How I do love the Filipino Martial Arts. In fact, those who have trained and known me over the last decade are quite familiar that I hold black belts in both the Pacific Archipelago Combatives and the Filipino Combative Martial Arts under W. Hock Hochheim. Hock himself has multiple black belts under the legendary Remy Presas in Modern Arnis and Ernesto Presas in Kombatan Escrima. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Hock actually trained hard-core several times in the Negros Islands with the Masters. When I received my martial accolades from Hock he said, “You are now a Guro.” Following in the footsteps of all my mentors in life (including Hock), I decided not to use that title professionally and asked my students to simply call me Joe.
Despite the fact that I have forged a respectable career in operational security as an independent contractor, I have had an ongoing, enduring, unique relationship with these traditional arts from the ubiquitous Archipelago. I believe that there is a fundamental, intrinsic link which forms a symbiotic bond with making the combative connection between empty hand combatives and weapons that is unlocked within this traditional martial art. This is clearly defined within the study of the five major areas of Kali/Escrima/Arnis that delineate the warrior arts of the Philippines.
-
Solo Baston- Single Cane
-
Double Baston- Double Canes
-
Espada Y Daga- Cane and Knife
-
Daga- Knife
-
Mano Mano- Empty Hand
The Philippines is an island nation- Archipelago- of almost 70 million people where more than 70 dialects are spoken. Over the centuries the Philippines has been a crossroads for various cultures involved in trading and fighting. Kali is thought of as the mother art of modern Filipino Martial Arts as records indicate from the Malay Sri-Vishaya Empire dating as far back as the 8th century A.D. Although it can be confusing at times, the Filipino Martial Arts take on different names depending on the actual region within the Archipelago you are in; for instance in the Manila area the art is known as Arnis and in the Visayas commonly referred to as Escrima.
Some of the most well known styles of Kali/Arnis/Escrima are Modern Arnis, Lacoste/Inosanto Blend, Doce Pares, Warriors, Pekiti Tirsia, Cinco Teros, Lamenco, Illustrisimo and Kombatan. Historians have cited over 200 systems of this traditional martial art. Names describing the ranges of fighting include Largo Mano (long range), Medio (medium range) and Corto or Serrada (close in-fighting).
In contrast to many other oriental martial arts, the Filipinos first learn how to handle and defend themselves against weapons; this enhances your ability and turbo charges your reflexes when you transpose your tactics to empty hand fighting. The ability to survive against a bigger man is a result of developed combat attributes. The weapons are the vehicle to attain those attributes to enhance your unarmed skills. Many people in the UK don’t understand at first why we study and place emphasis on weapons. The answer is simple: we train with sticks and knives to develop enhanced empty hand survival skills and to understand how to defend against those very weapons that could be used against us when sudden unsolicited violence comes knocking on our door. I do not subscribe to the illegal carrying of weapons, but rather as a responsible training structure to enhance survival options in the moral, ethical, legal and justifiable defence of my life or the life of my loved ones.
And so, my friends, I can attest to you with no hesitation that to affirm my martial roots is to pay homage to all of the great Filipino Martial Arts and the true Masters that have stood the test of time!
Hub
