From: eskrima-digest-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com To: eskrima-digest@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Subject: Inayan_Eskrima/FMA-Digest V6 #76 Reply-To: eskrima@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Errors-To: eskrima-digest-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Precedence: Inayan_Eskrima/FMA-Digest Mon, 22 Feb 1999 Vol 06 : Num 076 In this issue: Re: eskrima: Kris Cutlery Bolos & Barongs? eskrima: Re: Inayan_Eskrima/FMA-Digest V6 #67 eskrima: Re: Silat tapes eskrima: Re: Choke in Multiple person situation. eskrima: escrima in the news n stuff eskrima: Kabaroan Seminar eskrima: Isos eskrima: Lactate eskrima: Re:Larry Hartsell seminar eskrima: A comparison of styles eskrima: Re: Inayan_Eskrima/FMA-Digest V6 #74 eskrima: Isometrics eskrima: Rocks web page eskrima: . .......................................................................... Eskrima-Digest, serving the Internet since June 1994. 1050 members strong! Copyright 1994-99: Ray Terry, Inayan System of Eskrima, Martial Arts Resource Replying to this message will NOT unsubscribe you. To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe eskrima-digest" (no quotes) in the body of an e-mail (top line, left justified) addressed to majordomo@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com To send e-mail to this list use eskrima@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com See the Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) FAQ and online search the last two years worth of digest issues at http://www.MartialArtsResource.com Mabuhay ang eskrima! Ray Terry, PO Box 110841, Campbell, CA 95011 FMA@MartialArtsResource.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 13:18:46 -0800 (PST) Subject: Re: eskrima: Kris Cutlery Bolos & Barongs? > Are the bolos and barongs from Kris Cutlery well made? I mostly have their antique weapons, but the new kampilan and bolo I received from them are fine. Ray Terry raymail@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com ------------------------------ From: Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 18:41:20 EST Subject: eskrima: Re: Inayan_Eskrima/FMA-Digest V6 #67 A few more thoughts on Yo-Yos. A Filipino, Pedro Flores is credited with looping the string artound a yo-yo and making it spin on the string "sleeping". He went on to form the Flores Yo Yo company. He later sold the company to Mr. Donald Duncan and the rest is history. Mr. Duncan employed many Filipinos to demonstrate his yo-yo's For many years, Gus Samola was the best known and has recently passed away. The reason I mentioned all of this is to ask any old closet Yo Yo players out there, (Yes, I am one of those too! with a couple of contest wins a few years back.) Was the string looped in the past? Did Mr. Flores originate this? Because, this is the heart of serious yo yo play. As on all traditional yo-yo's, the player is constantly adjusting the twist to make the yo sleep or return. As far as yo yo weapons are concerned. Outside of a garrot, what good is it? If someone catches it you are a fish on a hook, or you will lose your finger! I prefer yo yo's as toys, and leave more conventional weapons for self defense. Chris Arena ------------------------------ From: "Todd D. Ellner" Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 19:10:37 -0800 Subject: eskrima: Re: Silat tapes > I would like to have coments on all of the silat instructional >videos out there: which ones are best,for what reason,etc. Perhaps rating >them on a scale of 1 to 10 would be helpful. >Also how much can you learn from a video? I've seen a number of Silat tapes. Unfortunately, most of them were hand-shot in people's backyards. Of the commercially available ones that I've looked at.... o Rick Tucci: Good general Bukti Negara tapes. A little weak on principle and long on technique. o Rudy Ter Linden: I just saw bits of his PS Ratu Adil tapes. From what I saw they were good, solid instructional material from a well-respected master of the art. o Bob Orlando: (from Paladin Press) Good basic tapes on Willem de Thoaur's Kun Tao - Silat. Bob definitely is a credit to his teacher. o Steve Plinck: Bukti Negara curriculum but with Sera understanding. Long on principle, shorter on specific technique. I have to recuse myself on the quality being somewhat prejudiced :-) (also from Paladin Press) It is very difficult to learn Silat, grappling, or any other sensitivity-based close-in system from tapes. You can pick up ideas, form, and some individual techniques from the tape, but you really need an instructor who knows how it feels to get it right. ------------------------------ From: "Todd D. Ellner" Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 19:28:21 -0800 Subject: eskrima: Re: Choke in Multiple person situation. >Curious: In a multiple attacker scenario, does it make sense to go for >a choke on anybody but the last one? >Yep, but not always. When you can get your intended victem off-balanced so >that you can manuver them as a momentary shield between you and the rest of >the group. Depending on the intensity of the conflict and your opponenets >physiological/emotional/mental state you can even get away with knocking >them out before moving on to the next target or before running from an >escalating confrontation. My first Silat teacher did almost exactly this in a worst-case scenario. He was attacked by three rednecks with pieces of lead pipe, taken by surprise, with his arms full, no weapon available, on icy ground. One of the attackers lifted hay bales for a living and weights for recreation. All had a LOT of on the job training in applied violence. To make a long and interesting story short (sagas should be written and skalds should sing them in Odin's Mead Hall about this guy's life) he ended up with one of them in a choke and used him as a shield against the two who still had pipes. By the time his friend showed up with the shotgun the one who was the shield had his head pretty well stove in (he was relearning how to tie his shoozy-woozies the last anyone heard), and one of the others had a broken arm courtesy of a standing arm wrench using the human shield as a fulcrum. Brandt ended up with nothing worse than bruises, some hair broken off at the scalp, and a possible case of soiled underwear. ------------------------------ From: tenrec Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 03:46:56 +0000 Subject: eskrima: escrima in the news n stuff (Sorry this is late...trouble with my mail server) In ED #71 someone posted: >A self described expert in ESCRIMA, "a Filipino knife-fighting technique", Haro allegedly stabbed 33 yeard old Brian Wittmayer to death on the afternoon of Dec. 21, said deputy Districy Attorney Charles Schultz. to which Mr. Stickman (uh, sir), replied: > Uh Huh. Anyone know what school he came from? This could be a canard (a false report or story) put out by the prosecutor (shades of Ken Starr) to influence public opinion, playing on prejudice against a minority. It also makes one wonder what moral values might be instilled in classes he (allegedly) attended. I agree with the Stickman. Just curious, but does anyone know this guy? Richard Killick wrote: >Hi to all, Does anyone on the list have any do's and don'ts tips for someone visiting the Philippines? Basic Third World rules apply... Depends on how far south he has it...he should stay away from the Mindanao area, as there is some fighting going on down in the hinterlands there. If you can be more specific as to the area, we might be able to get more info for him. David W. Fulton wrote: >What types of music do people use as a training aid? Is there any "traditional" filipino music that you use? What about all you silat players, any traditional music that you use? If there is traditional music, where can I get some? IMLE (in my limited experience), traditional arnis doesn't use music during training. The use of music is, I believe, a Western innovation (other comments on this please?) I have seen demos of Silat (PHil. Silat) and Kuntao which DO use music (in fact I am told this IS traditionally part of these styles), mainly Muslim Fil. music, particularly the kulintang (an instrument made of a series of gong-like objects)... tenrec tenrec@avcorner.com ------------------------------ From: rrcma@earthlink.net Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 21:42:32 -0800 (PST) Subject: eskrima: Kabaroan Seminar A greeting to all; I recently attended the Kabaroan seminar hosted by Nelson "Pinoykowboy" Trinidad, conducted by Grandmaster Ramiro Estalilla Jr. Please allow me to give a synopsis of the event. Grandmaster Estalilla began with a history of the role that Kabaroan played in the preservation of his village's cultural heritage and way of life during the war days. Though only a verbal account of history, IMHO this portion of the seminar is always fascinating and educational in regards to Filipino history. GM Estalilla then gave an account of Weapon Categories placing projectile weapons such as the arrow, dart and sling, as long range weapons, hand held weapons and empty hand (mano a mano) categorized as medium range and close range, respectively. For the purposes of a common description, he defined the cuts from the perspective of the attacker; right and left, over and under , Perpendicular, Horizontal and Diagonal strikes. (giving a PHD in Eskrima J) Blocks were similarly defined. A definition of sinawalis was taught such that a single , double and triple sinawalis are relative to the number of strikes per side. I hope I'm not out of place when I say that new to many of the students attending was the concepts of merging within the sinawali. GM Estalilla's flowing within the a sinawali feed is amazing and educational to watch. Soon we moved into weapons of unequal length. He demonstrated the traditional usage of the staff (bangkao) with spear (sibat) and staff with baston (truncheon). This is an excellent portion of the seminar for which the concepts of distance is explored. Techniques of footwork and elongation provided the participants with the blueprints for building the transitions of distance. The seminar was completed with GM Estalilla's quotation of his father's (Ramiro Estalilla Sr.) martial philosophy; " that no matter how deadly your strikes may be, they must be controlled within the sphere of good motives, against the background of peaceful intentions". Though the attendance wasn't as expected, GM Estalilla was very happy to solidify his friendships and enlarge his circle of friends by, as he says, "showing what he has to offer". He wanted me to send out a special thanks to Nelson Trinidad for hosting this seminar. He also thanks Marc and Tom for their kind words. Ray, please excuse me for this shameless plug, but I'm planning on another Kabaroan seminar in the Orange County area sometime in June or July time period. If anyone is interested in attending, please RSVP me as to the best date and time for you and I will attempt to schedule it with GM Estalilla around that time. Best wishes to all, Hanggang sa susunod, salamat po. Ron Reekers Thunder Center rrcma@mail.earthlink.net http://members.tripod.com/~thundercenter/ ------------------------------ From: Kalki Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 23:28:50 -0600 Subject: eskrima: Isos > 97% of people do-- as they "hold" their muscles, they hold their breath. > Funny combination, eh? I've seen the tendency and have done it before myself. Some people tend to get "uptight" doing isometrics, perhaps in part a response to the intense neuromuscular feedback. I suggest that they relax as much of the rest of the body that they can and simply breathe as calmly/smoothly (keep the mind calm during the buildup of discomfort) as possible while concentrating on maintaining the contraction. Side benefit is learning to relax muscles that are not involved in the current action, something which can promote more fluid coordination in action. Be well, Mik ------------------------------ From: Kalki Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 23:33:18 -0600 Subject: eskrima: Lactate > The gibberish I was responding to is the statement somebody made suggesting > that low blood Lactate levels is a limiting step in energy production and > caused muscles to fatigue. They used the term "TCA Cycle" in their > statement. It was not my intention to get into the specifics, ... > I hear ya pal. All ist klar. On the bright side of it, perhaps delving into some specs can help some realize that the mumbo-jumbo that gets tossed around in a gym from the latest magazine story may not be the line to listen to. Sorta like the high protein diet fad that som eMDs have been pushing ... lo and behold dey give de'people de'gout :-) Be well, Mik ------------------------------ From: Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 01:33:27 EST Subject: eskrima: Re:Larry Hartsell seminar Sat i got the chance to go to a Larry Hartsell seminar.had a great time and learn a lot! akajukenbo@aol.com ------------------------------ From: Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 15:13:46 +0800 Subject: eskrima: A comparison of styles Hi. I'm a modern arnis student (novice) based in the Philippines and a long-time lurker on this digest. I know each arnis/eskrima/kali style has its strengths and weaknesses, but I'd like to ask anyone and everyone who has extensively studied the modern arnis of Remy/Ernesto Presas AND one or more other style (Doce Pares, Lameco, Caballero, PT, etc.), what he or she thinks the former's strengths and weaknesses are vis'-a-vis' the rest. And perhaps even state what style, in his or her opinion, is better (for self-defense and combat), as well as why. Biases are inevitable, but not necessarily unwelcome if explained. My purpose is not to start a controversy/competition, but to be guided in my quest to learn, and to this end, I would not mind receiving responses directly by e-mail. However, judging from what I have read thus far, most of the discussions here are, by and large, mature and sober (except for a few sensitive souls everyone now and then), and it is my hope that my question will enrich everyone. I'm thinking, study modern arnis first; get proficient at it (which would take a lifetime of studying, I know); but certainly later seek out instruction from other styles, for growth, using modern arnis as my "base". I guess I need to know your opinion on whether it would be better to use another style as the base and just learn the "positive" aspects of modern arnis as an adjunct. My concern is learning and ingraining FMA skills that have been found to be unsound for self-defense and combat, skills which I would have to unlearn later. An example of an old but still thought-provoking comment (at least to me) I've heard about modern arnis is the practice of hitting stick-to-stick which is laughed off and criticized by the arnis masters of old since, they say, it teaches wrong habits. On the other hand, modern arnis advocates say it is necessary for safety, and shifting to hitting a hand/arm later is easy. The irony of the situation does not escape me. A Filipino asking for advice about FMA from a predominantly non-Filipino body. But, hey, learning is learning, and I have no qualms asking for guidance from those of you out there who are more experienced. Thanks, heaps. Arnis Student Philippines ------------------------------ From: "David W. Fulton" Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 10:03:45 -0500 Subject: eskrima: Re: Inayan_Eskrima/FMA-Digest V6 #74 On Feb. 19, 1999, Mik wrote: >Yeah, isometrics are supposedly the fastest way to increase strength ... >trying to move something that is immovable makes us quickly recruit all >muscle fibers into the effort. I've never crossed any reports on >dynamic tension, but it's probably similar with the added benefit of >simultaneous strengthening of opposing muscles. This probably has >benefits for joint stability/strength. Anyone here know anything about >that? It just makes sense to me. It's easy to point out muscular >imbalances with dynamic tension ... try doing some with your legs ... >usually no contest between the quads and hamstrings. And on Feb. 20, 1999, Crafty wrote: > Re isometrics: My understanding is that it is not a good thing to hold >your breath when doing isometrics ("back pressure on the heart" was the >phrase used-- obviously layman talking to layman) and this is what 97% of >people do-- as they "hold" their muscles, they hold their breath. Thus >when I teach someone about isometrics, instead of saying that the effort >should be for 10 seconds, I tell them (NLP thinking here BTW) to do it for >5-6 strong breaths instead of saying "Don't hold your breath." Let me open with a disclaimer that I do not have a medical background, just my opinions/observations based on personal experience. Having studied Goju-ryu karate, I have a "little bit" ;o) of experience with dynamic tension in the Sanchin and Tensho kata. My teachers' admonished me NOT to hold my breath during DT (dynamic tension), just as Crafty said for isometrics. Your breathing and movements should be "strong but fluid". Okinawans consider DT a "quick but dangerous body builder", and attribute high blood pressure, heart, stomach and intestinal problems to improper practice. Just prior to receiving my first formal instruction in FMA, I had been actively training in karate and doing some isometrics. No other exercise and I hadn't lifted in over 10 years. I'm not a big guy, and my FMA teacher (who lifted weights and was very athletic) was amazed at how strong I was. I'm not trying to brag, just point out that I think DT and Isometrics are a very complimentary combination. Isometrics work the muscles more intensely than DT, but it's easier to work the full range of motion with DT. Do either or both. Just remember to breath. FWIW. Dave. dwf@computerpackages.com ------------------------------ From: Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 10:00:40 EST Subject: eskrima: Isometrics The easiest way to avoid Valsalva effect(blowing your fuse, and getting a stroke by holding your breath during heavy effort), is to pant. Remember though, this holding of breath is a natural mechanism to aid in stabilization of loads. I think that isometrics has limitations other than during P.N.F. stretching, and at moments of peak contraction. I like Pete Sisco's approach in "Static Contraction Training". It allows measurement and progression. This Swiss Ball has alot of unique applications that I am just now discovering. Has anyone on the list used it for training skill or strength???---Tom Furman...aka TCSNO@aol.com ------------------------------ From: Rocky Pasiwk Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 10:19:08 -0800 Subject: eskrima: Rocks web page Sorry I was just made aware that I forgot to list the address of my page DA!!! Well here it is remember I made this my self and I know very little about computers!! So be gentle with me!!!!! http://www.ameritech.net/users/rocpas/Main_1.htm I am still working on photos and calenders and stuff. Thanks Rocky Pasiwk Chief instructor Anciong's Balintawak Founder of Cuentada DeMano ------------------------------ From: Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 07:41:03 -0800 (PST) Subject: eskrima: . ------------------------------ End of Inayan_Eskrima/FMA-Digest V6 #76 *************************************** To unsubscribe from this digest, eskrima-digest, send the command: unsubscribe eskrima-digest -or- unsubscribe eskrima-digest your.old@address in the BODY of email (top line, left justified) addressed to majordomo@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com. Old digest issues are available via ftp://ftp.martialartsresource.com, directory pub/eskrima/digests. All digest files have the suffix '.txt' Copyright 1994-99: Ray Terry, Inayan System of Eskrima, Martial Arts Resource Standard disclaimers apply.