahu, Raymond’s next-door neighbor was Fred Lara, later to become Grandmaster Fred Lara. Fred trained directly under Grandmaster William Kwai Sun Chow, who was a student of Grandmaster James Mitose of Kosho ryu kempo. As friends and neighbors, Fred shared his knowledge of kempo and Raymond shared his knowledge of judo/jujutsu, and no doubt, boxing, escrima, and other skills. The precepts of Chinese kempo served to inform Raymond’s decision to use a K to begin his first compilation of martial art styles known by the acronym K.A.J.I., or simply KAJI. His friend, Master Mas Oyama, also had some influence on the system.
At some point during or prior to 1958, when the formation of KAJI Kumi took place, Raymond had included aikido as part of his overall curriculum. His aikido training was with Robert Kuniyoshi Sensei. Kuniyoshi’s aikido was influenced by Master Koichi Tohei, Ki No Ken Kyukai’s founder, and later, organizer and head of Shin-Shin Toitsu aikido. Raymond also learned the
combative aspects of tai chi and baguazhang. His primary interest in these was in knowing how the mental, physical, and mechanical aspects of their combat systems could serve to inform his overall knowledge to enhance his newly forming system. In tai chi, he trained under Sifu Tin Chan Lee, who was the old-
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est tai chi practitioner in Hawaii at the time. He noted that Master Lee gave him insight as to how one could build up and use internal energy rather than losing energy during movement, as do some martial arts. Master Lee taught him the art of proper breathing, which included a method for expanding or intensifying one’s breath to maintain energy. These principles later emerged in the KAJI curriculum in the form of breathing drills known as A-ten, B-ten, and C-ten. These methods were also integrated into a student’s overall training, and their principles are taught in varied ways in Estilo Casag. To be clear, regarding KAJI Kumi, the K represents karate, specifically Chinese kempo. The A represents aikido. The J represented judo and jujutsu. The I represents iskrima, again, the Cebuano spelling of the word escrima. Kumi is a Japanese word meaning “group” or “family”—in other words, the “KAJI family.” So, although I am not specifically writing here about KAJI, I have mentioned that it was the public precursor to Estilo Casag. Although it was a fully systematized art form, I call it a precursor for a couple of reasons. First, any discussion of Tobosa’s Casag system of arnis-kali-escrima is in-
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adequate without the recognition of Tobosa’s KAJI Kumi. Before the Tobosas brought their Casag system into the public eye, students of KAJI enjoyed a long relationship with the art of iskrima within their KAJI training. While it has become vogue to incorporate Filipino martial arts into existing combat systems, KAJI always had such training at its core. Though KAJI is no longer practiced as it was, much, if not all, of the philosophical foundations of KAJI can be seen today in Casag. For those like myself, who transitioned through KAJI to Casag, there is a very clear blending and application of concepts and combative principles from KAJI that is woven into Casag, making it something more than it might have been without it. Second, KAJI, in a certain sense, served as a vessel for the early journey of Estilo Casag. While Batikan chose 1972-73 to begin the transition from KAJI to Casag and introduce it to the public, it had not been his initial plan. He had discussed the notion with the old masters as far back as 1968. However, they did not support the idea, because they felt that the general public was not ready for it. Although Raymond believed it was a good idea and had
already embedded the principles of Casag into KAJI, he honored their apprehensions and waited for the right time. So, while KAJI would eventually diminish in importance, the germination of Casag had been ongoing for some time. When, in those early years, we would show some aspect of Filipino martial arts to the public during a demonstration or in competition, it was an eye-opener. Many martial artists had never heard of or seen this in martial arts circles of the day. People wanted to know more about it than we felt authorized to provide. In a real sense, the KAJI system provided the garden and cultivation in which Casag would one day blossom. In 1973 Batikan made the move to introduce Kinasag, or simply “Casag,” to the public as a complete system of self-defense. The Filipino martial arts were starting to become known to the public and were rapidly gaining recognition as something unique. While Raymond was not completely “old-school” as it were, he greatly respected his teachers and old-school etiquette. There was a certain way to impart knowledge, which he strove to honor. Much of the history of Batikan’s teachers is shrouded in mystery. How much
they shared about themselves, over meals, under the moon and stars, or by the fire at night, is uncertain. However, to the best of my knowledge, the Tobosas were the only ones they would let film them. What was not filmed involved volumes of knowledge. I do not know how many Filipino practitioners Batikan met throughout the years and on various islands. Some were more open and more skilled than others. Of the many he encountered, he said that five masters stood out as being the most skilled and experienced. They were of high ability, and willing to share their stories
Batikan Tobosa with Grandmaster Floro Villabrille (circa 1969).
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and their knowledge with him and Toby. Though with some there were language barriers and hesitations to overcome, Batikan and Manoy won them over with their genuine “aloha spirit.” They were kindred spirits, respectful, humble, and truly open. They had an authentic character that put people at ease.
Batikan with Bonifacio Lonzaga (late 60s or early 70s).
In 1967 on the island of Kauai, Raymond and Toby met up with Grandmaster Floro Villabrille. How their introduction and close connection to Villabrille was established is unknown. It may have been through
At table, right to left: Raymond Tobosa, Floro Villabrille, Braulio Pedoy, and Eustaqio “Snooky” Sanchez.
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the shipyards at Pearl Harbor or even through their cousin, Ben Largusa. GM Largusa, as many know, was one of the inheritors of the Villabrille method. Of course, introductions might also have been the other way around. Since many of the escrimadors that Batikan was associated with were, in a sense, right in his backyard, it is difficult to know how he established his relationships with them, except to say that he sought them out and was welcomed in. I believe that these masters knew one another, and it was their friendships that brought the Tobosas into various inner circles. Being the friend of a friend is the best way to make new friends. As noted above, while the Tobosas met and trained with various teachers, five of them became confidants and shared their knowledge and wisdom. Batikan would often describe their unique methods and personal characteristics during our training and discussions. It always seemed, however, that there was more to the story than what he related. He said that, of these five masters, Grandmaster Floro Villabrille’s capacity to communicate his thoughts, methods, and concepts was the highest, and consequently, the most influential. While Batikan spoke some Ce-
buano, Tagalog, and Spanish, his foremost language was English. Of the teachers he encountered, Villabrille, he explained, was the one most knowledgeable of the English language, and was able to communicate his methods to him with the most clarity. The Tobosas studied with Grandmaster Floro on the island of Kauai from 1967 on. They said that Villabrille referred to the style, which made up the core of his approach, as Winakle-Paspas, meaning to “push away quickly.” They described Villabrille’s methods as being the most intriguing and flamboyant of any of the styles they had seen. By flamboyant, they meant “beautifully effective.” They especially appreciated his double-baston methods, called doble-kara. They said that this combat method was something to behold. The term doble-kara, derived from Spanish, means “double-face,” “double-sided,” or “on both-sides.” Consequently, the Casag methods of doble-kara were influenced considerably, yet not completely, by Villabrille’s approach. Certainly, many of Villabrille’s methods are deeply ingrained within Casag. It is part of the weft and woof of our tapestry. He would often come to Oahu to oversee the progress of the Tobosa students.
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First public announcement flyer for the Tobosa school.
First page of the Fellowship Statement: United Filipino Martial Arts Association of Hawaii, Honolulu, 1980.
Four Other Influential Teachers The other four individuals of the top five are Grandmasters Feliciano Magsanide, Atanacio Acosta, Bonifacio Lonzaga, and Tolesfero Subingsubing. While much could have been written about his interaction and friendship with these men, Batikan only wrote brief summaries of their individual views and stylistic methods. They told us about their character, abilities, and how their various systems influenced Casag. Batikan related that Feliciano Magsanide (1900-1983), who trained many full-contact escrima fighters for the civic auditorium fights of the 1930s and 1940s, taught “Estilo Barabara.” Barabara is a Cebuano term for staff, but it is also translated as “backing up—blocking or clogging up,” as in something that stops the flow of something else. It primarily uses a 42” baston/staff, but also a 36” cane is used. It has qualities applicable to the use of a spear, and many of the principles can be applied to longer-impact weapons such as a 60” or 72” staff/ spear. The 42” baston can be wielded with one hand but is also used with two hands when appropriate.
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Among various tactics and combat strategies, Atanacio Acosta showed them a different set of Cinco Tiros (five strikes) than the numerada (numbering system) they had learned from their father. Casag uses a V-pattern. The Roman numeral for “five” (V) is a good way to remember this. At each point of the V and on the underline is a numbered strike. Acosta, however, used an X-pattern for his first five strikes. He collectively called his methods Estilo Winakli, a Cebuano term representing “push-away style.” I am uncertain as to whether or not there is a relationship between Acosta’s Winakli method and Villabrille’s Winakle-Paspas, but I suspect there was. Batikan noted that Acosta’s method could be employed from either an inside position or an outside position. “Inside” represents a face-to-face approach where the opponent can employ his right or left weapons directly, while “outside” represents a defense that moves to the side of the opponent to eliminate or suppress the threat of the opponent’s other weapons. Acosta’s definitive on-guard posi-
Batikan with Atanacio Acosta.
Batikan with Feliciano Magsanide.
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to the opponent’s body. Lonzaga also incorporated a stepping-back or dodging method in response to an attack; he would then follow up with a swift and deadly thrust. His rhythm and timing were of a master swordsman.
Toby with Bonifacio Lonzaga.
tion for employing his method was to maintain his baston or sword in a vertical position in front of his chest, facilitating side-to-side movement. Grandmaster Bonifacio Lonzaga was master of Estilo Hinaplos. Hinaplos, or simply haplos, means “to slide off, come off, come away, or detach” (due to a strong force). His distinctive method of doble-kara included skillfully twirling two bastons as he made passive sliding parries that morphed into cuts or jams against an opponent’s offensive movements. As these sliding defenses were employed, he would slide behind a strike to efficiently and deceptively deliver various cuts, thrusts, and strikes
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Grandmaster Tolesfero Subingsubing came to Oahu from Cebu. He was an aficionado of a moro-moro style he called Estilong Lúpad, or “fly style.” With a smile, he explained to the Tobosas that it was also known as Estilong Sinayop,
the “wrong-way style.” The term sinayop is derived from the Cebuano sayop nga paagi, which means “wrong way,” or perhaps “doing it the wrong way.” When some practitioners of other systems once observed Subingsubing’s methods, their opinion was that he was doing the opposite of what should work. So, they assigned it the pejorative label of Estilong sayop nga paagi, the “wrong-way style.” It seems, however, that he was not the least bit offended by their label. Right or wrong, his methods were nothing to be taken lightly. They proved to be highly effective, especially against multiple attackers. Although calling it the “wrongway” system was meant to be humorous, or even slanderous, Tolesfero proved that his wrong way worked as well, if not better than the “right way.” The Tobosas noted that he was highly proficient at connecting with a cut to the wrist, followed by a disemboweling stroke. They added that they saw great value in observing and learn-
ing his unorthodox methods. In their opinion, he was quite a dangerous man, whose methods could be emulated. Among his various training methods, Subingsubing demonstrated a routine of offensive and defensive tactics, while maneuvering back and forth along a 4” x 16’ section of bamboo. He said that this drill taught one balance for moving over uneven terrain. A warrior’s feet must have eyes. He also explained that fighters needed to develop the ability to not blink their eyes for a length of time. He told them that this skill would teach visual focus so that an opponent could not avert one’s attention from an actual strike. In a similar vein, Batikan taught that we must develop our peripheral vision. This was so that our field-of-vision would catch movement coming in from the side and rear angles.
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Other training methods practiced by these men would not have been very popular in today’s “fearfulof-pain” world. One of these ways was to simply deliver a strike to some point on the body, so a person could experience the pain of being hit there. A teacher would hit his pupil, who knew he was going to receive a painful hit; then, he would simply say, “Now defend against that.” Parries, blocks, and moving out of the way became of great importance. At other times, a teacher might command a pupil to hit them however they pleased, at which time he would show various methods of defending against that strike. By doing it this way, a teacher could impart his stylistic methods in a profound, though somewhat painful, way. Batikan said that, while there was not a lot of explanation, the method spoke volumes. He appreciated the fact that, while the discussion is good, pain sears truth into the mind and, of course, the body, too.
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The Tobosas employed many of the basic ideas learned from these masters including varied styles of training. Additionally, the way these men moved naturally revealed their expertise and deep understanding of combat principles. They certainly taught a multitude of “secrets” as they moved with ease during training. Even the look in their eyes revealed the reality of their focus and combat experience. This teaching method was reflected in Batikan’s frequent exhortation to us to “move as I move.” Watching him gracefully connect one movement with another was perhaps the highest level of teaching he could have imparted.
Subingsubing’s posture.
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symbolic
“fight-to-the-death”
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THE WAY OF THE CRAB, BAMBOO, AND OCEAN
The Crab The name Casag signifies the crab. This creature, as well as other island images, was chosen by the Tobosas for very simple reasons. Since early childhood, immersed in an island environment, they observed and interacted with their surroundings daily. The movements and attributes of the crab were impressed upon their thinking. Its ability to fight was as effective in water as it was on land. It used its environment to its advantage. Its weapons were its two strong claws and its legs angled off in all directions. Its maneuverability was swift and sure. It easily achieved new angles of defense and attack as it frequently shifted and adjusted its position. Not only did the crab’s natural inclinations impress them, but it
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also reminded them a good deal of their tactical training. To move decisively, while using all of the eight directions effectively, would be the Casag approach to combat. Forward and reverse movement with 45, 90, and 180° turns reflected what they learned from the crab. The strategy, they surmised, was to drive an opponent to angles that
disadvantaged them. By moving in, out, and around to a position in changing ranges, the opponent has difficulty getting their bearings on their target. If they are disoriented, they are weakened. Therefore, the Tobosas determined that the crab imagery would represent the combative qualities of their self-defense system. The crab-like tactics, along with other images of island life, such as the bamboo and the ocean, would serve to represent their martial strategies and philosophies. The Bamboo For the KAJI art form, they had chosen the imagery of a bamboo plant. This represented the idea of “fluid yielding with a lethal ridged return.” This is the “fluid-solid-fluid” aspect of combat Batikan considered basic in martial theory
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and practice. It was also intended to represent something about our own behavior. He explained to us: “The bamboo cannot be uprooted once it establishes itself in the ground. It will bend with the strongest wind and straightens up after it’s all over. The bamboo stands straight, tall, and true. It is very hard in composition, yet flexible in structure. Split it and it will split down the middle without deviating. Pick up one of the halves and you will find the edges sharp enough to cut. It is hollow between joints, but it can contain something, you can use it to hold water and drink from it.” Considering these basic concepts and implications, Batikan continued: “We should not go against an adversary’s force but use his strength and speed to work against him. In our everyday life’s problem, find a solution to it, not evade, grumble and run away from it. You cannot run away from your personal problem; it will follow you wherever you go. So, solve it the
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best way you can. Be humble, honest, and true in all your dealings with people. Have a reputation so that people will say that, ‘Your word is as good as gold,’ or ‘Your word is your bond.’ Once you have decided to do something, follow it to the end; otherwise, don’t start on it. Be sharp in all your dealings, but not stepping on toes or taking advantage.” Returning to the bamboo analogy: “The hollow spaces between the bamboo joints [are] likened to your ability to empty your thoughts to make room for new things to learn. There are many spaces or rooms in your mind to use for new ventures to fill in. Always have an empty cup before you undertake any new ventures. If you have a half-filled cup, you will learn half only; a threequarters-filled cup—and you will learn one quarter only. Have a filled cup and you might [not] learn something, for your cup runneth over.”
The Ocean Like the crab and the bamboo, the Tobosas believed that they could emulate the inflow and outflow of the tide and the rising and falling of the waves by the force and calm of the winds. These elements impressed upon them the principles of flowing and broken rhythms, of moving-in and drawing-out, striking powerfully and regaining suppleness, plus other dynamics applied in combat. They saw how the ocean’s current moves unseen and how the undertow takes hold of a person to take them into the depths of the waters.
Underlying all of this is an exchange of assets, characterized by five interwoven dynamics. This they simply called the Five S’s: strength, stamina, skill, speed, and surprise. They proposed that the development of these five attributes was the basis of martial prowess. They stand parallel to the virtues of courage, tenacity, expertise, decisiveness, and tactical-opacity. To master these qualities in combat means that an assailant, to their surprise, will find themselves engulfed in a wave that returns their violence to them.
These are all images of ocean and wave motions that engulf an opponent in the midst of its ebb and flow. They saw that it was important to perceive the rhythm of an opponent, so as to break that rhythm at the right time and neutralize the threat—likewise, to use one’s own rhythm to appear predictable and then to syncopate (modify or shift) in an encounter and deliver a decisive strike.
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Putting It All Together One of their main concerns was that Casag should be a practical, well-balanced combat system. This has at least three categories: weapon-vs-weapon, hand-vs-hand, and hand-vs-weapon. Casag’s weapon-to-weapon training, or as Batikan referred to it, “Filipino Fencing,” is not less than what we think of as a fencing art, but also more. But do fencing methods have significance in a non-fencing culture? Yes, I think so. Casag’s position is that combat methods have a type of “language” that is translatable into “sister languages.” In other words, my weapon can speak in a long, middle, or short “dialog.” It can speak through a variety of weapon types and at various ranges. A long arc strike becomes a short arc. A slash-through strike is abridged into an “in-out” strike. A straight-in thrust becomes a curved thrust. A hand with a weapon “speaks” somewhat similar to one without a weapon. There are plenty of letters in this language for one to express themselves. Additionally, we must be comfortable using abbreviations and slang. Abbreviations have to do with varying ranges and weapon attributes, i.e., the fast-moving tip of
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the weapon and the slower-moving sections below the tip plus the butt of the weapon. Slang has to do with weapons acquired in an environment, as well as the environment itself. We must be able to speak with meaning in whatever vernacular is needed at the moment. We are not weaponless when we have no bolo or cane. We are comfortable with what we have and not uneased by a threat. If our weapon is long, we use its best attributes of length. If short, we get a whole lot closer. This sort of reminds me of a scene in a movie called Quigley Down Under. When Matthew Quigley is stripped of his long rifle and given a pistol, his adversary, having heard Quigley saying that he preferred the long rifle to a pistol, presumes that he has the advantage. Yet, as our nemesis draws his pistol, Quigley is many times faster and shoots him dead center. Then he says, “I said I didn’t have much use for one; didn’t say I didn’t know how to use it.” In this characterization, the language of the long-range methods, weapons, and tactics are immediately interpreted into a medium-range language, then, as it may occur, reinterpreted again into an abbreviated close-range language.
We must be linguists, in a manner of speaking. Switching from language-to-language is certainly possible when we understand the “root language,” no matter what our accent may be. I am speaking this way, to emphasize that Casag tactics, like most FMA art forms, are versatile and able to communicate damaging results at any range. Additionally, we must recognize that people have diverse mental and physical attributes, which shape their expressions. Each one may master the same program of skills and drills, but like works of art, individual creativity will distinguish one from another. Such forces will, to some degree, shape Casag itself as it lives on into the future. The idea is this: When we make something our own, it will, in turn, make us its own. To Move like the Crab: Casag Footwork The way of the crab is apparent in the footwork of Casag. It involves stepping forward and back, moving immediately to an angle, then shifting to a new angle—then moving along the new angle, and shifting again. These angle-shifting moves are to put the opponent at a disadvantage for employing or maintaining his attack. The idea is to move to a safety-zone and out of
the danger, or to a cut-zone. After shifting to new angles, the body’s centerline is realigned toward the opponent whether at long, long/ medium, medium, or close-range. While there are many primary footwork patterns, all share certain qualities, and all flow together in combat. Each uses porma and estokada, forward and backward leaning postures. Each uses nagbalhin or simply balhin, meaning “to shift to one side or the other.” Each may employ sunoy lakangthe (the rooster step), plus other stepping methods done in both abante (moving forward) and literada, or nagpaluyo in Cebuano, meaning “to back up or go in reverse.” Distances and Strategies Like all combat strategies, the distance between combatants is of top importance. Casag methods strive to employ the most effective application of resources at various ranges. This is done through understanding the attributes, liabilities, and application of the weapon(s) in use, and the need for varying tactics at fluctuating ranges. The art of distancing involves knowing how to adapt to each range, as well as how to flow back and forth between ranges. There are at least three categories in tactical fluidity: a) fluctuating in distances, b)
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Batikan with GM Floro Villabrille, Oahu.
fluctuating in heights, and c) fluctuating in angles. Another way to characterize this is what we call inout and around. Keep in mind that the weapon’s attributes and effectiveness change as ranges change. Learning to adjust weapon usage between these ranges is integral to combat. Cut-Zone / Safety-Zone Thinking A cut-zone is determined by: (a) the proximity of the aggressor, (b) the attributes of the weapons at play, (c) the momentum and movement of the fighters, and (d) the commitment and angle of the weapon’s
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plane-of-cut. We may be cut and we may cut (or strike with baston) in the cut-zone. The safety-zone pertains to: (a) where the aggressor’s bolo/baston is too far away to make contact, and (b) an angle outside of or behind the plane of a cut. These are generally concepts in long and long-medium-range combat. At medium and close range, the zones are mixed together. This is where strikes, thrusts, holds, locks, or suppression moves become the rules of threat management. Constant defensive and offensive adjustments are done in relation
to these factors. The “fine-tuning” involves the “in-out-and-around” flow concerning the position of the assailant. The obvious best place to be is where the opponent is in your cut-zone, but you are not in his—i.e., in your safety-zone. Time in a safety-zone may be a millisecond, or we may be able to keep moving into safety-zones often. Getting into a safety-zone is not always possible, but it is a good way to survive. We carve out, create, or get to a safety-zone by using varied tactics. I have mentioned one, called in-out and around or sa gawas libot. Variations of this are, out-in and around, around—in and out, and around—out and in. These concepts of movement dynamics are also characterized as front-toback or pangunahan sa likod. All of these are tactics for positioning ourselves during the defense to the side and rear of our opponent. These tactics are common to the Winakli—“push-away”—style. Obtaining a side or rear position to our opponent, we “push” them away for safety, control, destabilization, a long-range strike, or simply to exit the zone. The image of an engulfing wave is seen in this tactic.
Shifting to various angles is done, of course, relative to the aggressor’s position. An important factor in this maneuver is that the defender realigns their body’s centerline toward the opponent as they move around them. This way, the defender’s posture is always in a strong position to counter and adjust further. In this tactical/ strategic approach, the application of long, medium and shortrange tactics blend and fluctuate as part of an overall strategy. It is an “always-moving” approach that makes it difficult for the aggressor to maneuver for the advantage.
Batikan and the author in Reno (1978).
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The constant change of defense and attack dynamics is somewhat like the strategies of guerilla warfare. Hit, move, hit from a new position, move, go close in, move out fast, move low, and re-emerge high, and so on. The strategy of these tactics requires using stylistic methods at fluctuating distances and shifting angles with various bladed and impact weapons. Pushing, holding/
retaining, and suppressing along with hand strikes, locking, low kicks, leg maneuvers, and other related attacks make one’s strategy an effective and practical approach to being combat-minded. The Attributes of Fighters and Their Weapon Martial artists, fighters, and warriors have within them a unique drive, one that not all people understand. They are warcraft-mind-
Training with Batikan in the Hinaplos (“Slide”) System (1986).
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ed; and while they think and train seriously for combat, they seldom favor war. They recognize that the world is a vicious place. It is full of violence, both on large and small scales. They see the bullies of the world as a corrosive disease. All would agree that a remedy must be exercised, wherever the disease. Such individuals form that segment of society that is inclined to pursue an antidote to injustice. They know, perhaps innately, that passivity is not a viable remedy. If it were, they would likely embrace it. However, they know that aggression and domination will not be placated by passivity. Unjust hostilities must be met with justified aggression. I suggest that people of courage are defenders at heart. If we are them, we are as interested in self-defense as in defending the helpless. Most of us, in time, will have learned how to manage our emotions and our abilities, to focus both physical and mental aptitudes to defeat an aggressor. The Filipino martial arts have a particular intrigue for those of us who are interested in understanding the raw warcraft of weapon-to-weapon, hand-to-hand, and hand-to-weapon combat. Understanding and gaining proficiency in a variety of weapons are
simply parts of warcraft. Above, I quoted a line from the movie, Quigley Down Under, about knowing how to use a weapon, even if it is not a preferred weapon. Even if I like to use my barong/bolo, I also like and have trained to be proficient with my binagon and laring swords. I like a shorter, fast-maneuvering weapon, but am proficient in using a long heavy weapon also. To quote one of my longdead mentors, “You should not have a favorite weapon. To become over-familiar with one weapon is as much a fault as not knowing it sufficiently well” (Miyamoto Musashi, 1584-1645). Like many martial artists, I have been trained in a variety of empty-hand combat arts, which also have their particular weapon traditions. I have also been trained in weapon combat arts, which have their particular empty-hand methods. The weapons have been both impact and bladed, long, short, and in-between. They have been light and fast, round and flat, and slow and heavy. Additionally, I have also received combat firearms training. While I am not an expert shot by any means, I know how to confidently handle my Glock-17 as well as a semiautomatic rifle. I am more comfortable with a nice baston or bolo in my hands, but when more
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Instructors (2017): CJ Tobosa, Rico Agustin, Michael Mulconery, Lee Manibog, and Donald Mendoza.
distance is required, I do not want to be confused as to what to do. If it has not been clear yet, the point is familiarizing oneself, even gaining confidence, with a variety of weapon types. This is a training principle that we should consider valuable. For impact and bladed weapons, training with at least three weapon types, and understanding their corresponding attributes, will help facilitate skills for all weapon types. This means short-to-long, light-to-heavy, and slashing/thrusting weapons. The lengths might look something like this: 6”, 12”, 18”, 24”, 28”, 30”,
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32”, 36”, 42”, 60”, 72”. These sizes may apply to both stick and bladed weapons, but the longer lengths are generally in the bara (staff) and/or bangkaw (spear) categories. At first, however, it is good to train and become familiar with one or two lengths/weights, and one or two blade attributes, single and double. An impact weapon can act as a surrogate for a bladed weapon, but since there is usually considerable weight and some handling differences, one should also train with a blade. This way, we get to know what a blade requires and gain knowledge of how different the movements become with it.
24” Weapons Early on, while Tobosa KAJI Kumi was the precursor art form (that is, 1958-1973), training was primarily done with a 24” rattan baston, hardwood flat stick, and bolo, usually a common machete. Twenty-four inches, as it turns out, is generally the distance from the base of one’s armpit to the bend of the wrist. This is important for when the weapon moves from an inside position out, as in an inside redondo, or round-strike. There was no upos (stub) or punyo per se.
The hammer fist (maso kumo) and the sun fist (adlaw kumo) served us well at closer ranges. The baston also called an estik or palilyo is assigned blade qualities when distinguishing between bladed and impact moves. With a baston, the knuckles are to be aligned to where the face of the blade would be. Impact methods and blade methods have their own details to be concerned with. Taking a blade away from an assailant is a bit more careful of a situation than taking a stick away.
Some of the original members of the West Coast Escrima Society (1986): Dentoy Revillar, Juan Eliab, Narrie Babao, Gilbert Tenio, Raymond Tobosa, Leo Giron, and Ramiro Estallila.
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Kahoyon-kampilan ug punyal, a.k.a. espada y daga (circa 1967).
28” Weapons In or around 1973 we also began using a 28” rattan or hardwood baston on a regular basis. This length corresponds to the approximate lengths of many prominent Visayan blades. With the baston we might either employ a slight upos/ punyo, or none at all. It depends on distance, weapon balance, and tactics training. At most, the punyo would not exceed four inches, about the average width of the inner palm. Also, the patag-palilyo (flat stick) or kahoyon-kampilan (wooden sword) is used. These are flat hardwood sticks, which provide a powerful alternative to the
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metal sword. These weapons are heavier than the rattan, and so have a bit more “serious” feel in one’s hand. The dagger (punyal) was also in use. While these are our primary weapon lengths and types, as noted above, Casag embraces a variety of weaponry. To be skilled in adapting to an unusual weapon is as important as being skilled with a familiar one. Pretty much anything becomes a useful implement of self-defense. It is definitely worth thinking about. Remember, too, that a lightweight weapon is fast and can sting an opponent many times; it is a great deterrent. Yet, a
heavy weapon that lands well even once shatters bone and dislocates joints. A long weapon’s potential is hampered at closer range. A short weapon puts us closer to an assailant. A blade might or might not cut, but a thrust often causes damage. If a long blade fails to cut, its impact will still cause damage. If I have one long and one short weapon, I can utilize them together in various ways, or use each one separately, at their most effective ranges.
Estilo Casag: Numerada Tiro / The “Numbered Strikes” of the Casag Style I have heard it said that perhaps 95 percent of all people are right-handed. I suspect it is more around 85 percent, but there is still a high majority of right-handed people in the world. Some cultures shun and try to convert lefties into righties, but I do not think they are quite successful at that. At any rate, most people are
Left to right: Frank Mamalias, Teofisto (Toby) Tobosa, Floro Villabrille, Raymond Tobosa, and Kenneth Villabrille (kneeling) (circa 1967-68).
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Portions of the Hawaii Club (2015).
right-handed. So, it makes sense that most FMA striking sequences begin at the upper right side. It seems to be the most natural and the strongest strike. I have also heard that attacks that have been filmed, and where the aggressor is using a weapon such as a bat, 2x4, hammer, machete, and so on, show that the initial attack comes from the upper right side—down. The point is that most styles of FMA begin their first strike from a
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high-right-side position, and proceed diagonally down. We learn to deliver it with speed and precision, and also defend against it with multiple defenses. It is generally delivered at a 45°angle, but we know that it might be delivered vertically or horizontally as well. At any rate, for most of us, it is the #1 strike delivered through the #1 angle. Its basic angle is a 45° plane of descent to its target. Of course, the strike might also be done at
0° to 90° depending on where the load, or starting point, was. Presumably, all other strikes follow the number-one strike, as noted, in a logical flow sequence. The additional strikes are linked together through their flow patterns. While each flow sequence has options and differences between styles, each strike has a particular angle and zone, plus primary and secondary targets. Learning strike sequences and the potential of each serve as a teaching mechanism. It informs us of the possible results at impact/ cut: the option of targets in the zone and the severity of damage that might be expected. Dealing with multiple angled strikes and various distances informs us of a variety of defensive options. This is true no matter how striking sequences may differ.
In Casag, defense and offense are not two sides of a coin; they are simply the currency used in every engagement. This currency is used to purchase one’s survival. Therefore, of primary concern is the neutralization of an aggressor’s strengths. Their tools of aggression must be broken so that they fail them and they cannot continue. The opponent’s most basic powers are in their hands and their mobility. GM Villabrille spoke of the hands as the fangs of a snake. A broken fang is less able to transfer its poison. Yet, it may still move and cause damage to its prey. But, if its mobility is hampered, disabled, or neutralized, it cannot continue or get away to launch a new attack. If also the head, or as we call it, “the breath” of the snake is taken from it, then it is fully neutralized. No breath, no life.
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CASAG’S NUMERADA: PRIMARY AND SECONDARY STRIKES, ANGLES, AND ZONES (FANG, MOBILITY, BREATH)
The first diagram that follows shows the five points of the fang and the five points of mobility. The taking of the breath is another matter that is partially disclosed in the numerada diagrams that follow. There are, of course, more than five methods to relieve a snake of its breath. The diagrams show the numerada up to the Veinte y uno tiro—21 strikes. They include the “alternate strikes,” found in Diez, Doce, and Veinte y uno sets. The strikes are studied in several ways: slashing flow, thrusting into, striking flow, and flicking, known as a witik. Casag strike sequences are divided into five sets for teaching purpos-
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es. These are: set one—Cinco Tiro (five strikes), set two—Diez Tiro (10 strikes), set three—Doce Tiro (12 strikes), set four—Veinte y uno Tiro (21 strikes), and set five—Treinta cinco Tiro (35 strikes). Cinco Tiro is taught first and emphasized the most. Then the progressive sets are taught as a student advances. The sets all lead to Nabasag-Numero—broken-number strikes. This might also be called Libre sa Agas, meaning “free-to-flow.” Free-toflow, or broken-number striking, is simply all strikes following a natural path. This approach is at the heart of Casag’s numbering sets. It is the weave that surrounds and entangles an enemy.
Five Points of the Fang: Five Points of Mobility Note that the black line in several diagrams below represents the approximate “end-cut point.” This is the approximate location where the blade exits the cutting zone on the opponent to move into a reload position. In most cases, it is the same for the baston as it is for the bolo.
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Strike 1: A downward diagonal slash connecting at the tip of the opponent’s left shoulder, and slashing through the angle, with the endcut location at the level of the opponent’s right hip. This is the blue diamond in the zone. The secondary target points in Zone 1 include: the clavicle (green diamond), base of the neck (orange diamond), and mandible/temple or left cranium (red diamond). The lower zone’s green line is to the elbow.
Strike 2: A downward diagonal slash connecting at the tip of the opponent’s right shoulder, and slashing through the angle, with the end-cut location at the level of the opponent’s left hip. This is the blue diamond in the zone. Secondary target points in Zone 2 include: the clavicle (green diamond), base of the neck (orange diamond), and mandible/temple or right cranium (red diamond). The lower zone’s green line is to the elbow.
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Strike 3: The primary strike with a baston is focused at the opponent’s left hip through to end-cut at the right hip (lower blue line and diamond). Higher in Zone 3 are the ribs (upper blue line and diamond). With a bolo, the slash is at the left side of the opponent’s stomach through to the right side of the stomach, with an obvious end-cut past the stomach (red line and diamond). Secondary target points in Zone 3 include: the ribs with a baston, left bicep, elbow, and wrist, if found within the zone.
Strike 4: The primary strike with a baston is focused at the opponent’s right hip through to endcut at the left hip (lower blue line and diamond). Higher in Zone 4 are the ribs (upper blue line and diamond). With bolo, the slash is at the right side of the opponent’s stomach through to the left side of the stomach, with an obvious endcut past the stomach (red line and diamond). Secondary target points in Zone 4 include the ribs with a baston, right bicep, elbow, and wrist, if within the zone.
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Strike 5: Primarily, Strike 5 is a thrust (dusdos) or stab (dunggab) to the center of the opponent’s stomach (blue diamond). There is no “end-cut” as such, but the thrust is most effective at a 4-inch depth. This is typically far enough to connect with vital organs. Also, after the thrust is done, the weapon is drawn back from its target to release any hold the opponent’s body may exert upon it. The green triangle indicates the zone. Secondary angles include the tip of the weapon directed to an ascending or descending angle. Secondary targets in Zone 5 may include the sternum or other internal targets. Delivery of Strike 5 may also involve shifting the angle right or left at 45 degrees of the primary point. (Strike 5 completes the Cinco Tiro set.)
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Strike 6: This is a high-level straight-in thrust to the opponent’s left subclavian artery (blue diamond). As with the dunggab explanation for Strike 5, there is no end-cut other than depth. By altering the thrust in elevation or angle, the secondary targets in Zone 6 include: the neck cavity (red circle and star), orbital region of the eye, and armpit—a direct line to the lung delivered from a side angle.
Strike 7: This is a high-level straight-in thrust to the opponent’s left subclavian artery (blue diamond). As with the dunggab explanation for Strikes 5 and 6, there is no end-cut other than depth. By altering the thrust in elevation or angle, the secondary targets in Zone 7 include: the neck cavity (red circle and star), orbital region of the eye, and armpit—a direct line to the lung delivered from a side angle.
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Strike 8: This is a low-level ascending hit/slash, with bolo or baston, to the opponent’s right knee (blue line and diamond) through to the groin or, with bolo, left femoral artery (red diamond). If the left leg is forward, it is a hit/slash to the left knee or the left femoral artery (green line and red diamond). The end-cut occurs at about the level of the opponent’s left hip. Secondary targets include ny target that falls into the zone. Note that the angle can be elevated to take in high targets such as hands and arms.
Strike 9: This is a low-level ascending hit/slash, with bolo or baston, to the opponent’s left knee (blue line and diamond) through to the groin or, with bolo, right femoral artery (red diamond). If the right leg is forward, it is a hit/slash to the right knee or the right femoral artery (green line and red diamond). The end-cut occurs at about the level of the opponent’s right hip. Secondary targets include any target that falls into the zone. Note that the angle can be elevated to take in high targets such as hands and arms.
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Strike 10—First Alternate: This is a unique striking maneuver and directional change. It is a strike to the opponent’s forehead, face, or upper chest that is delivered while shifting (sa lakang-balhin— to “step-shift”) approximately 180° (red diamond). It is best described as a tactical stratagem to execute a finishing or warding-off strike while changing directions to address a new threat. It may also facilitate a retreat or a feint to move behind an obstacle, a broken rhythm counter, or be used for distance. Alternate Strike 10 completes the Diez Tiro set.
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Standard Strike 10: This is a low-level horizontal strike/slash to the right side of the opponent’s right knee, (blue line / red diamond). The intersecting black-angled line may also be an angle for this strike. The end-cut is simply at the point at which the weapon is past both knees. Secondary targets in Zone 10: If both knees are atypically available, the strike/ slash continues through the opponent’s right outer knee to the left inner knee. If only the left knee is extended, the strike goes to the left inner knee and may be elevated or lowered in the case of a bolo or kampilan (green diamond).
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Strike 11: This is a low-level horizontal strike/slash to the left side of the opponent’s right knee (blue line / red diamond). The intersecting black-angled line may also be an angle for this strike. The endcut is simply at the point at which the weapon is passed both knees. Secondary targets in Zone 11: If both knees are atypically available, the strike/slash continues through the opponent’s left outer knee to the right inner knee. If only the right knee is extended, the strike goes to the right inner knee and may be elevated or lowered in the case of a bolo or kampilan (green diamond).
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Strike 12—Second Alternate: This is a double-thrust to the opponent’s right and left subclavian arteries. Though not necessarily done in unison, this move is done with both hands—daga (dagger) in the left and bolo in the right hand. The dagger is drawn from one of three positions: front right, front left, or back left. Alternate Strike 12 introduces a change in range and a second shorter weapon. By the time students are ready for the Doce Tiro set, they are also learning considerably more medium to close-range tactics. The end-cut is the same as other thrusting hits. Secondary targets are the same as in the zone targets of 6 and 7. Without a daga the left hand may grab, push, or strike the opponent. Alternate Strike 12 also represents a complex response to a more intricate close-range encounter. It is not simply a double-strike. This completes the Doce Tiro set in which the Alternate 10 Strike has been dropped, and the flow continues from Standard Strike 10 and 11 to Alternate Strike 12.
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Standard Strike 12: This is a low-level strike or slash to the opponent’s right ankle, (blue line / red diamond). The end-cut is at the point past both ankles. Note that this strike may also be delivered from a descending angle. Secondary targets in Zone 12: As in Strikes 10 and 11, if both ankles are atypically available, the strike/ slash continues through the opponent’s right outer ankle to the left inner ankle. If the left foot is forward, the strike goes to the left inner ankle and may be altered when using a bolo.
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Strike 13: This is a low-level strike or slash to the opponent’s left ankle (blue line / red diamond). The end-cut is at the point past both ankles. Note that this strike may also be delivered from a descending angle. Secondary targets in Zone 13: As in Strikes 10 and 11, if both ankles are atypically available, the strike/slash continues through the opponent’s left outer ankle to the right inner ankle. If the right foot is forward, the strike goes to the right inner ankle and may be altered when using a bolo.
Strikes 14-17: Strike 14 is a straight downward impact/slash to the opponent’s frontal cranium. It is the first strike of a fast-tactical set of strikes at medium range. This “quad” sequence is an assault on the head and neck. After Strike 14, Strikes 15 and 16 with a baston are delivered in Abaniko fashion, also known as Paypay, to the left and right temple areas of the opponent’s head. With a bolo, these are rapid slashes across the neck. These are followed by Strike 17, a downward thrust into the opponent’s supra-sternal notch, the V of the neck, at the thyroid sheath.
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Strikes 18 and 19: Dropping straight down from a high position of Strike 17, Strike 18 goes directly to the instep of the opponent’s left foot. Secondary targets in Zone 18: With bolo, the strike may be used to cut whatever is in its downward journey. The toes of the opponent are a good target for this striking tactic. Strike 19 is also a strike to the instep or toes, now only on the opponent’s right side. Secondary targets with a bolo are present at the opponent’s knees and inner thigh during the arc of the move from 18 to 19.
Strike 20: This is an upward thrust from a lower level to impact under the opponent’s chin. Secondary targets in Zone 20: Strike 20 is done as the third move after Strikes 18 and 19. As an ascending and thrusting move, it may impact the opponent at any point of ascension. Possible impact points include the groin, lower abdomen, heart, and so on. The bolo or kampilan find their mark at a depth; the baston will not.
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Strike 21—Third Alternate: This is a reverse upward slash to the opponent’s groin. Similar to Alternate Strike 10, it is done while turning 180 degrees and is a unique striking maneuver and directional change. As a tactical stratagem, it is executed as a finishing or warding-off strike while changing directions to address a new threat. It may also facilitate a retreat or be used as a feint to move behind an obstacle, a broken rhythm counter, or for distancing. It is dropped when following through to the additional numbered strikes to the backside of an opponent. Alternate Strike 21 completes the Veinte y uno Tiro set.
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Rear targets consist of numbered strikes for when the defender moves behind the aggressor in a tactical approach noted above as pangunahan sa likod, or front-toback. Practitioners are to learn important targets at the back of an opponent. These include: the right and left Achilles’ tendons, left and right lateral collateral ligaments, left and right hip joints, left and right rear shoulder blades, left and right sides of the neck and cerebral cortex, back of the head, and a thrust to the spine at mid-back. Some Final Comments on Casag’s Numerada Casag’s numerada is set up in training sequences that have a logical striking flow in mind. When the student has a good understanding of the main striking points and the additional points of the zone, he/she will have a sense of the free flow of these strikes. In other words, the striking sequences only need to flow naturally, one into another at various angles.
There is no requirement for a specific numerada. However, having a specific numerada serves as a model for the flow of the strikes. Understanding the main focus point of each angled strike, which also has a probable damage result, is an essential skill. The secondary targets must also be understood as well as possible. The reason is, while perhaps the initial point in the zone might not be lethal, the next target in the zone may be. The point is, details matter. When a strike finds its mark, it is because it was skillfully placed there. Its impact will be successful, rather than useless. In training, each numbered strike should be isolated from the flow-training drills. This is so that methods of dealing with its angle and dynamic can be studied at various ranges. The strikes must also be understood in double-baston/ bolo as well as baston ug palilyo (long and short stick) and estilo sa taas ug korto (“the style of long and short”—i.e., stick and dagger or sword and dagger).
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More on “Broken-Numbers” These are striking “patterns” that use the connections between various angles. This can be understood by pointing out varying patterns (perhaps from sister systems) of numerada. After a novice understands the value of varying angles, certain drills can be introduced. At first, this involves using “planned” sets of three strikes with corresponding defenses. The basic defenses are sagang sa gawas (defending/attacking to the outside) and a la contra (defending to the inside). For example, Strike 1 flows well to the start/load position for Strike 8; Strike 8 then flows well up to the start/load position for Strike 1 again. So, the pattern is 1-8-1. This is a downward diagonal slash to the opponent’s left shoulder/neck, then an upward slash to his right knee/leg and another downward to his left shoulder/neck again. The same can be applied to the other side of the opponent by doing a downward diagonal slash to his right shoulder/neck (Strike 2), then an upward slash to his left knee/leg (Strike 9), and another downward strike to his right shoulder/neck (Strike 2). This is a 2-9-2 pattern. Other patterns would be along the lines of: 1-2-1, 1-4-3, 1-4-5, 1-8-6, or
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2-1-2, 2-3-8, 2-5-6, and so on. There are a great many combinations in the standard frontal strikes. The defenses can be easily combined with tactics for various ranges to test one’s skills for dealing with multiple strikes, one after the other. Another method of doing broken-number training is a set of three drills simply called the usapara-usa (“one-for-one”), duha-para-duha (”two-for-two”), and tulo-para-tulo (“three-for-three”). Beginning with usa-para-usa, the aggressor strikes any one strike of his choice, which the defender defends against. After the defense, the defender then becomes the aggressor and strikes his single strike, which is defended against. Following this pattern, a back-and-forth drill ensues. Duha-para-duha and tulo-para-tulo follow the same pattern: two strikes are defended against and two strikes are delivered back, and the same with three strikes. At long range, the simple rule is that the strikes and defenses must flow naturally and make no adjustments to new or out-of-flow angles. These drills build into more complex patterns where the defender delivers fast counterstrikes after the initial defense of one, two,
The usa-para-usa (“one-for-one”) drill.
or three strikes. They then begin their strike or strike as the aggressor. These back-and-forth drills provide a good understanding of broken-number flow, angled defenses, and moving rapidly during an assault. Tulo-para-tulo, also called tulo-sumbrada, is generally the easiest of the three drills to start with, seeing that the other two drills move a bit faster.
The initial introduction to these drills is done at long range. As the student becomes more proficient in his craft, the drills become more free-style in their feel. Therefore, medium and close ranges, plus an understanding of fluctuating ranges, come into play. The usapara-usa drills provide the student with some basic understanding of the attributes of weapon length at
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varying ranges, and of when the free-hand can come into play. Understanding the changing dynamics of ranges is highly valuable. There are multiple variables explored in this method of training, and the drills help build the skills needed for meaningful free-style play. These drills, as well as others that follow them, serve to develop a student’s craft of self-defense and ability to respond spontaneously to the threat of harm. This is also where jams, traps, locks, disarms, kicks, and other defensive methods can be considered or discovered. Casag’s Approach to Combative Ranges Generally, when we think of Filipino martial arts, we think in terms of their varied origins. We think of a variety of regions, peoples, groups, and conflicts with diverse enemies over time. Like all craftsmen, their war art also developed over time. Multiple conflicts serve to produce multiple, yet distinctive, methods and weaponry. So, as they encountered different technologies and different weapons, they adapted their own.
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As disciples of these arts, we can speak meaningfully about weapon features, ranges, and other combat aspects, yet we might not always value the many genres they present us. These are “fencing arts” at the root. But they are not just fencing arts. They are, by design, concerned with warcraft. That makes them a serious matter. Yet, they come with blueprints; outlines that help us understand that combat is a highly diverse activity. We must constantly adapt to the loads and stresses of the moment. No engagement is free of its difficulties. If we think so, then we have not understood the nature of combat or conflict in general. While any combat—whether with or without weapons—imposes the need to adjust to circumstances moment by moment, we must also learn to impose our conditions and rhythms upon those circumstances. Below are descriptions of three fencing genres based on ranges of engagement with a long weapon (24-30”). These explanations do not fully reflect what we term as the translation principle, meaning how a tactic is translated into a
related strategy. Rather, these are more concerned with elementary weapon adaptation at three ranges. Most of us recognize that Filipino martial arts are at first cause combat fencing arts. They serve to develop a wonderful group of skill sets, which help us to think combatively and survive in the real world. Fencing Genre 1: Taas (Long): The engagement between a long-range weapon and a weapon of equal or similar attributes, at long range. The primary targets of the opponent are the hands, legs, and feet. For the most part, this is the principle of fang and mobility disruption and destruction. The weapon is moving at its fastest speed because the attribute of its length is being employed to the greatest extent. The tip, 1-4 inches, moves fastest to bust or cut, with only the flesh resisting at the point of contact. This is the most efficient and safest method to dispatch an opponent. Long stances and stepping from the same side that the weapon came from, are used in this method. Defensive styles of sagang sa gawas and al a contra are both employed.
Fencing Genre 2: Taas-Tunga (Long-Medium): Long-rangeweapon vs long-range weapon of equal or similar attributes, at long-medium range. In this range, the weapon is used to reshape the opponent’s weapon in its plane of cut. This reshaping is a deflection done as a push, a draw, an up or down tap, or some other simple disruption of flow; all of these are done in order to deliver a secondary strike. The primary targets of the opponent are similar to the first scenario, but now include more vital targets because our weapon is closer to the opponent’s body. This deflection or disruption is often part of the closing-in process, but may be used like a wave moving in to impact or cut, then drawing back out to long range to return in once more—only to draw back out again. At long-medium, the weapon is moving in a 1-2 cadence of deflect/strike, push/strike, descend-down/strike-up, and so on. Generally, 6-12 inches of the weapon is used in this tactic. This method is less efficient and perhaps less safe than the long-range style,
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yet it is highly effective for flowing between ranges. Long stances and stepping from the same side that the weapon came from, are also used at this distance. Sagang sa gawas and al a contra methods are both used at this distance, as well as stylistic methods such as florete bobina, in which the weapon moves like a coil unraveling to deflect and strike again rapidly, the redondo, in which the weapon circles quickly after deflection, or perhaps witik, meaning to flick-in and return again on the same trajectory. All of these are effective tactical responses. Fencing Genre 3, Tunga (Medium): Long-range weapon vs long-range weapon of equal or similar attributes, at medium or center range. In medium range, the weapon is used to present direct barriers to the opponent’s weapon flow. This typically, but not always, involves employing secondary suppression checks, locks, or other controlling factors. Additionally, korto daga (short dagger) is used for control or to thrust/cut available targets. The cadence is similar to taas-tunga, in that there is often a 1-2 timing involved in the counter sequence. The opponent’s weapon is stopped
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dead in its plane of cut or reshaped to suppress it. Typically, the center of the weapon is used most effectively in this range. A secondary strike is a primary mechanism of damage, or of disarm. The opponent’s more vital targets have become available, and are vulnerable to the second hand or blade in hand. This might also be called taas ug korto—”long and short.” Baston y daga (“stick and dagger”) or espada y daga are other terms for the long and short stylistic methods used here. There is not always a dagger in our other hand. It may simply be a palilyo (stick) or some other instrument. These genres, though trained through stages, are in a certain sense never separate from each other. Once the particulars are understood, the fighter learns to move in-out and around (sa gawas libot) and front to back (pangunahan sa likod) using these ranges. Even if they are locked in a struggle at korto range, they always strive to move to ranges where they can free themselves and employ the power of their weapon. These tactics make up the sayaw (dance) or sayaw sa hari (dance of a warrior).
Conclusion I have spoken quite a bit here about weapons training in the form of fencing genres. Yet I do not want it to seem as though I have ignored the highest skills of Casag and all Filipino martial arts, that being the categories of empty-hand vs blade and impact weapons. While carrying a short-bladed or impact weapon is a smart policy, we know that we, most of the time, have only our natural weapons—our two claws like the crab, and the inclination to move to angles and zones.
Batikan used the term Kalikali-han simply to emphasize that the principles of blade-vs-blade are not too dissimilar to hand-vs-blade, yet require a superior understanding of how the art translates across these genres. The Cebuano terms for this genre vary. It might be called mano-batok-hinagiban, (“hand against weapon”) or mano-batok-tabak (“hand against sword or knife”). Panantukan, meaning “to hit with the hand,” might be used to express empty-hand tactics as well as, simply, empty-vs-emp-
Batikan performing demonstration of Kalikali-han—the “hands of Kali.”
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ty, or haw-ang-batok-haw-ang. At any rate, in these days of machete-wielding assailants both in the US and abroad, having knowledge of how it “all” works proves, in itself, to be an edge against it. Take a Knee: Batikan’s Wise Advice When the Tobosas founded their schools, they strove to do more than simply produce a comprehensive approach to warcraft. While they could have focused on the physical over the non-physical and, in fact, separate the two, they knew that this would be akin to the separation of body and soul, a state of death. They understood the danger of power without restraint and the immorality of passivism. They wanted to offer people an understanding of courage, which society seldomly affords. Being men of resolve, they believed that men and women of courage do not need to be aggressors. Those whom they taught were encouraged to be insightful and decisive and to recognize bad behavior when they saw it—that is, in themselves first. Honest self-examination is the key to self-control. The principles of Casag are to choose one’s course of action thoughtfully and understand that there is a difference between brawling and fighting for real caus-
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es. Real causes are serious matters involving the right motives. To deal with any circumstance of conflict, both courage and skills are required. Brawling is for unskilled drunkards who lack legitimate motives and are ultimately cowardly in all their ways. To live carefully, one must learn and exercise careful thinking. Warcraft is messy business, but it does not need to be unintelligent. We are not to desire violence, but, if possible, to seek a peaceful solution. Yet amid peaceful desires, we must understand the need for the sword in a world of fighting and wars. When violence befalls the innocent, a violent response may be necessary to resolve the circumstance. Therefore, we must bear in mind that peace is not the goal of every man; so, peaceful men cannot afford to be pacifists. A man of peace must also be a man of courage, and, in fact, a truly dangerous man to those who would violate the peace. An appropriately ferocious response to violence does not disqualify us as seekers of peace. In fact, it qualifies us, providing we disdain it at the same time. There are many in the world who want what others have. They do not cherish peace and hate civility.
They want only to take, injure, and destroy. Their guiding principle is self-aggrandizement. Others, however, desire peace and courtesy. So, they train themselves for war, to curb destruction and immorality. They understand that the war arts are a good and necessary discipline. Even more so, they are the arts of peace; this is a virtue and ideology that must be understood. If we have no love of virtue or purpose for our training, its value to the world will be lost. In this respect, it is moral and just to protect oneself and others, and a greater thing to sacrifice oneself for others. Our training in responsive violence cannot be detached from a moral framework. A moral framework is a hedge we set around us. This is because we must be honest enough to recognize that we have a natural desire to do exactly what our enemy does. We are prone to punish beyond what an offense has earned. The taste of power is sweet in the moment but bitter in the long run. So, we must strive to do what is right or at least seems to be right at the moment.
rates, “is a life not worth living.” So, having powerful knowledge, we should help our fellows rather than hinder them. We should practice ferocity and docility simultaneously: doing what must be done—nothing less, nothing more. A thing of awful beauty, an instrument of both justice and mercy, we must clean and polish our swords, keep them near, be watchful, and live resolutely.
If we should lack a strict moral framing, we may certainly become no different than thugs and tyrants who live unexamined lives. An unexamined life, according to Soc-
Michael Mulconery @ michael.mulconery
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THE "BARABARA" AND BASIC LONG-WEAPON APPROACH
Michael Mulconery
THE CEBUANO TERM, barabara, primarily means “staff ” but interestingly, it is also translated as “backing up—blocking, or clogging up,” as in “something that stops the flow of something else.” Barabara primarily uses a 42-inch stick or staff, but a 36-inch cane is also used at times. It has qualities applicable to the use of a spear and many of the principles can be applied to longer impact weapons such as a 60-inch or 72-inch staff or spear. To whatever degree it may have been, Batikan learned the Barabara system from the kali grandmaster, Feliciano Magsanide (19001983). Magsanide worked in the sugarcane fields and had lived in Lahaina Maui, Kauai, and finally on Oahu at Waipahu (Batikan’s hometown). It appears that he later moved to the Kalihi-Palama area of Honolulu, which is about a 19-minute drive from where Batikan then lived in Pearl City. Batikan related that Grandmaster Magsanide trained many of the full contact escrima fighters for the Honolulu civic auditorium fights
that took place in the 1930s and 1940s. He said that Great-Grandmaster Floro Villabrille was well acquainted with Magsanide’s approach and, in fact, that they were good friends. Casag (to the best of my estimation) has only bits and pieces of the Barabara system—really only some tactical approaches and practical applications. The reason for this is probably that Batikan did not want the unique qualities of the long-stick methods to become a distractor for the core principles of Casag. Additionally, it may simply be that Batikan died before he was able to demonstrate and articulate much of this system to us. At any rate, I do not interject these methods into training until students are advanced enough to sufficiently understand the application of Casag principles and methods as they apply to multiple types of weapons. As was his way, much of what Batikan related about people and their approach to training or their particular systems was mostly done during times of “story talk” but
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also in some of his written notes. To a small degree, he made them observable when it came about that he had to use a walking cane (36 inches or so) to walk with. He had, for a time, the opportunity, so to speak, to demonstrate some very interesting stylistic moves with his cane. He noted to us that he now went everywhere with a weapon. Therefore, I consider these bits and pieces to reflect more of a “stylistic approach” than an additional system of kali within Casag (as it is not that). Now, I have no doubt that Barabara was practiced as a full system, and may still be found as such somewhere in Hawaii or elsewhere. However, it is my suspicion that the style or system of Barabara died with its founder and last known grandmaster, Feliciano Magsanide. For the Tobosa kali-escrima/Casag system, like other stylistic approaches we embrace, Barabara is, in a manner of thinking, embedded within our martial culture. Like many of Batikan’s strategies for Casag, and also in my assessment, Barabara methods served to
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uniquely inform Casag in its approach to longer impact weapons. But overall, like any other weapon we train with, Casag principles, tactics, and strategies enfold it. It is not unlike what happens when someone immerses themselves or is assimilated into another culture and becomes integrated with it. I believe that whatever Barabara principles Batikan found to be exceptional, served to inform his thinking and influenced his own approach. These principles were organized by him to fit with the system character, tactics, and strategies of Casag. As a protagonist under Batikan’s leadership, and based on his personal critique of the KAJI long staff, I believe that some of the Barabara qualities served to influence my development of the bo staff forms brought into the eclectic system of KAJI during its later development. As a side note, and really a matter of speculation, I suspect that the Barabara system may have been a root system for later ones such as Oidos, or Oido de Caburata arnis founded in 1937, and the more re-
cent Tapado arnis founded in the mid 1960s. Both of these systems use stick weapons which are longer than most arnis systems use. They also appear to use both single- and double-hand positions with various tactics. Listed below are some of what I would call “classic” hand positions for the use of longer, mostly “impact” weapons of approximately 36-42 inches or more. These positions are essentially intuitive, meaning that a study of the attributes of longer weapons through movement reveals, to the trained mind, just what works or does not work well. However, it is good to note and train with these various hand positions, because effective use of a long weapon involves the fluid transition between these wielding methods. Basic Hand Positions for a 42-Inch Long Weapon: 1. One hand with the right or left hand dominant: The Cebuano term for this positioning is usa tunol. The weapon is held at the counter-weight position where
the punyo (i.e. the back end of the stick) measures approximately 8 inches, or 2 fist lengths. With the top of the hand at approximately 12 inches from the base, the punya (i.e. the front end of the stick) measures approximately 30 inches. However, the weapon’s reach varies in accordance with the practitioner’s arm length and stance width. This hand position can be adjusted to make the punya longer, but doing so will change the forward weight of the weapon, thus affecting its maneuverability to some degree. Accordingly, recovery time after impact and weapon reload is less certain. The liability of this method is in the punyo length, which can become entangled in clothing and even caught on the wrist of the wheeling hand to cause a self-disarm. 2. Two hands with the right hand dominant: The Cebuano term for this positioning is duha mitunol. A two-handed position generally involves “push-pull” dynamics. For the right-hand-dominant, or right-hand-above position, the right hand is in the top position,
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with the left hand placed at the base of the weapon. There is approximately 4 inches (one fist length) between them. The right hand is the dominant hand in all strikes, and maintains its position. Strikes coming from the left side will lack some strength, because the right hand is pulling. However, thrusts from the left side are stronger and more accurate than those coming from the right. In fact, this static two-handed position has some awkward qualities when delivering the various angles. 3. Two hands with the left hand dominant: The exact same circumstances as described in the “two hands with the right hand dominant” comments apply to the left-hand-dominant position as well. 4. Two hands augmented with the right hand dominant: This is an augmented or amplified method where the right hand grips the weapon at approximately 2 inches above the base, and the left hand is used to augment the right. This is the same method that is used in regular training, particularly when using a heavier weapon such as a heavy hardwood stick, or blade— e.g. a kampilan or barong. This method involves the left hand being positioned behind the right at
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the back of the hand or wrist. For the most part, these positions correspond to our parada hand positions learned in basic training. When striking from the right side, the left hand pulls as the right hand pushes. This results in a very powerful impact and follow-through. 5. Two hands augmented with the left hand dominant: The exact same circumstances as described in the “two hands augmented with the right hand dominant” comments apply to the left-hand-dominant position as well. 6. Two hands together: There is no separation between the hands. Either the right or left hand holds the dominant position. This is a very powerful method, but it lacks the maneuverability of other methods. It is very much like swinging a baseball bat or sledge hammer. 7. Two hands centered at equal distance: Both hands are at equal distance from the center and ends of the impact weapon. This is not applicable to a bladed weapon, but may be used with spears of various lengths. This might typically be viewed like the rifle-and-bayonet combat methods taught in the military for close-quarters combat. In this method, like others, the hands are either right- or left-hand dominant, and the dominant position
is in constant flux. This method accommodates both hands with a palms-down position. A bothpalms-up position is not a legitimate method. 8. Fluid use of hand grips: As noted in the comments regarding classic hand positions, the truly effective use of a long weapon involves fluid transitioning between these wielding methods. The flow of combat with shifting hand positions and methods is a quality of mastery over the weapon. One hand becomes two hands very rapidly; an augmented strike shifts immediately to a two-hand grip, and then perhaps back, and so on. Additionally, the weapon may be extended by sliding into a thrust (a spear tactic) and then back to a double-handed grip of one type or another. In close proximity, the punyo is used much like it is with the shorter stick. There are also a variety of locks and traps with the punyo and staff-type maneuvers where the punya of the weapon is used in particular ways to trip the opponent, or to thrust and strike with the weapon held like an oar.
weapon’s attributes and use at various ranges need to be understood. Sagang sa gawas and al a contra at long-range are always preferred, and they are the main tactical approaches. To move or guard the target by distance, angle, elevation, deflection, barrier, and so on, and to destroy the opponent’s “fangs” and mobility are the primary strategies through the application of proper tactics. Also, bear in mind that our other stylistic methods such as hinaplos, wakil, or ligid-ligid, redondo, witik, and so on, apply very well to the use of the long weapon. Additionally, most of our standard drills, such as strike-cover-strike, the al a contra switches, particular sumbradas, and all the directional training sequences, function very well with the long weapon.
Finally, as for the use of our long weapon in Casag: as with our 2428-inch and shorter weapons, the appropriate adjustments for the
Michael Mulconery @ michael.mulconery
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Stick Arts VOL 1, ISSUE 4
2023 TheImmersionMedia.com All Rights Reser ved.
END OF ISSUE 4
VOL 1
Stick Arts ISSUE 5
The Ring of Fire Part 2
For the martial arts comprehensivist
Top - Maija Soderholm Bottom - Mark Stewart
VOLUME 1
Stick Arts ISSUE 5
The Ring of Fire Part 2
106 Mark Davies
138
The Stick: Man’s Oldest Tool and Weapon, and Its Use by the UK Special Forces
Martin Wheeler
Systema Stick Fighting
156
142
Jeffrey Finder
Luis Preto
Training Weapons In the Modern Era
Prevention Of Injuries And Power Output In Stick-Fighting
122 Banjamin Judkins, Ph.D & Jared Miracle, Ph.D
86
The Weapon of a Jedi Knight
Miguel Quijano & Miguel Machado
216
A Brief History of the Afro-Caribbean Dances
Nick Merchant
WEKAF and Dog Brothers: Together at Last!
278
324
Darren Patrick Friesen
Arturo Bonafont
Stick Grappling in Central America
Bonafont Cane Fighting System
CONTENTS
The Ring of Fire, Part 2
Vol. 1:5 - Stick Arts
18 Maija Soderholm
Tell Me About Yourself: A Conversation in Random Flow
38 Darrin Cook
Essential Kabaroan
192 Mark Stewart
Kali Abtik Largo
236 Harjit Singh Sagoo
Punjabi Wooden Weapon Fighting Arts: History, Philosophy, Conspiracy, and Technique
166 Geoff Willcher, Ph.D
Bando Staff
MARTIAL ARTS IN THE
RING OF FIRE PART II This issue of The Immersion Review wraps up our tour of the Ring of Fire, and continues on to examine the fallout of these and other martial traditions that have sparked renewed interest in martial arts around the world. The issue also touches on the theme of creating or inventing martial arts. Martial traditions have informed many fictional authors in how they have constructed their—at times— fantastical worlds. Some have been very thorough in establishing such
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new worlds, like J.R.R. Tolkien who went as far as inventing languages for the fictional peoples in his stories. Even the worlds of cinema and television have seen the invention of languages like Klingon in Star Trek. It is therefore not surprising that forms of martial art are either developed for or based on such fictional worlds. There is, for example, Teräs Käsi, a fictional martial art based on pentjak silat that exists only in the Star Wars universe and canon. This kind of world-making has been per-
From the Editors
haps most popular and thorough in the case of lightsaber fighting based on Star Wars, as discussed in this issue by Benjamin Judkins and Jared Miracle. Stunt coordinators, too, draw on martial arts, and practitioners can delight in spotting individual techniques or even styles that are used to choreograph fights in film. Inventing a martial art does not only happen in or inspired by fictional stories. The kung fu and ninja crazes in the 1970s and 1980s
were accompanied by self-styled martial arts masters who either invented their own styles or pretended to be masters in an existing one. Today, YouTube is replete with both invented arts and channels that aim at debunking the most outrageous charlatans in the guise of martial arts. Still, all martial arts are based on some form of invention. Many of the most widely spread styles can point to the originator of their style, who usually drew on previ-
Editorial | 5
ous ways of doing and training another form of martial art or arts. Innovations in pedagogies, transformation of society, and change in technology can also impact ways of fighting to the degree that a new style is formed. Sometimes, wholly new ways of fighting are proposed. We have an example of this in this issue in the form of Artura Bonafont’s style of cane fighting. Indeed, in his manual that is translated in this issue, Bonafont states that the techniques he presents are based on his own thinking, and go against the—at the time—given way of cane fighting based on fencing. Individual masters or maestros of an established art can also be innovators. Maija Soderholm shares some of her experiences from working with Maestro Sonny Umpad, and how he tasked her with passing the method of “random flow” on as his legacy. Sonny kept on innovating new ways and implements for training, and he had arrived at this method after already having taught a few of generations of students. Rather than
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a collection of techniques or set patterns, random flow is a means to connect the nervous system and the conscious mind through dance-like play with blades. It also allows one to internalize new ideas and get past “freezing points” that fear, among other things, produces in practitioners. Skill in this type of development is measured through the ability to first “see” and “read” the opponent in order to eventually “write” what they will do. Random play is a way to experience “when” and “how” something becomes effective in the sense of getting a hit while not getting hit, which in turn develops a sense of strategy and tactics. While this was the final teaching method Maestro Umpad developed, Soderholm has found that it can be deployed to hone tactical skills in many other martial art traditions even beyond those of the Philippines. Traditions can be continued by trying to preserve or archive them as they have been received. Another approach to keeping a tradition going is to alter it innovatively together with the times. In accor-
dance with the second approach, Kabaroan, meaning “the newest,” represents—according to Darren Cook—a radical break with the traditional forms of Filipino martial arts. Firstly, the art in question utilizes a heavier and longer (36-inch) hardwood stick compared with the rattan sticks commonly used in other forms of Filipino fighting. Secondly, whereas the traditional arts, with their lighter and shorter weapons, rely on blocking the incoming attack, a Kabaroan artist emphasizes merging with the attack rather than blocking it. Kabaroan methods, however, are closely guarded, and this has led to a host of misunderstandings regarding its composition. Cook discloses that, although Grandmaster Estalilla did publicly teach, for example, sinawali (double stick) or staff and stick methods, these are not Kabaroan. He then proceeds to share with the reader the essence of the art as taught to him by GM Estalilla by describing, in detail, a form called the “abriged 15” containing different strikes, their counters, and core tactical principles of the system.
Codified martial art traditions are present in most cultures, and yet it comes as a surprise even to most aficionados that—aside from more well-known arts like Brazilian capoeira and Trinidadian kalinda—there exists rich traditions of Afro-diasporic arts of maní and kokoye in Cuba and calinda, cocobalé, and cocolembe in Puerto Rico. Miguel Quijano and Miguel Machado trace the present forms of these arts, firstly, to the slave owners’ policies of appeasement which, quite unintentionally, led to solidifying of African culture on the islands and, secondly, to interactions (or rather, fighting) with other ethnic groups’ martial arts, such as Portuguese jogo do pau and Canarian juego del palo. Maní, meaning “war,” was kept alive and practiced in dances. The combative “game” of maní is, however, played in a circle with the goal of knocking down one’s opponent with kicks, punches, sweeps, and so on—it is a true full-contact form of fighting in contrast to the more commonly known folkloric and performative form of the
Editorial | 7
game. Cocobalé and calinda, on the other hand, are played with sticks of varying lengths—or, in the case of cocobalé, even with machetes or knives— with the goal of making the opponent bleed or become unconscious. Further, cocolembe is a hand-to-hand art played by the community elders when a master of the aforementioned art has
[Photo credit: Clive Kim]
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passed away. Indeed, all of these arts are steeped in tradition and ritual, preserving the unique Afro-Cuban heritage into the present day. Creativity and innovation is part of the evolution of warfare. Here, close-quarter battling has been deployed in contemporary mili-
tary contexts on the basis of “usewhat-works.” For example, British Special Forces were created during the Second World War to conduct deep strikes behind the enemy lines and to recruit, train, and organize local resistance fighters. These units—Commandos, Special Air Service (SAS), Special Operations Executive (SOE)—were taught “last ditch” combatives by William Fairbairn for situations where the soldier’s normal weaponry was unavailable or not preferred. Fairbairn’s stick method relied on a 18 to 24-inch weapon used predominantly in a two-handed grip. The system was very simple and basic, as it needed to be taught quickly. The operations in Iraq and Afghanistan renewed the military’s interest in combatives as Special Forces soldiers found themselves fighting in very close quarters, and even with improvised weapons. As a result, the stick training in British Special Forces can nowadays be grouped into three categories: short stick, baton, and staff/spear. The short stick method is based on reverse-grip knife technique
taught by James A. Keating, whereas the baton methodology relies on both Filipino martial arts and the old Fairbairn method. Staff/spear, on other hand, is based heavily on bayonet training as well as sibat and jo staff methods. The training itself proceeds progressively towards “fog of war,” aiming at operating reliably in less-than-ideal conditions. Not all traditions are ancient or, indeed, connected to earthly human reality. Take, for example, Lightsaber Combat; a competitive sport and martial art based on ideas around the Star Wars universe and franchise. In this context Benjamin Judkins and Jared Miracle remind us that even established martial arts are wrought with invented histories and imagined traditions with tenuous connections to reality, although, like Lightsaber Combat, they are practiced as if they were true. Lightsaber Combat has its true beginnings in the early 2000s when the current generation of LED-equipped replica lightsabers became available. This coincided with the in-
Editorial | 9
vention/exploration of the “seven classic forms” of Lightsaber Combat furthering the lore and mythology surrounding the art. After a while, this attracted actual martial artists to try and figure out how one, in “reality,” would fight with a lightsaber. This resulted in hobbyist groups, different rulesets, and differing self-identifications springing up around the globe. The ahistorical and mythological nature of Lightsaber Combat enables creative play—mixing and borrowing from a variety of sources allowing for genuine martial exchange uninhibited by organizational politics. This also elevates the practice to hyper-reality, enabling one to connect with mythic structures and surpassing one’s mundane existence. It must be noted, however, that this element of hyper-reality is also present in traditional arts, although the line delineating it from the mundane is much clearer in Lightsaber Combat. The Star Wars narrative and, by extension, Lightsaber Combat conveys the values and qualities of modern heroic archetypes—not unlike tra-
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ditional arts carrying ideas about correct morality and behavior. The varying uses of sticks display the creative range of humans in various environments and contexts. Sticks are also used in contemporary constabulary professions in many parts of the world. Their use has also been part of more military forms of close-quarter combat. Martin Wheeler shares some of the insights on stick-use that has been parted onto him by his teachers in the combat system developed for spies and special force members in the Soviet Union, called systema, or “the system.” Here, the expression is not so much tied to specific techniques regarding how to use a stick, but about how the system comes out when using a stick. Fighting with sticks is, by definition, an activity conducive to physical trauma. There is, obviously, an opponent trying to hit you but also, according to Luis Preto, types of injuries caused by your own actions, wholly independent of your opponent. The key to preventing these kinds of injuries is
implementing a strength training program designed to strengthen the relevant musculature. This should be accompanied with technique-oriented training designed to develop greater body awareness, postural control, and technique. While discussing power output, Preto starts by making a distinction between reaction and movement speeds. Improving the reaction speed can be accomplished by improving one’s ability to identify the stimulus and lessening the time that it takes to select a proper response to it. Movement speed, on the other hand, can be developed by improving one’s ability to execute the relevant motor patterns (techniques) and building up one’s ability to generate relevant muscle tension (force). Preto then offers the reader different strategies for both injury prevention and power generation, depending on the level of the martial artist. Specific training weapons have likely been around for as long as there have been fighting skills worth passing on. The implements of training are another vein that
shows how innovation and creativity are part of martial arts and their evolution. Indeed, as Jeff Finder notes, nowadays we have a wealth of different materials to construct training weapons from, all suited for different purposes. For example, traditional arts may prefer their trusted wooden or metal trainers whereas more sport-oriented arts might like lighter and flashier aluminum weapons. Wood and rattan are cheap and easy to replace materials to construct trainers from, but one might prefer aluminum swords and knives due to their more realistic look and feel. A less common option is to construct training blades from high-impact plastics, which offer more durability than either wood or aluminum and, with correct specifications, also mimic well their “live” counterparts. Like with synthetic composite materials, combining things overall is one way of creating something new. According to Geoff Willcher, the bando staff forms that are taught today are synthesized from several older forms by eliminat-
Editorial | 11
ing repetitions and stringing parts from different forms together. He goes on to explain the mindset and naturalistic worldview of the Burmese people reflected in the forms. For example, the system consists of several different drills and nine forms, reflecting the Burmese fascination in the multiples of three. Willcher further explains the many purposes of the forms as well as the organization, principles, training, and tactics of bando itself, offering us a comprehensive overview of the bando staff system as a whole. Different martial arts prefer different ranges in accordance with their preferred weapons, strategies, and tactics as well as their understanding of combative engagements. While it is necessary to learn how to fight at all the ranges, for Mark Stewart, the optimal range for a given weapon is its longest reach, reflecting the viewpoint of Kali Abtik Largo. The aim is to utilize distance, evasion, and deception to deliver surgical strikes while avoiding weapon-to-weapon contact. The key to all this is proper footwork: without good footwork you
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cannot position yourself correctly either for attack or defense. Stewart continues by giving us an overview of Kali Abtik Largo concepts, including, for example, angles of attack, targeting, and timing, as well as a few tactical pointers to try and use in one’s next sparring session. How can you ascertain that your martial art actually works against an uncooperative opponent? You spar and fight. This is a true and tested way of evolving fighting styles that brings in the role of rules in how arts evolve and how creativity comes in. Nick Merchant notes that in the Filipino martial arts community there are two major rule sets to govern fighting: World Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation (WEKAF) and Dog Brothers, both with their particular pros and cons, which Merchant covers extensively. Succinctly put, WEKAF fighting tends to develop speed, accuracy, combinations, and endurance whereas Dog-Brothersstyle of fighting stresses versatility, power, movement, and strategy. They can thus be seen as comple-
mentary, rather than exclusionary, ways of testing and developing one’s skill and ability. Martial arts evolve, develop, and cross-pollinate each other over time—they are even manipulated by the ruling elite and foreign overlords. Take for instance the Indian arts of shastar vidya and gatka, the martial arts of the Sikh peoples of Punjabi. As Harjit Singh Sagoo demonstrates, shastar vidya is an ancient battlefield art that traces its roots all the way to the 15th century. Gatka, a weapons-based sport, on the other hand, is a product of the late 1800s and early 1900s and utilizes a meter-long stick. The practice of gatka was actually encouraged by the British as it took the people away from the original battlefield arts of the Sikh and would thus pave way to the continuing British rule. Singh Sagoo speculates that the later inclusion of additional weapons in gatka may have been brought about by the desire to revive the largely lost martial art of shastar vidya, thus leading to the misunderstanding that gatka actually is
the ancient art of the Sikh. He then continues by outlining the basic curriculum of gatka, including soti (meter-long stick), lathi (staff), and fari and soti (representing buckler and sword) sparring, revealing to us the simple but practical methods of the art. Preparing for the possibility of facing actual real-life violence on a day-to-day basis brings with it a host of considerations rarely encountered in most martial artists’ training. In his article, Darren Patrick Friesen shares his insights about these factors—and the experience of teaching conflict management tactics as a foreigner— based on his work training security guards in Costa Rica. He starts by exploring some of the emotional and behavioral background necessary for security-related work as well as the necessary restraint on using violent means in one’s job as a security guard. Furthermore, the dynamics of a violent encounter necessitates on-the-spot decision-making and prior thought on and training in the ergonomics of weapon availability and deploy-
Editorial | 13
ment, as well as retention tactics. Friesen thus outlines his no-nonsense approach and methodology of using a baton in security work starting from the first contact all the way until handcuffing and patdown. Sticks and canes have been used for self-defense since time immemorial. Especially during the belle époque in Europe, the cane became both a fashion element and the last legal weapon for defending oneself. Darren Cook presents us with a translation of Arturo Bonafont’s New Ways of Self-Defense on the Street with a Cane from Buenos Aires written in the 1920s and published in 1930. It has been difficult to get a hold of Bonafont’s manual of this one-of-a-kind system. What makes it stand out from other cane styles is that it mainly uses the stick in a “reverse” grip that tends to be a special way of holding a stick in most styles of fighting. For Bonafont, though, this is the most efficient way of striking with a cane in the number of self-defense scenarios that he goes through in his manual.
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As the articles in this issue show, creativity and invention are integral parts of martial arts whether one looks at old styles, their contemporary interpretation, the means and methods of training, or the development of new systems or entirely new arts. Hopefully the hoplological endeavors of The Immersion Review will spark new creative thinking in its readership, too.
Mahipal Lunia Executive Editor
Juha A. Vuori, Ph.D Managing Editor
Mika Harju-Seppänen Managing Editor
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STAFF / TEAM CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Mahipal Lunia Explorer-in-Residence, The Immersion Foundation Executive Editor, The Immersion Review @theimmersionfoundation
@immersion.foundation
http://www.therenaissancepath.com http://www.theimmersion.foundation
Juha A. Vuori, Ph.D Professor of International Politics, Faculty of Management and Business Tampere University, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1487-2961
Mika Harju-Seppänen mika.harjuseppanen@gmail.com
PEER REVIEWERS Juha A. Vuori, Ph.D Mika Harju-Seppänen 1 Anonymous Reviewer
PRODUCTION Hana Shin Editor & Production Director
Jeff William Palaganas Production Assistant
The Immersion Review, founded by The Immersion Foundation, is a conduit for penetrating insights in combat and combative behavior. It is a space for the dedicated martial artist, who dares to seek ideas from diverse fighting systems. The Immersion Review is a peer-reviewed journal for the martial arts comprehensivist. FOR EDITORIAL AND ADVERTISING INQUIRIES, PLEASE CONTACT: thereview@theimmersion.foundation
TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF A CONVERSATION IN RANDOM FLOW
[photo credit : Eric Nomberg]
Maija Soderholm
IN EARLY 2006, MAESTRO Sonny Umpad, my teacher and founder of Visayan Style Corto Kadena and Larga Mano Eskrima, was diagnosed with brain cancer. Soon after the diagnosis, he was taken to the hospital having lost motor function in one arm. Once there, he had surgery to remove tumors in his brain. He was told there were inoperable tumors they left untouched, and that he only had about six months to live.
SONNY UMPAD / RANDOM FLOW
· Maija Soderholm | 19
Arrangements were made for him to move into a care facility from the hospital ward, but the morning that the transportation was to collect him, he disappeared.
He told me: “Flow. Random Flow. Show them that. Show them the ‘pendulum’. If you can give them one thing, get them to flow. No patterns. OK?”
A few hours later, he was found by frantic family members at his own home, sitting at his table, working on his blade projects. He had walked out of the hospital, taken two separate buses, and then walked home from the bus stop. It was clear he had no intention of sitting around and waiting to die. Luckily, his amazing friend and former nurse, Elena, stepped up and volunteered to look after him so he could have his wish to stay home instead of going into care.
Of course, I said, “yes.”
During this period, his students continued to go over to his place and train, the workout space made even smaller now by a hospital bed in the living room. He told all his students he expected us to carry on his ideas and teach. Even before his stroke, I had already made plans to start a class. So, now we spent time chatting about how I was going to do it. In what turned out to be one of our last conversations, I sat by his bed, and he asked me to promise him not to teach any preset patterns or drills.
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My first class was scheduled for Thursday evening that next week. At 11 AM on that very same morning, the 24th of August 2006, he died. I taught my class, laughed, cried, and cursed his sense of timing, and wondered how I would ever manage to keep my promise. It turned out to be very challenging to teach following and using his restrictions, limitations, and instructions, but I tried, and at the same time also tried to make sense out of why it was so important to him. It has been quite a journey, and incredibly valuable experience to make sense out of his simple training philosophy. To give the reader a flavor of what it was like to be at the receiving end of his tutorage, here are some excerpts from an essay I wrote soon after his death that appeared in a memorial edition of FMA Digest. Reading it still brings me back vivid memories to this day.
SONNY UMPAD / RANDOM FLOW
· Maija Soderholm | 21
TRAINING TO READ AND WRITE WITH SONNY
Training with Sonny was often a bewildering experience, something akin to dancing in a foreign language . . . with weapons. He taught out of his home in a medium-sized living room. The furniture would be pushed back against the walls hung with a multitude of weapons, and a video camera would be hooked up to a TV monitor in one corner, so not only could you see yourself during class, but you could also get a tape to take home and study. There was Sonny’s worktable in one corner and a small cooling fan set on the floor in another. The room seemed impossibly small, with barely enough room to get out of range, and always with the added stress of not wanting to knock anything over. The floor fan suffered the most, as Sonny delighted in cornering us as we desperately sought refuge from his blade. The camera caught every-
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thing, of course, including Sonny’s laughter as we tripped into the floor fan yet again. Interestingly enough, the room seemed to grow bigger as your skills improved, only to shrink back again as the training stepped up another level. He mainly used the sword for this flow, believing (rightly as I experienced it!) that the blade had a marvelous focusing effect on the mind. As you progressed, you learned to understand the subtle differences in the angles of entry for both blade and body, and how to see things for what they were instead of fearing things you imagined. Sonny explained that fear, and also aggression and pride close down the brain and impede the connection between the nervous system and the conscious mind. So, during the flow, he liked to find these places and used them as a guide to tell him what and when you were ready to learn.
[photo credit: Greg Manalo]
[photo credit : Eric Nomberg]
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Sonny’s great gift was to be able to take anyone, regardless of skill or martial background, and create an atmosphere in which you could internalize new ideas. Then he would find your “freezing points,” whether physical, emotional or mental, point them out to you, and coax you into letting them go. The more open and centered you were and the more you could “see,” the more he gave you, and hence, the more you learned. Sometimes Sonny’s ability to manifest change left you not knowing what, or whether, you had learned anything, because as he led you, he always stayed a step ahead, switching rhythm, attitude, weapon, or whatever he saw was needed to improve your skill. On those days, when you got depressed or frustrated, he would show you how far you had come, but of course, when your ego got too big, he would quickly show you, in no uncertain terms, how little you knew. The ability to “see,” when applied to an individual opponent, Sonny referred to as “reading.” Of this, he was an expert; however, a higher skill still he called “writing,” an ability at which the maestro was most adept. His often-discussed
“ghostlike” quality came from this. It meant that he was virtually impossible to block or touch, seemingly always just out of reach whilst striking you at will. His ability to set you up, coupled with his precision in judging range and his pinpoint accuracy, created the impression of fighting someone who was not there. He could create openings at will, he could draw, freeze, startle, or cause you to over-extend, and most amazingly, he could teach you how to see the setup as you were being set up! As you practiced, you tried to understand this, attempting to “write” others whilst not getting “read” yourself. His constant openness to new things and his humbleness are not only an inspiration, but a reminder that, as soon as you think there is nothing left to learn, you start to fall, but if your peak is always in front of you, you will never decline. When I think back on my lessons with Sonny, I remember it being like falling into the deep end . . . “Just don’t get hit,” he’d say, as he chased you around the room. Sword in hand, clumsy at first and
SONNY UMPAD / RANDOM FLOW
· Maija Soderholm | 25
more graceful as time passed, you learned to dodge, block, strike, and evade. It was a breathtaking experience where time passed quickly, and your brain struggled to keep focus as the hours went by at blinding speed. After class, you were left only with a precious videotape to see what had happened, to take home and try and comprehend what your bones seemed to be learning already. Flowing with Sonny was often bewildering, sometimes confusing, and pretty much the most fun I have ever had. I will miss it terribly.
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Point of View It is now 12 years since I wrote those words, and I have been working on his material ever since. Obviously, mine is but a small part of his whole art, as it must be remembered that we all bring our personalities to the arts we train and are driven by what engages us most fully. In my case, that would be the study of tactical thinking. So, everything you will now read, though inspired by Sonny and his material, are my interpretations and opinions. All omissions and errors belong to me.
As noted above, by the time I started training with Sonny in 2000, he was only teaching via his Random Flow method, as opposed to teaching techniques, patterns, and choreographed partner drills. We trained almost exclusively with blades of differing styles and lengths, and with the cane—the largo style, panunkod (“old man” style), and bonsai (“two hands on the weapon” style). Blades came always first for him, but the cane is possibly the most versatile weapon of all, having two ends that can be held and switched, and three ranges, depending on whether you wield the cane with a single hand, or two hands at one end like a baseball bat, or shortened up with one at each end. It is very complex and demands excellent hand, body, eye, and foot coordination, so side by side with swords and short blades, we flowed with canes in hand. Always the main focus of the day was, “Don’t get hit!” Random for a Reason Sonny developed his new method for an important reason: he noticed the gap between techniques taught traditionally, and what came out in free sparring. He saw that very little of what was taught manifested when the randomness and chaos of an uncooperative op-
ponent came into the picture. Sonny came to believe that the “when” and the “how” of what was happening were often far more important than the technique used. He wanted us to understand: How do you find openings? How do you predict your opponent’s moves? How do you set them up? How do you know when a technique is the right one to use? When is it safe? When is X, Y, and Z possible? So, he came up with a training method that, though perhaps more difficult to learn at the beginning, gave far better results in the end.
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Maija flowing with Ken Ingram [photo credit: Eric Nomberg].
The core philosophy is this: if you always practice with predictable timing (the opponent throws a known strike angle, or throws in a set rhythm), you never get to understand the precursors or the setups that make the moment happen. For instance, why did they throw that first strike at all? Did they think they could hit you? Why? Were you open? Why did they think they were safe to do so?
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Did they even care? Controlling the setups and noticing the precursors creates success in all techniques. These were the things Sonny wanted us to investigate, and this is where we spent the vast majority of our training time. His philosophy was that a “win” was about getting away in one piece, and when he would say, “It is easy to hit, it is even easier to die—the art is NOT getting hit,” what he meant was
that there was very little to practice unless you indeed wanted to get away. He felt that you had to have three constant elements in your partner practice: 1) Time—because everything happens in the relative time between you and your opponent; there is always a before, during, and an after, where change happens. 2) Movement—in and out of range, for if there is no range change, nothing needs to happen, so continually altering range/angle must be part and parcel of every technique.
3) Last but not least, unpredictability—so that choices are made continuously with a chance of being wrong. You have to learn how to choose correctly, because there are always choices to be made. With lethal weapons, the cost of being wrong is very high. This is Random Flow training—learning how to choose correctly by creating a database of behaviors and pattern recognition.
"Y
ou have to learn how to choose correctly, because there are always choices to be made. With lethal weapons, the cost of being wrong is very high. This is Random Flow training—learning how to choose correctly by creating a database of behaviors and pattern recognition."
Maija flowing with Sonny [photo credit: Eric Nomberg]
Pendulum Stepping—The Movement Paradigm behind Random Flow Pendulum stepping is the foundation for Random Flow, an innovation that Sonny came up with from his passion for partner dancing, and an evening of learning to chacha with friends. The pendulum practice with a partner starts every flow session and gives the practitioners a framework within which to investigate the relationship between them and their partner. The ebb and flow of a pendulum swinging forwards and backwards holds all the possibilities of timing, stealing range, off-angling from motion, and evasive footwork. It also counters the tendency of standing your ground, or moving around at a constant range, neither one a good option with bladed weapons. There is a cliché in martial arts about the primary importance of footwork, and it is a cliché because it is true: you cannot move without footwork; you cannot evade, and you cannot surprise your opponent. Embedding the pendulum stepping in all partner drills encourages footwork from the very beginning. Others’ standing still becomes our constant movement.
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Others, Enemies, and Tactics Every art is defined by the problems it is trying to solve and the enemy it is facing. The goal is to prevail. It is very simple—everything you are doing is because they exist. You cannot deny the existence of the “other.” Even if your goal is to creep up and ambush them, you still need to pay attention to avoiding detection. The opponent is linked to you by the wish for opposite outcomes in the game of life and death. Sonny was most interested in this link, this relationship between two or more parties in any altercation. You cannot control who your enemy is, but you can control the relationship between you and them. You cannot change their personality, but you can use their movement tendencies and their personality against them—this was his thinking. And just to clarify, “relationship” does not mean that I care who they are, or how they fight; it only means that I care about what their weaknesses are, and how they are predictable. Everyone has flaws, and pretty much everyone is predictable unless they are crazy (but then they are predictably crazy).
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Also, to clarify, Random Flow training is not sparring; they are different skills. Using the analogy of communication between two parties, Random Flow is a conversation, perhaps even a friendly debate. But when debate turns into argument, now you are sparring. Fighting, of course (ideally), is the confused moment before any sound comes out of your opponent’s mouth. ;-) Random Flow, in essence, is intel-gathering, active listening, learning about others, and, of course, learning about yourself, using your opponent as your mirror. It can be genuinely cooperative, witty banter, or downright lying. You are there to pull out reactions from your opposite, to see who they are, and how they tick. In training, all those who stand in front of you are case studies from whom you can learn. Every single one of them is useful for understanding how we face conflict, individually, and as a species. I have a theory that there are only a handful of “types” in the world, but that discussion is for another time.
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Your opponent can teach you about what makes them tick, and at the same time, about your own tendencies and weaknesses: What do you fail at? Where do you take the most hits? How often do you execute a clean technique without taking damage? Why? What are your weaknesses? Forcing your opponent into a trap is a skill, as is avoiding theirs. So, how successful are you at deceiving your opponents with fakes? How tempting do your baits look to them? How well can you pull your opponent into making errors by reading their personality? Which tactics lead to a clean strike? What percentage are you working at? Do you know when you can safely close the distance aggressively, and when they are luring you in? Instead of relying on luck and happenstance in every encounter, how about learning to control the game? The study of strategy and tactics is universal to the human condition, as we have been fighting amongst ourselves since time immemorial. Random Flow training
is a way to play with these ideas in real-time with a focus on understanding minds as well as bodies. And without belaboring the point too much, it is the randomness and surprise that are essential for people to be “natural” in their reactions and actions, so that the intelligence gained transfers to real fighting. This was why Sonny would always be trying to find our “freezing points” where our nervous systems started glitching. It is hard to fake behavior when you are in this place. Of course, you do not have to work right at the edge all the time. Just throwing out “questions” to your opponent and watching what occurs will give you much. One must keep in mind, though, that the riskier and more varied your questions, the greater your ability to notice patterns and tendencies. The more people you “converse” with, the larger your database, the more you know what questions give you the answers you want, and the more you can set your opponent up successfully.
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Limits A note of warning: Random Flow “conversation” can easily turn into a sparring “argument” if both sides get caught up in their competitive monkey minds and egos get involved. Both sides entrench, and the gathering of intelligence disappears and is replaced purely with the desire not to lose. All the opportunities for understanding “when” and “why” are lost. It takes a clear mind to pull back and reset. It is a difficult practice, and possibly not for everyone; a mature mindset and a letting go of ego is essential for success. I suspect that, if you come from a background like mine—generally smaller and weaker (or any disadvantage)—it creates more incentive to practice non-strength-based skills because it sucks to lose without them constantly. Many, of course, do not feel the necessity, and that is fine. However, in the end, understanding tactics is for everyone, because we all eventually grow old, accumulate injuries, and lose speed. Learning how to fight smarter, not harder, can up your skills whatever age you are, and keep you sharp until you die.
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And I do not say that lightly. Not many days before Sonny died, we trained. He was wearing slippers as he sparred, sword in hand, his expression calm as always. By then he was limited to shuffling with minimal stepping, but there were no openings to find and no way I could strike him down without taking a lethal cut before I got him. It was a great lesson and an inspiration I will hold throughout my life. I think of his method as a machine—you put raw material in one end, and it comes out better at the other. I think every system can benefit from learning the skill of Random Flow, and this has proved to be true in the variety of groups that have invited me to do workshops, ranging from schools teaching Chinese weapon arts to HEMA schools. Tactical thinking crosses many borders. Active listening, and being a good conversationalist are also great skills to have outside the training hall. Random Flow training has given me many useful tools to deal with conflict, to deflect, resolve, or evade, as necessary, with or without a weapon in hand. As Sun Tzu
said, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” [Author's note: Interesting new research from the University of California1 (from just a couple of days ago as I write this) seems to confirm the logic of this training method, noting that the brain has one type of anticipatory timing that relies on memories from past experiences, and another on rhythm. Both seem critical to our ability to navigate and enjoy the world. Random Flow Training provides the format to work with both.]
Yasmin Anwar, “To predict the future, the brain uses two clocks,” Berkeley News, November 19, 2018, https://news.berkeley. edu/2018/11/19/brainclocks/. 1
SONNY UMPAD / RANDOM FLOW
Maija Soderholm @ maija.soderholm
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ESSENCIAL KABAROAN Darrin Cook
WHAT IS KABAROAN? Kabaroan, pronounced “kah-bar-wahn,” is an Ilocano term meaning “the newest.” The northern Philippine provinces of Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte are the ancestral home of the late Philippine president, Ferdinand Marcos. Their language, Ilocano, serves as a trade language throughout much of northern Luzon, the main island where the capital of Manila is located, and is either the second or third most
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commonly spoken language in the Philippines. So, even though the late Grandmaster Leo Giron of the Philippine province of Pangasinan was not from the Ilocos provinces, he and Grandmaster Estalilla communicated in the Ilocano language. The Filipino martial arts are generally weapon-based methods that train with sticks and blades, and Kabaroan is the distinctively Ilocano style.
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Kabaroan is best understood by what it is not. Kabaroan is “the newest,” a radical break with the old, traditional styles of the Filipino martial arts called kadaanan [kah-dah-ah-nahn], an Ilocano term meaning “the old.” The old, traditional styles use short sticks or machetes, and are based on blocking. Demonstrations of these styles involve complicated blocks, quick footwork, and the clacking and twirling of sticks at close range, which make for a great spectacle. In contrast, the new style of Kabaroan features a longer weapon practiced with long strides at a distance. The style was designed to employ the field tool called a panabas, which is a twenty-inch machete blade attached to a twenty-inch handle. It is a simplified system that features merging with an attack rather than blocking it. On page 2 of The Secrets of Giron Arnis Escrima by Antonio Somera, the late Grandmaster Giron is seen wielding the panabas. This section of the book also explains the origin of Kabaroan.
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Why This Article? I want to preserve the numerous stories that Maestro Estalilla shared with me, and the culture of the art as I learned it. It should also be understood that GM Estalilla regards the essence of Kabaroan as his ace in the hole, which he is reluctant to teach to just anyone who shows up at a seminar. GM Giron once confided to GM Estalilla that he had twenty styles on his master’s fan, but Kabaroan was the hidden system he held in reserve. So, Maestro Estalilla teaches basic techniques publicly, all the while holding back and closely guarding his treasured Kabaroan techniques. The advantage of this strategy is that it protects the secrets of Kabaroan, but the disadvantage is that observers come to believe that these simple techniques comprising his public presentation of the art represents all that he knows. This is false. For example, a quick YouTube search shows GM Estalilla teaching sinawali, the double stick weaving patterns of eskrima, at a seminar. This is not Kabaroan, but it is one of the first videos to show up in a search. When I first trained with Maestro, I was surprised to learn that he was very confident in using a single long stick against an
From left to right: Ryan Osborn, GM Estalilla, and Darrin Cook
opponent armed with two sticks. It seemed obvious to me that a person with two sticks has a clear advantage over an opponent with just one. Maestro Estalilla then showed me how he would defeat a double-stick opponent, and I became a believer. So, although GM Estalilla knows sinawali and teaches it, the double-stick method is not Kabaroan.
In recent years I have seen Maestro online, wielding a staff in one hand and a long stick in the other. When we trained together, we never did any of these techniques, which may be interesting, but are not Kabaroan. I now see men associated with Maestro representing the system, and I do not know how solid their foundation in Kabaroan, or any of the Filipino mar-
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tial arts, is. By way of analogy, you could become a student of Bruce Lee without any previous martial arts training, just like Ted Wong did. But the people who really appreciated what Bruce Lee offered, who grasped the radical innovation he represented, were those with extensive martial arts training. I just wonder if some people representing Kabaroan really have the depth and the commitment that they should. So, my aim here is to teach the essence of Kabaroan, as it was taught to me personally by the grandmaster himself. I also want to illustrate what makes Kabaroan unique among the Filipino martial arts. Furthermore, and because Kabaroan is based upon advanced concepts, you can apply it to almost any style you do. The Kabaroan Stick When I trained with Maestro, we never used the rattan so common in the Filipino martial arts. We used hardwood sticks of approximately 36 inches in length. One way to measure the proper length of the stick for Kabaroan is to stand with your arm outstretched, parallel to the ground. The stick should reach from your fingertips to the center of your chest at the sternum. Another way to measure the correct
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stick length is to stand up straight with the stick at your side resting with the tip on the ground next to your foot—the top of the stick should reach your hip at the belt line. My favorite stick is a shovel handle, which you can purchase at any one of the big hardware stores like Home Depot, and have them cut it down for you. A key attribute of the Kabaroan stick is not just its length, but its weight. I have seen Filipino martial artists wielding long sticks made of rattan. Although this stick is long, it is too light, and as a result one sees these practitioners twirling the stick and making large movements that are impossible to perform with a solid stick. Maestro typically wielded a heavy hardwood stick that, I would guess, was two inches in diameter. He had no trouble handling a hefty stick that was heavier than those of me and my training partner, Ryan Osborne, a friend of mine who was also a private student of GM Estalilla. How can the longer, heavier stick even compete with—let alone surpass—the much quicker, shorter, and lighter stick? In my view, the long, heavy stick forces one always to take the shortcut, to emphasize economy of motion. You simply
cannot do the twirling and spinning techniques of the short stick styles. Thus, the long stick of Kabaroan serves as a tool to teach you to follow the straight line and the tightened arc. Take a Critical Look Before I get into technique, I would like to share an analogy from Maestro: “If I give you a fish, do you eat it bones and all? No! You separate the meat from the bones.” This is GM Estalilla’s memorable way of saying that there are thousands of styles and multiple thousands of techniques, so, when you see a technique you must carefully evaluate it, separating the bones (techniques that are useless) from the meat (techniques that are good). Not every technique is useful, but I believe that every person and system has something valuable to teach. This is reminiscent of Bruce Lee’s dictum, “Absorb what is useful.” I invite you to take a critical look at everything I will share with you in this article, and carefully evaluate for yourself whether it is effective.
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BEGINNING LESSONS I would like to begin by introducing you to the manner in which we used to begin the lessons when I trained with GM Estalilla. First of all, we started with a bow. With both feet together, I placed the far end of the stick under my left armpit. My left hand went over the stick and came up between my stick and my right arm to grasp my right wrist. With a bow I said, “Adalanak,” which is Ilocano for “Disciple me,” or “Show me the way.” (Dalan is “way” in Ilocano.) Next, we did warm-up exercises. Maestro always stressed that the long stick—unlike the short stick— can also be used as an exercise tool, so we started off with a series of exercises with the big stick. Jumping Jacks To Increase the heart rate, which in turn creates blood flow to the mus-
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cles and thus helps prevent tearing and other injuries, we started with jumping jacks. Especially with the stretching exercises that follow, it is important to be warmed up. Most of these exercises begin from the rest position. Standing naturally with the knees slightly bent and the feet shoulder-width apart, the hands grasp the stick palm-down, shoulder-width apart. The arms hang down loosely so that the stick is horizontal at about crotch level. To do jumping jacks with the long stick, again grasp the stick palmsdown and shoulder-width apart. Let your arms hang down naturally, with the stick horizontal at crotch level, and your feet together. Jump up and spread your feet to shoulder width or slightly wider, while swinging your arms upward until they are as high above your head as possible, with the stick parallel
to the ground. In these exercises, we always strive to get maximum range of motion. Reverse this process, hopping to bring your feet together while swinging the stick down to your waist. Repeat. You can also do jumping jacks by starting with the feet together and the stick held naturally at your waist with both hands shoulder-width apart. Jump while throwing the right foot forward and the left foot backward. At the same time, fling the stick up above your head. Reverse, throwing the right foot behind you, and the left foot out in front, while swinging the stick downward. Repeat. Windmills Windmills combine stretching and cardio in one exercise. With the feet wider than shoulder width and the hands grasping the stick
palm-down at shoulder width, reach up as high as you can above your head with the right end of the stick, then drop down to bring the right end of your stick down toward your left ankle, with your legs straight. Now reach up with your left hand as high as possible above your head toward an imaginary upper left corner, then swing the left end down toward your right ankle. Repeat. Sayaw (Dance) The following exercise is reminiscent of traditional Filipino dances such as the cariñosa and the pandanggo sa ilaw. Starting at the rest position, bring the stick up above the left side of your head at a 45-degree angle as though blocking an overhead attack to the left side of your head, while stepping forward with the right foot. Your left foot now steps behind and
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to the outside of your right foot, while driving the left end of your stick straight behind you. The left foot now steps out to its original position and the stick is brought up at a 45-degree angle as though blocking an overhand attack to the right side of your head. The right foot now steps behind and to the outside of your left foot as you strike with the right end of your stick straight behind you, as though thrusting the tip of the stick into the gut of an attacker approaching from behind. Return to the original position and repeat. Your feet trace a trapezoid, with the short end in front of you and the wider base behind you. Let the arms really swing as you perform this. GM Estalilla was always joyous in this exercise, a feeling that was contagious. Dynamic Tension We also did a series of exercises based upon dynamic tension, which serves to stretch and to tone muscle. From the rest position, raise the stick as high as possible
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overhead, so that it is parallel to the ground. Now lean toward your right, bending your right leg and arm. Your left arm and leg straighten as you pull the stick down toward your shoulder level. All this time your left and right hands pull in opposite directions, as though you are trying to pull the stick apart at its middle, exerting considerable force with your arms. Return to rest position and repeat, only in reverse this time. Your left leg and arm bend as you lean toward your left, while your right arm and leg straighten out, as though you are shooting an arrow. One variation is to do this same exercise, except bring the stick behind your head. You can also hold the stick at your waist in the rest position and try to pull it apart with all your might, then, alter by holding the stick at waist level behind your back. Yet another variation is to grasp the stick behind your back diagonally, with the right hand above your right shoulder, and the left hand at your lower back, holding the stick as though you were drying your
back with a towel. Once again, pull as hard as you can in opposite directions, as though you were pulling the stick apart in the middle. Switch and reverse hands. Superman Maestro always encouraged me to innovate, to improve upon what he has built, or in his words, “to refine the system.” In that spirit I add the following exercise, the Superman. Lie down on the floor on your stomach with your arms extended forward grasping the stick at shoulder width, and your legs straight behind you with the feet at shoulder width. Now raise your hands and legs upward as high as you can, while keeping your arms and legs straight. Hold this position for several seconds and gradually increase the length of time you hold this position. This develops your lower back, which you should really feel being worked during this exercise. Lower back injuries are common, and this exercise helps prevent them.
The “Dying Snake” Principle In the following training sequences we will be blocking, or “meeting” strikes with opposing strikes, in GM Estalilla’s terminology. These blocks exist for the purposes of the drill, but are not the essence of Kabaroan. Before we move on, I would like to discuss an important concept imparted to me by Maestro regarding the drawbacks of blocking, a concept that I call the “Dying Snake” Principle. When GM Estalilla was a young man, there was a guy in his village who encountered a snake in the jungle, which was a common occurrence. In order to deal with this constant threat, Maestro and the other men of his village carried machetes when they went into the jungle. The young man suddenly came upon a snake hanging down from a tree branch, and severed its head with a stroke of his machete. He looked around, but could not find the snake’s detached head, until he glanced up, and saw the snake head with its fangs clamped onto the brim of his
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hat! The young man realized that even though the snake was dead, it was still deadly. GM Estalilla uses this story to explain the dangers of blocking. Suppose you meet the opponent’s strike by hitting his hand, a technique called “defanging the snake” in the Filipino martial arts. Even if you crush his hand, and especially if you disarm him, the momentum of the stick (or tire iron) may carry it into your face, so the dying snake is still deadly. I believe the Dying Snake Principle applies to many self-defense situations. Suppose you punch an opponent and you see he is fading out—you have stunned him. So, you decide to move in to finish him off. Former bouncer and renowned martial artist, Geoff Thompson, warns you not to do this. Just as the dying snake is still deadly, the fading opponent can pull you into him and drag you down. Once you are on the ground, his friend, wife, or a malicious spectator can easily kick you in the head, with lethal consequences.
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Someone might attack you with a knife, and you shoot him. He is dying, and will be dead within a minute, but he is not dead yet. He can still kill you before he fades to black. The same applies, if you stab someone fatally—he still has several seconds of life left, and those seconds can be a very long time when you are being stabbed. So, this is a problem with blocking. He swings a beer bottle, and you hit his hand, which causes the bottle to fly into your face. Or you hit the bottle, which sends beer and fragments of glass into your face. There was another young man in Maestro’s village nicknamed “Number 2.” Once this young man tried to block a machete, and although he stopped it, the tip of the blade traced the corner of his eye, leaving him with a scar in the shape of the number 2. Meeting force with force has its drawbacks, so, Maestro prefers to merge, or go with, the opponent’s attack.
THE ABRIDGED 15
GM Estalilla teaches a form, like a kata (anyo in Filipino), called the Abridged 15. This short form is the easiest way to grasp the essence of his system, particularly as you examine the strikes and their counters. It also helps to understand that the sequence of strikes has a flow, which shows you how to handle the long stick combatively.
belligerent nor threatening. There is no danger that someone will call the police complaining about a crazy guy with a stick. Keep in mind that this is not an obvious martial arts stance, but one that looks to the casual observer as though you are merely standing and alert.
From the rest position, we proceed to what I call low guard. The stick is held in the right hand only several inches from the butt end, and the tip of the stick lies on the ground right beside your right foot, which is placed forward. Your right leg is bent, and your left leg is behind you, straighter but slightly bent. Both feet are pointed forward. The left hand is held at the chest. This is a ready stance that is prepared to confront an attack, but is neither
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Strike #1: Center Thrust The first strike of the Abridged 15 is a straight thrust to the opponent’s midsection. Be careful not to wind up, or pull the stick back, or do anything else to signal to the opponent that a strike is coming. The thrust should move in a straight line from the ground to the opponent’s midsection. Although a thrust with a blunt-end stick may not seem like an effective
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move, the weight of the stick gives it a solid impact. Furthermore, the thrust’s economy of motion means that the big stick moves surprisingly quickly. The defender stands in what I call middle guard—GM Estalilla’s preferred fighting stance. Once again the right leg is forward and bent, while the left leg is behind you, and also bent. This stance is deeper, with a greater bend at
the knees, so that it is obviously a martial arts stance. The right hand rests at the hip, grasping the stick several inches from the butt end, which lies outside of the leg. The stick crosses the body, coming to a point under your chin. The left hand grasps the stick palm-down, several inches from the forward end. The tip of the stick should be aimed directly at the opponent’s face. To counter this strike, the defender in middle guard drops his stick straight downward to intercept the thrust, not parallel to the attacker’s stick, but at a slight cross angle. Many styles will block this strike by chopping with the stick or forearm perpendicular to the straight thrust attack, whether in the form of a thrust with a stick, knife, or front kick. This perpendicular block wastes motion, and leaves the defender vulnerable to missing, creating a vulnerability by removing the defending arm from the centerline. With a heavy weapon, the abaniko block in which
one twists the wrist downward, runs the risk of a self-disarm, where a miss causes the weight of the weapon to work against the thumb, sending the weapon flying. This block knocks the attacker’s stick down to his left. For the purposes of this drill we will block, going force-against-force. In actual application, you would parry the thrust, subtly diverting it and countering. Countering the Center Thrust Once you have parried downward, intercepting the opponent’s thrust at a slight angle, redirect the tip of your stick upward with a counter-thrust. You can use your left hand, palm up, to move the opponent’s weapon arm out of the way.
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Strike #2: Underleft As the attacker performing the Abridged 15, I have thrust to the opponent’s midsection. In response, he has chopped downward, knocking my stick down to my lower left. I will now execute strike number two, an underleft. This is the genius of GM Estalilla. Most Filipino styles number their strikes, so you will often hear something like, “Feed me a num-
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ber seven,” or “Now we’re going to work on counters to a number five.” This is further complicated by the fact that dozens of styles have their own, different numbering systems, so that my number ten is your number eight, and your number ten may not even exist in my style. Confused yet? GM Estalilla devised a straightforward, easy-to-understand method for describing any type of strike. An “underleft” means it is an under-
hand blow delivered from your left side. In other words, it is a low backhand strike aimed at the opponent’s right hip or knee. Although GM Estalilla typically trains with an underleft strike aimed at the opponent’s right hip, I prefer to target the opponent’s right knee. In my thinking, I can strike the opponent’s knee, calf, shin, and ankle with my stick with little risk of him grabbing it, or blocking it with a short weapon. If he does bend or crouch to try to grab or block my stick, I am prepared to follow up by blasting his head. Furthermore, if I take out his knee, I help prevent him from rushing in and trying to tackle or disarm me.
The Drawbacks of Blocking By meeting the attacker’s underleft by colliding into with a matching underleft, this collision sends the attacker’s stick backward. GM Estalilla calls this force-against-force style blocking a “meet.” Unlike the short light stick, which can easily be braked and redirected by the wrist, the big stick tends to stay in motion, building momentum as it travels. The struggle is to maintain control of the long, heavy stick. An opponent who blocks your stick brings it to a halt, even if just for a second. GM Estalilla exploits that impact to redirect his stick.
The defender blocks the underleft by meeting it with an underleft of their own.
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Strike #3: Overleft Now that the defender has blocked your underleft, sending it backward, you will add to that rebound off the opponent’s stick, whipping your stick up into an overleft strike. An overleft strike is an overhand strike that comes from your left side, delivered at 10 or 11 o’clock. Briefly recapping, you thrust, and that thrust is knocked down to your lower left. From the low-
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er left quadrant you launch a low backhand strike (an underleft) to the opponent’s knee. He counters by clashing with your stick, knocking it backward with an underleft of his own. You will go with the momentum of your stick, circling up to a high backhand strike to the right side of the opponent’s head as you step forward with your left foot.
One application of this sequence is to throw the underleft, striking the opponent’s knee, then whipping the strike up to his head with an overleft, especially if he tries to reach down to block or grab your stick at his knee. The underleft could also be what GM Giron called an inganyo, or feint. Throw the low backhand to his knee to bait him to stoop down and reach, then snap the stick overhand into his head. For these backhand strikes—underleft and overleft—GM Estalilla often uses what I call “assisted oar grip,” a technique also employed by GM Giron. Imagine you are in a rowboat holding an oar. Both hands are palm-down, close to each other at the far end of the oar/ stick. In assisted oar grip, your left hand assists the backhand strike by pushing against the stick with the open palm, fingers pointed upward. Why not just grasp the stick with two hands as though you were swinging a baseball bat? The original Filipino immigrants who
brought the Filipino martial arts to the US, sometimes referred to as the “old men’’ or the “manong” (an Ilocano term of respect for an older male), were blade conscious. They were aware that the stick was a stand-in for the ubiquitous machete of the Philippines. Although you can firmly grip a baseball bat or stick with two hands, you cannot do that with a one-handed machete—you would cut your left hand, if you gripped the blade, because there is no room for both hands on the handle. However, you can use the left hand to push against the dull back of the machete blade, which is exactly the technique used by GM Estalilla and GM Giron, even if it is applied to the stick. Defending the Overleft The defender blocks your overleft with his matching overleft while stepping back with his right foot. GM Estalilla practices this form with blocks to illustrate classical Filipino martial arts and blocking,
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which helps the form to flow. My contribution here is for the defender to block the underleft with an underleft, but to merge with the overleft. “Merge” is Maestro’s term for going with the opponent’s strike as opposed to blocking it. From the underleft block you will parry the opponent’s overleft by coming up underneath it with an underight aimed at the opponent’s stick or hand. You will need to turn your stick-bearing hand from palm-down to palm-up. This parry, merging with the overleft, does not interrupt the flow of the form, because the attacker will swing his stick over as he steps forward with his left foot.
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Strike #4: Underight To summarize briefly where we are at in the form, your right foot was forward and you stepped forward with your left foot as you struck with an overleft, allowing the stick to swing freely. When handling the long, heavy stick, you learn to go with its momentum rather than constantly fight it. Also, when you have your right foot forward and execute an overleft, you must be careful that your stick does not hit your own forward leg, so you move to get that lead foot out of the weapon’s path. This is even more potentially dangerous if you are armed with a blade. You are now standing with your left foot forward, and the knees slightly bent. The stick has swung down to your lower right. You will now strike the opponent’s left knee or hip with an underight. This is an underhand blow from the right side that strikes the opponent at four or five o’clock.
The defender will block the underight with a matching underight of their own. This sequence illustrates the dangers of blocking: when you meet an underight attack with an underight of your own, there is the natural tendency of the opponent’s stick to slide up your stick to your hand, or to careen up into your body or face. For the purposes of the drill, we meet force-on-force, but in real life, you
are better off withdrawing the targeted leg or hip while striking downward to merge with the opponent’s strike.
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Strike #5: Overight Using the rebound of the collision of both sticks meeting at the underight, you will now flip the stick up to attack with an overight, which is an overhand blow delivered from the right side, striking the opponent’s head or neck at one or two o’clock. Once again, you are in danger of hitting your own lead left leg, so you withdraw it. Stepping back with the left foot not only keeps you from accidentally hitting or cutting yourself, but also
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allows the stick to swing freely, so that you are flowing with its momentum rather than fighting it. In my training with Maestro, the defender blocked the overight with an overight of his own. My contribution is to suggest blocking the attacker’s underight, which sets up the overight—only instead of blocking the overight, merge with it. You go with the attacker’s overight by coming up underneath it with an underleft, hitting the attacker’s stick, hand, or forearm.
Because the attacker is stepping back with his left foot, merging does not interrupt the rhythm of the form. Strike #6: Vertical As you strike with the overight you pull your forward left foot backward. Let the stick swing freely, letting it flow downward toward your lower left. Rather than trying to stop the stick, let it continue to loop upward. Bring the stick down overhead with a vertical strike, hitting the opponent’s head at twelve o’clock.
The key to blocking the vertical strike is to move offline, meaning to get out of its path. Some styles want to get right under the vertical, and hold up the stick parallel to the ground. GM Estalilla’s octagon diagram has a horizontal bar at the top, but this is not used for blocking. What you want to do is to move toward your left, striking with an overleft, deflecting the stick so that it does not hit its intended target, your head.
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Strike #7: Radical Radical is GM Estalilla’s term for an upward thrust that moves upward from six o’clock into the opponent’s groin, gut, or solar plexus. When you strike with the vertical, you let the stick flow. Instead of trying to stop the stick, you let the ground stop it. Immediately bounce up from the ground and into a radical strike. If your stick is made of bamboo, rattan, or the modern polymers, it will spring up off the ground. However, if your stick is metal or solid hardwood,
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you will have to redirect it and propel it yourself once it hits the ground. The defender will counter just as he did against the center thrust— intercept it at a slight angle by chopping downward. It is important to angle off to your left, which gets you out of the way of the opponent’s radical upward thrust, and also moves you toward his back.
Flow with the Big Stick The sequence moving from the overight, looping into a vertical, followed by a radical thrust bouncing up from the ground illustrates a key trait of the big stick. With the short stick, you can suddenly brake it and switch directions. With the heavier big stick, you must learn to go with the flow, to give in to the stick’s momentum. If you watch GM Estalilla in action, you see that a crucial element of controlling the big stick is not in
the movement of the wrist or forearm, but the shoulder. Bambolia Continuing with the Abridged 15 form, at this point in the anyo, we are introduced to the bambolia method, pronounced “bomb-bowlyah.” This term is derived from the Spanish verb bambolearse, meaning “to reel or stagger.” The idea is that you hit the opponent so hard that he is sent staggering, reeling from the blow. In the bambolia style, you grip the stick palms-down slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
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Strike #8: Horleft To review, you struck with an overight while stepping back with your forward left foot to let the stick move freely. The stick traveled a loop downward to your left side, then continued in an arc over your head, where you brought it straight downward at twelve o’clock. You allowed the vertical strike to hit the ground and bounced it back up into the opponent’s midsection. The defender countered by chopping downward, knocking the stick to your left side.
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You will now strike with a horleft—a horizontal backhand strike traveling at nine o’clock from your left side, aimed at the opponent’s right arm or his torso. The defender stands in middle guard. The right leg is forward and bent, while the left leg is behind you, and also bent. This stance is deeper, with a greater bend at the knees. The right hand rests at the hip, grasping the stick several inches from the butt end, which lies outside of the leg. The stick crosses the body, coming to a point
under your chin. The left hand grasps the stick palm-down, several inches from the forward end. To block the horleft, the defender moves the tip of the stick outward. This is a very strong block, which uses the hip and thigh to anchor the stick. Counter to the Horleft This is a classic bambolia counter, the rematse, which is Spanish for “to rivet, drive home,” or “to hammer home.” Most Filipino styles block the horleft strike by plac-
ing the left foot forward, which some practitioners call “facing the attack.” However, GM Estalilla puts his right foot forward, which serves to anchor the stick and also provides a barrier that he can use to stop and to strip the opponent’s weapon. To execute the rematse, block with the vertical bambolia block on your right side, stopping the opponent’s stick. You will now dip the upper end of your stick, held by the left hand downward, hooking the opponent’s right wrist at the notch formed by his forearm
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and stick. Twist suddenly to your left, counterclockwise, pulling up and back with the left hand while snapping forward with the right hand. The action of your left hand and your stick jamming the junction of his hand and stick jerks the opponent’s stick forward, possibly stripping it out of his grip because the end of the stick is blocked by your forward leg, straightens out his arm and yanks him forward off balance. Simultaneously, the action of your right hand drives the end of your stick into his chest or face. Strike #9: Horight Let us say that you fail to strip the opponent’s stick in the rematse counter to his horizontal left backhand strike. He pulls his stick through in preparation for a horight, a horizontal forehand blow delivered from his right side. As he draws his stick through, the right end of your stick is striking with an overight butt—you are hitting with end of the stick that extends from the right hand. GM Estalilla calls this a kulata, from the Spanish culata, for a rifle butt.
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So, you held the stick with both hands palm-down, and blocked with the stick held vertically, then dipped the upper end near the left hand downward, to hook and strip the opponent’s stick. As they draw their stick back to the right, this creates a half beat, an intermediate hit, that you can deliver with the right hand’s end of the stick, which is already in motion. Hit the opponent’s face with the right end of the stick, then continue that motion to execute a vertical bambolia block against his horight. The right hand is up, and your left hand is down. Step forward with your left foot, and repeat the rematse, only this time, the right end of the stick dips down to hook the opponent at the juncture of his hand and stick. Rip the stick out of his grasp by suddenly twisting clockwise, yanking your right arm back and striking his back or head with a left butt. In training the form you and your partner will typically just defend the horleft and horight strikes with vertical bambolia blocks.
Strike #10: Horleft Thrust The attacker strikes with a horleft thrust. This is a backhand thrust from the left side. Your right hand is on the left side of your body with the fingers of your fist facing upward, holding the stick with the tip forward in preparation to thrust. This thrust is somewhat awkward, so the left hand assists by pushing on the butt end to aid with the thrust. This technique is more appropriate for a blade with a thrusting tip than a blunt-ended stick.
The defender is now standing with both hands holding the stick vertical at the left side, right hand upper-most. You must be aware that a common follow up to the backhand thrust is to drop the wrist suddenly, turning the thrust into an underleft strike, so be prepared for this counter. The defender will let go of his stick with the left hand, bringing the lower left end up and then down in an arc, striking vertically in a line that will intercept the attacker’s stick even if he quickly switches to an underleft attack. This is a merging defense.
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The Essence of Kabaroan Most Filipino martial artists will associate the long stick and the Ilocano style with a long-range method called larga mano, which is Spanish for “long hand.” (This term is often corrupted to “largo mano.”) In larga mano, the practitioner stays out at long range, using his reach advantage to hit the weapon hand. The larga mano stylist is wily and elusive, always slipping just out of reach as you try to get close enough to hit him, and he is nailing you as he fades away. GM Giron was a master of this technique. Surprisingly, GM Estalilla did not do larga mano at all. He always spoke dismissively, saying “you could do the old hit-the-hand,” as though that was a simpleton technique. The core of Kabaroan is not to move out or to stay at long range. The essence of Kabaroan is to move into the teeth of the opponent’s attack. You encroach on his space, crowding him, or in Filipino, he is gipit. A crucial element in Kabaroan is not just a knowledge of technique, but character, having the boldness to move into an attacking opponent. Most men who fight are afraid
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of getting hurt, so they hang back, feinting, pawing, and swiping, but the Kabaroan man will charge in, not like a mad bull, but fearlessly with superior technique. Instead of clicking, clacking, and twirling sticks, the Kabaroan stylist moves to end the fight decisively. If you go to YouTube and look up Fabrizio Filograna’s video, “Kabaroan Eskrima: The Art of the Barons,”1 you see GM Estalilla demonstrating and Guro Filiograna performing bambolia style Kabaroan. You will note that the video is not rehearsed but it shows free sparring, and Guro Filograna captures the essence of the Kabaroan method. At 1:25 in the video, he very effectively merges with his opponent’s strike. When I first saw Irish stick fighting I was surprised by how similar it is to Estalilla Kabaroan. Irish stick fighting as taught by Sifu Glen Doyle has a similar strategy, that of hitting or blocking at long and middle range before closing in with the stick held in staff/bambolia grip to deliver punishment up close.
1 https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=2u0PfsrALe8
Strike #11: Horight Gore As you throw the horleft thrust you step forward with the left foot as the left hand now comes to grab the other end of the stick. You now stand left foot forward and hold the stick with both hands palmdown, bambolia style. Your aim is to hook and rip with the forward end of the stick near the left hand, attacking at three o’clock from your view. Maestro calls this a suag, an Ilocano term describing a
bull hooking, tearing, and thrusting with its horns. Defending the bambolia strike is tricky. If the defender merges with the strike, parrying the end of the stick to his right, the attacker can roll with this parry and attack with an overight butt. The defender is better off staying to the attacker’s outside (i.e. toward his back) and striking the attacker’s forward left forearm.
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Strike #12: Underight Gore
Strike #14: Overight Butt
Draw the stick back and launch another goring attack, this time coming up from underneath at a four or five-o’clock angle. If the opponent blocks downward, it is easy to flow into an overight butt.
Flowing with the overight gore, step forward with the right foot and deliver an overight butt, meaning you are hitting with the butt end of the stick near your right hand at one or two o’clock.
The defender will block as he did previously, moving to the attacker’s back and striking against his lead left forearm.
Defending this is tricky. If you block the overight, the attacker can pivot the stick to deliver an underleft or overleft butt. The best counter is to merge with the overight butt with a backhand horizontal strike/ parry. For the purposes of the drill, block the overight butt with a matching overight butt while stepping back with your left foot. Open the fingers of your right hand to keep them from getting hit.
Strike #13: Overight Gore Draw the stick back and attack with another gore, this one an overhand attack coming down on the opponent’s face or clavicle at a one or two-o’clock angle. If the defender blocks upward, roll with his block and come back with an underight gore. If he parries or grabs the tip of your stick, pull down with your left hand as you throw an overight butt. The danger of bambolia strikes is how easily and quickly they flow from one into the other.
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Strike #15: Overleft Butt Step forward with your left foot as you deliver an overleft butt, hitting with the end of the stick near your left hand at 10 or 11 o’clock. The defender blocks the overleft butt with a matching overleft butt while stepping back with his right
foot. Open the fingers of your left hand to keep them from getting smashed. This finishes the Abridged 15 as it was taught to me, but I need to add one more strike to give you a complete overview of the system. Strike #16: Slam You have just stepped forward with your left foot and delivered an overleft butt. Now step for-
ward with your right foot. Hold the stick horizontally with both hands palm-down. Snap and shove the stick forward, driving off of your rear left foot. Strike the opponent with the portion of the stick between your hands. I have seen this attack referred to as a bar strike. Maestro calls this a barang. (I have added this crucial strike to the Abridged 15 form.)
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The best way to defend against the slam is to get out of range by stepping back with your left foot. The slam is one of the most useful techniques that I learned from GM Estalilla. It is one that can also be applied with the short stick. Most Filipino martial arts and many striking arts like karate, kung-fu, Thai boxing, and so on, try to stop an opponent by striking. A problem in combat is that there is both striking power and driving power, which is best illustrated by the double leg takedown of wrestling. When an attacker bursts in and is driving with his legs, it is difficult to stop him just by striking, especially when he is in close where it is difficult to generate powerful strikes. Imagine an American football lineman in a three-point down stance, about to blast forward and tackle you. By the time you try to hit him, he is already on top of you. You can try to hit him as you are driven to your back, but those blows are likely to be ineffective. However, by delivering a slam, you
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can counter the tackle with driving power of your own. If you have a stick, any opponent will instinctively try to close on you to get inside of your striking range. How do you create space, regaining the distance you need to hit him powerfully? The slam is one of the few techniques that can actually drive the opponent back. Imagine your car breaks down and you need to get it to the garage down the street. If you try to hit the car or kick it down the street, you will not get very far. It is only by driving with your legs that you will be able to move the car. The same holds true with the opponent who is in close—you can hit and even hurt him, but that does not get him off of you, which is even more critical when there are multiple attackers. A problem is that in the martial arts, we typically train fighting at a comfortable range. We are squared off and ready to confront each other at fighting range. In real life, though, an antagonist will
often chest bump, trying to intimidate us, and fighting may flare up at nose-to-nose range. We may be ambushed, meaning that an attacker is right on top of us before we even know there’s a fight. In these situations the slam is a valuable tool. Middle Guard Let us start by reviewing the low guard. The stick is held in the right hand just several inches from the butt end, and the tip of the stick lies on the ground right beside your right foot, which is forward. Your right leg is bent, and your left leg is behind you, straighter but slightly bent. Both feet are pointed forward. The left hand is held at the chest. The Pop-Up In order to transition from low guard to middle guard, GM Estalilla performs what I call the pop-up, which snaps the stick up from the ground to just under the level of the chin. When I first saw Maestro
do this technique, I thought he was bringing the end of the stick up by bending the right wrist and pulling up the forearm. The key, though, is to draw the right elbow back. By throwing the right elbow backward, the tip of the stick automatically levers up and into your waiting left hand, which is held palm-out at chest height. The Snap Thrust Once you catch the stick at your chest you are in middle guard. The tip of the stick should be pointed straight at the opponent’s face. The snap thrust is another very useful technique I learned from GM Estalilla. It is a technique that can be applied with almost anything, whether a short stick or a beer bottle. Let the tip of the stick fall forward, while at the same time extending your right arm to push the stick forward. At the moment the stick is parallel to the ground and your right arm is almost fully extended, you snap the wrist downward, whipping the tip
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forward. This is completely unlike the typical Filipino martial arts thrust, which is driven by shoving the hand forward in a straight line. GM Estalilla often begins this thrust with the stick held vertically and the butt end at the right hip. Years ago, my friend Ryan, a fellow student of Maestro’s, was struggling to teach the concept of the snap strike to a student of ours. Suddenly it occurred to Ryan that this student, Marc, was a carpenter, so he explained, “It’s like hit-
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ting with a hammer.” Suddenly the lights went on in Marc’s head, and he instantly grasped the concept. You see, when you hit with a hammer, you do not power the strike all the way through—you let the weight of the hammer do the work. The wrist is relaxed, and a snap of the wrist sends the hammer head into the nail. This is a powerful technique. It is deceptive because it is not immediately obvious to the opponent that a thrust is coming. All the op-
ponent sees (or does not see) is a small circle the diameter of a silver dollar hurtling toward his face. The weight of the big stick creates a powerful impact. Once, Ryan and I were sparring in GM Estalilla’s garage during lessons. We had made padded sticks by putting foam pipe insulation over hardwood dowels. In our sparring scenario, Ryan had the long padded stick and I had the short padded stick, so I was playing the role of the short-stick stylist. Just
as I started to burst in, Ryan hit me right in the mouth with the snap thrust, which was so fast, so direct, and so non-telegraphic that I was blasted before I could do anything. My head snapped back, my eyes teared up, and I was stopped dead in my tracks. It was game over. If I had caught a hardwood stick to the mouth, the results would have been devastating.
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Countering the Center Thrust The pop-up move can be used to parry an opponent’s center thrust. Snap the stick up, intercepting the opponent’s thrust at a slight angle. Now follow up with the snap thrust, which comes over the top of the stick into the opponent’s chest or face. Another counter for the center thrust begins when your stick is on the lower left side of your body. Strike with an underleft. The bottom of your right fist and the butt of the stick are pointed upward. The moment your stick makes
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contact with his, your wrist snaps down clockwise, which sends the tip of the stick upward. Continue with a thrust into the opponent’s midsection. The Tightened Arc The short stick can easily be redirected 180 degrees and spun in circles, but once the big stick gets going, it is difficult to stop. One secret to controlling the big stick and being deceptive with it is to tighten the arc. The stick is still traveling in a circle, but the arc has been “tightened,” so that it travels a short path.
Recoil Strikes Once at a festival GM Estalilla’s father was spurred by the crowd to spar against another Filipino stick-fighter. Ramiro Estalilla Sr. launched a strike, which the defender tried to block but could not. Estalilla’s stick continued, striking his opponent’s eye and blinding him, which was entirely unintentional. The senior Estalilla regretted that confrontation for the rest of his life. Maestro recalls going with his father to visit the man that he had blinded. Sometimes having the “world’s deadliest
martial art” and defeating your opponent in seconds is not as good as it sounds. The technique that GM Estalilla’s father used in that tragic encounter was the recoil strike. To execute a recoil strike, throw an overight, but draw the stick back so that the tip traces a counterclockwise spiral. For the opponent who tries to merge with your stick (in other words, he counters your overight with an overleft), your stick will circle away from him and spiral up to his eye.
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The recoil strike can be done with almost any of the strikes. From an overleft, dip the stick down, retracting it, so that the opponent’s merging defense misses (that is, he tries to defend your overleft with an overight). The tip of your stick dips under his, and you circle clockwise up into an overleft thrust to the eye. You can aid this thrust by pushing with your left hand against the butt of your stick. The key to shortening the arc is not in the wrist or forearm, but in drawing back your shoulder.
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Shortened Strikes This tightened arc works against an opponent who tries to block. Strike with an overight, but draw the stick back. However, the stick continues forward into a thrust to the opponent’s face. For underleft and overleft strikes, shorten the arc by drawing the shoulder back. Once again, even though you draw the tip back, the stick continues forward, and you direct it into the opponent’s face.
GM Giron told me about a friendly sparring match he had at a public gathering, against GM Angel Cabales of Serrada Eskrima. GM Cabales wielded a short stick, while GM Giron used the long stick of the Ilocano style. GM Giron knew that Angel would try to hit his hand, so every time he threw a strike, he would draw it back just as GM Cabales attempted to hit his hand, causing the short stick to hit the middle of his long stick. By shortening and thrusting, you are able to hit the opponent on the offbeat.
The Killing Blow Of all the techniques, this one is the most essential. This is the core of Kabaroan. Suppose we start with short sticks and do singko teros, or “five strikes,” commonly used in the Ilocano style. You block the opponent’s overight with an overight, his overleft with an overleft, his underight with an underight, his underleft with an underleft of your own, and chop down at a slight angle against his center thrust. Repeat the drill, only this time you are not wielding
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a 26-inch stick, but a stick 36 inches long. You will find that every time you block you are hitting him in the head or body, even if you are not trying to. With the short stick you generally must block the attack and then counter with an attack of your own, but the greater length of the Ilocano stick enables you to block and hit the opponent at the same time.
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Now that you are aware of this principle, repeat the drill, only this time concentrate on hitting the opponent every time you block. Even better, do the drill again, only this time merge with his strikes. Against the opponent’s overight, you merge by using an overleft. The stick starts on the left side of your body in a backhand position, and GM Estalilla also pushes with his left hand against the back of the stick. So, you blend with the opponent’s attack and hit him in the back of the head.
Once, Ryan, Maestro, and I were in the grandmaster’s garage, when several of his relatives were visiting. Upon seeing Maestro demonstrate this technique one of them commented, “That is the killing blow.”
but if I aim to intercept his stick on a line that will strike his head or body, it does not matter what he does—he gets hit anyway.
Against the opponent’s overleft you merge with an overight or a high horight, hitting him in the head. Against a horight GM Estalilla steps forward with his left leg and hits the opponent’s head, continuing downward in a straight line. Against a horleft he steps forward with the right foot, strikes the opponent’s head, and continues straight down to block. A related principle is one I call “cutting through.” It is important that you are not aiming for the opponent’s stick, but are striking in a line that will hit him. Suppose the opponent strikes with an overleft; if I aim for his stick, that strike could be a feint, I might miss, or he might suddenly change direction,
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REFINE THE SYSTEM
GM Estalilla always encouraged me to “refine the system,” which is to advance the art through innovation. Here are my contributions. Fulcrum Strike One difficulty with the big stick is controlling its momentum. Throw an overight. Let the stick loop in toward your lower left, but meet the stick with the left forearm or outer bicep. Push forward, causing the arc of the stick to tighten. Redirect the stick forward in an overleft. The Catch Throw an overight. Let it loop to your lower left, only catch the stick near the tip with your left hand so that you are now in bambolia grip. Continue this motion to strike with an overleft butt. Both of these techniques are good against an opponent who plans to hang back to let your strike pass by, then rush in.
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The High Guard GM Estalilla typically fights out of the low and the middle guard, with either the tip of the stick on the ground or the stick held across the chest. I believe there is another option. Maestro explained to me how the men in his village always took machetes with them when they went out into the jungle, because snakes were a constant hazard. In the village, the machete was carried in the crook of the left arm, with the dull back of the blade against the arm and the edge facing upward. But once you got into the jungle, you carried the machete with the dull edge on your right shoulder, cutting edge upward, prepared to chop down in an instant. Why not use this as a fighting stance?
Real Sinawali Maestro and I did practice sinawali, which comes from a Tagalog word meaning “to weave.” Typically, sinawali uses two sticks, but we did the simplest sinawali pattern, the single sinawali, using just one stick. Facing your partner, you each hit overight and the sticks clack together at twelve o’clock. The sticks continue counterclockwise and downward in an arc, then meet with a mutual underleft at six o’clock. The sticks reverse direction, now traveling clockwise in an arc to twelve o’clock, where they meet with an overleft. The sticks continue clockwise and downward, then meet with an underight at six o’clock. Reverse course, traveling counterclockwise back up to an overight at twelve o’clock, where the sticks meet and you repeat the pattern. It may help to picture the stick starting at six o’clock and looping counterclockwise all the way around the clock to six o’clock, then reversing direction and retracing to six o’clock in the opposite direction.
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This pattern is similar to the Abridged 15 form, which strikes from underight to overight, and underleft to overleft. Go through several repetitions of the pattern. A concept of GM Estalilla’s is that every time you block him, the momentum of his stick is halted, even if it is only for a moment. GM Estalilla uses that moment to redirect his stick. Once the sticks meet at twelve o’clock, instead of continuing in the circle, Maestro drops his stick down vertically, hitting the opponent in the head and continuing straight down to block the strike at six o’clock. GM Estalilla also breaks the pattern when the sticks meet at six o’clock with an underleft. Instead of arcing upward, Maestro twists his wrist downward, popping the stick up, and thrusting upward into the opponent as his left hand checks the opponent’s weapon arm.
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Countering the Double-Stick Opponent I used to think that the fighter with two sticks has an advantage over the fighter with just one stick, but GM Estalilla explained to me that the sinawali stylist can only hit with one stick at a time. Sinawali practitioners also use shorter, lighter sticks. If the sinawali stylist strikes with an overight, you merge with it, moving to his outside (i.e. his back) and hitting him in the head. Game over. It is also possible to meet his overight vertically and drop the stick downward to counter his underight with the other hand. The long stick is able to shield more of the body without moving.
Why Sinawali? Sinawali is not a Kabaroan method, because the long stick is difficult to handle two at a time, and little is gained from doing so. You can only develop full power with one big weapon, so adding a second weapon only weakens your strikes. Once, Maestro was teaching a seminar in Hanford at Sensei Tim Evans’ school, when someone got hit in the nose while practicing sinawali. Fortunately, the injury was not serious, but double sticks take up a lot of space, and when you have double long sticks, you need even more space, which is difficult to manage in a seminar full of students. If you are teaching complicated sinawali patterns with two sticks, then with single staffs, followed by techniques with two staffs, or a staff and a long stick, it may fill time during a seminar, but I fail to see how it advances Kabaroan.
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The Kabaroan Council In the early 90’s, Ryan and I proposed forming a Kabaroan Council, to be headed by GM Estalilla and his two top students, Master Lino Espejo and Master Ed Planas, both of whom are tremendous martial artists in their own rights, in addition to their expertise in Kabaroan. As black belt students of Maestro, Ryan and I would also have been members of the council. The sole purpose of the proposed Kabaroan Council would be to support GM Estalilla and promote Kabaroan. The council would centralize authority in Kabaroan, verifying those who are genuinely certified. It would devise a curriculum for seminars, as well as set standards for uniforms, training, and certification. The council would catalog Kabaroan techniques so that there would be one standard.
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The council was proposed before the Internet became what it is today, so the council would create a website and serve as a contact point for those interested in Kabaroan. A Facebook page would be established, and other social media would be used to promote GM Estalilla and Kabaroan. The council would publish a newsletter, and perhaps arrange a yearly get-together for those who practice the art. Unfortunately, the Kabaroan Council never came to pass, and I believe that the system has suffered for it. I feel that I must set the record straight by documenting the core of Kabaroan as it was taught to me by the grandmaster himself. The following is a picture of Ramiro Estalilla Sr. (in the hat and tie) taken in the southern Philippines circa the 1920s. I had the photo restored for GM Estalilla.
Darrin Cook @ BigStickCombat
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EL JUEGO DE MANÍ & COCOBALÉ A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE AFRO-CARIBBEAN DANCES OF WAR Miguel Quijano & Miguel Machado
FIGHTING. BATTLE. COMBAT. Warfare. Regardless of the name we use to describe it, conflict is a fundamental aspect of the human experience. As such, it is only logical that codified systems for settling conflicts—martial arts— would arise on every continent, in every culture. And yet, people are
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always surprised when I mention that Puerto Rico and Cuba have their own respective martial arts— ones birthed under the ugly banner of slavery. Nowadays, most people are well aware of other Afro-diasporic arts such as Brazilian capoeira or Trinidadian kalinda. They might have
even heard about esgrima y bordon and juego de garrote, from Colombia and Venezuela, respectively. However, most are unaware that similar arts exist in Puerto Rico and Cuba. While there are resources out there that briefly touch upon the martial arts from these regions, they have always concluded that, with no current practitioners of the martial component, the arts must be extinct. This conclusion is the result of one of two things: either their sources were only folkloric
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practitioners (those not trained in the traditional methods of combat), or they did not do their research. The following article is a direct rejection of the extinction line of thinking and will offer an in-depth analysis of the Afro-diasporic arts of Cuba, known as el Juego de maní and kokoye, and their Puerto Rican sister traditions, calinda, cocobalé, and cocolembe. For over 50 years, I have dedicated my life to these arts—not just to the mastery of their combat
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components but also to the faithful practice of their religious and musical aspects that are equally important. I am proud to share my knowledge, knowledge passed down by my ancestors and masters for generations, with you. The History: Slavery in Cuba and Puerto Rico During the height of the African slave trade, the Caribbean saw a massive influx of slaves (both legally and illegally), many of which were brought to Puerto Rico and Cuba. In fact, little pieces of Africa can still be found in Cuban cities
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like Matanzas. The same can be said about the city of Loiza in Puerto Rico. These cities were renowned for their large concentration of Africans, both free and enslaved, and African traditions flourished in these areas. This is not to say that there were no large concentrations of Africans brought to other parts of the islands, only that the traditions the slaves brought with them were preserved better in areas like these. While the slave trade existed prior to 1518, it was in this year that the Spanish crown authorized the
trade of slaves from Africa directly to the Caribbean (prior to this, slaves had to first be sent to Spain). From this point on, enslaved Africans would exert continuous influence in both Puerto Rico and Cuba, particularly from 1700 through 1886. During these years, massive amounts of new arrivals helped solidify a persistent and forceful African culture throughout the islands, despite the colonialism and restrictions that were so rampant during that era. After the Haitian revolution (17911802), both Cuba and Puerto Rico began to increase their production of sugarcane to meet the massive demand that followed the loss of that major sugar economy.1 This led to a conundrum for many slave owners; the revolution had stoked fears of black insurrection across the colonial world, but the plantations on which the colonial economy depended demanded newer and newer bodies to exploit.
1 Elizabeth Abott, “Haiti’s Revolution Fueled the Rise of Big Sugar in Cuba and Louisiana,” History News Network, 2010, https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/125294#:~:text=Haiti’s%20military%20victory%20 ended%20all,and%20France%20levied%20crushing%20reparations.
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To assuage their fears of rebellion, plantation owners tried to deculturate the slave populations on the islands, stripping them of their identity, cohesion, and dignity to secure a workforce that was totally docile and dependent upon the white slave owner. In Cuba, slave owners organized their slaves into pre-established ethnic groups,2 hoping to sow division among their ranks and safeguard against possible future uprisings. As they were outnumbered, the white slave owners thought that this manufactured factionalism would lessen the danger of insurrection. But this regrouping along ethnic lines had the unintended effect of misidentifying which slaves belonged to which ethnic groups, leading to instances where slaves from different ethnicities were grouped together and intermingled. The aftermath of the Haitian Revolution also gave rise to black cabildos throughout Cuba and Puerto
2 Christer Petley, “How Slaveholders in the Caribbean Maintained Control,” Aeon, November 2, 2018, https://aeon.co/ideas/how-did-slaveholders-in-the-caribbean-maintain-control.
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Rico.3 Cabildos were homogenous African ethnic groups that, like Spanish guilds or associations, operated as mutual aid societies or lodges. Thinking that increased factionalism among enslaved Africans would reduce the danger faced by outnumbered whites, these cabildos were tolerated. On the contrary, however, as cabildos grew in size, they began to consolidate multiple African groups—solidifying African culture on the islands. African cabildos conserved several African languages, ritual practices, belief systems, dances, songs and chants, instruments, and instrument-making techniques—all of which are still found today in both Cuba and Puerto Rico. They contributed to the refinement of certain African dance and music concepts in the Americas—such as: that music and dance are not primarily entertainment forms; that music and dance are interdependent; that their structures utilize both set and improvisational ele3 Octavio García, “African Slavery and the Impact of the Haitian Revolution in Bourbon New Spain: Empire Building in the Atlantic Age of Revolution, 1750–1808,” 2005, https:// repository.arizona.edu/bitstream/ handle/10150/565893/azu_etd_14025_ sip1_m.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.
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ments; that complexity and depth are built by the layering and interfacing of small, simple, diverse units; and that the human body is paramount—all which play a major role in the musical foundations of maní, calinda, cocobalé, and cocolembe. The History: Non-African Influences on African Martial Arts I must point out that many slaves were brought to Puerto Rico from Cuba, Haiti, Brazil, Barbados, and other areas. Even Chinese, Filipino, and East Indians were brought to the island.4 Some of the Chinese were brought as prisoners from Cuba.5 Even my father’s family can be traced through slavery to be from Brazil and brought to Puerto Rico. Between the 17th and 18th centuries, Puerto Rico was largely used by Spain as a military garrison. With much of the gold and silver that had attracted wave after wave of Spanish colonists exhausted, the white population of the island stayed stagnant while free blacks 4 Kathleen M. López, Chinese Cubans: A Transnational History (North Carolina: The University of North Carolina Press, 2013). 5 Lee J. Borges, Los Chinos en Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico: Publicaciones Gaviota, 2015).
and enslaved populations flourished. When the white colonialists realized Puerto Rico was becoming a bit too “dark,” they began to offer incentives aimed at bringing in more “light”-skinned people. The first Canarian migration began in 1695 and continued all the way up until about 1797.6 The next 6 Manuel Hernandez Gonzalez, Canary Island Immigration to the Hispanic Caribbean, Oxford Research Encyclopedia, https:// oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199366439.001.0001/acrefore-9780199366439-e-336.
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big migration was the Corsicans, followed by the French, the Dutch, the Irish, the Germans, the Italians, the Lebanese, the Maltese, the Scottish, the English, and the Portuguese—a period that spanned from 1800 to 1898. We have to take into consideration that each of these cultures brought with them their own martial arts which included fencing and other combat techniques. When we look at documents from this era, there are many accounts found in biographies and journals that include descriptions of slave owners and
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workers actually dueling, fencing, or practicing these techniques in front of slaves. There are also accounts of fights and training taking place on ships during this era. There was betting on fights between Europeans and slaves, so surely people (slaves and nonslaves) adapted and acquired skills from each other. Each one of the aforementioned European ethnic groups had its own combat system that utilized either staff, stick, or sword. Take, for example, the Canarians (Islenos) and the Portuguese. The Canarians have an art called el juego del palo and the Portuguese have el jogo do pau. Migration by these two groups to the Caribbean—particularly Puerto Rico and Cuba, as evidenced by the existence of Portuguese and Canarian language traits in the dialects of these two islands7—was high. I am confident that they would have brought their systems of self-defense with them to protect themselves and undoubtedly passed them down. Over generations, these systems would have evolved and mixed with regional arts wherever colo7 Maurizio Santoro, “Puerto Rican Spanish: A Case of Partial Restructuring,” Hybrido Magazine 10, no. 9 (2007).
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nists had settled. It would be the same for the French, the English, the Irish, and so on and so forth. That is not to say that European influence on Afro-diasporic arts like maní and cocobalé would dilute the traditional African techniques or connection to pre-colonial African martial arts. Maniceros and cocobeleros would have incorporated the techniques they learned or saw their masters practice into their own systems of self-defense. I will delve more into this when covering techniques in detail. Maní: The Importance of Dance Before I cover the martial aspects of maní, it is important to gain an understanding of the African dances that survived in Cuba. Four main branches of African culture have survived in Cuba, and their influence can be found to varying degrees in Afro-Cuban dance: Yoruba, Kongo Angolan, Arará, and Carabali. In Cuba, these terms refer to specific aspects of Afro-Cuban culture. In Africa, they refer to cultural groups, territories, linguistic groups, and ancient kingdoms. Yoruba influence can primarily be found in the western and northwestern regions of Cuba and to a lesser degree in eastern Cuba.
Kongo Angolan (Palo) influence is primarily found in the central and eastern regions and exerts less influence in the western part of Cuba. Arará is found in the northwestern and eastern regions. Its dance culture is similar to that of Yoruba, and the two groups commonly share some dances. Finally, Carabali is found mostly in the northwestern parts of the island. Ganga and Kisi peoples, a group hailing from west-central Africa, also contributed to the African culture in Cuba. West-central Africa today is made up of Zaire, Angola, and the Congo. Cubans refer to these areas as Congolese or Bantu. This is where maní comes from, with its roots in an African religion known as Palo. The Palo religion, practiced by Kongolese and Bantu descendants, has contributed greatly to preserving the dances still found in Cuba today, such as makuta, yuka, and garabato. Yuka and makuta are the antecedents of what we know today as rumba. The rhythms of rumba, especially the style of “Colombia,” are rhythmically related to a dance called el baile de palo, which is characterized by fast and energetic dancing.
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The Kongolese and Bantu people were hunter-gatherers and well trained in the art of war. Maní means “war” in the regional language of that area, not to be confused with the Spanish word for “peanut.” This art was most commonly practiced in Matanzas and Pinal del Rey in Cuba. Maní: Secret Origins and Competition So, how did these slaves manage to keep such an important cultural pillar and martial art alive? Dance. Life as a slave was full of hardship, and rebellion was difficult and dangerous. But slaves were able to express protest and practice their martial arts disguised as recreational music and dance. These recreational breaks from labor occurred at prescribed times on predetermined occasions during this era. Their desperate, insecure, and difficult situations were momentarily forgotten or made somewhat palatable through periodic singing and dancing. The art of maní was very dangerous. These competitions could get very real, and people got hurt or seriously injured. Not everyone wanted to participate because your life could be taken during the game (el juego).
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The slaves typically had one day off per week (Sunday), and that is when these games were “played.” The winner would often win a woman for that day, or for the week, but they would also be very beaten up, especially in the facial area. Although they had won the fight, they were, for that moment, “ugly” in a manner of speaking. Many people from many different African nations attended the maní fights on the islands during those times. Some fights drew large crowds, and white plantation owners placed huge bets on their favorite slaves—similar to cockfights, as it was not only nanga bisu (ordinary people) who attended the fights, but also “respectable” people and the upper class of colonial plantation society. These “people of class,” as they were known, would bet money on the aggressive and powerful fists of the maniceros in the same way that they would bet on fighting cocks. It’s important to note that maní was not the exclusive domain of men. Women also participated in the juegos and some even fought against men. They were just as skillful and as powerful. In one particular instance that took place on the Mercedes Carillo sugar mill plantation—where the Congos and
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Ararás played maní—Micaela Menendez knocked out a big opponent with a single powerful punch. Maní: Popularity and Disappearance In Havana, there were two solares (tenement houses) that were inhabited by African slaves, “El Palomar” and “Solar de Guinea,” where maní was played. The Solar de Guinea was very extensive and was situated on Marques Gonzales between Zanja and San Jose.8 In Trinidad, Cuba, this combat art was so popular that the mayor and his daughter used to practice it. It was also very popular in Pinar del Rio and also in Santiago de Cuba. However, while many of the guajiros (peasants) were known to practice maní, due to economics, migration, communism, and other factors, the art’s popularity faded. Maní: A Breakdown of “El Juego” Maní, although not as acrobatic as capoeira is today, does rely on a base technique similar to capoeira’s ginga, called el movimiento, or “base,” which combines linear and circular movements. In fact, it is closer to the capoeira that was practiced near the end of the 8 Miguel Barnet, Afro-Cuban Religions (United Kingdom: Markus Wiener Publishers, 2001).
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1800s in Brazil, or its distant cousin, la’gya/da’mye (from Martinique/ Guadelupe). This is due to the Angolan influence the arts share. El juego de maní is played to the music of Palo. Today, there are many groups that practice and perform a folkloric version of it throughout Cuba and all over the world, yet that does not necessarily mean that they know the combative version of it. Because of the factors mentioned in the previous section, there are few maniceros that are trained in the martial version of maní these days. Also, the two versions are very different. The folkloric version is hyper-rhythmic with a very fast tempo that does not allow for other beats of combat, or for the possibility to simply convert folkloric techniques into reliable combat techniques. Maní is always played in a circle. It starts off with kokoye, a sort of opening combat played by two congos (big men), who try to knock each other down using only their fists. After this, the maní game starts. The opponents will be dancing and moving around—trying to knock one another down while avoiding the same fate. To do this, they employ a variety of attacks: front kicks, side kicks, spinning kicks, sweeps, punches, hammer-
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fists, and so on. There is even a special technique called rajapuya, which is done with the forearm. Once the opponent is knocked down, another contender takes their place, and the game continues. The last person standing is the victor. This basic breakdown is to help you visualize what a maní game looks like, but should by no means imply that the art is simple. Maní encompasses much more, including a long staff, staff vs staff, machete vs machete, and other various weapons—all of which can be utilized during “el juego.” Maní: The Maestros The religion of Palo is fundamental to the practice of maní, and one of its main tenets is ancestor worship. For me, preserving these arts is not just about preserving their techniques and history, but about honoring the spirits of my teachers so that they can live on through these arts. Now that we have covered the history of maní and gone over how it is played, it is only right that I honor the people who introduced me to the art by sharing a bit of their history. The main person responsible for bringing different ethnic groups together after the abolition of the
Cuban slave trade for the sake of archiving African music, religion, and history was the late Fernando Ortiz (1881–1969). Famously coining the term, Afro-Cubano, Ortiz was a prolific writer and well-respected authority on Afro-Cuban culture. Some of his work has been translated into English, for those interested in learning more. Ortiz worked very closely with the last masters of maní: Juan De Dios Ramos Morejon, Carlos Lazaro Aldama Perez, Alberto Pedro, and Rogelio Martinez Fure, all of whom I was privileged to call my teachers. They were the founding members of Conjunto Nacional De Cuba (Cuba’s national premier folkloric music and dance company), along with some other notable musicians, dancers, and singers of the African traditions of Yoruba, Arará, Kongolese, and Carabali. Founded in 1962, Conjunto marked the establishment of the very first folkloric group, an endeavor that would serve as a vehicle to bring maní and Palo to Cubans all over the world, but also preserve the cultures of many different African ethnic groups. These men worked hard to find a balance to keep the authentic works alive while also bringing them to stage and providing an entertaining show.
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Juan De Dios and Carlos Aldama
For maní, it was difficult to pass on the real fighting traditions to dancers and singers. For economic reasons, not everyone was interested in being a fighter. At the time, Cubans were in need of making a living. What mattered was surviving, and no one was interested in learning those types of arts anymore. My own involvement in maní started in the 90s. While living in Puerto Rico, I had seen two elderly Cuban Puerto Ricans playing the game in Loiza. While they only knew the basics, the style of it struck me— similar to cocobalé and cocolembe, but also very distinct. Almost like capoeira, but with heavier stomps. I had to know more. During that
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time, I traveled to Cuba to try and find some real maniceros to teach me. But all I could find were folkloric practitioners that pretended to know more than they did. And then I met Juan de Dios.
Miguel Quijano with Carlos Aldama
Miguel Quijano with Juan De Dios
At first, I was skeptical when he told me he was a master manicero. I asked him to prove it. That got a good laugh, both from him, and all his friends, when he told the story of our first meeting later on. I had no idea just how famous he was. But I soon found out. De Dios was considered the “encyclopedia of maní.” He was a known fighter in his younger days. I became his apprentice. I traveled with him, served him, learned music, history, religion, songs, and dances from him. I even helped him teach Afro-Cuban dances at different community colleges and universities throughout the United States. After years of apprenticeship, he awarded me a graduation certificate as his only student and protégé—my master certification. I was eventually awarded a certificate from Carlos Aldama as well. Juan De Dios was both an accomplished artist, fighter, and practicing initiate of a spiritual lineage brought to Cuba by Africans during the slave trade. Along
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with being a founding member of the aforementioned Conjunto, he eventually founded his own dance company, Raices Profundas, which is still known as one of Cuba’s premiere folkloric groups. De Dios was a Santero (practitioner of Santería and Babalawo—a title for high priest which literally translates to “father of mysteries” in the Yoruba language) as well as Akpwon (ceremonial singer) versed in Yoruba, Palo, Abakua, and Arará traditions.9 He was well known throughout Cuba as a singer of religious songs and rumba, and was a living reservoir of knowledge on all things Afro-Cubano. Though internationally recognized as a master dancer, singer, and teacher, the breadth of his teachings on maní were only passed down to a handful of students: his son and myself, who learned both folkloric and combat versions, and Juan Carlos Blanco Riera, who learned the folkloric version and whom I continue to work with today as a friend and brother.
ma, “Oni Sango” / “Omo Ana,” was another major influence on my practice of maní. He was often referred to as “slave to the drums,” or “married to the drums,”10 a prestigious title that can be traced directly back to Africa, and was considered a master of percussion and song in Yoruba Bata and Bembe, Congas-Palo Iyesa, Arará, Yuca, Makuta, Bricamo, and Bantu, Rumba-Yambu, Guaguanco, Columbia, and Comparsa. His knowledge of Afro-Cuban culture had been passed down to him orally by his master, Jesus Perez “Oba Ilu,” the original musical director of Conjunto Folklorico Nacional de Cuba and favorite student of Pablo Roche Cunal, “Akilakua.” Along with the aforementioned Fernando Ortiz, Perez was responsible for bringing the bata drums out of the religious setting for their first public appearance, circa
Along with my master, Juan De Dios, Gran Maestro Carlos Alda9 Yvonne Daniel, Rumba: Dance and Social Change in Contemporary Cuba (Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1995).
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10 Umi Vaughan, Carlos Aldama’s Life in Batá: Cuba, Diaspora, and the Drum (Indiana University Press, 2012).
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1935.11 When Jesus passed on, Aldama succeeded him as the musical director for the next fifteen years of the twenty-eight years in which he remained with CFNC. For his dedication to these arts, Aldama is routinely “called in” as Akpwon and Elder (master of ceremonies) of ritual Afro-Cuban Aña ceremonies in the Lukumi Santeria religion. Unfortunately, due to his advanced age and health, he is no longer able to teach, play, or sing. Cocobalé: A Personal History While maní was a part of my martial arts journey that I had to seek out, the Afro-Puerto Rican art of cocobalé has always been a part of me. To understand why, you have to know both my story and the history of the island I come from. As a light-skinned Irish Puerto Rican, I do not look like what many people typically think of when they picture Puerto Ricans. Yet my father, who recently passed, comes from a very rich Afro-Puerto Rican 11 Javier Diaz, “Meaning Beyond Word: A Musical Analysis of Afro-Cuban Bata Drumming,” New York: City University of New York, 2019, https://www.semanticscholar.org/ paper/Meaning-Beyond-Words%3A-AMusical-Analysis-of-Bat%C3%A1-Diaz/ dcace67cb82c88e6f92e3de5d164926dcb1ee956
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musical background, deeply rooted in bomba and plena (African-derived music established in Puerto Rico), jibaro music (peasant-type music), and salsa. As a kid, our house was filled with music—my father, his friends, and relatives jamming away into the night. He would always call me to fill in whatever musical part was missing from the group (congas, guiro, bongo, maracas, timbales, clave, and so on). I had to play. There was no escaping it, even if I wanted to be outside on the streets with my friends. But all this proved to be a valuable lesson later on in life. While I was unaware at the time, my father was grooming me to continue his legacy, to preserve the arts which had added so much to his life, and now add to mine. This is how I grew up. When we lived in Puerto Rico, we always played cocobalé and calinda. Every barrio that we lived in, whether hanging with my uncles or with my father’s friends, we made time to play cocobalé or calinda. It was more than a martial art; it was a way of life. And being such, my training in it was very serious—my father making sure that I learned my lessons well.
Cocobalé: A History of Cultural Exchange Today, it has become popular to think of Puerto Ricans as a combination of three “races”: black (African ancestry), white (European ancestry), and indigenous (Taíno ancestry). But the truth is more complex, as many different cultures and ethnic groups migrated to the island, bringing their customs with them. Slaves were brought from the nearby islands of Curacao, Aruba, and Bonaire, bringing to the island the Dutch-influenced music of calinda which eventually merged with and influenced the Puerto Rican music of bomba. Slaves hailing from the Congo region brought Mayombe religions such as Palo Monte with them. These religions formed an integral part of Puerto Rico’s early spiritual history before Kardec’s spiritism,12 and the Ashanti, Yoruba, Igbo, and Bantu tribes arrived with their own religions. As more and more groups, both African and European alike, came to the island, their unique cultural practices were adopted by one another. 12 Joan D. Koss, “Religion and Science Divinely Related: A Case History of Spiritism in Puerto Rico,” Caribbean Studies 16, no. 1 (1976), http://www. jstor.org/stable/25612730.
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For example, Hatillo is the dairy capital of Puerto Rico; it is a hilly area in the northwest of the island that borders the Atlantic Ocean and is the place where a lot of Canarians settled.13 This is also where my grandmother’s side of the family had settled, and their style of cocobalé utilized a much longer stick, similar to the one used in Canarian stick fighting mentioned above. Cocobalé: The Fall into Obscurity I was fortunate enough to be born into a family of cocobaleros—a family that had worked hard to preserve our African heritage. However, for many Puerto Ricans, this simply was not possible. In the decades following the abolition of slavery and the United States’ invasion, the island suffered many economic catastrophes. Many of the men were drafted into the U.S. military to help fight in World War
13 Manuel Hernández González, “El Hatillo: Un Pueblo Puertorriqueño con Hondas Raíces Canarias,” BienMeSabe, February 16, 2011, https://www. bienmesabe.org/noticia/2011/Febrero/ el-hatillo-un-pueblo-puertorriqueno-con-hondas-raices-canarias-la-pervivencia-de-su-carnaval-tradicional.
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I,14 which also coincided with the first major wave of Puerto Rican immigration to the United States. Seeking employment and economic relief, many Puerto Ricans moved to the mainland to places like Florida, New York, New Jersey, California, and even Hawaii.15 Even though by 1917 they had been made citizens under the Jones Act, they were considered immigrants, and struggled just as much as any other immigrant coming to this country. They faced discrimination, incredibly low wages, and the language barrier. Times were incredibly hard. And that was for those who survived the trip.
recruited as farmhands to cultivate sugar on privately-owned plantations.16 These workers were packed into small, shoddy aircraft, some of which crashed carrying the last talented masters. The numerous conflicts that marked the turn of the century and subsequent decades in Puerto Rico also took a toll, with Puerto Rican soldiers serving in the Spanish-American War, WWI, WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Two of my relatives—skilled cocobaleros—were killed in action serving as part of the Harlem Hellfighters, the famous World War I black regiment.
During “Operation Bootstrap” (1940-1970), a government program aimed at quickly industrializing the island’s infrastructure and economy, Puerto Ricans were
These social and economic pressures on the immigrant Puerto Rican community ultimately led to cocobalé all but disappearing from its native shores. In the U.S., practitioners in the few small pockets where it did survive had to grapple with assimilating to a new culture and country, and few were able to pass on their knowledge to their children.
14 Harry Franqui-Rivera, “The Puerto Rican Experience in World War I,” The Gilder Lehman Institute of American History,” https:// www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/essays/puerto-rican-experience-world-war-i#:~:text=Between%2018%2C000%20and%20 20%2C000%20Puerto,Spanish%2DAmerican%20War%20of%201898. 15 Jorge Duany, The Puerto Rican Nation on the Move: Identities on the Island and in the United States (North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press, 2002).
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However, I was very blessed. Even though I was more interested in Asian martial arts, my father in16 Ruth Glasser, My Music Is My Flag: Puerto Rican Musicians and Their New York Communities (University of California Press. 1997).
sisted on passing down his art to me. Not only that, but as a child in Puerto Rico, I often found myself in the company of families like the Cepedas, Ayalas, Grupo Bambalue, and Grupo Baramaya—all friends of my father and masters of cocobalé and bomba. Along with my father, these masters would become my instructors. From my father, my uncle Jimmy, my uncle Chiqui, and my uncle Tatin, I learned our family system of cocobalé. I continued my studies under Jose Reyes of Ponce, then Augi Dones, the late Joseph Ramos, Knox Hurst, Jesus, Diaz, Louie Romero, Reynaldo Vega, Miguel Cubrero-Piri, Joe Quijano, Julio Santos, Cebollero, Chico Estevez, Andre Rivera, Carlos Arguizoni-Gil, Johnny García, Luis Daniel “Chichito”
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Cepeda Brenes, Rafael Ramirez, Eddar Lopez, Ito Carillo, and the late Don Modesto Cepeda. Maybe these names mean something to you. Maybe they do not. But each one lives on through the teachings they passed down to me. And every day I do my best to honor their legacy. Over the course of 50 years, I have documented every technique and continue to teach and take on students all over the country, and the skills and techniques detailed below are part of an authentic system of combat with rich lineages. Cocobalé: A Breakdown of the Game Part of the confusion surrounding Cocobalé and the reason for much misinterpretation of the art is that there are, in fact, two Af-
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ro-Puerto Rican martial arts that often accompany bomba celebrations: cocobalé and calinda. In and around Puerto Rico, you might see a kind of theatrical fight played out during a bomba performance. This is often mistakenly attributed as cocobalé, but is actually calinda, a folkloric version. Yet, credit should be given to these groups, as their actions have kept some of the songs, dances, and traditions alive. Calinda, or “stick-dance” as it is also known, was solely a dance at first, but began to incorporate sticks during the 1700s.17 These sticks measure anywhere from 36 to 45 inches in length. The game is played in a circle known as the batey—a sacred space where two combatants will fight each other. Before the fight begins, the combatants must first enter the circle and bow to the drummer—each dancing to the drums before eventually facing each other. Then the fight begins. The goal of the game is to knock your opponent out or to make them bleed. Combatants are allowed to utilize strikes to the 17 Julian Gerstin, “Tangled Roots: Kalinda and Other Neo-African Dances in the Circum-Caribbean,” NWIG: New West Indian Guide / Nieuwe West-Indische Gids 78, no. ½ (2004). http:// www.jstor.org/stable/41850294.
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upper region of the body, including the head. The stick can be held with two hands, and strikes can be delivered with one end or both. Cocobalé differs slightly in its rules and practices. The game is also played in the batey, but this time two smaller sticks are placed in the circle in an X-pattern before the fighters enter. These sticks can measure between 12 and 14 inches and were sometimes borrowed from the cua, a barrel drum played on its side. The rule of thumb when I was growing up was that the stick had to reach from knee to ground or from your elbow to your middle finger. But again, the length can vary. Combatants also have more variety than in calinda when it comes to weapon choice, as the game can be played with double-sticks, stick and machete, machete, double-machete, or knives. But whatever weapon combination is chosen, it must be used by both combatants. Just like in calinda, when the fighters step into the batey, they must pay their respects to the drummer and take turns dancing. Once the dances have concluded, the first fighter to grab the top stick will become the aggressor. Again, the goal is to make your opponent bleed or to knock them out.
Cocobalé: Cocolembe Cocolembe is a hand-to-hand martial art that was played by the elders of a community when a gran maestro or maestro had passed away. They would have a wake in front of the master’s house, leaving the door to the house open, and play the game in the fallen maestro’s honor. The oldest of the maestros would play first, and so it would go down the line from those in the 90s to the youngest masters among the group. This would ensure that the deceased master would pass over the kalunga—the watery boundary that separates the worlds of the living and the dead in Congo religions—and back to Africa. The game is played in the batey and is sort of a slap-boxing game with some kicks, counterkicks, spinning kicks, and sweeps thrown in. Nothing is super flamboyant or crazy. After all the gran maestros and maestros had participated, the youngest in attendance were free to join. This is how I was first introduced to the game. One thing that I must state first is that, before any of these events are held, there are certain ceremonies that must be done to “open” and “close” them. These ceremonies are governed by strict rules that remain faithful to the tradi-
tions of Santeria and Palo Monte. The prayers are accompanied by markings—religious symbols that are drawn in certain areas for the events. These rituals are not to be taken lightly. These arts and religious practices take a lifetime of dedication. They must be studied and practiced, and you must apprentice under a maestro. For this reason, not everyone will partake in them. That is understandable. But I have taken a vow to teach the arts completely and intact, to make sure that they survive. There are no shortcuts. I have been very blessed to have been handed down these arts. And while ensuring their preservation is a huge responsibility, it is one that I gladly shoulder to keep the spirits of my ancestors, family members, and teachers alive.
Miguel Quijano @ michael.quijano.581187
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THE STICK: MAN'S OLDEST TOOL AND WEAPON, AND ITS USE BY THE UK SPECIAL FORCES Mark Davies
IT IS VERY LIKELY THAT THE stick was man’s first weapon. In today’s era of high-tech weaponry, many people may be surprised to learn that the humble stick still plays a role today. As a trainer within an element of the UK Special Forces (UKSF), I look in this article at the stick from the viewpoints of: a bush-craft tool, a hunting tool, an improvised weapon, and an actual baton, such as the ASP.
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UK Special Forces: A Quick Overview UKSF comprises a variety of units, both regular and reserve. One of the things that make UKSF reserve units unique is that the members must undergo the same selection process and meet the same requirements as their regular counterparts, just spaced out over a much longer period of time. UKSF reserves have a very challenging operational tempo, with members being used by the regular units, as well as being deployed on operations as units in their own right. UKSF consists of the following units: the Army has the 22 SAS Regiment based at Credenhill, the 18 Signal Regiment which provides specialist communications support for UKSF, the Special Forces Support Group who provide specialist infantry support to UKSF operations, the Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing, and the Special Forces Flight 47 Squadron, which is comprised of RAF and Army Air Corps and provides air mobility for UKSF. The newest addition to UKSF is the Special Reconnais-
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sance Regiment (SRR), which is tasked with specialist covert surveillance and reconnaissance. There are two Reserve Regiments, with the 21 SAS recruiting from the south of England, and the 23 SAS drawing from the north of England and Scotland. The Royal Marines have the Special Boat Service, which also has a reserve unit. The History of Combatives Training with UKSF We can start off by looking at the use of the baton as a weapon in UKSF with World War II. William Ewart Fairbairn taught the use of the baton to British special units during this time. Fairbairn advised using a stick between 18-24 inches in length and one inch in diameter. The Fairbairn method bears a great deal of similarity to the older Lamb Baton Method. It is a predominantly two-handed method, as opposed to the single-handed grip we see in the Filipino systems. The stick training Fairbairn provided to Commandos, Special Air Service (SAS), Special Operations Executive (SOE), and so on, was very much “last-ditch” com-
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batives for when the soldier’s normal weaponry is not available for whatever reason, or where killing must be performed silently, and a knife is not available. The methods that Fairbairn taught were very simple and basic. The combatives taught in World War II had to be methods that could be taught to the thickest farmer from Norfolk or Ghillie from the Scottish Highland, and they had to be capable of being taught very quickly. Fairbairn himself enlisted in the Royal Marines when he was just 15 years and 10 months old after convincing a recruiter to falsify his age. In 1907 he was posted to Shanghai, which at the time was a very hazardous posting, being probably the most corrupt and dangerous city in the world. Upon leaving the forces, Fairbairn joined the police force. While out on a patrol, Fairbairn was ambushed by Triad members and was left for dead, requiring months to recover. When he returned to the police force, he worked with other legends such as Anthony Sykes and Dermot O'Neill, and trained in the martial arts with a variety of nationalities
and cultures. He was also heavily influenced by the jujutsu of Jigoro Kano. Fairbairn rose through the ranks of the Shanghai Municipal Police Force, eventually becoming the head of their training and tactics development. Documents show he was personally involved in somewhere between 200 to 600 violent incidents involving a variety of armed and unarmed situations, usually involving multiple combatants. This basically provided Fairbairn with a laboratory in which to develop and fine-tune his methods. Fairbairn and Sykes returned home to the UK at the beginning of World War II. They were tasked with training a variety of special units such as the Commandos, SOE, SAS, and the covert side of the Home Guard. The first “Special Training Centre” (STC) was at Lochailort, with a “Combined Training Centre” also based at Inverary. Achnacarry near Spean Bridge was also activated for use as part of the training and holding wing of the STC at Lochailort, but eventually the decision was made to centralise training at Achnacarry.
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Eventually Fairbairn was sent on special orders to STS-103 “Camp X” in Canada, where he taught spies and resistance fighters. Fairbairn then moved on to the OSS “Area B” facility in Maryland, where he worked with Colonel Rex Applegate teaching combatives to elite elements of the US military. At the end of the war, Fairbairn received the “Legion of Merit” at the request of “Wild Bill” Donovan for his outstanding performance and services. After World War II, Fairbairn continued to teach his methods at the behest of various governments and agencies. He continued to teach his methods until he passed away in 1960. Fairbairn’s methods are still relevant and used in combatives training today. Sadly, as the Cold War progressed, combatives training fell out of favour with the British military. Senior officers felt that it had no real place in the mass battles that were envisioned to take place should the Soviets roll across the continent. They saw mass tank battles and infantry being used, engaging at relatively long range. As a result, most units ceased to practice any combatives training on an official level. Even the elite Parachute Regiment and Royal Marines practiced very little in the way of combatives. The only units
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that really still trained in these methods were the elements of the UK Special Forces. The experiences of many soldiers in the Falklands campaign should have shown senior officers that there was still a need for close-combat training, as there were many incidences of bayonet use and hand-to-hand fighting during the battles fought there, but nothing changed. The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan ended up proving the need for combatives training, though. The change to more urban warfare, house clearance, fighting in close confines, high-value target apprehensions, and so on, showed a greater requirement for better Close-Quarters Battle (CQB) skills. A good example of this can be found during the clearing of cave systems in Afghanistan. Members of UKSF found themselves engaging enemies at extremely close range, often in the dark, in environments where firearms were not ideal. They were using hand-tohand fighting, entrenching tools, knives, and even improvised weapons such as rocks, in their engagements. Specialist operations that involved removing high-value targets from vehicles without the use of lethal force also showed an increased need for better combatives training.
Selection and Survival Training UKSF members are trained heavily in combat survival and bushcraft. The training regimens differ between the different units, and especially so between the regular and reserve units, but all of the recruits will do a great deal of it. After the endurance phase of selection, recruits will do a “jungle phase,” which is particularly testing for most people, as the jungle is prob-
ably about the most difficult environment to fight and survive in. UKSF have a long history of jungle warfare, having operated heavily in Borneo and Malaya (i.e. Myanmar, Malaysia, and Singapore). During these conflicts, the regiments built up a massive amount of knowledge and expertise whilst conducting long-range patrols that would stay in the jungle for extended periods of time.
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During the jungle phase, the recruits learn how to use branches to create “A Frames” to allow them to sleep off the jungle floor. They will learn how to fashion a variety of traps for both animals and humans. Those who pass the Jungle Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTP) and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) training will move on to “employment training” and do the Army Combat Survival Instructor Course. On this course, the recruits learn Combat Survival skills that they may need whilst operating in Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols, or in a worst case scenario, where they have to use escape and evasion skills for real. These will be tested during a very testing Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) exercise during the final phase of selection.
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During survival training, the humble stick can be found getting used in a variety of different ways. A variety of traps can be built using sticks and cordage (either brought, scavenged, or fashioned). Here we have a couple of examples of simple traps to snare small game.
The stick can be used to fashion fire-lighting implements—probably one of the best known being the fire-bow pictured here. These age-old fire-lighting methods can be invaluable to a soldier in a real-life escape and evasion scenario.
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Weapons such as bows can be built if needed. I know some “old and bold” members who served in Malaya and Borneo who took great pleasure in building bows and hunting with bow and arrow, even learning from local indigenous tribesmen how to create poisons to make their arrows more effective. Fishing and hunting spears can also be made, and obviously these also have an anti-personnel function if need be. All of this can be put into use during the final phase of UKSF selection which is an es-
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cape and evasion exercise. Recruits are dressed in old combat kit and great coats, and basically dumped in the middle of nowhere after being thoroughly searched for contraband. They have to navigate to certain points where they must meet “handlers” and “agents,” and evade capture by a hunter force. The final part of the exercise is a gruelling 36-hour resistance to interrogation test.
The Modern Combative Use of the Stick My role for the last couple of decades has been the development and implementation of Close-Quarters Combat training with an element of UKSF. When we approach the use of the stick, we are really looking at it combatively from two slightly different viewpoints: from the viewpoint of improvised weapons for use in a SERE-type of scenario, and actual baton combatives using an ASP or something similar. Contrary to popular belief amongst civilians, your normal SF soldier is not a super-duper ninja warrior who is skilled in a myriad of deadly martial arts systems. Time for Close Combat training is very short due to the small number of blokes in a unit and the generally insane operational tempo found in UKSF units. UKSF reserve unit members very often find themselves as “fulltime reservists,” and can be away constantly on operations, training courses, or exercises. Because of the constraints on time, combatives training must be simple, effective, easy to retain
and maintain, and something that many people never think about; it must consist of methods that can still be executed even when the soldier is in less-than-optimal condition and health (trust me, if you have been living on worms and tree roots after being on the run behind enemy lines for three weeks you will be in less-than-perfect nick), which eliminates quite a lot of the more athletic MMA/UFC-type of methods seen elsewhere. Bear in mind that I also have to keep what I am writing here very general, so that I do not break non-disclosure agreements or give away anything that could harm operational security. So, let us begin with the “improvised” side of the coin. I group this down into short-stick methods (from pen to rolled-up magazine in size), baton methods (regular baton or escrima-stick-type dimensions), and staff or spear methods for longer sticks. For the short-stick methods, we base our training on reverse-grip knife technique. This suits the short stick down to the ground due to the emphasis on the “point” found in reverse-grip knife, and the actual physical methods I
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teach have been heavily influenced by Master-at-Arms James A. Keating’s influence and his Drawpoint methodology. The basic format I use is to drill the trainees in a small core number of entries and responses against the basic lines or quadrants of attack. We are big fans of using limb destructions, as they cause pain and trauma on the first beat of an engagement, and cause some “observational or orientational bounce” that allows the combatant to press home their attack and destroy the opponent. We work combinations of strikes on focus pads to develop speed and power, and work on a great deal of scenario training with the situations being performed in the correct “context” to maximise the trainees’ retention of the training. Once trainees are proficient with the methods being taught, we begin adding in some of the fog of war, introducing stress, additional stimuli, noise, light, and so on. The idea here is that the soldier should be able to pick up a pen, bottle, scissors, flashlight, rolled-up magazine or newspaper (the good old Millwall brick), and be able to nat-
urally employ it as a force multiplier in combat. Keeping this type of training as close as possible to edged weapons training also helps a great deal where training time is in short supply. When we are working on the midlength stick, we use a combination of FMA methods and the old Fairbairn methods. The reason I do both is that the Fairbairn methods do not work so well with modern collapsible batons like the ASP, but are simple and easy to learn and apply with everything from a crowbar to a short branch. The training format is similar to that described above. We drill the recruits in “actions on” against the common lines of attack, so that defence becomes second nature. We drill striking with the weapon using pads and shields, so that the trainees learn to develop speed and power, and work on scenario training utilising the weapon against both unarmed and armed attacks. The emphasis during this training is on ending the threat as quickly as humanly possible. The final layer of icing on the cake, so
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to speak, is once again to introduce some of the “fog of war” and inoculate the trainee to working their combatives under duress. Long stick is really a SERE-based skill. I draw heavily from bayonet training as well as from sibat and jo staff methods. A spear is a fairly easily fashioned tool that can be used for fishing, hunting, and also as a weapon that gives the holder the advantage of reach. An obvious component of all of this training that separates it from your normal civilian training is in the training of ambush methods and the emphasis on the use of lethal force. Our members are issued ASP-type batons when they undertake certain roles. When we are training specifically for the use of this type of baton, the emphasis is no longer on the use of lethal force. If our members are for instance performing the apprehension of a high-value target, then the baton may be used for breaching a vehicle window and aiding in the extraction of the subject through that window, and used in the vascular restraint of that subject. We train in the use of the baton using a framework that would be very familiar to anyone with a background in the Filipino arts, but we have
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stayed away from the method of training and employment used by the UK Police forces, of which I am very critical, as it very often fails due to its over-reliance on “witik” type strikes to muscles, which even a half-determined attacker will simply brush off. So, even in an environment where soldiers have the best high-tech weapons and equipment, the humble stick and its training still has a valuable place, and will likely always continue to do so. I hope that you have enjoyed this look into the combatives training that I teach within an element of UKSF, and that within the constraints of NDAs, operational security considerations, and so on, I have managed to give you a small look inside this arena.
Mark Davies @ Tactical.Edge.Boss
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THE WEAPON OF A JEDI KNIGHT: LIGHTSABER COMBAT AS A HYPER-REAL MARTIAL ART Benjamin N. Judkins, Ph.D & Jared Miracle, Ph.D
Lightsaber Combat as a Global Movement IN FEBRUARY OF 2019, THE French Fencing Federation (Fédération Française d’Escrime; FFE) made the news. News stories ran in many major magazines, and the comedian Trevor Noah even graced the FFE with a Daily Show segment.1,2 Yet the topic of debate was not traditional sport fencing. Rather, the FFE had announced they were adding the LED saber, or replica lightsaber, as an official fourth weapon within the French fencing establishment, alongside the better-established foil, epee, and saber. The response to this announcement was electric. Some commentators were delighted, others aghast. The viral spread of this conversation, which went far be1 Sixt Wetzler, “Martial Arts Studies as Kulturwissenschaft: A Possible Theoretical Framework,” Martial Arts Studies 1 (2015): 20-33. 2 Paul Bowman, Deconstructing Martial Arts (Cardiff: Cardiff University Press, 2019), 44.
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yond the sorts of individuals who typically took any interest in fencing, played directly into the FFE’s media strategy. Like many oldguard sports federations, it was concerned as fewer new students took up fencing. And keep in mind, other governing bodies had already proved that adopting a new telegenic “extreme sport,” such as snowboarding, parkour, skateboarding, or rock-climbing, was a tried-andtrue strategy for boosting an organization’s relevance in the current era. This announcement did not come as a surprise to members of France’s Lightsaber Combat community. The FFE had openly announced its intentions and publicly examined several different approaches to the LED saber championed by various pre-existing clubs before finally settling on its preferred model. It is interesting to note that, while Star Wars is often thought of as a quintessentially American film, Lightsaber Combat is a global phenomenon, which has grown more quickly in France than perhaps anywhere else.
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Yet, how did this global community emerge, and what is the nature of their practice? Clearly, one might design a competitive sport based on ideas found in a fictional film, but is it possible to create a new martial art while drawing inspiration from these sources? What specifically is the relationship between historical practice and modern media? Most important were the many traditional instructors who contributed to the development of these practices. And was the FFE correct in their assertions that the LED saber could reach new audiences uninterested in historical blade or stick-fighting? The following article addresses these questions. It begins with a brief description of the LED saber both as a material object and in relation to the development of the larger Star Wars film franchise. Next, we review the creation and expansion of the Lightsaber Combat community between its first stirrings in the early 2000s and the current moment. Lastly, we directly address the function of history, fiction, and hyper-reality within the martial arts.
[Source: Author's collection, featured on: https://chinesemartialstudies.com/2019/07/11/historyand-myth-in-lightsaber-combat/]
The Question of Legitimacy & Historical Legacy For most individuals, it is virtually impossible to separate the term traditional from martial art. Many practitioners exhibit something close to religious reverence for the history of their practice. For some cultural traditions such as those often seen in the Chinese martial arts, the authenticity of one’s art is
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inexorably linked with the legitimacy of one’s lineage status. Within such a framework, a practice without the proper sort of history such as Lightsaber Combat, Mixed Martial Arts, or even something like the Keysi Fighting Method, could not be entirely accepted as a “legitimate” martial art. Much debate has occurred recently in scholarly circles as to how we
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should define the concept of “martial arts” in a cross-cultural context and whether engaging in such a definitional exercise is even a good idea. Benjamin Judkins has made his own contributions to this discussion, specifically addressing the reasons to accept Lightsaber Combat as a martial art, for theoretical purposes, and how this realization affects our understanding of how these communities function.3 We do not intend to relitigate those debates here. Instead, we focus on a related problem in this article. Practitioners often claim to be deeply impacted by the historical legacies of their arts. Yet the development of the interdisciplinary academic field of Martial Arts Studies has demonstrated that many of the claims passed on within traditional hand-combat communities fall into the realm of myths and legends. Most of the Chinese martial arts practiced today are not the product of an ineffable past; 3 Benjamin N. Judkins, “The Seven Forms of Lightsaber Combat: Hyper-Reality and the Invention of the Martial Arts,” Martial Arts Studies 2 (2016): 6-22.
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instead, they are the legacies of the final decades of the 19th century and the Republic of China period (1911-1949). Rather than being an “ancient Korean art,” Taekwondo developed as a clear attempt to appropriate and nationalize Japanese karate in the post-war period. Further, the entire understanding of the “samurai spirit” promoted in many Japanese budo contexts is primarily the product of nationalist reformers, working with Western sources in the Meiji period, rather than an authentic reflection of the medieval past.4,5,6 While all martial arts have a history, it does not always bear a close resemblance to the stories venerated by their students. What happens to our experience of the 4 Benjamin N. Judkins and Jon Nielson, The Creation of Wing Chun: A Social History of the Southern Chinese Martial Arts (Albany: SUNY Press, 2015). 5 Udo Moennig, Taekwondo: From a Martial Art to a Martial Sport (London: Routledge, 2015). 6 Oleg Benesch, Inventing the Way of the Samurai: Nationalism, Internationalism, and Bushidō in Modern Japan (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014).
practice of a fighting system when we cannot attempt to historicize our legends? Can real techniques be transmitted and honed when those relating them compel the receiver to accept the mythic nature of the exercise fully? The Star Wars films, after all, may be the most successful modern myth ever produced, but no one would claim the lightsaber as history. Yet, the very nature of Lightsaber Combat forces one to practice as if they were. Origins of a Community One suspects that fan-sponsored lightsaber duels began to occur the day after George Lucas’ epic space opera opened in 1977. Yet, the first identifiable Lightsaber Combat organizations did not emerge until late 2005 and 2006. Given the immense popularity of these films and the iconic nature of their signature weapon, how should we understand this delay? The current generation of replica lightsabers, including the LED-illuminated stunt sabers most often used in a martial arts context, dates only to the early 2000s. Initially, the arts developed as part of
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the marketing effort surrounding the release of the prequel trilogy (1999, 2002, and 2005). At this time, Lucasfilm began to issue licensed replicas of a number of weapons seen on screen. These had detailed metal hilts, sound effects, and blades that appeared to ignite. It was difficult for individuals who held these early sabers not to feel as though they had just been given a relic from that far-off galaxy. Soon, third-party vendors entered this market space, offering simple training sabers with in-hilt LED modules and hollow polycarbonate blades. These sabers still had aluminum hilts, though more ergonomically designed and better balanced than the original film props. While marketing some of these sabers to collectors, other nearly indestructible weapons were developed specifically for staged choreography and martial arts applications. It was only a matter of time before various martial artists decided to seriously investigate what these new sabers were capable of within a training context.
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The franchise’s marketing efforts encouraged this desire to explore the world of lightsabers more fully. In 2002, an archeologist employed as an author by Lucasfilm by the name of Dr. David West Reynolds published an article titled “Fightsaber” in the October issue of the Star Wars Insider fan magazine.7 He acknowledged that lightsabers had dominated much of the personal combat on screen. They played a progressively greater role in each new film, but very little was mentioned about the specialized training required to wield such a weapon. Dr. Reynolds, a non-martial artist, sought to fill this lacuna by exploring the “seven classic forms of Lightsaber Combat,” as taught in the fictional Jedi temple. His descriptions borrow much from the image of the Asian martial arts that circulates in popular culture. This tendency towards Orientalism—the West’s idealization of the East—only grew as successive video games, novels, and comic books sought to expand the lore, drawing on an ever-widening body of pop culture references. 7 https://starwars.fandom.com/ wiki/David_West_Reynolds_(author)
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Again, it was only a matter of time before actual martial artists started to ask what combination of real-world fighting techniques could best replicate the alluring reality that was beginning to emerge around the idea of Lightsaber Combat. The inexpensive, durable, and versatile nature of LED sabers as material objects ensured a wide variety of practitioners would be swept up in the task of reconstructing the lost systems of Lightsaber Combat. For some, this was simply an extension of their Star Wars fandom. In other cases, individuals saw it as an intellectual and technical puzzle deepening their appreciation for various stick and blade-based martial arts. Given the global appeal of this franchise, it is probably impossible to know, with certainty, where the very first dedicated lightsaber group emerged. Greg Ember, who has carefully tracked the creation of groups within this community, hypothesizes that the first schools or performance troops may have formed in either Russia or the
Philippines.8 Lightsaber Combat remains extremely popular in Russia and across Southeast Asia. However, the first group to generate sustained media attention was NY Jedi, which offered classes in New York City after marching in the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade in 2005. The press coverage that this group would generate along with the creation of the Saber Guild in 2006 led to an explosion of other small clubs across the Eastern seaboard of the United States in the coming years. Most of this first generation of groups focused on a type of fight choreography that attempted to emulate the techniques and costumes seen in the films. They often organized themselves as non-profit enterprises and would perform at fan gatherings and charity events. However, as there was not yet an ecosystem of specialized lightsaber schools and organizations, many members had a relatively diverse set of interests and practices. Perhaps the first truly specialized group to emerge was Ludosport, 8 Personal correspondence, April 16, 2016.
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created in 2006. This Italian organization used the same LED sabers to develop a fast-paced combat sport. Their approach to Lightsaber Combat is unique in that they favor light contact and tend not to wear protective gear beyond light gloves and occasionally eye protection. Initially drawing inspiration from the seven classic forms of Lightsaber Combat, they began to offer instruction in a set of progressive techniques, allowing for safe play with minimal gear. For much of the next decade, Ludosport expanded its network of academies across Europe, opening its first location in North America in 2016. However, Ludosport has not been alone in approaching Lightsaber Combat as a competitive sport. The publicity preceding the 2015 release of The Force Awakens helped support a wave of specialization within theLightsaber Combat community. On May 4, 2015, two important groups were created. In North America, this date saw the formal emergence of the Saber Legion, a heavy dueling league featuring full-contact, full-force striking. Participants in these contests
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typically wear heavy hockey, motorcycle, or HEMA armor, which has been selected and decorated to invoke a specific persona. On the same day, the Sport Saber League was created in France. It occupies a middle ground, requiring fencing masks, heavy gloves, and some other minimal equipment while only allowing medium-intensity contact. The third category of Lightsaber Combat groups also emerged in the lead-up to the most recent trilogy of Star Wars films. While choreography clubs and sports leagues often appropriated traditional combat systems’ pedagogical or tactical insights, this last set of organizations explicitly identify themselves as martial arts schools. This is something leagues such as Ludosport or the Saber Legion have been hesitant to do, even when their members or creators have been traditional martial artists. This rhetorical choice reflects a more fundamental shift in the goals and self-understanding of these groups. The growth and differentiation of the community
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in recent years have allowed for the establishment of a number of schools focused on questions of realism. In a few cases like the Lightspeed Saber League, organized in southern California in 2016, their discourse centers on the hypothesized nature of the lightsaber as a weapon with unique characteristics. Depending on how these are understood, one can attempt to derive techniques fitting this mental map. More common are schools that seek to achieve a sense of realism in the sorts of techniques employed. This approach allows them to use the lightsaber as a means of testing and teaching a vast range of real-world fighting philosophies that might not otherwise come into contact with one another. One cannot easily walk into a kendo school to test your HEMA techniques against unsuspecting Japanese martial artists. These practices’ historical, national, and even ideological aspects tend to prevent this sort of exchange, except in special limited circumstances. Yet the ahistorical nature of the lightsaber, as well as the complex
mythology that surrounds it, tends to encourage exactly this sort of creative play. In some cases, this means mixing and matching techniques from within a single cultural framework. Other organizations might draw on a much wider variety of source materials in their attempt to realize the full breadth of the seven classical forms of Lightsaber Combat, essentially imagining each component as a distinct and separate art. The Terra Prime Light Armory (TPLA) is one of the first and most influential martial schools within the Lightsaber Combat community. Established in 2012, it has posted instructional videos on YouTube to create an open-source instructional system drawing on various Chinese and, to a lesser extent, European fighting styles. Indeed, the creators of this system viewed the lightsaber as an ideal tool to test and preserve these techniques in a quickly changing era. Remember, too, the TPLA’s approach and progressive curriculum formed the basis of the LED saber program recently adopted by the FFE. Further, it has recent-
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ly entered into a partnership with the FFE to promote its competitive ruleset in the United States. Unsurprisingly, there is often a regional component to the relationship between martially oriented lightsaber groups and the historical styles from which they draw. HEMA techniques appear more frequently in European lightsaber schools. Likewise, organizations like the Saber Authority (established in 2014) have promoted systems with a distinctly Southeast Asian flavor, drawing on their region’s rich stick and blade-work traditions. Instructors in this last group of schools often express enthusiasm for two ideas that may at first appear to be in tension with each other. On the one hand, they note the freedom that the LED saber grants them to test and combine styles that might not otherwise meet on culturally neutral ground. This allows for genuine martial exchange and a welcome escape from the politics of the traditional martial arts. At the same time, they also note the LED saber’s potential to reach new audiences, popular-
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ize, and preserve skills that have emerged from historic martial arts. When commenting on his students who regularly compete in Saber Legion tournaments, Stephen Fick, a noted HEMA instructor who also runs a saber training program, notes: “One of the things that I like about working with them [the Lightsaber Combat community] is that they are taking what is essentially a silly weapon and learning how to bring it to life. The skills that they learn, the questions they ask, and the work they put into learning the lightsaber is what makes it a valid martial training tool.”9 Lightsaber Combat as Martial Art Such commentary about the efficacy of lightsaber training as a martial art in the same capacity as other more established styles still raises questions about its legitimacy among the broader fighting arts community. It also draws attention to the question of history and tradition, providing a compara9 Personal correspondence, February 21, 2019.
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tive lens through which to consider their pragmatic purpose in the study of any given close-combat system. When the apparent goal of a martial art is to become skillful in a given mode of fighting, why bother maintaining nonfunctional behaviors at all? Traditional practices are embedded in many systems, including uniforms, courtesy behaviors like bowing and honorifics, and the memorization of foreign words and phrases that serve no special function. For example, from a combat-efficacy standpoint, there is no pragmatic reason to practice solo, dance-like patterns while counting in Japanese. Likewise, a resident of any developed nation today has no logical combative goal in studying traditional swordsmanship. Even in martial arts marketed as practical for personal protection, such as Brazilian jiu-jitsu, there is often an element of the traditional such as judo uniforms and a colored belt ranking system. Likely no martial arts component is more tradition-bound, however, than their origin stories. As with all types of folklore, these oral tra-
ditions are often transmitted informally between practitioners, usually growing more extraordinary over time, and tend to conform to certain tale types. The narrative structures of these stories are so formulaic that they match common folktale structures found internationally. These stories are usually fantastic in some way. Perhaps the style’s founder was inspired by watching two animals fight; a physically weak individual developed techniques that enabled him to overcome larger opponents, or, in some more ancient cases, a demon or god transmitted knowledge to the founder. Regardless, folklorist Thomas Green has argued that “martial arts folk histories reflect the desire of modern practitioners to establish credibility through association with a legendary past.”10 Legends are an important part of life. Humans rely on the inspiration and 10 Thomas Green, “Sense in Nonsense: The Role of Folk History in the Martial Arts,” in Martial Arts in the Modern World, ed. Thomas A. Green and Joseph Svinth (Westport, Connecticut & London: Praeger, 2003), 5.
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framework found in legends and myths to make sense of the world and its place in it. These stories do not simply conform to established mythical structures—they are ultimately about finding or creating conformity to structure in our own lives. The historiographical events that led to any given martial art’s creation are inevitably complicated and muddy compared with their practitioners’ clean, formulaic renditions. Indeed, as Judkins has written of martial arts history, “[o]ften these genealogies exist only in the realm of popular lore.”11 Suppose the exponents of a martial art are cognizant of its fictionalized origin story. In that case, it is at least worth considering that a new style emerging from such a fantastical background is equally legitimate in every capacity to which that word might apply. Lightsabers are not imminently practical weapons for daily self-defense, but neither are whips, flails, broadswords, deer horn knives, or polearms. Jedi clothing is not 11 Judkins, “The Seven Forms of Lightsaber Combat,” 8.
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the most practical athletic wear— however comfortable—but it is no less imminently practical than the pleated skirt-like hakama or even a judo outfit. Such impractical features as myths, costumes, and irrational beliefs within any group of people serve very practical purposes. Uniforms of any type are a powerful means of creating group identity and cohesion. We are naturally defensive of those who appear to be members of our tribe. For the same reason, military recruits and marching bands spend painful hours training to step in precise formation with their units, not because modern warfare or music calls for it, but because it creates a collective rhythm, a sort of flow state. Belief in an art’s extraordinary origins gives the individual an opportunity to project a personal identity onto known or at least suspected mythic structures, extending his agency beyond the self and into a realm above the mundane. This state of hyper-reality is a portal allowing individuals to perceive themselves as existing within a constructed reality—that is, sub-
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stituting the mundane for the preferred, potentially necessary, extraordinary. This is useful from a survival standpoint as the human brain can understand the world as a harsh, unforgiving, essentially meaningless exercise in futility and suffering. Instead of accepting such a reality, though, a hyper-real existence is one in which the suffering has a purpose and actions accompany a teleological outcome. As the American anthropologist Clifford Geertz famously wrote of cockfighting in Bali, our actions become “stories we tell ourselves about ourselves.”12 It is largely through these mechanisms that the martial arts have become a powerful pathway for asserting personal agency in the modern world. When one puts on a karate uniform to undergo formal training, there is an uncomfortable blurring of the line between daily mundane reality and the costumed fantasy that plays out in the minds of those within the practice space. 12 Clifford Geertz, The Interpretation of Cultures (New York: Basic Books, 1973) 448.
However, this line is very clear among lightsaber groups, as trainees don acknowledged costumes and may even use Star Wars-inspired character names. The result of both karate and lightsaber combat is the same, yet there is greater clarity about the nature of the exercise among the lightsaber group. This is also true of origin narratives. Not only does Star Wars fulfill classical mythic structure, but George Lucas himself has been quite vocal about his intent to do so, stating that “I consciously set about to recreate myths and the . . . classic mythological motifs. And I wanted to use those motifs to deal with issues that existed today.”13 It is instructive to compare the transparent origins of Lightsaber Combat with an origin narrative from the classical Japanese martial arts, which did so much to inspire them. In 1159, a young Minamoto no Yoshitsune was driven into ex13 George Lucas, “The Mythology of ‘Star Wars’ with George Lucas,” interview with Bill Moyers, June 18, 1999, video, https://billmoyers.com/content/mythology-of-star-wars-georgelucas/.
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ile on Mt. Kurama by Taira no Kiyomori, where he was to live as a monk. The mountain was heavily wooded and known to house supernatural creatures. As chance would have it, Yoshitsune became acquainted with a tengu (a sort of magical, crow-like goblin), which taught him martial arts. He became uncannily powerful, skilled in arms, and could run and jump with preternatural agility. He then staged a coup and seized back his hereditary position of power. This story is the basis for a number of martial arts styles in Japan. Historiographically, it is doubtful that the twelfth-century warlord received tutelage from a mystical folk spirit. One would be hardpressed to locate a practitioner of the Japanese martial arts today who genuinely believes the story’s accuracy. Instead, the classical combat arts community engages this and similar narratives with a comfortable skepticism, even as the tale continues to be passed on to new students with the utmost seriousness. The function of such fantasy is, rationally, not to convey historical trivia but to contribute
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to creating a larger life schema, portraying aggrandized interpretations of both physical and cognitive behaviors encouraged by the school. Just as group identity and flow states facilitate profound development from an athletic standpoint, they can also be applied in this sense to develop the trainee’s personality through a constellation of psychosocial immersion and proprioceptive education. Governments have employed such didactic tactics to recondition public thought and behavior. For instance, Japanese youths were mandated to train in kendo, judo, and other martial arts during the early 20th century. There was little expectation that these would be useful battlefield methods, but rather, the goal was to indoctrinate children with the morals the ruling institution found most desirable. Although less extreme, this same basic function and methodology is visible in Lightsaber Combat communities. The Star Wars narrative is largely a chronicle of morality. It conveys the values and preferred qualities of modern heroic
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archetypes portrayed dramatically. These qualities embodied in the Jedi knights are one whose role one inhabits while participating. Whether taken strictly as a sporting endeavor or accompanied with detailed costuming and pseudonyms, the fact that Lightsaber Combat communities are organized entirely around the iconic fantasy weapon unites them in a symbolic, tangible, somatic expression of shared principles. While the lightsaber may not be real, those values and identities are. The specific definitions of martial art notwithstanding, these are some of the essential qualities that attend those activities exhibited by Lightsaber Combat. Compared with many traditional martial arts, however, the endorsed personal qualities in lightsaber groups are made clear due to the recent advent of their origin narratives. Rather than making affectations to legitimize a fictional history, they overtly embrace the fictional narrative. This, in turn, situates training and competition not as severe and life-or-death preparation for conflict but as a community-oriented form of creative play.
Fick’s support of the lightsaber as a helpful training implement points to the benefits of openly accepting a pleasurable pursuit as such; to wit, reduced stress on the trainee results in improved performance precisely because the stakes are not high. Yet, the practice carries powerful meaning because of the deeply mythic structure of its origin narrative. Given the instinct found in many animals to develop skill through play, it seems that, as Alan Watts suggested, “[m]an suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun.”14
Benjamin Judkins, Ph.D https://chinesemartialstudies.com/
14 Alan Watts, Become What You Are (Boston, London: Shambalah, 2003) 29.
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Jared Miracle, Ph.D https://www.goodreads.com/ author/show/15098190.Jared_Miracle
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SYSTEMA STICK FIGHTING Martin Wheeler
I AM NOT AN EXPERT ON Soviet secret-agent stick-fighting techniques. I am not Russian. I have never been to Russia. I do not speak any Slavic languages. I have never been a member of the Spetznaz, or any Russian secret service. The irony that I am a former English bouncer writing an article about a secret Soviet stick fighting technique among these genuine masters of stick fighting is not lost on me. I have, however, for the last twenty years trained under such men as I have described above—Vladimir Vasiliev and his teacher, Colonel Mikhail Ryabko— studying the Russian martial art of systema, or simply translated, “the system.” The reason I am struggling to explain the stick fighting method of systema is not because it is overly complex, but because it is purely an expression of systema. Furthermore, systema is not really a martial art at all, but a way of looking
at the world. It can be expressed in many ways, but it is also good for stick fighting, or, as I prefer to think of it, fighting with a stick. If you are a stick fighter, then your identity is most likely tied with the stick in some way. You might identify yourself as a stick fighter, and, if you should lose your stick in a fight, then the psychological damage of no longer being a stick fighter may be more defeating to you than your enemy’s potential to beat you. Maybe? Even if it is not the case, why take the chance that it could be? Why not just be a fighter who now has a stick, instead of being a stick fighter? Right or wrong, this is the approach of systema. If you have been a serious stick fighting student, like many of the men I have been lucky enough to have trained with, then you are most likely a formidable fighter irrespective of whether you are with or without a weapon. Even
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without experience, someone with a half-decent swing and aim could do considerable damage with a stick. But if you are a student with grueling hours of learning, sparring, and fighting, then you will also know, by following the technique route, that it takes many dedicated years of training to become a good stick fighter. Being a special operative of some sort is a very different scenario. If you have not trained every day with a stick in real combat, and you need those skills quickly, then you need something that is a free-form way of moving and breathing, of understanding relaxation and posture. You must be able to consciously guide your instinctual system into action no matter the situation in a short period of training time. In other words, you would have to study something like systema to be capable in any circumstance: in a car, with a gun, outnumbered, wounded, or stick-fighting. You can essentially use any weapon that is stick-shaped, but it should not be important whether you have a stick or not. It is just a factor of the moment. In other words, a systema practitioner should not physiologically change when you have a stick.
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To create a stick-fighting version of systema, you simply add a stick. The stick has no specific grip position, you do not have to hold it like a stick. You are encouraged to change hands, grips, and positions until the stick floats around you effortlessly. Then receive spontaneous attacks from one or more attackers, slowly at first, and then faster. You should do this until you are fluidly deflecting blows and developing an attack that is psychologically challenging for the attacker to perceive, that emerges from a non-threatening instinctual system. Working softly like a formless tai chi ideally leaves the attacker in a fugue mind-state between striking, or missing, and waiting for new information. Striking with your stick (or weapon) to remove tension from their body at this point keeps their mind occupied while simultaneously breaking the intuitive structure holding your opponent up. This does a double whammy on the psychic system controlling the opponent’s thoughts and actions. This could be seen as systema stick fighting.
There is of course much more to systema than this, and much more to stick fighting, but to do systema is to be in space, with a gun, a knife, or a stick. That is why I can write this article with any insight at all because systema is not only a Russian stick-fighting concept, but a human concept, a universally human concept that anyone can express with some training—even me—with a stick.
Martin Wheeler @ wheelersystema
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PREVENTION OF INJURIES AND POWER OUTPUT IN STICK-FIGHTING Luis Preto
GIVEN THE NATURE OF stick-fighting, in the sense that landing powerful strikes on the body of the opponent is the central success criterion, traumatic injuries resulting from such events can only be prevented by expertly avoiding being hit altogether. Nevertheless, one’s body may also succumb to other injuries, such as soft-tissue injuries, because of the specific accelerative and decelerative forces that the motions of this activity place on the body of its performers.
Injuries in Stick-Fighting Depending on the ruleset followed when competing in stick-fighting, striking only or a combination of striking and grappling is permitted. Considering that the essence of weapon combat is to maximize striking effectiveness so that physically smaller or weaker individuals can avoid grappling altogether, the injury profile about to be presented will focus on striking-related soft-tissue injuries. Those competing in a mixed striking and grappling setting should look to complement this analysis of striking-related soft-tissue injuries with the research available on injury prevention strategies within grappling settings.
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THE ACTIVITY PROFILE FOR THE GENERATION OF MUSCLE & SKELETAL TENSIONS
Apart from the precision-based parrying actions, stick-fighting is, fundamentally, an activity in which combatants mostly perform overhead throwing-type actions, together with stepping actions. Throwing-Type Actions The “thrown” object is, however, not thrown, given that it is never released. Nonetheless, such reference to throwing actions is relevant to study through the analogy of the forces imposed on the body. Additionally, such analysis of the accelerative and decelerative forces that are specific to striking motions needs to account for what takes place within the scope of both two-handed and one-handed weapons. In striving for maximum striking reach, two-handed weapons are momentarily held in front of the performer at the end of the striking motions. In doing so, the
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non-dominant upper-limb reaches full extension, while the dominant upper limb fails to reach such range-of-motion. Additionally, given that the hands of stick-fighters wielding two-handed weapons are not overlapping, strikes on the forehand side of the performer call for the muscles of the dominant (forehand) shoulder to decelerate the forward throwing-type motions. On the other hand, strikes on the backhand side call for the muscles of the non-dominant (backhand) shoulder to decelerate these striking motions.
Grip with hands not overlapping.
In opposition to the latter, when wielding one-handed weapons, only one upper limb is in direct contact with the weapon. Therefore, only this limb (the dominant / forehand-side one) is subjected to the accelerative forward forces of the striking motions and, simultaneously, in need of developing decelerative forces meant to counter the latter ones, to protect the body of the performer. Lastly, the combined effect of the forward (pulling) forces of striking motions and the placement of a body-of-mass (in the form of the weapon and upper limbs) in front of one’s center of gravity results in the forward off-balancing of the attacker’s upper body.
Stepping Actions The displacement performed by stick-fighters, usually referred to as footwork, is of mostly single steps sequentially taken in different directions. The most common examples of such sequences of individual stepping actions are the performance of one step forward followed by one step back, and vice versa. As a result, and despite the relevance of footwork in the maximization of combat effectiveness, the simple performance of single steps fails to bring about injury concerns to the lower limbs, as so happens in many other sporting activities, in which the occurrence of ankle sprains and muscle tears command specific training attention in terms of preventative strategies.
Keeping upright posture versus leaning forward.
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THE ACTIVITY PROFILE FOR SOFT-TISSUE INJURIES
The previous description of stick-fighting allows for the conclusion that significant soft-tissue injuries that stick-fighters are in danger of succumbing to and, thus, should strive to prevent, are those related to overhead throwing actions and those associated with the forward off-balancing of the body. Regarding overhead-throwing-related injuries, as shown within research on volleyball and tennis players: such actions are directly connected to shoulder and scapular injuries. The development of these injuries is a direct consequence of insufficient strength on behalf of the external rotators of the shoulder, to cope with the (eccentric) decelerative forces placed on them.1 1 H. Wang, “Mobility impairment, muscle imbalance, muscle weakness, scapular asymmetry and shoulder injury in elite volleyball athletes,” The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 41 (2001): 403-410.
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As for the off-balancing effect of momentarily holding a mass in front of one’s center of gravity, as shown in other settings such as Olympic weightlifting, this circumstance increases the structural stress placed on the lower back.2 When unable to sustain such forward off-balancing forces, performers tend to lean forward in a way that they come to break the neutral alignment of their lower back. When such occurrence repeats itself regularly, it will be a mere matter of time before performers experience the structural damaging of their lower back and, consequently, come to develop chronic lower back pain.3
2 Mark Rippetoe, Starting Strength: A Simple and Practical Guide for Coaching Beginners (The Aasgaard Company, 2005). 3 Christopher M. Norris, Back Stability (Human Kinetics, 2000).
INJURY PREVENTION STRATEGIES
Shoulder The prevention of injuries to the decelerative muscles of the shoulder joint should be pursued by undergoing a strength training program that strengthens the external rotators of the shoulder.4 Note, however, that though the prevention of such injury should be a concern for all stick-fighters, in the sense that it includes both those wielding one-handed weapons and those using two-handed weapons, there are a few differences in terms of how one goes about managing each specific setting. For starters, one-handed weapons only stimulate, and thus stress, the shoulder joint of the dominant 4 Yvonne Niederbracht et al., “Effects of a shoulder injury prevention strength training program on eccentric external rotator muscle strength and glenohumeral joint imbalance in female overhead activity athletes,” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 22, no. 1 (2008): 140-145.
side. As a result, the major training effect sought in this context falls on the strengthening of the shoulder joint of the dominant side, while the strengthening of the other shoulder joint merely needs to seek an above-average strengthening effect, so as to minimize the difference in strength output between the dominant and non-dominant shoulder joints. Wielding two-handed weapons, on the other hand, means that both shoulder joints are called upon (at different times) to decelerate striking actions and, therefore, both shoulder joints warrant injury-prevention strength adaptations. Nevertheless, such weapons are held by placing the non-dominant hand in a leading position, and doing so results in the minimization of the decelerative requirements set on the dominant shoulder joint when performing strikes on the forehand side.
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In turn, this means that, while two-handed weapons mostly warrant the strengthening of the shoulder muscles of the non-dominant shoulder, one-handed weapons place the focus of strengthening the shoulder muscles on the dominant shoulder. Still, within the context of two-handed weapons, another relevant variable that warrants consideration is the defensive tactical system implemented by stick-fighters. In short, opting for the performance of mostly side parries has stick-fighters performing counterstrikes on both sides, which stresses both shoulder joints and thus calls for the strengthening of both, as previously presented.
Side parries
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When, however, stick-fighters opt to perform mostly parries with the grip on the forehand side, most counterstrikes will also be on the forehand side. Ultimately, this circumstance minimizes the performance of strikes on the backhand side, which, in turn, lowers the need to invest time and energy in the strengthening of the muscles responsible for the deceleration of the shoulder joint of the non-dominant (backhand) side.
Side parry and oblique parry 1
Lower Back As for preventing structural damage to the lower back, such type of injury concerns also calls for the implementation of a strength training program.5 This time, however, such a program needs to be focused on strengthening the back and core muscles. In addition to the latter, such an injury prevention strategy ought to accompany technique-oriented drills that target the development of greater body awareness and postural control (technique). Prioritizing Strategies
Injury
Prevention
Since injuries to the lower back are both more prevalent and more constraining of one’s physical performance, it is logical to assume that they ought to receive greater attention when planning a training program. Additionally, the need for novice trainees to learn the fundamental techniques that make up performance in stick-fighting results in having execution speed kept at moderate to low levels during
this initial training stage. Consequently, the supplementation of sport-specific practice amongst novice level trainees should focus mainly on the injury prevention strategies listed for lower back issues. As trainees progress in their skill level and, therefore, start performing overhead throwing-type actions progressively faster, strengthening the external rotators of the shoulder accompanies other supplemental (injury-prevention) drills. In doing so, and as previously explained, stick-fighters focused on one-handed weapons should focus mainly on strengthening the external rotators of the dominant (forehand) side, while those focusing on two-handed weapons should target both shoulder joints, though under special attention so as to be sure to effectively strengthen the external rotators of the shoulder of the non-dominant (backhand) side—especially if they happen to privilege a defensive tactical system that makes use of both-side parrying techniques.
5 D. M. Carpenter and B. W. Nelson, “Low back strengthening for the prevention and treatment of low back pain,” Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 31, no. 1 (1999): 18-24.
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SPEED, FORCE, AND POWER OUTPUT IN STICK-FIGHTING
Within the context of physical performance, the topic of speed encapsulates, for starters, two concepts: that of reaction speed and movement speed, also referred to as execution speed.
sists of identifying both a stimulus from a multitude of potential stimuli and its subsequent response. The product of these operations is, then, designated as complex reaction speed.
Reaction Speed
Before one’s muscles are activated to respond to a stimulus, the identification of the stimulus in question is, in theory, followed by the selection of one’s response to it. However, this only happens when performers encounter a stimulus that was previously either unknown to them or unexpected. Furthermore, given the high-speed trait of most competitive settings, the need for a decision as to how to react proves to be, in most cases, too much of a challenge to overcome during an exchange with an opponent.6 Ultimately, this means that the speed at which performance takes place
Reaction speed refers to the time interval that precedes movement, in the form of the gap that goes from the presentation of a stimulus to the activation of the muscles by the performer who is about to respond to the stimulus in question. Since the latter means that reaction speed measures a time interval during which no movement occurs, its improvement targets a quicker activation of one’s muscles, and not the improvement of movement performance. In the specific context of stick-fighting, this involves overcoming the uncertainty as to which stimulus one will encounter. In short, this con-
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6 Richard Schmidt and Craig Wrisberg, Motor Learning and Performance: A Problem-Based Learning Approach, 2nd ed. (Human Kinetics, 2000).
forces performers to study their activity beforehand and, thus, enter a competition while being already supported by a specific tactical system that identifies both the stimuli one should expect and the preferred response to each particular stimulus.7 Movement Speed Following the previous processing-centered stage, the coordinated activation of muscles by performers generates actual movement. The performance of movement can then be characterized using a multitude of traits, including the displacement rate of one’s limbs in space—in other words, speed or velocity. Movement (be it raising a glass or raising a 40-pound dumbbell) is a product of one’s ability to activate his or her muscles, in the sense of shortening specific muscle groups
7
Ibid.
with the degree of tension that is needed for them to successfully pull on the bones they are attached to and, thus, displace the body of mass in question at the desired displacement rate. Despite most movements sharing this common root, it has become customary for displacement rate to be referred to as either velocity or speed when displacing light loads in space (for example, swinging a racket) and, in opposition to the latter, for this same phenomenon to be referred to as either strength or force output when displacing heavy loads in space (for example, performing a back squat). The simple rationale that causes, as well as justifies, the existence of such distinction, is the fact that the ability to generate muscle tension is load-specific. Nevertheless, realizing that the same variable (one’s ability to produce muscle tension through the shortening of one’s muscles) fuels displacement rate
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within both speed-oriented tasks and strength-oriented tasks, simplifies both the planning and the execution of training programs. Power Finally, in the context of physical performance, the term power typically refers to the peak muscle tension one can generate throughout a limited time interval. For example, when sprinting, one’s foot is in contact with the ground for just 100 milliseconds, which prevents anyone from generating their maximum force output. As a result, the peak muscle tension (force output) generated within such time-constrained tasks equals power output. Ultimately, this has training still coming down to one simple variable: the maximization of one’s ability to generate muscle tension; , with the concept of power merely adding the specific time interval that limits performance and, therefore, on which one needs to focus when pursuing this performance-enhancement goal.
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TRAINING STRATEGIES
Reaction Speed Improving complex reaction speed can be accomplished through two processes: by improving one’s ability to identify the stimulus, and by lowering the time that it takes to select the adequate response to the stimulus. Starting with the latter, lowering the time needed to select a response can be achieved mostly by developing a tactical plan that skilfully reduces the number of different reactions required in responding to the numerous stimuli provided by the opponent. In stick-fighting, this occurs when performers, for example, can use the same parrying technique to overcome more than one strike. Within the realm of stick-fighting, this can lead to performers relying on only three parrying motions: one to parry their left side, one to parry the center (thrusts), and one to protect their right side. In an extreme case, performers may even try to lower this number to
two, by having one parrying technique for overcoming thrusts and one (generic) parrying technique for dealing with strikes on either the left or right side (overhead/ oblique parry). Such strategic, tactical systems should, nevertheless, be sought only by advanced level trainees. The reason for the latter boils down to the fact that the perfor-
Oblique parries 1 & 2
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mance of these defensive tactical systems calls for both blocking parries and deflecting parries, with the latter ones being too complex and, thus, inadvisable for novice-level trainees. As for the improvement of one’s ability to identify each stimulus, and assuming that there are no pending issues with the sensory organs responsible for receiving the stimuli (for example, adequate eyesight), such improvement can be achieved through a combination of sport-specific practice, video analysis tasks, and mental imagery exercises (Schmidt, 2000). These latter stimuli-familiarization options carry a vast potential for improving complex reaction speed amongst stick-fighters. Additionally, novice-level trainees are, by definition, new to the activity. Therefore, such sport-specific practice should be the central training approach in improving complex reaction speed among them. Movement Speed The improvement of movement speed in stick-fighting lies in the combination of mostly two elements: first, through the development of one’s coordinated activation of the muscles in question, which is just a fancy way of
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referring to the improvement of one’s ability to execute the motor patterns (technique) that make up the art; secondly, through the enhancement of one’s ability to generate muscle tension (force) within the load range and time-frame intervals (power) that are specific to stick-fighting. A simple but effective way of managing these training options boils down to asking oneself whether a trainee has enough (base) strength to perform the predetermined movement pattern. If so, a practice should focus on sport-specific coordinative training, which is the case amongst most novice-level trainees taking up stick-fighting. Should a trainee lack the base strength, which is most common when teaching either children or females, then an initial phase of strength enhancement is called upon before embarking on the practice of sport-specific technique. When dealing with advanced-level trainees, on the other hand, their coordination (technique) has not only leveled out, but quite frequently it is preferable to refrain from frequent corrections to their motor patterns to avoid a drop in their ability to perform both automatically and with confidence. Therefore, improving movement
speed amongst advanced-level trainees mostly calls for the enhancement of their sport-specific strength output. Doing so can be achieved, within stick-fighting, through the practice of sport-specific motor patterns with gear of different weight, in the form of both heavier and lighter sticks. The use of heavier sticks should be implemented when the goal is to improve the degree of muscle tension developed within the sport-specific motor pattern in question.8 The use of lighter sticks, on the other hand, is meant to get trainees to experience the proprioceptive feeling of performing faster actions, under the goal of improving one’s movement speed when performing with the standard gear of the activity.9 Though useful, neither of these training options ought to be used excessively, under the risk of disrupting the performance with standard gear. Lastly, on the topic of motor patterns: a couple of their primary functions are to maximize the transference of kinetic energy between the body segments that are
in action during the performance of each technique, and to improve the timing with which different phases of a technique merge. Therefore, there is a third important element one can drill to improve movement speed. This refers to the actual movement patterns (technique) that make up each school of thought of the stick-fighting community—in the sense that such motor patterns can (and should) be continuously analyzed and improved on whenever possible. One stick-fighting example of such a process was the development, within jogo do pau, of rotational strikes in which the swinging of the weapon started from the very beginning of the striking technique—instead of doing so only after raising the handle of the weapon over the head. Such change brought about quicker strikes in that, by improving the timing with which different components of the techniques merged, the strikes began reaching the target in less time.
8 Yuriu Verkhoshansky, Special Strength Training: A Practical Manual for Coaches (Ultimate Athlete Concepts, 2006). 9
Ibid.
Luis Preto @ luis.preto.50
INJURY PREVENTION / POWER OUTPUT
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TRAINING WEAPONS IN THE MODERN ERA Jeffrey "Stickman" Finder
THE WORD MARTIAL DERIVES from the Latin martialis meaning “of war” or “belonging to Mars.” Among those belonging to Mars, there has always been the practical matter of training without causing unnecessary injury or death to students or partners. This was often an unfortunate and perhaps even regrettable outcome in societies, which had little qualms about culling the weak. Nevertheless,
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the goal is to promote proficiency in fighting, whether it is children play-fighting with sticks outside a family compound, or a warlord training raw recruits for an army while doing so in relative safety. The modern martial arts’ focus on empty hands is, historically, a relatively recent phenomenon of the 19th and 20th centuries. Weapons are ubiquitous in hunting, self-defense, and combat in every culture. Training weapons and martial arts probably go together (pun intend-
ed) as far back as the efforts of our earliest ancestors to pass on survival skills to their offspring and tribe. As sticks and rocks evolved into shapes and materials capable of inflicting more dangerous wounds, those became symbolic of hunters and warriors who earned the right to bear them, as well as the social costs of time, skill, effort, and resources invested. Let us not discount that economic value. Whether sticks, wooden swords, or even fake wooden rifles sometimes
carried by modern military units in training or on parade, cheap basic materials have been a traditional stand-in for expensive and ostensibly more lethal weapons, and in places where live-bladed weapons may be frowned upon or banned, ordinary objects can and have become combative tools in the hands of martial artists. In today’s modern world, martial artists who train with weaponry have a wealth of choices in both traditional and modern materials, and designs from many different cultures and eras. While mainstream martial artists have access to the offerings of large retail companies that have long advertised in magazines and now online, we live in a golden age of knife-making, and that has spilled over into the relatively small niche of training blades, as discriminating martial artists are no longer satisfied just to accept low-quality mass-produced trainers. The internet has allowed small custom artisans to be able to reach customers far beyond their local venues, expanding the options to those interested in going beyond generic store-bought tools. In the case of practitioners of the various martial arts of Southeast Asia, they are now able to find
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replicas of the many exotic weapons that have evolved throughout that region. The style of martial art that is pursued by a practitioner determines, to a large extent, which weapons one chooses. There are three main directions in which martial artists train. These are traditional martial arts, sports styles, and self-defense-oriented systems. Of course, there is overlap, but generally, one will be the main area of focus, and this is frequently the basis on which training weapons are chosen. Traditional martial arts tend to claim lineages going back hundreds or even thousands of years. There is a focus on the transmission of techniques and philosophies that have been passed down for generations. While training techniques oriented towards self-defense is common, training often takes the shape of formal or ritualistic mannerisms. The weapons used for training in these styles reflect the culture and time from which the style originated. Okinawan martial arts are a good example, as the weapons used come from a historical period in which the people of that island, having been forbidden weapons by Japanese overlords,
developed ways of using ordinary farm tools and other implements which would not be suspicious to carry. Thus, we have the long bo staff, the tonfa (a stout forearm-length piece of wood with a handle used for turning rice grinding stones), and nunchaku flails used to separate the rice grain from the hull. Hardwoods are the wood of choice for these weapons that have a history of successful use, even against steel weapons such as katana or sai, and so can handle contact in sparring or two-person forms. Bo staffs and bokken (Japanese wooden swords) traditionally use red oak, while the shorter jo staff is of white oak. While these Asian weapons are familiar to most martial artists, historical European mar-
tial arts also made use of wood for many weapons, including wooden practice swords known in English as wasters. Sports martial arts may be modern descendants of traditional styles or downright eclectic compilations put together from various sources. These styles may focus on sparring or forms. The latter has increasingly become more acrobatic and flashier over the years, at times resembling gymnastics more than combative martial techniques, and at times abetted by weapons that have become lighter and lighter to emphasize the speed at which they can be handled. A good example of this is the hollow aluminum “toothpick” bo staffs that have become common. These can move in dazzling displays of con-
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trol but would be almost useless in a fight as the weapons are not designed to take more than the most superficial contact—if even that. The more traditional divisions, however, still tend to compete with weapons in keeping with their style, though even there, aluminum sometimes can be seen replacing wood or steel, such as the blades of Okinawan kama, the short-handled sickles. Self-defense systems may also come from traditional styles that focus on evolution within the art, or that can be eclectic. Kajukenbo, comprised of elements from karate, judo, kenpo, and boxing, is a famous example of such a system.
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Jeet Kune Do, a concept popularized by the late Bruce Lee, is another modern art that has taken a myriad of directions according to individualized training. “Reality-based martial arts” is another concept that breaks the mold of traditional martial arts, using things like scenario training for a real-life simulation involving things as diverse as improvised weapons and modern firearms. There is a lot of cross-over between some of these arts as practitioners might bring expertise in one area to shed light on another. One example of this comes from Dog Brothers Martial Arts (DBMA®), which brought the concept of stick grappling to the
forefront by combining weapon elements from Filipino martial arts (FMA) with Brazilian jujitsu, a grappling art, bringing back a level of realism and intensity applicable for self-defense on the street. The best-known martial arts in the West come from Japan, Korea, and China. Japanese and Korean martial arts tend to use hardwoods and iron or steel, which are traditional resources in those countries. China, a much larger country, has a lot of regional variation, so more tropical woods like wax wood, bamboo, and rattan are to be found, both as wooden weapons, and as shafts for spears, halberds, and so on. Rattan has become popular in the West in recent years. It is a vine that grows widely in the tropics, with over 2000 species worldwide. Like bamboo, it differs in having many tiny tubules rather than a large hollow center, which makes it more impact-resistant as well as able to absorb shock exceptionally well, making it extremely popular for sparring. When dried, it holds its shape very well, making it a popular material for commercial use in furniture. In the martial art world, however, it is most closely associated with Filipino martial arts, where its use is ubiquitous among the many hundreds
or thousands of styles practiced there, though in recent years its use has spilled over to organizations such as HEMA (Historic European Martial Arts) and the Society for Creative Anachronisms (SCA), another Western-oriented group. Due to its cheap and easy availability in the Philippines, rattan is the most generic material used therein training—an association carried with the FMA to the West. Some say rattan is only for practicing while denser hardwoods such as kamagong and bahi are the preferred woods for personal combat, though rattan can vary in weight and density by species, age, and so on. Within the FMA, common opinion feels the stick is a training alternative to live blades, though that is somewhat interpretive, as the tactics may be similar but optimized for each. A saying about that goes: “Sticks seek bone; blades seek flesh.” Known by a whole array of names, Filipino martial arts go by the names of kali (popular in the West), escrima (a term from the central region of the Visayan islands), and arnis, the most widely recognized term across the Philippines and the one used in legislation that declared it the national sport. These
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arts are popularly associated with the use of rattan sticks, wielded either singly or in pairs. While 28inch sticks are the most common length commercially available, they can range from 18 to 32 inches, depending on the tactics preferred by specific systems. The benefits of rattan are quite pragmatic. Its relatively light weight means serious injuries are less likely than with dense hardwoods or steel, hence its popularity now with many martial artists around the world. Rattan does not last long with vigorous training, but it is relatively inexpensive. It also reproduces easily, so it is a renewable resource. While the weapons mentioned are usually wood or rattan, the modern era has ushered in a variety of new resources applicable to training. As mentioned earlier, aluminum has become popular as a lightweight replacement for heavy wood, such as in staves intended for forms competitions. In recent years, though, its use has expanded into other realms. Many martial artists train with swords and knives, and while wood has long been a stand-in for steel, it does not have the look or feel of the real thing. Tai chi training swords, for example, are often made of lighter wood than Japanese bokken, and unlike the latter, swords are not intended to make
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contact. Aluminum swords and knives are thinner and much sturdier than wood, while thicker and less edgy than even unsharpened steel. Much of the appeal of aluminum comes from its shiny silver metallic appearance, which is like the brightness of plain steel blades. As opposed to forging or grinding steel, aluminum is relatively quick and easy to work with, requiring little more than basic cutting and polishing tools to create blades, making it accessible for many small shops and home craftsmen. Aluminum knives are in demand these days, particularly among FMA practitioners. From the mid1980s, most non-wooden training knives came from industrial manufacturers that used flexible or semi-rigid rubber. These can still be found and offer a high degree of safety in sparring or two-person self-defense techniques, but are useless for training many disarms since the blades easily bend under pressure—unlike live blades—making it impossible to practice techniques applicable to real knives. For that reason, rubber never really caught on as a replacement for wooden trainers. Aluminum solves that issue, and its flashiness mimics that of many live blades, increasing the sense of realism in training.
When it comes to swords, however, aluminum has drawbacks of its own. Edge-to-edge contact can quickly turn a smooth edge into one that is jagged and saw-like, and capable of drawing blood. While optimal sword work does not block with the edge of the weapon, there is a reason ancient armies had armorers to hammer out damage to weapons after a battle, and while one can remove aluminum burs through sanding (preferably with a belt sander), that is not al-
ways a level of care or attention given by practitioners. The most common grade of aluminum used is 6061, which is relatively inexpensive and easy to machine with standard tools. A higher grade is 7075 aircraft aluminum, which is much harder and also more expensive. Whether or not that is subject to the same kind of contact damage as 6061 is unknown to me, as I have yet to see training swords of this material put to the test.
Sparring with kampilan swords made to specification.
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A newer and less common option is making training blades from high-impact plastics, which offer some specific advantages over both wood and aluminum, particularly regarding durability for sparring. Plastics like polycarbonate, nylon, and acetal are highly resistant to damage from impact. They do not splinter like wood, or develop rough, sharp edges like aluminum, and are rigid enough for sparring and disarming techniques. Some, such as acetal, are very easy to cut and machine, and can have beveled edges to more closely represent the cutting edges of live blades, a feature rarely seen in aluminum. While still lighter than ¼-inchthick steel, the denser ½-inch plastics rival heavy hardwoods or ¼-inch aluminum in weight, and with a bit of finish work, can look and feel like wood rather than the kind of slick texture often associated with food-grade plastics. As someone with extensive experience working in this medium— over 30 years—I can attest to the durability of well-designed plastic weapons. Both sticks and swords I have made with these materials have given users years, even decades, of service, far beyond what most would expect, especially compared to wood. The only reasons plastics are not more popular are
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two-fold: first, most people associate plastic with disposable products, though the issue of non-degradable throw-away plastic is one of global significance; the second is appearance, as plastic does not have the flashy look of metal. That prejudice is one that is slowly fading, given stealth treatments such as Parkerization in black, or camouflage applied nowadays to many steel blades to minimize corrosion and avoid reflectivity. When it comes to contact-training with sticks, plastic is superior to aluminum or even steel as a modern alternative. I have bent or crumpled steel pipes with just two or three strikes against stop sign poles, while whacking away with a lightweight polycarbonate stick only results in some scuff marks. Many certified police batons are now using glass-reinforced polycarbonate—a more substantial and very durable variation (at a premium cost to plain polycarbonate)—as an alternative to wooden batons. The limitation of plastic is that it lacks rigidity over longer lengths due to not having an internal grain structure such as found in wood. Past four feet in length, plastic rods will begin to have notable flex, not unlike Chinese wax wood staffs. Increasing thickness to compensate for flexing quickly
increases the weight beyond what is acceptable to most people. Beyond aluminum or plastic are composite sticks, generally designed for safety training or light sparring. One example from the 1990s was the soft stick made by Maestro Sonny Umpad, creator of the Visayan Korto Kadena style of FMA. He used a thin ¼-inch fiberglass rod core, inserted into a short wooden handle, over which he then slipped open cell foam pipe insulation, which was finally covered with a skin of heat shrink tubing with neoprene end caps. The purpose of this was for safe light contact with the hands while practicing techniques. While these had some popularity for a while, the downside was that the end caps could come off or the heat shrink tear if used for hard sparring, exposing the fiberglass core. Many people have tried similar ideas, such as covering PVC pipes with foam. Those too tend to fail, as the uncovered foam tears easily, and PVC can shatter dangerously, leaving sharp jagged ends. Nevertheless, there are variations on this concept used for some types of padded stick tournament competition, as opposed to live stick bouts using thin, lightweight rattan.
Today’s martial artist has a multitude of choices in materials and designs available for training. Wood certainly is not going away, though good hardwoods are becoming increasingly rare and expensive as those are slow-growing trees—not a sustainable resource. Despite rattan’s popularity for sparring, it too has become more challenging to obtain as less affluent tropical countries have, in recent years, become somewhat restrictive in its export to try to bolster domestic crafts and manufacturing. Aluminum and plastic are the most available alternatives in the industrial world’s “jungle,” and can be attractive economically because they do not need to be replaced with the same frequency as less durable materials. Ultimately the choice comes down to the individual practitioner, a decision based on personal aesthetics, intended use, and how the weapon feels in the hand.
Jeffrey Finder @ jeffrey.finder
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BANDO STAFF Geoff Willcher, Ph.D
“BANDO IS A SYSTEM OF systems.” I did not realize what Dr. Gyi was saying, but later I came to understand what he meant. In this article, I infer bando staff forms and fighting from my conversations with Dr. Gyi and from my own staff practice of over 50 years of experience. I could have some details wrong, but I am presenting what I believe to be correct. Dr. Gyi has taught a number of staff forms, but relatively little staff fighting as such. He departed from Burmese/Myanmar tradition in that he did not repeat each set four
times, or once for each of the four directions. Rather, he said, “If you want to repeat a set, do the form again.” This let him include parts of several forms in one. Essentially, he synthesized one form from several others. I watched him do a particular form: the Four Winds staff system. We were at his farm—he has had several—where he attempted to build a pond, but the ground was too oily. Robert Shultz (with whom the author corresponded around 1970) was learning several versions of the Four Winds which Dr. Gyi taught him until he settled.
History There are over 130+ separate tribes in Burma, according to the U.S.A. Diplomatic Handbook. According to Dr. Gyi, there are nine basic groupings of tribes. Dr. Gyi has grouped everything into nine categories. This is not necessarily correct, but he has been fairly consistent about this. He said that each major grouping tended to have organized staff fighting forms differently. This means that some groups put certain sets together and other sets in a different order. We discovered this when he taught the Hidden Draw short stick form to a group. He taught three versions of each set and had us choose the one which would be standard. The Burmese tend to be extremely superstitious, religious, and mystical. For example, they have a coconut in the back of their taxi cabs to make up three “people” in case an extra person is needed. Many things are grouped in multiples of three. Accordingly, many Burmese forms repeat the same moves in four or six directions. Supposedly, this pays respect to the four directions. Bando was systematized by U Ba Than (Gyi), Dr. Gyi’s father. He brought together hundreds of bando masters and asked them to explain their systems, what
they could do, and then he asked them to demonstrate it. He had them come to Aung San stadium to demonstrate their abilities. For instance, one master said he could defend against a number of men with sticks who would try to hit him. They hit him repeatedly. So, in this way, the bando that Gyi taught was tested and proven. U Ba Than was simplifying bando for use against the Japanese in World War II. The time was about preWWII. If U Ba Than liked what he was shown, he had Gyi learn the system so that he could synthesize from it. He prepared fighters for the war against the Japanese.
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UNITS & MEASURES
The Bando people were not sophisticated. They used natural divisions of the world to categorize and subdivide them. The Gurkhas used to train their recruits to march by labeling feet as grass foot and flower foot. They did not label feet as right or left because many of the soldiers were illiterate. In the same way, various dimensions of their systems were labeled according to natural features of the world, according to their houses, and according to the human body.
1. Comparisons with the Wind: They named one of their forms the Four Winds. People would say that the wind was coming from the north, east, south, or west, but I am a westerner, and do not know how the Burmese named the winds.
2. Comparisons with the Compass: They named one of their staff forms Four Corners. Perhaps this refers to the four corners of the compass.
3. Comparisons with the House: If you see a Myanmar (Burmese) house, it is subdivided and stands up on stilts to avoid floods. It contains a door, windows, walls, a roof, and other features. These subdivisions became parts of the system. In bando, we have used a room and the exterior features as a coordinate system to label the world for describing our techniques.
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4. Comparisons with the Family: Generally, everyone has a family. So, forms were identified as being in a family. Staff forms were said to be: father, compliant son, rebellious son, and so on. The Four Winds form was said to be part of the family of nine. Dr. Gyi said he knew about six of the nine forms in the family. There were other families. The pilgrim staff was not part of the family of nine. It was taught by a different master. It has only nine sets, but I suspect there are more. The form, as taught to me, was half of the original form.
5. Relation to the Ground: The basic components were: below ground, on the ground, and in the air. On the ground, a practitioner could be lying, sitting, kneeling, crouching, standing, and so on. Many forms were designed to be used in different environments. The Pilgrim form was designed to be used in the forest or jungle where the flexible part of the staff could be used to knock down branches or pull obstacles out of the way. 6. Relation to the Clock Face: The clock is a man-made twelve-pointed star. It is important to realize that the human body is not a square; it is rectangular, so the angles are not 45 degrees, but 60 degrees, and the star shape is built on a rectangle. The mechanical clock may be a British innovation.
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7. The lengths of sticks were related to the human body. Parts of the body were similarly identified. There were at least nine (and probably 36) forms for sticks of each length. My teacher did say that he knew about (not exactly) six forms for each weapon. They were:
a. Pole (longer than nine feet)—used for poling down a river. If you see a picture of a raft or low and narrow boat with a person poling the craft down the river, that is what this is based on. The pole must be long enough to reach the ground under the water and still have enough pole to be reached by the pilot.
b. Spear (seven to nine feet)—with one or two sharpened points. Films from Myanmar (Burma) generally show forward and backward and right-to-left movements. Dr. Gyi has said that the forms that move right to left only come from the Chinese stage opera.
c. Staff (five to seven feet)—from shoulders to as far overhead as you can reach. Six feet is the common commercial length. The staff is about one inch in diameter. Many staves are not cylindrical. They are generally straight, but may reflect a wider circumference at the base than near the top. The staves may have bumps along their length where branches grew. Some sticks have had mystical symbols carved into them.
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d. Walking / hiking staff (four to five feet)—chest to shoulders high. There is a form for this weapon, but I have not learned it. It did not appear to have any different kinds of techniques in it.
e. Cane (waist high)—may have a hooked, straight, T, or L-shaped end. I have practiced and researched the cane extensively. Typically the cane is held by the hooked end, strikes with the top tip, and thrusts with the ground tip. The body of the cane is used at close range and for grappling. The tip of the hook may be used as a secondary weapon if the primary thrust misses.
f. Wand (from armpit to palm)—about one inch to one-and-a-half inch in diameter. The wizard wand is capable of great deception.
g. Cudgel (about forearm length)—I have never learned any forms or methods with the cudgel. It is a one-handed weapon.
h. Short stick/rod (mid-thigh to hip height)—I have learned a high schooler’s form called the Hidden Draw. It has 19 sets which I suspect is half of a 36-count form. I have also learned a form of Cadet Drills. The Hidden Draw is designed to keep crowds of people back.
i. Club (knee height)—also is a one-handed weapon. I have not learned anything about it.
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j. Pocket stick—used in the docks, with a small rope attached to hold bales of materials. This is called the yawara stick, fist stick, pocket stick, or other names. It is a one-handed impact weapon and may be used to attack nerve areas, joints, muscles, and bones. On the docks in Burma, the stick has a cord through the center, with a knot on it, which is used to wrap around bales of product so that they can be lifted by a worker.
k. Needle (finger length)—used for assassination. Women would sleep with Japanese men and drive the needle into the nose, eye, or ear of the victim while they slept.
Some of these names may not be correct as I have not been taught the exact names for some of the shorter-length sticks. The shorter weapons are generally faster and can change direction more quickly. Some weapons were concealable, ordinary work tools, or health aids.
8. The Alphabet: The shapes and orientation of the letters of the alphabet were used to identify a set of universal patterns. The shapes can be used in accordance with different symmetries and orientations. Take the letter L: it can be used with the short bar pointing left or right, above or below the vertical bar. Similarly, the vertical bar can be horizontal as well.
8. The Grid: The grid is composed of three or four stars inside a box. It reflects the three or four levels of the human body. The grid can be imposed on each of the eight interior walls of the “room.”
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THE BASIC BANDO DRILLS & FORMS
Drills 1. Blocking Drills a. Rising block (right hand high) b. High-side oblique block (right hand high) c. Wall block (left side high; right side elbow in the hip) d. Down block e. Outside lower-angle block f. Counter-force down block (possibly called floor block) g. Inside lower-angle block h. Left-side wall block (left arm high)
There are also other blocking drills for end-holds and reverse-holds.
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2. Thrusting Drills a. Th1: Two-arm thrust b. Th2: Rear two-arm thrust c. Th3: Sliding-hand thrust (pool cue) d. Th4: Left-hand release thrust (one-hand hold) e. Th5: Two-arm high and low U-shaped thrust f. Th6: Throwing thrust
3. Striking Drills (right-hand lead) a. #1 Strike: 10:30 to 4:30 b. #2 Strike: 4:30 to 1:30 c. #3 Strike: 1:30 to 7:30 d. #4 Strike: 7:30 to 1:30 e. #5 Strike: 3:00 to 9:00 f. #6 Strike: 9:00 to 3:00 g. #7 Strike: 6:00 to 12:00 h. # 8 Strike: 12:00 to 6:00 i. #9 Strike: 12:00 thrust and cut out to 1:30
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4. Empty-Hand Drills a. Stance & posture b. Guard c. Stepping d. Slipping e. Ducking & dodging f. Falling g. Throwing h. Choking & locking i. Holding & grabbing
Drills may vary by grip and hold. Grips may be narrow, medium, or wide. Holds may be middle, end-hold, or reverse-hold. There may be many more than nine total drills. Dr. Gyi has said that there are two-man drills, but he has not taught them to me. He may have taught them to others. We have learned two two-man drills with a staff. They are for blocking & striking and blocking & thrusting. There are what I call vocabulary drills, which are lists of techniques in a particular order, usually geometrical. There are performance drills which are combinations of technique drills, such as block-punch, block-blocking, and so on. There are training drills designed to build skills such as stepping & punching and slipping & punching. There may be many more drills. This terminology is unique to my own instruction.
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Forms 1. Four Winds: This is usually the first staff form that is taught. It is the “obedient son” in the family of nine. The Four Winds points the user to opponents in four directions. It is composed of three movements per set. There are nine sets for a total of 27 movements in all. Movements in the form have several purposes and may be given several interpretations.
2. Four Corners: This is usually the second staff form that is taught. The movements are similar to the Four Winds, but there are four movements per set. I think this is the “father” version of the form. This form teaches sliding the hands on the stick.
3. The Foot Soldier and Horseman: This is the only form for which I know the Burmese name: Bama Thaing Aka Thone. This name translates as “Ancient Bando Weapons System Form Three.” This form is designed to fight against two columns of Mongol horsemen charging. The Mongols supposedly used their spears and swords on the outside of the two lines of horsemen. The Burmese would place their warriors between the two columns of horses and attempt to break the necks and legs of the horses.
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4. The Pilgrim Staff: This form is one with several possible weapons—a straight staff, a crook handle, and a three-piece rod made of segments that are 6-7 feet, 8-12 inches, and about 14 inches long, respectively. The staff was reportedly used to knock down debris and branches in the jungle. This form tells the story of a battle against a group of bandits. I have made such a weapon, and some sets in the form make sense when you loop the stick around the neck of a man on a horse to use it to dismount him. The form is designed to work against a bandit gang of many men led by a man on horseback.
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5. The Dissident Son: This form was reportedly derived from people who poled boats along rivers and streams. For this reason, the dissident son’s pole was very long. It is much longer than six feet in length. The Dissident Son is the first of the “wizard” forms. It uses a number of advanced methods to push or pull the long stick around. These include pushing the stick with the inside of the elbow, kicking the stick, bracing the stick against the back, and so on.
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6. The Mandalay Middle Stick: This stick form was so named because it is designed to be used with a narrow middle grip. The form is designed with a very light stick. The use of the middle grip allows the stick to be used with both ends.
7. The Stick of Steel: As the name implies, the stick is designed to be made of metal as opposed to wood. It is designed to be a spear as well. I have not learned this form.
8. The Walking Staff: The walking staff is designed to be chest high used when hiking or walking trails. I have not learned this form.
9. The Wizard Staff: This form used highly deceptive movements. I have practiced the wand version of this form extensively and have worked very hard on the deception that the form embodies. The best way to practice the form is with a partner who can take the point of view of the enemy. The deception with staff is difficult, and works best in the vertical place. Chris Bates has a Chinese form that uses this kind of deception quite well.
The forms are approximately in the order taught, but different groups across the country may have learned staff forms in different orders. There may be other forms as well. There are also between nine and thirty-six “animals” with nine forms each. These are weapon forms whereby the human practitioners emulate the natural weapons of the animals. For instance, there is the Bull Staff form, which I do not know. Each animal may have weapon forms, which help the human user to emulate the animal.
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In bando, forms are practiced for several reasons, which are: 1. Information storage: Many practitioners in Burma were illiterate and could not write. Photographs were not available. Films, taping, and video media were not available. Forms and techniques were drawn partially. A form, which is passed down from master to student, is a relatively standard way of transmitting information. It may be repeated until the student can reproduce it exactly. Of course, masters may enhance or degrade the information in the form as it passes through them. 2. Knowledge standardization: Ways of performing forms, drills, and techniques needed to be standard across the dozens of tribes of people and masters. Created by different masters,
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the drills and forms were subject to natural variation as well as standardization. The form is subject to the degree of exactitude that the master enforces. 3. Making techniques automatic: The practice of a form makes the performance of techniques and combinations automatic. This has positive and negative aspects to it. Making techniques automatic is one of the stages of learning. However, automatic movement is not always desired. What is desired is an automatic correct adaptive response to an enemy’s action. The enemy may be able to exploit an automatic incorrect response by adapting to your behavior. 4. Making combinations into units: It makes the combinations happen more rapidly than normal.
The first stage of learning is conscious control. When the learner is progressing to the second stage, they begin to co-articulate techniques. This means that the later technique starts before the movements of the prior technique are over. Techniques do not happen one at a time. 5. Instruction: Performance of techniques, drills, and forms gives an instructor the opportunity to correct and give feedback about performance. A form is a teaching tool. Students are expected to memorize and reproduce them.
7. Sport: Forms can be done in competition. Usually, this is done by rank in front of judges who know the form, and who are senior in rank. 8. Demonstration: Forms can be done for public demonstration at various events, and for the media. Seeing practitioners perform kata or akas, as they are called in Myanmar, is exciting. It is a recruiting tool and serves to entertain observers. 9. Art: Forms can be done for public audiences as part of public displays.
6. Exercise: Doing a form is a way to exercise muscles, joints, and connective tissue. Quite simply, doing a form is work. Muscles get tired doing forms, and that tiredness is a kind of exercise.
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The Organization of Bando 1. Basic human capabilities: Humans have such appendages as arms, legs, hands, and so on. What can humans do with their arms, bodies, or legs? They can push, pull, manipulate, twist, and so on. What differences exist between humans, dogs, horses, buffalo, and other war animals? Animals such as birds, bees, scorpions, snakes, and so on, have systems named after them as well. These movements involve the senses—the sense of position and placement of the limbs, and the sense of resistance to the movement of objects. 2. Exercises: Stretching, strengthening, endurance, and so on, of limbs, trunk, and appendages such as the neck and feet. After assessing a student’s possession of the basic human capabilities, they are then developed through systematic exercise. Some students do not have all of the basic human capabilities, and the instructor must adapt exercises, drills, and activities to them. Students must stretch
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to avoid injury, improve their range of motion, and warm up. They must strengthen muscles to enable them to lift and move limb segments to accelerate striking points so that they can block or deliver powerful blows. Students cannot get tired doing activities, so they need to do many repetitions of movements. This is usually 20 to 40 repetitions. Fighting demands repetition, extension, and delivery with pain. 3. Conditioning and relaxation: Parts of the body must impact parts of the enemy’s body. This means that they must be hardened. The skin, muscles, and bones must all be hardened. Relaxing the body is important to do after hard exercise. Relaxation can be achieved with breath control. 4. Mental / emotional training: Training the eyes to observe, the limbs to sense resistance and momentum, and training to calm or enrage the emotions is critical.
5. Techniques: This involves ways to move the body to create, inhibit, or control momentum. 6. Drills: These are lists of techniques and combinations of techniques to learn them. 7. Forms: These are sets of ritualized sequences of techniques and combinations against imaginary opponents to train how to use them against real opponents. 8. Training: Hitting things or being hit and performing techniques against targets. 9. Sparring: These are one, two, and three-step sparring against one, two, or many opponents; there is also free sparring against an opponent. 10. Fighting: Actual fights with live opponents. There are no arrangements as to the order of attack or defense, no patterns of techniques, no arranged signaling of attack/defense, and so on. This is often called free fighting.
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PRINCIPLES A principle is a general rule to guide specific implementations. 1. Effectiveness—if you do not protect yourself from injury or death, none of the other principles matter. 2. Safety—protect self, weapons, others, and the environment from damage, destruction, or injury. 3. Efficiency—defend / attack without excessive effort. 4. Do not let the enemy score a telling blow. 5. Try to score a telling blow against the enemy. 6. Try to escape if possible. 7. Try to de-escalate the fight if possible. 8. Avoid dangerous situations. 9. Health A. Healing—it is important to heal from, and compensate for, injuries received in combat. B. Recover from injury—this may require treatment, surgery, and the use of assistive devices. C. Continuing to fight while injured—I was at a meeting of the Gun Club at Microsoft and observed a video of an attack by bank robbers who wore several layers of armored clothing when resisting police and security personnel. One officer, who was down, was still trying to resist when he was attempted to be killed by a bad guy whose weapon did not fire. The gunman put a handgun to his head and pulled the trigger before moving on. The course was conducted by a doctor from a local police / SWAT team department.
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Training Training consists of practicing stick techniques, and tactics against fixed targets, dynamic targets, interactive targets, and human targets. Fixed targets include tires, poles, and other padded objects. One rapidly learns why covering with the non-weapon-hand is important. Sticks bounce back off of targets, the enemy’s body, and off of his weapons. You can be hit by your own weapon. One of the first pieces of advice I received from my instructor was: “Don’t take yourself out of the fight.” One also learns to hit hard, not tentatively. The purpose of hitting is to learn to hit for real. You should hit with follow-through, not at the surface of the target. In bando, we say: “Hit the man behind the man.” This means “through,” not “at,” the target. Additionally, the target—a person—will likely move back to avoid the hit. This means that you do not have to just hit where the target is, but where it will be. This means you will have to predict where the enemy will go.
Dynamic targets respond unpredictably to one’s attack. I have worked with hanging balls, hanging ropes, and rotating bars. They give you something to respond to. Although its movements are sometimes constrained and unguided, these dynamic targets make a response to your attacks. Sometimes their counterattacks are directed by you, and the training steps up a notch. Interactive targets respond with more of a directed response to your attacks, depending on how they are built. I have seen poles that rotate and try to hit you if you are attacking a target. They respond to your previous block. Human targets are the most dangerous and most productive. A padded human being can choose its targets, anticipate your movements, and respond unpredictably. It can initiate attacks so that you have to respond, and can counter your techniques with well-aimed techniques on its own.
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Tactics A tactic is a manipulation of your staff to move it into a position for attack. It is a manipulation of the enemy’s staff to expose a line of attack to a vital area. 1. Direct attack—delivery of an attacking technique to a vital area. 2. Knocking the defending weapon aside (inside, outside, upward, or downward), and then making an attack. 3. Pinning the defending weapon to the ground and then making an attack. 4. Changing the striking point— instead of striking with the front tip, striking with the back tip. 5. Changing the part of the stick used—front butt, front tip, body of the stick, rear tip, bottom butt, the edge between the butt, and the front tip of the stick. 6. Reinforcing the grip or using two hands instead of one—the force that you create is going to go through your hands, arms, torso, and legs. Ultimately, this force must be channeled and managed. One of the ways is to cover the wrist of one hand with the other.
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7. Hitting the enemy with the moving body and energy transmitted through the stick. Additionally, the human body weighs at least 150 pounds while the stick weighs a few pounds. It is hard and fast, but very light. Additionally, the human is capable of motion and of changes in weight and posture. All of these changes can contribute to the energy of the staff. 8. Changing the length of the stick is a tactic by which the length of the staff with which the enemy has to deal with, changes. The long end disappears, and the short end becomes the long end. This is achieved by sliding the hands on the staff. The Four Corners staff form is used for this purpose. 9. Changing the direction of motion of the stick—straight, curved, pulling, pushing, and so on. The best way to attack or block is to strike where the enemy’s weapon is not. By creating the illusion of motion in one direction, while in fact attacking along a different direction, one can create an opening. Openings in the enemy’s defenses can be created by the attacker or the defender.
10. Hitting the stick—motion can be given to the stick by hitting it with kicks, the hands, and the inside of the elbow. The staff can be lifted with the foot or thigh. This can be very surprising to the enemy. The stick can be pushed toward the enemy. It can be used to trip the enemy. In the Dissident Son form, the staff is kicked toward the enemy with a front kick and the direction of motion is changed. Inside and outside crescent kicks can be used to move the stick as well. 11. The staff can be pushed with the hands, as when the body of the staff is used to hit the enemy and push him around. 12. Pushing the stick with a nonhand part of the body such as levering it over the shoulder, around part of the torso, and lifting it against the thigh. 13. Pressing the stick into the ground—pinning the stick to the ground. This is very annoying and unexpected. The defender expects to be able to move his staff, but the attacker has moved it into the ground and stepped on it. This happens in my version of the pil-
grim staff. The enemy smartly evades the move in the form, and the attacker compensates. 14. Bouncing the stick off of the ground, potentially in a new direction—the ground is an ally, as are objects such as trees, rocks, and other obstacles. 15. Changing the direction of motion of the stick—front to rear, rear to front, sideways, and so on, is possible given that the staff is held in two hands. It is also achieved when the staff is held in one hand. Circular, figure-8, and angular movements are particularly deceptive in this regard. Linear motions are less deceptive than circular or angular motions. 16. Sliding the stick through a hand—a pool cue technique to the front or rear. This suddenly changes the part of the stick to which the enemy must respond from being far away to suddenly being close up. It can be used with a thrust or a strike. 17. The staff can be used by pulling it against the enemy’s stick, legs, arms, or body. This is not a strike, but a lever. It can be used to unbalance an opponent.
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18. Throwing the stick at the enemy—this is an unusual technique that deprives one participant of a weapon but is used as a surprise move against an opponent. It is in the basic drill as a throwing thrust.
hand, or from single hand to double hand—changing the grip is a way of changing the potential lines of movement and the way in which the force of the body can be applied to move the staff.
19. Stopping the stick by locking it against a part of the body such as the side, back, thigh, or one of the arms—this is a basic part of every technique, which should be locked against a part of the body.
23. Bracing the stick against a part of the body such as a leg, the back, or the shoulders.
20. Changing the direction of motion of the stick by continuing its motion around a part of the body—neck, waist, arm, or leg.
24. Passing or changing the leading and trailing hands holding the stick from left hand to right hand, or vice versa is a way of deceiving the opponent.
21. Changing the direction of motion of the stick by bouncing it off of the body such as the shoulders, back, leg, and so on— the staff is remarkably versatile in that it can change directions and has at least three ends that can be used for offense or defense.
25. Making an empty-hand or foot attack or defense. Weapon fighters seldom realize that they have not given up their hands and feet. One famous story, related to me, was of a knife fight between an old and a young master. The old master hid his knife behind his thigh, drawing the young master’s attention. The old master moved in and punched him out.
22. Changing the grip on the stick from underhand to overhand, from double hand to single
26. Breaking the enemy’s stick. When sticks break, they become spears with points. This
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introduces a new weapon capability to the conflict, as well as taking away a capability. 27. Removing the stick from the enemy’s hands or loosening his grip. You have to prevent the enemy from picking their stick back up, using another one, or attacking more vigorously. You can attack the enemy’s fingers, hand, and wrist to accomplish this. 28. Facilitating the stick by pulling on the short end when pushing on the long end is a way of increasing the speed of the long end of the stick. Changing the speed of parts of the stick is a further way to deceive the opponent. 29. Direct defense—this is a countering of the force of a direct attack by a strike counter to the direction of an attack. 30. Redirecting of the striking technique—a strike at an attack that changes its direction away from a vital area. This opens a line to counterattack through the opening created.
This makes the line of motion predictable for a short distance. 31. Knock-aside-and-press/hold is a technique whereby the attacker maintains contact with the defender’s weapon and maintains an opening. 32. Pressing the enemy’s stick down and counterattacking through the opening is another technique for controlling the enemy’s weapon. 33. Lifting the enemy’s stick by hitting it upward and creating an opening—this is the reverse direction from pressing down. Hit the enemy’s stick from underneath. 34. Pushing the stick against the enemy’s body, pushing the enemy’s body, or entangling it in his clothing. 35. Pushing or pinning the enemy’s staff against the ground. This list is by no means complete. There are many more tactics that can be used. Techniques can be used offensively and defensively.
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Fighting and Sparring Fighting is not dueling. It is real. The objective is to injure, kill, or drive off your opponent. A duel is one or several against one. Sgt. Rory Miller has made the distinction between fighting and dueling.1 He worked as a prison guard supervisor for many years. We engage in sparring, partly in preparation for fighting, but many of us seldom fight at all. The training that I have had in staff fighting is really about learning the staff weapon and receiving instruction in its use. It is not fighting. A duel has rules to protect both participants from serious injury. Nonetheless, many people are killed and injured in duels, sports sparring matches, and the like. Bando has a military orientation. All of the training that I have received is in preparation for combat, but it is not combat. You can see the difference when fencers fight with real swords. They do not take the risks that they usually do in fencing. They avoid getting cut or stabbed. Even boxers wear padded gloves to reduce the chance of injury. 1 Rory Miller, Meditations on Violence: A Comparison of Martial Arts Training & Real World Violence (YMAA Publication Center, 2008). 190 | The Immersion Review
For this reason, this article does not cover staff fighting. While there are armored staff sparring events, bando does not have any. In such events, the weapons appear to be padded sticks and armored participants. In the Scottish Highland games, there are weapon sparring events that I have witnessed. These are judged and injuries are declared. I have videotapes of similar events in Chinese boxing. The Dog Brothers and FMA are known for full-contact sparring. There is a vast difference between Filipino short-stick fighting and sparring. With real weapons, contestants avoid getting hit, and combinations of techniques that are typical of training and instruction are very seldom seen.
This article has been an introduction to the structure and content of the bando staff system. It is incomplete and comes from my memory. It reflects my direct experience of learning, being told about, and having learned by doing it. Many people have contributed to my understanding of the staff systems. I have written, but not published, a book—Staff Systems of Northern Burma. My teacher changed three forms described in the book. Many of the terms are not correct or reflect my own unique labeling. For this, I apologize. All mistakes are my own.
Geoff Willcher, Ph.D @ gwillcher
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KALI ABTIK LARGO Mark Stewart
Largo WHILE IT IS NECESSARY TO learn all ranges of combat with and without weaponry, it is taught by some that the ideal strategy and optimal function of a weapon is its longest reach or range, and that the rest are logical, and needed backup. This long-range distance is referred to as largo or larga in many Filipino martial arts systems, including kali abtik from the Guro Ted Lucaylucay kali lineage. Largo, like the “Latter Stage” developments of Bruce Lee’s jeet kune do, is the idea of maintaining the distance and position to strike or cut with the least chance of being struck or cut back, which is the pinnacle of the training pyramid and subsequently outlines an “engagement continuum” in training and usage. The largo range is defined as requiring the use of a step and fully extended weapon to reach the opponent, which includes both major and minor targets. Before his passing, Guro Ted Lucaylucay was integrating fencing principles into his art, as inspired from JKD, fencing, and Serfino arnis as taught by Master Federico Serfino Jr., as well as the previous largo training from Villabrille-Largusa kali, Giron largo mano, and his own research and development.
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Stance While largo is performed from various stances and structures, including closed, open, and “natural” variations as well as “dueling” and “surprise attack” stimuli, the Kali Abtik largo begins with the narrow or closed, modified fencing stance as taught in Latter Stage JKD. This stance is dominant-hand-side lead, and is front foot turned inward at a 30-degree angle, and rear foot turned at the lateral, 90-degree mark. The stance is just longer than shoulder width, with bent knees, even distribution of weight with the rear heel raised, to produce a piston-like action to propel the mass forward, through the bent, straight, bent sequence, as well as the relaxed, tensed, relaxed sequence (inspired by the fencer, Aldo Nadi).
Closed stance
Open stance
Guard Variations of Stick Position 1. High, middle, and low 2. Forehand, center, and backhand 3. Tip up, pointed towards, and down Footwork Kali abtik is based on stance, balance, positioning / alignment, distance, timing, and recovery. Footwork is the mechanism that
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positions you to properly make any successful move, from attacking to defending. If you do not have good footwork, you will find yourself unable to get yourself into the right position and unable to complete successful moves consistently. Proper footwork is controlled footwork. The best footwork is simple. Even a small extra movement tells your opponent what
“M
aster Giron was very out-stretched and frontal, similar to fencing, with motions similar to waves rolling in and out, whereas Master Largusa used a lot of replacement footwork and triangles and more body prepping.” Tanya Subing Subing Monroe
“A
s an escrimador who favored largo mano style of fighting, my training in western fencing served me well. The largo mano (long hand) style is among the simplest and most potent system[s] of arnis-escrima. As its name implies, largo mano is a long-range style utilizing distance, evasion and the sneaky delivery of strikes. Like in western fencing, accuracy is paramount in largo mano fighting. Hits should land with surgical precision on vital areas. Using the length of the weapon to his advantage, a largo mano fighter avoids stick-to-stick contact during a skirmish and attempts to hit the opponent’s weapon hand instead. The fast and economical footwork of western fencing is very useful in maintaining the optimal fighting range in largo mano. Whenever possible, a largo mano stylist uses footwork and evasive body movements to avoid blows instead of blocking. Again, like in western fencing, another apparent feature of largo mano is the nearly total absence of the use of the “alive hand” or non-weapon hand. The “alive hand” is used for trapping and disarms in arnis-escrima at close quarters. This is understandable since a largo mano fighter, given sufficient room, would always opt to fight long-range. So, if an escrimador can’t reach his opponent with his non-weapon hand, he knows he is within the largo mano range. Giron had used his art in jungle warfare as a soldier of the US Army in the Philippines during World War II.” Perry Gil S. Mallari
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you are doing, or serves as a drawing tactic. Having fluid and efficient movement is essential. Good footwork overcomes bad strategy. If you can move well, you can fall back on good footwork when other things are not going your way. It is better to have good footwork and a mediocre strategy, than vice versa. Bad footwork habits are one of the biggest stumbling blocks that inhibit a fighter’s ability to improve. The tactical angles used in both kali and JKD are utilized to put yourself in a prime position to hit your opponent while completely neutralizing their offense. Boxing standout Vasyl Lomachenko is a prime example of using angles.
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He uses his footwork and feints to place himself in a position of advantage, where his opponents cannot throw punches without changing facing, and by the time they adjust, he has already landed several punches. Kali Abtik Footwork Kali abtik footwork or stepping includes shifting, rotating, and stepping on eight points or angles, as well as rhythm and broken rhythm variations. These movements include small, medium, and large steps with small steps being preferable so as not to change the balance posture of the stance.
“T
he essence of fighting is the art of moving. The four components of footwork consist of:
1. The sensitivity of your opponent’s aura 2. Aliveness and naturalness 3. Instinctive pacing (distance) 4. Balanced position at the start and finish.” Bruce Lee
Eight Point/Angle Step Variations
Angles of Attack
1. Stationary shifts (percussive and rotational are outlined by the eight angles asterisk to include the center, thus making nine)
Angles of attack are outlined by the eight angles asterisk to include the center, thus making nine. These lines utilize slashing and thrusting, as well as labtik (slashing) and witik (jabbing), and meeting and passing energies.
2. Half steps 3. Full steps 4. Combination steps (patterns, lateral triangle “zig zag,” forward “male” triangle, reverse “female” triangle, and so on) 5. Replacement steps
Major and Minor Targets •
Major: head, neck, torso, and groin
•
Minor: limbs (primarily the hands, wrist, and arms doing the attacking)
•
Note: depending on impact or bladed weapon
6. Pushing steps 7. Sliding steps or “shuffle”
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8 POINT/ANGLE HALF STEPS WITH STRIKES TO MAJOR TARGET
Forehand guard
Linear step forward with forehand strike
Backhand guard
Linear step forward with backhand strike
Forehand guard
Angular step forward / left with forehand strike (female triangle)
Backhand guard
Angular step forward / right with backhand strike (female triangle)
Forehand guard
Lateral step backward / right with forehand strike
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Backhand guard
Lateral step left with backhand strike
Forehand guard
Angle step back / right with forehand strike (male triangle)
Backhand guard
Angle step back / left with backhand strike (male triangle)
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FULL-STEP (2-SYLLABLE) ANGULAR RETREATING STEPS with strike to minor target (hand/wrist) & full-step follow-up strikes to major target (lateral triangle/zigzag)
Forehand guard
First syllable angle step back right
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Second syllable curve back right with forehand strike
Angle forward right step with backhand strike
Pivot step forward angle left with forehand strike
Backhand guard
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First syllable shuffle step backward angle left
Second syllable curve back left with backhand strike
Angle forward left with forehand strike
Pivot step forward angle right with backhand strike
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“G
ood footwork allows fencers to control the distance between themselves and their opponent. During defense, we can use our footwork to move further away from their sword. During offense, good footwork allows us to move in closer to get that point before the opponent has a chance to.” Academy of Fencing Masters Blog
Linear, Angular, and Circular Footwork Tactics Basic training starts with linear power line training and graduates to modified tayada as inspired from the Villabrille/Largusa and Lucaylucay kali systems. Tayada is the tactic of circling around your opponent or them circling around you at various degrees to establish the position and time of advantage. I call it “stealing the corner” in regards to its 180-degree variation of “semi tayada.” The 360-degree perspective of “full tayada” completes its usage, and addresses possible multiple opponents as well as oneon-one.
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Timing Factors Like any combative understanding, Kali Abtik utilizes the three timing factors of before, during, and after the attack/advancement of the opponent—before (on preparation), during (in flight), and after (avoid and counter).
Five Opportunities
Isolation and Integration
From Giovanni Dall’ Agocchie:
The largo range and subsequent tactics are first isolated to enforce the “ideal strategy” of maintaining long range, and then secondly are integrated with the medium and close ranges, alongside utilizing the tactics of trapping, grappling, and takedowns with follow-ups. This ensures a well-rounded path of development to functionality, adaptability, and effectiveness.
1. While he raises his foot, that’s a tempo for attacking him. 2. When he injudiciously moves from one guard to go into another, before he’s fixed in that one, then it’s a tempo to harm him. 3. When he raises his sword to harm you: while he raises his hand, that’s the tempo to attack. 4. When his blow has passed outside your body, is a tempo to follow it with the most convenient response. 5. Once you’ve parried your enemy’s blow, then it’s a tempo to attack.
Binary Ways of Attack (Largo) •
Real/False
•
Single/Compound
•
Direct/Indirect
•
Engaged/Disengaged
•
Stationary/Stepping
•
Progressive/Regressive (stepping towards and stepping away)
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Training Continuum
Ted Lucaylucay
Training includes solo, partner, and equipment training and adheres to the partner training progression of compliant, semi-compliant, and non-compliant.
Ted Lucaylucay was one of the kindest and most generous men that I have ever met. He was like an older brother to me, and I will never forget him. I can see him now, wearing his suspenders, laid back and casual, but with distinct depth, form, and flair. Ted was often a guest at our home and spent the weekends with us on a monthly basis. Ted frequented my L.A. Chinatown gym and taught there often. Ted always emphasized sparring, with and without weapons. Guro Ted was a man of structure and solid basics. Ted LucayLucay was a student in Dan Inosanto’s “backyard group,” and graduated from the Kali Academy in both kali and jeet kune do in 1975. Ted received his certification in both of these arts, but he was also certified an instructor by GM Leo Giron in arnis, GM Angel Cabales in serrada, and by GM Ben Largusa in the Villabrille-Largusa kali system. He was also trained by his father Lucky Lucaylucay in kali and boxing. During the period that I trained with him (1987-1996), Ted emphasized three distinct yet aligned areas with me. These areas were: boxing/kickboxing (jun fan/JKD and panuntukan/sikaran), kung fu (wing chun and jun fan/JKD) and weaponry (kali, escrima, arnis, and modified fencing tactics).
Kali Abtik Guro Ted Lucaylucay defined “abtik” as the explosive use of stepping, pivoting, and sinking or rising to power and time the stroke “body behind the blade.” In the Visayan dialect, “abtik” refers to having speed and being explosive; it also refers to being alert and having quick reflexes “like a fox.” The component styles of kali abtik are Ted Lucalylucay kali, Lucky Lucaylucay kali (Direcho), Villabrille-Largusa kali, Cabales serrada escrima, Giron largo mano, and Lee JKD. In kali abtik, largo is a range and not a system. It can be utilized with impact or edged weapons, and empty hands. Furthermore, while we recognize it as an “ideal strategy,” reality dictates mastery of all ranges and tactics—“the upside down pyramid.” Context still remains the deciding factor in the use of ranges in reality.
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“A
ldo Nadi was born into a fencing family in Livorno, Italy, and both Aldo and his brother Nedo Nadi were fencers from a very young age. They were both taught foil and sabre in the classical Italian school of swordsmanship by their father, Beppe Nadi, who believed the épée to be an “undisciplined” weapon and refused to teach it. The brothers therefore practiced épée by themselves. In 1920, at the age of 21, Nadi won gold medals at the Olympics in team foil, team épée, and team sabre. He also won a silver medal in individual sabre, second only to his brother Nedo Nadi. Nadi immigrated to the United States in 1935 and taught fencing in New York City from 1935 to 1943. In 1943 he published a book On Fencing. Also in 1943, he relocated to Los Angeles, California, where he continued to teach fencing in his own school, in addition to occasionally coaching actors for fencing scenes in films. [. . .] Nadi was known for his real-life duels. At the 1920 Olympics, he fought Italian weightlifter Filippo Bottino with a riding whip, while Bottino used a wooden beam. The duel ended very quickly as Nadi struck Bottino’s hand, causing him to drop the weapon.” “Aldo Nadi,” Wikipedia, last modified September 5, 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldo_Nadi.
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Forehand guard
Step linear forward with forehand strike
Forehand guard
Step linear backward with forehand strike
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“F
ederico Serfino Jr. was first taught boxing by his father, Federico Serfino Sr. The father managed a group of boxers at his home, he hired trainers and had Federico train in boxing first, he was then taught arnis from his father. He later studied fencing in Manila with an Indonesian professor named Zaenol Arifin. Federico later became a national fencing champion in 1962. He later added his fencing footwork into his arnis. Federico lived in Bacolod city, Philippines, and later moved to the USA in 1992.” Gary Zuniga
Forehand guard
Step angle forward left with forehand strike
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“H
ow much of an influence does European, specifically Spanish sword, have upon Filipino martial arts? This is a complicated question which at times becomes more convoluted due to misunderstanding and nationalism. To start, one of the key characteristics of Indo-Malay martial culture is the ability of synthesis, the ability to adapt (indigenize) foreign fighting systems to fit local needs. Spanish martial arts are heavily blade-influenced, as firearms came late to the Iberian Peninsula, and when the Spanish arrived in the Philippines it could be described as a collision of blade cultures. At this time period, Spanish and European martial arts were undergoing an evolution from cut-and-thrust sword play, to the thrustand-cut usage of the rapier. However, most scholars of the sword cannot tell you exactly what constitutes a rapier, or exactly when this transition happened. Nevertheless, Spanish fencing (esgrima) began to evolve toward the usage of this weapon. By the time of the early colonial adventure of the Spanish absorbing the Philippines into [its] empire, the method of rapier fencing had been distilled into the method called La Verdadera Destreza, or the “True Art of Dexterity.” This was a comprehensive martial arts system that required proof of proficiency in a wide variety of weapon types and combinations. These included single sword, sword and dagger, sword and shield, two-handed sword, and pole-arms such as the halberd. In many ways destreza—though primarily revolved around the sword—in intent, was supposed to be a universal conceptual method for usage of any weapon. Evidence, though limited, does suggest there is a minor bit of influence in FMA stemming from destreza.” The School of Arms
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Forehand guard
Step angle backward right with forehand strike
Backhand guard
Step linear forward with backhand strike
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Forehand guard
Step lateral left with backhand strike
Forehand guard
Step angle backward right with backhand strike
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Forehand guard
Step angle forward left with backhand strike
Mark Stewart @ mark.e.stewart
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WEKAF AND DOG BROTHERS: TOGETHER AT LAST! Nick Merchant
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Putting Your Skills to the Test… IN MARTIAL ARTS, THERE IS an everlasting conflict between theory and reality regarding the effectiveness of fighting techniques. How does one know that a strike or defense will actually work? More times than not, in class or practice, there is a partner who “allows” the technique to happen. It looks effective, especially when years of practice allow the technique to flow with speed
and grace. But what happens when a combatant refuses to let you hit their hand five times in a row without disruption or counter? This is where sparring and fighting come into play. It allows a practitioner to pressure-test their skills against a non-compliant opponent. And when it comes down to fighting, there are two major groups that allow FMA enthusiasts to put their skills to the test: WEKAF and the Dog Brothers.
My initial fight training started with WEKAF under GM Sonny Mayo of Alpha Doce Pares. I eventually competed in several events and ended up as a competitor in the 2022 WEKAF International tournament. However, early on in my WEKAF journey, I “drank the Kool-Aid'' and started full-contact (Real Contact) fighting with the NY Dog Brothers group. Even though I am not in the tribe of the Dog Brothers, I have consistent-
WEKAF bangkaw tournament (year unknown).
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ly trained with Dog Brother Tribe Members and have participated in the 2019 Dog Brothers’ Open, benefitting from the experiences. What happened to me on my FMA journey was that I concurrently trained and sparred in both types of fighting. I am lucky enough to have experienced both of these worlds, and to explore what each asks of and offers a practitioner.
What Is WEKAF Fighting? WEKAF was officially started in 1989 as a means to promote and preserve FMA. There are several local and regional tournaments that allow fighters to compete and qualify for the culminating international championship (held every two years at varying locations). Gold, silver, and bronze medals are presented to fighters as a reward for their performance.
There are clearly winners and losers. WEKAF events are broken down into age groups (kids to adults, male and female) and categories. The categories are padded knife, padded stick, full-contact single stick, team single stick, full-contact double stick, and full-contact bangkaw staff (there are also forms competitions, but for the sake of this discussion, we are going to focus on fighting).
Padded stick match at WEKAF 2022.
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All matches consist of three one-minute rounds overseen by a referee and judges. For the team matches, each of the five fighters gets one minute to fight their opponent in back-to-back combat. Padded competition (knife or stick) works off of a point system: score a strike, and earn a point. No thrusts to the face are allowed, even though the weapons are made of soft foam. Competitors are also required to wear a WEKAF helmet.
Full-contact is essentially scored off on four criteria: the number of strikes made, the variance of strikes (target areas), demonstration of defense, and ring control. No thrusts, whatsoever, are allowed, and there is no striking below the knees or to the back. Fighters can check the arm but cannot hold it. There are no throws or shoving permitted; the fight is to remain in the ring with both fighters standing. Fights take place in a seven-square-meter ring that ensures participants will be in close proximity. Full-contact competitors are to use WEKAF 28-inch regulation sticks made of light rattan. They are required to wear a WEKAF helmet, full sparring jacket, and protective gloves (which vary in protection and mobility). Fighters may also choose to wear forearm guards, elbow pads, knee protection, and a cup. For the most part, the additional protective gear has no real regulation (though we can assume hard materials like wood or metal would be frowned upon) and is up to each individual fighter. Criticism and Drawbacks WEKAF Fighting
of
Although the criticism of WEKAF is no secret, I found it peculiar that it resurfaced during the week leading up to the 2022 tournament. Some of it was clearly clickbait,
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but several accomplished martial artists called into question whether there were any benefits to this style of fighting and training. Perhaps the biggest criticism that WEKAF faces is that it is completely unrealistic in terms of actual combat. Point matches become a game of tag. Thrusts to the face would very well end a fight in real life, but in competition, they warrant a warning (of point deduction or disqualification) from the referee and do not count as a point. The judges do not see every strike, and sometimes the fighter that should have won does not. What is supposed to be Filipino martial arts
looks more like a fencing match more suitable for HEMA-trained fighters. Yet, there is still skill and tactics necessary to win. One cannot enter the ring and go into berserker mode. There needs to be the employment of tactics to beat your opponent and come out on top. Full-contact matches can turn into a standoff between competitors as they simultaneously land strikes that would render both of them too wounded to fight, unconscious, or dead if they were not wearing armor. During the 2022 tournament, I noticed an interesting trend among the light and middleweight fighters. They
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Nick Merchant vs Foxhound
would give each other roughly 12 inches of space and just exchange hits, moving their weapons around each other (with some use of the check-hand in attempts to either disarm or disrupt their opponent). Heavyweights tended to demonstrate more crashing, shoving, and holding. From an outsider’s perspective, it all looked chaotic and unrealistic, devoid of any real technique. Overall, there is a feeling that the protection and light sticks give fighters a false sense of security. The equipment is so protective that it prevents fighters from feeling any real consequences of being hit. Although jarring, the light
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sticks mixed with padding make it uncomfortable at worst (though hits to open flesh will still sting and give bruises or stick hickeys). This helps to prevent the nemesis of any athlete: injuries. The organization is protective of its fighters and ensures, as best it can, that they will be healthy enough to fight another day. Additionally, there is criticism regarding the mindset of competition and fighter ranking which strongly influences a fighter’s attitude and training. When you give out medals, you open up the door for egos to emerge. Now, martial arts are plagued by egos in general, but competition brings about
a whole new monster. Winning becomes the focus, not growth. Sportsmanship is present, but I can honestly say that some of it was only at face value. There are sore losers that will complain to the judges at length after the match. Judges and referees make bad calls, leading fighters and spectators to question their visual acumen. For some, though, competition brings out the best in terms of skills and fighting acumen. There is a goal to drive the athletes to reach their utmost potential. Skills and Benefits of Training for WEKAF But is there merit to this style of fighting? The short answer is “yes.” For a fighter to succeed in the WEKAF world, they cannot just come off the street and compete. Knowing your counter techniques and being able to perform carrenzas or sombradas is not enough. There is a need for specific training and conditioning that will give a fighter worthy attributes and help them succeed. Speed is crucial. You need to land more strikes than your opponent. Hundreds of hits are thrown for each round by each competitor. Power shots are present (quite a few fighters will crack you as you stole from their mother), but to
be honest, much of the protective gear negates all of that. That means you need to be relentless in your output. You have to go nonstop. This will require rounds and rounds of bag or tire work of continuous striking. I would warm up for a few rounds with a heavier stick, going as fast as I can (avoiding injury) and staying as clean as possible with my strikes. For each round, I would focus on a particular angle, sticking primarily to forehand and backhand attacks. For the last round, I would send all angles of attack non-stop, switching to the lighter WEKAF stick. My strikes would just fly. Next, a fighter really needs to work on sending a variety of accurate hits. That means working on combos and varying your targets. If a fighter hits the same spot three times in a row, all successive strikes no longer count. So, it makes sense to avoid hitting the same spot more than twice. Again, bag or tire work is essential. I would do a few rounds of T-strikes, then move on to broken-U and X-patterns. The purpose is to keep the attacks unpredictable by changing sides and levels. Additionally, I would work in my own combos using the area-code system I developed. On these focused rounds, I would really practice the mechanics needed
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to execute the combinations, trying to economize my movement and target my strikes for accuracy. For the last round, I would execute any and all combos in whatever order they felt natural in, developing my own rhythm and collection of chain combinations. I would say defense is key, but honestly, it is defensive counters. You need to block a strike and then blast away at your opponent. This requires sparring. Here is where it gets tricky. You need to outmatch yourself. I always choose to spar the fastest, strongest, most skilled fighters I can. They will come with varied attacks and strikes and I must defend and counter them. For my training, I focused on the umbrella (roof) and cross blocks as an entry (fairly standard), negating their initial strikes and setting me up for my return volley of attack. It may seem basic, but basics win fights. And by outmatching yourself and consistently sparring, you will be forced to rise to the occasion. One minute is an eternity in the ring, especially when you need to deliver a nonstop salvo of attacks while wearing bulky gear. Remember, each fight is three rounds. And if you win, you will be fighting in the next 5-10 minutes. That means
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cardio and endurance are a brutal necessity. Not only must you strike more than your opponent, but you must outlast him while donning cumbersome gear that does not let your body breathe. There were times when I have been fighting and my lungs were burning and my arm went numb with the painful strain of non-stop striking. Too bad; the fight was not over. I still had to continue. Any and all cardio exercises are needed. Part of my training philosophy was to “embrace the suck.” I would do my cardio/endurance work while wearing as much of my WEKAF gear as possible for as long as possible. I would also use those elevations (restrictive breathing) masks. Now, I know there have been studies to prove that elevation masks do not improve cardio, but I found that they make me work under adverse conditions (i.e., not being able to breathe). By the week before the tournament, I was doing two hours’ worth of training like that. To be honest, I have won fights against much more skilled eskrimadors because I still had gas in the tank and they did not. Cardio is king. I feel that environmental conditioning is too often ignored. It is important to know where you are fighting and when, so you can
WEKAF 2022
best prepare your body. The 2022 WEKAF International was held in the Philippines and I knew that I would be dealing with the brutal humidity of the region. To prepare, I would often train in a sauna suit and with an elevation mask. I would only do this for 30 minutes at a time as I did not want to die of heat exhaustion. However, I wanted my body to work under extreme environmental stress. I also arrived about a week early to allow my body time to acclimate to the change of weather, time, and food. Yes, food. Coming from America, one’s diet cannot easily escape
the processed chemicals found in American fare. I went through a short withdrawal and adjustment in those first few days. By the time the tournament started, my body had adapted. Speed, accuracy, combinations, and endurance are all viable qualities for a fighter. Even though the actual combat of WEKAF is not wholly realistic, fighters do acquire skills that will help them.
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What is Dog Brothers Fighting? The Dog Brothers culminated in 1988. The driving philosophy is: “Higher Consciousness through Harder Contact” (HCTHC)©. There are no tournaments. There are no medals or trophies. Fighters participate in events called Gatherings. There are two types: Open and Tribal. Open means just that; they are open to anyone willing to take the plunge into “real contact” combat, regardless of their association or standing with the Dog Brothers tribe, as long as they are of good spirit and heart. This event is only for one day. Tribal Gatherings are strictly for members of the Dog Brothers tribe (Full Dogs, candidates, and dogs) and last for two days unless it is a 10-year milestone. Then there are three days of fighting. Both the Open and Tribal events are held three times a year, each in the US, Canada, and Europe. There are no real “rules” aside from the belief that combatants should be friends at the end of the fight. No one is to hold grudges. There is also this stipulation: “ON THIS DAY OR ANY OTHER, No suing no one for no reason for nothing no how no way! Also, please note that we are a corporation, so you
cannot sue us personally anyway. PROTECT YOURSELF AT ALL TIMES. YOU ALONE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOU. If you cannot do it in this spirit, you should just watch.” No one celebrates a win, even though someone may have clearly dominated and won the fight. It is about brotherhood and not ego. Remember when I mentioned above about being of good spirit and heart? That means fighters are not going in looking to cripple one another. Punong Guro Mark “Crafty Dog” Denny said at the 2019 Open Gathering, “We are a tribe of warriors here to prepare for war. We are not looking to hurt each other but to make each other stronger through combat.” Fighters are there to test and elevate one another, not defeat. The types of matches vary. From what I have experienced, fighters warm up with sport knife and bolo matches that are one minute and 30 seconds long. Then things ramp up to whatever weapons fighters agree to use. Typically, Dog Brothers use a 31-inch rattan stick that ranges anywhere from 1-1½ inches in diameter. This is much heavier and longer than the WEKAF tournament weapon. However, that is not always the case.
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Fighters may also choose to use double sticks, staffs, whips, swords, 2x4s, chains, or whatever they agree to fight with. Weapons can be matched or mixed. Some fighters will agree to fight two opponents at once or partake in a group fight (six fighters on each side). Matches are not relegated to strict reliance on and use of the weapon. Many fighters will resort to using empty-hand techniques and grappling to gain the upper hand. Sometimes a hidden knife will make an appearance. It is a mixed bag of styles and weaponry that fighters
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discuss and agree upon beforehand. Fights run for two minutes. If the Ringmaster likes the way the fight is going, it may extend longer than the allotted time. Otherwise, fights run unless there is an injury or submission. The Ringmaster’s responsibility is to start the fight and call time at the end of the match. He is also there to either remove masks when the fight hits the ground or call time on the account of simulated death (for example, getting your throat slit by your opponent, which has happened to me). The Ringmaster
is usually one of the more established Dog Brothers that makes sure the fights stay clean and honorable. Matches occur in a gym or park, so the size of the “ring” and the terrain will vary greatly. Fighters may have to contend with large open spaces or uneven surfaces. Since the belief is HCTHC, there is minimal gear worn by participants. You are expected to wear a fencing mask, mouthguard, gloves, and a cup. As for gloves, anything too protective (such as hockey or Red Dragon HEMA gloves) is frowned upon. Some participants choose to
fight with baseball batting gloves only to prevent their knuckles from grating on the mask while punching (if the mask happens to be on at that time). You may wear elbow or knee pads, but they must be soft. The reason is so that fighters will recognize and respect the consequences of being hit. There is no teacher as effective as pain.
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Criticism and Drawbacks of Dog Brothers Fighting As far as criticism of the Dog Brothers’ style of fighting goes, it really boils down to the risk of injury. With minimal gear and heavier weapons, you will feel the hits unlike in any other sparring you have done. It is not uncommon to see fighters with broken fingers, hands, or ribs after a match. The bruises and lumps one will get from the fights will last for days. And this is what the public sees and hears about. It is a very real risk, but it is one that fighters are well-informed about before they take part in an event.
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Another public misconception is that they envision a violent group of psychos beating each other into a pulp. I have had fellow martial artists cringe when I told them I participated in Dog Brothers events, all based upon this perception. But I have not witnessed any bad blood or maliciousness on the mat. Some of the most brutal matches ended with fighters putting arms and hugging as they walked off. My closest friends in the association have time and again bested me. In regard to the actual fighting and its approximation to reality, there are those that say it is not effective. An unnamed grandmaster once
told me, “You will not get into a fight wearing gloves, so why would you fight that way?” However, the goal is to push the limits without pushing a wheelchair or walker. Fighters want to get as close to a real fight as possible without going to the hospital or morgue. To accomplish that, some protection is necessary. This is a tribe looking to elevate its members, not destroy them. This also connects to the criticism of DB fighting being considered unsophisticated FMA, some even referring to it as barbaric and sim-
plistic. The honest truth is that, for the most part, under stressful and adrenalized conditions, a lot of technique goes out to pasture. This also happens in WEKAF matches. Yet, the more seasoned and well-trained fighters will exhibit a higher execution of technique that may go unnoticed by pedestrian eyes. There is a complexity to fighting a non-compliant opponent who is out to attack you while you do the same. Thus, it takes practice and self-reflection (on top of training) to evoke sophistication at this level.
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Skills and Benefits of Training for Dog Brothers It is essential that a fighter is versed in several forms of fighting. Stick and knife is all well and good until you clinch or you lose your weapon. Then what? Well, the fight does not stop. You need to finish the match. That is where the striking and grappling aspects come into play. Muay Thai is useful for sending kicks and clinching. Fighters will crash and get entangled, leaving you in a situation where you need to make the most out of close proximity striking, such as knees and punches. However, that does not always last too long, as many fights inevitably find themselves going to the ground (which is a harsh reality of what could happen in real life). That is why it is also
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important to have some proficiency in grappling as well. If you focus only on weapons, you are neglecting the reality of what may happen in real life. You do not have to be a BJJ black belt or Muay Thai champion, but you should be able to handle some striking and groundwork. So, train it. Versatility is a trait many martial artists outside of MMA neglect. Power is definitely an attribute you need to acquire for this style of fighting. You need to be able to swing hard and make sure your opponent respects your range and attack. Additionally, you will need to fend off powerful strikes, and a soft block or counter will not cut it. There is only so much one can do with your arm to increase power. That is why there is a need
to develop mechanics that involve the full body to fuel a strike. Shoulders, hips, knees, and feet all need to work in conjunction with the swinging of the stick. That is why tire training is so helpful in this area. As shown to me by Steve “Defender Dog” Sachs, a tire is an amazing tool to help you develop core strength and power for striking. The tire can be used while walking, swinging it side to side and coiling your body to appropriately and efficiently deliver the next strike with power. Additionally, throwing the tire will help you mimic sending a ferocious power-shot. There is also a dire need to train to send strikes while moving. Many Dog Brothers matches involve circling, entries, exits, and
stalking. You need to evade and invade while delivering offensive or defensive hits. A lot, and I mean a lot, of FMA stress footwork, but they seem to forget about actual movement. Your opponent is not going to stand in front of you waiting for an attack. And if he is, he has got something up his sleeve. Therefore, a fighter must be able to move and strike simultaneously. This involves some of the power work training discussed above. Yet it can be as simple as “shadow boxing” with a variety of weaponry, paying attention to how different shapes and sizes want to move and adjusting your steps accordingly. This will also help a fighter to develop explosiveness, knowing how to burst in with the best body mechanics and physics possible.
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One admirable aspect of Dog Brothers' fighting is the encouragement of participants to use different weapons. This will get you out of your comfort zone and open new doors for your practice. For me, doing double sticks with two 31-inch sticks proved to be an issue. So I switched one of them up to a 26-inch stick. Then I realized I was just doing a form of espada y daga. My double stick greatly improved. And as above with training with different weapons to help with your movement, you learn the attributes and deficiencies of each. A hatchet is top-heavy and not good for thrusting. A short stick loses range, but gains an advantage on the inside. Whips and chains require different coordination and mechanics. Knives introduce a different element of speed and range. Training and fighting with different types of weapons will offer you a broader perspective overall and will add to your arsenal of skills and knowledge. That is why I incorporate as many different types as I can—sticks of varied lengths/thickness, blades of varied weights and materials, and mixing up weapons (for example, buckler and stick).
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Strategy is perhaps the most difficult to train. You can train a particular technique for weeks on end, and when given the perfect opportunity to execute it during a match, it does not happen like you thought it would. Why is that? Well, GM Jeff Finder once asked me, “Did the technique not work, or did you just not work the technique?” What I derived from that was that I needed to reassess how I used and executed the technique. Sure, in theory, or with a compliant partner, a technique is perfect. However, in an open field with some adrenalized martial artist swinging at your head, the technique needs to adapt. So, it is important to reflect on your performance. That means you have to fight and run the movie in your head over and over again. Replay your steps. What worked? What left you open for that nasty shot to the midsection? How did your technique help you? How did you shortchange the technique? That all leads to the HCTHC concept at the core of Dog Brothers. If you fight and forget about the experience, you might as well have stayed home and watched reruns of Barney Miller. As physical as Dog Brothers fighting is, you need to reflect, learn, and grow from your experiences.
Closing I would be remiss if I did not say that both paths do not have their merits. I think at this point in the realm of martial arts, they do not have to be mutually exclusive. WEKAF has given me speed and endurance I did not think I could achieve, which has helped me during some grueling Dog Brothers fights. And Dog Brothers gave me a widened perspective of what my fighting is (and could be) and grit that helped me truck through some of my opponents in the WEKAF tournament. You may not have to fight both, but there needs to be respect (even a begrudging one) for each. Please Check Out These websitses for more information: http://wekafinternational.com/ index.php/about/ https://dogbrothers.com/ the-gathering/
Nick Merchant @ nickmerchant
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PUNJABI WOODEN WEAPONS FIGHTING ARTS HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, CONSPIRACY, AND TECHNIQUE
Harjit Singh Sagoo
THIS ARTICLE EXPLORES wooden weapon combat in Punjab, the ancient Indian land of five rivers as well as saints, poets, and warriors, from the past to the present, particularly among the Sikhs. Weapon Typology The traditional wooden weapons of Punjab include the following four major types: •
soti (meter-long stick)
•
sota or danda (short wooden club)
•
lathi or daang (staff)
•
salotar (pestle)
For actual combat, the ends of the first three would be steel or ironcapped in order to maximize damage to the target whilst protecting the weapon from impact damage. It would be erroneous to assume that the utilization of wooden weapons in Punjab is now redundant. In present-day Punjab, sticks and clubs can still be found in the hands of the Nihang Singhs (members of a martial Sikh sect), players of the combat sport of gatka, Punjab police officers, as well as thugs and rioters.
Figure 1 - Vintage photograph of Nihang Singhs armed with various clubs, two of them steelcapped.
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The Guru’s Staff The first Sikh to carry a stick for self-defense was Guru Nanak Dev Ji (1469-1539) (see Figure 2), the first teacher of the Sikh faith, born in Punjab, India (now on the Pakistani side of Punjab since the 1947 Indian Partition). It was with
a wooden staff that Guru Nanak Dev Ji went on his international missionary journeys known as the udasis (odysseys), as recorded in the Vaara Bhai Gurdas (“Chapters of Bhai Gurdas”) by Bhai Gurdas Ji (1551-1636), the first scribe of the Sikh scripture:
“Staff in hand, book [of hymns] under armpit, also carrying a jug and mat.” Chapter 1, Section 32: Journey to Mecca
It can be safely assumed that the guru carried a staff as an inconspicuous weapon for self-defense against wild animals, robbers, and religious bigots when he went to preach Sikh philosophy in the Arabian cities of Mecca and Medina. His staff could not have been car-
ried solely as a walking aid, since he was still in his early 40s at the time of that particular journey. Guru Nanak Dev Ji was sarab kalah sampooran (master of all arts). Bhai Nand Lal Ji (1633-1713), one of Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s fifty-two court poets (pen name: Goya), wrote:
“Bravo! Bravo! Guru [Nanak] is complete in might, Bravo! Bravo! Guru [Nanak] is a true warrior. Bravo! Bravo! Guru [Nanak] never trembles, Bravo! Bravo! Guru [Nanak] has mastered all arts [including martial arts].” Jot Bikas, Verses 25-26
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Clubs in Gurbani Literal and metaphorical references to wooden weapons can be found throughout Gurbani (Guru’s compositions). For example, Guru Ram Das Ji, the fourth Sikh guru, wrote: Figure 2
“The further away they [i.e. the faithless] walk, pain pierces them, until Jamkal [i.e. the Messenger of Death] strikes their head with his club.” Guru Granth Sahib Ji, Ang 171
The Dasam Granth Sahib Ji (“Tenth Guru’s Book”), a collection of sacred compositions by Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the tenth Sikh guru, records the use of a club in a battle. According to a composition titled Bachitar Natak (“Splendid Dra-
ma”), the tenth guru’s autobiography, Mahant Kirpal Das Ji, leader of the Udasi Sikh sect (founded by Baba Sri Chand, 1494–1629, the first guru’s eldest son), killed a Pathan chief using his club in the 1686 Battle of Bhangani:
“Kirpal Das raised his wooden club and then smashed Hayat Khan’s head. He struck it with such force that his brain flowed out like butter from a pitcher smashed by Kaanha.”1 Chapter 8: The Battle of Bhangani, Verse 7
1 Another name of Hindu deity incarnation Lord Krishan who in his youth was very fond of eating butter and known for smashing butter pitchers for access.
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Shastar Vidya
Figure 3 - Vintage photograph of a club-grasping Nihang Singh.
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Following the torturous martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev Ji (15631606) at the hands of the oppressive Mughals (Persianized Muslim invaders descended from the 13th-century Mongolian Tengrist tyrant, Genghis Khan), his son became the next guru: Guru Hargobind Ji (1595-1644). While the first five Sikh gurus demonstrated certain martial abilities and/or made references to warriorhood, weaponry, and martyrdom in their hymns, it was Guru Hargobind Ji who formally introduced the concept of Miri-Piri (spiritual and temporal power) to his followers and adopted the battlefield art of shastar vidya (“weapons science”)
in order to turn Sikhs into armed saints who preached the guru’s compositions and protected themselves as well as the defenseless from tyrants, criminals, and bullies. The weapons the Sikhs used can be divided into five main categories as mentioned in ancient Indian texts: •
amukt—kept in the hand, such as a sword, club, and quarterstaff;
•
pani-mukt—thrown by the hand, such as a bladed discus;
•
yantar-mukt—launched by an instrument, such as a bow and arrow;
•
mukt-amukt—thrown or kept in the hand, such as a spear;
•
mukt-sandharit—hurled and then drawn back, such as a lasso.
The early Sikhs did not create a battle system from scratch, but instead inherited one from their mostly Hindu ancestors (though undoubtedly, Sikhs would have developed new tactics and strategies through their own battle experiences). Therefore, we can refer to ancient and medieval martial Hindu texts for ideas on how the Sikhs would have utilised their weapons.
Figure 4 - A Sikh warrior armed with a club in addition to a sword and several bladed discuses of different sizes. [Source: Le Magasin Pittoresque (1835), p. 372]
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Chapters 251-252 of the Agni Puran (“Agni’s Ancient Knowledge”), an ancient Sanskrit encyclopedic text, believed by Hindus to have been first narrated by Lord Agni (Hin-
du deity of fire), lists numerous armed and unarmed shastar vidya techniques and principles. On the use of the lagud (club), Chapter 251 of the Agni Puran says:
“A lagud covered in a sheath of leather, should be wielded with both hands and then uplifted and hurled down with ease on the head of an adversary, whereby he would meet his doom [see Figure 5]. In the alternative, it should be lifted and used with the right hand only. The success in a club-fight consists in killing the antagonist at one stroke and in a single combat.” A Prose English Translation of the Agni Puranam, Book 10, Chapter 6
The above excerpt comes from the 1904 English translation by Indian writer, translator, and Sanskrit scholar Manmatha Nath Dutt (1855-1912).
Figure 5
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Chapter 252 of the Agni Puran says that the karams (deeds) of the mudgar (club) include: •
tadan (beat)
•
chedan (divide)
•
churan (pound)
•
plavan (plunge)
•
ghatan (slay)
Khalsa Stick Training After Guru Gobind Singh Ji founded the Khalsa (“pure”) religious military order in 1699, he kept his warriors fit by having them undergo various physical exercises and
engaging in martial training which included stick sparring. According to the Sri Gur Panth Prakash (“Radiance of the Guru’s Community”) by Indian Sikh historian who passed away in 1846, Bhai Rattan Singh Bhangu Ji:
“He made some Singhs run races, others he inspected, Some were made to sit and others were made to stand. He had some take thick sticks and train in pairs…” “Story about the Khalsa’s Founding at Keshgarh”, Verses 11-12
Lathi Tactic In the 18th century, two Sikh warriors named Bhai Bota Singh Ji and Bhai Garja Singh Ji were surrounded by multiple Mughal opponents. Standing back-to-back with their staff in hand, they smashed as many heads as they could until they breathed their last breath (see Figure 7).
Figure 6 - Vintage photograph of three Nihang Singhs armed with a lathi, sota, and soti.
Figure 7
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Nihang Throwing Clubs The 1856 book, Journal of the Sutlej Campaign of 1845-6, by James Coley describes some of the weapons carried by Nihang Singhs. Among them is a throwing club:
“Many Akalees [Akalis/Nihangs] also live here in gloomy-looking holes like dungeons. . . . [T]hese demoniacs carry also a short club to throw at the objects of their fury; such weapons corresponding, I suppose, in the quality they are charged with to the brahm-astur.”2 Part 2, p. 153
The Cannabis Pestle The martial traditions of Nihang Singhs include the drinking of a sacred medicinal beverage made using bhang (cannabis) called sukhnidhaan (“peace-giver”). For thousands of years, warriors in India
have drunk this to enhance their fighting spirit as well as to numb physical pains. This is akin to modern governments issuing their soldiers with painkilling drugs such as morphine to treat battle wounds. According to The People of India, Volume 4 (1868):
“They [i.e. Nihang Singhs] cannot smoke [especially tobacco], but they drink bhang; the intoxicating quality of which produces a fierce excitement, ending in stupefaction.” Akalee, 225
2 tile.
Brahmastar-Brahm missile, a destructive mantar-powered projec-
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This sacred drink contains five cannabis leaves, black pepper, melon seeds, cardamom pods, cashews, almonds, sugar, water, and milk. A large salotar (wooden pestle) and sunera (mortar) are used to grind the ingredients into a paste which is then filtered through a
Figure 8
cloth over a large iron bowl to separate the nugda (pulp) from the liquid. The salotar was also used in skirmishes and battles to smash enemy limbs to either kill or stun before delivering a fatal jhatka (single strike) blow to the neck with a sword (see Figure 8).
The Nitiprakashik (“Expounder of Polity”), a treatise authored by Sage Vaishampayan, a disciple of Sage Vyas (the great compiler of scriptures and the Mahabharat), describes the form and use of several weapons, one of which is the pestle, known in Sanskrit as a mushal:
“The mushal has neither eyes nor head, neither hands nor feet. It is well joined together at both ends and fells and crushes enemies.” Chapter 2, Verse 38
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Gatka History Around the early 20th century, a weapon-based sport/game called gatka was regularly showcased by Sikhs during their religious processions, particularly Vaisakhi and Holla Mohalla. Subsequently, it became known as “Sikh martial art.” Some online articles even attribute gatka’s creation to the sixth Sikh guru (noted for raising the first Sikh army in the 17th century). This, however, could not be further from the truth. Gatka is clearly not complete enough for battlefield combat. Also, there is no mention of gatka in Sikh scriptures, edicts, or other writings from the time of the Sikh gurus. Gatka is in fact the name given to a meter-long wood-
en training stick that represents a sword. Its name derives from the Persian khutka (club). Today, however, this stick is referred to as the soti (simply meaning “stick” in Punjabi), and the entire art to which it belongs is labeled gatka. Gatka may have been originally devised by baazigars, traditional Indian public entertainers specializing in tightrope walking, the lifting of heavy beams, and other skills and tricks. A description of these entertainers displaying gatka can be found in Volume 2 of a book titled Hand-book of the Manufactures and Arts of the Punjab (1872) by English civil servant and forest conservator Baden Henry Baden-Powell (1841-1901):
“The ‘lakribaz’ [wood players] is also a performer of this class: he fights with the ‘gatka’ or basket-hilted singlestick, also with the ‘bank’ [baank], a huge two-handed straight bladed sword; or with the ‘saif ’ or ‘phata’ [pata], a kind of broad-sword; he performs tricks also with the ‘maratti’, a bamboo pole with a lighted torch at either end.” Class 29: “Implements Used in Trades and Occupations”,p. 309
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Figure 9 - Stick and buckler illustration from The Illustrated London News, July 13, 1878.
The Ain-i-Akbari (Administration of Akbar) of the Akbarnama (“Book of Akbar”), authored by Abul Fazl (1551-1602), the court historian and chief secretary of Mughal Emperor Akbar (1542-1605), describes sever-
al classes of martial entertainers of the emperor’s court, one of which included Hindu or Muslim gatka players (from the 1873 English translation by German scholar Heinrich Blochmann, 1838-1878):
“There are several kinds of them, each performing astonishing feats. In fighting they shew much swiftness and agility, and join courage to skill in stooping down and rising up again. Some of them use shields in fighting, others use cudgels. The latter are called Lakrait [wood players].” Volume 1, “The Shamsherbaz, or Gladiators”, p. 252
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In his book, The Journal of a Tour in India, third edition (1858), Major-General Godfrey Charles Mundy’s description of gatka is like that of a fancy martial game rather than a deadly battle art: “The games were opened by the sword-players, who as well as the wrestlers, were entirely naked, with the exception of a cloth bound tightly round the waist, and reaching a few inches down the thighs. . . . The first two combatants, who jumped simultaneously into the arena, were armed with a species of single-stick, shorter and heavier than those used in England, and covered with leather to qualify the effect of the blow; bearing in their left hands a small leathern buckler about the circumference of a dinner-plate. After a smiling salaam [greeting], they approached each other very cautiously, circling round at the respectful distance of 10 feet, and using the most extraordinary and extravagant gestures—preliminaries which to me appeared absurd and unnecessary, but which an old Jemadar near me described as useful to awe and distract the attention of the antagonist, and to gain the sun of him. When they at last came to blows they laid about them in real earnest, striking with all their might, and often with both hands. The extreme dexterity which they displayed in warding with the little shield, their crafty feints, and the immense springs they occasionally made to avoid or surprise their adversary, drew loud plaudits from the circle. Towards the end of the combat one of these supple fellows suddenly threw himself upon his knees, in order to cut at the legs of his opponent; and from that apparently helpless position, with the quickness of lightning, sprung back 6 or 8 feet to escape the stroke that was descending on his head. The other, in attempting to retort the same manoeuvre, received a blow on the shoulder that echoed through the field; upon which, at a signal from the Subadar [Subedar-a governor]; directing the sports, the contending couple struck their swords and bucklers together, salaamed in token of amity, and swaggered out of the ring.” Chapter 9, p. 319-320 248 | The Immersion Review
On pages 322-323, a description of a player slicing lime is then given (fruit-cutting, especially whilst blindfolded, is a common crowd-pleasing gatka trick):
“At the conclusion of the combats a man stepped forth to show us the practice of the double-edged [pata] sword, which in his hands appeared a terrible weapon, though in those unaccustomed to its use it is but an awkward instrument. The blade was full 5 feet long, and encumbered with a clumsy iron hilt reaching half way up the arm, like a gauntlet . . . a display of sundry sweeping and rotatory cuts . . . four small limes were placed on the ground, equidistant round the circle; and the fellow, describing a variety of twirling evolutions, not unlike an exaggerated waltz approached them alternately, and, without pausing in his giddy career, divided each of them in two with a well-aimed horizontal cut.” p.322-323
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Wilbraham Egerton’s 1880 book, An Illustrated Handbook of Indian Arms, contains several descriptions of gatka. The martial game of gatka existed (and was known by different names) throughout Punjab, Rajasthan, as well as other parts of India, including Coorg:
“Sword dances are common over the whole of India. In Coorg something of the nature of single-stick play is followed. It is called Kol Peria, or stick and shield play. Two men enter the arena, each armed with a long switch in the right hand, and a shield or a handful of whisks in the left; after defying one another, and jumping about in a strange manner, they slash at their adversaries’ ankles and legs with the swish in their right hand. Hard blows are dealt out, but they are good-natured fellows, and the performers always embrace each other at the end of the day. Part of their national dances is called Kolhata, or ‘strike,’ another stick dance, in which each man is provided with a couple of sticks just like those used at ‘La Grace.’ They move round and strike them alternately on those of their neighbours, all the dancers singing as they move.” p. 149
The British permitted and even encouraged gatka’s practice (which even seems to have influences of European stick fencing) among Sikhs, particularly the soldiers in their service. This was so that gatka would overshadow the actual battlefield arts of Hindu and Sikh warriors which consisted of armed
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and unarmed crippling strikes and death blows as well as the martial traditions that were tied to them, such as anointing weapons with the blood of decapitated goats. The British desired to extend their rule over Sikh territories but first had to conspire to distance Sikhs from their original martial heri-
tage in order to extinguish their religious zeal and their desire to repel invaders. The British were too timid to act against the Sikhs during the reign of the territory-expanding founder of the Sikh Kingdom, Maharaj Ranjit Singh (1780-1839), whose modernized army was trained by the former generals of renowned French military leader, Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821). The king also had the backing of the very fierce-natured and firmly anti-British Akali Baba Phula Singh Ji (1761-1823) and his fellow Nihang Singhs who were well-versed in the original Khalsa warrior traditions. The British
waited for the passing of Maharaj Ranjit Singh before initiating their cultural genocide against the Sikhs. Ten years after the Sikh king’s passing, his empire fell and his son Duleep Singh was made to convert to Christianity and settle in England. The majority of the Sikh community were now pacified, divided, joining pseudo sects, and subservient to their foreign rulers. The 1893 book, The Life of Captain Sir Richard E. Burton, by his wife Isabel Burton, contains a description in which Captain Burton gets Indian soldiers to play gatka:
“As soon as I had passed my drill I was placed in charge of a Company, and proceeded to teach what I had just learnt. I greatly encouraged my men in sword exercise, and used to get the best players to my quarters for a good long bout every day.”
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His description of the style: “The usual style in India is a kind of single-stick, ribbonded with list cloth, up to the top, and a small shield in the left hand. The style of work seems to have been borrowed from the sword-dance of some civilized people, like the Bactrian-Greeks. The swordsman begins with ‘renowning it,’ vapouring, waving his blade, and showing all the curious fantasie that distinguish a Spanish Espada. Then, with the fiercest countenance, he begins to spring in the air, to jump from side to side, to crouch and to rush forwards and backwards, with all the action of an excited baboon.”
He then goes on to say: “They never thought of giving ‘point [a thrust of the sword]’: throughout India the thrust is confined to the dagger. The cuts, as a rule, were only two - one in the shoulder, and the other, in the vernacular called kalam, at the lower legs. Nothing was easier than to guard these cuts, and to administer a thrust that would have been fatal with steel. I gave a prize every month, to the best swordsman, wrestler, and athlete, generally some gaudy turban. But, although I did my best, I never could teach them to use a foil.” p. 119
The internet has helped bring to light the gatka style of the Muslim Hazara people, an Afghan ethnic group, who showcase gatka during weddings and other festivities. They simply refer to it as a folk dance, not a complete battlefield art. A gatka expert in Pakistan
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named Saqib Asghar Awan filmed a series of great gatka tutorials for his YouTube channel, called Gatka Online Trainer. His own instructor, Ustad Raja Muhammad Ejaz, also makes a special appearance and reveals a full-length traditional gatka dua, a poetic Islamic invocation
seeking protection from harm and blessings from Allah, the Prophet Muhammad, and the Caliph Ali. Their props include only the gatka stick, buckler, and sword, not the large variety of weapons that Sikhs learn and showcase.
A 1950 book titled The Encyclopedia of Indian Physical Culture, edited by Dattatraya Chintaman Mujumdar (1882-1954), devotes chapters to Indian wrestling, fist combat, spear-thrusting, lathi-fighting, club-swinging, baneti-spinning, and gatka stick-fighting (spelled gadka in the book). Mujumdar’s book says:
“The Hindu styles and Mohamedan [i.e. Muslim] styles of this game are different.”3 p. 250
It also says that the styles of gatka illustrated in his book are the Hanumantee and Bajarangee styles, which were learnt from an instructor named Kanhayyasingh, disciple of one Ramsing.
3
Note no mention of Sikh styles.
Figure 10 - The editor-in-chief playing with Kanhayyasingh (original book caption), p. 640.
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It is very possible that the inclusion of additional weapons in Sikh gatka may have come about after some Sikhs of the past studied Mujumdar’s 1950 book and became inspired to develop a form of martial art for the Sikh community since the shastar vidya of the pre-British Raj era was largely lost. Many Sikh martial traditions, including handto-hand combat training, became alien to the Sikhs after the fall of the Sikh Kingdom and the grow-
ing influence of the British colonialists. Knowing perfectly well that a population armed and willing to resist occupation is difficult to control, the British initiated a campaign to disarm the people of India, unless they were loyally in their service. The 1880 work, Linguistic and Oriental Essays: Written from the Year 1846 to 1878, by Robert Needham Cust (1821-1909), mentions the disarmament:
“From the earliest day of occupation, the population was effectually disarmed, and heavy penalties attended the possession of an unlicensed weapon. Every fort was dismantled; the manufacture of powder, the importation of sulphur and saltpetre, were controlled. In the hour of peril the people found, that their fang had been drawn; they could not, even if they would, play with edge tools.” Chapter 8, p. 246
Figure 11 - Stringed baneti variants from page 603-604 of Mujumdar’s book.
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Interestingly, what modern gatka players call the chakri or vadda chakar (“big wheel”)—and the claim was once used by past Sikh warriors to deflect enemy arrows in day combat and frighten war elephants in night combat (with the
ends lit on fire)—is in fact merely a stringed variant of the baneti/maratti (a staff with cloth ball ends), which Mujumdar’s book calls a “one-handled circular baneti” and describes how to construct:
“Take an iron ring . . . 18 inches diameter. Fix in the interior a bamboo stick as a handle. Bore ten holes into the ring at equal distances and hang ten iron chains therefrom with iron balls at the ends. This will become a heavy Baneti and the moves will give good exercise to the performer. Balls may be wrapped with cloth and they, after dipped into rock-oil, may be lit up. When the Baneti is being handled thus, it will present a magnificent sight.” p. 605
Figure 12 - Stringed baneti demo by a Hindu child from page 620 of Mujumdar’s book.
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Historical Indian or British sources mention the use of various weapons in India, but there is no mention of the chakri in battle. Even the stringed baneti may have been inspired by something not martial at all—a wicker wheel. It is depicted and described in the 1875 book, India and its Native Princes: “Another dance, infinitely more graceful and interesting, was the egg-dance. This is not, as one might expect from the name, a dance executed upon these fragile articles. The dancing-girl, dressed in the ordinary female costume of the women of the people, a bodice and very short sarri [saree—a garment consisting of a length of cotton or silk draped around the body], carries on her head a wicker wheel of tolerably large diameter, placed in a perfectly horizontal manner on the top of the crown; and round this wheel threads are attached at equal distances, provided at their extremities with a slip knot, which is kept open by means of a glass bead. The dancing-girl advances towards the spectators, holding a basket filled with eggs, which she hands to us so that we may verify that they are real eggs and not imitation. The music strikes up a monotonous and jerking measure, and the dancer begins turning herself round with great rapidity. Then, seizing an egg, she inserts it in one of the slip-knots, and with a sharp movement jerks it so as to tighten the knot. By means of the centrifugal force produced by the rapidity of the dancer’s circular movement, the thread holding the egg is stretched out so that the egg is placed in a straight line with the prolongation of the corresponding spoke of the wheel. One after the other the eggs are thrown into the slip-knots, and they soon form a horizontal aureola round the head of the dancing-girl. At this point the dance becomes more and more rapid, and the features of the dancer can with difficulty be distinguished. It is a critical moment: the least false step, the slightest stoppage, and the eggs would be smashed one against another.” Chapter 45, “The Court of Bhopal”, p. 438-439 256 | The Immersion Review
Figure 13
If Sikh warriors of the past used anything resembling gatka stick/ sword patterns, it would have been what is known as “flourishing”, the patterned spinning of a weapon intended to intimidate opponents or awe spectators with their martial dexterity.
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Pentra The following instructions describe what is typically taught at a modern gatka akhara (training school). A novice gatka-baaz (gatka player/student) will spend approximately a month or longer depending on the ustad (instructor), learning the four-step pentra (footwork), which is gatka’s fundamental footwork. It helps a student learn about coordinating the body with the weapon(s) in hand. One should begin by standing with the right leg forward, with the toes of the right foot pointing northward, and the toes of the left foot pointing westward (Figure 14). From there, one lifts the right foot and places it westward in front of the left foot (Figure 15). Then, one lifts the left foot and takes it around the right foot and places it northward (the right foot turns and points eastward). The left foot should now be leading (Figure 16). These complete two of the four steps. This is then done on the other side—
one lifts the left foot and places it eastward in front of the right foot (Figure 17), and then, one lifts the right foot and takes it around the left foot and places it northward (Figure 18). These steps are performed whilst the hands and arms are swung back and forth, training them to handle weapons in a circular fashion. When stepping to the side, the arms are swung back and then returned to the front once the body faces the front.
Figures 14-18
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Shastar Pranaam Gatka exponents also study the shastar pranaam, a pre-arranged ceremonial salutation to the weapons performed before weapons are taken hold of and trained or demonstrated with. Weapons are neatly placed on a blanket or mat on the ground or on a table. This becomes the weapons altar. Such an energetic dance-like salutation also serves as an effective warming-up and stretching exercise
which prepares the exponent for weapon use. It also demonstrates one’s athleticism to opponents and spectators. There are shorter and longer versions of this, and the steps involved can vary slightly. The following is one example (see Figure 19): 1. One reaches down and touches the floor, demonstrating respect to the arena. 2. One then jumps and slaps their own biceps and inner thighs to demonstrate might. 3. Then, one runs towards the weapons altar and jumps high and then down into a squat. 4. Several 360-degree turning jumps to the back are then performed. 5. Fast skips are done in a serpentine line towards the weapons with arms spreading outwards over the head. 6. A squat on either side of the weapons altar is also done. 7. Finally, the weapons are bowed together with a short silent prayer, after which a weapon or two is selected.
Figure 19
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Figure-8 Rotation The soti, kirpan (sword), or lathi is spun in circles to the left, right, front, and back in a figure-8 (or infinity symbol) motion, known as frye (spin), continuously and gracefully (see Figures 20-29). This rotating pattern can be done with weapons of various types, lengths, and grips. For example, when performing the pattern with a soti (sword), the weapon would be held from the hilt, while a staff would be gripped either from the center with one hand or from one end with both hands. This pattern can also be performed using two swords, two staves, two spears, or two flails simultaneously. When gatka exponents use jumping and spinning footwork together with this pattern, it be-
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comes even fiercer due to the fast and powerful momentum. It is quite useful in fighting off multiple opponents, because the pattern creates a defensive and offensive fence around oneself, blocking, deflecting, and attacking incoming weapons and limbs. It should be pointed out that the figure-8 pattern can actually be found in other combat sports and arts of India, such as paika akhara (Odisha, East India), mardani khel (Maharashtra, West India), silambam (Tamil Nadu, South India), and kalaripayattu (Kerala, South West India), and the art of the Nag Sadhus (Shiva-worshipping martial ascetics), but one will not find exponents highlighting this fact, perhaps to keep their art appear distinct.
Figures 20-29
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Maratti-Twirling The maratti (also known as a baneti) is a staff with small cloth balls on each end and is used early on in gatka training for developing strength and flexibility in the wrists. While holding it from the midsection, the exponent performs various patterns, such as the figure-8 rotation. Some gatka exponents twirl the maratti with firelit ends during nighttime displays. Another motion similar to the figure-8 pattern is known as the marora, which is lower-body weapon rotation. This is done by swinging the weapon outwards in front of the body in a circular manner and then inwards behind the body (see Figure 30). Exponents say it protects one’s lower front and back from attack while also acting as an offensive move. A similar motion is the upper-body weapon rotation that protects the upper body from attacks. The staff is swung inwards in front of the body and then swung outwards behind the body (Figure 31). Each of these motions can also be done with short or long swords and sticks, single or double.
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Figure 30
Figure 31
Fatehnama Before gatka exponents spar with each other using sotis in a demonstration or competition, they are required to perform a salutation known as the fatehnama, a Persian word loosely translated as “victory salutation.” Muslim exponents commonly use the Arabic word salaami (“peace”/“greetings”). This salutation consists of both exponents swinging and clashing their weapons with a high upward forehand strike (see Figures 32-33) fol-
lowed by a low upward backhand strike (Figure 34), and then finally, a diagonal forehand strike (Figure 35). Once the bout ends, the same salutation is performed with the addition of passing the weapon into the left hand, slapping one’s right thigh with the right hand, and then shaking hands with the opponent (the handshaking is quite likely a Western influence). The purpose of this is to demonstrate good sportsmanship.
Figure 32
Figure 33
Figure 34
Figure 35
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Soti-Sparring The primary motions of fighting with the soti involve up-and-down blocking and striking. Each opponent will take turns blocking and striking on the left and right sides. Both will try to sneakily tap permitted body targets, such as the head, arm, and thigh. This up-anddown motion is basic but effective because it can block or deflect any type of vaar (strike) coming to the left or right side of one’s body while allowing one to strike when the opportunity is sensed.
The leg that leads corresponds with the stick-holding hand. If the opponent attacks with an overwhelming strike, one may evade the strike using a 360-degree spinning back-jump called a chungi. This will enable one to avoid the opponent’s weapon and get to a safe distance from where one can proceed with the bout. Gatka competition sparring takes place within a circle that is approximately 30 feet in diameter. Both contestants find themselves under the watchful eyes of judges
Figure 36 - Opponent A blocks on left / Opponent B strikes on right.
Figure 37 - Opponent A strikes on left / Opponent B blocks on right.
Figure 38 - Opponent A blocks on right / Opponent B strikes on left.
Figure 39 - Opponent A strikes on right / Opponent B blocks on left.
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Figure 40 - Opponent A blocks on left / Opponent B strikes on right.
Figure 41 - Opponent A strikes on left / Opponent B blocks on right.
Figure 42 - Opponent A blocks on right / Opponent B strikes on left.
Figure 43 - Opponent A strikes on right / Opponent B blocks on left.
and a referee armed with a whistle. When competing in the soti category, bouts can usually last for about two to three minutes. Whether competing in single-stick or stick-and-buckler, the aim is to win points through strategic strikes to the opponent’s body. Primary target areas include the head, neck, shoulder, and knee. However, one may only attack after blocking the opponent’s strike. Launching a barrage of strikes is not permitted. Usually, one point
is given for striking the opponent’s lower body; striking the opponent’s upper body will earn two points; and more points are awarded for reaching the back of the opponent’s head. Rules may change over time. Lathi-Sparring The same up-and-down motions of soti sparring is simply applied to the lathi. Each opponent will take turns blocking and striking on the left and right sides. One of
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the great aspects of gatka is that many types of weapons can be used in the same motions of the art. Unlike other weapon-based arts, each weapon of gatka is not mastered through training in many dozens or hundreds of techniques and forms. Gatka has a few weapons and even fewer techniques, yet it is practical in real combat.
Figure 44
Fari-Soti The fari and soti represent the buckler and sword. The following techniques focus on four strikes (which are the same for the axe and slim mace used in gatka). Some schools teach more strikes from different angles, but the following images will depict four common strikes: down, up, and side to side. In between each strike, the shield is punched forth to block the opponent’s strikes. Both opponents take turns blocking and striking (see Figures 44-51).
Figure 45
Figure 46
Figure 47
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Figure 48
Figure 49
Figure 50
Figure 51
In fari-soti competition fighting, a point-scoring system is used to determine a winner, just as with single-soti fighting. Clear and clean strikes to the upper body earn more points, while strikes to the lower body earn less. Pushing, punching, grabbing, wild swinging, falling, weapon-dropping, groin strikes, and thrusting with the stick are considered foul moves. Prohibited moves will either lead to point deduction or disqualification from the competition. Modern gatka tournament organizers require participants to wear protective armor, which in the past was unheard of.
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Interestingly, the Nitiprakashik contains a description similar to the fari-soti:
“The mayukhi (pole) is a staff, has a hilt, and is of the height of a man. It is covered with bells, exhibits various colours, and is provided with a shield as a friend. It is used for striking, for warding off a blow, for killing, for discharging and for attacking.” Nitiprakashik, Chapter 2, Verses 46-47
Gatka in the Media The first known book on gatka is titled The Art of Gatka-fighting (Figure 52) and was published in 1936 by Kartar Singh Akali, who was the physical director of the Ram Sukh Das College in Firozpur, Punjab. Akali’s book is approximately 80 pages long, and some of the interesting things to note are that the author refers to the meter-long stick as a gatka, not soti, which players nowadays would. On page 9, he says “the various kinds of gatka” include: •
each player having two gatka sticks;
•
each player having one gatka stick and one shield; and
•
each player having only one gatka stick.
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Figure 52 - The original front cover of Akali’s book.
However, nothing beyond the above, such as the spear, bladed discus, axe, mace, and so on—which gatka players nowadays practice and showcase—is mentioned. In 1987, an American Sikh named Nanak Dev Singh Khalsa—who passed away in 2015— published the second book on gatka. It covers the basic footwork as well as single and double-stick strikes and blocks. Also included is some kundalini yoga (traditionally not a part of gatka). The book concludes with some meal recipes. The author had future volumes planned, but for whatever reason, these never came about. Televised footage of gatka was rare until around the mid-2000s when a sky channel named Channel Punjab began airing competition gatka. Previously, gatka demonstrations were occasionally depicted in news coverage during the Vaisakhi and Hola Mohalla festivals. This was the same with
Punjabi newspapers and cultural magazines. There were merely snippets of generic information. The author of this article was the first to publish full gatka articles in America’s Black Belt magazine (June 2012) and Ukraine’s Boevie Iskusstva magazine (June 2013), both premier martial arts magazines of their respective nations. Numerous gatka articles have been published online since the 1990s, but the information they present is historically inaccurate and lacks technical information. In recent years, several other gatka books have been published, including: •
Sikh Martial Art: Gatka (2011) by Jathedar Gurcharan Singh
•
Gatka Sikhlai Atey Niyamavali (2012) by Avtar Singh
•
Gatka (2014) by Manjit Singh
•
Gatka (2019) by Col (Retd) Inder Singh Thind
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In 2015, The National Gatka Association of India published an official international gatka rule book. It contains all the rules, regulations, definitions, roles of all participants, safety gear requirements, procedures, grades, codes, oaths, forms, charter, and a dedication to Kartar Singh Akali. Several photographs accompany the aforementioned information. Updated editions have since been released. Countless gatka demonstrations and tutorials by Sikhs across the world can now be found on video-sharing sites such as YouTube. However, gatka exponents have begun adding stunts and kicks from Chinese martial arts, which only alters and dilutes the sport. The Muslim Hazara gatka exponents, however, keep to the traditional patterns and moves.
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Figure 53 - Original front cover of Lang’s book.
Punjabi Police Lathi The modern Punjab police force is equipped with a lathi which measures five feet in length. Their method is actually based on the system developed by French stick-fighting master, Pierre Vigny (born 1866). Superintendent Herbert Gordon Lang (1887-1964) of the Indian police force published in 1923 a manual on police stick work, titled The Walking Stick Method of Self-defence (Figure 53). His method was taught to Indian police officers for purposes such
as crowd control, and these skills were often put to use since the natives of India were regularly protesting against colonial rule and injustices. The Indian police force in general is renowned for their lathi charge which is designed to intimidate and disperse crowds. The charge may be executed with or without riot shields. The primary target areas of their strikes are the torso and head. This typically draws criticism from the media due to the severe injuries that ensue. The fundamental lathi drill police officers are taught begins with the ready position, which consists of standing with the left leg forward and bent, right leg behind and straight whilst holding the lathi in the upper guard. The left arm is kept straight and against the side of the body. Then come the blows (which officers traditionally refer to as cuts and jabs):
•
overhead horizontal forehand strike
•
overhead horizontal backhand strike
•
upward strike
diagonal
backhand
•
upward strike
diagonal
forehand
•
downward diagonal backhand strike
•
downward diagonal forehand strike
•
straight thrust (stick is first retracted to the right side of the chest or hip)
•
butt smash (tip of the stick is first retracted to the left hip and the strike is executed using both hands)
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Civilian Bludgeons Punjab is no stranger to violent zameen (land) disputes and communal dangey (riots)—the bloodiest perhaps being the riots that followed the 1947 Partition of India, in which 1-2 million armed and defenseless Sikh, Hindu, and Muslim men, women, and children perished. Some of the common bludgeons used in Indian riots include bamboo lathis, hockey sticks,
tree branches, wooden planks, cricket bats, mudgars (traditional weight-training clubs), and even the khunda, a stick approximately five feet in length with a hooked end, used as a prop in Punjabi bhangra dancing. The attackers may or may not have formal training in rural lathi arts or gatka. Kartar Singh Akali states in his book, The Art of Gatka-Fighting:
“There are two kinds of actual fighting. Firstly, when the amateur players fight in accordance with the standard rules of the game. Here the players act just like true sportsmen. They do not care so much for victory as they do for keeping the spirit of the play. They fight for the sake of play. No doubt, they try to win the game but only by fair means. They ‘Play the game’ and play it up to the end. If they lose, they receive the defeat with [a] smiling face; if they win, they are never vainly proud of their deed. Second kind of actual fighting is a fight between dead enemies. It is very dangerous and is not in keeping with the spirit of play. Here [the] ultimate aim is Victory by any fair or foul means. This sort of fighting is very common in villages. Contestants are not necessarily gatka-players and they may not be equipped with standard gatka sticks. It is ‘Jat Fighting’4 so common in the Punjab. If any of these men happens to be a gatka player, he does wonders and scatters away a number of sturdy villagers with his artful small lathi or gatka.” “The Actual Fighting”, p. 49-50
4
Jatts are members of the agricultural community.
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The Indian right-wing Hindu paramilitary organization, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (National Volunteer organization), commonly referred to as the RSS, is well-known for providing its members training in the use of the lathi as a means to defend themselves, if the need ever arises. It has a branch in Punjab. An early 20th century illustrated manual, titled Lathi Shiksha (“Quarterstaff Teachings”) contains instructions in their lathi method (Figure 54). It may be interesting to point out that
the illustrations depict the lathi exponents holding their weapon with the left hand leading. The average right-handed person would naturally take hold of a staff with their right hand taking the lead, as with a baseball bat. However, one will find right-handed exponents of different staff-fighting arts in India doing the opposite. Perhaps the theory behind this is that the weaker hand is best used to steer the weapon whilst the strongest hand generates force.
Figure 54 - Some pages from the manual. There are numerous techniques and pattern charts.
Figure 55 - The lathi-lapet (staff coil) method of holding the staff as depicted in the manual.
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Conclusion Certain Indian combat sports, particularly gatka, are increasingly becoming entertainment-oriented. Many exponents have adopted the dangerous-seeming crowd-gathering stunts, such as lying upon a nail bed, cutting fruit whilst blind-folded, biting glass (which may actually be sugar glass), being driven over partially by a vehicle, fire-breathing, as well as breaking bricks, tiles, or ice slabs using the hand or head to give audiences the impression that they have attained some degree of superhuman/heroic powers via the art. The reality is otherwise. Behind these stunts, there are tricks and safety mea-
sures which enable a person to perform them without suffering any real injury (some stunts have, of course, gone wrong). For example, one can safely lie upon a bed of nails (blunt or sharp) provided the nails are numerous in number and close together so as to prevent deep penetration of the flesh. Also, bricks can be broken if they are weak or pre-cracked, and tiles can be broken with spacers placed between them (so when struck, the top one smashes into the next one). Sikhs in particular should never perform such tricks and stunts, especially whilst relating them to Sikh warriorhood. Guru Granth Sahib Ji says:
“Followers of the gurus dislike falsehood; with truth they are filled, loving only truth.” Ang 22
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Even a few foreign weapons such as the Chinese broadsword and Okinawan nunchakus are used. Additionally, demonstrations nowadays are usually accompanied by Punjabi hip-hop music, while previously, performances were always accompanied by the powerful beats of the Indian dhol (large double-headed drum). Despite this alteration of gatka, and perhaps even because of it, the sport has gained global attention and popularity. Groups such as the Bir Khalsa Gatka Group were among the first to adopt foreign stunts, and they have travelled internationally to exhibit their modern brand of stuntpacked gatka on televised talent shows, winning numerous awards and accolades, though such groups have also incurred criticism from other groups which attempt to keep training stunt-free and more serious, perhaps due to their belief that gatka is a sacred art. It may be interesting to add that, several years ago, the Punjab government officially recognized gatka, and a recognized diploma course is offered at the Punjabi University in Patiala. While gatka is just a khed (game) and not a yudh kalah (battle art), its simple techniques are, however, effective in armed street defense. For example, the spinning
of an umbrella, pipe, broom/mop handle, or tree branch in the gatka fashion can ward off multiple opponents. More research is required into the legitimately traditional battlefield arts of Punjab and the Sikhs, with a particular focus on textual evidence drawn from Sikh and Hindu sources, because oral tradition can carry errors or be manipulated and remain unverifiable. There are still ancient and medieval unpublished works related to Indian weapons and warfare sitting in Indian and Nepalese libraries (and perhaps many more in private collections) as Vedic scholar Dr. Ravi Prakash Arya notes in his book, Dhanurveda: The Vedic Military Science. These include: •
Vishwamitar Dhanurved
•
Jamadagni Dhanurved
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Aushanas Dhanurved
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Vaishampayan Dhanurved
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Vikramaditya Prakarnam Dhanurved
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Kodandshastar
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Dhanurvidya Dipik
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Dhanurved Aramb Prayog
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Dhanurved Chintmani
•
Kodand-chaturbhuj
•
Sangram-vidhi
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From texts such as these, lost ancient fighting arts of India can be resurrected and preserved. Dr. Arya’s book also mentions several martial treatises that appear to have been lost to the sands of time. References to some of these have been made by Indian philosophers and scholars such as Swami Dayanand Sarasvati and Acharya Dviendranath Shastri. These texts include: •
Angir Dhanurved (Angir was an ancient Vedic sage)
•
Dhanush-pradipik (of Dronacharya, martial guru of the Pandavs and Kauravs)
•
Dhanushchandrodaya (of Shri Parashuram, Vishnu incarnation, disciple of Lord Shiv and martial guru of Dronacharya and Karan)
Sikhs, like the native tribes of the Americas and Africa, are without doubt victims of cultural genocide. It is now up to the descendants of those Sikhs who suffered cultural genocide during the British Raj to piece together remnants of their ancestral martial heritage, particularly with the support of historical textual evidence. *Note: All silhouette images and line drawings (unless indicated otherwise) were created by the author of this work.
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Figure 56 - Vintage photograph of a Nihang Singh with a club at Harimandir Sahib, the holiest temple and place of pilgrimage for Sikhs.
Harjit Singh Sagoo Harjit Singh
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STICK GRAPPLING & IMPACT TRAINING FOR SECURITY PERSONNEL IN CENTRAL AMERICA
Darren Patrick Friesen
IT WAS QUITE A SHOCK, culture-wise, when we first moved to Costa Rica from Canada roughly 12+ years ago. I think it took almost two years for me to find my footing and actually get over the “deerin-headlights” sentiment to take an active part as a contributing member of society. That “part” also did not come easy even after that point. One of my first gigs here was being subcontracted from a major security firm in the Central Pacific which operated out of seven cities or towns here (Jaco, Quepos, Manuel Antonio, Santa Ana, Dominical, Uvita, and Hermosa). It seemed like a great opportunity to test my skills, expand my portfolio, and re-engage with an outlet I was worried about having left behind in Canada. It was a rather knee-jerk shock to the system, to be sure. My wife did not like the training as I was challenged, tested, and even jumped and threatened at times. The solo ride in the dark from the beach was not always the safest, especially for a foreigner that could break down at any time and be a target for robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, and the like. The demographic was often obligated and required to be there—translation: many did not want to and resented the extracurricular commitment.
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Remember, too, I was a Caucasian from North America where stereotypes and resentment often run deep from foreign interference politically, expatriate entitlement, and the view (often rightly so) of foreigners´ better chances in life than their own. I was inevitably putting myself in the line of fire, but we needed the money. The learning curve was steep and unlike anything I had experienced in my teaching and training in Canada to that point. I had taught in some very notably bad areas in downtown Winnipeg, some very sketchy and dangerous people, in the core of what was at the time dubbed “the murder capital of Canada.” But nothing like this. The value of life was much lower, past traumas from violent upbringings were frequent, and exposure to violence was exponentially greater. The circumstances were rife for some very risky and temperamental situations to unfold, which they often did. The security guards
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generally enrolled in the programs were not highly educated, came from very poor backgrounds of abuse and violence, and had been exposed to aggression as simply a part of the growth process. Most came from Nicaragua or lower-class Costa Rica, and a few were from El Salvador, Colombia, and Panama. A number had permanent scars (physical and psychological) from having to commit atrocities to or kill others in their civil wars. Some revealed as much. Some were ex- (or current) gang members. I remember having to “play-fight” in the center of a circle with one who had admitted to killing multiple people in the war and seemed quite practical and resigned regarding the acts. Real-world stuff and the security industry in Costa Rica in general often do not pay very well, training is minimal, and conflict is often a foregone conclusion. Because of that cocktail, legal liability was often a very real concern for companies.
The first thing that needs to be remembered is that this is Central America, so security is generally done with a low-tech scope, not a high-tech one like most high-level security in North America. A lot more is left to the “eye” of the guards instead of to technology. That also means that the threats are also much more low-tech than they are high. Top-of-the-line technology is simply not accessible due to the cost for security companies here. No metal detectors, no computer tech, no digital equipment. I did these workshops for 15-20 groups of 10-15 individuals over the course of five years, not to mention the specialist training for two other security companies, including profiling and vetting potential guards for very specific training in bodyguarding, protecting assets, and giving consultation on security-breach potential, illegal entry, and safety protocols for a major port in the country. All in all, it was a ton of learning-on-the-fly, but one that supercharged the learning curve in a way that no other experience could have legitimately given. It was all with very real threats and potential aggression in mind, not hypotheticals or theory.
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In the end, apart from personal risk, I would not have traded it for other learning methods. Inevitably, my entire martial learning process has come the proverbial hard way from hard men whose history of usage is more pronounced than their martial rank, which has ingrained an experience, immersion, and environments that hardened and gave permanence to the lessons learned. Had I gone the other route, I am not sure how all this would have turned out. I developed a lot of friendships, communication, and networking with the guards. I gained an appreciation for the vulnerability they showed. And they learned to trust someone willing to throw his ass on the line for learning—theirs and, as it turns out, my own as well. I accepted all challenges, testing, proving ground, and ritualistic “hazing” that were thrown my way and came out the other side with respect and admiration that filtered throughout the companies. It may not have gone that way and any weak link in the chain may have been disastrous, but I also know the testing
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methods we had gone through previously. We inevitably had a “fight club” in Canada filled with the military, law enforcement, security personnel, corrections officers, and long-serving hard martial artists that wanted to push the boundaries of their personal knowledge on violence and counter-violence without ego. I also have an innate mean streak where “challenges” are accepted quite regularly when necessary and when I can dictate the outcome. It served well in the new environment. Without it, I am not sure it would have turned out quite so well. Knowing that all confrontations would be individual instead of multiple (remember, their job still hung in the balance, and I was aware of this), that weapons were left at the door, and that if I succeeded in “breaking” a tough opponent, the rest would fall in line and learning could commence, was a tactical advantage that was utilized with frequency—manipulating the “rules of the game” for a greater purpose. There were injuries produced in establishing group control out of neces-
sity—note that I was subtly threatened, jumped, challenged both verbally and physically, and disrespected on multiple occasions. I remember there being a shoulder subluxation (popped-out shoulder) that I had to put back in using hilot (Filipino bone- and joint-resetting), a blown-out ankle, a deep eye-gouge leaving the victim with a question of seeing the joys of life again, a liver punch that brought a 220-pounder to his knees gasping for air—various MMA and kickboxing exponents that were skeptical of the content and heckled their doubt before “buying in.” It was high-stress, without question. I was told, whether truthfully or not, that various other martial arts instructors had been brought in only to turn tail and bail the minute the testing and tribalism started, and push-came-to-shove was not met with a return shove. That being said, to be “accepted” into a very tribally driven (and proven) clique was actually very gratifying, and eventually, learning took precedence in each workshop, until the next when the proving began
again. One learns to glean almost immediately—and out of necessity—who in the group will be leaders, who are the malcontents, who are the skeptics, and who has the eyes and body language of the violence experienced. Apart from this and continuing with the overview of dynamics present in the job description, there were varying threats that these guards faced with some regularity, which immediately opened the door to a very grand sliding scale of potential response, not always easy to glean. The threats were anything from drunk or hostile clients from the workstations they were placed at, hostility from community criminals, to violent gang members building within the community. In one of the major locales where I gave the training, there were ongoing gang battles between Colombians and Dominicans, foreign prostitution rings, and expatriates from North America that were generally known to be on the lam (exiles) from something in their home country (violent crime, money owed, legal
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entanglements, and so on), plus the transients moving from beach town to beach town looking for even low-paying work. The manner of dealing with clients—even disorderly clients—that one wanted to return, to continue staying, and for whom they would want to ensure a great experience even amidst a one-time meltdown, is completely different from dealing with a local trying to access the grounds aggressively, or dealing with a gang member simply there for the violence or chaos. And the last two are community members you may see again on the street away from work on a Saturday night when out with the family— so the dynamics are complex, to say the least. A couple of the companies themselves did not want firearms as part of their company protocols due to potential legal or financial issues, so the tools used were all impact- and concussion-based. Now, whether this was because of the history of violence of some of the guards, to increase the need for solid conflict-management
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tools, solely for the potential legal and financial implications should something go wrong, or all of the above, I cannot say. I would bet a combination of the above. But it did change the focus of the training. The training itself was over the course of three, sometimes four afternoons, so it was imperative it was streamlined, functional, easy to absorb, and instantly implementable. The second phase was another four classes for more experienced and term-serving guards with leadership or specialist positions. Time wasted was at the expense of the guards´ safety and survivability. So, the imperative nature of the classes being high-intensity, easily absorbable, unity- or team-building, understanding threat assessment and assessing accurately, and building confidence in their new repertoire was at the forefront— not an easy task with all the other goings-on mentioned above being prevalent. Confidence was also a rather large barrier as the resentment derived from an inferiority complex over the very people they
were generally there to protect— foreigners, with money, from the First World, in comparison to whom they had a perception of being second-class citizens—a very complex dichotomy. So, learning to stand up to, enforce, and look eye to eye (and not fall for the myth that “eye contact” reflects greater capability for violence, that was quashed early on, as many dangerous men do not give much) was something on the periphery that needed addressing. For all this to work, they had to legitimately (and rightfully) believe they were equals—that violence was not the first option, and that communication and corporal projection was valid, legitimate, and authentic. Many of the guards themselves did not like their coworkers, so convincing them that every other guard´s goal was to return home safely to family and loved ones— same as theirs—was an ingrained motivation to that team-building. You could continue hating or disliking your peers/coworkers after the shift ended, but on shift, you were a team, a unit, a working or-
ganism whose sole purpose was to ensure everyone had the ability to achieve that goal. If not, it was on you, trust was broken, and the revenge on you could be repercussive. An intricate human-behavior balance, to be sure, but I cannot stress enough how imperative team-building was, simultaneously with the actual physical and mental training—getting them to understand that they could feel whatever and however they wanted after work ended was their prerogative, but ensuring that those peers were there to feel that way was their responsibility, and that they needed to do everything in their power to make that a reality. The weapons generally worked with, moving on, were blackjacks (closed and extendable), side-handle batons, pocket sticks, flashlights, and small tactical folders (closed, generally), not to mention any other work-related tools (asymmetrical/unconventional) that could immediately be turned into a momentary arm-of-opportunity, if needed and the situation called for it (a pen is just a pen un-
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til used as a weapon, but a weapon that is legally more justifiable when one is carrying potentially far more lethal or high-impact tools on oneself). Now, an element often neglected is deployment. Deployment is not so hard when practicing quick removal from a smooth draw-point. It is quite another when sheaths, Velcro seals, belts, holsters, carry location, and clothing are the staunch prohibition of accessibility—and often for a specific reason in that other tools are supposed to take precedence (e.g. verbal, corporal, communicative, subliminal—friendly, smiling, helpful— remember, clients, community…). Maintaining networking, positive perception, and community positivity are imperative. Remember, even old warriors often got that way because they knew the value of diplomacy, allies, networking, and not burning bridges. And it is important to note that the R.O.E. (rules of engagement) are still present even here in Central America—legal justifiability, following protocols, the maintenance of the tourism industry´s reputation for positive experience and
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repeat business, industry security (one bad experience can blacklist you from further industry opportunities as word travels fast, security owners often congregate and interact, and it is a small country of five million people—bad reps carry), etc. Moving on from context to content: there was, as necessary, a ton of content packed into a three- or four-day workshop, out of necessity. However, the overlap of general fight fundamentals and tapping into their natural body movement and innate survival instinct were imperative and the focal point of everything that followed. Too many “new” and unique skills would cause information overload. Overlap, transferability, and principle-based concepts were the nucleus. We often hear that “if you only had two hours / twenty-four hours / three days, or whatever, to teach someone how to survive a violent encounter with a powerful violence-prone opponent, what would you teach them?” So, let us move on to that content: utilization of escalated force over a greater threat, armed or unarmed, for self- or public safety.
Let us break down the stick skills focused on, compartmentalizing them into some order. Let us also acknowledge that “order” when it comes to fighting fundamentals is somewhat overplayed when presented in a “user” environment as opposed to a “practitioner” one. Most systems I have trained in and instructors I have trained under have often had a “finished product” and functional package at the expense of a syllabus-based methodology, for quite intentional reasons, though those reasons may not have been clear early on. When the focus is adaptability, resilience, critical thinking, problem-solving, and on-the-spot decision-making, a specific chronogram is less adhered to as principles, concepts, and context take precedence out of necessity. Emotional Impediments As I have mentioned, during a workshop, I can generally tell immediately, when I walk in and have an initial briefing with the trainees, who is the funny guy, who are the challengers and testers, who has peer-pressure control over the others, and so on. That goes into
the profiling aspect and is filed away in the knowledge bank for later. Regarding those who have a history of violence that could cause knee-jerk reactions to generally non-threatening situations—what are the biases, stereotypes, and triggers that must be explored and made self-aware of? How these states can affect judgment in highstress situations—fight with the wife, hangover or alcohol problem on the job, resentment towards the company, personal vendettas, dislike of or rivalry with a coworker, animosity towards foreigners or tourists. These all shape whether you have the capability of reeling in any emotional elements that can affect job performance and the ability to use force—or not. Confidence, abuse, trauma, and personal issues can also negatively affect the same. I had one guard who approached me post-session and told me he had been held up twice at knifepoint, and that the other guards, even his wife (displaying how “machismo” is NOT just a male thing, but reinforced by many females here, and
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in the region), belittled him for being a coward. That affects job confidence. So, listening to him, hearing him out, and explaining that these are trauma-inducing events and his confidence being rattled was entirely normal, is crucial. Furthermore, reinforcing the fact that he is alive (not dead) to be there for his children, parents, and loved ones from a position of power and leadership assuage his guilt and shame, as he starts to learn that it is the others (who often have not gone through similar circumstances) that are off with their perception. As well, what the others do not quite seem to understand is that this gentleman was going to be in the trenches with them, covering their back, and acting on their behalf should an issue hit the proverbial fan. Tearing him down and wearing away his confidence could have rather strong repercussions on you if you are relying on someone to watch your back or perform in support of you in times of high stakes. Courtesy and Carrying Oneself Be. Nice. Your number one job for clients is to make them feel safe, attended to, helpful, and nice—not to intimidate them and make them feel under the microscope. Far too many security officers here, that
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I see, are in constant macho and tough-guy mode. You are a public servant for your clientele. If you are ignorant, rude, and standoffish, their tourist experience will be diminished, and their perception of the country negative. Remember, too, that your discomfort and intimidation tactics make them feel like you are that way for a reason—that incidents may occur regularly, and that is why you have taken on that persona. Not a good look. While the above may not be true all the time, and many may not think that, they could, and a large part of your job is to make people feel safe and relaxed. This does not achieve that. Be a public- and customer-service expert. If they have confidence and trust in engaging with you, they are far more apt to trust you with something more serious. More and more guards here, it seems, are waiting for the inevitable violence to happen, or looking for something to give them a reason to use it themselves. Go take MMA, if that is your mentality—this job is not for you. Security work is often boring, slow, and fundamentalist ad nauseam. Fill in those gaps with positive elements, opportunities to study the human factor, and to learn intimately about yourself. Become proficient at those bor-
ing fundamentals, learn your own self-control, and assess that human behavior on such an intimate level that incidents that do occur will be handled effectively as a natural offshoot of what you have learned. Basic Non-Lethal Striking Instead of teaching the “48 angles of attack” and having memorization and pattern repetition a part of the matrix, I teach a basic “X” concept where inevitably every other angle or line can derive from. That way, full attention can be paid to other areas of greater impor-
tance—power generation, targets with the capability of shutdown or biomechanical stoppage via concussive impact, movement while striking, and so on. Basic angles of diagonal up-and-down, horizontal right-and-left, and the thrust1 is a base of simplicity where the focus moves from the one-dimensional to the three-dimensional. 1 Note that thrusting, though fine with a side handle, pocket stick, and even closed folder, can present risks with the collapsible baton or blackjack; it can, as the title infers, collapse, though that will be addressed briefly ahead.
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POWER GENERATION Regarding power generation, I use three general methods of power delivery, dependent on a number of intangibles that are not assessed “mid-stream.” Meaning, if you understand how power works and practice that power from an array of awkward, obscure, off-balance levels, positions, and dynamics, power will be present regardless. a. Elastic Recoil The final third of the impact weapon is used kinetically and with a whip-like motion, whether active or static. The myth that power needs to be delivered in solely traditional means with full-body reinforcement is simply that: a myth. Delivered by the arm in a whip-like motion, all impact power is left with the target and can be done actively (in motion) or statically. I did a demonstration once on a guard that did competitive MMA, standing aligned but almost be-
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hind, static, and with my back to him, and hit with enough impact to bend him over, surprised at the amount of power that arm punch generated in that short distance. “Casting” in fishing is another analogy that is appropriate. b. Kinetic Chain This is the traditional means of delivery power. It starts from the ground, and continues with the torque of the rear foot, up the leg to the hip pivot, shoulder drive, and into the weapon delivered to the target. Boxing, kickboxing, and Muay Thai are all examples of styles that are at the forefront of this. c. Isotonic This is a “spasm” of explosivity where the entire body simultaneously tenses and explodes with no preparation or telegraphing to give a fully-charged impact to the surprised target.
All of these have their place and, more specifically, range: elastic recoil from mid-to-long range, kinetic chain from short-to-mid range, and isotonic from short range, though this is always and forever context-dependent. It is important to acknowledge, which many industry folks do not, that power is generated in several ways, not just in a traditional one. Power is often innate, and the generation of that power is learned. Two other elements that I add to all of the three above: d. Ballistic Release This concerns being able to strike from any position—even static— to confound and confuse the opponent. Odd angles, obscure positions, innocuous delivery, and unconventional body movements are all crucial. It is more than simply non-telegraphing; it is about ensuring full-body compliance with the suddenness of the strike. 5. Kinetic Impact All of the impact and power should be left with the target, not
absorbed by the hand-wrist-shoulder of the deliverer. This is done by following through on strikes and continuing the line of trajectory after impact, not by “pushing” into the target post-initial impact. Flash knockouts and liver shots usually contain this element in professional boxing. Keep in mind that all of these principles are conceptual and much easier to implement and learn in an exorbitantly short period of time than actually explaining them on “paper,” aligning themselves with the need for quick absorption of understanding and implementation. (See below for demo videos by the author.2,3)
2 “A Round on the Hanging CQC Bag” video by the author: https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i3FCFZKK-k. 3 “On Power Generation” video by the author: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=znTcKCzpMdY.
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Grips and Grip Changes Remember that knowing the different grips one can use with a stick or impact weapon is but one element, and knowing when to utilize one or more over others is the trick. Often grips of opportunity (how you pick it up from whatever position it is in) or deployment avenues (depending on position, dynamics of the engagement, and deployment availability) are either not within one´s control or dictated by the context of the confrontation—a smooth, textbook deployment is sometimes simply unavailable. Knowing when to switch grips for striking, locking, takedowns, and throws is a skill built over time and with experience and cannot be achieved when compartmentalizing each of their own volition. It is transitioning or switching grip from one range to another seamlessly and knowing innately what tools are available from what range and in what situation. If vertical grappling, ground-fighting,
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fighting at distance, on knees vs. grounded opponent, grounded vs. standing opponent, or from stalemates is always done in isolation, those transitions or switches will be near impossible to achieve other than for a select few. While we address the grip changes from a locking perspective further down the document, let us briefly go over them here as well in a wider context and for striking purposes: 1. Regular or hammer grip This means grabbing with a closed hand, leaving roughly 1.5-2.5 inches of leeway from the butt of the stick to keep that puño available as a secondary striking tool.
2. Baseball bat grip This is a two-handed “dos-manos” technique designed to augment power delivery.
4. Mid-, middle, or medio grip This is like grabbing the stick like a suitcase in the middle, for thrusts, high-hand javelin- or spear-like strikes; the fist loads.
3. Reverse grip This is similar to Bonafant cane techniques from the Argentinean stick source—grabbing the stick at the butt-end, palm-down, and with the index finger nearest to the butt.
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5. Quarterstaff / cross-check grip Here the hands are on both ends of the impact weapon, one palmup, one palm-down, or both palmdown, like with a staff.
7. Loading Here a reinforced hand is used to “load” the strike with the opposing hand and add kinetic impact and force multiplication. 6. “Pool-cue” grip Place the near hand palm-down near the butt, the front hand midway up the shaft palm-up; use in thrusts (either drives or extensions), cross-checks, or powerful butt-ends.
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Dynamics of Violence The above also leads us to the dynamics of the altercation itself that so many tend to neglect or simply pay only lip service to, which is especially pertinent to the security field and real-world dynamics. a. Static “The interview”: two potential combatants standing face to face as a measuring takes place either pre-violence or while managing the conflict. b. Active “The duel”: two combatants square off and engage in ritual violence mano y mano. c. Dynamic “The ambush”: for lack of a more comprehensive and all-encompassing definition. Asymmetrical. A sucker punch, an ambush, a surprise attack, multiple attackers, or deployment of a weapon by one of the parties. Each requires a difference in an immediate shift of mindset. Static presents opportunities (read above: clients, clients present, clients onlooking, company protocols, job security, self-restraint). It presents the greatest sliding scale of response. Verbal dissuasion, rational discussion, de-escalation of
potential conflict, mention of repercussions, and generally non-violent approaches with the above in mind. Active gives less response availability as the squaring-off has already been engaged. So, the responses involve decisions on level of force utilized, assessment of threat on a danger scale, collateral damage (which can mean legal and financial damage to the company), state and intangibles of the opponent (drunk, big, allied, female, aged, and so on). It is not easy to make these assessments on the fly, so discussion, visualization, and decisions prior to these events are imperative. Dynamic is in the midst of violence itself and the decisions have inevitably been made for you. Your own safety (and that of the clients or patrons) is your only response—mitigating the damage or aftermath, gaining control either yourself or with assistance from your team or partner. As I am told anecdotally (I was not there and therefore cannot confirm)m one of the guards had a very hostile guest that was both under the influence and a Brazilian jiujitsu exponent that ended up in a violent conflict after the guest berated and threw items from the front desk at the receptionist. He
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ended up being on the bottom of the attack and kept his composure before utilizing some non-lethal yet psychological/affective tactics to regain control and handcuff the assailant before yelling for assistance from other guards. Did he “win” the fight? No. Did he do his due diligence covering the above caveats and nullify the situation in a textbook manner? Absolutely. He is a professional security guard, not a street fighter; it is not about ego—it is about context and end goal. Following the rules of engagement while in a very highstakes situation is not easy, but this is where utilizing their previous violent experience can be very beneficial. It is a tool, and one that, when combined with immediately practical tool usage, gives a rather stark advantage over someone— even trained—lacking it. All of these in the above two categories are far easier to teach than to articulate in writing. The concepts are simple, and the scenarios are made dynamic, so critical thinking, adaptability, on-the-spot decision-making, and problem-solving are utilized from the onset. In a short, compact course, the mind is by far the most important tool, and providing it with an easy, simple conceptual framework with overlapping and transferable usage
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is paramount. The “if you only had two or three hours to teach someone how to stay alive” what-if, we so often hear on social media, is something I have not only had to think about, but put into play in real time with individuals whose safety and security depend on it and had many instances of actual “usage” documented. Ergonomics of Tool Availability As we mentioned, the guards were outfitted with side-arm batons, blackjacks, pocket sticks, flashlights, and small tactical folders. Each one has its own nuances and intricacies of usage. While impact damage can be created with each one using the three methods broken down above, they also each have their own niche benefits. The side-arm baton has a perpendicular extension that can be used for hooking, pulling, pushing, impact, and short-range damage to bones, fossas (bodily indentations), nerves, and joints. It can be used to generate more torque and speed from the long end. Joint locks, controls, and movement containments are more easily applicable. It can also be awkward and grip-confusing, should one not practice with it or utilize it in some manner with regularity.
The baton is steel so the impact as a force multiplier is exponentially greater. The rounded ball on the end adds damage potential to wider target areas like joints, nerve bundles, and bone. It can, upon collapsing, allow one to not miss a beat as one now utilizes it as a closed pocket stick. However, the collapse can catch one off-guard if one is not prepared for it to happen and defaults into the “non-functioning tool” or range-disadvantage mindset. The flashlight, of course, can be a blinder both longer term (working with seconds and microseconds here) in the dark, and shorter term in the light before utilizing it as an impact weapon. The batteries and functioning on/off switch need to be maintained by the individual; however, the transition from a blinding tool to an impact one is a pre-thought-of option. Getting back to the legal concern: it is generally not seen or perceived as a potential weapon, especially for a night shift. The pocket stick / tactical pen are subtle tools that many often overlook or brush off as ineffective, but it can be a highly effective impact and containment tool. It has the diversity of doubling as a fist-load, a distraction-cutter (with keys),
a limb-controller, and a pressure-point reinforcement as a secondary level of pain compliance. That can be two-fold: as a strike to pressure point areas for pain shutdown, and as a “penetrator” into areas like the ribs, jawline, clavicle, hip, brachial plexus/armpit, and so on. Remember, the pointed ones generally carried are not just impactful; they are penetrating and go “into” the body in inches. This is not your “one-touch knockout” variety often seen. It also needs to be used very close to an active, dynamic, three-dimensional individual, so the risk is undeniably greater. Regarding utilization of the keys, we are not talking about the often overstated “keys-betweenthe-fingers” variety, but its role as a flexible weapon for cutting, distraction, misleading, transitioning to a superior position, blinding or to diverting vision, deploying a greater force multiplier, and closing for containment or control— not for finishing. The tactical folding knife is a utilitarian tool for multi-diverse uses on the job that have absolutely nothing to do with self-defense or counter-violence. Using a blade as a security guard will, 9.99 times out of 10, land you and the company in hot water outside of extremely dire and drastic circumstances.
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However, a closed folder is an option akin to the pocket stick above, and the legal “coverage” of “I had the opportunity to open it and use lethal force but chose not to” is an avenue that might give judge and jury a lot of food for thought and mitigate, in their minds, the level of force actually used. Deployment In real-world “stick” usage, this is an area often neglected almost entirely but is the difference between carrying and presenting a functional tool vs. being adorned with a decoration on your waistline. For instance, blackjacks or collapsible batons have form-fitting cases with Velcro straps that simply prevent most single-hand deployment methods. They are tight, the Velcro is non-detachable with a single-hand handle pull, and half-deployments (not clean, not fully deployed) are a regularity. If you do not practice that deployment with both hands—one pulling the Velcro open and sliding down to keep the sheath or holster in place, the other pulling out the baton with a quick snap-open—you are likely going to be in for a very rude awakening. A half-open baton from a clean deployment is another element that rarely goes addressed. Under pressure, or attempting to
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enforce a solid commanding presentation with a partially opened tool can cause hesitation, shock, or freezing. I have seen it happen. There are multiple elements that go into deploying a blackjack cleanly and smoothly. The side handle is in a loop at belt-level. While much less problematic than the blackjack, the side handle can get caught on loose clothing or “knot or twist the loop.” It should be one of the reasons why company uniforms are form-fitting and tighter than dayto-day clothing. Not on the whim of expecting violence that will never happen, but loose clothing prevents clean deployment, and it can negate tactile feelings of someone trying to gain control of one of your weapons, lessening weapon-retention possibilities. The folder needs to be practiced both single- and double-handed. The clip and where you have it located—pocket, belt-line, or the belt itself—determines the speed of accessibility. Opening a folder is not as easy as one would have you believe, especially under any amount of duress. There are inevitably at least some complex motor skills that go into it, and nothing replaces practice in usage. It can get caught on clothing, it can open
on one’s fingers, and it can also be dropped, or partially deployed. I advocate a two-finger pinch when pulling it out before it is in-palm; if using the second hand, that hand goes into holding the clothing (pocket, belt-line, or the belt itself) in place while detachment is employed. Note as well that the lack of firearms-carry forces guards to access and develop soft skills on a far greater level. The lack of full accessibility to lethal force leaves some psychological power trips and knee-jerk responses of violence on the cutting room floor. Guards are forced to understand that they are inevitably customer service reps, peace officers, and tourist assistants before they are an indomitable force throwing their proverbial weight around, either psychologically or mentally. As a sub-contractor, you are forced to work within the parameters of company protocol and policy, and utilize those elements as strengths. So, the type of verbal engagement and interaction was addressed with clear vernacular and idiosyncrasies on cultural provocation— words and phrases that could escalate instead of de-escalate were covered, though not pertinent to this article.
During a concealed draw for specific circumstances where drawing attention is not desired (e.g. an emotionally invested crowd is present), distraction and misdirection can also be utilized. This involves keeping your elbows in, limiting the struggle of deployment, smooth innocuous release, and various tactics for keeping that tool hidden: blading the body, palming or reverse-grip aligned with forearms, bodily concealment (covert non-aggressive positions or “submissive” postures). And notice that all weapons carried are black, the same color as the work pants, so color concealment is also rather handy. In evaluating others, the reverse is true: the “invisible hand” (assume any hand not visible to the naked eye is reaching for something to be utilized against you), elbow extension or protrusion, blading body, odd angle-manipulation, verbal distraction, feigned verbal threats creating uber-focus, layers of crowd participation—the further from the fray, the less invested emotionally the party, or more covert and nefarious the entry.
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Here is a short case-study:
The picture was taken by me outside a major grocery store chain here, where security is always placed due to the reality that these places do get robbed and it is not an aberration when they do. Here is what this tells me: 1. There is zero access to his only carried weapons. Zero. In its current location, he has nil accessibility where it is positioned at the corner-rear of the back. Imagine an oncoming attacker with a weapon moving with intent while he simultaneously tries to deploy with adrenaline. 2. If you have ever worked on deployment with a collapsible baton from a Velcro-laced holder pouch, it sticks even if placed at
the front of the waist without a two-handed deployment, simultaneously pulling the baton and ripping open the Velcro. It takes practice and micro-details for speed. This guy does not even have the butt or tip protruding for easy accessibility. That tells me he has never practiced deployment, making this tool purely a decoration. I do not know what is in the other two pouches (taser? utility blade?), but they are even more poorly positioned for accessibility in the small of the back. 3. No firearm. Here, that tells me that the security company he works for has concerns about liability and accountability. It also tells me they are opposed to the use of escalating force should the situation call for it. He is a stopgap until authorities get there, at best. 4. Hands in his pockets the entire time we were parked out front and inside. Never took them out once: unprepared and oblivious. 5. Having worked in and trained security here, I know his training is deeply lacking or completely nonexistent. Couple that with this: while his weight may well be
an impediment and may demonstrate a lack of conditioning, where it will manifest itself more clearly is in performance. Several scientific case studies in the industry demonstrate that overweight people can and often do have reduced cognitive function, poorer decision-making capacity under stress, and less neuroplasticity.4 That is an element that addresses the “he is overweight so has poor stamina,” “poor conditioning and not in shape make him vulnerable as a fight draws on,” and “fatigue makes fools of us all” rhetoric, which are possibly true, but we should be asking why that is so. 6. He may never need skills and this job may be inevitably nothing more than a sentry posting, but most security guards here come from the lower class, get paid very, very little, and are given (as stated above) poor to no training for high-risk situations. But, as this is often a survival income in a one-income family with a wife and children, why would you not make the attempt to educate yourself on areas that may keep you alive, keep 4 Leaving an example here for perusal: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih. gov/pmc/articles/PMC7598577/.
your family fed, and minimize the long-term risk of leaving your family vulnerable? 7. This one is a small stretch but I am going to mention it. His features are very Costa Rican—lightskinned with lighter hair, and his accent was more Costa Rican. I trained over 150 guards here; all were either Costa Rican, Nicaraguan, or Salvadorian. Ticos have far less exposure to violence from either civil war, youth initiation, or poverty/extremely low-income upbringing. The Nicaraguan and Salvadorian guards I taught did not usually need to be told any of the things above more than once, if ever. Most often, they knew to do them instinctively. It may not be the case here, but violence breeds an understanding of violence. (See below for the videos by the author.5,6,7) 5 “Drawing/Deployment Drill” video by the author: https://youtu.be/ Eez9S_waiuo. 6 “Drawing/Deployment Drill 2” video by the author: https://youtu.be/ wenEUIP1X3k. 7 “Strategies for Ground Counter-Deployment in Worst-Case Scenario” video by the author: https://youtu. be/7AIGrk81LFY.
Pre-Event Presentation Deploying a weapon can be either covert or overt. Covert, we discussed above. Overt is presenting it openly to the rival party or parties. It is done intentionally usually for a psychological, psychic, emotional, or mental effect. Hesitation, inner turmoil, lack of intent, or indecisiveness on potential usage (often pretty overt itself) are absolute killers to projection. Command presence and psychological intent have to be transmitted and clear. If not, you have just
escalated the force level and tipped your rather precarious hand. As much as a powerful message can be exuded with a strong presentation, so too can a weak message with the weak presentation. And you have likely given off a lot of valuable information for free by doing so. Your presentation of that impact weapon unequivocally needs to be congruent with your powerful emotional state to have the desired effect. A powerful presentation can be as crippling for the opponent as it can be empowering for you.
Here is an anecdote: In the weapons community, here is what we mean by “successful presentation”: Many tell me, “Then what? What if he calls your bluff?” It is more than thisk though. In Winnipeg, Manitoba, we have the largest Pinoy population in Canada (as an aside, this is where I grew up in my combative martial arts youth, surrounded by quite gifted weapons-folk, which I benefited from being surrounded by sometimes 4-5 times a week). There are a lot of Pinoys here that can take care of themselves: FMA, boxing, street smarts, and predisposition to violence (many are first-generation immigrants, so they grew up in the Philippines). In high school, we had a group of guys that were always heavily into bodybuilding, steroids, and aggression, and who always went out to the bars to fight and intimidate, and so on.
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Now, this is a second-hand story, but it was confirmed by the individual in question, to me directly at a later date. Steroid-rage with alcohol can be a very dangerous combination, often for those around the individual, as they become very unpredictable and aggressive. One of the gents that I know was looking for trouble outside. He saw a short Pinoy gentleman standing outside the nightclub having a cigarette, minding his own business, as most Pinoys do until provoked: a target. He approached the guy and started getting in his face (easy mark: small, seemingly peaceful, not looking for trouble, and having a cigarette)—face-to-face, a couple of inches away, frothing at the mouth, threatening, finger in the face. Next thing he knows the gentleman has a knife to his throat, and he is pressed up against the wall, being asked politely, and with a total calm, “I am sorry, I did not bloody hear you the first time. Could you repeat, please.” Turns out that while my acquaintance was mouthing off, the other man had been deploying his blade while finishing his cigarette with the other hand. My acquaintance started whimpering and apologizing, actually shedding a few tears, seeing his life pass before his eyes. Naturally, the Pinoy let him go. Upon asking the guy the next time
I saw him what had happened, he filled me in on these exact details, admitting he filled his drawers. “Lesson learned, man. Never again. He had a total calm and I had no idea where that weapon came from.” This is what a successful weapon presentation can accomplish coupled with calm, subtle deployment, surprise, and the perceived will to use. It is not about just showing it as a deterrent (of course, legal consequences are always omnipresent, but the anecdote provides for transmission of meaning and clarity). Retention Retention is another area of focus. In any skirmish, and noting the above form-fitting clothing, your weapons are not concealed and are easily seen by others who can formulate ways to access them, and their deployment issues. I always advocate taking note of individuals staring a little too long at your belt line. Some very simple retention methods I utilize in a short course are: •
Explosive retraction—yanking the weapon-hand back rapidly to detach from grasp.
•
Hand-pins—the second you feel your weapon or belt-line touched, live-hand can attack, disconnect, stiff-arm to enforce space.
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•
“De cadena”—hard jarring inner-wrist slaps or hits while creating immediate space.
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Snake/circular releases—quick circles to put pressure on the opposing wrist to release.
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“Filipino roll”—the forearm is used as an impact tool on the forearm while circling the weapon-hand inward or outward while pulling or pushing.
•
Utilizing the puño or butt-end to press or impact the grabbing hand.
All are simple, learned almost instantaneously because of reflex actions we already have when retaining something we do not want to give up. Use one movement, not multiple movements, for facilitation. Once deployed and some distance created—or a sufficient distance to start with—a stiff-arm front-arm to shield the active tool, or rear-hand utilization of strikes and the weapon retention skills explained above covers both potential positions of weapon-back and weapon-front, which are dictated by the scenario, not by choice as many would have you believe in a dueling, weapon-magically-appears-in-hand situation that the dojos of the world often offer. Footwork can be used
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to gain angles of advantageous positive hits, force-delivery re-setting of an opponent, geometric shapes and serpentine movements, and odd delivery angles to throw an opponent off and confuse intent (though also not pertinent to the scope of this article). Active livehand incorporation and natural body weapons reinforce the effectiveness and success of the weapon. This is not fencing—the rules of engagement do not apply in that regard. I have found that, generally, the greater the live-hand interaction with the weapon-hand, the higher the skill and comfort level with both the tool-of-choice and with confrontation itself. Targeting This is extremely context-dependent, as always. One simply cannot go off and start pounding on someone with a weapon during a work situation, even if that work entails potential violent conflict. Targets are offered with the caveat that violence is already inevitable, that legal implications are always present, and that the pre-event de-escalation process has already expired, or was ineffective (the biomechanical stoppage, corporal shutdown, or incapacitation are always the first and primary options, if possible):
the shoulder blade (limp arms do not lift weapons well), hands and wrists (little bones break easily), elbows (non-working joints affect three-dimensional movement), knees (no movement, no fight, and disconnection possible), ribs (breathing and torso movement becomes erratic and thrusts can achieve a higher degree of damage with a long solid tool). As it is the security industry, thrusts to the sternum and back of the neck can be liabilities. As it is aggression, groin shots often do not create the desired effect, at least until later. Hips can be effective if hitting bone, but the more defined the target, the less chance of hitting it, and clothing and movement also play a big role. Tops of feet are difficult to hit with a moving opponent and the close range and the associated vulnerability of one’s own head are liabilities while trying to achieve that hit. A solid hit to the head is the most immediate and decisive hit one can get—a brain no longer active, an unconscious attacker is a fairly placid one, but again, legal issues, long-term damage, and secondary impact from the ground, obstacles, and barriers render it an iffy target. When all else fails, and life is in balance, the calculation is different.
With heavy-impact weapons, some valid targets have the potential to create the above, if hit cleanly, while moving, and with an opponent´s physical intangibles in mind. Noting that often with adrenaline or high stress, altered states, pain tolerance, and pain threshold, there are no guarantees; thus the biomechanical impact shutdown or concussive-force elements are important. Those aforementioned barriers, obstacles, ground paraphernalia, bystanders, and movement impediments are a thing that I always stressed to prepare for. The better one becomes familiar with one’s work post, the grounds, the layout of the property, and the terrain; the better one has the ability to adapt during high-stress times. Knowledge is understanding. Understanding is pre-preparation for events acknowledged to be a possibility. (See below for a demo video by the author.8)
8 “Hand-Head Hunt” video by the author: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=rtDQbLmi_TE,
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LOCKING AND CONTROLS Remember that there is a staunch difference between a “break” and a “control” when it comes to joint locks, whether with a stick or without. We practice “joint locks” often without the acknowledgment that they are designed to break limbs, joints, and bones as an end result. As a civilian, that is an important distinguishing feature: you cannot hold one in position indefinitely, and if you are not breaking, you are holding and attempting to control, and the one on the receiving end eventually thinks of escape, counter, striking, feigned compliance for release, strength discrepancy, altered states skewing normal pain responses, or becomes accustomed to the pain and psychologically finds ways to alleviate it. That is the truth that many martial artists neglect to mention. “Locks” are a temporary solution to a more long-serving problem, not an end result.
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Note also that violence never happens in a vacuum. Walking up to someone and attempting to jointlock them with or without a tool will likely result in a rather large degree of pain received. Like some arts (aikijutsu and modern arnis, for example), the damage is accumulated and a debilitated opponent resists much less. The following are some theories presented in this regard: a. The damaged-fighter theory—it is far easier to apply control and containment techniques when a fighter is already injured. b. The filling-in-the-gaps theory— hitting early and often. As others focus on one element or another (striking or joint-locking or takedowns or throws or…) we take the “or” out and increase damage exponentially in whatever half-beats are available.
c. The pain-overload theory—the more points of pain, damage, or injury an individual has, the less pain tolerance and threshold come into play, and the central nervous system is shut down or overloaded. d. Suddenness—abrupt, dramatic, and explosive (isotonic) motions yield great results and minimize active response from an opponent. They are unpredictable, immediate, and shift momentum. If you do not know what is coming, you cannot stop it. Stick-locking is a rather unique skill unto itself when one puts in the time—and few do to that high a level. Opponents can break the lock, counter to escape, or counterstrike to release in a split second—in that “second” adding multi-layered and multi-diverse pain to overload the system, steal-
ing balance to disrupt base, breaking rhythm to prevent pattern recognition and destroy their timing ratio, and ferocity to psychologically hesitate are imperative. It is not a flow drill; it is knowing what connects to what else, inevitably, breaking their spirit to fight back. One has to remember that stick-locking is transitional, not singularly focused. You need to be able to switch lock type, pressure, and target smoothly, and without impediment, as context and broken rhythm (whether dictated by you or the struggle of the opponent) dictate. I often hear lip service paid to use the stick/ baton/blackjack/pocket stick as an “extension of the hands,” but I propose that it should be used as a “second pair of hands,” and one should be able to transition from one to the other with interchangeable grips as the circumstance calls for it.
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Moving on, instead of teaching 1001 joint locks and noting that “lock” or “hyperextension” in the security industry is more legally viable than “break,” I teach conceptually. I give a number of types of locks that are transferable to different joints on the body. Remembering the concept instead of the technique means having to think less and managing the current situation instead of being overrun with possibilities. The eight I usually introduce and will demonstrate via video or still are: 1. X-lock—used as a pressure, throwing, takedown, control, and temporary (air) choke-compliance tool. One palm-up, one palm-down utilizing the midpart of the impact weapon as a pressure or squeeze element. One palm-up, the other palmdown as pressure is applied with the forearms crossing as an X, as the name implies, and with both choking up towards the middle of the stick. 2. “Medio lock”—used as a pressure, throwing, and takedown tool. The mid-part of the impact weapon is used with other elements (body, head, wall,
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ground) to inflict pain as a transitional tool for a better position, greater damage, or throw/ takedown. Utilizing the middle part of the stick for pressure, hands can move up and down the ends of the stick depending on whether the situation demands a throw, lever, pressure, or break. 3. Edge lock—90-degree angle used as high-pain, takedown, and temporary (air) choke-compliance tool. The meeting of the two edges of the tip or butt are used as a prying tool on the body. One hand generally guides the puño or butt-end of the stick to the point where pressure is needed, while the other uses the top third of the stick as a fulcrum or lever to drive that butt more devastatingly into the required target. 4. Scissor lock—used as a pressure, throwing, takedown, and temporary (blood and air) choke-compliance tool. The target is in the middle, hands one palm-up, one palm-down as a squeeze; the vertical version of the horizontal X-locks.
An X-lock with an arm-trap, generally to the neck, throat, face as a cross-face, calf, shin, ankle, or foot.
A medio lock is applied to the neck, throat from behind, shin, calf, ankle, shoulder, or back, and done with a partial circular roll inward and a lift of the body weight before driving down or completing the semicircular roll.
An edge lock is applied to the carotid artery or jawline, back, hip, thigh, clavicle, orbital bone, brachial plexus, eye socket, or behind the ear.
A scissor lock is applied to the neck, calf, shin, forearm, upper arm, or ankle.
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5. Vice lock—used as a pressure, take-down, and temporary (blood and air) choke-compliance tool. Circling the target and tucking the impact weapon in the armpit and pulling; the effect is like that, obviously, of a vice grip. Most often tucked under the near armpit after circling the intended target area while pressure is applied up top by pulling the top third of the stick to exponentially increase pressure. 6. Triangle lock—used as a pressure, throwing, and temporary (blood and air) choke-compliance tool. The arms and stick form a triangle around a target and outward pressure increases pain levels. Full triangles are as implied, by creating a triangle with the stick and two forearms. 7. Half-triangle—used as a pressure, throwing, and temporary (blood and air) choke-compliance tool. Same as above but one hand freed to attack viable targets simultaneously to add
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multiple pain levels to overwhelm the tolerance ability; multiple pain areas puts added pressure on the brain to deal with varying levels and types of discomfort. The only difference between the half- and full-triangles is that the nonstick-gripping hand is released to place on a secondary area to add to the push-pull dynamic. 8. Lever/plant-the-flag—used as a takedown, pressure, and transition or position-change tool. Driving the tip down or utilizing it as a turning or prying mechanism to alter the opponent’s position due to discomfort. *Note also that the point can be driven into certain body parts as well, if not as a pain-compliance mechanism, then to move a body from discomfort into a more beneficial position to apply pain—places like deep in the armpit, fossas like the clavicular notch/back of knee/sternal notch/small of back, and the ribs.
A vice lock is applied to the neck, shin, calf, bicep, elbow, ankle, or foot.
A half-triangle (here) or full-triangle can be applied to the neck, throat, shin, calf, or shoulder.
(See below for demo videos by the author.9,10,11)
A lever can be applied by simply releasing the butt of the stick with the near-body hand, using the knee to keep a body part stable, and using the ground as the base. Targets include the neck or throat, ribs, thigh, and shin.
9 “Stick-Locking Nuance” video by the author: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=XZng38YRb_I. 10 Mandirigma Arnis Sticklocking” video by the author: https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=rp_jcbxglcw. 11 “Vertical Stickgrappling” video by the author: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=DOl8Gp-n-n8.
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Takedowns The goal of a takedown is to immediately establish ground control and a dominant position for either verbal or psychological submission, calling local authorities, handcuffing, team assistance/ backup, or any combination thereof. The stick can be used in any number of ways to accomplish those positions. Again, concepts and principles take precedence over an accumulation of techniques: 1. Head-and-neck control takedowns (Neck lock drive-down, scissor lock, rodeo, vice lock, edge lock, butt-end shoulder fossa) 2. Single- and double-leg takedowns (Single-leg with sweep, double-leg with forward momentum, hip-throw from side position) 3. Levers or fulcrums (“backbreaker”, leg-pry, step-on-foot two-hand drive) 4. Limb-isolation takedowns (arm-wrap, single-arm catch/ Doherty, arm- or shoulder- bar)
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It is important to address the fact that the “joint locks” above are not only pain-compliance (I actually prefer “pain-enforcement” as it is not a gradual application, but a sudden, rapid one, ensuring greater cooperation) techniques, but with a transition all inevitably become takedowns or throws as well. They are multi-diverse and that only adds to the increased learning curve when a concept transfers from one goal to another in an easy fashion and with only a different motive involved.
(See below for demo videos by the author.12,13,14,15,16) 12 “Vice Lock to Takedown” video by the author: https://youtu.be/J4Ccgt96t8s. 13 “Scissor Lock on Arm, to the Ground” video by the author: https:// youtu.be/qh_RsM_aaos. 14 “Medio Lock to ‘Backbreaker’” video by the author: https://youtu.be/ SRFOZ_wBnqI. 15 “Lever to Ground, ‘Plant-theFlag’” video by the author: https:// youtu.be/MhgJh-yGxXM. 16 “Armlock to Takedown” video by the author: https://youtu. be/0986e38z-bU.
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Ground Control and Handcuffing On the contrary to there being liability concerns with firearms in the security industry here, there are more liberties in Central America than in North America regarding the use and application of impact weapons. None of what I proposed with any of the security companies was met with resistance or concern as the playing field is a little different in that manner. While having free hands is preferred with an act that takes some more fine and complex motor skills, the stick can be a very useful tool when controlling opponents that can be in altered states. For the security training I did, to cover legal avenues and negligence, the owners told me pain-compliance techniques were a prerequisite even if they did not (fully) work because it allowed force multiplication from a legal perspective and perception of witness (read: client) looking on. Without the attempted pain compliance, it was just seen as a force. So, while the standard “pressure points,” as they are used in most corners, are often ineffective against adrenalized opponents, there are ways to uti-
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lize them quite effectively as transitional tools. A highly forceful thumb under the ear with a snarling vocal command sets a psychic and psychological tone of intent and willingness to escalate, as a method of moving a body where you want it to go, or as a drawn freeze response, so tool access can be accomplished. This is not your average “pressure-point control tactics” (PPCT) most law enforcement or security utilize back home in Canada, but a highly efficient form of the subliminal messaging pain-induction method that works without eliciting permanent damage. It also allows for force multiplication from a lower to a higher level should the opponent be non-responsive, struggling, or increasing the threat. It can be used as a cross-face, neck, and head control, to put true ongoing pressure-point pain on, as shoulder locks and armlocks, “surfboards” (where the stick is in between the arm and body pushing or pulling towards the head while the opponent is stomach down), striking, pins, and position maintenance while driving the middle part of the long stick into the body,
edge locks and “plant-the-flag” pain (opposite of the edge, where the tip of the stick is driven into an opponent), and hits to joints and bones, all reinforced with strong and imposing verbal commands. It certainly adds a different level of pain, physiological control, and potentially biomechanical stoppage through concussive force that empty-hand controls cannot, especially if backup is either on the scene or arriving shortly. Positional superiority can be obtained through side knee-onchest/ back-mount/rear-mount, and reverse-mount head control with constant visual-peripherals on potential third parties or allies always at the forefront. What you want is the offender on his stomach or seated, as it is much harder to fight, see escape routes or resistance possibilities, and know exactly what is being applied. Applied with one of the impact weapons, a number of techniques can be utilized for both application and turnovers into a superior position for cuffing, stomach down: 1. Single-arm turnover—an armlock applied to the far arm from side control can bring the
assailant over, turning towards you while simultaneously trapping the near-arm from accessing a weapon-of-opportunity. The armlock is maintained throughout the turnover so placed behind the back. 2. Neck manipulations (the body goes where the head dictates) can also result in a quick turnover when secondary pain elements are added so as to alleviate the possibility of any neck damage—pressure points under the jaw, the carotid artery, under the nose on the top lip, the cross-face, and behind and below the ear are some that have shown to work on even the biggest of opponents jacked up with adrenaline. 3. The kimura puts immense pressure on the shoulder for a smooth turnover as well, following tightly to the arch of the back and putting the arm in prime position post-turn. 4. The reverse wrist lock with the stick reinforced by the thumbs and sliding both hands towards the center of the stick is also effective.
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As always, the greater overloading of the central nervous system with multiple outlets of pain, the easier a thing is—“point-based” grappling with elbows, knees, chins, that wonderful forearm pipe, “God´s notch” on either side of the wrist, heel, and shin digging into the body, weight on the diaphragm to inhibit breath control, fingers in fossas, “skin-grapples” or twisting the flesh, utilizing the forearm as the body’s lead pipe or a second stick applicant, for example. None of these are “finishing” moves, but they contribute to the multiple levels of pain or discomfort theory and facilitate moving the body into positions of greater advantage. Like the so often chastised “trapping,” they are misplaced as the end instead of a means to that end. They are transitional and momentary to create a specific outcome. If partner-assisted, the potential is even greater for varied elements of effectiveness. Second-party kneeling on the back of the ankles, calves, knees, or thighs is extremely uncomfortable—limb isolation with body weight as well. One person with body weight and control,
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with the other in control of limbs, can be dictated through training with hand or eye signals to make clear one’s role under higher-stress situations. Be attentive, too, to the fact that struggling, adrenalized, and paindealt people wanting to free themselves are often not compliant, or even sometimes pain-reactive. Vocal commands explicitly clarify what is expected of them to prevent accidental or unintended bodily injury and legal liability. Strong, confident tone, inflection, and depth of voice while shouting out commands give expectation to someone otherwise preoccupied with anger, escape, or panic. Voice coupled with pain can be a very powerful sedative. Be clear on what is expected—yet another element often neglected in traditional martial training, with a stick or without. Subtle growling, snarling, and deep, controlled tone release an inner feral quality and confidence while concurrently giving psychological subliminal messaging to the other party. Remember, though, that projecting a perception of always being in control is an
imperative tool for witness recollection and sway. With onlookers, make sure that intensity does not get carried away into unnecessary aggression or taking advantage of a vulnerable individual. Voice direction is extremely important, as mentioned earlier, in that often an opponent is intoxicated, adrenalized, agitated, and stressed so they do not know what is expected of them, and they only see a fight for “freedom.” Giving strong voice commands was one of the major points I drilled home because most guards were not experienced enough under duress to maintain that composure while attempting to control and ground an individual. “Turn over,” “Stop fighting and the pain will stop,” “Your shoulder will break if you continue resisting,” “Sit up,” and “Give me your hand,” are all commands—and used with the functional pressure points to facilitate movement simultaneously—that are directed and clear when the brain is reeling. Simple, easy-to-understand commands (commands, not requests), when coupled with an element of discomfort or pain,
are often the difference between successful control and an accidental injury, greater resistance, or third-party intervention. It is not always as easy as it sounds when the guard is under pressure, struggling, or in a scramble with a person who may or may not be with limited or singularly focused faculty. I do not at all like negatively reinforced commands such as “You don’t want that to happen, do you…” because the brain is taxed and tense and the messaging may not come out clearly neurologically to someone under the effects of adrenaline.
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The Pat-Down Generally, I advise a tactile feeland-touch for the most practical and accessible areas that I would— and have—carried a tool or a weapon in. Remember that quick deployment and daily usage are paramount for where one carries potential weapons. They include: 1. The belt-line—feel for clips, butts, ricasso, and spine.
4. Boot- or shoe-line—sometimes boot knives are carried around the ankle, in the shoe-side, or at the boot-line level. 5. Hat-line—people have been known to carry small razors on or in the seam of a hat worn. 6. Shoulder-line—bladed and projectile arms can be carried with a shoulder strap.
2. Pockets (hip-line)—same as above and visually more accessible to the naked eye.
7. If a jacket is being worn, check inside the jacket for hidden seams or pockets where covert weapons can be carried.
3. Chest—hung from the neck via a lanyard so looking at the neck-line is also important.
Inevitably, I go with a similar diagram as that of clothing conversion charts:
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One hand should always act as a feeler or controller of the body, or for sensing movement while the other hand does a full body search. Distance should be created between vitals and face or head while attention is paid to the hands of the perpetrator and where they are at all times. The hands are most dangerous when at close quarters with an agitated offender.
(See below for demo videos by the author.17,18,19,20)
17 “Buno Armed Grounded-Defense against Ambush-Predator” video by the author: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=6lR7GwQAkOg. 18 “Cane Buno/Dumog” video by the author: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=Npp6dTiVlGM. 19 “Cuffing Wrist” video by the author: https://youtu.be/uCKLyZa6lpU. 20 “Ground Scramble to Cuffing” video by the author: https://youtu.be/ cFQa4ifzy0U.
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Counter-Knife Just a quick commentary on counter-knife: William Fairbairn supposedly stated that he did not do “empty-hand counter-knife” because it was not realistic. One was at a staunch disadvantage and extremely vulnerable, and thinking in terms of the counter, defense, and response was a defensive attitude that could get one killed. While we did address one’s own weapon deployment and, if successful, lateral movement for presenting a hard target, getting offline of the blade, jamming and passing, elbow containment, armwraps, grab-the-hand, 2-on-1s, a general control, contain, and attack on central nervous system (the three Cs) was the simplest concept for individuals to grasp in that short a period of time. Get control at all costs, hang on for dear life, keep the flat side close to the body, and inflict simultaneous damage to the central nervous system with the simplest, most accessible natural weapons of the body. After this general principle and pounding it home during live movement resistance, two methods of increasing the odds were found to be successful, one surprisingly so:
We did a “counter-knife” experiment where, with minimal time and difficulty adapting the above techniques, there was one rule against a dynamic, three-dimensional knife attacker—survive. When asked what that meant, my response was “whatever it takes, however you do it, with the simplest means possible—just survive.” I looked on in amazement as the performance suddenly went through the roof. Visualizing what they were living for by being on the job, they utilized instinctive body movement, innate survival skill elements, evolutionary reaction to evade, hit, and use surprisingly agile footwork, and intense blade consciousness before closing or detaching safely. It was an eye-opener. Letting them dictate outcomes proved far more successful short-term than breaking down options to implement under stress. Whether that would hold true to ongoing, continual, consistent training or not, I cannot say, but in that time frame—generally the four classes of four hours each mentioned, or ongoing 3-4 hours for supervisors and officials—the results were drastic, almost shockingly so.
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The simple responses of esgrima criolla,21,22 utilizing shields, materials, obstacles, and barriers to superimpose between themselves and the knife wielder provided much simpler solutions after #1 was implemented. Pulling off t-shirts, work shirts, jackets, belts, hats, or whatever items strewn on the floor for distraction were used almost naturally while grabbing whatever was available as an offside tool-of-opportunity. Simple, basic, and fundamental. Zero complexity, just evening the odds in any way possible. Frankly, “counter-knife” is—and should be—the weakest part of any even very experienced martial artist’s game, if he or she is being honest. Many are not. But it is not a strength. There are no 90-percent solutions. Survivability is a success, not a guarantee. Non-injury is fortunate, not a foregone conclusion. 21 “Esgrima Criolla Sparring” video by the author: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=OKf9GPuJxHc. 22 “Esgrima Criolla 1” video by the author: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=bCQPPydw4RY.
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Now, since this is, in fact, an article on security-based stick use, those same principles were applied to the stick. Usually, I would break down the nuance and intricacy of the difference between the two weapons and how to address them, but with rank-minimal time, concepts and principles had to overlap in the basest sense. The vast majority of the concepts above were applied to the stick as well and with great success. The guards picked up on the “survivability” aspect almost immediately and started honing the predominant elements they felt would up that survivability quotient on their own for a time before coaching intervention and fine-tuning. Basic and fundamental are adaptive. In closing, when working in an industry with time restraints, sometimes resistant employees, with defined parameters of company protocol, and with legal and financial liability always at the forefront of thought, a distinctly different program is formed through trial and error. With the very real potential here in Central America / Costa Rica of the guards having
to face real violence, daily conflict, and potentially high-stakes situations, something well-sculpted comes out the other end. It is a very different entity, especially here, then an ongoing martial arts program. Pragmatism, immediate functionality, and short-term applicability become streamlined as you go, tweaking and fine-tuning the program for maximum effectiveness in minimal time. So, the “what would you teach if you only had hours or days for someone who will be utilizing it for real tomorrow” question is not theory or hypothesis; it is something I have intimately thought about at length because I have had to. You learn to take your attendee’s safety very, very seriously, but it is also imperative to note that the safety, security, and potential lives of clients, guests, attendees, and peers can legitimately be at stake so the pay-off and stakes are rather high all around. Due to the cultural, experiential, class, stereotypical, and legal (greater leeway, but greater price) considerations, the content is, by nature and in both content
and dynamic, primal, and simple—delivered with fast results, in a specific time frame, and with the potential for immediate usage. Fighting fundamentals is not a, but the method of delivery, as well as stick aesthetics shaved down to their most bare and base components.
Darren Patrick Friesen @darren.p.friesen
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BONAFONT CANE FIGHTING SYSTEM NEW WAYS OF SELF-DEFENSE ON THE STREET WITH A CANE Arturo Bonafont (Translated by Darrin Cook)
*Originally: Nuevos Modos de Defenderse en la Calle con un Bastón (illustrated edition with seventy-two photographs)
To the Prestigious Institution, The Fencing and Physical Education Club of Buenos Aires, on the 11th of November, 1930 (the 50th anniersary of its founding) the Author dedicates this modest work. ~
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Foreword by the Translator
My love is Filipino martial arts and stick-fighting, especially with the long stick of approximately 36 inches in length. I was fascinated when I heard of a unique method of self-defense with the long stick or walking cane that features the inverted grip, meaning that the length of the stick protrudes from the bottom of the fist instead of the top of the fist, as in almost all stick-fighting systems. I am always looking for new ideas and want to learn from the insight and experience of past masters, so I decided to learn his one-of-a-kind system. The catch, though, is that the original source of the Bonafont walking stick defense method is an obscure book, Nuevos Modos de Defenderse en la Calle con un Bastón (New Ways of Self-defense on the Street with a Cane), published in Argentina in 1930. Only a handful of copies exist, and I know of just one other person in North America who owns a copy. The book is very expensive, which puts it out of the reach of many who are interested in learning this style. Furthermore, even if you do succeed in getting your hands on a treasured copy, it is written in Spanish, which is yet another barrier to learning this system. In my research, I read talk of a plan to translate and publish the lone copy in the United States, but that obviously fell through.
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When I did an online search I came up with just a handful of sources on Bonafont method, which did more to whet my appetite than to inform me. Then one day, while researching Bonafont, I found a copy of Nuevos Modos de Defenderse en la Calle con un Bastón for sale on Ebay. I gulped when I saw a price of nearly $200, but I knew I would not be able to live with myself if I did not get the book, so I bought it. After a long wait, I got the book, and I knew that I needed to make this rare manuscript available to the public. No one should have to go to the lengths that I did to learn this fascinating system. I want to honor Maestro Bonafont by sharing his teaching with the world. In this translation, I will strive to get out of the way and let Maestro Bonafont speak directly to you, conveying his ideas in modern English and maintaining the original appearance of the manuscript. After Maestro Bonafont has had his chance to speak without interruption, I will add my thoughts on his system. My few comments are in brackets. I am proud to be able to offer this long-lost treasure to the martial arts world.
Sincerely, Darrin Cook
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Prologue “At last I have been able to end the book on personal defense that so many friends prompted me to write,” I told myself as I was going about putting in order the last of the manuscripts, but now, you send it out publicly with all the ostentation that is customarily required. What is missing is to add a prologue by a person who is honorable and at the same time understanding in the art of defense. After much meditation, it occurred to me to ask an accredited maestro of fencing who dedicates himself, as a matter of preference, to handling the combative sword. And so, to get it out of the way as soon as possible, I directed myself toward his residence. *** What a beautiful house! I rang. The doorman came out and, after looking over from head to toe, asked me: “With whom do you wish to speak, sir?” “With Maestro C.” “On behalf of whom?” “Of professor Bonafont.” And I gave him my card, which I had prepared. “Please have the goodness to wait a moment. Have a seat.” Once I found myself in the anteroom, I began to inspect all that surrounded me with curiosity. In the corner to my right was a coat hanger formed by sabers and spears. In the corner to my left, a magnificent pedestal with a statue of a knight from the Middle Ages, with the face of one making the sign of the cross; long and pointy whiskers, tall plume on the hat; the cape rolled on the arm and the left hand supporting the hilt of an oversized sword. At the foot of said statue, an inscription that says, “I am the handsomest.”
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What most caught my attention were some oil paintings representing, with somewhat sad colors, duels of Chestegneraye, defeated by the blow of Jernac; that of celebrated Jean-Louis fighting with one of his thirteen adversaries, who waited their turn in line; that of the poet Cavalottí, dead from a thrust to the mouth by the journalist D.N.; that of the Cuban Jorrín, who died from a thrust to the abdomen given to him by the captain of artillery of the Spanish army, S.D.; and, lastly, the encounter between Sir Eugenio Pini and the Baron of San Malatto, that the fencing world spoke so much about. While I was reflecting upon the importance of the duels, and if the thrust that caused the death of Mr. Cavalottí could be suitably added to the blows with the tip of the cane displayed in my book, I heard someone drawing near. Suddenly the maestro appeared, and extending his hand, said to me, “How are you, my friend? How may I help you?” “I have come to implore you to sponsor me…” “Yes, man, yes. Nothing more needs to be said. Is the matter to first blood, or is it more serious?” “It’s nothing of the sort, Maestro: but I desire to publish a book titled, New Ways of Self-Defense on the Street with a Cane, which I just finished writing, and I would be grateful if you, sir, being an experienced master in the art of combat, would sponsor me by adding a small prologue.
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After reflecting on my last words, with definite seriousness he answered me, “Look, Maestro; if it were about a matter related to the field of honor, I would help you with pleasure, but dealing with vulgar brawls or street encounters, I can’t do it. In the first place, because decent people shouldn’t be fighting in the street, and, in the second, it’s an issue that doesn’t pertain to my profession.” Then I asked him: “And if after turning the corner, for example, you were to find yourself assaulted or attacked, and, as such, obligated to defend yourself against an evildoer? I believe that you wouldn’t trouble yourself to give him your card to signal a duel.” “In that case, I would content myself with breaking my cane on his ribs.” “Precisely, my book explains distinct methods of striking with more efficiency.” “Yes, I understand; but…it’s not in any way possible for me to accept your offer.” And stretching out his hands once again, accompanied very courteously with words of farewell, we considered the interview ended. Upon arriving at my house, discouraged by the negativity, I returned to thinking about who would be the most suitable candidate to fill the vacancy in the fruit of my late nights, of which there were many. After reflecting for a bit, and further convinced of the little that could be said in praise of my writings, I resolved that myself should become the author of the prologue to my own book, which goes as follows:
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Studious reader: upon presenting this small volume, a compilation of several years of practice in the handling of the cane employed as physical exercise and for personal defense, I do this without the least doubt that there are those defects that men of letters or writers will label as an incorrectness of style or ignorance of the language; but with the impossibility of being able to offer it adorned with eloquent words or phrases, since I handle the cane better than a pen, it has limited me to explaining, plainly, but with the greatest clarity possible, the execution of the most efficient attacks and defenses to fight with a cane against any dangerous adversary. Furthermore, so that you will be able to implement, with precision, the movements of which combative actions are composed, seventy-two photographs have been inserted, depicting the most important actions of the principal scenarios, in which the reader will be able to verify that these are about new reasoning, since neither the means of gripping the weapon, nor the guard positions, nor the means of striking, nor the manner of executing the parries and blocks, have been, until now, known or, at the least, published by any other teacher. The different attacks displayed in this work, I have categorized and divided into eleven parts or sections, making known, beyond the indispensable rules to implement them, several bits of general advice of well-known usefulness prior to fights and for the means of their execution. No one can say, “I’m free from assault!” And, as a consequence, everyone should know how to defend himself with a cane. In the conviction that this book will lend a great service to humanity, I await with resignation its much appreciated condemnation. THE AUTHOR. *Note: The demonstrations that this book contains have been undertaken by the author and his son Roque, assistant instructor.
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Causes and Effects NOW MORE THAN EVER, IT IS necessary to know how to defend oneself with a cane in the hand; although there have always existed quarrelsome individuals and outlaw robbers, the many assaults, robberies, and killings perpetrated during these last years show that, although the end of the great European war has added to the number of keepers of public order, crime has increased considerably. The constant unrest of certain nations, and the well-known scarcity of means for progress in life, have motivated such a great influx of people of all classes and social spheres into the big cities, so that between those families who willingly abandon their respective countries and those that have seen
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themselves forced to flee, such as the outcasts, deserters, and those escaping for diverse reasons, the great capitals have become veritable flash points in which there exists a large quantity of subjects without scruples nor considerations of how to make themselves money, since, not having paid attention to means employed for doing so, they dedicate themselves with total brazenness to fraud and robbery, and even sometimes to killing. For that reason, each day it becomes more indispensable to know how to defend oneself against evildoers. Furthermore, we know that all populations of growing development have their characteristic slums or more or less dangerous neighborhoods, which, apart from being inhabited by a certain num-
ber of honest families, also give shelter to unsavory persons that usually have some unfinished business with the police because they are troublemakers, lovers of what belongs to others, and even killers. In these suburban neighborhoods, that are generally lacking in development and in security lighting, so that you cannot go through them at night without being more cautious than confident; since its dark and deserted streets lined with trees favor the bad guys, they become real danger zones in which one finds oneself exposed to being a victim of some attack or brutal assault, because every tree, bend, or corner can hide a killer. A solid walking stick, one of those that is used for support by peace-loving men, is an accessory that, wielded by a person expert in the subject matter, can easily be transformed into a weapon of great efficiency for one’s own defense. Upon the arrival of the moment in which it is indispensable to defend ourselves, we must instantly observe the position, attitude, expression, or aggressive movement of the adversary, in order to implement our attack, detaining or counterattacking his assault the moment he initiates it. Seeing
and executing with the speed of a lightning bolt must be done simultaneously. Watchfulness and the preservation of calm give certain confidence, and even the assurance to employ the necessary force and precision when one wants to stun the opponent for a short time. Upon finding ourselves face-toface with an outlaw and our lives at risk, we must hit violently at the selected spot in order to put him out of the fight as soon as possible. We must keep in mind that law enforcement officers, although they may be bold men and loyal in the fulfillment of their duties, in as much as they cannot be everywhere at the same time, almost always come to the rescue after the commission of the deed—that is, too late to protect us. Consequently, it being difficult to avoid all the misdeeds of those thieves who are constantly looking for the opportunity to achieve their purposes or bad impulses, the peace-loving citizen must exercise, in case of trouble, the right of his legitimate personal defense, without waiting for help, nor counting on, in this instance, the protection of anyone. Although a revolver may be the
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most suitable weapon to confront, intimidate, or to kill one or several individuals, in many cases using such a weapon would be an overreaction; in addition to the remorse at being the cause of death, we would see ourselves bound to appear before the court, with the objective of convincing the judges that such a serious mishap was truly caused in self-defense upon finding our life threatened. For these and other reasons that I will expound upon below, I do not consider it prudent to routinely carry arms of bloody and destructive efficiency, such as revolvers, automatic pistols, and so on. •
First—Because during our activities, routines, and daily struggles in life, due to any carelessness we would run the danger of injuring or killing our own selves. Well, as the saying goes, “Weapons are mobilized by the Devil.”
•
Second—Because the law prohibits the use of arms by persons who do not have the capacity to carry them, by order of the administration.
•
Third—Because using firearms, even if having been used in legitimate defense, causes a great deal of trouble, such that one
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must suffer, at the least, a preventive arrest, giving an infinite amount of declarations and convincing proofs that in the face of danger you saw yourself forced to proceed, risking every time to save everything. And you can still be thankful if the authorities do not throw the book at you. •
Fourth—From the humanitarian point of view, one should avoid all aggression that endangers the life of any fellow man.
On one occasion, I drew my revolver in self-defense; and after pointing it at the chest of my opponent, I raised my arm and fired into the air . . . because . . . I was scared. I was afraid of killing! How many men have had the same thing happen to them that happened to me? Carrying a weapon is not the same thing as using it. The walking stick is not considered a weapon, nor is carrying one illegal, so it is able to be our companion as much in meetings as in jaunts about, outings, and so on; whereas, knowing how to handle it, in a difficult situation in which we would have to defend ourselves from some adversary that we bump into in life—either a brutal troublemaker, a mugger, or sometimes a murderer—a single blow,
well applied, can make them lose consciousness, depriving them, momentarily, of the ability to carry out aggressive intent. Fighting off an attack, rendering the opponent useless for a while does not mean taking the law into one’s own hands, but rather defending oneself in the face of an assault. Besides, you can ask for help afterwards. The Walking Stick To become skilled in the actions of fighting, one should employ the walking stick that one would use on the street, or one that combines qualities of length, thickness, weight, and strength. It is always best, in the event of a fight, to make use of the weapon that you are accustomed to handling. The walking stick that we should use for self-defense needs to be straight, made from a slightly flexible wood, and one that will not break easily:1 of a length approximately 95 centimeters [37 inch-
1 Cherry, lignum vitae or ironwood, quince, palo rosa, and holm oak are strong and fibrous trees from which can be obtained straight canes that combine good qualities to make walking sticks that, by their elegance and strength, can serve equally for strolling and self-defense.
es] and with a weight of 250 to 300 grams [9-10 ½ ounces], perhaps a little more or less. Rather, the length and weight of the cane should be adequate for the stature and strength of the individual who wields it. Height and muscular strength are two very important physical qualities for the combatant. The strong and tall individual, besides being able to use a somewhat longer and generally heavier weapon than someone of shorter stature, has the odds in his favor; whereas, the guy who is short and weak, in order for his strikes to be effective, must above all else strengthen himself, and then gradually acquire the ability or mastery necessary to even out the forces at play, or at least to get great advantage despite his physical shortcomings. As it is known, in the majority of cases skill comes to dominate force. For a better understanding from the outset, the walking stick is divided into three sections: the strong or the thick part is closest to the handle or pommel, the middle third is the center of the cane, and the weak third, or thin part, is closest to the tip or ferrule.
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Gripping the Cane
The Guard
The main ways of gripping the cane in a combative posture are two in number: the inverted grip (one-handed) and the power grip (two-handed).
Guard means to protect yourself. It is the foundation of every fighting art. It is the supporting point and starting point of all fighters.
The inverted grip holds the cane in an uncommon manner, but one that is very important for combat. It is when the thumb and first finger are located closest to the strong end of the walking stick, some 1015 centimeters [4-6 inches] from the pommel. The power grip proceeds from the inverted grip, grasping the cane with the left hand (turning the fingernails downward), and with the little finger situated some 1015 centimeters [4-6 inches] from the tip, which is to say, to hold the cane with a hand at each end.
Guard is a single word, but it says a lot: a posture or position of bodily stability; the positioning of the weapon to defend ourselves and to attack with it; and the act of determining ahead the likely danger and with what action we will be able to avoid it, taking the opponent out of the fight. As demonstrated, the one who says “I’m on guard” lets it be understood that he is alert facing the adversary, with all attention on calculation, vision, attitude, and readiness, and finds himself perfectly prepared for attack and defense, as well as to counter any adversary’s attack by means of a stop-hit or counterattack.
A Piece of Advice In order to execute some combative movement to perfection, when you read that one hand is turned with the fingernails on the inside, one should understand that the hand referred to should be closed, and turned with the fingernails in the direction of your own body, then the other actions that the hands should undertake in action can be understood easily with a simple explanation.
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Since there are different kinds of combat—for example, fencing, wrestling, stick-fighting, boxing, and so on, both friendly and real— it is indispensable, in order to be able to fight with a certain advantage, to situate oneself in the special guard position that corresponds to every encounter, ensuring that your posture combines, in every circumstance, the conditions of effectiveness already explained. However, as the unusual circumstances that one experiences in a fight without rules that occurs in the street, the café, the theater, and so on, require us to use defenses that differ from those used in academic exercises in the wielding of the stick—which demand that the stick-fighter assume an elegant stance, perfect, artistic posture, and correct execution of twirling and attacks with a flourish, widely celebrated in the classic attacks in stick fencing—I have adopted two guard positions that, apart from being very natural and easy, fit any combative movement. These positions, I make known in my stick and cane school by the names open guard and closed guard.
Open guard means a natural position and one where the cane is not in a place where parries or blocks end. It is completely opposite of the scholarly stance in stick and cane fencing (Figure 1). Iis taken in the following manner: the body must be straight and calm, nonchalant; the legs flexible and standing naturally, but with the left foot some 20 centimeters [8 inches] forward, which is to say, presenting a bit of one’s left flank to the adversary; the right arm slightly bent forward, holding the cane vertically with the right hand,2 having the thumb and first finger approximately 10 centimeters [4 inches] from the knob (inverted grip);3 the left hand falls naturally; the head elevated, looking at the opponent suspiciously, with the aim of divining his intentions, selecting, at the
2 Obviously, for a lefthander these conditions are reversed. 3 Inverted grip means having the cane held upside down—that is, the opposite of the usual and ordinary. This being an unusual manner of holding the stick in the hand, and, as such, uncomfortable for many beginners, I recommend that, instead of getting discouraged (as often happens), you practice it confidently, so that when you are used to handling the cane in this manner you will become convinced of its good results.
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same time, the place or target4 that we can attack with the greatest certainty and safety. Let us make sure that we do not show the opponent that in this posture we are ready to carry out any defensive act. The closed guard is a very strong position for striking the opponent the moment he initiates his attack (Figure 20). It consists of placing the cane on our left side, with the right hand turned with the fingernails facing outward and the arm slightly bent, keeping the cane supported by its middle third, which is in the groin area of the side; the body bent a bit forward, making certain to present the right side to the opponent; the legs bent, with the right foot forward and raising the heel of the left foot. If appropriate, we can place the left foot closer to the opponent. The two guards can be used during the same fight.
4 The target is the site where you should direct the attack. We call targets those exposed parts that the opponent presents. The place or point selected for striking is the target.
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Cane Strikes The most important cane strikes for self-defense are divided into two classes, the first category consisting of stick strikes, which are directed, with sure execution, in the form of a blow like an ax to the head (temple), face (lower maxillary), clavicle, hand, crotch, knee, and shin of the opponent. Stick strikes should not linger on the opponent, but should be thrown with the force necessary to strike and continue the movement of the cane. This is the main way of keeping the opponent from grabbing our cane.
A Piece of Advice The distance that should exist between the two feet in motion during combat will be between 40 and 60 centimeters [16 and 24 inches] depending on the height of the fencer, in that way forming a sufficient base to keep the body balance.
The second class of strikes, delivered with either the pommel or the tip of the cane, applied directly, are the form of a thrust to the eyes, nose, upper lip, carotid (under the
Figure 1
earlobe), jaw, throat, chest, stomach, kidneys, and lower stomach. The bulk of these strikes can easily cause a knockout or severe injuries. One must keep in mind that these are the most efficient strikes for self-defense. How One Must Strike The main directions that the cane must take in order to strike one or several individuals are: horizontal, diagonal, and vertical (see windmill strikes below). The study or practice exercises are, foremost, delivered slowly with the cane, and with much expansion— that is, making the cane trace a large circle until one has managed
to attain the perfect path. Later, one goes about decreasing, bit by bit, the length that the cane travels, making sure that the action each successive time is faster and that the cane strikes with greater precision. The strikes delivered with the pommel or with the tip should be applied directly (without windup or wasted motion), gripping the cane with one hand (inverted grip) or with both hands (power grip). The cane strikes complement each other, and you can use them singly or one after the other, according to the circumstances or the kind of attack that you want to carry out.
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Attacks and Counters
Combative Ranges
Attacks, naturally, are the aggregation of various movements applied with the cane, arms, body, and legs with the aim of striking the adversary. They can be single, combined, or compound.
The ranges that exist between two combatants armed with walking sticks are four in number; namely: long, true, short, and close.
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Single attacks are those that are implemented with a single strike.
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Combined attacks are those in which you attack with two or more strikes.
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Compound attacks are those that are made with windmill strikes, feints, controls, and so on.
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Furthermore, there are double attacks, which are when the cane is directed two times in succession against the same side. They are formed from the windmill strikes; the first strike can be just a feint. One also doubles up when the attack does not hit its target because of a miss on the first strike.
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The attacks that one makes immediately after defending against a strike are called counters.
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They are at long range when they cannot reach the other without first advancing (more than two meters of separation).
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They are at true range when they can reach each other by making a half-step (two meters of separation).
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They are at short distance when they can reach the other merely by extending the arm (a meter of separation).
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They are at close range when having come so close (less than a half meter of separation) that there is almost no distance separating the two. They are now in close combat, or hand-tohand.
It is called hand-to-hand [chest-tochest] when one has the opponent so close that, in order to attack him advantageously, it is necessary to strike with pommel blows or the tip of the cane. There are many that hold the belief that the walking stick cannot be deployed in hand-to-hand combat. But keeping in mind the strikes
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that can be delivered with the tip or the knob while gripping the cane firmly with both hands, I am sure that, the closer we find ourselves to the opponent, the more dangerous our attacks will be. In summary, defenses should be made according to how far you are from the adversary. The greater the distance, the less is the danger.
same distance.5 In the event it is necessary, one can replace one’s foot position by short hops. •
Side retreat or profile retreat is to separate oneself from the opponent with the foot that is rearmost, followed by the front foot.
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A half-step is obtained by leaning the body forward, advancing only the foot nearest the opponent, until one gains the distance necessary to reach him.
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The leap backward is made by taking a vigorous jump backward, pushing off with the legs and bodily momentum.6
Foot Movement In order to be able to execute the attacks and the defenses while placing the feet in the appropriate place, one must practice stance switches, turns, advances, retreats, half-steps, and leaps. •
The guard switch or stance switch, in place, consists of making the right foot occupy the position of the left foot, and vice versa.
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A turn is to change the side advancing or retreating, making the body spin over the tip of one foot while the other foot traces a half-circle, a little bit more or less around the body.
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Side advance or profile advance [fencer’s step] is to advance the foot furthest forward while making the rear foot gain the
5 The advance or step forward is executed by advancing 30-40 centimeters [12-16 inches]—that is, the distance necessary to reach the opponent. 6 This movement should be made in the action of attack or defense. It can be practiced at the same time one is performing combative exercises.
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A Piece of Advice All of the foot movements that need to be made during combat are based upon the guard positions, turns, switches, and so on. These actions reinforce each other, and with exercise they will be applied instinctively.
Windmill Strikes
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The horizontals are performed laterally, making the cane trace one or more circles from right to left or vice versa. These are generally aimed at the jaw or the carotid of the aggressor (Figure 2).
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The diagonals are those that are performed from upward then downward with a slight slant from right to left or vice versa, aiming the blow at the temple or the clavicle of the opponent (Figure 3).
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The verticals are accomplished, usually, by making the cane trace a circle from underneath moving upward, directing the strike to the hand or the lower stomach of the opponent.
The circular movements that are used with the cane to direct blows or to defend ourselves from the opponent are called windmill strikes. They are of great usefulness in wielding the cane, since, besides facilitating the carrying out and management of our attacks, they enable us to acquire skill, agility, power, and dexterity. The main windmill strikes are classified as offensive and defensive. They are offensive when they serve during the attack to facilitate the aim of the strike. They are defensive when we execute them for defending ourselves against the opponent’s strikes. There are three offensive windmill strikes, and they are executed in six directions: two horizontal, two diagonal and two vertical.
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Figure 2
Figure 3
The windmill strikes can be repeated and alternated with each other by means of rotating the wrist and with the assistance of the forearm. Defensive windmill strikes are accomplished by making the cane trace perpendicular circles with the
aim of stopping the opponent’s blow by crashing our cane into his. These should be implemented in front of oneself in the form of circular parries, which I will take on later.
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Training Training means, in walking-stick defense, combative drilling with the aim of acquiring, by means of physical work or the repetition of rational movements, good vision, looseness, and resistance, strengthening at the same time the muscles of the entire body and especially the shoulder, arm, forearm, and hand that hold and lend force to the cane. “In order to be strong, one must train carefully.” We should not forget that theoretical knowledge of combat is useful, but, without practice, insufficient—since “no fighting action can be undertaken with perfection,
Figure 4 - training board
Figure 5 - training dummy
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without having done simulations of that action beforehand.” “Ten minutes of action are better than ten hours of theory.” Consequently, in order to be able to emerge victorious from real combat, it is necessary to have practiced all the strikes and actions possible that could occur during its unfolding. Training Dummy In order to drill in precision, speed, and power in striking, one can employ a very simple apparatus that consists of a wood post or board, held up by a base, which has been placed against a wall or partition. When practicing, do not get too close to the target. In order to do away with the base, one can nail the board to the wall. This board or post, so that it can serve perfectly as a training dummy, should be the height of a man and covered from the upper part to some 40 centimeters [16 inches] from the floor, with a sack or canvas lined with crinoline or other similar material so that one can strike energetically without major discomfort or jolts to the arm or wrist. If you would like to give this mannequin a more human form, instead of the sack or padded canvas, put on its upper end a football
stuffed with crinoline, etc., marking it, furthermore, with the main points or targets to direct attacks. On the lower end of this ball one can place another target representing the trunk of the opponent, adding others to act as hand, knee, and so on, with the aim of being able to hit them as though they had a real opponent in front of them. It will be of great usefulness to drill attacking in these conditions the selected target of this apparatus, from the same spot both advancing and retreating in order to gradually acquire the muscular strength, bodily flexibility, and familiarity with the proper distances for real combat. Training Program So that the highly qualified reader—a novice in the art of self-defense with a cane in the hand— can practice, one by one, all of the strikes considered most important for personal defense, I have prepared a training program divided into eleven parts or sections composed of five attacks in each one, and in progressive order with the goal of being able to practice them, starting with the easiest, and ending with the most difficult. For the study and practice of these actions one should observe the following instructions:
Once the beginner is in front of the training dummy and in the open guard position, be certain to attack with the recommended instructions for each attack, not forgetting that upon initiating any attack one should implement it, as much as possible, from a position of stillness—that is to say, without making any movement that could signal to the opponent that one is about to throw a strike. The best way of getting vigorous training is to exercise for ten minutes daily with the aim of perfecting the actions learned, and to maintain, at the same time, a perfect state of health due to the effect of the physical exercise that you are practicing. It is not necessary to constantly practice all the attacks explained in this book, since perfecting just one or two in each section, adapted to one’s own inclinations or physical condition, will be sufficient for one to emerge victorious from any street fight. Although it would be preferable to train while wearing light clothing or what one is used to wearing around the house, it would be very advisable that, every once in a while, one should practice combative movements in street clothes.
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SECTION I Single Attacks: Strikes that are applied with the knob of the walking stick
All of the blows comprising this part should be thrown with the pommel of the cane, holding it gripped tightly with the right hand, to the temple, nose, carotid, throat, and stomach of the opponent. For their execution, one starts out, always, from the free guard position with inverted grip, setting the left foot at some 30 centimeters [12 inches] from the training dummy. Upon finding oneself fighting at less than a meter’s separation from the opponent, the encounter is regarded as occurring at close range or hand-to-hand. All of the attacks should be drilled separately to the point that, through the precision, speed, and force developed in the strikes, one should understand that these will be genuinely effective.
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The various movements that make up each attack should be blended together into just one—which is to say, executed simultaneously and making certain, furthermore, to begin from a state of motionlessness.
A Piece of Advice It is not enough to know a certain number of strikes from reading about them, even though they may be the most important strikes for real combat; because in order to defend oneself and triumph, it is indispensable to practice on the dummy until one is certain that, when the moment arrives, the strikes can be delivered with maximum speed, force, and accuracy.
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1st strike to the temple—This blow should be delivered by raising the weapon-bearing arm until the hand (with the fingernails facing downward), elbow, and shoulder are almost horizontal, and with the knob of the cane in the direction of the left temple (forward of the upper part of the ear) of the opponent, in order to attack him, obliquely and from right to left, with the arm and shoulder somewhat tightened and accentuating a rotational movement of the body for bringing more force to the blow. With the aim of striking with the greatest impact, simultaneously advance the left foot toward the right of the dummy, raising the
heel of the other foot. Executing the same movements, one can direct the strike to the left lower jaw of the opponent. It is an attack with a great crushing impact. (See Figure 6.) After striking, one must observe if the opponent has a stunned reaction, so that, in case he does not, one can execute a new attack. It is a fight; it is not prudent to get too confident. •
2nd strike to the nose—This attack is performed like the previous one, making sure, this time, that the pommel of the cane is directed to the nose or the upper lip of the opponent in order to strike him from underneath, moving upwards, simultane-
Figure 6
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ously accentuating a rotation of the body from right to left with the objective of lending greater impetus to the attack. It is a blow of great sunning effect, which, in addition to dazing the opponent, brings a sparkle to one’s eyes. (See Figure 7.) •
3rd strike to the carotid—This action is executed by raising the arm until the hand (fingernails turned downward), elbow, and shoulder are almost horizontal, and with the pommel of the cane in the direction of the carotid (below and a bit behind the left ear) of the opponent, in order to attack him from right to left, having the shoulder tightened to lend greater force
Figure 7
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to the strike. The left foot advances a bit toward the right of the dummy, with the body inclined over the same side, simultaneously raising the heel of the right foot so that, from this position, one can bring the lower back around and add to the effect. It is a blow that should be prohibited, and only should be used to save one’s life. •
4th strike to the throat—This attack is accomplished by aiming the knob of the cane (with the hand turned fingernails downward) to the throat (under the chin) of the opponent, in order to attack him from underneath moving upward, keeping the arm and shoulder lightly con-
tracted. One advances, at the same time, the left foot toward the right of the dummy, supporting the body over the leg of that same side, raising the heel of the right foot with the goal of driving the blow by means of an energetic expansion of the lower back. •
5th strike to the stomach—This blow is executed like the previous one, making certain, this time, that the knob of the cane
is directed to the stomach (the hollow formed underneath the sternum, also known as the pit of the stomach) of the opponent, in order to strike him directly from underneath moving upward. With the objective of adding force to the attack, the arm and the shoulder should be somewhat tightened. It is a blow of great efficiency to put the opponent out of action by means of a knockout. (See Figure 8.)
A Piece of Advice The various movements that make up the single attacks, in addition to starting from a state of motionlessness, should be executed simultaneously.
Figure 8
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SECTION II Single Attacks: Strikes that are applied with the tip of the walking stick
The five strikes or attacks assembled in this part should be thrown with the tip (tightly gripping the cane with both hands) to the left eye, jaw, chest, kidneys, and lower stomach of the opponent. These attacks are executed on two beats (one of preparation and the other of attack) starting from the open guard position and at close range, directing the blows to the left side or the front of the training dummy. The first beat of each attack is effectuated by making a light rotational movement of the body toward the right, simultaneously raising the tip of the cane so that it is parallel to the ground (one meter off the ground, more or less) and gripping by its weak third at some 10 centimeters [4 inches] from the tip, with the left hand turned fingernails down. This manner of holding the cane with both hands, I have made known by the name power grip.
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From this position one continues raising the tip until it is pointed at the selected target, holding the hands pretty much at the same height. However, one should execute the five attacks by different means due to having to direct them to different parts of the body. The second beat that makes up each attack will be explained in the place corresponding to the strike that you are employing. •
6th strike to the left eye—This is an extremely dangerous blow that we should only employ against a killer or in the face of a deadly weapon, such as a revolver, knife, and so on; which is to say, using it only in defense of our life, since the application of this could cause the opponent’s death. The execution is as follows: to realize the movements of the first beat at the beginning of this section, one aims the tip at the opponent’s left eye, holding the left hand
with the fingernails facing outward and the right hand’s nails facing inward. The second beat is executed by applying the strike by means of energetically leaning the body forward (with a slight movement from right to left), simultaneously advancing the left foot and raising the right heel. The walking stick should be gripped strongly with both hands (power grip). The two movements that make up this attack, as much as possible, should be combined into one. •
7th strike to the jaw—In order to execute this attack, one does the movements of the first beat, described previously, directing the blow to the jaw of
the opponent, holding the left hand turned with the fingernails facing downward, and the right with the nails facing upward, making certain that the hands are more or less at the same height. The second beat is carried out by energetically rotating the chest from right to left, simultaneously advancing the left foot a bit toward the dummy with the aim of giving greater force to the blow. The walking stick should be gripped strongly with a hand at either end, and striking with hands and shoulders tightened. With the proper application of this strike, one can put an end to the fight.
Figure 9
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•
8th strike to the chest—The first beat of this attack is executed like those earlier, aiming, this time, the tip at the chest (sternum or over the heart) of the opponent, holding the left hand with the nails turned downward and the right in the opposite direction. The second beat is carried out by energetically leaning the body forward, giving, at the same time, a strong drive with the arms to hit the selected target with the greatest force possible. The left foot should advance a bit toward the right side of the training dummy, simultaneously raising the right heel. This is a very effective blow for street fights. (See Figure 9.)
Figure 10
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•
9th strike to the kidney—After having executed the first beat by aiming the tip at the kidneys (over the empty spot or lower ribs of the left side) of the opponent, holding the left hand with the fingernails facing downward and the right with the nails facing upward, one executes the second beat in the following manner: gripping the cane strongly with both hands, apply the strike to the left side of the opponent by means of an energetic rotation of the body (from right to left), advancing, simultaneously, the left foot toward the right side of the training dummy. This is one of the best strikes for taking the opponent out of action.
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10th strike to the lower stomach— In order to carry out this attack one executes the movements of the first beat, aiming, this time, the tip at the lower stomach (lower abdomen) or at the groin of the opponent, holding the left hand with the fingernails facing inward and the right with the nails outward. The second beat is carried out by strongly driving the arms (toward the front and from bottom to top) aided by means of an energetic bending forward of the body, simultaneously advancing the left foot with the aim of adding more force to the blow. All of the attacks should be executed with great speed, unifying the beats as much as possible. (See Figure 10.)
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SECTION III Combination Attacks: Two strikes that are applied, one with the tip and the other with the knob of the cane
The attacks assembled in this section should be launched at the specific undefended targets that the opponent presents, alternating between the tip and the pommel, from close range, holding the cane in the power grip—that is, with a hand at either end. These attacks are combined in order to hit two times in succession, from different directions in the following order: kidney and carotid, jaw and temple, stomach and throat, chest and the right eye, and upper lip and the groin, with the capability of varying the second strike according to the circumstances and the exposed areas that the opponent presents. The two strikes that make up each attack are executed in three beats (one of preparation and two of attack), starting from the open guard position, carrying out the first two like the attacks in the previous section. The second strike of each attack should be thrown with the knob of
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the cane at the right side or front of the training dummy. One should execute the movements of the third beat by aiming the strikes at specific parts of the opponent’s body. These are explained in the corresponding place to the action that one is carrying out. •
11th strike with the tip to the kidney and strike with the knob to the carotid—The first beat of this attack, as has been stated previously, will be executed as in the prior section. The second beat occurs after delivering the blow to the kidney (left side) (Figure 11), removing the tip from the target by means of an energetic lurch of the arms and rotation of the body (from right to left), aiming the knob of the cane at the next selected target. The third beat is carried out by applying the pommel to the carotid (right side) with a strong thrust of the arms, causing the body to rotate (from right to
left), simultaneously advancing the right foot toward the left side of the training dummy (Figure 12). The right hand should be turned with the fingernails facing upward and the left with the nails downward.
A Piece of Advice The tip or knob strikes delivered with a hand on either end (power grip) can be applied twice in succession at the same spot or at a separate target.
Figure 11
Figure 12
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•
12th strike with the tip to the jaw and pommel blow to the temple— The first beat of this attack is executed like those previous, this time aiming at the tip at the jaw (left side) of the opponent. The second beat, which is the blow to the jaw is executed in the same way as explained in the seventh attack, continuing the rotation of the body (from right to left) accompanied by a strong lurch of the arms until the knob of the cane remains pointed at the temple (right side) with the right hand turned fingernails upward and the left nails down. The third beat delivers the blow to the aforementioned target by means of an energetic drive of the arms accompanied by a twist of the body (from left to right), simultaneously advancing the left foot toward the training dummy. The heel of the left foot should be raised, making certain not to lose one’s balance.
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13th strike with the tip to the stomach and pommel blow to the throat—The first beat of this attack, like those preceding, consists of gripping the cane in the power grip and directing the tip toward the stomach of the opponent, with the left hand turned fingernails inward and the right’s turned outward. The second beat or first strike is executed by vigorously driving the arms toward the front and moving from underneath upward, aided by means of the body strongly leaning forward. The left foot simultaneously moves forward. Then, rotating the body (from right to left) with a slight lean backward, aim the knob of the cane at the throat of the opponent. The third beat is carried out by driving the strike (from underneath upward) by strongly shifting the arms and leaning forward while simultaneously advancing the right foot.
A Piece of Advice During suitable instances, these attacks can be made up of three or more blows, which can also be applied against multiple opponents.
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All attacks should be executed with the greatest speed possible. •
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14th strike with the tip to the chest and knob strike to the right eye— The first beat of this attack is executed like the preceding, but with the tip aimed at the chest of the opponent. The second beat is carried out by forcefully striking the selected target, causing the body to rotate (from right to left) leaning back a bit and aiming the knob of the cane at the right eye of our adversary. The third beat or second strike is performed with a strong drive of the arms supporting the blow with one’s body weight. This attack should be executed by holding the right hand with the fingernails turned inward and the left with the nails outward. This is a very dangerous strike. 15th strike with the thin end to the lip and pommel strike to the groin—The first beat of this strike is executed like those before, aiming, this time, the tip of the cane at the upper lip of the opponent. The second beat or first strike is executed by strongly attacking said target. Then, rotating the body, from
right to left, bending over from the waist, aim the pommel of the cane at the groin or lower stomach of our attacker. The third beat is applied by driving the blow (from underneath traveling upward) with a strong drive of the arms and leaning the body. Simultaneously advance the right foot, while raising the heel of the left. The right hand should be turned with the fingernails facing outward and the left with the nails turned inward.
A Piece of Advice All of the strikes that until now have been delivered at close range can also be applied from a starting point at short range, leading with one’s side in the act of executing the first movement, thereby causing close-quarter combat.
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SECTION IV Single Attacks: Stick strikes
The five strikes in this part should be delivered with the weak third of the walking stick, from the open guard position, holding the cane in inverted grip in the right hand, and at short distance (a meter, more or less, of separation from the training dummy), to the temple, jaw, wrist, groin, and knee of the opponent. These strikes should be directed to the left side of the training dummy, always beginning from a state of motionlessness.
The stick strikes thrown in the manner of an ax blow can also be delivered at true range (two meters, more or less, from the opponent), advancing the right foot by means of a turn or blading the body, simultaneously raising the left heel. All of the attacks in this section should be executed in a single beat and with the greatest speed and force possible.
A Piece of Advice First: After striking, move into the closed guard (Figure 20) remaining aware that it may be necessary to attack with another strike or simply turn to defense with a circular parry or a power block that will be explained at the appropriate time. Second: When the reader has learned the attacks contained in the first four sections, I believe that one will be able to develop the remaining even if they are not explained in great detail.
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•
16th stick strike to the temple— This strike is executed from the open guard and a meter away from the training dummy, making it trace 3/4 of a circle with the weak third of the walking stick by raising the arm, moving in a circle, diagonally, from the rear to the front, with the aim of making it fly, aiming it at the left temple of the opponent. The body should rotate, from right to left, simultaneously raising the heel of the right foot. During this action, the hand should be with the fingernails turned outward and the elbow pointed upward. As has been said earlier, this attack should occur in a single beat. It is a blow that could cause the
opponent to lose consciousness momentarily. •
17th stick strike to the jaw—This strike is executed from the same guard and at the same distance as the previous attack, raising the arm, slightly arched, toward the right, until the hand (nails facing downward), elbow, and cane are horizontal at the level of the shoulder; then rotating the body from right to left, simultaneously raising the heel of the right foot, delivered with the arm somewhat tightened, a stick strike to the enemy’s left jaw. After striking horizontally assume the closed guard position. This attack could cause our attacker to black out for a few moments.
Figure 13
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•
•
18th stick strike to the wrist— This strike is carried out from the same guard and at the same distance as the previous one, forcefully directing the cane (from underneath moving upward) at the wrist of the opponent with the aim of making him drop the weapon from his hand. During the execution of this strike one can advance the right foot, but keep at a steady distance. This strike is recommended for street fights. (See Figure 13.) 19th stick strike to the groin— This strike is executed in the same way as the prior one, aiming the cane vertically at the groin of the opponent. This is an extremely dangerous strike.
Figure 14
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We should vary the severity of the strikes according to the adversaries we have before us. •
20th stick strike to the knee— This strike is performed from the same guard and at the same distance as the previous attacks, raising the arm a little toward the right, until the hand (turned with the fingernails facing downward) stays at the level of the waist. Then rotate one’s body from right to left, applying horizontally and with the arm tightened, a strong blow to the opponent’s knee, while raising the heel of the right foot. After striking, assume the closed guard position. (See Figure 14.)
SECTION V Combination Attacks: A stick strike and a blow with the pommel of the cane
The attacks taught in this section are composed of two strikes—that is, one stick strike with the weak third of the cane and one blow with the knob of the cane, starting from the open guard position at a meter’s distance, more or less, from the opponent and executed in two beats (one beat for each strike). These attacks are combined in order to achieve two consecutive strikes in different parts of our adversary’s body in the following order: temple and stomach, jaw and carotid, wrist and lip, groin and throat, and shin and lower back. •
21st stick strike to the temple and knob strike to the stomach—The
first strike of this attack, that is, the stick strike to the temple, is executed the same way as the 16th, but advancing the right foot by means of a turn or a stance shift. The second strike is executed while advancing the left foot forward a bit while simultaneously gripping the cane in power grip, in order to throw, to the front and from underneath moving upward, a strong blow with the pommel to the opponent’s stomach. With the objective of lending greater force to the blow, take a short half-step while leaning the body forward, at the same time raising the heel of the left foot.
A Piece of Advice First: The stick strikes should be applied in the same manner as presented in the previous section. Second: The strikes delivered with the knob of the walking stick are carried out by bridging the distance in the same way as presented in Section III.
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A Piece of Advice Instead of delivering the second strike with the knob, one can execute the strike with the tip as follows: after striking the opponent’s temple, lean the body back, carrying the knob of the cane next to the left side of our waist with the objective of taking it by the strong third with the left hand and sliding the right hand rapidly until it is gripping the weak third of the walking stick. The hands should be turned with the fingernails facing downward.
•
22nd stick strike to the jaw and pommel blow to the carotid—The first strike of this attack, that is, the stick strike to the opponent’s jaw, is executed like the 17th, which appears in the previous section, but advancing the right foot by means of a turn. The second strike is carried out while moving the left foot forward a bit, simultaneously gripping the weak third of the cane with the left hand turned fingernails down, in order to attack the opponent’s right carotid, rotating the body from left to right and forcefully driving the blow with the arms. The right foot should advance, a bit, toward the left side of the opponent or training dummy.
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•
23rd stick strike to the wrist and pommel blow to the lip—The first strike of this attack, which is the stick strike to the hand or the wrist of the opponent, is carried out like the 18th, but advancing the right foot by means of a turn. The second strike is carried out by moving the left foot forward a bit while simultaneously gripping the cane with the left hand in order to attack with the power grip the upper lip of the opponent. With the aim of lending greater force to the blow, lean your body forward, strongly supporting the arms and advancing the right foot. The right hand should be turned with the nails facing inward and the left with the nails outward.
•
24th stick strike to the groin and pommel blow to the throat—The first strike of this attack, which is the stick strike to the groin of the opponent, is carried out like the 19th, but while advancing the right foot by means of a stance switch (Figure 15). The second strike is carried out by advancing the left forward a bit while simultaneously gripping the walking stick with the left hand in order to attack from the front and from underneath moving upward, a strong pommel blow to the opponent’s throat (Figure 16). The right foot is set to the left side of the training dummy.
•
25th stick strike to the shin and pommel blow to the lower back— The first strike of this combination attack, which is the stick strike to the adversary’s shin, is executed like the strike to the knee explained in the 20th attack, but advancing the right foot by means of a turn. The second strike is performed by moving the left foot forward, at the same time gripping the weak third of the cane with the left hand in order to strike the opponent’s kidney at his right side, by means of an energetic rotation of the body from left to right, and the force of both arms. The right hand should be with the fingernails turned upward and the left nails turned down.
Figure 15
Figure 16
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SECTION VI Combination Attacks: Three stick strikes applied with the weak third of the cane
The attacks assembled in this part are composed of three blows, each of them executed, of course, from the open guard position with the cane in the inverted grip and with more or less two meters of separation from the training dummy. To place ourselves at the appropriate distance, we should advance the right foot by means of a turn or stance switch. To launch an attack of this nature, we should neither have concern for, nor even think about, the attacks that our opponent might make; let us just make certain to hit non-stop with force and great speed. During these combinations we should present the right side to the opponent. Once we have finished a combination, we should set ourselves in the closed guard position, just in case it is necessary to return to the attack or attend to defense.
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•
26th three stick strikes: temple, jaw, and clavicle—The first strike of this combined attack is executed by raising the arm from back to front, with the aim of tracing a 3/4 circle with the weak third of the walking stick, attacking diagonally with the hand turned with the fingernails facing outward and the elbow pointed upward, the left temple of the attacker. During the execution of the strike the right foot advances by means of a turn. The body should make a rotational movement from right to left, until after having struck, keeping the arm bent at the level of, and next to, the left shoulder, with the hand turned fingernails facing downward. The second strike is carried out by gripping the cane firmly, attacking the right jaw of the opponent horizontally and energetically, by means of a rapid rotation from left to right. After striking, the arm stays bent
on the right side at head height, with the hand turned nails outward. The third strike is delivered like the first, but with neither the large arc of the first strike nor the turn, remaining afterward in the closed guard position. •
27th three stick strikes: jaw, temple, and carotid—The first strike of this combined attack is executed by raising the arm, slightly bent, toward the right, until the hand (fingernails turned downward), elbow, and cane are aligned horizontally with the shoulder. And turning forward to apply, with the arm slightly tensed, and a vigorous rotation of the body from right to left, a stick blow to the left jaw of the opponent. After striking, lean the body back, keeping the arm arched to the left at head height, with the fingernails of the hand facing outward. The second strike is performed by strongly attacking with the arm tightened, to the right temple of the opponent, by means of an energetic rotation of the body from left to right, and driven by the lower back. After striking, the arm should stay bent at our right side at shoulder height, with the nails of the hand turned downward. The
third strike is applied like the first, remaining afterward in the closed guard position. •
28th three stick strikes: wrist, carotid, and knee—The first strike is executed by advancing the right foot by means of a turn or a shift in stance, vigorously aiming the cane from underneath moving upward, to the wrist of the opponent with the aim of making him drop his weapon. After striking, lean the body back, keeping the arm arched at the level of, and next to, our left shoulder, with the nails turned downward. The second strike is delivered by striking forcefully at the opponent’s carotid, by rotating the body from right to left, gripping the cane securely. After striking, the arm should remain bent at our right side at waist height, with the fingernails turned downward. The third strike is carried out by rotating the body from right to left, delivering a stick strike to the opponent’s knee. Afterward, assume the closed guard position.
•
29th three stick strikes: groin, temple, and jaw—The first strike is executed by advancing the right foot while turning the side toward the opponent and
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throwing the cane from underneath moving upward and with the nails facing inward to the groin of the opponent. After striking, lean the body back, keeping the arm bent at our left side and at head height with the hand turned so the fingernails face outward. The second strike is delivered by attacking, with the arm slightly tensed, the right temple of the attacker by means of rotating the body from left to right and a forceful movement of the lower back. After striking, the arm should remain at our right side at shoulder height, with the hand turned so the nails
are facing downward. The third strike is delivered by executing a strong rotational movement from right to left, aided by the impetus of the lower back, with the objective of delivering a forceful blow to the left jaw of the opponent. Immediately following, take the closed guard position. •
30th three stick strikes: knee, jaw, and temple—The first strike is executed by raising the arm a little to the right until the hand, with the fingernails turned downward, is at waist height with the aim of making a turn forward delivering a strong blow to the opponent’s knee
Figure 18
Figure 17
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(Figure 17). After striking, lean the body back, keeping the arm arched next to our left shoulder, with the hand turned so that the nails face downward. The second strike is carried out by swinging strongly and horizontally at the right jaw of the opponent, by means of a vigorous twist of the body from left to right (Figure 18). After striking, the arm remains bent at our right side at head height, with the hand turned nails outward. The third strike is implemented by striking diagonally to the left temple of the opponent by means of a vigorous drive of the arm while rotating
the body from right to left (Figure 19). Upon completing the combination assume the closed guard position (Figure 20).
A Piece of Advice Immediately after attacking from right to left we should assume the closed guard position; after striking from left to right we find ourselves in the open guard, prepared in either case to resume fighting.
Figure 20
Figure 19
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SECTION VII Combination Attacks: Four stick strikes or blows applied with the weak third of the cane and with the pommel
The attacks assembled in this chapter are combinations of four stick strikes or blows, each of them starting from the open guard and at two meters’ distance, more or less, from the opponent.
(Figures 21, 22, and 23), applied as in the previous section, making certain that after the third hit you grip the cane with both hands (power grip) and with the knob aimed at the opponent’s stomach. The fourth strike is delivered to the front and from underneath upward, by attacking with a strong blow with the pommel to the aforementioned target (Figure 24).
In executing these combined attacks of multiple strikes, they should be applied continuously and with the greatest speed and force possible. When strikes are delivered with just the right hand, we should be certain to always present the right side to the opponent. This class of continuous attack or series of blows are really useful when you want to violently attack one or several opponents at the same time. •
31st three stick strikes and a pommel blow [to the stomach]—In the following four strikes, the first three are delivered in the form of ax blows to the left temple, right jaw, and left temple
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•
32nd three stick strikes and a pommel blow to the upper lip—In the following four strikes, the first three are delivered with the weak third of the cane to the opponent’s left jaw, right temple, and left carotid, making certain that after the third hit you grip the cane in power grip and with the knob aimed at the opponent’s upper lip. The fourth strike is delivered to the front and from underneath upward, by attacking the aforementioned target.
Figure 22
Figure 21
Figure 24
Figure 23
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•
33rd three stick strikes and a pommel blow to the throat—In the following four strikes the first three are delivered in the form of ax blows to the opponent’s wrist (hand), right carotid, and left temple, applied as in the previous section, making certain that after the third hit you grip the cane with both hands and with the knob aimed at the opponent’s throat. The fourth strike is delivered to the front and from underneath upward, by attacking with a strong blow with the pommel to the selected target.
•
34th three stick strikes and a pommel blow to the chest—In the following four strikes of this combined attack the first three are delivered with the weak third of the cane to the attacker’s groin, right temple, and left jaw, making certain that after the third hit you grip the cane in power grip and with the knob aimed at the opponent’s chest. The fourth strike is implemented by strongly attacking, directly, to the indicated target.
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•
35th four diagonal or crossing stick strikes—The first blow of this combination is carried out by throwing the stick diagonally from the ground upward with the aim of attacking from right to left on the attacker’s knee or groin. After striking, one should continue the movement of the stick, tracing an arc over the top of the opponent’s head (as in Figure 3). The second strike is delivered diagonally from above moving downward to the jaw or left clavicle. After striking, one should continue the movement of the stick into closed guard. The third strike is executed by swinging the cane diagonally and from underneath moving upward to the opponent’s groin or right side knee. After hitting, one should continue the movement of the cane, making a circular arc over the attacker’s head. The fourth stick strike is thrown diagonally and from above moving downward to the opponent’s jaw or right clavicle, continuing the action until one arrives at the original guard position. The four stick strikes should be delivered consecutively in the form of windmill strikes, which are very useful for keeping the opponent at long range.
SECTION VIII Combination Attacks: A feint and a strike
A feint is an act of threatening or pretending to strike in order to make the opponent believe that you are attacking him at one spot, with the objective that his defense will uncover another target, or making a false attack to distract him or to slip past his defense. Although it is recommended in combat tactics to sound out the enemy by threats or some other movement with the goal of examining his intentions before undertaking real attacks, I am not in favor of employing a lot of feints in a street fight, since when wielding the walking stick in self-defense we should not put all our hopes of winning on these kinds of tricks, because the majority of these opponents do not know the art of self-defense with the cane; they will not take the bait of our threats, but will take advantage of this beat to strike us. But for the reader to know and to be able to practice an attack of this nature, I will limit myself to
explaining attacks composed of a single feint and a strike, and which I believe are most suitable for real combat. •
36th feint to the lower stomach and strike to the temple—This compound attack is executed in two beats, starting from the open guard position and at more or less one meter’s distance from the opponent. The first beat is implemented by threatening a blow with the tip, from underneath moving upward, to the lower stomach of the opponent, holding the cane in power grip (Figure 25). In order to give the strike greater realism, take a short half-step with the left foot, at the same time bending at the waist. These movements should be executed simultaneously. The second beat is performed by releasing the left hand and making the weak third of the cane trace a diagonal circle by means of elevating the forearm, with
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the hand turned so that the fingernails face outward and with the elbow pointed upward, in order to apply a stick strike to the left side temple or jaw of the attacker. Your body should rotate from right to left, while simultaneously raising the heel of the right foot (Figure 26). After striking, assume the closed guard position. •
37th feint to the nose and strike to the groin—This compound attack is executed in two beats, starting from the open guard position and at more or less one meter’s distance from the opponent. The first beat is executed by holding the cane in power grip and raising it to head height, threatening a strike with the narrow tip at the nose or upper lip of the opponent. The second beat is performed by releasing the right hand in order to vigorously swing with the left to the enemy’s groin. This blow should be delivered with the strong third [knob end] of the cane.
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•
38th feint to the jaw and strike to the throat—This compound attack is executed in two beats, starting from the open guard position at two meters’ distance, a slightly different distance for the training dummy. The first beat is carried out by making a turn or presenting the side forward, simultaneously threatening a stick strike to the left jaw of the enemy (Figure 27). After feinting, grasp the cane (at the strong end) with the left hand, while rapidly sliding the right hand to the middle third and aiming the tip (from underneath moving upward) at the opponent’s throat. The second beat is implemented by forcefully striking the indicated target (Figure 28). To strike with greater power lean your body forward, advancing the right foot and lifting the left heel.
Figure 26
Figure 25
Figure 28
Figure 27
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•
39th feint to the temple and blow to the stomach—This compound attack is executed in two beats, starting from the open guard position in inverted grip at two meters’ distance from the training dummy. The first beat is implemented by turning the body toward the front, while threatening a stick strike to the opponent’s left temple. After feinting, grab the cane with the left hand, briefly placing both thumbs together, then quickly slide the right hand down until it is gripping the middle third of the cane and aiming the tip (from underneath moving upward) at the opponent’s stomach. The second beat is accomplished by striking forcefully at the aforementioned target, holding the cane firmly with both hands. Support the strike with the weight of your body, advancing the right foot and lifting the left heel.
•
40th feint to the lower back and strike to the jaw—This attack is executed in two beats starting from the open guard position approximately a meter’s distance from the attacker. The first beat is accomplished by raising the tip of the cane until it is seized in power grip and threatening by leaning the
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body, a blow with the tip to the lower back on the opponent’s left side. After feinting, move the cane away, positioning it at the opponent’s jaw on the same side. The second beat is realized by striking with the tip at the previously mentioned target, while rotating the body from right to left. With the goal of supporting this attack, move the left foot forward while simultaneously raising the heel of the right.
SECTION IX Various Techniques: Attacks, blocks, counters, controls and stop-hits
This section and the ones that follow are the most difficult to execute. Up to this point the studious reader has been able to practice all the movements explained in this book without the aid of a training partner, but upon arriving at this section dealing with fighting cane against cane, it will be indispensable for you to train with a partner. In order to accomplish the different ways of blocking a strike, the appropriate counters, the ways of seizing the opponent’s stick, and the perfect execution of stop-hits, it is necessary to have a friend or stick fencing instructor set in front of the reader for the purpose of executing these actions. The success of the attacks and defenses that will be appropriate in a fight depends upon the patience of the teacher and the will of the student.
•
41st defenses against a walking stick—In order for us to be able to defend ourselves against an opponent armed with a cane, it is necessary to have practiced beforehand with a friend or someone who has mastered this defense, that is to say, the blocks corresponding to the strikes that we could receive from the opponent’s weapon. There are eight blocks or parries in stick fighting, which are designated numerically according to the side and the target they defend: ◊ The left side is defended with block One; the right side is defended with block Two. ◊ The right side face and waist are defended by block Three; the left side with block Four. ◊ The right side head and face are defended by block Five; the left side with block Six.
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Figure 29 - Block One
Figure 30 - Block Two
◊ The right side waist and hand are defended by block Seven;7 the left side with block Eight. Furthermore, there are blocks with the power grip. •
The circular parries Four, Six, and Eight, assigned to defend the left side of the body, are executed with the hand turned so that the fingernails face the opponent. Blocks Three, Five, and Seven belonging to the right side, are carried out with the fingernails toward ourselves.
7 Block Seven cannot be executed with the necessary perfection, due to the violent and uncomfortable position of the wrist; but by simultaneously moving the right leg backward we can defend ourselves easily.
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Figure 31 - Block Three
Figure 32 - Block Four
Both the blocks and the parries can be done with the assistance of the left hand. Once the reader knows the blocks and parries, in addition to the different directions that the cane can take to stop or deflect that of the opponent, the teacher will aggressively deliver strikes to any part of the student’s body so that the student will hit the cane with his own, in this way getting used to deviating the opponent’s cane from its line of attack via the collision produced.
Figure 33 - Block Five
•
•
Figure 34 - Block Six
42nd blocks or circular parries and counters—The preferred blocks that we should use to defend ourselves at true range are those that are called circular parries, which are executed by a circular movement with our cane to counter that of the opponent and to deflect it with a violent collision, usually taking advantage of that same action to immediately strike the opponent’s body. The attack that one makes immediately after having stopped a blow is called a counter. Since it is not possible to demonstrate practically the efficiency of a block, counter, or counterstrike unless there is a threat or strike thrown, for that purpose, the teacher and the student stand facing each other
Figure 35 - Block Seven
Figure 36 - Block Eight
in the open guard position with inverted grip to practice the following attacks and parries: ◊ The instructor attacks horizontally to the left jaw, and the student defends with circular parry Four (Figure 37). The instructor attacks diagonally to the left temple, and the student defends with circular parry Six (Figure 38). ◊ The teacher vertically attacks the lower stomach from the left side, and the student defends with circular parry Eight (Figure 39). ◊ The teacher attacks from underneath moving upward, from the right side, and the student draws back the right foot while executing circular parry Seven (Figure 40). BONAFONT CANE
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Figure 38
Figure 37
Figure 40
Figure 39
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Once the student knows how to defend against single attacks, practice the blocks or parries against the combination attacks of two or three strikes explained in Section VI. Blows with the tip and the pommel are defended with the blocks and parries corresponding to the side and the target to which they are delivered. •
43rd power grip blocks and counters—The blocks that we should ordinarily use to defend ourselves at short range are those that are called power blocks, which are executed in expectation of the opponent’s strike, holding the cane gripped at both the weak and strong thirds. To defend our right side the left hand should be held above and
the walking stick almost vertical (Figure 41). The power block that we should employ to protect our left side is executed the same as the First (fallback), but gripping the weak third of the cane with the left hand. In order to practice the execution of these blocks, the teacher and the student position themselves in the open guard and afterward in the closed guard with the goal of practicing the defenses from both guards holding the cane in power grip. After defending ourselves with a power block, we will counter with blows delivered with the tip or the pommel (Figure 42). You could also use a neck hold and trip like those I will explain in the next section.
Figure 41
Figure 42
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•
44th fallback block, grab, and counter—This compound defense of fallback block and counter is executed in three beats, starting from the open guard position with inverted grip at more or less one meter’s distance from the opponent and at the moment that he launches a strike at the right temple or jaw. The first beat is defending the attack by means of fallback block Two, which is accomplished by raising the arm and holding the cane vertically with the intention of stopping the strike. At the same time close the distance between you by advancing with the left foot (Figure 43). The second beat is accomplished by resting
the left forearm over the opponent’s cane [in Figures 43 & 44 he grips the opponent’s cane with his left hand] thereby stopping any aggressive movement. The third beat is carried out by delivering a blow with the hilt to the face (Figure 44). ◊ If the opponent’s attack were delivered to our left side, we would defend ourselves with fallback block One, while gripping the opponent’s stick by underneath and next to ours, so that we are capable of countering with a stick strike to the jaw, a strike with the narrow tip to the face, or with the pommel to any undefended target.
Figure 44
Figure 43
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◊ These compound blocks and counters should be done so quickly that the three beats making them up become just one. •
45th stop-hits or counterstrikes— In combative tactics, stop-hits are those that are delivered by taking advantage of the beat that the opponent employs in threatening or executing an attack. A stop-hit is striking him in the midst of his attack. Any movement the attacker makes with his arm, leg, or body can provide an opportunity to attack him on that beat. ◊ Although in executing these strikes you will always be exposed to some risk, these are distinguished from con-
trol strikes, which, that is to say, means throwing and holding. However, keeping in mind that circular parries are executed by striking the opponent’s cane before attacking his body, these can easily be transformed into stop-hits or counter-strikes when—instead of colliding with the attacker’s cane— one hits him in the wrist, jaw, lower stomach, and so on (Figures 15, 45 and 46). ◊ To perform these: the instructor threatens some attacks which will be counterattacked by the student, who should be very careful not to injure his trainer.
Figure 46
Figure 45
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SECTION X Various Techniques: Natural weapons, disarms, controls, neck holds, and throws
In this section, just as in the last one, it will be necessary to get the help of someone else in order to practice the techniques explained. Because this is the next to last section, and one of the most difficult to execute, I do not doubt that the reader will do anything possible to understand how to put into practice the techniques presented here, which are very useful in closerange combat. In hand-to-hand fights we should apply pommel blows, blows with the tip of the cane, natural weapons,8 and attacks comprising controls, neck holds, throws, and so on, that are explained in this section. •
46th hand-to-hand defenses and natural weapons—Once we get to hand-to-hand combat, we must fight until the end. In a fight at close range, if the op-
8 Blows thrown with the fist, elbow, head, foot, and so on, are called natural weapons.
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ponent grabs our cane with the aim of preventing any offensive movement and takes advantage of this situation in order to hit us, we must deliver blows with the tip and the pommel, and if these come up short, our natural weapons, which I recommend you practice every now and then with your instructor or on the training dummy. In addition, it is useful to know the natural blows, so that we are not taken by surprise when the opponent delivers one, and before or during a hand-tohand fight, we will be able to apply them whenever necessary. “Often a surprise delivers the victory.” The most common natural weapons are executed as follows: ◊ The punch is accomplished by strongly hitting the opponent’s jaw, stomach, or kidney; ◊ The elbow strike is hitting him with the elbow to the jaw or nose;
Figure 47
◊ The head-butt is causing the side of the head to collide with the attacker’s face or nose (Figure 47); ◊ The knee strike is energetically hitting him with the knee in the gut; ◊ The toe kick is striking him with the tip of the foot to the groin; ◊ The stomp is stomping with the heel of the foot onto the enemy’s toes; ◊ The oblique kick is striking him in the shin, with the edge in the inner side of the sole of our shoe (Figure 48). •
47th disarm by striking his cane— Any strike forcefully directed to the opponent’s wrist, forearm, or cane can result in a dis-
Figure 48
arm. If the attacker threatens us with the tip of his walking stick, rapier, umbrella, and so on, we will apply a blade ride or beat-down,9 making certain that the stick strikes the opponent’s hand (Figure 49). The same action is employed in order to strike the head of our adversary the moment he crouches down to attack the lower body (Figure 23), alternating diagonal windmill strikes (from right to left, and up and down, and vice versa) and aiming the cane at the opponent’s wrist, which can easily result in a disarm. 9 A blade ride is to hit forcefully and with prolonged pressure, causing our cane to slide down along the opponent’s cane until it strikes his hand. A beat-down is to strike our cane into the opponent’s.
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Figure 50
Figure 49
•
48th feint, control, and strike— This compound attack is executed in three beats, starting from the open guard and at a meter’s distance from the opponent. The first beat is accomplished by holding the cane in power grip and taking a halfstep with the left foot, simultaneously feigning a blow with the tip to the chest or face of the enemy (Figure 50). The second beat is executed the moment the opponent defends against our strike by placing his cane against ours. At this instant we make certain to keep his cane hooked in the vertex of the angle formed by the weak third of the cane and the left hand, rapidly turning the body forward,
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while controlling10 his cane (Figure 51). The third beat is implemented by delivering a blow with the pommel of the cane to the attacker’s upper lip (Figure 52) or by executing a neck hold and throw. •
49th side throw with a neck hold—This compound counter is achieved after using the power grip to block the opponent’s forceful strike to our right side (Figure 53), putting our left foot behind his right while simultaneously pushing his neck at an
10 A control is to trap the opponent’s cane, separating it from the line of attack by means of firm pressure with the aim of preventing any movement.
Figure 52
Figure 51
angle formed by the weak third of the cane and the left forearm (Figure 54), in order to make him lean back and fall to the floor on his back (Figure 55). In order to knock him down more easily, we place ourselves in front of the enemy by means of a turn. In order to make him fall to our right side we must stop a blow to our left side, using the power grip, catching his left leg with our right leg and executing the same movements as in the previous sequence, but in the opposite direction. One can also execute a neck grab and throw after effecting any control.
A Piece of Advice First: The best strike that you can deliver to a fallen opponent is a good stick strike to his legs (shins or ankles). Second: In order to topple an attacker by means of a throw, one needs opportunity, speed, and force.
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Figure 54
Figure 53
Figure 56
Figure 55
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•
•
49th (extra) stick strike to the shin—Against a toe kick to the groin. (Figure 56). This is a counterstrike that is executed just like the stick strike to the head in the 47th attack (Figure 49). 50th throw from the front with pressure to the face—This compound attack is executed at close range and with the left foot a bit forward (Figure 57) turning the body over that foot with the aim of rapidly placing our right leg behind the enemy’s same side so that by forcefully throwing the right leg a strong collision occurs jolting his leg toward us (Figure 58). At
the same time, we will push his upper lip with the knob of the cane in order to make him lose his balance and fall on his back (Figure 59). •
50th (extra) pommel strike to the nose—Against a headbutt to the stomach. This attack is accomplished with the knob of the walking stick, hitting strongly from underneath moving upward, to the opponent’s nose (Figure 60). In order to increase the power of this attack, the arm and shoulder should be somewhat tightened. Applied correctly, this will take the enemy out of the fight.
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Figure 58
Figure 57
Figure 60
Figure 59
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SECTION XI Various Techniques: Closing parry, simultaneous hit, knee on the ground, flying thrust and varied defenses
The various attacks explained in the present chapter should be carried out with great precision; otherwise, they lose all the effectiveness that we are pursuing. Real success will only be obtained by executing the movements precisely, rapidly, and forcefully, with it being indispensable—just as in the previous sections—to execute them with the person who acts as trainer.
*Note: So that the reader will not be shortchanged with regard to the resources necessary for his legitimate defense, I have sought to complete these last sections expounding on the main actions necessary to be able to face any kind of combat.
Figure 61
Figure 62
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•
51st: Sixth parry with closing, strike with the tip, and pommel blow—These actions of defense and attack are executed in three beats, starting from the open guard, but with the right foot forward at two meters’ distance, more or less, from the opponent. The first beat is carried out at the instant the attacker directs his stick strike at our left temple, which we will defend with the Sixth parry while simultaneously closing the distance by means of a turn or hop. At the same time, let us make sure that the left foot remains further forward toward the enemy’s opponent’s right
Figure 63
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side and the left hand reinforces the strong third of the cane (Figure 61). The second beat is realized by taking a half-step to the side, delivering a blow with the tip of the cane to the opponent’s lower right back, holding the walking stick in the power grip (Figure 62). The third beat will cause close physical contact by means of a turn from left to right, simultaneously attacking the right side carotid with the knob of the cane (Figure 63). All the movements should be executed with the greatest speed possible.
Figure 64
•
52nd: simultaneous blow with the tip against a leg attack—This attack is accomplished in the following manner: At the moment our adversary delivers a stick strike to the left leg, we will turn or hop to close the distance, striking him in the face with the tip while holding the cane in power grip (Figure 64). By closing the distance we will make sure that the attacker’s weapon-bearing hand hits behind our waist.
•
53rd: held by the waist and arms, knee on the ground and pommel blow—This attack is executed in two beats, from close quarters at the instant the enemy
encircles our waist with his arms (Figure 65). The first beat is accomplished by dropping down until the right knee hits the ground, while at the same time sliding the hands on the walking stick, until the right hand is gripping the middle third and the left hand gripping the weak third (Figure 66). The second beat is executed by rising up forcefully, striking him under the chin with the knob of our walking stick (Figure 67). •
54th: blow with the point (flying thrust), to the left eye—This attack is achieved (against a deadly weapon) by raising the forearm forward until the hand
Figure 65
Figure 66
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(turned fingernails facing inward) is at head height, aiming the tip of the cane at the left eye of our opponent, in order to deliver the strike by extending the arm forward, simultaneously advancing the right foot a bit (Figure 68). This strike can also be employed as a counter, with one or both hands, immediately after having executed the Fifth or Sixth circular parries. •
55th: two strikes (one with the pommel and another with the tip), two stick strikes, and getting clear—If we must defend against several individuals at once, finding ourselves sur-
Figure 67
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rounded and receiving threats or more aggressive actions, we will grip the cane with a hand at each end, placing the cane at neck height with the intention of attacking by means of forceful blows with the pommel and tip, directed to the opponents closest to us and immediately delivering strong strikes against those surrounding us. These strikes are executed as follows: first, striking with the knob of the cane, strike the face of the attacker on our right by leaning the body and driving with the lower back toward the right side (Figure 69); second, strike with the tip to the face or stom-
Figure 68
ach to the one on our left side, by forcefully rotating the body and the arms tensed (Figure 70); third: strike with the weak third of the cane to the adversary on our right, turning a bit backward (Figure 71); fourth, strike the temple of the enemy we find on our left, twisting the body toward him (Figure 72). The four blows should be delivered with the greatest force possible, in just two seconds. We will continuously deliver strong blows by spinning and throwing horizontal and diagonal windmill strikes, trying to eliminate one by one the most dangerous adversaries around us and within reach (Figure 2).
*Note: The reader who has regularly practiced the defenses and attacks contained in this book, when in a tight spot or a moment prone to danger, should not lose calmness of spirit; but with determination and courage, he will be able to come out of the encounter with flying colors, having defeated the enemy.
Figure 69
Figure 70-
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Figure 72
Figure 71
General Advice The cane is a fragile support, used by men since time immemorial. In actuality one can say that it complements one’s dress and is an accessory of well-known usefulness for one’s defense. When going out for a stroll with a cane in the hand, we find that this does not disturb the others who are present; otherwise, one could cause some incident, which is so annoying among decent people.
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In places where there are other people, one should not execute windmill strikes with the walking stick, nor move it from side to side, nor put it sideways under the arm, placed so that the tip is constantly threatening the passers-by in our surroundings. And if, for any reason, we should need the cane to point to something, we should do that by always keeping the tip in front of us.
So that the cane will not hurt anyone, we should carry it almost parallel to the body, just giving it a light swaying movement with the arm and aid of the wrist with the aim of supporting ourselves every now and then with the cane, by means of a gentle touch on the ground. Furthermore, it is not enough to know how to carry the cane in the hand, with the customary inverted grip but with ease and elegance; in case it is necessary, one must also know how to use it in self-defense. *** The well-educated man keeps his behavior irreproachable in all the actions of his life; and since he prefers social harmony to discord, he is extremely agreeable to his peers. In order to become good citizens, and not imitating the braggart who is confident in the advantages to be gained by fighting, we should offend no one, neither in word nor in deed, but to the contrary, it is better to be respectful and careful, in this way avoiding unpleasant quarrels and their dangerous consequences.
kind of quarrel or fight, whether individual or group, as well as not being offended by slights nor giving any great weight to certain words or facial expressions that for the most part do not cause anyone harm. Neither should we retaliate when someone has unintentionally offended us, and even less, if those who have caused offense own up to their actions, whether in private or in public. Furthermore, let us be certain to be tolerant with those people of an excessively restless temperament, who get extremely worked up to the point that they cannot find reasonable words to finish the debate, so they resort to insults, or to blows. Before we fight, it would be best to be able to dodge or check those blows as much as possible in order to convince our antagonist that fighting does not lead to reason. *** Fights are almost always due to a lack of prudence and calmness.
***
To fight over something insignificant is cowardice in the guise of bravery.
A kind act, worthy of praise, is to avoid, by whatever means, any
On the other hand, the best way to avoid a fight is to flee from it,
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not approaching where there are violent discussions or quarrels, let alone intervening in them without a good reason, because even if you do not receive a bump, punch, or kick, to teach you not to be a meddler, it will be very likely that you will have to go to the trouble of being a witness.
Only upon finding ourselves unavoidably obligated to act in legitimate defense, should we make use of our true right. And we should not just defend our own person, but also our mother, wife, daughters and other weak persons when they are attacked by any wrongdoer.
We should not forget that: “Prudence is the mother of safety,” and that “Only after actions end does one suffer the consequences.”
***
Fighting is an act of imposition, revenge, or venting. The outcome does not mean justice is served, because usually the stronger, more skilled, or cunning man wins. Nevertheless, there are moments in life when it is impossible to refuse to fight. Since there exist those individuals who are so vulgar and rude that they are constantly annoying peaceful people, goading them to fight, and when peaceful people find themselves in the unavoidable necessity of having to fight them, often it turns out they are as cowardly as they are rude. ***
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One is always exposed to incidents for having unintentionally committed some small offense on the street, such as: bumping into someone; hitting someone with the elbow, or stepping on his foot; finding oneself apparently giving a provocative glance, and so on; quarrels, all of which, if it were not for an excess of self-regard and individual pride, would not be important at all, or at the very least, would be ended with an “Excuse me, sir, it was an accident.” But unfortunately, it often does not happen like that, but due to the arrogance or phony pretentiousness of some antagonist, it causes him to take the liberty of rattling off a series of insults, threats, and profane language so shameful that no sensible person would dare to use
them, let alone on a public street. Due to motives like that, it is difficult for these challenges to end in an insignificant encounter. *** In a real fight you cannot choose your enemy: according to fate, he may be large or small, weak or powerful. The individual that we have confronting us could be a skilled fighter, or just somebody who is confident of his chances, making use of his boldness and strength, and his instinct for self-preservation. Whether he is skillful or inept, we must make certain to defeat him. Before and during combat, we should maintain a calm spirit, which will help us execute the right defense or simultaneous counterattack. We should not think only about our attacks, but rather in getting ready to counter those of our opponent. In combat tactics one should take advantage of his resources and of the mistakes of the opponent. Let us not forget that the main defense is to have the enemy at a
distance where we can reach him with our attacks. On the street we should strike without the cane tracing all those big circles that the common fencing styles recommend. It is not necessary to wind up a blow in order to make it fly, because the enemy can see it coming, and easily avoid it. We will also refrain from making threats [feints], because if the enemy is expert in the subject matter, he will not be fooled by them, and if he is fooled, we will not have to resort to them in order to hit him. As such, it will always be most appropriate to attack with really effective strikes than to make use of threats. When fighting an enemy who appears to be inferior in skill, we should not get too confident, because a moment of distraction could lead to our defeat. “You must be suspicious of the opponent, no matter how ignorant he appears.” To execute an attack, we will employ sufficient force so that the cane travels with great force; otherwise, our strikes will be nearly
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harmless. Instead, a well-delivered strike can deliver us a victory.
will always be prepared for any of the opponent’s surprises.
We should not use the same caliber of strikes against a dreadful opponent, that attacks us with a knife or some other weapon like that, as opposed to a citizen that we have bumped into, or entered into a heated discussion who gets so agitated and enraged that he prefers to resort to his hands instead of to reason. In the first case, we should employ deadly strikes, but in the latter case it would be unwise to deliver excessive punishment.
***
One must defend and attack according to the opponent that we have before us. We know that there are certain blows that should only be employed in defense of one’s life. Although, as the saying goes, “The one who hits first hits twice,” the individual who has confidence in himself, waits until he is attacked, or at least waits until sees himself threatened with physical violence, before stopping or counterattacking the adversary in the act. The one who knows how to defend himself, and keeps a calm spirit,
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In order to defend ourselves against someone who wants to hit us with his cane, but without blocking his strike with our cane, we will lean the body backward, simultaneously hitting his weapon-bearing hand (Figure 46). The stop-hit (stoppage) to the wrist is recommended because in addition to being capable of applying it at quite a distance, one can disarm the opponent with it without causing him much damage. Furthermore, if in the middle of his attack, we can injure him without being injured ourselves, he will lose the opportunity and the moment. As such, it will always be preferable to strike him with a stop-hit than to turn to a block. *** If the adversary continuously attacks us, we will defend those strikes by means of circular parries and at long range, making certain to injure his wrist and keeping on the lookout for him to throw a backhand blow. In this case, we will close the distance while si-
multaneously using a power block (Figure 41) with the aim of countering with one of the main strikes in this defense. We can also apply the Sixth parry, closing the distance unflinchingly, at the instant the opponent directs a stick strike to our left temple in order to deliver a tip strike by means of a sideways half-step, to his right-side kidney or carotid (Figure 61). *** When the attacks are directed to our legs, we will move the forward leg to dodge the blow while hitting him in the head at the same time (Figure 23), or we will close the distance while striking with the tip to the face or the stomach, holding the cane in power grip (Figure 64). *** If the individual attacking us with a cane in his hand shows that he has some knowledge of fencing, we will place ourselves out of his reach, in the closed guard (Figure 20) awaiting his feint or attack, advancing with the intent of striking him in the hand, temple, jaw, and so on. This position, in addition to
enabling us to execute any parry or block, is very recommendable for when one does want to have concern for the opponent’s attack, who frequently is going to threaten us with the goal of making us resort to blocking, so that we remain without a cane in hand and a lump as a gift. *** If by coincidence the enemy wields the cane in the same style as ours, which we will know by the way in which he holds the cane and in the guard he adopts; we will avoid any surprises by placing ourselves outside of his reach, ready to execute circular parries, transforming them whenever possible into stop-hits to the hand with the aim of of disarming him, or to remain standing once combat has ended, even if there is no winner or loser. *** If we have to defend ourselves against someone who attacks us with a curved cane, we should be prepared for the hooking attacks that he can employ. And if he aims to hook our leg, neck, forearm, or walking stick with his curved
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cane, we will utilize stop-hits to his wrist or head at the instant he bends over in an attempt to hook (Figures 23, 46, and 49). *** On the street, it could happen that we are threatened with an umbrella; but because the blows with this are harmless, we only need to avoid thrusts with the point. *** If, at the start of the fight, the opponent attempts to surprise us with a toe kick to the lower stomach, we
will dodge the attack by means of a short hop backwards, simultaneously attacking him from above, moving downward, striking him in the shin (Figure 56). *** Some individuals, when they fight, are used to grabbing the opponent’s lapels, with the goal of throwing him strongly, while at the same time delivering a headbutt to the face. This attack is defended by applying a blow to his left jaw with the knob of the cane (Figure 6). ***
A Piece of Advice The pommel blow or the stick blow to the lower left jaw, thrown at very close range, or at a meter’s distance, are the best attacks to apply the moment the opponent attempts to attack us, whether by punching, grabbing us by the lapels, making a motion as if to draw a weapon, or throwing a blow with the cane, and so on. These blows should be practiced as a priority (Figures 3 and 4 [also 5 and 6]). If he attempts to attack us with a headbutt to the stomach, we will defend ourselves by moving the left leg back, at the same time striking him in the head with the weak third of the cane, or in the nose with the knob of the cane, from underneath coming upward (Figures 23 and 60).
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Getting entangled in a fight with a boxer, who due to the skill and power of his punches, if he reaches us, can cause us to lose consciousness for a bit, we will make certain to attack him at a distance, and if by any mistake or accident we end up hand to hand, we will attack quickly and continuously with pommel blows and tip strikes holding the walking stick in power grip (Figure 11). The use of the throw can knock down the opponent (Figure 54). *** If in a hand-to-hand encounter our opponent holds us by wrapping his hands or arms around our neck or waist, in the first instance [a neckhold] we can get loose by striking him in the nose or upper lip with the pommel (Figure 7). In the second instance [a waisthold] we will instantaneously collapse until our knee hits the ground, at the same time sliding the hand over the cane until we are gripping it at the middle third with the right, and the weak third with the left. From this position we will surge upward with great speed and strength, hitting him under the chin with the pommel (Figure 65).
Finding ourselves against a wrongdoer attacking us with a knife in hand, courage and skill will doubtless contribute to the preservation of a calm spirit, and remaining at a good distance, we will attack him forcefully to his hand, groin, temple, and jaw (Figure 13 and 29th Attack). And if, despite all these attacks, our attacker tries to close the distance by defending or cushioning the blows with the left forearm, wrapped in an article of clothing and raising it up, we will go all out, giving him a strong blow with the tip or the pommel to his face, holding the cane with both hands (Figure 27). *** If we find ourselves in a fight hemmed in by the crowd and consequently lacking enough space to be able to execute attacks with the cane, due to an inability to let loose with the cane, or due to fear of hitting other persons, we will attack by using blows with the tip and the pommel, gripping the cane firmly in power grip (Figure 11). In hand-to-hand combat we should not forget natural weapons (Figures 47 and 48). ***
***
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Having to fight in a dark place in which the dim light gets in the way of us seeing the aggressor’s attacks, we must be sure to hit strongly, circling the cane quickly and forcefully in all directions (Figure 2). *** It often happens that automobile drivers, by the poor judgment or carelessness of some of them who are driving without following the traffic rules, cause a commotion on the public road, and while exchanging a string of words that are quite profane, the most easily angered guy lets go of the steering wheel and grabs a hammer, wrench, or crowbar, ready to confront his antagonist in a menacing manner (31st Attack). In order to be able to defend ourselves against any attack of this nature, it will not be very difficult for the reader of these lines to be in the habit of seeing the necessity of always traveling with a good walking stick in the car. *** When we find ourselves in the predicament of having to fight against several opponents at the same
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time, starting the fight at very close range, we will firmly grasp the cane in power grip, placing it perpendicular and close to our chest in order to attack with the knob and the tip to the faces of our adversaries, by energetically rotating the body from right to left and vice versa, until the moment we are able to jump backward to escape the encirclement. In order to clear the space of our surroundings and reach, we will execute vigorous windmill strikes, horizontally and diagonally, simultaneously revolving around the left foot, moving forward and backward, strongly hitting those opponents that present the greatest danger (Figures 2 and 60). *** It could be the case that we must defend against an enemy armed with a revolver. At the instant the opponent makes a gesture of drawing a weapon from his clothing, we will stop him by striking him powerfully in the stomach, wrist, or jaw (Figure 45). Any of these strikes will momentarily make it impossible for him to carry out any aggressive action. If
he already has a revolver in hand, but has not been able to take aim, we will strike as quickly as possible with a blow with the tip to the left eye (Figure 68). This action will stop the attack, taking all the fight out of him due to the effects of the blow he received. Confronted by an individual of bad character who means business, as he points the muzzle of his revolver at our face, and consequently finding our life seriously threatened, it matters little in such circumstances whether you are brave or a coward, because facing such imminent danger there are only two possible defenses: one, attack the enemy, and the other, take off running. You need to decide before the opponent squeezes the trigger. Afterwards, it will be too late. In the first case, as is understandable, we should use the most effective strikes; in the second case, we should be certain to distance ourselves from danger, but not running in a straight line—rather moving from right to left and vice versa (in zigzag) so that the enemy will not be able to get a bead on us with any confidence. In this case,
our salvation relies on trusting in his bad aim. *** When an assailant with the intention of robbing us aims a weapon at us, whether visibly or from within the pocket, being at four to six steps’ separation, he only needs to squeeze his finger to fire off a shot. We do not have an option other than to obey, and as is often said, we submit to his directions; otherwise, it would be exaggerated bravery to attempt to fight in the face of death. *** If, in order to carry out our daily tasks, or being in the tight spot of having to go out to a call, we find ourselves in the unavoidable necessity of having to go through some street or road at night that is deserted and has little police presence, we must go about prepared; we should scan at the greatest distance possible, every bend in the route we must take so that we are not surprised by assailants who take advantage of the darkness, who could be hidden behind a tree, underbrush, corner, or doorway, to
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pounce and rob us at the moment they find opportune. Good vision and confidence in ourselves will be the main factors in keeping them from cleaning out our pockets, and getting clubbed on top of that; although bad guys just use this last tactic to stun their victims, they often wind up hitting too hard. Consequently, if we find ourselves stumbling into a difficult-to-escape ambush, in which it is more dangerous to retreat than to continue walking, we must not let ourselves be controlled by fear, but advance with determination, prepared to confront any act of villainy that the bad guys are attempting. We should not walk on the sidewalk, much less hugging the walls, because not only can bad guys be hidden in some entryway, it would not be uncommon for someone pretending to be passing through to push us into some doorway in order to strip us of everything without a second thought. It would also be advisable that while we are nearing the site of an
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ambush, we should note how many assailants there are, and the weapons they intend to use, so that the instant they attack, we are prepared with the corresponding defense, not forgetting that in these cases, “the best defense is a good offense.” *** As has been said before, if we find ourselves in the inescapable necessity of having to fight against multiple opponents at the same time, we should try to take them out one after the other, by means of strong strikes with the cane. *** There is no doubt that knowing how to wield a walking stick in self-defense will produce excellent results in a tight spot; nevertheless, we should not have any illusions about our abilities, since, although always carrying a firearm could cause us some trouble or danger, in those cases where one is obligated to defend himself from men of bad character or genuine killers, it is logical to go about armed with a good revolver than just a simple cane.
*** When robbers want to carry out some mischief they almost always find some way to take their victims by surprise. As such, we should cross through an isolated place alert and suspicious, because these people will make use of an infinite number of tricks—for example: following behind the person they intend to rob, waiting for the moment they are favored by darkness or a lapse in alertness in order to intimidate him, or club him in the head in order to make off with his wallet. *** A bad guy of this nature could also take us by surprise by acting drunk, staggering from one side to the other in order to best employ this trick as we are approaching. *** Similarly, he could pretend that he has been hurt, and ask for our help amid moans and cries in order to clean out our pockets, or employ their better or lesser known tricks and schemes to fool their fellow man, such as: asking for a light for a cigarette, asking for the time,
pretending to be lost, asking for a buck, offering us their company, and so on, all in order to get close to us and lie in wait for the moment they can take us by surprise. *** Since these guys almost never act alone, they do not always employ these simple stratagems, but will also resort to others of greater cunning and danger, which are very difficult to escape from without putting up a serious fight. Sometimes they will pretend to be old ladies walking with difficulty who will approach us asking for some favor with the objective of leaving us later without even a single coin for the streetcar. *** Other times, they will use a woman of loose morals who has been tasked with leading us to the place they plan to assault us. *** They are also used to staging a fight among themselves, so that when we intervene to try to calm them down, they can pounce on us and give us a thumping before cleaning out our vest pockets.
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When the riffraff feel pleased to rob from the crowd, they choose their candidate during a public scene, whether it is in the plaza, the theater, the cinema, and so on, provoking him and throwing some blows or encouraging him to go out into the street so that they can more easily distract him while he is preoccupied with the fight. Once the fisticuffs have ended, the victim does not know how he lost his tie tack, wallet, and watch.
tract the police who are attracted to the detonation and will temporarily neglect their radio or station where the riffraff are planning to attack.
***
***
Sometimes they put a wire across the road so that when the victim passes by he stumbles and falls. Afterwards they offer a hand to help him up, and he can be grateful if they leave him with his shoes still on.
Consequently, we must go about prepared against these tricks and others that the bad guys employ to take their victims by surprise.
*** Especially at night we should be suspicious of a vehicle that stops ahead of us without its occupants getting out, because they could be waiting for the right moment to attack us. *** Some thieves are so clever and brazen that, in order to steal within the city, they will throw an explosive into a side street before committing the crime in order to dis-
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*** Some are so soulless and cowardly that they have the vile habit of throwing tobacco, salt, pepper, and so on, in the eyes of their victims so that they rob them without meeting resistance.
*** I remember having read in a book about street self-defense the following, more or less: “If you want to be a strong adversary during a street fight, learn the practical strikes of English boxing, French boxing (with kicks), wrestling, jiu-jitsu, cane, and revolver, always being well-practiced.” Is not that too much for a man to learn on his own? But even if it is, there is no doubt that the author of that paragraph makes a lot of sense.
[Another work will soon be published by the same author, titled: Scholarly Fencing Course of the Stick-Cane Alternatively Wielded with the Right Hand, the Left and with Both at Once, which will be highly recommended as a sport and an art of physical cultivation.]
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Stick Arts VOL 1, ISSUE 5
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