The IMMERSION Foundation Presents Strands of Strife and Life Vol. II
THE BOOK OF THE
STICK
part 4
A Comprehensive Survey of the World's Stick Arts
edited by Mahipal Lunia / Juha A. Vuori, Ph.D / Mika Harju-Seppänen
THE BOOK OF THE
STIC K
THE BOOK OF THE
STICK A Comprehensive Survey of the World's Stick Arts
part 4
Contributors 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 2 Anonymous Reviewers
PRODUCTION Hana Shin Editor & Production Director Cover image by Jdcollins13 on Wikipedia.com (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silambam#/media/File:Silambam_vector.svg). Cropped from original image. Permission given by Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode).
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
Copyright © 2023 by The Immersion Foundation. All Rights Reserved. First Edition published in 2023 by The Immersion Foundation. http://theimmersion.foundation No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations in critical articles or reviews.
Acknowledgments
We would like to expresss our heartfelt graditutde to all the auhtors who contributed to this book, the anonymous reviewers who offered their time and critical review through the process, and the students of the Mountain View Aiki school who spent countless hours doing the unseen work behind the scenes. We would also like to offer special thanks to Michael Belzer for being thie guiding light on this journey and a bridge connecting The Immersion Foundation to Donn F. Draeger's work and legacy, and Michael J. Ryan, Ph.D for his contributions to the first two issues of the Immersion Review Vol. 1 - Stick Arts.
Left: Sir Richard Francis Burton [Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Francis_Burton / public domain] Right: Donn F. Draeger [Photo courtesy of Michael Belzer]
Dedication
This work is dedicated to the two pioneers and leaders of hoplology: Sir Richard Francis Burton, who founded the field in the 19th century; and Donn F. Draeger, who revived it in the 20th century.
Italy Portugal United States Cuba Puerto Rico Trinadad and Tobago
Argentina
at a gla nce TH E B OOK OF T HE ST ICK part 4
Russia Japan China India
Burma
The Philippines
Indonesia
South Africa
Cont ents Bonafont Argentine Cane Combat System
16
Jorge Prina The Italian Stick Fighting Tradition: A Journey from the Middle Ages to the Contemporary Era
30
Marco Quarta A Brief History of the Afro-Caribbean Dances
52
Miguel Quijano & Miguel Machado Indian Lathi
74
Mahesh Kumar Ramakrishna Traditional Stick Fighting: Common Themes Oceans Apart
98
Burton Richardson Various Types of Fighting in Filipino Martial Arts: Modernity and Tradition
118
Andrea Rollo Punjabi Wooden Weapon Fighting Arts
152
Harjit Singh Sagoo Speed
196 Ron Saturno
Drunken Boxing: The Staff
216
Daniel Schultz Jogo do Pau and the Differences between Dueling and Group Combat
236
Pedro Silva Jogo do Pau Pedro Silva & Oscar Cunha
262
Strife and Folklore: Discovering the Rural Fighting Art of Jogo do Pau
280
Vincent Tamer Tell Me About Yourself: A Conversation in Random Flow
298
Maija Soderholm Kali Abtik Largo
320
Mark Stewart The Long and the Short of It: Staff Training in Choy Lay Fut Kung Fu
344
Mike Sutherland A Journey through the Monastery of Kalinda
370
Keegan Taylor Warriodhood: A Deep Discussion
394
Keegan Taylor & Mahipal Lunia The Art of Jo Jutsu
418
Henri-Robert Vilaire Jo Jujutsu Staff Work
434
Henri-Robert Vilaire Systema Stick Fighting
452
Martin Wheeler Systema Mindset
456
Martin Wheeler Bando Staff
468
Geoff Willcher History and Development of Ulin Limbuhan Roedy Wiranatakusumah & Gending Raspuzi
496
Jorge Prina @tacuara.dpu
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 mid19th 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
18 | The Book of the Stick
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.
20 | The Book of the Stick
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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· Jorge Prina | 21
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.
22 | The Book of the Stick
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.
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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· Jorge Prina | 25
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!
- Jorge Prina
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 CANE II
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Dr. Marco Quarta @marco4quarta
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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· Dr. Marco Quarta | 31
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
32 | The Book of the Stick
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.
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
34 | The Book of the Stick
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.
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. 40 | The Book of the Stick
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, terminology, and principles across all
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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.
- Marco Quarta
Miguel Quijano @michael.quijano.581187
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
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.
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-A-Musical-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.
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 & Miguel Machado
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-
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Mahesh Kumar Ramakrishna @silambammahesh
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.
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. LATHI
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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.
LATHI
· Mahesh Kumar Ramakrishna | 93
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
LATHI
· Mahesh Kumar Ramakrishna | 95
Burton Richardson @ JKDUnlimited
TITLE
TRADITIONAL STICK FIGHTING: COMMON THEMES OCEANS APART
SUBTITLE Author
Burton Richardson
SINCE THE DAWN OF TIME when two untrained human beings have picked up sticks and attemptPLITATIONET ES edADIT to grievously harm oneINT anothmagnam autendae. Iquatat has quaer, the resulting bludgeon-fest mend been andaere mporuptaThey doluptate always predictable. put sa stick quae.hands Lectionem rendam, the behind dis them, lowsunt. er their heads, and step in with repeated forehand strikes to the Xerepudam, ut quia cum nonnogplacgin. Not pretty. cae eium hariandunto evelibu santis unt sint Have twodenimpe seasonedriorempore stick fighters officiistrum facepudae volspar, and youesed will et see unique apora dolorpo ratur, si blaut moproaches unfold. Some stylesidwill luptat. stay relatively stationary, some will circle on the and Nem utatur? Mo periphery, illor ant quam others will cutlaccullor distinct angles. Cerillatusandit si dolorepta tain stylesasimaxi call formporporrum a fighter to stand sollupt fugit tall, and still others to crouch est quae sequiaes et porupta or vokneel—all depending on environluptatur? mental factors, such as the slope recab il in ut qui orCea theniet slipperiness of ex theest, ground dolore them. plit rat endebisfrom as verrovi beneath Methods areas with a high rate of rainfall often prefer lower stances and simple footwork to mitigate slipping and
falling, which can prove to be fatal during combat. The characteristics of the weapons dusae. Fero dolorio tem rerum cor used will also influence the style. rerspid quod quo volupti untium Weight, length, and balance detersitem. Nam, coriatus, core volupmine how the sticks are most eftas aut hil in reptatempor mosto ficiently wielded. One swings the quatemp orumque nimi, officit massive Samoan nifo’oti war club atincto ium si offic te volupta temwith different body mechanics porupta quod molut et dolor sit than a short Irish shillelagh. Culversperitem et voluptat rerro endi tural values also make an impact. aute veliquam corrum que corumIn some regions, standing your quis dolor aut exerchicia doluptas ground “to battle it out” is the sinis ilit volorit pa apictat volemost fearless approach. Another sUciis excestio blabore henducidis group may esteem simplicity and de nos non explaudipsam evenia efficacy, so movement and subternonsequo officatur? Icide con cus fuge are valued and emphasized. dellam repel il mod eles maxim The range of possible give sundit la volorem sumfactors coribus anusdendi distinct artsrepudae from which dolor nos we ad can quiallduciuntis appreciate andaut learn. But there dus experibus aut are specificvelit aspects common faccuptia pore prestet esti to totraditional stick-fighting systems, taquatur mo expe pora core pro 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 riff 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.
KALIS ILUSTRISIMO & ZULU 'NDUKU
· Burton Richardson | 99
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 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 experience, 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 sword-based 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
Group photo at the Binondo gym in 1996. From the right are 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 left is the great fighter Dodong.
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Tatang working outside my backhand strike. He rarely gave a full backhand himself because this check is so powerful and leaves one vulnerable. Luneta Park, 1996.
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 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
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· Burton Richardson | 101
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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.
Left: 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.
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 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.
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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 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!”
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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· Burton Richardson | 105
And there he was: a slender man in his late 80s ambled toward us. I introduced myself, telling him that I was a student of Guro Dan Inosanto. He smiled kindly, and 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 train-
ing with Tatang and his crew. They held nothing back, feeding 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 the 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 three-quarters to an 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, which is at times spherical, and 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 called 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 of the sayaw can include swords, double-sticks, single-stick, stick
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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 trainingthe 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
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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 know a lot but can apply little under pressure.
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 2000s. I felt it when the blow landed, but it wasn't terrible. But, to my surprise, my calf remained discolored for over three years.
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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.
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That made the 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 nono 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 Ilustrisi-
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mo devotee. I can tell you; those "soft" sticks were not that soft! They had a rattan 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
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well, so they made me fight—not out of malice and neither to 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
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Andrea Rollo @rollo.andrea.1
VARIOUS TYPES OF FIGHTING IN FILIPINO MARTIAL ARTS MODERNITY & TRADITION
Andrea Rollo
[Translated by Simona Esposito, Ph.D] [Revised by Dott. Roberto Parravani, Ph.D]
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 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 13 Anonymous, “About Atillo Balintawak and Balintawak History,” Dog Brothers Public Forum, accessed February 20, 2018, https://dogbrothers. com/phpBB2/index.php?topic=218. 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. 15 Placido Yambao, Classic Arnis: The Legacy of Placido Yambao / Mga Karunungan Sa Larong Arnis, trans. Reynaldo S. Galang (Arjee Enterprises, 2005), 36. 126 | The Book of the Stick
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 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: “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 16 Abundio S. Baet, personal communications, August 20, 2019.
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 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. 37 “Doce Pares,” accessed August 30, 2021, https://bandalan.com/history/doces-pares/.
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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. 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 38 Macachor and Nepangue, Cebuano Eskrima, 116.
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 50
Sy Jr., “100 FMA Systems,” 23. 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. 144 | The Book of the Stick
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 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. 57 Diego and Ricketts, The Secrets of Kalis Ilustrisimo, 5.
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 After this roundup of traditional ways of stick-fighting, eventually some traditional Filipino bare-handed fighting methods are described. 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 58
Macapagal, Kalis Ilustrisimo, 19.
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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: “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
59 212. 60
Wiley, Filipino Martial Culture, Ibid, 185.
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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 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.
- Andrea Rollo
61 Steven Egay, “Gigaquit Cultural Sports Tourism,” GCC Reports: 2008, accessed March 29, 2020, http:// gigaquitcivicclub.blogspot.com/2008/.
Sikaran fight [Source: Nid Anima, Filipino Martial Arts (Quezon City: Omar Publications, 1982).]
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/.]
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Harjit Singh Sagoo Harjit Singh
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
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. 319-320 164 | The Book of the Stick
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. 438-439 172 | The Book of the Stick
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
•
Aushanas Dhanurved
•
Vaishampayan Dhanurved
•
Vikramaditya Prakarnam Dhanurved
•
Kodandshastar
•
Dhanurvidya Dipik
•
Dhanurved Aramb Prayog
•
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.
- Harjit Singh Sagoo 192 | The Book of the Stick
Figure 56 - Vintage photograph of a Nihang Singh with a club at Harimandir Sahib, the holiest temple and place of pilgrimage for Sikhs.
Ron Saturno @ronsaturno
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 to be
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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 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
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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 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.
". . . 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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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 return is “fast.” But how does one hit without being hit? Reaching out and striking someone with impunity is almost a godlike quality.
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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 why's 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 superhighways.
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 the 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 the 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 that 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 called Outside Number One. You step to the
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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, possibly 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. 208 | The Book of the Stick
The movement performed correctly, 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 move-
ments 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
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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 you were; he was usually waiting for you. He 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 be-
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lieve 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 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.
For this reason, in some ways, I don’t look like some other 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.
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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.
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 were 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?
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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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
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Daniel Schultz
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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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-
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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
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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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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.
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.
- Daniel Schultz
José Avelino
Pedro Silva & Oscar Cunha @pedro.fma
@gabriel.cunha.1257
JOGO DO PAU AND THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DUELING AND GROUP COMBAT Pedro Silva
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
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!
- Pedro Silva
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
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Various Expressions of JDP
*The following article is an edited transcription of the Stickmata Talks interview conducted by Mahipal Lunia as part of The Immersion Foundation's Stickmata Lab (2019).
JOGO DO PAU AN INTERVIEW WITH Pedro Silva & Oscar Cunha
WE ARE CONNECTED WITH the Cepães group of. Cepães is a small village in the north of Portugal, in the area of Fafe, in the district of Braga—near Porto in the north. Jogo do pau used to be practiced around the country, in all the territories, including the Azores. Before going to jogo do pau, I [Pedro] had been practicing mar-
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tial arts since 1992-93. I did many things from kickboxing and boxing to the traditional martial arts. The more traditional arts that I have trained are hapkido, a Korean martial art, and Filipino Martial Arts (FMA), that I have been doing since 2001-2002. From there, I started along the way of jogo do pau, in the school I already men-
tioned, where I was lucky enough to have a man that always kept the art going, Mestre José Avelino. He is one of the Mestres, the other being Mestre José Carlos. Mestre Avelino was the man that accepted to teach me, and the lessons he gave are very valuable. I think he is an important character, a landmark, in the jogo do pau tradition
and history. Oscar, like me, is Portuguese, and he has practiced jogo do pau for 32 years, since he was a kid. His father is Mestre José Avelino, so he is connected with the art. What is Jogo do Pau? Jogo, translated directly to English, means “a game,” but it also has another meaning, which is “skill.”
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Pau is a staff. We use a staff around nose height made of wood. The components of jogo do pau are a collection of different games. In the beginning, you will learn the rules, the basics, which we call regras. This literally means “rules,” which are actually concepts that you have to follow. If you do not follow those concepts, you will play badly—you have to follow the concepts to have a good skill in the staff game. Then you have a collection of games, and these games are normally group games. At least in our school 90 percent of the training is around group games, or group fighting: one versus many, many versus one, two versus many, many versus two, and so on in different combat geometries. The jogos, the games, are defined by those geometries. The other ten percent is about contra-jogo, which means “counter game,” so it is dueling one-on-one. The context of this is that people had to use the art in the local festivities or fairs. When you had livestock fairs, when you commemorated some saint—you had something that called for festivi-
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ties—people met, and when people met, brawls came about: problems from the past, envies, vengeance, and jealousy. People had to fight for different reasons, and normally they fought in a group. It also happened because of girls and alcohol. People knew that you were going to pass the street at a certain time, so they waited for you. Thus, one of the games we have is a game of ambush, where you are on a street—whether narrow or wide—and a group is waiting for you. These attacks happened for another reason as well: sometimes you were known for your skill, so people thought, “Ah, this guy is good playing the staff. Okay, let us test him. Let us wait for him.” They surprised you and said, “It is today. I am here for you.” It started on the spot, to make a statement, due to ego and machismo; also, due to pride, to be the best player there. Sometimes not to be the best, but it was also like, “Okay, I know how to play, but maybe this guy has something that he can beat me with, so I want to see what he has for me.” It was about testing your skill.
Jogo do Pau—Then and Now One of the things I did, along the way in jogo do pau, was to research its history. What I found was that the story ends more or less in the beginning of the 20th century. Before that, there are no records. We know it existed, but we do not have records or documents to say that it came from here, or it came from this person. The oldest technical document about jogo do pau we have is a document from the city of Guimarães, near Fafe, from 1886, that is 17 pages long. Then we have books written of the Lisbon tradition, from 1920 and 1964. These two books are famous, but they represent the southern, or the Lisbon tradition. The 1886 book represents the northern tradition. These are the only documents we have, but we have to keep in mind that in the north, people were not academic: they did not know how to read or how to write. In the city, it was easier to print books. In the countryside, it was not so easy because people did not want to read and they did not have the time for it, because they worked a lot, worked on the fields, and so on.
They were peasants, farmers, and so on—and that is also the reason why there are no records. However, in our area, in our group, we know the lineage. We learn from Mestre Avelino and Mestre Carlos, and they were students of a very well-known master in the area Fafe, Jose Leite, whose nickname was Queu, Mestre Queu. He was a farmer, working for a landlord who had problems with some guys. He called Queu, who came to the rescue with a staff. He became famous because of that and got his nickname from his Mestre. The teacher of Mestre Queu was Mestre Pereira, who disappeared from Fafe around 1940. Why did he disappear? He went to Brazil with his two sons, and we do not know anything about his family after that. Mestre Queu was already active from the 1920s and died in the 1980s. Along these 60 years he taught many people. In fact, all the people I have interviewed or we know of were either students of Queu, or students of the new generation—that is, Queu's students. One of the last students he had were Mestre Avelino and Mestre
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José Carlos. When they met him he was in his 70s. Before that, he had students like Antonio Du Santo, the Costa brothers, and Serafim Tripa. They were very, very good and well-known players, from whom Mestre Avelino also learned, because he, of course, met them along the way.
Mestre Avelino's master was Jose Queu, but he also met Jose Meccas, who was a good student of Jose Queu. Many of the known players that were famous taught him, and everybody said that he was a really good teacher and a very good player. From the initial group of Queu and Pereira (because they shared the group; Pereira started it and then left to Brazil and Queu con-
tinued) only two people are alive: one is 85 and the other 87 years old. I interviewed them both, and they told me the same story about their master and how skilled he was. And they still play, these old men—it is very, very interesting. Of course, we know that Pereira had to learn from someone. Who was the teacher of Pereira? We do not know.
Nowadays, there are different schools around the country and you can see very different styles from the Lisbon tradition, Fafe tradition, Cepães tradition, Azores tradition, Santarem tradition, and Soalheiric tradition—so we have different schools, different traditions. Why? There are different masters and, most importantly,
they have different contexts. The context is of utmost importance when you talk about a big city like Lisbon, when it is the capital, and you do not have room, you do not have a big community, you do not know all the people around you. We are also talking about the era in the beginning of the 20th century when sports started: sports were in fashion and so people started to look at different traditions, thinking, “Ah, this is good, let us make a sport out of it.” So, in Lisbon, they created a sport with a new name, esgrima nationale, or “national fencing.” Then the fascists came into power, and the regime made a documentary film about jogo do pau—I think that you can even find it in YouTube—which is good, not meaning to say that it is connected to fascism. What I say is that in that documentary, it is very interesting that they talk about jogo do pau as a national sport—that it is something you have to do because it is ours, it is national. You can see the clean image, people playing in a very clean fencing way, one versus one. They are displaying the art as a sport, which is okay, of course— each one has their own way.
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But it is not the same way in the north. In the north, you can see clearly that there is no notion of sport, it is about tradition. The group games are there for a reason, because you use the art. Until the 1980s, people used the art. Six years ago, they had a problem in Fafe, and it was solved with staves—resulting in hospitalization and so on. That was the way to settle things. If you look at the people in Fafe older than 40-50 years, they have a staff at home. Many people know how to play, they can pick up a staff and play. Of course they are not the best players—they do not train every week—but they keep their staves oiled. They take care of the staff, they like to watch the game, like to know who is playing or not. Even women do this—some were really, really good jogo do pau players. There is this tradition in Fafe, there are many families that have sons and daughters that know how to play, because they were taught by their fathers, uncles, grandfathers, and so on, generation after generation. For Example, Oscar's great-grandfather, Mestre José Avelino's grandfather, was a very
good player. His nickname was the Mailman, Carteiro—Bernardino the Mailman, Bernardino Carteiro. He did business with livestock, and he was very well-known. I will tell you a story, because I have interviewed his daughter with José Avelino. But first, what he said was that his father was also influenced by his grandfather. But his grandfather, never taught him staff: “I do not teach you because this is not something I want to teach. I do not know how to teach. I just know how to use it.” So, he did not teach him, but, of course, he got interested because of that. Then he started looking for people to teach him. He started with Mestre Costa, who was a student of Queu. Then he moved to Cepães—because he was from Fafe—where Queu was already teaching with Carlos, had been for one or two years. He took Mestre Queu in his motorcycle from Fafe to Cepães. It is three to five kilometers, it is very near. So, they took him by motorcycle on Sunday mornings, they did the class, and then they would go to the tavern. They paid Mestre Queu for the class with breakfast, which was a big glass of white wine with
sugar and bread. Every Sunday was like that—big, big glass. The story about Bernardino is this: he went to a livestock fair and there was a guy called Julio. They were friends but Julio was mad with Bernardino because he bought the bull he wanted. So, he got mad with him and contracted 10 guys that worked for him, and said, “Okay, I know he will be in this corner at this hour.” Ten guys plus him—that is 11 guys—waited for him with staves. Oscar's great grandfather was with sons. When the attackers came, he said, “Okay, we have to defend ourselves.” They almost killed them. They opened his head. From that day on, he had a bump in the head, and he was never the same after that, according to his daughter, Oscar's aunt. He went to the hospital, they went to court. The judge said, “Okay, the sentence is 18 months of jail for Julio because of this, and you have something to say?” Bernardino said “Yes, when he comes out of the jail, I will do the justice.” “If you do that, I will give you the same penalty, 18 months in jail.” “Okay.” Julio came out of the jail,
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and the next week there was a livestock fair again. Bernardino met Julio and, in front of him, said, “Today you will pay for what you did.” According to the daughter, he was screaming “Please, Bernardino stop!” “No, I do not stop. I will break everything, but I will not hit you in the head, because I respect you. You hit me in the head, but I will not.” So, they went at it, and Julio went to the hospital for three months, and the great grandfather was in jail for 18 months. It is a true story. But then, he was a friend of the jailer—he was a friend because they did some exchanges in those times—and so he could come home to sleep at night. He did the jail anyway. Pau—the Staff In jogo do pau the staff is a symbol; it is treated—like your father says— like a woman. You have to treat it well, or it does not work—I mean, if you do not cure it, and so on. We are very lucky, because Mestre Avelino takes care of the staves for the whole group before each class, and that takes about one hour. He has done this for 30-40 years: checks whether there are cracks,
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whether the staves need oiling or taping the cracks, soaks them in water, and so on. There is a ritual around that, and that is something people also have to learn. Four or five months ago we changed this and now each player—although Mestre Avelino still continues to do this—can take his own staff home and take care of it. It is like a second wife, so he takes the staff, and he has now a mistress: he takes the staff home, takes care of it, and brings it to class. If we have an exhibition, meaning that we do demonstrations outside, we do that to gather money for the group. We do not do these for free—we are not clowns. The money is used to buy staves, actually to buy trees. We do not buy staves, we buy trees, and then we have to cut the trees. These trees are somewhat rare—not extinct or such, but hard to find. We cut the trees, and then you have to pay a guy to pick up the trees with a truck to bring them to the sawmill. The sawmill makes the staves, then you have to polish them, oil them, and so on—it is lots of work. This is done by Mestre Avelino.
The tree is called lódão. In Latin the species is Celtis australis. That tree, that wood is nice, because the wood is flexible and hard at the same time. That is very good, because you can hit more, as it does not break easily. And it is good for your joints and muscles, because it is not stiff. It endures the training and you do not damage your body. That is why we choose that particular tree. But if you want to fight with a staff, you can use anything: eucalyptus, oak, and so on. Traditionally we also use junco, which is like rattan, like bamboo. The problem with junco is that it flexes a lot. You can block a blow, and it bends and hits your head. To fight, people would—instead of getting straight junco—get a staff that was thicker on one end and thinner on the other. In the thicker end, they would attach some nails. Then, when they went at it, blood would fly. There was an extra effect, so to say. Junco was used because it was easier to put the nails in. There is also another version that is called balforano. It is a staff with a metal head. They put on a metal capsule, and you screw
in sharp blades, so it is like a spear or a lance. Then they use that to cut, to pierce, or just to keep opponents away. But, as I said, nowadays we use lódão [instead of junco] because it lasts longer and is better for practice. The way to make and treat the staff is also interesting. First, the height of the staff is from the ground to your nose or chin. The reason is that you want the staff to be able to pass vertically [when you spin it]. If it is longer, it hits the ground or your face, and you have to hit more horizontally. If, however, the staff is shorter, it passes the ground safely, but the problem is range—you lose range, and you are not as dangerous as a player. You want to be able to hit from as far as possible—the long game, but we also have the short game. The main strategy is to gain length/ reach with the staff, hands, and legs, which explains some of our stances and use of the body. You reach, but not too much, because you will use your balance and the control of the staff, and then your opponent can attack. It is a mixture; you gain more reach using
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these three things: the staff, the hands, and the legs. Traditionally, the lódão tree is cut in January, before the full moon. They—the old guys—call it the lua velha, “old moon.” Actually, the original name of the weapon was not pau (staff), but lascar (splinter). The wood was split with a chisel and the tree would open naturally. And from that, you will split it again and again to make the splinter, the staff. You do not use the whole tree, just the more superficial part of it. If you use the middle part, it breaks. The problem is that with the traditional way you have to kill the whole tree for two staves. Nowadays, with a sawmill, the same tree yields twelve staves, but you will not know which one of them is good. You have to treat the staff before you do any contact training, because if you do not treat it, it breaks. We use a mix of water and olive oil treatment. Olive oil is very important to keep the staff straight and without bumps: after practice, there are bumps in the staff, so you treat it with olive oil, and after one day they are gone. Then you need some water, or at least humidity, to keep the oil sealed inside the staff. However, some schools I know use only water be-
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fore practice or before playing, and they put the staves in water for 24 hours. So, each school is different in that. But in the Fafe tradition, we use olive oil and water. Making and preparing the staves by hand instead of the sawmill is an art, a craft. You had men living off this craft until the 1980s. The last man that did that in Fafe has died, and the art is now lost. Every staff used to be made by hand, and nowadays they are not of the same quality. We do have a carpenter who makes good staves for us, but he uses the sawmill. There are some old staves left, but they are quite rare, because some have broken, some have been destroyed. For example, the staff of Mestre Queu was sawed to support his brother who was in the hospital. Another case was the Santo brothers. They all had their own staves, and then one of the brothers died. Before he died, he gave the staff to his brother, and said, “This is my staff, do not give it to anyone, do not let anyone play with it.” His brother was so obsessed with that idea, that he cut the staff to small pieces, and put it in a bag so no one could play with it. I [Pedro] saw the bag when I met his daughter Doña Arlet. There was the staff, already rotten, cut to pieces. She was crying, “This is the
staff of my father.” So, you see how serious this is. Oscar's father has two old staves, one in the kitchen, full of wine because the guy that gave it to him was a heavy drinker. It seems wild but it is soaked in red wine and it is 35 years old. The other one is 20-something years old. He does not use them, though, because they are relics. It is like a car—if you run it, it can break. Learning Jogo do Pau Jogo do pau is something that you can learn easily, as it is done step
by step. To learn, the first condition is to have passion, you have to like the art. The way we teach is simple: the art becomes simple for the guy that is learning. The things that were passed on to us seem complex, but are, in the beginning, very simple. That is our learning process, that it grows and becomes more detailed here and there. Pedro: I learned all that there was to learn from his [Oscar's] father in 12 lessons. In 12 classes, I learned everything. He said there is nothing more to learn, and now you
have to practice, you have to refine. If you are talking about refinement, that takes a lifetime. Learning depends on the student, but it does not take a year to learn. Oscar: When I started, we spent one or two years outside of the class, just watching. It was forbidden to even hold a staff. You just went to class to watch. I wanted to learn, so I went in to watch, nothing else. So, you see the method is quite different from nowadays when, if people come to us, we teach with pleasure. Before, it was not like that at all. The classes were held 300 meters from my house, there was a playground to train at. When I started, José Avelino and Carlos were already there. I was lucky that, when I started, there were about eight or nine boys like me who started at the same time. In those times jogo do pau was very violent, very violent indeed, and because of that they did not just let you in. You had to start slow. First we learned pasos, the steps. What pasos means is not (just) footwork, but it means the rules, the basic rules to start playing. Pasos
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encompasses footwork, striking, timing, distance, body mechanics—all these variables that are inside the exercises. We learned the pasos very well, we took our time on each detail. Then we went to the next detail. In those times, the school was basically my family and Carlos' family—that is, Mestre Avelino's and Mestre Carlos' families: the kids, the cousins, uncles, brothers-inlaw, brothers, and so on. If you went to a class they were all relatives. They played after the classes, all the cousins knew how to play, they joined together, and they continued repeating the class, instead of playing football [soccer]. They trained jogo do pau, played with the staff every day. We were taught in a violent manner, different from today's mainstream method in the group. But 30 years ago, it was crazy for crazy people. Pedro: I kept records of every lesson I received from his father. For me it was 12 lessons, but for other people maybe it was 50, I do not know. Oscar: I spent one year watching, and he took it in 12.
Pedro: Well, I was not a kid. But if I were a kid back then, I would watch first. We only teach jogo do pau to nice people, to good people. In our school, we have methods to see if you are a good person or not. It is like life: you meet people and say, “Ah, this is a nice guy.” And our community is very small, so we know all the people, and if someone comes from outside, we will watch him first. Then we can decide if we like them or not. That is all. Sharing a drink with them—In vino veritas, the Romans said. We have around 20 people waiting, 20 people practicing. We like jogo do pau, but we are all friends and that is very important. I trained other martial arts before, and what I found different in this community was, first, that it is like you have a time machine, you went back in time, and you found this village that looks a little bit like an Asterix village, or like a Samurai village, and you find these people telling the same stories you hear about the Asian arts. And you say, “Wow, it is here, it is 30 minutes from my house, it is Portuguese, and it
is fighting.” It is also unique, because you do not find group games in most of the martial arts. It is very rare, at least with the quality and detail you find in our school. It is something unique. Then, above that, is the social aspect, the personal interaction with and between people, the group dynamics. It is a group thing. We were having dinner, and this topic came about. If you sit at the table with Oscar, with José Avelino, or with any Mestre, he will say this is jogo do pau—the staff is just a part of it, but this is more important because here we talk, we create bonds. We are a community and we help each other. That is what jogo do pau is. For us, it is that. Pedro: They embraced me. I am not from there, but they embraced me, and I am part of the family now. For me, Avelino is like a second father, and Oscar is like a second brother. So, I feel completely immersed in the group. We have people from Sweden that come there, and they are treated in the same way. They are part of the group. And you [Mahipal] were, when you were there. You are treated the same way.
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There are two terms to describe different types of players: jogadores and puxadores. Nowadays 90-95 percent of players are jogadores, and 30 years ago 90 percent of them were puxadores. The difference is in the intentions of the players, one could say, in their craziness and violence. Nowadays, if you come to learn anything, and especially jogo do pau, and you get hit in the first class, you will not come to class anymore. So, we do not hit people in the first class, or any class. Because now, it is another time. In the past, you were taught to hit the other guy from day one. That is the difference; a puxadore is a guy with intent— he wants to hit you. We still have intent in our training, but we are more cautious, we are cautious not to hit our friends. We do still have puxadores, but they are rarer. In our school, we always stress defense, because the most important thing is to know how to be safe. This is why it used to take a year just to watch the class, but nowadays the process is faster. You have to know the correct way, the correct steps, the correct timing, and
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when and how to move, in order to be safe against the staff, because the staff is very, very fast. And then, when you know how to defend yourself, how to be safe, you also know how to attack, and you can attack. One thing we say is, “Mind your step, have eyes and feet.” If you have eyes and feet, you have already a lot in the game. So, defense first, then you have to attack, if you want to stop your opponent. When you have learned to defend properly, then you can play with extreme violence and intent. One thing Mestre Avelino says is that, “In jogo do pau we are friends, but in jogo do pau there are no friends.” This is enigmatic, but I think people understand the meaning, and I will not explain it. You see it clearly in roda do meio, which is a game where one player is surrounded by 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12 people—as many as there are present. When you see that live, you see the intensity of it. It cannot be explained, you have to live it. This is one of the things that is quite different from dueling. The mindset of group/melee fighting and the mindset of dueling are not
the same. They are very different. Of course, you also need different skills, but the mindset is of the utmost importance. In these group games we have different names for the players, depending on their roles. Normally, we do asymmetrical fighting: asymmetrical in numbers, not in weapons—the weapons are the same for each and all participants. The guy that is alone is called batedor, meaning the guy that hits. And the guys that surround the bateador are picadores, the guys that thrust. So, the hitting man wants to survive from being stabbed, and the picadores want to surround him, and kill him. Imagine hyenas surrounding a buffalo, it is like that. If the picadores are good, the batedor will also be very good, and vice versa. Both of them are working, and this makes the experience amazing. Of course, there is a difference when you experience it in the group with trained players and when you experience in a seminar; it is a different experience, but in either case it is always a good experience. It has to be lived and tried, like any art.
In the past, this was how the art was applied, too. You and your friend could go to another village to meet some girls, and the guys from the village would take note of you. You could resolve this in two ways. You could invite them all to the coffee shop or the tavern and say, “Okay guys, we are new around here. We like this place and offer drinks for everybody, wine for all.” “Okay, these guys are nice.” Or you do not offer the locals anything, you just come and go as you please. Then, one day, they are waiting for you, and tell you that, “Today we are going to see if you are men enough to be here flirting with our girls,” and a fight would break up. Or, you had a quarrel about the price of livestock: hogs, bulls, and so on. You would have made a deal for a bull for a certain price, and then someone else would offer a little more and you would end up resolving the matter with staves. Those days, you would not leave the house without your staff. Some guys we interviewed had a shotgun or pistol in the pocket, but they always fought with the staff first. And the other weapon was just in case of an emergency. Even today,
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at least 90 percent, maybe even all, of the men going to the fair with bulls have staves with them. They say they are for the bulls, but at any festivity reasons might come up to fight with staves. There is a true story about Fafe, dating back to the beginning of the 20th century. There was this poor man who lost a court case against a rich man. The poor man challenged the rich one to a duel with staves, and won. After this, everyone knew the saying, “justice of Fafe,” meaning the “justice of the staff.” We actually have a statue commemorating this event in the center of Fafe, in the court's garden. There is a man grabbing the collar of the other, holding a big stick. That is the justice of Fafe: the poor man winning over the rich, who has connections, and so on. In Fafe, we have our feet on the ground, and things are what they are, not what you think they are. There are also stories about using the staff against other weapons. Oscar's father told that there was a man, who was really good with a knife, living nearby. This man had already stabbed some jogadores that went after him with staves. He was a cunning guy, and had a maneuver where he would grab
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and stab the person he was fighting with. He went around bragging that not even jogadores could handle him with his knife. One day, he was trying to do his technique against one of Mestre Queu's students, and was put to hospital— with a staff, of course. There are also stories about guys who have pistols in their pockets, and get surprised by staves when trying to pull them. Mestre Queu taught these techniques to Oscar's father, because there is more to jogo do pau than only staff versus staff. There are also street things: how to look at the guy, what to do, if he goes to his pocket, how to react to this and that. The Mestres have this kind of experience. They compile and give it to special, dedicated students. But this knowledge is not the main course in jogo do pau; these kind of things are sidetracks. There is also another story that Oscar's father told us. In a nearby village there was a man that was told to be able to play jogo do pau prone on the floor. According to the story, he was surrounded by some guys, seven or eight, who were hitting him, but he managed to fight them on the floor. So, Mestre Avelino and Mestre Carlos
went to him, and asked him about it. His answer, according to the story, was, “Oh, listen, boys. I have no remedy. They were on top of me. What could I do? I was on the floor. I tried to protect myself with the staff. But there is no technique on the floor. It was better than getting smashed. So, I protected myself, got up, and ran away. I am no hero.” “Yeah, but show us the technique?” “There is no technique. I just took it. There is no magic. It is what it is.” And there are many similar stories. Parting Thoughts Like mentioned above, nowadays jogo do pau has many schools, each with their own curriculum. Some of them have the same Mestre behind them, and you can see the lineage in the way they play. Every lineage has some unique features in them: the Fafe tradition has some unique technicalities, but so does Lisbon, Azores, Santarem, Cepães, and so on. You can recognize the different schools by the way they move. For example, Santarem jogo do pau is more the shepherds' style, and is connected with horses and bulls because that is also the region of the bullfights. The art has
developed in another context, just like the Lisbon jogo do pau; their play is very good, but the context is different. In Santarem, there are very few players, just like in the Azores. There are like seven people training in Azores. They used to have a thing called Night Justice in the Azores. They used jogo do pau to deal with problems in the community, like ninjas. You did something wrong, and the next day you were in the hospital. Who did it? You do not know who they were. So, they call it the Night Justice, a form of vigilantism. People are free to create. One master can teach different people and these people can create their own versions of jogo do pau, and the master cannot do anything about it. But, at least in our group, we want to keep the Fafe tradition alive. We do not impose, we are not going to try and control anybody, because that is not important. The important part is for jogo do pau to be alive and spreading. Just remember: it is okay to watch videos, but to see and experience it live is completely different. To be really doing it, you need to have passion, you have to like it. We are here only because of passion.
- Pedro Silva & Oscar Cunha
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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.
- Vincent Tamer
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.
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Maija Soderholm @maija.soderholm
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.
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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.
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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
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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.]
- Maija Soderholm
1 Yasmin Anwar, “To predict the future, the brain uses two clocks,” Berkeley News, November 19, 2018, https://news.berkeley.edu/2018/11/19/ brainclocks/.
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Mark Stewart @mark.e.stewart
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
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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
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Mike Sutherland
THE LONG & THE SHORT OF IT:
STAFF TRAINING IN CHOY LAY FUT KUNG FU Mike Sutherland
*Note: Due to differences within the majorbranches of Choy Lay Fut, this article is, by necessity, rather general and applies more to those within the primary Hung Sing lineage than to Fut San Hung Sing and Buk Sing. Also, please note that my own training has been very eclectic and may not accurately represent any of these branches. The key forms mentioned are all found in the Hung Sing branch with the exception of the pole form.
A Brief Background FOR THOSE UNFAMILIAR WITH the Choy Lay Fut system, it is a fusion of several southern styles. Regardless of the facts surrounding the legendary Southern Shaolin Temple,1 it is apparent from oral history that the founder, Chan Heung, learned a mixture of southern family styles from his uncle, Chan Yuen Woo, who was reputed to have trained at Shaolin.2 His training continued with his uncle’s senior classmate, Li Yau San, the founder of Li Ga—which specializes in faster, longer, and more changeable footwork rather than the stronger, more stable footwork normally associated with southern systems. His final influence came from the monk Choy Fok, who added elements of Choy Ga, internal training, and traditional medicine. 1 Speculation about the temple legends is beyond the scope of this article. 2 This is based on the term Fut Ga being used as a loose descriptor for the combination of arts supposedly taught at the temple.
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As the style developed, other branches included additional outside influences. Jeong Yim and Monk Grass (a.k.a. the Green Grass Monk), added unique elements to the Fut San branch and Tarm Sarm added more Hung Ga and Northern Shaolin to the Buk Sing branch. Meanwhile the primary system continued to absorb and create new techniques over time. This has created no end of controversy regarding the origins of certain techniques and the roles of various individuals within the system, but it has also provided us with a great variety of techniques and weapons. The staff forms and styles of usage are no exception. The First Teacher In southern kung fu training, the staff is often referred to as “the first teacher.” Hand techniques are usually taught first and bear more resemblance to the butterfly sword techniques (referred to as “the parents”), but hand techniques can lack discipline and it can sometimes be difficult to determine whether techniques are being properly executed. Not so with the staff. Despite its seeming
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simplicity, the staff is unforgiving as a training tool. The “teacher” brings discipline. While the staff is often used as an extension of the sifu’s hand to gently (or not so gently) correct the student’s stance or check to see if a horse stance is deep enough, these uses are not what earn the staff its nickname. Instead, its use in assisting with stance training, waist training, footwork, and structural alignment is what gives it this title. In each case, there is no room for error and the penalties can prove embarrassing, painful, or both. As mentioned, the deep horse stance is often checked by placing a staff horizontally across the thighs to see if it will roll off—but this is more of a punishment than a true training method. Where the staff shines in stance training is in its use as a tool to show correct posture and alignment. For this, the student assumes the horse stance with the hands on the waist and elbows slightly forward. The staff is then slid through under the arms and across the abdomen. Now, whenever the stance is changed, the staff will clearly show
the degree of waist rotation and whether the elbows are pointed correctly. The presence of the staff also helps the student to develop a feel for the correct structure even after it is removed. The effect of the staff on footwork is surprising. While certain types of footwork rarely occur when striking only with hand techniques (striking while retreating, for example), the coordination of staff and footwork, together with its emphasis on lengthening for strikes, force the student to come to terms with seemingly contradictory actions. These types of footwork become even more important when staff-versus-staff fighting (or other weapon training) begins and many actions require the defender to smoothly shift the lead leg out of range while launching a counterattack. Failure to shift with the proper timing leaves the leg (and other targets) vulnerable to a painful strike and weakens the technique being executed. The staff also teaches proper wrist, elbow, and shoulder alignment mercilessly. Every fighter knows the pain of landing the occasional
punch with the wrist improperly aligned. The staff takes that to the next level by adding 3-5 feet of lever from the contact point to the wrist. A solid strike with improper alignment anywhere between the waist and wrist will provide instant and painful feedback. In addition to the above contributions, the staff can also be used to develop several other important attributes. Almost from the beginning of training, the staff is used as a wrist-strengthening device by raising and lowering or rotating it in various ways that pit the staff ’s leverage against the wrist. The staff serves to develop coordination and awareness through the initial manipulation exercises, or “flowers.” This awareness, along with the technical usage, develops the sense of range and distance. Finally, ging (Mandarin: jin) is developed by working with flexible rattan or white wax wood staves where the whip or bounce imparted by a proper strike helps to train the coordinated release of energy necessary for efficient strikes.
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Four Types of Staff The rich history of Choy Lay Fut has given it a variety of staff types. The longest—the pole—is 8 feet or more and is usually rigid. This has the same origin as in so many southern arts: the pole used to propel a boat. Next is the single-end staff. This is effectively a spear shaft with no spearhead. The techniques are said to come from the Yang family spear of Shaolin. They are so closely related that certain forms, such as Plum Blossom Bot Gwa Spear/Staff, are used for both weapons interchangeably. The eyebrow height or double-end staff is, at first glance, the typical staff seen throughout the martial arts world. In fact, as practiced, it isn’t very different aside from being made of rattan or white wax wood. Its origins, however, are very different. The basic double-end staff set is called bin-gwai seung tau gwan— the “flat cane double-headed staff.” It gets this name because it was based on the flat or half-round carrying poles used for transporting water or other items. While the handling technique remains the same, the effects of strikes from such a weapon would be very different due to the sharper edge. It is possible, however, that this was
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simply a round staff and that the name is a bit of a misnomer meant to imply the original use as a carrying pole. Other forms in the system use the same techniques with no such reference. Naturally, even when fighting spear style, it is sometimes useful to strike with the opposite end. Longer staves can make this cumbersome and slow except for certain techniques that require minimal adjustment. Thus, the single and double-end staff is typically a little longer than a standard double-end staff, but shorter than a single-end staff. Typically, this would be about 6.5 feet.
DOUBLE-END STAFF Forms Progression As previously mentioned, the Bin Guai form is considered the basic double-end staff set—though, in certain lineages, this is preceded by a linear form called Sil Lum Gwun which contains most of the same techniques, but in a more repetitive, training-set format. In either case, the student is introduced to the core techniques of double-end staff and taught to combine them with footwork. Aside from four directional and 360-degree turns, the only real difference in techniques is the addition of offensive and defensive techniques where the stance is lowered and the staff pressed or slapped into the floor to signify a trapping or disarming movement. If taught within the given branch, the next form typically learned would be Dragon Staff. This form adds very little to the overall repertoire aside from the one-handed strike to the rear or side. Otherwise, it is only the faster pace and greater length of the form that makes it more challenging.
Technical Aspects of Double-End Staff Fighting The basics of double-end staff include 16 actions.3 In many cases, these actions represent a short and long variation; that is, one uses a rip placed at the first and second thirds of the staff, and the other slides the hands to the end and first third. In many cases, the terminology overlaps with the single-end staff seeds, but the double-end staff technique will always use a palms-down, double-yin grip rather than the yin-and-yang grip used with single-end staff.
3 I hesitate to call the double-end staff basics seeds (see single-end staff section), because they often tend to be variations or derivatives of the single-end staff techniques.
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The basic actions include: A. Sot: Sot is a long, powerful, overhand strike. B. Lau: Lau (scoop up), is a tight uppercut using the short grip. C. Cheung: This is a powerful thrusting action driven by the rear hip. D. Maan: Representing the action of closing a curtain, maan is an inside strike using the short grip. E. Tik: Meaning “to scrape,” tik is the lengthened variation of maan. The name is evocative of its priming use: scraping down the shaft of the opponent’s weapon to strike the hand—though it can also be used as a long-range strike to the neck. F. Jeh Lan: Jeh lan, or “big flag,” is a vertical side block—though the short, double-yin grip somewhat obscures the idea of holding up a flag. Because of this, it is sometimes considered a variation of hong. Its strong thrusting action is usually used to intercept powerful circular strikes, but it can also be slid down the opponent’s staff to strike the lead hand. G. Na: This is an inside sweep. Unlike its single-end counterpart, the double-end version can go either right or left. H. Pa: For the double-end staff, pa is a pulling action as though paddling a boat. It can be used to deflect low strikes or sweep to either the right or left (see Photo 1). I. Chau: This is a high hooking action with a short grip used for either offense or defense. J. Pau: Also known as wang da (side hit), it is a variation on maan with the temple as its specific target. K. Kum: This is a circular deflection and downward press.
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Photo 1 - Demonstration of pa
L. Gort: Gort follows the same general pattern as kum, but has a shorter, sharper movement intended to disengage and quickly strike the lead hand. M. Hong: In hong, the staff is held horizontally and pressed straight outward or on a rising or falling diagonal. It can be used as either a block or strike. When flicked in an arc from high to low or vice versa, it can be used as a close-range strike or disarming technique. N. Dik Soy: This is an angled variation of jeh lan. It is often considered to be purely defensive, but has offensive applications somewhere between hong and jeh lan. O. Tiu: Tiu is a sharp, upward snap with the long-range grip. It is primarily used to strike the lead hand for disarming, but can also be effective against the groin. P. Saw Hau Cheung: Translated as “throat locking spear,” this technique combines elements of tiu and cheung to thrust into the throat from a kneeling position.
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Photo 2 - Pa sequence
As can be seen from the list above, the techniques of double-end staff include all those typical of other staff arts: striking with the ends from all 8 angles plus poking techniques with either end. The characteristic that distinguishes it from Okinawan bo usage is the focus on lengthening the staff by sliding the hands. The initial grip is formed with the hands at the one-third and two-thirds positions, palms down, with thumbs facing each other. This is typically used as a ready-position or medium-range striking position.4 How4 Medium range for the double-end staff is roughly equivalent to extreme punching or comfortable kicking range. Long range is defined as extreme kicking range or just beyond.
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ever, for most longer-range striking applications, one hand will slide to within 2 inches of the end and the other will replace it at the two-thirds position. This serves to generate more power while extending the striking range considerably (see Photo 2). An exception to this rule is the long-range thrust. In this technique the staff is rotated and tucked under the rear armpit as though couching a lance while the lead hand slides back to meet the rear hand. All the power is generated by the hips, and the hands serve merely to support the staff. This is in direct contrast to the single-end staff, which keeps the lead hand in a stationary position and advances the rear hand in a quick poking
motion like a spear, or advances both hands for a stronger thrust at shorter range. In combat, the double-end staff is used differently depending upon range. At longer ranges, it relies primarily on footwork to avoid strikes by longer weapons and either uses its lengthening techniques to strike the lead hand and disarm, or closes the distance to a more advantageous range. Given its shorter length (1.5-2 feet shorter than a typical single-end staff or spear), this is often the preferred strategy. When closing to medium range, disarming is often deferred in favor of debilitating strikes. Favorite tactics are to deflect or avoid the
initial strike, then drop into a low stance to strike the knee or groin. If the opening presents itself, the aforementioned thrust may be used either from a standing or kneeling position.5 This is commonly followed by an immediate finishing strike from either end, or a disarming strike and takedown. When fighting at close range, a number of special techniques come into play. Many of these techniques feature the middle third of the staff. The first is a simple push. This is used to perform a 5 Note that, despite having the maximum extended range of all double-end staff techniques, the thrust is normally performed at much closer range to capitalize on its penetration power.
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scraping disarm if in contact with the opponent’s weapon shaft, or as a projection to trip and propel them into longer range for a power strike. The second use is the rising upward thrust typically seen as a block. This can also travel along the shaft for a disarm, but is typically more percussive in nature. It is often used to strike the opponent under the chin after trapping their arms down. The third is the exact opposite movement—dropping down. In this case, often following a failed upward disarm or emergency block, the staff slides back down the shaft as the opponent follows up their overhead attack with an uppercut. The motion serves both to attack the fingers
Photos 3 & 4 - Jeh lan push
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and deflect the strike. Finally, the diagonal upward thrust—similar to, but serving a different purpose than, the single-end staff technique known as dik soy (“dripping water”). Whereas the dik soy is primarily defensive, the diagonal thrust, again typically interpreted as a block, serves to uproot and project the opponent when applied underneath the lead shoulder (see Photos 3-4). In addition to the strikes and projections previously mentioned, the length of the double-end staff and the grip used with it lend themselves to many takedowns. Due to the short projecting segments when held at thirds, the
double-end staff is particularly useful for hooking takedowns. These typically take the form of either neck-hooking techniques or leg-hooking techniques. Neck hooks are fairly simple follow-ups to other techniques, but leg hooks require much better timing and coordination, much like a traditional drag sweep. The aforementioned floor-slapping techniques are particularly tricky in that they require the same set-up as an outside reaping throw while dropping to the ground, hooking the lead leg with your own, and pushing down with the staff.
Non-percussive disarming techniques are not particularly well-developed for the double-end staff, but they do exist. Typically, they involve hooking the rear hand while grabbing the opponent’s staff in such a way as to crush the finger of the lead hand between the two staves. The defensive drop into “lying leg” or “dragon stance” from Bin Guai is an example of using this technique then dropping back to either capture their staff or drag them off balance (see Photos 5-6).
Photos 5 & 6 - Dragon press
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SINGLE-END STAFF AND POLE The single-end staff is more highly developed within CLF than the double-end staff. This should come as no surprise given its similarity to the spear and the spear’s preeminent place in Chinese martial arts. Some of the single-end staff sets are even interchangeable with spear. The techniques are not identical, however, as the lack of a weighted and sharpened spearhead changes the nature of many techniques. Despite this, the key basics, or “seeds,” are the same for both. These seed techniques are first introduced via either the Chao Sot or Ng Dim Bot Gwa sets. The Chao Sot set, as its name implies, includes the two techniques known as chao (a right upper parry), and sot (literally “kill”—a downward smash), but also covers the other seed techniques. Though very similar, Ng
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Dim Bot Gwa is a somewhat more advanced set due to its focus on smaller, tighter actions—primarily small circles and multiple quick whipping strikes to the head, neck, and clavicles. The Plum Blossom Spear/Staff form builds primarily upon the foundation of the Chao Sot set, but adds many more butt strikes and sequences of side, overhead, and back “flowers” (spins). Where the Chao Sot form focuses on linear movements with L-shaped footwork patterns, the Plum Blossom form emphasizes striking in the four cardinal directions. This set is also notable for including a short sequence of double-end techniques—complete with grip change—but this sequence is so brief that it doesn’t count as a single and double staff set.
The Luk Dim Boon Gwun set is found primarily in the Fut San Branch of Choy Lay Fut. The form is similar in some ways to the Chao Sot set, but much more compact. It consists of the same sequence of movements repeated in four directions with a short forward and back end section. The techniques include most of the single-end seeds with the notable exception of lau, hong and jeh lan (see the next section). The footwork is minimal and consists primarily of shifting from cat to wedge, aka ji-ng ma, (a side-facing bow and arrow stance). This form can be performed with either a rigid or flexible pole, and the choice of pole greatly changes its overall feel. With a rigid pole (the more traditional way), the form is done faster and harder with precise strikes based on
leverage. When performed with a rattan pole, the form develops a smoother rhythm due to the need to create whipping power and then redirect the recoil. The Single-End Staff Seeds There are many staff techniques, but the primary movements are summed up in the 15 staff seeds. These techniques include all the major parrying and striking techniques necessary for proper use of the staff. Where possible, I have tried to arrange them as groups of opposites, but some seeds contain their own opposite or have no counterpart within the seeds. Due to this, some seeds are used multiple times. Note also that almost all of the seeds (much like the hand techniques of the system) can be used as either blocks or strikes.
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Diagonal Low Seeds: A. Nah: Nah is a strike or parry that covers the lower left. B. Peet: Peet is a strike or parry that covers the lower right. C. Diagonal High Seeds: D. Peet: Peet can also describe a diagonal block or strike to the upper left or right. Pulling Blocks: E. Pah: Pah is a sinking and pulling parry to the lower right rear. F. Chau: Chau is a lifting and pulling parry to the upper right rear. (Note that these can still be used as strikes, but are most commonly redirecting movements used to set up the sot.) Thrusting Seeds: G. Cheung: Cheung may be a “short” movement where the hands are kept apart and the front arm is extended, or a longer-range spearing thrust where the rear hand drives forward to the lead hand. H. Hong: Hong is a horizontal thrusting action that can be used to block, file, smother, or push. I. Jeh Lan: Jeh lan is the vertical application of hong. It is often used to defend against large circular strikes from the sides, but can also be used to smother and push in much the same way as hong.
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Large Circling Seeds: J. Sot: Sot is a large, full-power, overhand strike with the intent of killing or breaking bones. K. Lau: Lau is a large uppercut and the opposite of sot in movement— but tends to use a much shorter arc and target the groin or hands. Its movement is distinguished from the left peet by its larger movement. When performed with the butt of the staff, this is known as dam. Smaller Circling Seeds: L. Pau: Pau is a horizontal, or at least less diagonal, strike to the side of the head or neck. It can be delivered either clockwise or counterclockwise and with either a small or large circling action, but, when delivered as a counterclockwise strike, it can easily describe a 360-degree arc. Small Circling Seeds: M. Kum: Kum (cover) is a circular, sticking-redirecting movement that intercepts a strike and presses it to the ground. This can also refer to the circling-sticking-redirecting action when used to set up other strikes. N. Gort: Gort is a small, sharp, circling action that is used to cut down on the lead hand or strike the collarbone.
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Arcing Tip Strikes: O. Chum is a sharp, downward-pointing strike to the foot, half thrust, half smash. Imagine beginning a downward smash, then raising the rear hand and performing a thrusting action. P. Tiu is a sharp upward action, often performed from a low angle or kneeling position with the type of snap one might use to set a hook when a fish has taken the bait. It can be used as a groin strike, but is more frequently used to strike the lead hand. Dik Soy: Q. Dik soy is called the “dripping water block” due to its 45-degree slope held like a roof overhead. It is formed by throwing the rear hand behind the head to protect against a strike from the rear, or raising and thrusting it to the upper left against an attack to the upper left. The downward angle allows for powerful overhand counters such as the gort and, in the case of the left guard, upward spearing or striking counters such as the tiu. It can also serve as a basic guard, though it is not as popular as the standard position where the tip is pointed at the opponent’s eyes.
All seeds are described as though held in a standard southern-style righthand lead. Those unfamiliar with Chinese martial arts or the southern systems should be aware that Choy Lay Fut uses the right hand forward to maximize smashing power. Most northern styles use the left lead in order to maximize the thrusting power of the dominant hand.
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Technical Aspects of Single-End Staff Fighting Single-end staff fighting strategy is closely related to spear fighting strategy, but the absence of the spearhead requires some adjustment. Without the weight of the spearhead on the end, bounce-recoil techniques (techniques where the weight of the spearhead first loads the staff, then uses its recoil to slash in the opposite direction with minimal additional effort), are largely abandoned in favor of more percussive techniques. The generally long-range is maintained, however, in order to capitalize on the weapon’s length. Naturally, this requires that the practitioner be skilled in combining the footwork and seeds to keep opponents from getting past the tip and disarming them.
As with most serious weapons training, disarms are a major focus of single-end staff. These are performed using either evasion and counter or block, stick, and counter. The first simply entails moving off the line of attack and striking down on the staff or attacking hand of the opponent. This can be a large movement such as sot, or a smaller slashing technique such as gort. The second method involves intercepting and deflecting the attack, then either sliding directly down the shaft to strike the lead hand, or, in the case of spearing/ poking techniques, using the momentum of the deflection to coil around the staff with and redirect it into the ground (kum). The primary strikes for single-end staff are thrusting, smashing (sot), and whipping/cutting. In contrast to the double-end staff, thrusts
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are typically executed with quick sliding movements just as with a spear. The primary knockout or disarming blow is the overhand smash using full power and penetration to break bones. It can also be used to strike the opponent’s staff to forcefully knock it from their grip. The whipping strikes are generally shorter movements performed with a snapping power to transform almost any of the parrying movements into a sudden strike. These can be used either quickly strike a target (or series of targets), or to reverse a parry and immediately strike the opponent’s lead hand by sliding down the shaft
Photos 7 & 8 - Hong push
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of their weapon. Pau, gort, and tiu are frequently used in this way. An often overlooked aspect of staff fighting is the use of takedowns and projections. While these are quite possible with the double-end staff, they acquire a greater degree of sophistication when executed with the single-end grip. When using the single-end staff in this way, the most common techniques are thrusting, which uses the lead arm together with a leg trap or bump to project the opponent forward in much the same way as the classic biu jong technique. The hong, or flute playing technique, uses either the middle or end section of
Photo 9 - Hong
Photo 10 - Pa sweep
the staff to forcefully push the opponent away (Photos 7-8)—preferably into ideal range for a finishing technique such as sot or to desta-
bilize them for a sweep with pa (Photos 9-11). When using hong, one can also use the end of the staff under the opponent’s chin to lever them off balance (Photo 12).
Photo 11 - Pa sweep
Photo 12 - Hong-pau takedown
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Photos 13 - Pa sweep
Photo 14 - Hong-pau takedown
ation of this technique, jeh lan, can also be used as a projection— or it can be employed with an overhand motion for use as a takedown (Photo 15).
Photo 15 - Jeh lan takedown
At closer range, this can even be converted to a reaping throw, though this is closer to the action of pau (Photos 13-14). As with the double-end staff, the vertical vari-
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Pole strategy is much like that of the short single-end staff, but its length can be both an advantage and disadvantage. Given its 9-12’ length, the pole has more reach than almost any other weapon aside from the longest spears. This gives it a massive advantage—so long as opponents can be kept at long range. The focus is therefore on small, powerful movements. If the pole is overextended in any direction, an opponent with a shorter weapon—even butterfly swords—can easily neutralize it then move in for the kill.
Single and Double-End Staff Unlike the other staff variations, the single and double-end staff form is found in every branch of Choy Lay Fut. While there are variations in how it is performed, it contains very similar techniques. These techniques, as would be expected, include all the major actions of both single-end and double-end staff, with the single-end staff techniques making up the majority of the form. Unlike the majority of single-end staff sets, butt strokes and middle grips are liberally included throughout—even before the grip is changed. The major lesson learned from this set is how to effortlessly change grips on the staff to take advantage of its versatility and handle all ranges of combat. There is nothing particularly special about single and double-end staff usage. It is simply a combination of everything the student has learned about staff fighting. It is, in effect, what every aspiring staff fighter should strive for. Specialized Training Methods As previously mentioned, staff training usually begins with exercisers that use the weight and leverage of the staff to develop arm and wrist strength. The staff
may also be used as an auxiliary implement in a variety of stretching and calisthenic exercises in order to make the weapon a natural part of the student’s training routine. From there, true staff training begins with proper gripping and grip-changing exercises that gradually incorporate the various footwork patterns. From here, flowers (spinning manipulations) are added to develop manual dexterity and a sense of how the staff moves and balances. At this point, the student is ready to begin learning the various basics or seeds in preparation for forms or practical usage. Choy Lay Fut, as with most other systems, has many supplementary training methods to build specific attributes related to staff techniques. Some of the most basic involve the use of weights. Often (especially for the double-end staff), heavy iron staff is used to train endurance, before being replaced with a more flexible staff to train power emission. For individual techniques, weights can be hung off the staff to target the specific action being trained. Picking up and moving, flipping, or simply dragging weights is also a popular training method.
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For thrusting, various targets are used. Accuracy is developed by thrusting at small hanging targets, such as rocks. To increase the difficulty of this training, metal or rattan rings are hung so that the thrust has to penetrate the ring without touching it before striking the target. Rings are also useful for training small circling techniques. A fairly large ring is placed on the end of the staff, then rotated with the staff. When this becomes easy, a smaller ring is used. The feel of rotating the rings teaches both the proper control and also the sensitivity needed for sticking applications. A variety of staff dummies are used within CLF to train various aspects of usage. The simplest version of this is just a staff wedged or tied to a tree or dummy with enough play to allow it to be moved aside by various parries. A target placed or marked on the tree is then struck with a prescribed follow-up technique. For more interesting training, multiple staves can be passed through the arm and leg holes of the dummy. The classic, and most satisfying method of staff training in Choy Lay Fut is the use of dedicated staff dummies. The simpler version is a single upright with
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projections upon which are hung various spinners and heavy steel swinging targets. The larger, more complex, version consists of multiple uprights with even more targets and spinners. Interestingly, neither includes any form of staff to defend against, focusing instead on refining the technical skills needed for usage in much the same way as the preliminary training discussed earlier. Traditionally, once the student has mastered the basics, they are introduced to two individual and two-person sets. The individual forms allow the full integration of techniques and footwork, while the two-person sets focus on timing, distance, and evasion. As with all two-person sets, this training always allows the receiving partner to block or dodge every technique, so it can quickly devolve into an empty dance if the participants cease to train with serious focus on intent. Evaluation While staff training in the Choy Lay Fut system is quite well developed, I would be remiss not to offer some commentary on its weaknesses. Despite its wide variety of techniques and training methods, CLF staff fighting, like so many aspects of the Chinese martial arts,
has lost key elements of its practical combat training. It strives to develop strength, accuracy, fluidity, range, and timing, but fails in two major areas. First, there is far too little emphasis placed on strategy and combat theory. I was lucky to learn what I did. Most students will never learn more than empty forms. Techniques need to be preserved, explained, and practiced in much the same way as in Japanese budo so that students truly understand the reasons behind the movements and the richness of techniques hidden within the basics. Second, true weapon sparring is lacking in almost all traditional kung fu schools. This is gradually changing, but, sadly, tournament rules and safety concerns are quickly killing what could have been a major source of revitalization for traditional weapons. Unfortunately, when not used as intended— that is, with restrictions—there are too many opportunities to develop blind spots. Ask anyone who has only played at two-person forms and then sparred against someone who was trained to strike the hands and complete the techniques that are allowed to miss in forms training. Even the shock of being struck with moderate force
or having a leg swept out from under them is often enough to end the fight. If CLF schools—and Chinese martial arts in general—can adapt their training to include both of these elements, I believe they will see a great deal of revitalization. We have already seen the renewed enthusiasm that came with adding weapons sparring to tournaments. Perhaps enough practitioners will be inspired to dig deeper into the true art of weapons usage and unlock the rich treasury of techniques that are so close to disappearing forever.
- Mike Sutherland *Special thanks to Sifu Lawrence Kelso for appearing as my opponent in the photographs.
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Keegan Taylor @keegan.taylor.96
[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
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.
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
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WARRIORHOOD A DEEP DISCUSSION
Keegan Taylor & Mahipal Lunia 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 Taylor: 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
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Kalinda and stick fighting and other 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 Lunia: 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
[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]
analogue experience. Whether it is Kalinda, 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 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.
are in time. The danger of digitization, 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
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courage. Courage in 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.
KT: 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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ML: 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.
KT: 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.
ML: 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!
KT: 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.
ML: 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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KT: 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.
ML: 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.
KT: 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?
ML: 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.
KT: 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?
ML: 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?
KT: That was an entire topic before you came online. But yes. You know, I would love to talk about that again with you.
ML: 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.
KT: 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.
ML: 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.”
KT: 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.
ML: 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.
KT: To juxtapose, the scene with Benji3 did not happen the same way. I think Michael had asked 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.
me 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.
ML: 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.
KT: 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.
ML: 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
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boys, 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.
KT: 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.
ML: 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.
KT: 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.
ML: 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.
KT: That is the difference. Holding on to that wildly human experience and not forgetting that that has value, too.
ML: I think a lot of people shun violence. A lot of people shun the
warrior ethos. They just want the good part of it without the bad. What is good and what is bad is redefined in every generation.
KT: 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?
ML: 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.
KT: 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.
ML: You got to know him beyond the mask.
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KT: 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.
ML: Big Questions. Save that for a nice bottle, and when we come down to Trinidad, because that conversation will go on for a while.
KT: 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.
- Keegan Taylor / Mahipal Lunia
This converstaion was originally featured in Strands of Strife and Life Vol. 1 - South Caribbean Fighting Arts (2021) by The Immersion Review.
Henri-Robert Vilaire Henri-Robert Vilaire
THE ART OF JO JUTSU Henri-Robert Vilaire
Background I PRACTICE 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, our system 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 our system, 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 our system 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 our system, 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 our 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
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.
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 the whole system a unique art to practice.
- Henri-Robert Vilaire
Our system 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
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*The following article is an edited transcription of the Stickmata Talks interview conducted by Mahipal Lunia as part of The Immersion Foundation's Stickmata Lab (2019). To listen to the origianl interview, visit: https://soundcloud.com/theimmersionfoundation/sets/stickmata.
JO JUTSU STAFF WORK AN INTERVIEW WITH Henri-Robert Vilaire
Jujutsu and Staff Work I DESCRIBE JO JUTSU AS A TOOL that you utilize, and where the tool brings your body together. If you have a staff, because the staff is between your arms, it makes your movement in line; it coordinates you better, and coordinates your mind. It is just like when you play the piano chords and notes on the right side with your fingers. People just think you hold the staff by gripping it tightly, like the old
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European ways of staff, or some other ways. No, it is flowing: your hands slide, your fingers move, hand caresses the staff; it moves, it goes underneath the arm, it works in coordination with your upper part of body, and your hips as well. Your legs play a part of it, too. So, it is a whole ensemble of movement in your body—not to mention the mind as well. What makes that beautiful is that you just have a piece of wood in your hand. In our tradition, we think that the piece of wood, jo, translates as a rope. We see it as when you pull a rope between your hands, and then it becomes flexible. To us, it is not a rigid tool. It is a flexible tool that you use. That is why with a staff, we are able to block, parry, and strike in many fashions. You could bring it closer, when the enemy comes closer, you could extend it further out, you can do a takedown with a sweep, or with a throw, you can choke with it, do arm locks with it, and various deadly strikes as well—which is basically what it is there for. You can strike both hard and soft parts of the body, but, preferably, it is used to strike areas where it does more damage. You have to know where you are striking, but, to us, the targets are not points, but rather areas.
The striking areas depend on how the person is moving. If somebody is moving towards you, you would strike the chest, almost to drive the person back to create a wider distance. When the person goes away from you, you strike to the head area. Many people would think that you would strike the head coming forward, but this is not so for a charge. When the charge is fully engaged, full speed ahead, you drop your body low, or you go behind the person, and strike towards the back of the neck, the back of the head. Everybody thinks about striking the jaw; we, on the other hand, strike also towards the back of the head, back of the leg, and so on. It all depends on the movement of the opponent when they are attacking you. Just like the empty hand has various strikes to use in various attacks, the various ways of using the staff is the same. Changing the Parameters In the art, you do not respond to what is given to you. If an attacker comes at you, you do not respond to that; you “recreate” the attack, and you make him recreate his plan. If you take a plan the way it is, and you come and meet that plan, who is in control? The attacker. For example: an attack comes, I take the attack, I change that attack, then I counterattack,
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or go into a full attack myself. So, I am like a traffic police—I direct the attacker to go to the left or to the right, and so on. Or, if you are coming hot at me, and you are a fighter who is very low to the ground and pressing, and just not moving, I hit you high to get you off the ground. You take the warrior off his comfort zone. So, if his comfort zone is to lay low with his legs and feet, I am going to change that. If your comfort zone is to bounce around, I am going to make you go down on your feet, where you are not comfortable. These were just two examples, and this is not unique to us. In sumo wrestling, they hit up to get the center to go up or down. It is part of martial arts in all aspects. But I feel that maybe it is not focused enough on, or brought out that you just do not fight a fighter the way he is coming at you— that has to be changed. Because as an artist, you recreate the scene: if there is more than one attacker— which is what the art is about; we are not one-on-one fighters in the ring, [but] there are many fighters against you just like in a battle-
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field—then that makes even more sense that you have to have them move around. They can have a plan, too. Let us say a gang is attacking you. It could be a gang of just three people —it does not have to be in large numbers. They will signal to each other—it is part of the nature of packs that members signal each other. The “language” of the staff, of jujutsu, is to change that signal, to make them unaware of what the original signal that they were giving to each other was, so that they cannot coordinate their attack against you. Because, if they have a coordinated attack, you are in trouble. Now they need to re-coordinate those attacks. And then you have a better chance of dealing with this situation. I always say: whether it is with a sword, a staff, empty hands, or even a gun, there is no such thing as a weapon that gives you the edge over somebody. What gives you the edge over somebody is changing the way somebody is to act. Do not let them think, do not let them plan, do not let them act on that plan. The staff, the sword, the
gun—they are just tools. If somebody has a plan, and is coming at you with a gun, and you just think you are going to fire and shoot— that is not the way it should work. You have to change the trajectory of the mind. That is what we do, that is what the “language” of jujutsu does. It helps you accomplish that. Using the Staff How to train this? The first part is for you to understand the coordination of your own body. We do not start off with a student saying, “Well, when they attack you, you’ve got to move him this way.” Obviously they would not even know what to do. We work on their comfort with various staves, be it the daijo (long staff), chujo (medium staff), or the shojo (short staff). It should be as comfortable in your hand as the pillow you sleep with at night, or as when you hold somebody's hand. It should feel good. When you take your little child's hand into your own and you hold them—that feeling, that comfort, is what the weapon is. It should not be an angry weapon. It should feel the same way as a vio-
linist feels when they pick up their violin, or cello player picks it up: they just stroke it and move it. Especially the jo feels that way. When I hold it, it flows; it is no different than a cello player as they get ready to play their instrument. But just like art that is difficult, when the student goes at it, they are going to grip it hard, going to be tight-witted. They are going to try to go at each other hard, because that is the way the body feels comfort with a weapon. But, actually it is the opposite. The person gets so comfortable, so relaxed, that it just flows in their hand. And when you go to strike, they strike with the head. Another point I would like to make: jo works like a whip. We take a whip, it goes out, and the end strikes you. The jo in our tradition works to whip against a person so that the whip strikes them. It is a sharp blow that they will never forget, and I want them to forget. When it strikes them, I do not want thought. Each strike you give takes away any thought they had, and leaves a blank slate for you to move the person. I do not
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want anybody able to think—it is like when a boxer gets an extremely good blow, and they just go blank. That is what you are going to do. We are not athletes, we are warriors. There is a difference. There is nothing wrong in being an athlete—I want to be an athlete, but I am not. I am a warrior. When you fight, the fight has to be over very quickly. Because, otherwise you are not going to make it, you are just going to fall apart. You are holding heavy weapons, your body is not working all the time with you. You cannot hop around, do movements as they do on the screen, and so on, because that is just for making people happy to see things. We are not Cirque du Soleil. We are just warriors, and warriors want to do two things: they want to strike you, so thought finishes, and they want to finish you. It is as simple as that. You have two strikes at most to do that. Many Weapons, One Art In our tradition, we have staves of three different lengths: long, medium, and short. Our movements remain the same, because
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we follow the same tai sabaki way of movement. Everything starts from one position—tai-ichi, body as one. There are ten positions, left and right. The attacks always come in linearly, and we move in different ways. That is because multiple attackers are coming at you; you are going to step in different ways. Even if there is only one, there are always multiple in our tradition. There is no such thing as one attacker—even if there is just one, there are always multiple attacks. I never focus on one attacker—they do not deserve the focus. A lot of people are just there, in the ring, and they are focusing on just one. In our tradition, that is considered a weakness. Because, if there are many, what do you do? Then you start to hop around, and your eyes go left and right. That is part of it. Now the different-sized jo are to represent various weapons. The longer staves represent naginata (halberd) and yari (spear). The thrust with the yari, the curved strikes, and coming around with the naginata—both weapons using different styles—are brought together into one staff art. The
medium staff art is from, amongst others, the walking stick, and just using that as a staff. It is used the same way as the daijo, except you pull in it—you have less of a length—and you are able to rotate it more. You need to whip it more when you are going out, because it does not have the length of the daijo. The shojo is basically a short staff used in coordination with other weapons, whereas with the other (medium and long) staves it is difficult, but not impossible—we do it. It is the short staff that allows you to use two staves or other weapons in coordination with it. About the daijo, yari, and naginata: yari is mostly used to drive an opponent back when they are charging at you. Not only for that, obviously, but it is used for thrusting, and you can also strike with it. But that is what is the major part of that weapon. Naginata is more about curving behind the opponent, coming behind, gashing through, and is more flexible in use. Combining both of them, you have the power of both: one to strike in and the other one to curve,
bringing them closer to you. A lot of times, when opponents come in, you want them to not drive back, but to pull them in more, and then get behind them, manipulating the people around you. To do all these steps at the same time, you use the same system of stepping, and the movements of the arms are the same with both weapons. We do not have to say, “Oh, I am using a yari, this is all I can do with it; I am using a naginata, this is all I can do with it.” It brings it all together and to the staff. Both weapons, yari and naginata, had to make an impact. Our bodies have natural protection, and to add to that, the samurai had armor. Thus, your impact had to go through all that for him to start bleeding. By using the whip, he felt that thrust go in and do damage. So, when I hit, it should not be, “Oh, big deal.” It had to cause internal damage. That is why it was important to have that whip in your thrusts, and also in the strikes. Even the head was unexposed—it was protected, as was the neck. A lot of protection went into the body.
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We still assume the same thing. It is wintertime now, and people are wearing coats. Are you going to strike somebody wearing a coat, saying, “Oh, only the head is available”? No, everything is still available, regardless of what they wear. If they are well built, they have built up their natural body armor, but that should not make a difference. You are going to strike the vulnerable areas, but you need to strike with enough impact, which is a tool that they will feel through the coat, or whatever they are wearing. Principles Tying It All Together On one extreme, we have the daijo, which is functioning more like a whip and creates its impact at a greater distance. And then we have the shojo, the short staff, which is used in conjunction with other weapons. However, in our tradition, there are principles that tie the use of all these weapons together. The first principle is tai-ichi. We have a system of walking, and even our system of walking is taiichi. This means that you center
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before you make your next step. As you take a step, the back leg comes forward, then the other comes forward—tai-ichi. We also have a circle called tai sabaki, and we take steps within that circle. But, how does the circle move? In a circle, you have a point and a circle around it. I need to take a step bringing tai-ichi into a different position—so, tai-ichi is the art of moving the circle. The circle moves, and each circle is my area of combat. I have to know it well, and I have to be comfortable with it. In our training, we are so comfortable within that circle, that it becomes our comfort zone. For me to move and jump into another area, where I do not have the comfort zone, I am going to move my circle, that is, my circle of comfort is going to move with me. This is what we do, and it is the same regardless of what weapon we use, be that the yari or the naginata, the short staff or the medium staff. All of them tie in together. Also, the hand motions that we use, as we slide the weapon, go from blocks or parries to strikes and thrusts—all of them are the same, no matter which of those weapons we use.
Again, the mind during combat should be free. It should not be saying, "Oh, I have this"—it should not be in the equation. It should be without any equation. After all, we call it an art. Art is without. You have thought, of course; the minds always think, but it is not sitting there and calculating. A warrior is different from a fighter in that a fighter is guided—not always, but sometime. If you are in the ring, you have a coach and the people that work with your training. You are given instructions by them because they stay outside the ring. They watch you and they shout out things for you to do. The fighter itself is looking for points, but at the same time they use the guidance. As warriors, especially modern-age warriors, we do not have that luxury. I should not say luxury, because there is never luxury in fighting. It is always bloody; it hurts, and you can get killed. But a warrior is more likely to get killed, because of the person attacking you—their mindset is that they do not care about hurting other people. You will see people giving money to a homeless person, and you think
there is going to be gratitude— but a knife comes out to stab you or a gun comes out. You might be sitting near a bus stop, and somebody comes to shove you in front of a bus. Your actions have nothing to do with what is going to happen to you. The person sitting at a bus stop is not doing anything to the person walking by for them to shove you in front of the bus. The person giving gratitude should not be stabbed. We are not here to solve why humans are not always stable. We are here to solve, when that happens to me, how am I going to respond. I do not think about what I did. A lot of people I have seen are in a little bit of a shock. Somebody comes at them and they have that "deer in the headlights" look, like, "What did I do? Why is this person attacking?" I do not care why that person attacked, it does not cross my mind. That person is finished. I am not a psychiatrist. I do not want to be a psychiatrist or psychologist. All I know is that you crossed that line, I change, you are gone: as simple as that. There is no in-between that a warrior goes through.
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A fighter has a planned fight. He trains for that certain person, he goes in there, his group trains. Even if it is not that one person, it will be something known. As a warrior, you train the whole mind and the body for that event, which is going to last—should last—less than two seconds. And if it does not, then you are not a good warrior. I do not know what it means to be a good warrior or not, but if you went more than a few seconds and you lived, I would go back and tell myself that I was not a good warrior. I do not care what people say about themselves and their students—that is not my business— but to me, you are not good. That is because I could have tripped during that period of time, anything could have happened, and the longer you stay at it, the worse off you are. You are not there to give a show. You are there to end something that abruptly started, and the staff is that tool that is going to help you end it. Whether you have a short, medium, or long staff, the rules are saying that I do the same things.
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Weapons Are Everywhere In my home, there are staves everywhere: there is a staff in my garden, in the backroom, at the back door—they are everywhere. My staff accompanies me in various things, my weapons are all around me. Plus, I am the weapon, as we mentioned before, and that, to me, ties it all together. But without jojutsu, my body would not bring everything together the way it should, my aiki would not be as good. My techniques in jujutsu would not be as good. It is a tool that helped me bring myself, and helps bring my students together as well. It is not easy, it is a lot of frustration. Nobody wants to hear that, but when you study an art, people are not happy, and it is not supposed to be beautiful. The beauty behind it is that, once you know it, then you can say what is beautiful. To me, if somebody says, "My art is beautiful," I will ask, "In what way?" It is not meant to be beautiful, hurting people is not beautiful. Killing people is not beautiful—it is a need. This tradition is here for you to help you with that
need. This does not mean that we are going to attack innocent people—of course not. I do not take out my staff when the neighbors come knocking on my door with a complaint; the staff stays where it is. My art does not trigger for small things, it only triggers for very serious life-threatening situations, when somebody comes to take your life. When it triggers, you will be surprised how many staves are everywhere—and a good warrior will find a staff everywhere. When you go to the airport, look for janitors, because they always have a weapon that you could use. To me, as far as my staff is concerned, blessed are the janitors, because they bring my weapon for me. You look around for weapons—that is the first thing you should do. You look at nature—it provides staves for you. A lot of people can be hurt by other people when they are peaceful. I am not saying you got to take on an animal. But if an animal wants to hurt you, you have no choice. Most of the time, it is best to avoid situations. But when it happens,
you should be ready, because you have no choice. Locking, Throwing, and the Role of Armor We also use the staff for locking, throwing, and so on—for things that are generally seen just as empty-hand aiki. One of the main reasons for this is that the samurai were armored, though not all of them: it depended on their level and place in society. Despite armor, your neck will always be able to be strangled, and the staff helps to do it—it is extremely painful. The true idea behind it is not just to strangle, but to snap the neck. On the other hand, the arm lock is meant to tear all the tendons, so it is not meant to lock. Now, if you want to hold a prisoner, you can do it; but in ancient times, it would rip all the tendons, and then hold you. With the legs, we have very painful areas on the leg that we grab with the staff and cause a lot of pain—that is to take the person down, and then to follow up with that [locking] as well. We do all this, because people were armored. For example, if I was out there, and somebody had a
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lot of clothes on—some place very cold—and there is an issue, my staff is going to go for areas which are not heavily covered. I would strike where their coat is not, and go for controls with the staff. Control does not mean that you are being nice; it can, but most likely not. That is why these techniques are there—just to get around the fact that people are protected with armor or clothing, or whatever you choose. One of the common objections people have for training in this kind of a system that is built around armor is to say that "nobody walks with armor on nowadays". But people do have armor, natural armor, the one that the body builds for them. You see people in prisons, they build their bodies, and that forms natural armor. You need to go through that armor right away, remember, you only have two strikes. If you do not know how to penetrate that natural armor, the person is going to survive that and just come at you. If there are three of them, and you are not hitting effectively with the first person, and the others are closing in on you, you have
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a very serious situation. The other part is clothing. Clothing is natural armor. Other armor is not natural, for example bulletproof vests. I need to hurt them through that. People can wear a lot of things to protect them. Warrior Mindset An attacker is prepared for battle. The defender is not. Since I do not go around my daily life attacking people, I am not prepared for that. The attacker is: they will wear the right shoes, the right outfit, they will have loose clothing; here they will have a hood, a cap, if it is winter time. They are going to hit you in the head first, or strike you first— that is the whole idea. An attacker is not embarrassed to hit you when you are not ready. They want to do that, they want to hit you when you are not looking. They do not want to say, "Face me, I'm ready to fight you." This is what I meant by the luxury of a fighter: they are facing somebody and told that the fight starts, “Begin.” Reality is not like that, obviously—nobody does that. You are trained and when the fight starts, you need to take a disadvantaged moment, where
the person attacks you, and turn it around quickly. That takes a lot of training. I always tell my students that a modern-day martial artist has to be better trained than in the ancient times. We revere the ancient order, how great they were. No, they were not. Nobody surprised them. I mean, they were surprised, but they were numerous, and they worked together. And they were able to know when bad things were going to happen. When they were surprised, they could group together very fast, and they had the law on their side. The samurai— they were the law. If you attacked them, it is like attacking a police officer today: you are going to have a whole group of them coming at you. You do not have that, I do not have that. If I step outside, it is just me, that is all I have. If my children are with me, I do not expect them to come and fight—better just one person gets hurt than the whole family, actually. I want them to be away. We do not have that luxury; we have to be very efficient right away.
We have martial artists that tell you [that you] need to strike a lot, you need to do this a lot, and so on. It brings you unnecessary disarray. It allows a gun, a knife, or other weapons to come out. I want to get the person before their mind even thinks of the gun or knife coming out from wherever they had hidden it. I want to be there prior. A modern warrior is never in a comfort zone. You have small moments of comfort, but never, for example, when you go to a restaurant. First thing I do is, I say to myself, "Oh, what can be a weapon for me in the restaurant if something happens?" I do not have the luxury of being seated where I want to, so of course I am not comfortable. The people around me, I always think, "Well, what do I do?" The people I went to eat with, I am already thinking what I am going to do to them first, because I do not want them in my way—I need clearance. I look around the tables and I look at them first, not the enemy that may come to the door. Or, any one of them can be the enemy at one time, when they stand up. There is no surprise because, just like a military, you train for different situ-
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ations, and my mind is always on there. Somebody comes through the door, I notice it. Somebody is going out the door, I notice it. There is a slight argument in the corner table, I notice it, and boy, do I notice it. There is somebody sitting on this side, looking at that side, and I see dirty looks coming across—boy, do I notice it. I do not let go. Is that a comfortable moment? I look at everybody who is there eating and having an enjoyable life—I am not. If I go to see a movie, I am not fully enjoying it. I am always ready, I am trained for that. It is a part of me, just like the way people breathe. Being a warrior is not always the greatest thing, because you are always on a ready-level. I sympathize with soldiers in enemy territory, like in Afghanistan. I can imagine just the stress level, that is why they come home and it stays with them. What I have is my art—it balances me out. I take the staff, I work with it, and it brings peace to me when I am in a situation where I can be at peace. When I go back, it is still with me, and it is ready to jump out for action. This is where
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the difference is with projectile weapons, let us say a gun. If you have a gun, just imagine the faux pas people will make: they see an argument, and here they go with their gun ready to pull out. When they say that everybody should be armed, I think "Oh, no, no, no, no!" I do not want that G.I. Joe pulling out his gun and trembling on his way to shoot people. I do not mean that as an insult at all— all people tremble; when you are afraid at any age, you are going to tremble. But you do not want that person coming up to you with a gun. Projectile weapons are too dangerous for people who lose their temper, and who are not that stable, but knives can be just as dangerous. In Israel, knife attacks happen all the time. If you are in other countries, it happens all the time. People go hiking in other countries, and then they find their bodies. I want it to be a peaceful world, but, in reality, it is not. I live in an area where, I think, it is peaceful at times, and more so than in other cities. But as a whole, I am never that much at peace, because I am always prepared for something happening.
I find peace in that, though, because it helps me to relax. The jo in itself gives me that, because my mind and body work together like any artist’s. I do not think it is very hard to imagine when you see a musician on stage: when they are on stage, they are going to feel pleasant with their instrument. That tool, the jo, makes me feel less stressed when I have it. It gives me a feeling of balance, a feeling of being coordinated. Ideas to Try and Play with Not everyone has access to our tradition. However, there are some ways you might get a feel of it, even if you are working on your own. First, whether it is a knife or a staff in your hand, you should find comfort in it. Humans have always found comfort with the staff: it was the first thing we walked with, it was the shepherds' tool, and, I do not want to get into religion here, but, you see it in all religions, right? The staff is there, and brings about a feeling within us that cannot be explained. It is in Asian, Christian, and other religions, and somehow ties humans back to their original selves
the minute you touch it, the minute you walk with it. When we are young, we pull on something just to help us stand; when we are old, the staff, the cane, is the last thing we hold on to to walk around. To me, that staff brings about something in me, in my spirit, in my internal energy, that I cannot explain to somebody out there. If you go hiking, hike with a staff, and you will not see, but feel a difference. The next part is when you train, let us choose karate as an example. When you are punching, and so on, in all your art, just bring a rope between your hands, and start to move it so that the whole body aligns with itself. You could put the rope behind you, put it in your two hands, and so on. That rope between your hands is the staff. Later on, put the staff in your hands, and start to do your techniques. If you are doing judo, and you grab, and you are ready to throw, just between the two hands is that staff. Then you could start to see where your throws with the staff would come in. You can apply this idea in any art that you have: do what you do, just try to bring
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the staff back into what you do. See if you feel that comfort zone, and if you do not, put the staff away. I am not selling the staff here. The whole idea is that I want people to be able to find that comfort zone with it, no matter what they do. They do not have to do our tradition—obviously, we do not have that many people doing our tradition. Whatever you do, bring that in with what you do. I do not care what part of the world your martial art is from. Obviously we are not the only system that works with the staff, and if the other systems do work with the staff, then they should be happy with what they do. And that is all there is to it. When I teach new people at a seminar, I hope to connect them with what I feel inside, what the tradition has, what it is to me. When they first come in, I want them to feel a staff in their hand, and, at the end of the time, that it is no longer a staff, but something that connects their left to their right, their hips to their arms, and their mind to their arms—I want it to become a connector. I want to share that with them. In one session, they are
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not going to become experts, obviously, but I want them to find that comfort zone so that they can continue and get better at it. I want them to be their own shepherd, to use that to guide their inner spirit as well as their inner energy, and also the physical energy as well—to bring it all together. Parting Words As I said, the staff is a kind of path back to ourselves. The reason I believe that is that I think there is something built into our DNA. The staff was the first thing that helped us go up mountains, to help us hunt (the spear) the one tool that helped us when we walked. The staff was one of our first weapons, and it was never away from us. It is something that is part of our nature, and when we reconnect with that nature, it brings peace. Just imagine, a long time ago, when you did not have your staff, how empty and vulnerable you felt? And when you got it back, you thought, "Oh, I am not so vulnerable anymore. I feel connected."
Our tradition is, partly, bringing that feeling back to you and making you feel that comfort. It starts off as a weapon, and then becomes no longer just a weapon, but something that you adapt to, something that builds you and brings back the ancient times, so that your DNA is in line with your modern self. You are bringing back that piece that you felt a long time ago. Nowadays, when we are stressed, we turn to movies, we could read a good book, which I love, and so on. But if I just take my staff and go do my movements, I cannot even begin to tell you how good it feels. You know, we all have stress, we are stressed all the time, and everybody uses technology to benefit their lives. I work in technology, but the thing about technology is that when a project ends, I may lose my job. So, technology brings stress in my life, not peace. If I did not have these arts, I would lose myself. I would be on edge all the time, and that would not be good. I cannot find peace in technology, so I find peace in my art, because peace is what it brings to me. It is not the best explanation, but it is all I have.
- Henri-Robert Vilaire JO JUTSU III
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Martin Wheeler @wheelersystema
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
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*The following article is an edited transcription of the Stickmata Talks interview conducted by Mahipal Lunia as part of The Immersion Foundation's Stickmata Lab (2019). To listen to the origianl interview, visit: https://soundcloud.com/theimmersionfoundation/sets/stickmata.
SYSTEMA MINDSET AN INTERVIEW WITH Martin Wheeler
I STARTED JUDO WHEN I WAS quite young, about eight or nine years old, and trained for a couple of years. When I was about fifteen or sixteen, I got into Ed Parker's kempo karate and did that until my 30s. I actually have a fourth-degree black belt in kempo. I also went back to judo and trained that for a long time. I have trained in
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the Filipino martial arts, boxing, Thai boxing, and jiu jitsu. I was a bouncer for 10 years, kind of putting all this stuff together. And for the last 20 years I have been training in systema and the Russian arts. I currently have a school with Rigan Machado, the legendary jujitsu guy, in Beverly Hills.
What is Systema? Systema, in general, is always hard to explain because it is different for everybody. It can be used as a healing system; it can be used to drive your car—it is basically a way of looking at the world, really. It is very different, and part of it happens to be a martial art. The version that I study is basically an internal Soviet system designed, most likely, for espionage. So, people did not see it on video, and do not like it very much—and I completely understand this. I always tell people that if you can understand it from the videos, it is a bad system. The idea of systema is that, on a fighting scale, if you are behind enemy lines and somebody sees you fighting, then that attracts a lot of unnecessary attention. But if they cannot understand what you are doing, and it does not look like fighting, then obviously that is much more useful to somebody who is trying to remain stealthy or quiet. But systema is really mainly for understanding yourself, and understanding how your emotions affect your actions. The easiest way to describe it is that it is tai chi on steroids.
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There are some basic ways systema is different from anything I have trained before. There are no techniques, no forms, no real structure to it apart from internal structure. Which is kind of much more like life, really: you do not walk around in karate stances. Another thing: I had been around martial arts for 20 years before I started systema, and then for 20 years since that. Obviously I had some great teachers and trained some incredible arts. One of the things that I was told back in those times, was that your martial art should be your life, and whatever you are doing in your martial art should be translated into your life. But people simply do not walk around in karate stances, or jujitsu stances, or anything else like that. So, martial art is a kind separation from your life to do something else. With systema, it is the other way around: the art actually comes out of your life itself. And so you really learn how to walk, you relearn how to breathe, you relearn how to relax—you relearn how to do a lot of things. You know, even if you are a professional fighter, you spend four or five hours a day training, but you are still spending 19 hours essentially not training. But with systema, that is the opposite as well: you really are studying
your breathing, moving, and everything else, so that your training actually becomes, in a sense, sustainable in your everyday life. And then the extension of that is your martial art. Breath and Relaxation Breath and relaxation are some of the hallmarks of good systema. However, when answering the questions of what is good breathing and what is good relaxation, I have to simplify the answers—these are very simple questions, but they require complex answers, because it is a multi-layered thing. Good breathing is to have your lungs in a good, relaxed position instead of a tight position. So, even if you relax on the outside, you might be internally tense. And, if your breathing is being affected by your tension, then your mind has been affected by your breathing. Now, the types of chemicals that you are injecting into your mind through tension, stress, and non-optimal breathing, change the way that you are thinking. Good breathing technique would be to think of how relaxed you can actually breathe, rather than how you can use breathing to cause even more tension in your body.
About tension: I was training today with a person who was a gymnast before, and we were doing sit-ups. I pointed out to him—and this was a very fit and capable person—that, when he did a normal sit-up, with one's back straight, legs on the ground, he was using his shoulders to pull himself up, and not actually using the core to sit up. And so, it took a while for him to recognize he had unconscious tension for performing the act when, by tensing the shoulders up and pulling them forward, he pulled his body out. And, if a knife, stick, or something just touched your shoulder as you were trying to sit up off the ground, you would not really have a way of escaping. So, you have to relearn how to not have unconscious tension in your body while moving around—you have to unlearn how you have been moving and relearn how to move without unconscious tension. That would definitely be a way of starting to think about tension.
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Breathing as the Language of the Unconscious You have essentially two main methods of communication: internal, and one that is more “external” internal. When we talk to each other, we have a way of communicating with each other, which is mostly using the “new” brain that we have sitting on top of our whole main system that has evolved over millions of years. For example, if I was to tell you to sit down, then you would understand my communication with you, and
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you would essentially tell your body to go through the functions of sitting down. At that point, the body would take over and do those things for you: it would flick through various unconscious tensions and relaxations until you are in a position that allows you to sit down. But if I told you that you have tension in your lower back or your leg, and that you have to release that tension - if you mentally thought to yourself, “Well, okay, I am going to talk to my back, where the ten-
sion is unconscious, and tell it to relax,” it just does not relax; it does not understand how to relax, as it does not speak this new language. You have to kind of delve into an older language, which is breathing, which is really the language of the body. You have to use breathing as a communication method between your active thoughts and your unconscious tension. So, that would be a way of looking at it: your breathing itself is kind of the communication. It is the train-system between your unconscious and your conscious mind. Structure, Posture, and Movement Posture is always important because it keeps you relaxed. Anytime you go out of posture (perfect, poised position) tension has to form to keep you in that center crouch position—or whatever it is, some kind of tension has to hold you up. But if you balance yourself in the center of that, then you do not have to really think about relaxation, because your muscles are “falling off your bones”—they are just firing as they need to, rather than you over-firing them to put you into fighting stances, for example. This frees you to be very sensitive to what is happening around you, because tension also blocks your sensitivity, the way
you are feeling things around. Essentially this means that you are feeling yourself first. If you remove the tension, you start to feel beyond the tension into the world around you. Sensitivity is a very important part of any weapon's competence. I mean, if you have tension and you get punched in the tension, you have given yourself a bit of a wall to absorb the blow, maybe that is a possibility. But to get stabbed in the tension, that is a very different scenario. Also getting hit with a heavy stick in a tense area or if your body’s tension is locking you into a position that does not allow your head or hands to move, then this obviously becomes more and more of a problem for you. Posture allows you to move. If you think of a dancer, and how poised they are, that allows them to move fluidly in any direction. The same thing is true in a stick fight. You do not want to be overly tense, because it is going to hold you in position, and if you are being held in position, it makes you a good target. Posture also gives you support—it helps you to have structure and power. Furthermore, your lungs are in a good position, so you are breathing properly. When you are breathing properly, you are seeing clearly. It is a multi-layered thing.
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“Stick or no stick, it makes no difference—systema still operates” Having a stick or not having a stick is neither right nor wrong. This is just the way that systema prefers to view it, because it finds it advantageous. You’ve got guys that are as comfortable with the weapon as they are without, so it does not really make any difference to them. But if you are somebody who identifies as a stick fighter, and you lose the stick in the fight, you lose your identity. It might take you a millisecond, or you may never recover from that idea that you have lost, essentially, what your power is as an identity—just by removing the stick from your grip. Obviously, somebody who knows how to stickfight, they will adjust pretty quickly and just go to hand-tohand or whatever it is that they are comfortable doing. But, why take the risk of having any sort of a glitch in the system as to whether you are a stick fighter or not? This is not right for everybody, but it is for me: I do not think of myself as a stick fighter, or a knife fighter, or a gun fighter or anything else. I just think of myself as someone who is capable of fighting— and now has a stick, gun, knife, or whatever. So, whether I have a stick or not, psychologically, I do
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not change. And also: when I am attacking or defending, or whatever it is, if I gain a stick or lose it in that moment, there is no hesitation as to what my next actions are. Nothing holds me back. I think that is what I try to get across. You obviously have to train like that also. One drill might be to have the stick hit somebody or work them with a stick and—in the middle of that—they should take the stick away from you. As they take the stick, there should be absolutely no change in your tension, or anything else as you continue to do what it is that you are doing. And if you gain the stick out of that movement, again, it should not change you; you should not be happy that you got to stick any more than you should be sad that you lost it. Stable minds work in space, rather than working with space. It should not matter to you whether you gain or lose something. And you should not have your identity so tied up to being a certain type of fighter that if that gets taken away your ability to fight is changed, or taken away. You do not beat people physically; you beat them psychologically. A human body can take tremendous amounts of damage—people will crawl across mountains with their
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legs broken. But, at any point, if they decided not to do that, then they are dead. So, it is not their body's ability to do something, it is a question of whether the psyche is broken or defeated in some way. When you are boxing, or Thai boxing with a really well-conditioned fighter, you are not going to beat their body. Their body goes through five, six hours a day of being beaten; you are, in a sense, just another beating for them. It is their mind that you need to fight eventually—you break someone's spirit, not their body. To truly break someone's body would be to crush them. Most people are not really capable of that just with their bare hands. You can beat someone mentally without ever touching them at all. The things that brought me to my knees had nothing to do with fighting. When a family member dies, or something like that, that is when your body goes weak—this is because your psyche is broken. If you allow yourself to be identified as a certain type of fighter, then if that gets taken away, then it kind of takes your power away with it. I am not saying that you should not be a stick fighter or whatever—they are all dangerous—but if you tie yourself to an identity, and if the identity gets broken in some
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way, then you get broken and that has nothing to do with your ability to fight. Techniques, Instinctual System, and (Stick) Fighting If you are generally learning techniques to do something, it is great, because I have come across lots of different types of fighters—superb stick fighters—regardless of style. However, when they train with me, I think what they are most interested in is—instead of playing off countless techniques that they have learned, and mastered in so many different ways—that I am more trained to play jazz with my instinctual system. Again, my instinctual system is what is driving the car, what is moving me around the world. I kind of have to “clean that system up” in the world, so that it is more effective in a fight. But essentially, I am not really learning technique. Systema is not promoting that you are learning techniques; you learn how to strip down, find out what your useful instincts in combat are, and then start to guide those, rather than trying to overlay a set pattern of movement onto your instinctual system. Because, as effective as it can be, it always has limitations, whereas your essential system, purely open to the world, has none whatsoever.
Now, what you can do to hone that system to become a good fighter is, again, up to the individual. Some people are counter fighters, some are aggressive attackers, some are plotters, some are fast movers, and so on. It is the same with their instinctual systems: some people are very effective at learning techniques, their consciousness is adept at taking technique concepts and applying them in real life. Some people are simply not good at that at all, but their instinctual systems are very attuned, and if you start to play with them, they become very good fighters very quickly. But there has to be structure in there. I tell everybody coming to my classes that everyone loves these ephemeral things: “It is natural movement.” It is not natural movement; if it were, why would you even come to a class? You would just be a master of systema immediately, because everyone is doing natural movement. You came to one class and get your masters' certificate—by the way, we do not have any of those—at the end, because you are doing natural movement. So, it cannot be natural movement. It is, basically, guided instinct, but to define your instincts is a very hard process to go through. You really have
to strip down who you think you are to find out who you really are. And then, you have to guide that. And that is really the heart of systema. I am actually writing a book about these methods, these ways of hacking into consciousness, especially under stress—how to basically use different parts of your consciousness under stress. In general, I would like to offer maybe just a different way of looking at your training approach. Show how to open up into your instinctual system a bit more, and start to recognize it, and then use it.
- Martin Wheeler
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Geoff Willcher, Ph.D @gwillcher
BANDO STAFF Geoff Willcher
“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). 492 | The Book of the Stick
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
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Roedy Wiranatakusumah @roedy.wiranatakusumah
Gending Raspuzi @gending.raspuzi
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 & Gending Raspuzi
ULIN LIMBUHAN
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