From: eskrima-digest-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com To: eskrima-digest@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Subject: Inayan_Eskrima/FMA-Digest V7 #105 Reply-To: eskrima@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Errors-To: eskrima-digest-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Precedence: Inayan_Eskrima/FMA-Digest Wed, 1 March 2000 Vol 07 : Num 105 In this issue: eskrima: Boxing eskrima: It's not "Which is best" but "Which is first." eskrima: Re: Boston [none] eskrima: The Professor Outside Seattle [none] ========================================================================== Eskrima-Digest, serving the Internet since June 1994. 1100 members strong! Copyright 1994-2000: Ray Terry, the Martial Arts Resource, 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: Kilap@aol.com Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 21:31:36 EST Subject: eskrima: Boxing Alittle off topic but any boxing fans out be sure to check out Brian Viloria when the Sidney Summer Games roll around. He's a pinoy from Waipahu, HI but that is of little consquence to me. What is, is that he looks to take the to take the gold in his weight class. Most are taken aback at the power in his shots for his weight - 106lbs. I watched a match back last Fall verses a Russian boxer and he rocked him with a head shot in the 2nd round (w/headgear mind you) . Them took him out in the fourth with body shoots. Impressive fight. Definitely worth checking out. Regards, Travis ------------------------------ From: "BILL MCGRATH" Date: Wed, 1 Mar 2000 00:25:55 -0500 Subject: eskrima: It's not "Which is best" but "Which is first." Ray said things have gotten a bit slow, so here is an article from the Spring issue of the Pekiti-Tirsia International newsletter to get the ball rolling. There should be several possible threads for us to chew on here. 10 SKILLS (part 1) By Tuhon Bill McGrath "Which attribute or skill is most important in a fight?" Variations of this question keep coming up on the Internet martial arts discussion groups (like Pekiti-Tirsia Digest and Eskrima Digest); This question has taken several forms: Striking vs. Grappling, Mobility vs. Power, Offense vs. Defense, Courage vs. Strategy. Valid arguments are offered on each side of these debates. For our purposes here, I will divide the attributes or skills necessary for fighting into the following categories: 1. Footwork & body positioning (Mobility in your firing platform) 2. Flow (The ability to fluidity change from one technique to another) 3. Timing (The ability to do the right thing at the right time) 4. Striking (Delivering force) 5. Blocking* (Defending against force) * see note at end of article 6. Clinching (Including trapping) 7. Grappling (Both standing and on the ground) 8. Strategy (Your battle plan) 9. Courage (The ability to overcome fear in order to achieve your goal) 10. Aggressiveness (Your willingness to deliver punishment) I categorize items 1,2 and 3 as Speed Skills; 4 & 5 as Power Skills; 6 & 7 as Strength Skills and 8, 9 & 10 as Mental Skills. The more I consider the issue, the more I believe the question we should be asking ourselves is not which attribute or technique is most important (all have their use in a fight) but rather which is the best order in which to teach these necessary skills? I have heard variations on the following maxim among many old timers in the martial arts. "Soft then hard is easier than hard then soft." Meaning that if you learn a soft style first you won't have much trouble learning a hard style later, but if you learn a hard style first, you will find it difficult to learn a soft style later. More recently, Pedro Rizzo, one of the top three ranked fighters in "No Holds Barred" competition, gave a parallel concept in the January 2000 issue of Black Belt magazine stating that: "It's easier for a striker to learn grappling and become a no-holds-barred fighter than it is for a grappler to learn strikes and become a NHB fighter." In my 25 years of experience in the martial arts, I have watched Tuhon Gaje and many other senior instructors in many arts teach the above attributes in several different sequences depending on the art, the audience, the time allowed for training and what the ultimate goal of that particular class was. Let me use Pekiti-Tirsia basic hand vs. knife training as an example. In Pekiti hand vs. knife we start with basic footwork (sidestepping). Add to that a basic parrying drill (knife tapping) that begins with simple attacks along the forehand, backhand and straight thrust lines. Keeping the variables simple helps the student acquire the basics of flow. After this, faking and countering the basic parries adds two more categories of variables so that the student improves his flow skills and acquires better timing. After a time spent concentrating on footwork, flow and timing, the student then learns striking via the "Third Hand" strikes. After these strikes have been integrated into the student's physical vocabulary he will then be taught joint breaking, disarms, blade reversals, throws and pins (I.e. grappling). What is interesting here is that the techniques which are the goal of hand vs. knife training (the grappling skills of disarming or breaking) are taught last, while the thing you least desire to do in a fight (simply parry) is the technique taught first. The reason for this teaching sequence is that whatever you learn first becomes your basic foundational technique. It is the technique that will be the most instinctive during the stress of combat. One common denominator among many "goal" techniques is that they take the most time and are what your opponent will be most on guard against (ex. in boxing your "foundation" punch would be your jab, while your "goal" punch would be your cross). In Pekiti hands vs. knife, while your goal is to disarm, break etc, if things don't go perfectly (and how often do things go perfectly in real combat?) you need a parry from knife tapping to evade danger and put you back into a good position to fire a strike or try another "goal" technique. In a way, fighting is similar to building a house. You have an ultimate goal. With a house it would be "to put a roof over your head." But first you will have to build a good foundation, then build your walls that support your roof. The house analogy carries over into fighting in another regard. In perfect weather you could very well get away with just a roof stuck on four poles in the ground. Some arts take "a roof over our heads" view of fighting, teaching only "goal" techniques. In perfect "weather" (overwhelming experience and timing over an opponent) you can get away with using only goal techniques. Come cold or storm you will appreciate having solid walls and a good foundation. I started in Pekiti without any other prior training. This was not the case with the majority of people who came to train with Tuhon Gaje. In training those with a prior martial arts background, he would often use what I think of as "Corrective" training. If someone came to him with good power but poor flow, he would put that person on a maintenance program for the skill he was good at (power) but spend most of the time working on the skill the student was weak on (flow). Once a new student's basic attributes were all brought up to the same level, Tuhon Gaje would often bring him back to basics and start the system over again. Sometimes time constraints force you to limit what you to teach just the way someone lost in the wilderness may build a quick shelter from whatever is at hand because a storm is coming. I have noticed this teaching principle watching Tuhon Gaje. If he had all the time he wanted, then he would bring someone up slowly step by step from 1 to 10. If however, he had limited time to work with someone, he would teach them a basic foundational technique (like diagonal strikes in single stick) and train them through as many principles as time allowed starting at 10 (aggressiveness) and working back towards 1 (footwork). In future articles, I will show several training drills that teach the skills needed in fighting. *Active vs. Passive Blocking. Tuhon Gaje would often say "There are no blocks in Pekiti-Tirsia." Yet he would do and teach techniques that could be referred to as "blocks" (umbrella, 4 wall. etc.) I divide blocks into two categories; passive blocks (which Tuhon Gaje did not favor in sword or stick work) and active blocks, which one sees in Pekiti-Tirsia. A passive block is often used in sword and shield work where the heavy shield guards the body and absorbs the force of the sword blow. A passive block works best when the stationary (defending) object is much heavier than the moving (attacking) object. When you have two objects of equal weight however, like two swords or sticks of similar size, then an active block which deflects the line of attack to a different angle has a greater chance of success. In a nutshell, a passive block seeks to stop or absorb the force of the attack and a active block seeks to redirect the force of the attack. ------------------------------ From: Tim Lavoie Date: Wed, 1 Mar 2000 00:11:39 -0600 Subject: eskrima: Re: Boston Thanks for all the leads, folks! It looks like my first order of business is a map... :-) BTW, Tuhon Bill mentioned Burlington, VT. Thanks for the tip, but this Burlington is apparently still within MA. Just for the sake of clarity, these are my hotel directions: From Logan International Airport: Follow signs to Route 93 North and Sumner Tunnel. Take I-93 North to I-95 South. Exit 33A(Route 3 South/Winchester). Turn right off ramp. Take first right on Wayside Road. Wayside turns into Van De Graaff. Hotel is on the left. Not that this all means much to me yet. Judging from squinting at Mapquest on this crappy monitor, it seems to be close to Lexington. Anyway, thanks again everybody, and I hope to meet some of you soon. Cheers, Tim ------------------------------ From: Luis Pellicer Date: Wed, 01 Mar 2000 15:17:23 +0800 Subject: [none] >My question is, particularly upon reading recent postings about >"Interviews with Masters" etc, how many genuine master instructors are really >out there? This is simply a question to quell my personal curiosity. That >and to answer Ray Terry's call for more chatter. Thanks. Mabuhay Ang >Eskrima. > >R. Saturno, Jr > Good point. NOW what I'm REALLY interested in is looking deeper into some info which I picked up in the provinces. (Quezon and Camarines Sur, in areas which were a couple of hours from what we would call a "town". Out there for huntin'.) I was told that there were "old escrimadors" very proficient with the blade who live up in the mountains and only come to town to sell thier produce, or join in if there is a fiesta. These are guys who still live by the blade, and are innaccesible to most FMAers unless : 1. You live out here 2. You have access to the boonies 3. You know someone who can do the intros (and yet "maybe") This would be somewhat like studying with a recluse like Musashi rather than an established "school". Deserves more looking into, and lots of time. LPIII ------------------------------ From: "Ken Grubb" Date: Wed, 1 Mar 2000 00:10:09 -0500 Subject: eskrima: The Professor Outside Seattle Grandmaster Remy Presas, The Professor, will be conducting a Modern Arnis seminar in Bellevue, Washington, just outside Seattle on April 1st from 12 Noon to 4 PM. [NOT an April Fool's gag. It's for real.] Space is limited to 50 participants, and location is the Bellevue Martial Arts Academy. If 40 are registered by March 6th, a larger facility will be available for more participants to take advantage of this opportunity. Datu Kelly Worden will be bringing some of his students up from Tacoma, and Guro Ariel Moses (SOG Eskrima) from Moses Lake, Washington will also be there. Price is $60 if registered by March 6th, $75 after that. For details or to register: http://www.arnisador.com/default.asp Punong Guro Hufana announced in Tuesday night's class there would be sparring after the seminar. Ken Grubb Bellevue, WA ------------------------------ From: Ray Terry Date: Wed, 1 Mar 2000 06:23:14 -0800 (PST) Subject: [none] ------------------------------ End of Inayan_Eskrima/FMA-Digest V7 #105 **************************************** 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 and the Martial Arts Resource Standard disclaimers apply.