From: eskrima-digest-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com To: eskrima-digest@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Subject: Inayan_Eskrima/FMA-Digest V7 #21 Reply-To: eskrima@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Errors-To: eskrima-digest-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Precedence: Inayan_Eskrima/FMA-Digest Sun, 16 Jan 2000 Vol 07 : Num 021 In this issue: eskrima: Re: Inayan_Eskrima/FMA-Digest V7 #20 eskrima: ED T-Shirt eskrima: Pekiti-Tirsia article eskrima: FMA in Dallas eskrima: The Tacosa Serrada Eskrima page has moved to a new location [none] ========================================================================== Eskrima-Digest, serving the Internet since June 1994. ~1100 members strong! Copyright 1994-2000: Ray Terry, Martial Arts Resource, and Inayan Eskrima Replying to this message will NOT unsubscribe you. To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe eskrima-digest" (no quotes) in the body (top line, left justified) of a plain text e-mail 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 four years worth of digest issues at http://www.MartialArtsResource.com Mabuhay ang eskrima! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Carlton H. Fung, D.D.S." Date: Sat, 15 Jan 2000 21:12:43 -0800 Subject: eskrima: Re: Inayan_Eskrima/FMA-Digest V7 #20 Actually, this is even a "more" important issue with a blade. Regards, Carlton H. Fung, D.D.S. Redondo Beach, Ca. - ----- Original Message ----- > > I would have to say that they are both very important. Especially when you are playing with anything that is not a blade ------------------------------ From: "BILL MCGRATH" Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2000 01:09:07 -0500 Subject: eskrima: ED T-Shirt I would buy one of these. Great conversation starter at a tournament. From: eskrima-digest-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com To: eskrima-digest@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Subject: Inayan_Eskrima/FMA-Digest Reply-to: eskrima@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Back of shirt: Eskrima-Digest, serving the Internet since June 1994. ~1100 members strong! Copyright 1994-2000: Ray Terry, Martial Arts Resource, and Inayan Eskrima Replying to this message will NOT unsubscribe you. Bill McGrath ------------------------------ From: "BILL MCGRATH" Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2000 00:58:45 -0500 Subject: eskrima: Pekiti-Tirsia article Here is an article from the Summer 1999 Pekiti-Tirsia International newsletter that is germane to some of the threads being discussed of late. If you like the concept of the article (fighters using "Earth, Wind, Fire or Water" techniques according to their personalities) and can see how parts of your system fit in to this theory, I have a proposal for you. I would like to post this article on the PTI web site with a series of photos spreads showing examples of how several different systems use each of the four fighting styles. If you would like to participate, just send me your photos in a low res, high compression JPEG along with a caption for each. (remember, the smaller the megabytes of the photo, the more photos I can put on the site). I promise that proper credit will be given. Just remember that the decision of the judges (me, myself and I) is final regarding how many photos and from whom get on the site. If you don't have a digital camera or scanner to get the photos to me via email you could snail-mail regular photos to me and I can scan them in. Regards, Tuhon Bill McGrath tuhonbill@pekiti-tirsia.com www.pekiti-tirsia.com PS. Even if you don't want to participate in the photo idea, I would appreciate a bit of "peer review" on this article from members of ED as I will be submitting it soon to Inside Kung-Fu. EARTH, WIND, FIRE, & WATER FINDING YOUR OWN FIGHTING STYLE by Tuhon Bill McGrath (Copyright 1999 William R. McGrath) Two of my favorite TV shows are "ER" and the nonfiction "Trauma - Life in the ER" on The Learning Channel. I'm always amazed at the vast amount of knowledge the doctors have in their heads and use under extreme pressure. A friend in the medical field once told me "Actually, 90% of what an ER doctor handles falls into just a few categories (bleeding, breathing, broken bones, burns, cardiac arrest, common diseases, etc). You could say that 10% of an ER doctor's education covers 90% of his cases. He needs the other 90% of his training to handle the 10% of his cases that are unusual." I thought about this a bit. All doctors go through the same "basic" training, then usually go into a specialty. An ER doctor's "10%" will be made up of different information than a Cardiologist, who will use a different 10% than a Neurosurgeon, who will use a different 10% than a Pediatrician. The Pekiti-Tirsia System has such a large body of technique that it has been called "The Graduate School of Martial Arts". As such it can be rather intimidating to a new student. It contains over 500 single stick, 48 double stick, 144 sword and dagger, 144 knife and 144 basic empty hand and 30 advanced empty hand techniques (not including the hand and knife variations of the other weapons and techniques involving firearms). A student will often ask me "How can I remember all that in a fight?" To which I reply "No one expects you to remember every single technique in the middle of a fight, only the 5 or 10% that works for you." They then usually ask "Then why not just teach that 5 or 10%?" "Because," I reply "The 10% that's right for you with your body type and skills may not be the 10% that right for someone else. I can recommend what I think may be best for you, but ultimately you will have to discover that for yourself." Teachers especially have to be careful about whittling a larger system down to what "works best" because of the same reason. What's best for one may not be best for another. In addition to the obvious (are you above, below or average in height, strength, speed, reaction time, etc?), your personality may play a part in how you choose what techniques "work" for you. How aggressive are you? How courageous? How patient? How is your pain tolerance? Are you an instinctive fighter or do you need time to analyze your opponent? My old Penchak Silat instructor Eddie Jafri had a method to help you figure out what techniques fit into your own "style" of fighting. He described people as having 4 basic fighting styles named after what the ancients believed were the four basic elements: Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water. Within each style or "element" are subcatagories that define it such as, favorite range and targets, tempo of strikes, footwork, etc. Understanding these four styles of fighting will help you both as a fighter and as a teacher. Earth: Close quarters is your range so you favor strikes like elbows and knees. You are patient. You let the opponent come within range and then attack. Often your first move is to attack the closest limb of your opponent. Your idea of a block is to break your opponent's arm. You like direct powerful strikes. The early Mike Tyson was your favorite fighter. If you were a firearm, you would be a shotgun loaded with slugs. Wind: You are a long-range fighter who is constantly on the move. Mohammed Ali was your idol. The jab is your primary weapon, evasive footwork your bread and butter. You don't like to grapple and you really hate to get hit in the face. You don't block, but use your sense of distance and timing to slip around attacks. You prefer that your opponent tire himself out chasing you around while you control the distance between you. Vital points on the head are your favorite targets, but because you understand the importance of good footwork, you will take a leg if available. If you were a firearm, you would be a sniper rifle. Fire: Medium range is where you call home. You are an instinctive fighter with a high pain tolerance. You are constantly attacking. There is no "reverse" in your gearbox. You let the other guy worry about defense. You throw ten things at him figuring that if he blocks five, then five will still get in. The head and body are your favorite targets. Sugar Ray Leonard standing toe to toe with his opponent, bombarding him with a flurry of fast punches, is your favorite fighter. If you were a firearm, you would be a machinegun. Water: That "in between" range often called trapping range is where you are comfortable. You are a master strategist and look at fighting as a game of chess. You don't like to make the first attack. If given the time, you like analyzing your opponent to find his flaws. When attacked you parry and move, parry and move and wait for your opponent to make a mistake. A well-executed trap is your joy. The long technical fights in the classic Hong Kong kung fu movies of the 70's are your idea of fighting. If you were a firearm, you would be a handgun and would be used from behind cover. Some styles of martial arts concentrate on one particular "element" perhaps because the founder was a successful fighter and developed the style based on what worked for him. Other styles were developed for a very specific aspect of combat. (Example: I've been told that many Aikido techniques had their origins as sword disarming or retention techniques). People whose own fighting personality matches the element that the style specializes in should do well in that style. Others, whose nature lies with a different element, may be better off in another style. Other martial arts (which I will term "systems") are really made up of several different "styles". These systems have enough variety that fighters of different elements can each find sections in it that will work for them. The problem here is that they will also find that parts of the system really don't seem to suit them. If you are only interested in fighting, then you can pick and choose what works for you. If you plan on teaching however, you had better learn everything you can get your hands on because 3/4ths of the people out there are of a different "element" than the one that "works" for you. I equate the techniques in these larger systems to an army issuing weapons to its' soldiers. Not everyone should be issued the same weapon. As a squad leader you will give one job to your sniper, another to your machinegunner, and another to your mortarman. Different weapons are best for different jobs and require different skills to operate, but all soldiers should be cross trained with the weapons of their own army. How does this equate to a civilian martial artist using empty hands or non-projectile weapons? Just because you are successful in your own "element" does not mean you don't need to cross train in the others. If you are larger, stronger, and more aggressive than average, you will naturally develop your own personal fighting style around the techniques that fit your strengths. Unconsciously or not you will probably also develop a style based on fighting smaller, weaker, less aggressive people. If you have not cross-trained you may run into problems when fighting a larger fighter than yourself. I remember a female student of a friend of mine. She was of average size, but above average in heart. When fighting another female she had only one speed (fast) one way of delivering attacks (by the bucketful) and one direction (forward). She was very much a "fire" fighter. However when fighting a larger male opponent she modified her style to include other elements. She still worked her machinegun pattern of strikes (fire), but changed her targeting to the weapon hand (earth) and used defensive footwork (water). She adapted to conditions and was successful. I have seen big men, when fighting even bigger men momentarily change their style to that of a small man. It's just a matter of having a sufficient number of tools in your toolbox and being sufficiently familiar with the ones that aren't your favorites, so that you can also get the unusual jobs done. Your favorite stick for sparring may be large and heavy. You use it to drive your opponents back and clobber them in sparring. Now what if your only weapon on the street turns out to be a car antenna and you are facing a guy with a baseball bat? Would it be wise to use the antenna the same way as your heavy sparring stick? Conversely, you have a high pain tolerance in sparring and can take a shot and keep on coming, but now on the street you are facing a guy with a machete. Specialize in one element yes, but be familar with the others in case you need them. ------------------------------ From: "BILL MCGRATH" Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2000 01:33:18 -0500 Subject: eskrima: FMA in Dallas William Schultz asked: "I am going to be in Dallas, TX for four days the week after next. Can anyone point me to an FMA/JKD school or club in the DT Dallas area. I am looking for a place or person to work out with and exchange ideas/techniques. I'll pretty much be stuck DT the whole time due to my work so I probably won't be able to get out to the burbs (no car either). Any info would be much appreciated". Pekiti-Tirsia Guro Omar Hakim lives in Dallas. His web page is: http://rampages.onramp.net/~omarh/pekiti_tirsia/ He is an excellent instructor and one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. I strongly suggest that you train with him if you are going to Dallas. You can find Omar's bio (he's a PTI director) on my web site www.pekiti-tirsia.com on the "Director's and Contacts" page. Regards, Tuhon Bill McGrath ------------------------------ From: serrada Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2000 11:25:01 +0100 (CET) Subject: eskrima: The Tacosa Serrada Eskrima page has moved to a new location Greetings to all, I would like to inform you, that the Tacosa Serrada Eskrima page has moved to a new location: http://www.serrada.de/ We now have a new videos section, where you can find an assortment of MPEG1 video clips featuring TSE instructors Tom 'Ramirez' Fischer and Lothar Keller. The video clips cover Sinawali, the 12 basic strikes, Largo Mano, Lock&Block, Free Flow and Cadena de Mano. I am looking forward to receiving your expert comments... peace, tom - -- The Art of Tacosa Serrada Eskrima http://www.serrada.de/ ------------------------------ From: Ray Terry Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2000 08:15:30 -0800 (PST) Subject: [none] ------------------------------ End of Inayan_Eskrima/FMA-Digest V7 #21 *************************************** To unsubscribe from the eskrima-digest send the command: unsubscribe eskrima-digest -or- unsubscribe eskrima-digest your.old@address in the BODY of an email (top line, left justified) addressed to majordomo@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com. Old digest issues are available via ftp://ftp.martialartsresource.com. Copyright 1994-2000: Ray Terry, Martial Arts Resource, and Inayan Eskrima Standard disclaimers apply.