The Immersion Review - Stick Arts #5

VOL 1

Stick Arts ISSUE 5

The Ring of Fire Part 2

For the martial arts comprehensivist

Top - Maija Soderholm Bottom - Mark Stewart

VOLUME 1

Stick Arts ISSUE 5

The Ring of Fire Part 2

106 Mark Davies

138

The Stick: Man’s Oldest Tool and Weapon, and Its Use by the UK Special Forces

Martin Wheeler

Systema Stick Fighting

156

142

Jeffrey Finder

Luis Preto

Training Weapons In the Modern Era

Prevention Of Injuries And Power Output In Stick-Fighting

122 Banjamin Judkins, Ph.D & Jared Miracle, Ph.D

86

The Weapon of a Jedi Knight

Miguel Quijano & Miguel Machado

216

A Brief History of the Afro-Caribbean Dances

Nick Merchant

WEKAF and Dog Brothers: Together at Last!

278

324

Darren Patrick Friesen

Arturo Bonafont

Stick Grappling in Central America

Bonafont Cane Fighting System

CONTENTS

The Ring of Fire, Part 2

Vol. 1:5 - Stick Arts

18 Maija Soderholm

Tell Me About Yourself: A Conversation in Random Flow

38 Darrin Cook

Essential Kabaroan

192 Mark Stewart

Kali Abtik Largo

236 Harjit Singh Sagoo

Punjabi Wooden Weapon Fighting Arts: History, Philosophy, Conspiracy, and Technique

166 Geoff Willcher, Ph.D

Bando Staff

MARTIAL ARTS IN THE

RING OF FIRE PART II This issue of The Immersion Review wraps up our tour of the Ring of Fire, and continues on to examine the fallout of these and other martial traditions that have sparked renewed interest in martial arts around the world. The issue also touches on the theme of creating or inventing martial arts.

Martial traditions have informed many fictional authors in how they have constructed their—at times— fantastical worlds. Some have been very thorough in establishing such

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new worlds, like J.R.R. Tolkien who went as far as inventing languages for the fictional peoples in his stories. Even the worlds of cinema and television have seen the invention of languages like Klingon in Star Trek. It is therefore not surprising that forms of martial art are either developed for or based on such fictional worlds. There is, for example, Teräs Käsi, a fictional martial art based on pentjak silat that exists only in the Star Wars universe and canon. This kind of world-making has been per-

From the Editors

haps most popular and thorough in the case of lightsaber fighting based on Star Wars, as discussed in this issue by Benjamin Judkins and Jared Miracle. Stunt coordinators, too, draw on martial arts, and practitioners can delight in spotting individual techniques or even styles that are used to choreograph fights in film.

Inventing a martial art does not only happen in or inspired by fictional stories. The kung fu and ninja crazes in the 1970s and 1980s

were accompanied by self-styled martial arts masters who either invented their own styles or pretended to be masters in an existing one. Today, YouTube is replete with both invented arts and channels that aim at debunking the most outrageous charlatans in the guise of martial arts.

Still, all martial arts are based on some form of invention. Many of the most widely spread styles can point to the originator of their style, who usually drew on previ-

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ous ways of doing and training another form of martial art or arts.

Innovations in pedagogies, transformation of society, and change in technology can also impact ways of fighting to the degree that a new style is formed. Sometimes, wholly new ways of fighting are proposed.

We have an example of this in this issue in the form of Artura Bonafont’s style of cane fighting. Indeed, in his manual that is translated in this issue, Bonafont states that the techniques he presents are based on his own thinking, and go against the—at the time—given way of cane fighting based on fencing.

Individual masters or maestros of an established art can also be innovators. Maija Soderholm shares some of her experiences from working with Maestro Sonny Umpad, and how he tasked her with passing the method of “random flow” on as his legacy. Sonny kept on innovating new ways and implements for training, and he had arrived at this method after already having taught a few of generations of students. Rather than

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a collection of techniques or set patterns, random flow is a means to connect the nervous system and the conscious mind through dance-like play with blades. It also allows one to internalize new ideas and get past “freezing points” that fear, among other things, produces in practitioners. Skill in this type of development is measured through the ability to first “see” and “read” the opponent in order to eventually “write” what they will do. Random play is a way to experience “when” and “how” something becomes effective in the sense of getting a hit while not getting hit, which in turn develops a sense of strategy and tactics. While this was the final teaching method Maestro Umpad developed, Soderholm has found that it can be deployed to hone tactical skills in many other martial art traditions even beyond those of the Philippines.

Traditions can be continued by trying to preserve or archive them as they have been received. Another approach to keeping a tradition going is to alter it innovatively together with the times. In accor-

dance with the second approach, Kabaroan, meaning “the newest,” represents—according to Darren Cook—a radical break with the traditional forms of Filipino martial arts. Firstly, the art in question utilizes a heavier and longer (36-inch) hardwood stick compared with the rattan sticks commonly used in other forms of Filipino fighting. Secondly, whereas the traditional arts, with their lighter and shorter weapons, rely on blocking the incoming attack, a Kabaroan artist emphasizes merging with the attack rather than blocking it.

Kabaroan methods, however, are closely guarded, and this has led to a host of misunderstandings regarding its composition. Cook discloses that, although Grandmaster Estalilla did publicly teach, for example, sinawali (double stick) or staff and stick methods, these are not Kabaroan. He then proceeds to share with the reader the essence of the art as taught to him by GM Estalilla by describing, in detail, a form called the “abriged 15” containing different strikes, their counters, and core tactical principles of the system.

Codified martial art traditions are present in most cultures, and yet it comes as a surprise even to most aficionados that—aside from more well-known arts like Brazilian capoeira and Trinidadian kalinda—there exists rich traditions of Afro-diasporic arts of maní and kokoye in Cuba and calinda, cocobalé, and cocolembe in Puerto Rico. Miguel Quijano and Miguel Machado trace the present forms of these arts, firstly, to the slave owners’ policies of appeasement which, quite unintentionally, led to solidifying of African culture on the islands and, secondly, to interactions (or rather, fighting) with other ethnic groups’ martial arts, such as Portuguese jogo do pau and Canarian juego del palo.

Maní, meaning “war,” was kept alive and practiced in dances. The combative “game” of maní is, however, played in a circle with the goal of knocking down one’s opponent with kicks, punches, sweeps, and so on—it is a true full-contact form of fighting in contrast to the more commonly known folkloric and performative form of the

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game. Cocobalé and calinda, on the other hand, are played with sticks of varying lengths—or, in the case of cocobalé, even with machetes or knives— with the goal of making the opponent bleed or become unconscious. Further, cocolembe is a hand-to-hand art played by the community elders when a master of the aforementioned art has

[Photo credit: Clive Kim]

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passed away. Indeed, all of these arts are steeped in tradition and ritual, preserving the unique Afro-Cuban heritage into the present day.

Creativity and innovation is part of the evolution of warfare. Here, close-quarter battling has been deployed in contemporary mili-

tary contexts on the basis of “usewhat-works.” For example, British Special Forces were created during the Second World War to conduct deep strikes behind the enemy lines and to recruit, train, and organize local resistance fighters. These units—Commandos, Special Air Service (SAS), Special Operations Executive (SOE)—were taught “last ditch” combatives by William Fairbairn for situations where the soldier’s normal weaponry was unavailable or not preferred. Fairbairn’s stick method relied on a 18 to 24-inch weapon used predominantly in a two-handed grip. The system was very simple and basic, as it needed to be taught quickly. The operations in Iraq and Afghanistan renewed the military’s interest in combatives as Special Forces soldiers found themselves fighting in very close quarters, and even with improvised weapons. As a result, the stick training in British Special Forces can nowadays be grouped into three categories: short stick, baton, and staff/spear.

The short stick method is based on reverse-grip knife technique

taught by James A. Keating, whereas the baton methodology relies on both Filipino martial arts and the old Fairbairn method. Staff/spear, on other hand, is based heavily on bayonet training as well as sibat and jo staff methods. The training itself proceeds progressively towards “fog of war,” aiming at operating reliably in less-than-ideal conditions.

Not all traditions are ancient or, indeed, connected to earthly human reality. Take, for example, Lightsaber Combat; a competitive sport and martial art based on ideas around the Star Wars universe and franchise. In this context Benjamin Judkins and Jared Miracle remind us that even established martial arts are wrought with invented histories and imagined traditions with tenuous connections to reality, although, like Lightsaber Combat, they are practiced as if they were true. Lightsaber Combat has its true beginnings in the early 2000s when the current generation of LED-equipped replica lightsabers became available. This coincided with the in-

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vention/exploration of the “seven classic forms” of Lightsaber Combat furthering the lore and mythology surrounding the art. After a while, this attracted actual martial artists to try and figure out how one, in “reality,” would fight with a lightsaber. This resulted in hobbyist groups, different rulesets, and differing self-identifications springing up around the globe. The ahistorical and mythological nature of Lightsaber Combat enables creative play—mixing and borrowing from a variety of sources allowing for genuine martial exchange uninhibited by organizational politics. This also elevates the practice to hyper-reality, enabling one to connect with mythic structures and surpassing one’s mundane existence. It must be noted, however, that this element of hyper-reality is also present in traditional arts, although the line delineating it from the mundane is much clearer in Lightsaber Combat. The Star Wars narrative and, by extension, Lightsaber Combat conveys the values and qualities of modern heroic archetypes—not unlike tra-

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ditional arts carrying ideas about correct morality and behavior.

The varying uses of sticks display the creative range of humans in various environments and contexts.

Sticks are also used in contemporary constabulary professions in many parts of the world. Their use has also been part of more military forms of close-quarter combat.

Martin Wheeler shares some of the insights on stick-use that has been parted onto him by his teachers in the combat system developed for spies and special force members in the Soviet Union, called systema, or “the system.” Here, the expression is not so much tied to specific techniques regarding how to use a stick, but about how the system comes out when using a stick.

Fighting with sticks is, by definition, an activity conducive to physical trauma. There is, obviously, an opponent trying to hit you but also, according to Luis Preto, types of injuries caused by your own actions, wholly independent of your opponent. The key to preventing these kinds of injuries is

implementing a strength training program designed to strengthen the relevant musculature. This should be accompanied with technique-oriented training designed to develop greater body awareness, postural control, and technique.

While discussing power output, Preto starts by making a distinction between reaction and movement speeds. Improving the reaction speed can be accomplished by improving one’s ability to identify the stimulus and lessening the time that it takes to select a proper response to it. Movement speed, on the other hand, can be developed by improving one’s ability to execute the relevant motor patterns (techniques) and building up one’s ability to generate relevant muscle tension (force). Preto then offers the reader different strategies for both injury prevention and power generation, depending on the level of the martial artist.

Specific training weapons have likely been around for as long as there have been fighting skills worth passing on. The implements of training are another vein that

shows how innovation and creativity are part of martial arts and their evolution. Indeed, as Jeff Finder notes, nowadays we have a wealth of different materials to construct training weapons from, all suited for different purposes. For example, traditional arts may prefer their trusted wooden or metal trainers whereas more sport-oriented arts might like lighter and flashier aluminum weapons. Wood and rattan are cheap and easy to replace materials to construct trainers from, but one might prefer aluminum swords and knives due to their more realistic look and feel. A less common option is to construct training blades from high-impact plastics, which offer more durability than either wood or aluminum and, with correct specifications, also mimic well their “live” counterparts.

Like with synthetic composite materials, combining things overall is one way of creating something new. According to Geoff Willcher, the bando staff forms that are taught today are synthesized from several older forms by eliminat-

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ing repetitions and stringing parts from different forms together. He goes on to explain the mindset and naturalistic worldview of the Burmese people reflected in the forms.

For example, the system consists of several different drills and nine forms, reflecting the Burmese fascination in the multiples of three.

Willcher further explains the many purposes of the forms as well as the organization, principles, training, and tactics of bando itself, offering us a comprehensive overview of the bando staff system as a whole.

Different martial arts prefer different ranges in accordance with their preferred weapons, strategies, and tactics as well as their understanding of combative engagements.

While it is necessary to learn how to fight at all the ranges, for Mark Stewart, the optimal range for a given weapon is its longest reach, reflecting the viewpoint of Kali Abtik Largo. The aim is to utilize distance, evasion, and deception to deliver surgical strikes while avoiding weapon-to-weapon contact.

The key to all this is proper footwork: without good footwork you

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cannot position yourself correctly either for attack or defense. Stewart continues by giving us an overview of Kali Abtik Largo concepts, including, for example, angles of attack, targeting, and timing, as well as a few tactical pointers to try and use in one’s next sparring session.

How can you ascertain that your martial art actually works against an uncooperative opponent? You spar and fight. This is a true and tested way of evolving fighting styles that brings in the role of rules in how arts evolve and how creativity comes in. Nick Merchant notes that in the Filipino martial arts community there are two major rule sets to govern fighting: World Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation (WEKAF) and Dog Brothers, both with their particular pros and cons, which Merchant covers extensively. Succinctly put, WEKAF fighting tends to develop speed, accuracy, combinations, and endurance whereas Dog-Brothersstyle of fighting stresses versatility, power, movement, and strategy.

They can thus be seen as comple-

mentary, rather than exclusionary, ways of testing and developing one’s skill and ability.

Martial arts evolve, develop, and cross-pollinate each other over time—they are even manipulated by the ruling elite and foreign overlords. Take for instance the Indian arts of shastar vidya and gatka, the martial arts of the Sikh peoples of Punjabi. As Harjit Singh Sagoo demonstrates, shastar vidya is an ancient battlefield art that traces its roots all the way to the 15th century. Gatka, a weapons-based sport, on the other hand, is a product of the late 1800s and early 1900s and utilizes a meter-long stick. The practice of gatka was actually encouraged by the British as it took the people away from the original battlefield arts of the Sikh and would thus pave way to the continuing British rule. Singh Sagoo speculates that the later inclusion of additional weapons in gatka may have been brought about by the desire to revive the largely lost martial art of shastar vidya, thus leading to the misunderstanding that gatka actually is

the ancient art of the Sikh. He then continues by outlining the basic curriculum of gatka, including soti (meter-long stick), lathi (staff), and fari and soti (representing buckler and sword) sparring, revealing to us the simple but practical methods of the art.

Preparing for the possibility of facing actual real-life violence on a day-to-day basis brings with it a host of considerations rarely encountered in most martial artists’ training. In his article, Darren Patrick Friesen shares his insights about these factors—and the experience of teaching conflict management tactics as a foreigner— based on his work training security guards in Costa Rica. He starts by exploring some of the emotional and behavioral background necessary for security-related work as well as the necessary restraint on using violent means in one’s job as a security guard. Furthermore, the dynamics of a violent encounter necessitates on-the-spot decision-making and prior thought on and training in the ergonomics of weapon availability and deploy-

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ment, as well as retention tactics.

Friesen thus outlines his no-nonsense approach and methodology of using a baton in security work starting from the first contact all the way until handcuffing and patdown.

Sticks and canes have been used for self-defense since time immemorial. Especially during the belle époque in Europe, the cane became both a fashion element and the last legal weapon for defending oneself. Darren Cook presents us with a translation of Arturo Bonafont’s New Ways of Self-Defense on the Street with a Cane from Buenos Aires written in the 1920s and published in 1930. It has been difficult to get a hold of Bonafont’s manual of this one-of-a-kind system. What makes it stand out from other cane styles is that it mainly uses the stick in a “reverse” grip that tends to be a special way of holding a stick in most styles of fighting. For Bonafont, though, this is the most efficient way of striking with a cane in the number of self-defense scenarios that he goes through in his manual.

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As the articles in this issue show, creativity and invention are integral parts of martial arts whether one looks at old styles, their contemporary interpretation, the means and methods of training, or the development of new systems or entirely new arts. Hopefully the hoplological endeavors of The Immersion Review will spark new creative thinking in its readership, too.

Mahipal Lunia Executive Editor

Juha A. Vuori, Ph.D Managing Editor

Mika Harju-Seppänen Managing Editor

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STAFF / TEAM 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 1 Anonymous Reviewer

PRODUCTION Hana Shin Editor & Production Director

Jeff William Palaganas Production Assistant

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.

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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.

SONNY UMPAD / RANDOM FLOW

· Maija Soderholm | 19

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.

SONNY UMPAD / RANDOM FLOW

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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

SONNY UMPAD / RANDOM FLOW

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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.

SONNY UMPAD / RANDOM FLOW

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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).

SONNY UMPAD / RANDOM FLOW

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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.]

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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SONNY UMPAD / RANDOM FLOW

Maija Soderholm @ maija.soderholm

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ESSENCIAL KABAROAN Darrin Cook

WHAT IS KABAROAN? Kabaroan, pronounced “kah-bar-wahn,” is an Ilocano term meaning “the newest.” The northern Philippine provinces of Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte are the ancestral home of the late Philippine president, Ferdinand Marcos. Their language, Ilocano, serves as a trade language throughout much of northern Luzon, the main island where the capital of Manila is located, and is either the second or third most

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commonly spoken language in the Philippines. So, even though the late Grandmaster Leo Giron of the Philippine province of Pangasinan was not from the Ilocos provinces, he and Grandmaster Estalilla communicated in the Ilocano language. The Filipino martial arts are generally weapon-based methods that train with sticks and blades, and Kabaroan is the distinctively Ilocano style.

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Kabaroan is best understood by what it is not. Kabaroan is “the newest,” a radical break with the old, traditional styles of the Filipino martial arts called kadaanan [kah-dah-ah-nahn], an Ilocano term meaning “the old.” The old, traditional styles use short sticks or machetes, and are based on blocking. Demonstrations of these styles involve complicated blocks, quick footwork, and the clacking and twirling of sticks at close range, which make for a great spectacle. In contrast, the new style of Kabaroan features a longer weapon practiced with long strides at a distance. The style was designed to employ the field tool called a panabas, which is a twenty-inch machete blade attached to a twenty-inch handle. It is a simplified system that features merging with an attack rather than blocking it.

On page 2 of The Secrets of Giron Arnis Escrima by Antonio Somera, the late Grandmaster Giron is seen wielding the panabas. This section of the book also explains the origin of Kabaroan.

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Why This Article?

I want to preserve the numerous stories that Maestro Estalilla shared with me, and the culture of the art as I learned it.

It should also be understood that GM Estalilla regards the essence of Kabaroan as his ace in the hole, which he is reluctant to teach to just anyone who shows up at a seminar. GM Giron once confided to GM Estalilla that he had twenty styles on his master’s fan, but Kabaroan was the hidden system he held in reserve. So, Maestro Estalilla teaches basic techniques publicly, all the while holding back and closely guarding his treasured Kabaroan techniques. The advantage of this strategy is that it protects the secrets of Kabaroan, but the disadvantage is that observers come to believe that these simple techniques comprising his public presentation of the art represents all that he knows. This is false.

For example, a quick YouTube search shows GM Estalilla teaching sinawali, the double stick weaving patterns of eskrima, at a seminar. This is not Kabaroan, but it is one of the first videos to show up in a search. When I first trained with Maestro, I was surprised to learn that he was very confident in using a single long stick against an

From left to right: Ryan Osborn, GM Estalilla, and Darrin Cook

opponent armed with two sticks.

It seemed obvious to me that a person with two sticks has a clear advantage over an opponent with just one. Maestro Estalilla then showed me how he would defeat a double-stick opponent, and I became a believer. So, although GM Estalilla knows sinawali and teaches it, the double-stick method is not Kabaroan.

In recent years I have seen Maestro online, wielding a staff in one hand and a long stick in the other. When we trained together, we never did any of these techniques, which may be interesting, but are not Kabaroan. I now see men associated with Maestro representing the system, and I do not know how solid their foundation in Kabaroan, or any of the Filipino mar-

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tial arts, is. By way of analogy, you could become a student of Bruce Lee without any previous martial arts training, just like Ted Wong did. But the people who really appreciated what Bruce Lee offered, who grasped the radical innovation he represented, were those with extensive martial arts training. I just wonder if some people representing Kabaroan really have the depth and the commitment that they should.

So, my aim here is to teach the essence of Kabaroan, as it was taught to me personally by the grandmaster himself. I also want to illustrate what makes Kabaroan unique among the Filipino martial arts. Furthermore, and because Kabaroan is based upon advanced concepts, you can apply it to almost any style you do.

The Kabaroan Stick When I trained with Maestro, we never used the rattan so common in the Filipino martial arts. We used hardwood sticks of approximately 36 inches in length. One way to measure the proper length of the stick for Kabaroan is to stand with your arm outstretched, parallel to the ground. The stick should reach from your fingertips to the center of your chest at the sternum. Another way to measure the correct

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stick length is to stand up straight with the stick at your side resting with the tip on the ground next to your foot—the top of the stick should reach your hip at the belt line. My favorite stick is a shovel handle, which you can purchase at any one of the big hardware stores like Home Depot, and have them cut it down for you.

A key attribute of the Kabaroan stick is not just its length, but its weight. I have seen Filipino martial artists wielding long sticks made of rattan. Although this stick is long, it is too light, and as a result one sees these practitioners twirling the stick and making large movements that are impossible to perform with a solid stick. Maestro typically wielded a heavy hardwood stick that, I would guess, was two inches in diameter. He had no trouble handling a hefty stick that was heavier than those of me and my training partner, Ryan Osborne, a friend of mine who was also a private student of GM Estalilla.

How can the longer, heavier stick even compete with—let alone surpass—the much quicker, shorter, and lighter stick? In my view, the long, heavy stick forces one always to take the shortcut, to emphasize economy of motion. You simply

cannot do the twirling and spinning techniques of the short stick styles. Thus, the long stick of Kabaroan serves as a tool to teach you to follow the straight line and the tightened arc.

Take a Critical Look Before I get into technique, I would like to share an analogy from Maestro: “If I give you a fish, do you eat it bones and all? No! You separate the meat from the bones.” This is GM Estalilla’s memorable way of saying that there are thousands of styles and multiple thousands of techniques, so, when you see a technique you must carefully evaluate it, separating the bones (techniques that are useless) from the meat (techniques that are good).

Not every technique is useful, but I believe that every person and system has something valuable to teach. This is reminiscent of Bruce Lee’s dictum, “Absorb what is useful.” I invite you to take a critical look at everything I will share with you in this article, and carefully evaluate for yourself whether it is effective.

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BEGINNING LESSONS I would like to begin by introducing you to the manner in which we used to begin the lessons when I trained with GM Estalilla.

First of all, we started with a bow.

With both feet together, I placed the far end of the stick under my left armpit. My left hand went over the stick and came up between my stick and my right arm to grasp my right wrist. With a bow I said, “Adalanak,” which is Ilocano for “Disciple me,” or “Show me the way.” (Dalan is “way” in Ilocano.)

Next, we did warm-up exercises.

Maestro always stressed that the long stick—unlike the short stick— can also be used as an exercise tool, so we started off with a series of exercises with the big stick.

Jumping Jacks To Increase the heart rate, which in turn creates blood flow to the mus-

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cles and thus helps prevent tearing and other injuries, we started with jumping jacks. Especially with the stretching exercises that follow, it is important to be warmed up.

Most of these exercises begin from the rest position. Standing naturally with the knees slightly bent and the feet shoulder-width apart, the hands grasp the stick palm-down, shoulder-width apart. The arms hang down loosely so that the stick is horizontal at about crotch level.

To do jumping jacks with the long stick, again grasp the stick palmsdown and shoulder-width apart.

Let your arms hang down naturally, with the stick horizontal at crotch level, and your feet together. Jump up and spread your feet to shoulder width or slightly wider, while swinging your arms upward until they are as high above your head as possible, with the stick parallel

to the ground. In these exercises, we always strive to get maximum range of motion. Reverse this process, hopping to bring your feet together while swinging the stick down to your waist. Repeat.

You can also do jumping jacks by starting with the feet together and the stick held naturally at your waist with both hands shoulder-width apart. Jump while throwing the right foot forward and the left foot backward. At the same time, fling the stick up above your head. Reverse, throwing the right foot behind you, and the left foot out in front, while swinging the stick downward. Repeat.

Windmills Windmills combine stretching and cardio in one exercise. With the feet wider than shoulder width and the hands grasping the stick

palm-down at shoulder width, reach up as high as you can above your head with the right end of the stick, then drop down to bring the right end of your stick down toward your left ankle, with your legs straight. Now reach up with your left hand as high as possible above your head toward an imaginary upper left corner, then swing the left end down toward your right ankle. Repeat.

Sayaw (Dance) The following exercise is reminiscent of traditional Filipino dances such as the cariñosa and the pandanggo sa ilaw. Starting at the rest position, bring the stick up above the left side of your head at a 45-degree angle as though blocking an overhead attack to the left side of your head, while stepping forward with the right foot. Your left foot now steps behind and

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to the outside of your right foot, while driving the left end of your stick straight behind you. The left foot now steps out to its original position and the stick is brought up at a 45-degree angle as though blocking an overhand attack to the right side of your head. The right foot now steps behind and to the outside of your left foot as you strike with the right end of your stick straight behind you, as though thrusting the tip of the stick into the gut of an attacker approaching from behind. Return to the original position and repeat.

Your feet trace a trapezoid, with the short end in front of you and the wider base behind you. Let the arms really swing as you perform this. GM Estalilla was always joyous in this exercise, a feeling that was contagious.

Dynamic Tension We also did a series of exercises based upon dynamic tension, which serves to stretch and to tone muscle. From the rest position, raise the stick as high as possible

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overhead, so that it is parallel to the ground. Now lean toward your right, bending your right leg and arm. Your left arm and leg straighten as you pull the stick down toward your shoulder level. All this time your left and right hands pull in opposite directions, as though you are trying to pull the stick apart at its middle, exerting considerable force with your arms. Return to rest position and repeat, only in reverse this time. Your left leg and arm bend as you lean toward your left, while your right arm and leg straighten out, as though you are shooting an arrow. One variation is to do this same exercise, except bring the stick behind your head.

You can also hold the stick at your waist in the rest position and try to pull it apart with all your might, then, alter by holding the stick at waist level behind your back. Yet another variation is to grasp the stick behind your back diagonally, with the right hand above your right shoulder, and the left hand at your lower back, holding the stick as though you were drying your

back with a towel. Once again, pull as hard as you can in opposite directions, as though you were pulling the stick apart in the middle.

Switch and reverse hands.

Superman Maestro always encouraged me to innovate, to improve upon what he has built, or in his words, “to refine the system.” In that spirit I add the following exercise, the Superman. Lie down on the floor on your stomach with your arms extended forward grasping the stick at shoulder width, and your legs straight behind you with the feet at shoulder width. Now raise your hands and legs upward as high as you can, while keeping your arms and legs straight. Hold this position for several seconds and gradually increase the length of time you hold this position. This develops your lower back, which you should really feel being worked during this exercise. Lower back injuries are common, and this exercise helps prevent them.

The “Dying Snake” Principle In the following training sequences we will be blocking, or “meeting” strikes with opposing strikes, in GM Estalilla’s terminology.

These blocks exist for the purposes of the drill, but are not the essence of Kabaroan. Before we move on, I would like to discuss an important concept imparted to me by Maestro regarding the drawbacks of blocking, a concept that I call the “Dying Snake” Principle. When GM Estalilla was a young man, there was a guy in his village who encountered a snake in the jungle, which was a common occurrence. In order to deal with this constant threat, Maestro and the other men of his village carried machetes when they went into the jungle. The young man suddenly came upon a snake hanging down from a tree branch, and severed its head with a stroke of his machete. He looked around, but could not find the snake’s detached head, until he glanced up, and saw the snake head with its fangs clamped onto the brim of his

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hat! The young man realized that even though the snake was dead, it was still deadly.

GM Estalilla uses this story to explain the dangers of blocking.

Suppose you meet the opponent’s strike by hitting his hand, a technique called “defanging the snake” in the Filipino martial arts. Even if you crush his hand, and especially if you disarm him, the momentum of the stick (or tire iron) may carry it into your face, so the dying snake is still deadly.

I believe the Dying Snake Principle applies to many self-defense situations. Suppose you punch an opponent and you see he is fading out—you have stunned him. So, you decide to move in to finish him off. Former bouncer and renowned martial artist, Geoff Thompson, warns you not to do this. Just as the dying snake is still deadly, the fading opponent can pull you into him and drag you down. Once you are on the ground, his friend, wife, or a malicious spectator can easily kick you in the head, with lethal consequences.

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Someone might attack you with a knife, and you shoot him. He is dying, and will be dead within a minute, but he is not dead yet. He can still kill you before he fades to black. The same applies, if you stab someone fatally—he still has several seconds of life left, and those seconds can be a very long time when you are being stabbed.

So, this is a problem with blocking.

He swings a beer bottle, and you hit his hand, which causes the bottle to fly into your face. Or you hit the bottle, which sends beer and fragments of glass into your face.

There was another young man in Maestro’s village nicknamed “Number 2.” Once this young man tried to block a machete, and although he stopped it, the tip of the blade traced the corner of his eye, leaving him with a scar in the shape of the number 2. Meeting force with force has its drawbacks, so, Maestro prefers to merge, or go with, the opponent’s attack.

THE ABRIDGED 15

GM Estalilla teaches a form, like a kata (anyo in Filipino), called the Abridged 15. This short form is the easiest way to grasp the essence of his system, particularly as you examine the strikes and their counters. It also helps to understand that the sequence of strikes has a flow, which shows you how to handle the long stick combatively.

belligerent nor threatening. There is no danger that someone will call the police complaining about a crazy guy with a stick. Keep in mind that this is not an obvious martial arts stance, but one that looks to the casual observer as though you are merely standing and alert.

From the rest position, we proceed to what I call low guard. The stick is held in the right hand only several inches from the butt end, and the tip of the stick lies on the ground right beside your right foot, which is placed forward. Your right leg is bent, and your left leg is behind you, straighter but slightly bent.

Both feet are pointed forward. The left hand is held at the chest. This is a ready stance that is prepared to confront an attack, but is neither

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Strike #1: Center Thrust The first strike of the Abridged 15 is a straight thrust to the opponent’s midsection. Be careful not to wind up, or pull the stick back, or do anything else to signal to the opponent that a strike is coming. The thrust should move in a straight line from the ground to the opponent’s midsection. Although a thrust with a blunt-end stick may not seem like an effective

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move, the weight of the stick gives it a solid impact. Furthermore, the thrust’s economy of motion means that the big stick moves surprisingly quickly.

The defender stands in what I call middle guard—GM Estalilla’s preferred fighting stance. Once again the right leg is forward and bent, while the left leg is behind you, and also bent. This stance is deeper, with a greater bend at

the knees, so that it is obviously a martial arts stance. The right hand rests at the hip, grasping the stick several inches from the butt end, which lies outside of the leg. The stick crosses the body, coming to a point under your chin. The left hand grasps the stick palm-down, several inches from the forward end. The tip of the stick should be aimed directly at the opponent’s face.

To counter this strike, the defender in middle guard drops his stick straight downward to intercept the thrust, not parallel to the attacker’s stick, but at a slight cross angle. Many styles will block this strike by chopping with the stick or forearm perpendicular to the straight thrust attack, whether in the form of a thrust with a stick, knife, or front kick. This perpendicular block wastes motion, and leaves the defender vulnerable to missing, creating a vulnerability by removing the defending arm from the centerline. With a heavy weapon, the abaniko block in which

one twists the wrist downward, runs the risk of a self-disarm, where a miss causes the weight of the weapon to work against the thumb, sending the weapon flying.

This block knocks the attacker’s stick down to his left. For the purposes of this drill we will block, going force-against-force. In actual application, you would parry the thrust, subtly diverting it and countering.

Countering the Center Thrust Once you have parried downward, intercepting the opponent’s thrust at a slight angle, redirect the tip of your stick upward with a counter-thrust. You can use your left hand, palm up, to move the opponent’s weapon arm out of the way.

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Strike #2: Underleft As the attacker performing the Abridged 15, I have thrust to the opponent’s midsection. In response, he has chopped downward, knocking my stick down to my lower left.

I will now execute strike number two, an underleft.

This is the genius of GM Estalilla. Most Filipino styles number their strikes, so you will often hear something like, “Feed me a num-

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ber seven,” or “Now we’re going to work on counters to a number five.” This is further complicated by the fact that dozens of styles have their own, different numbering systems, so that my number ten is your number eight, and your number ten may not even exist in my style. Confused yet? GM Estalilla devised a straightforward, easy-to-understand method for describing any type of strike. An “underleft” means it is an under-

hand blow delivered from your left side. In other words, it is a low backhand strike aimed at the opponent’s right hip or knee.

Although GM Estalilla typically trains with an underleft strike aimed at the opponent’s right hip, I prefer to target the opponent’s right knee. In my thinking, I can strike the opponent’s knee, calf, shin, and ankle with my stick with little risk of him grabbing it, or blocking it with a short weapon.

If he does bend or crouch to try to grab or block my stick, I am prepared to follow up by blasting his head. Furthermore, if I take out his knee, I help prevent him from rushing in and trying to tackle or disarm me.

The Drawbacks of Blocking By meeting the attacker’s underleft by colliding into with a matching underleft, this collision sends the attacker’s stick backward. GM Estalilla calls this force-against-force style blocking a “meet.” Unlike the short light stick, which can easily be braked and redirected by the wrist, the big stick tends to stay in motion, building momentum as it travels. The struggle is to maintain control of the long, heavy stick. An opponent who blocks your stick brings it to a halt, even if just for a second. GM Estalilla exploits that impact to redirect his stick.

The defender blocks the underleft by meeting it with an underleft of their own.

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Strike #3: Overleft Now that the defender has blocked your underleft, sending it backward, you will add to that rebound off the opponent’s stick, whipping your stick up into an overleft strike.

An overleft strike is an overhand strike that comes from your left side, delivered at 10 or 11 o’clock.

Briefly recapping, you thrust, and that thrust is knocked down to your lower left. From the low-

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er left quadrant you launch a low backhand strike (an underleft) to the opponent’s knee. He counters by clashing with your stick, knocking it backward with an underleft of his own. You will go with the momentum of your stick, circling up to a high backhand strike to the right side of the opponent’s head as you step forward with your left foot.

One application of this sequence is to throw the underleft, striking the opponent’s knee, then whipping the strike up to his head with an overleft, especially if he tries to reach down to block or grab your stick at his knee. The underleft could also be what GM Giron called an inganyo, or feint. Throw the low backhand to his knee to bait him to stoop down and reach, then snap the stick overhand into his head.

For these backhand strikes—underleft and overleft—GM Estalilla often uses what I call “assisted oar grip,” a technique also employed

by GM Giron. Imagine you are in a rowboat holding an oar. Both hands are palm-down, close to each other at the far end of the oar/ stick. In assisted oar grip, your left hand assists the backhand strike by pushing against the stick with the open palm, fingers pointed upward. Why not just grasp the stick with two hands as though you were swinging a baseball bat? The original Filipino immigrants who

brought the Filipino martial arts to the US, sometimes referred to as the “old men’’ or the “manong” (an Ilocano term of respect for an older male), were blade conscious.

They were aware that the stick was a stand-in for the ubiquitous machete of the Philippines. Although you can firmly grip a baseball bat or stick with two hands, you cannot do that with a one-handed machete—you would cut your left hand, if you gripped the blade, because there is no room for both hands on the handle. However, you can use the left hand to push against the dull back of the machete blade, which is exactly the technique used by GM Estalilla and GM Giron, even if it is applied to the stick.

Defending the Overleft The defender blocks your overleft with his matching overleft while stepping back with his right foot.

GM Estalilla practices this form with blocks to illustrate classical Filipino martial arts and blocking,

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which helps the form to flow. My contribution here is for the defender to block the underleft with an underleft, but to merge with the overleft. “Merge” is Maestro’s term for going with the opponent’s strike as opposed to blocking it.

From the underleft block you will parry the opponent’s overleft by coming up underneath it with an underight aimed at the opponent’s stick or hand. You will need to turn your stick-bearing hand from palm-down to palm-up. This parry, merging with the overleft, does not interrupt the flow of the form, because the attacker will swing his stick over as he steps forward with his left foot.

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Strike #4: Underight To summarize briefly where we are at in the form, your right foot was forward and you stepped forward with your left foot as you struck with an overleft, allowing the stick to swing freely. When handling the long, heavy stick, you learn to go with its momentum rather than constantly fight it. Also, when you have your right foot forward and execute an overleft, you must be careful that your stick does not hit your own forward leg, so you move to get that lead foot out of the weapon’s path. This is even more potentially dangerous if you are armed with a blade.

You are now standing with your left foot forward, and the knees slightly bent. The stick has swung down to your lower right. You will now strike the opponent’s left knee or hip with an underight. This is an underhand blow from the right side that strikes the opponent at four or five o’clock.

The defender will block the underight with a matching underight of their own. This sequence illustrates the dangers of blocking: when you meet an underight attack with an underight of your own, there is the natural tendency of the opponent’s stick to slide up your stick to your hand, or to careen up into your body or face. For the purposes of the drill, we meet force-on-force, but in real life, you

are better off withdrawing the targeted leg or hip while striking downward to merge with the opponent’s strike.

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Strike #5: Overight Using the rebound of the collision of both sticks meeting at the underight, you will now flip the stick up to attack with an overight, which is an overhand blow delivered from the right side, striking the opponent’s head or neck at one or two o’clock. Once again, you are in danger of hitting your own lead left leg, so you withdraw it. Stepping back with the left foot not only keeps you from accidentally hitting or cutting yourself, but also

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allows the stick to swing freely, so that you are flowing with its momentum rather than fighting it.

In my training with Maestro, the defender blocked the overight with an overight of his own. My contribution is to suggest blocking the attacker’s underight, which sets up the overight—only instead of blocking the overight, merge with it. You go with the attacker’s overight by coming up underneath it with an underleft, hitting the attacker’s stick, hand, or forearm.

Because the attacker is stepping back with his left foot, merging does not interrupt the rhythm of the form.

Strike #6: Vertical As you strike with the overight you pull your forward left foot backward. Let the stick swing freely, letting it flow downward toward your lower left. Rather than trying to stop the stick, let it continue to loop upward. Bring the stick down overhead with a vertical strike, hitting the opponent’s head at twelve o’clock.

The key to blocking the vertical strike is to move offline, meaning to get out of its path. Some styles want to get right under the vertical, and hold up the stick parallel to the ground. GM Estalilla’s octagon diagram has a horizontal bar at the top, but this is not used for blocking. What you want to do is to move toward your left, striking with an overleft, deflecting the stick so that it does not hit its intended target, your head.

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Strike #7: Radical Radical is GM Estalilla’s term for an upward thrust that moves upward from six o’clock into the opponent’s groin, gut, or solar plexus.

When you strike with the vertical, you let the stick flow. Instead of trying to stop the stick, you let the ground stop it. Immediately bounce up from the ground and into a radical strike. If your stick is made of bamboo, rattan, or the modern polymers, it will spring up off the ground. However, if your stick is metal or solid hardwood,

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you will have to redirect it and propel it yourself once it hits the ground.

The defender will counter just as he did against the center thrust— intercept it at a slight angle by chopping downward. It is important to angle off to your left, which gets you out of the way of the opponent’s radical upward thrust, and also moves you toward his back.

Flow with the Big Stick The sequence moving from the overight, looping into a vertical, followed by a radical thrust bouncing up from the ground illustrates a key trait of the big stick. With the short stick, you can suddenly brake it and switch directions.

With the heavier big stick, you must learn to go with the flow, to give in to the stick’s momentum. If you watch GM Estalilla in action, you see that a crucial element of controlling the big stick is not in

the movement of the wrist or forearm, but the shoulder.

Bambolia Continuing with the Abridged 15 form, at this point in the anyo, we are introduced to the bambolia method, pronounced “bomb-bowlyah.” This term is derived from the Spanish verb bambolearse, meaning “to reel or stagger.” The idea is that you hit the opponent so hard that he is sent staggering, reeling from the blow. In the bambolia style, you grip the stick palms-down slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.

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Strike #8: Horleft To review, you struck with an overight while stepping back with your forward left foot to let the stick move freely. The stick traveled a loop downward to your left side, then continued in an arc over your head, where you brought it straight downward at twelve o’clock. You allowed the vertical strike to hit the ground and bounced it back up into the opponent’s midsection. The defender countered by chopping downward, knocking the stick to your left side.

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You will now strike with a horleft—a horizontal backhand strike traveling at nine o’clock from your left side, aimed at the opponent’s right arm or his torso.

The defender stands in middle guard. The right leg is forward and bent, while the left leg is behind you, and also bent. This stance is deeper, with a greater bend at the knees. The right hand rests at the hip, grasping the stick several inches from the butt end, which lies outside of the leg. The stick crosses the body, coming to a point

under your chin. The left hand grasps the stick palm-down, several inches from the forward end.

To block the horleft, the defender moves the tip of the stick outward.

This is a very strong block, which uses the hip and thigh to anchor the stick.

Counter to the Horleft This is a classic bambolia counter, the rematse, which is Spanish for “to rivet, drive home,” or “to hammer home.” Most Filipino styles block the horleft strike by plac-

ing the left foot forward, which some practitioners call “facing the attack.” However, GM Estalilla puts his right foot forward, which serves to anchor the stick and also provides a barrier that he can use to stop and to strip the opponent’s weapon. To execute the rematse, block with the vertical bambolia block on your right side, stopping the opponent’s stick. You will now dip the upper end of your stick, held by the left hand downward, hooking the opponent’s right wrist at the notch formed by his forearm

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and stick. Twist suddenly to your left, counterclockwise, pulling up and back with the left hand while snapping forward with the right hand. The action of your left hand and your stick jamming the junction of his hand and stick jerks the opponent’s stick forward, possibly stripping it out of his grip because the end of the stick is blocked by your forward leg, straightens out his arm and yanks him forward off balance. Simultaneously, the action of your right hand drives the end of your stick into his chest or face.

Strike #9: Horight Let us say that you fail to strip the opponent’s stick in the rematse counter to his horizontal left backhand strike. He pulls his stick through in preparation for a horight, a horizontal forehand blow delivered from his right side.

As he draws his stick through, the right end of your stick is striking with an overight butt—you are hitting with end of the stick that extends from the right hand. GM Estalilla calls this a kulata, from the Spanish culata, for a rifle butt.

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So, you held the stick with both hands palm-down, and blocked with the stick held vertically, then dipped the upper end near the left hand downward, to hook and strip the opponent’s stick. As they draw their stick back to the right, this creates a half beat, an intermediate hit, that you can deliver with the right hand’s end of the stick, which is already in motion.

Hit the opponent’s face with the right end of the stick, then continue that motion to execute a vertical bambolia block against his horight.

The right hand is up, and your left hand is down. Step forward with your left foot, and repeat the rematse, only this time, the right end of the stick dips down to hook the opponent at the juncture of his hand and stick. Rip the stick out of his grasp by suddenly twisting clockwise, yanking your right arm back and striking his back or head with a left butt.

In training the form you and your partner will typically just defend the horleft and horight strikes with vertical bambolia blocks.

Strike #10: Horleft Thrust The attacker strikes with a horleft thrust. This is a backhand thrust from the left side. Your right hand is on the left side of your body with the fingers of your fist facing upward, holding the stick with the tip forward in preparation to thrust. This thrust is somewhat awkward, so the left hand assists by pushing on the butt end to aid with the thrust. This technique is more appropriate for a blade with a thrusting tip than a blunt-ended stick.

The defender is now standing with both hands holding the stick vertical at the left side, right hand upper-most. You must be aware that a common follow up to the backhand thrust is to drop the wrist suddenly, turning the thrust into an underleft strike, so be prepared for this counter. The defender will let go of his stick with the left hand, bringing the lower left end up and then down in an arc, striking vertically in a line that will intercept the attacker’s stick even if he quickly switches to an underleft attack. This is a merging defense.

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The Essence of Kabaroan Most Filipino martial artists will associate the long stick and the Ilocano style with a long-range method called larga mano, which is Spanish for “long hand.” (This term is often corrupted to “largo mano.”) In larga mano, the practitioner stays out at long range, using his reach advantage to hit the weapon hand. The larga mano stylist is wily and elusive, always slipping just out of reach as you try to get close enough to hit him, and he is nailing you as he fades away. GM Giron was a master of this technique.

Surprisingly, GM Estalilla did not do larga mano at all. He always spoke dismissively, saying “you could do the old hit-the-hand,” as though that was a simpleton technique. The core of Kabaroan is not to move out or to stay at long range. The essence of Kabaroan is to move into the teeth of the opponent’s attack. You encroach on his space, crowding him, or in Filipino, he is gipit.

A crucial element in Kabaroan is not just a knowledge of technique, but character, having the boldness to move into an attacking opponent. Most men who fight are afraid

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of getting hurt, so they hang back, feinting, pawing, and swiping, but the Kabaroan man will charge in, not like a mad bull, but fearlessly with superior technique. Instead of clicking, clacking, and twirling sticks, the Kabaroan stylist moves to end the fight decisively.

If you go to YouTube and look up Fabrizio Filograna’s video, “Kabaroan Eskrima: The Art of the Barons,”1 you see GM Estalilla demonstrating and Guro Filiograna performing bambolia style Kabaroan. You will note that the video is not rehearsed but it shows free sparring, and Guro Filograna captures the essence of the Kabaroan method. At 1:25 in the video, he very effectively merges with his opponent’s strike.

When I first saw Irish stick fighting I was surprised by how similar it is to Estalilla Kabaroan. Irish stick fighting as taught by Sifu Glen Doyle has a similar strategy, that of hitting or blocking at long and middle range before closing in with the stick held in staff/bambolia grip to deliver punishment up close.

1 https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=2u0PfsrALe8

Strike #11: Horight Gore As you throw the horleft thrust you step forward with the left foot as the left hand now comes to grab the other end of the stick. You now stand left foot forward and hold the stick with both hands palmdown, bambolia style. Your aim is to hook and rip with the forward end of the stick near the left hand, attacking at three o’clock from your view. Maestro calls this a suag, an Ilocano term describing a

bull hooking, tearing, and thrusting with its horns.

Defending the bambolia strike is tricky. If the defender merges with the strike, parrying the end of the stick to his right, the attacker can roll with this parry and attack with an overight butt. The defender is better off staying to the attacker’s outside (i.e. toward his back) and striking the attacker’s forward left forearm.

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Strike #12: Underight Gore

Strike #14: Overight Butt

Draw the stick back and launch another goring attack, this time coming up from underneath at a four or five-o’clock angle. If the opponent blocks downward, it is easy to flow into an overight butt.

Flowing with the overight gore, step forward with the right foot and deliver an overight butt, meaning you are hitting with the butt end of the stick near your right hand at one or two o’clock.

The defender will block as he did previously, moving to the attacker’s back and striking against his lead left forearm.

Defending this is tricky. If you block the overight, the attacker can pivot the stick to deliver an underleft or overleft butt. The best counter is to merge with the overight butt with a backhand horizontal strike/ parry. For the purposes of the drill, block the overight butt with a matching overight butt while stepping back with your left foot. Open the fingers of your right hand to keep them from getting hit.

Strike #13: Overight Gore Draw the stick back and attack with another gore, this one an overhand attack coming down on the opponent’s face or clavicle at a one or two-o’clock angle. If the defender blocks upward, roll with his block and come back with an underight gore. If he parries or grabs the tip of your stick, pull down with your left hand as you throw an overight butt. The danger of bambolia strikes is how easily and quickly they flow from one into the other.

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Strike #15: Overleft Butt Step forward with your left foot as you deliver an overleft butt, hitting with the end of the stick near your left hand at 10 or 11 o’clock.

The defender blocks the overleft butt with a matching overleft butt while stepping back with his right

foot. Open the fingers of your left hand to keep them from getting smashed.

This finishes the Abridged 15 as it was taught to me, but I need to add one more strike to give you a complete overview of the system.

Strike #16: Slam You have just stepped forward with your left foot and delivered an overleft butt. Now step for-

ward with your right foot. Hold the stick horizontally with both hands palm-down. Snap and shove the stick forward, driving off of your rear left foot. Strike the opponent with the portion of the stick between your hands. I have seen this attack referred to as a bar strike. Maestro calls this a barang.

(I have added this crucial strike to the Abridged 15 form.)

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The best way to defend against the slam is to get out of range by stepping back with your left foot.

The slam is one of the most useful techniques that I learned from GM Estalilla. It is one that can also be applied with the short stick. Most Filipino martial arts and many striking arts like karate, kung-fu, Thai boxing, and so on, try to stop an opponent by striking. A problem in combat is that there is both striking power and driving power, which is best illustrated by the double leg takedown of wrestling.

When an attacker bursts in and is driving with his legs, it is difficult to stop him just by striking, especially when he is in close where it is difficult to generate powerful strikes. Imagine an American football lineman in a three-point down stance, about to blast forward and tackle you. By the time you try to hit him, he is already on top of you. You can try to hit him as you are driven to your back, but those blows are likely to be ineffective.

However, by delivering a slam, you

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can counter the tackle with driving power of your own.

If you have a stick, any opponent will instinctively try to close on you to get inside of your striking range. How do you create space, regaining the distance you need to hit him powerfully? The slam is one of the few techniques that can actually drive the opponent back.

Imagine your car breaks down and you need to get it to the garage down the street. If you try to hit the car or kick it down the street, you will not get very far. It is only by driving with your legs that you will be able to move the car. The same holds true with the opponent who is in close—you can hit and even hurt him, but that does not get him off of you, which is even more critical when there are multiple attackers.

A problem is that in the martial arts, we typically train fighting at a comfortable range. We are squared off and ready to confront each other at fighting range. In real life, though, an antagonist will

often chest bump, trying to intimidate us, and fighting may flare up at nose-to-nose range. We may be ambushed, meaning that an attacker is right on top of us before we even know there’s a fight. In these situations the slam is a valuable tool.

Middle Guard Let us start by reviewing the low guard. The stick is held in the right hand just several inches from the butt end, and the tip of the stick lies on the ground right beside your right foot, which is forward.

Your right leg is bent, and your left leg is behind you, straighter but slightly bent. Both feet are pointed forward. The left hand is held at the chest.

The Pop-Up In order to transition from low guard to middle guard, GM Estalilla performs what I call the pop-up, which snaps the stick up from the ground to just under the level of the chin. When I first saw Maestro

do this technique, I thought he was bringing the end of the stick up by bending the right wrist and pulling up the forearm. The key, though, is to draw the right elbow back. By throwing the right elbow backward, the tip of the stick automatically levers up and into your waiting left hand, which is held palm-out at chest height.

The Snap Thrust Once you catch the stick at your chest you are in middle guard. The tip of the stick should be pointed straight at the opponent’s face.

The snap thrust is another very useful technique I learned from GM Estalilla. It is a technique that can be applied with almost anything, whether a short stick or a beer bottle. Let the tip of the stick fall forward, while at the same time extending your right arm to push the stick forward. At the moment the stick is parallel to the ground and your right arm is almost fully extended, you snap the wrist downward, whipping the tip

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forward. This is completely unlike the typical Filipino martial arts thrust, which is driven by shoving the hand forward in a straight line.

GM Estalilla often begins this thrust with the stick held vertically and the butt end at the right hip.

Years ago, my friend Ryan, a fellow student of Maestro’s, was struggling to teach the concept of the snap strike to a student of ours.

Suddenly it occurred to Ryan that this student, Marc, was a carpenter, so he explained, “It’s like hit-

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ting with a hammer.” Suddenly the lights went on in Marc’s head, and he instantly grasped the concept.

You see, when you hit with a hammer, you do not power the strike all the way through—you let the weight of the hammer do the work.

The wrist is relaxed, and a snap of the wrist sends the hammer head into the nail.

This is a powerful technique. It is deceptive because it is not immediately obvious to the opponent that a thrust is coming. All the op-

ponent sees (or does not see) is a small circle the diameter of a silver dollar hurtling toward his face.

The weight of the big stick creates a powerful impact.

Once, Ryan and I were sparring in GM Estalilla’s garage during lessons. We had made padded sticks by putting foam pipe insulation over hardwood dowels. In our sparring scenario, Ryan had the long padded stick and I had the short padded stick, so I was playing the role of the short-stick stylist. Just

as I started to burst in, Ryan hit me right in the mouth with the snap thrust, which was so fast, so direct, and so non-telegraphic that I was blasted before I could do anything.

My head snapped back, my eyes teared up, and I was stopped dead in my tracks. It was game over. If I had caught a hardwood stick to the mouth, the results would have been devastating.

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Countering the Center Thrust The pop-up move can be used to parry an opponent’s center thrust.

Snap the stick up, intercepting the opponent’s thrust at a slight angle. Now follow up with the snap thrust, which comes over the top of the stick into the opponent’s chest or face.

Another counter for the center thrust begins when your stick is on the lower left side of your body.

Strike with an underleft. The bottom of your right fist and the butt of the stick are pointed upward.

The moment your stick makes

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contact with his, your wrist snaps down clockwise, which sends the tip of the stick upward. Continue with a thrust into the opponent’s midsection.

The Tightened Arc The short stick can easily be redirected 180 degrees and spun in circles, but once the big stick gets going, it is difficult to stop. One secret to controlling the big stick and being deceptive with it is to tighten the arc. The stick is still traveling in a circle, but the arc has been “tightened,” so that it travels a short path.

Recoil Strikes Once at a festival GM Estalilla’s father was spurred by the crowd to spar against another Filipino stick-fighter. Ramiro Estalilla Sr. launched a strike, which the defender tried to block but could not. Estalilla’s stick continued, striking his opponent’s eye and blinding him, which was entirely unintentional. The senior Estalilla regretted that confrontation for the rest of his life. Maestro recalls going with his father to visit the man that he had blinded. Sometimes having the “world’s deadliest

martial art” and defeating your opponent in seconds is not as good as it sounds.

The technique that GM Estalilla’s father used in that tragic encounter was the recoil strike. To execute a recoil strike, throw an overight, but draw the stick back so that the tip traces a counterclockwise spiral. For the opponent who tries to merge with your stick (in other words, he counters your overight with an overleft), your stick will circle away from him and spiral up to his eye.

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The recoil strike can be done with almost any of the strikes. From an overleft, dip the stick down, retracting it, so that the opponent’s merging defense misses (that is, he tries to defend your overleft with an overight). The tip of your stick dips under his, and you circle clockwise up into an overleft thrust to the eye. You can aid this thrust by pushing with your left hand against the butt of your stick.

The key to shortening the arc is not in the wrist or forearm, but in drawing back your shoulder.

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Shortened Strikes This tightened arc works against an opponent who tries to block.

Strike with an overight, but draw the stick back. However, the stick continues forward into a thrust to the opponent’s face. For underleft and overleft strikes, shorten the arc by drawing the shoulder back.

Once again, even though you draw the tip back, the stick continues forward, and you direct it into the opponent’s face.

GM Giron told me about a friendly sparring match he had at a public gathering, against GM Angel Cabales of Serrada Eskrima. GM Cabales wielded a short stick, while GM Giron used the long stick of the Ilocano style. GM Giron knew that Angel would try to hit his hand, so every time he threw a strike, he would draw it back just as GM Cabales attempted to hit his hand, causing the short stick to hit the middle of his long stick. By shortening and thrusting, you are able to hit the opponent on the offbeat.

The Killing Blow Of all the techniques, this one is the most essential. This is the core of Kabaroan. Suppose we start with short sticks and do singko teros, or “five strikes,” commonly used in the Ilocano style. You block the opponent’s overight with an overight, his overleft with an overleft, his underight with an underight, his underleft with an underleft of your own, and chop down at a slight angle against his center thrust. Repeat the drill, only this time you are not wielding

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a 26-inch stick, but a stick 36 inches long. You will find that every time you block you are hitting him in the head or body, even if you are not trying to.

With the short stick you generally must block the attack and then counter with an attack of your own, but the greater length of the Ilocano stick enables you to block and hit the opponent at the same time.

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Now that you are aware of this principle, repeat the drill, only this time concentrate on hitting the opponent every time you block.

Even better, do the drill again, only this time merge with his strikes.

Against the opponent’s overight, you merge by using an overleft.

The stick starts on the left side of your body in a backhand position, and GM Estalilla also pushes with his left hand against the back of the stick. So, you blend with the opponent’s attack and hit him in the back of the head.

Once, Ryan, Maestro, and I were in the grandmaster’s garage, when several of his relatives were visiting. Upon seeing Maestro demonstrate this technique one of them commented, “That is the killing blow.”

but if I aim to intercept his stick on a line that will strike his head or body, it does not matter what he does—he gets hit anyway.

Against the opponent’s overleft you merge with an overight or a high horight, hitting him in the head.

Against a horight GM Estalilla steps forward with his left leg and hits the opponent’s head, continuing downward in a straight line.

Against a horleft he steps forward with the right foot, strikes the opponent’s head, and continues straight down to block.

A related principle is one I call “cutting through.” It is important that you are not aiming for the opponent’s stick, but are striking in a line that will hit him. Suppose the opponent strikes with an overleft; if I aim for his stick, that strike could be a feint, I might miss, or he might suddenly change direction,

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REFINE THE SYSTEM

GM Estalilla always encouraged me to “refine the system,” which is to advance the art through innovation. Here are my contributions.

Fulcrum Strike One difficulty with the big stick is controlling its momentum. Throw an overight. Let the stick loop in toward your lower left, but meet the stick with the left forearm or outer bicep. Push forward, causing the arc of the stick to tighten. Redirect the stick forward in an overleft.

The Catch Throw an overight. Let it loop to your lower left, only catch the stick near the tip with your left hand so that you are now in bambolia grip.

Continue this motion to strike with an overleft butt.

Both of these techniques are good against an opponent who plans to hang back to let your strike pass by, then rush in.

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The High Guard GM Estalilla typically fights out of the low and the middle guard, with either the tip of the stick on the ground or the stick held across the chest. I believe there is another option.

Maestro explained to me how the men in his village always took machetes with them when they went out into the jungle, because snakes were a constant hazard. In the village, the machete was carried in the crook of the left arm, with the dull back of the blade against the arm and the edge facing upward.

But once you got into the jungle, you carried the machete with the dull edge on your right shoulder, cutting edge upward, prepared to chop down in an instant. Why not use this as a fighting stance?

Real Sinawali Maestro and I did practice sinawali, which comes from a Tagalog word meaning “to weave.” Typically, sinawali uses two sticks, but we did the simplest sinawali pattern, the single sinawali, using just one stick. Facing your partner, you each hit overight and the sticks clack together at twelve o’clock.

The sticks continue counterclockwise and downward in an arc, then meet with a mutual underleft at six o’clock. The sticks reverse direction, now traveling clockwise in an arc to twelve o’clock, where they meet with an overleft. The sticks continue clockwise and downward, then meet with an underight at six o’clock. Reverse course, traveling counterclockwise back up to an overight at twelve o’clock, where the sticks meet and you repeat the pattern. It may help to picture the stick starting at six o’clock and looping counterclockwise all the way around the clock to six o’clock, then reversing direction and retracing to six o’clock in the opposite direction.

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This pattern is similar to the Abridged 15 form, which strikes from underight to overight, and underleft to overleft.

Go through several repetitions of the pattern. A concept of GM Estalilla’s is that every time you block him, the momentum of his stick is halted, even if it is only for a moment. GM Estalilla uses that moment to redirect his stick. Once the sticks meet at twelve o’clock, instead of continuing in the circle, Maestro drops his stick down vertically, hitting the opponent in the head and continuing straight down to block the strike at six o’clock.

GM Estalilla also breaks the pattern when the sticks meet at six o’clock with an underleft. Instead of arcing upward, Maestro twists his wrist downward, popping the stick up, and thrusting upward into the opponent as his left hand checks the opponent’s weapon arm.

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Countering the Double-Stick Opponent I used to think that the fighter with two sticks has an advantage over the fighter with just one stick, but GM Estalilla explained to me that the sinawali stylist can only hit with one stick at a time. Sinawali practitioners also use shorter, lighter sticks. If the sinawali stylist strikes with an overight, you merge with it, moving to his outside (i.e. his back) and hitting him in the head. Game over. It is also possible to meet his overight vertically and drop the stick downward to counter his underight with the other hand. The long stick is able to shield more of the body without moving.

Why Sinawali?

Sinawali is not a Kabaroan method, because the long stick is difficult to handle two at a time, and little is gained from doing so. You can only develop full power with one big weapon, so adding a second weapon only weakens your strikes.

Once, Maestro was teaching a seminar in Hanford at Sensei Tim Evans’ school, when someone got hit in the nose while practicing sinawali. Fortunately, the injury was not serious, but double sticks take up a lot of space, and when you have double long sticks, you need even more space, which is difficult to manage in a seminar full of students.

If you are teaching complicated sinawali patterns with two sticks, then with single staffs, followed by techniques with two staffs, or a staff and a long stick, it may fill time during a seminar, but I fail to see how it advances Kabaroan.

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The Kabaroan Council In the early 90’s, Ryan and I proposed forming a Kabaroan Council, to be headed by GM Estalilla and his two top students, Master Lino Espejo and Master Ed Planas, both of whom are tremendous martial artists in their own rights, in addition to their expertise in Kabaroan. As black belt students of Maestro, Ryan and I would also have been members of the council.

The sole purpose of the proposed Kabaroan Council would be to support GM Estalilla and promote Kabaroan. The council would centralize authority in Kabaroan, verifying those who are genuinely certified. It would devise a curriculum for seminars, as well as set standards for uniforms, training, and certification. The council would catalog Kabaroan techniques so that there would be one standard.

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The council was proposed before the Internet became what it is today, so the council would create a website and serve as a contact point for those interested in Kabaroan. A Facebook page would be established, and other social media would be used to promote GM Estalilla and Kabaroan. The council would publish a newsletter, and perhaps arrange a yearly get-together for those who practice the art.

Unfortunately, the Kabaroan Council never came to pass, and I believe that the system has suffered for it. I feel that I must set the record straight by documenting the core of Kabaroan as it was taught to me by the grandmaster himself.

The following is a picture of Ramiro Estalilla Sr. (in the hat and tie) taken in the southern Philippines circa the 1920s. I had the photo restored for GM Estalilla.

Darrin Cook @ BigStickCombat

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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

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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.

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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-AMusical-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.

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-

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 @ michael.quijano.581187

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THE STICK: MAN'S OLDEST TOOL AND WEAPON, AND ITS USE BY THE UK SPECIAL FORCES Mark Davies

IT IS VERY LIKELY THAT THE stick was man’s first weapon. In today’s era of high-tech weaponry, many people may be surprised to learn that the humble stick still plays a role today. As a trainer within an element of the UK Special Forces (UKSF), I look in this article at the stick from the viewpoints of: a bush-craft tool, a hunting tool, an improvised weapon, and an actual baton, such as the ASP.

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UK Special Forces: A Quick Overview UKSF comprises a variety of units, both regular and reserve. One of the things that make UKSF reserve units unique is that the members must undergo the same selection process and meet the same requirements as their regular counterparts, just spaced out over a much longer period of time. UKSF reserves have a very challenging operational tempo, with members being used by the regular units, as well as being deployed on operations as units in their own right.

UKSF consists of the following units: the Army has the 22 SAS Regiment based at Credenhill, the 18 Signal Regiment which provides specialist communications support for UKSF, the Special Forces Support Group who provide specialist infantry support to UKSF operations, the Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing, and the Special Forces Flight 47 Squadron, which is comprised of RAF and Army Air Corps and provides air mobility for UKSF. The newest addition to UKSF is the Special Reconnais-

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sance Regiment (SRR), which is tasked with specialist covert surveillance and reconnaissance.

There are two Reserve Regiments, with the 21 SAS recruiting from the south of England, and the 23 SAS drawing from the north of England and Scotland. The Royal Marines have the Special Boat Service, which also has a reserve unit.

The History of Combatives Training with UKSF We can start off by looking at the use of the baton as a weapon in UKSF with World War II. William Ewart Fairbairn taught the use of the baton to British special units during this time. Fairbairn advised using a stick between 18-24 inches in length and one inch in diameter. The Fairbairn method bears a great deal of similarity to the older Lamb Baton Method. It is a predominantly two-handed method, as opposed to the single-handed grip we see in the Filipino systems. The stick training Fairbairn provided to Commandos, Special Air Service (SAS), Special Operations Executive (SOE), and so on, was very much “last-ditch” com-

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batives for when the soldier’s normal weaponry is not available for whatever reason, or where killing must be performed silently, and a knife is not available. The methods that Fairbairn taught were very simple and basic. The combatives taught in World War II had to be methods that could be taught to the thickest farmer from Norfolk or Ghillie from the Scottish Highland, and they had to be capable of being taught very quickly.

Fairbairn himself enlisted in the Royal Marines when he was just 15 years and 10 months old after convincing a recruiter to falsify his age.

In 1907 he was posted to Shanghai, which at the time was a very hazardous posting, being probably the most corrupt and dangerous city in the world. Upon leaving the forces, Fairbairn joined the police force. While out on a patrol, Fairbairn was ambushed by Triad members and was left for dead, requiring months to recover. When he returned to the police force, he worked with other legends such as Anthony Sykes and Dermot O'Neill, and trained in the martial arts with a variety of nationalities

and cultures. He was also heavily influenced by the jujutsu of Jigoro Kano. Fairbairn rose through the ranks of the Shanghai Municipal Police Force, eventually becoming the head of their training and tactics development. Documents show he was personally involved in somewhere between 200 to 600 violent incidents involving a variety of armed and unarmed situations, usually involving multiple combatants. This basically provided Fairbairn with a laboratory in which to develop and fine-tune his methods.

Fairbairn and Sykes returned home to the UK at the beginning of World War II. They were tasked with training a variety of special units such as the Commandos, SOE, SAS, and the covert side of the Home Guard. The first “Special Training Centre” (STC) was at Lochailort, with a “Combined Training Centre” also based at Inverary.

Achnacarry near Spean Bridge was also activated for use as part of the training and holding wing of the STC at Lochailort, but eventually the decision was made to centralise training at Achnacarry.

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Eventually Fairbairn was sent on special orders to STS-103 “Camp X” in Canada, where he taught spies and resistance fighters. Fairbairn then moved on to the OSS “Area B” facility in Maryland, where he worked with Colonel Rex Applegate teaching combatives to elite elements of the US military. At the end of the war, Fairbairn received the “Legion of Merit” at the request of “Wild Bill” Donovan for his outstanding performance and services. After World War II, Fairbairn continued to teach his methods at the behest of various governments and agencies. He continued to teach his methods until he passed away in 1960.

Fairbairn’s methods are still relevant and used in combatives training today. Sadly, as the Cold War progressed, combatives training fell out of favour with the British military. Senior officers felt that it had no real place in the mass battles that were envisioned to take place should the Soviets roll across the continent. They saw mass tank battles and infantry being used, engaging at relatively long range.

As a result, most units ceased to practice any combatives training on an official level. Even the elite Parachute Regiment and Royal Marines practiced very little in the way of combatives. The only units

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that really still trained in these methods were the elements of the UK Special Forces. The experiences of many soldiers in the Falklands campaign should have shown senior officers that there was still a need for close-combat training, as there were many incidences of bayonet use and hand-to-hand fighting during the battles fought there, but nothing changed.

The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan ended up proving the need for combatives training, though.

The change to more urban warfare, house clearance, fighting in close confines, high-value target apprehensions, and so on, showed a greater requirement for better Close-Quarters Battle (CQB) skills. A good example of this can be found during the clearing of cave systems in Afghanistan. Members of UKSF found themselves engaging enemies at extremely close range, often in the dark, in environments where firearms were not ideal. They were using hand-tohand fighting, entrenching tools, knives, and even improvised weapons such as rocks, in their engagements. Specialist operations that involved removing high-value targets from vehicles without the use of lethal force also showed an increased need for better combatives training.

Selection and Survival Training UKSF members are trained heavily in combat survival and bushcraft.

The training regimens differ between the different units, and especially so between the regular and reserve units, but all of the recruits will do a great deal of it. After the endurance phase of selection, recruits will do a “jungle phase,” which is particularly testing for most people, as the jungle is prob-

ably about the most difficult environment to fight and survive in.

UKSF have a long history of jungle warfare, having operated heavily in Borneo and Malaya (i.e. Myanmar, Malaysia, and Singapore). During these conflicts, the regiments built up a massive amount of knowledge and expertise whilst conducting long-range patrols that would stay in the jungle for extended periods of time.

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During the jungle phase, the recruits learn how to use branches to create “A Frames” to allow them to sleep off the jungle floor. They will learn how to fashion a variety of traps for both animals and humans. Those who pass the Jungle Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTP) and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) training will move on to “employment training” and do the Army Combat Survival Instructor Course. On this course, the recruits learn Combat Survival skills that they may need whilst operating in Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols, or in a worst case scenario, where they have to use escape and evasion skills for real.

These will be tested during a very testing Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) exercise during the final phase of selection.

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During survival training, the humble stick can be found getting used in a variety of different ways. A variety of traps can be built using sticks and cordage (either brought, scavenged, or fashioned).

Here we have a couple of examples of simple traps to snare small game.

The stick can be used to fashion fire-lighting implements—probably one of the best known being the fire-bow pictured here. These age-old fire-lighting methods can be invaluable to a soldier in a real-life escape and evasion scenario.

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Weapons such as bows can be built if needed. I know some “old and bold” members who served in Malaya and Borneo who took great pleasure in building bows and hunting with bow and arrow, even learning from local indigenous tribesmen how to create poisons to make their arrows more effective.

Fishing and hunting spears can also be made, and obviously these also have an anti-personnel function if need be. All of this can be put into use during the final phase of UKSF selection which is an es-

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cape and evasion exercise. Recruits are dressed in old combat kit and great coats, and basically dumped in the middle of nowhere after being thoroughly searched for contraband. They have to navigate to certain points where they must meet “handlers” and “agents,” and evade capture by a hunter force.

The final part of the exercise is a gruelling 36-hour resistance to interrogation test.

The Modern Combative Use of the Stick My role for the last couple of decades has been the development and implementation of Close-Quarters Combat training with an element of UKSF. When we approach the use of the stick, we are really looking at it combatively from two slightly different viewpoints: from the viewpoint of improvised weapons for use in a SERE-type of scenario, and actual baton combatives using an ASP or something similar. Contrary to popular belief amongst civilians, your normal SF soldier is not a super-duper ninja warrior who is skilled in a myriad of deadly martial arts systems. Time for Close Combat training is very short due to the small number of blokes in a unit and the generally insane operational tempo found in UKSF units. UKSF reserve unit members very often find themselves as “fulltime reservists,” and can be away constantly on operations, training courses, or exercises.

Because of the constraints on time, combatives training must be simple, effective, easy to retain

and maintain, and something that many people never think about; it must consist of methods that can still be executed even when the soldier is in less-than-optimal condition and health (trust me, if you have been living on worms and tree roots after being on the run behind enemy lines for three weeks you will be in less-than-perfect nick), which eliminates quite a lot of the more athletic MMA/UFC-type of methods seen elsewhere. Bear in mind that I also have to keep what I am writing here very general, so that I do not break non-disclosure agreements or give away anything that could harm operational security.

So, let us begin with the “improvised” side of the coin. I group this down into short-stick methods (from pen to rolled-up magazine in size), baton methods (regular baton or escrima-stick-type dimensions), and staff or spear methods for longer sticks. For the short-stick methods, we base our training on reverse-grip knife technique. This suits the short stick down to the ground due to the emphasis on the “point” found in reverse-grip knife, and the actual physical methods I

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teach have been heavily influenced

by Master-at-Arms James A. Keating’s influence and his Drawpoint methodology. The basic format I use is to drill the trainees in a small core number of entries and responses against the basic lines or quadrants of attack. We are big fans of using limb destructions, as they cause pain and trauma on the first beat of an engagement, and cause some “observational or orientational bounce” that allows the combatant to press home their attack and destroy the opponent.

We work combinations of strikes on focus pads to develop speed and power, and work on a great deal of scenario training with the situations being performed in the correct “context” to maximise the trainees’ retention of the training.

Once trainees are proficient with the methods being taught, we begin adding in some of the fog of war, introducing stress, additional stimuli, noise, light, and so on. The idea here is that the soldier should be able to pick up a pen, bottle, scissors, flashlight, rolled-up magazine or newspaper (the good old Millwall brick), and be able to nat-

urally employ it as a force multiplier in combat. Keeping this type of training as close as possible to edged weapons training also helps a great deal where training time is in short supply.

When we are working on the midlength stick, we use a combination of FMA methods and the old Fairbairn methods. The reason I do both is that the Fairbairn methods do not work so well with modern collapsible batons like the ASP, but are simple and easy to learn and apply with everything from a crowbar to a short branch. The training format is similar to that described above. We drill the recruits in “actions on” against the common lines of attack, so that defence becomes second nature.

We drill striking with the weapon using pads and shields, so that the trainees learn to develop speed and power, and work on scenario training utilising the weapon against both unarmed and armed attacks. The emphasis during this training is on ending the threat as quickly as humanly possible. The final layer of icing on the cake, so

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to speak, is once again to introduce some of the “fog of war” and inoculate the trainee to working their combatives under duress.

Long stick is really a SERE-based skill. I draw heavily from bayonet training as well as from sibat and jo staff methods. A spear is a fairly easily fashioned tool that can be used for fishing, hunting, and also as a weapon that gives the holder the advantage of reach.

An obvious component of all of this training that separates it from your normal civilian training is in the training of ambush methods and the emphasis on the use of lethal force.

Our members are issued ASP-type batons when they undertake certain roles. When we are training specifically for the use of this type of baton, the emphasis is no longer on the use of lethal force. If our members are for instance performing the apprehension of a high-value target, then the baton may be used for breaching a vehicle window and aiding in the extraction of the subject through that window, and used in the vascular restraint of that subject. We train in the use of the baton using a framework that would be very familiar to anyone with a background in the Filipino arts, but we have

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stayed away from the method of training and employment used by the UK Police forces, of which I am very critical, as it very often fails due to its over-reliance on “witik” type strikes to muscles, which even a half-determined attacker will simply brush off.

So, even in an environment where soldiers have the best high-tech weapons and equipment, the humble stick and its training still has a valuable place, and will likely always continue to do so. I hope that you have enjoyed this look into the combatives training that I teach within an element of UKSF, and that within the constraints of NDAs, operational security considerations, and so on, I have managed to give you a small look inside this arena.

Mark Davies @ Tactical.Edge.Boss

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THE WEAPON OF A JEDI KNIGHT: LIGHTSABER COMBAT AS A HYPER-REAL MARTIAL ART Benjamin N. Judkins, Ph.D & Jared Miracle, Ph.D

Lightsaber Combat as a Global Movement IN FEBRUARY OF 2019, THE French Fencing Federation (Fédération Française d’Escrime; FFE) made the news. News stories ran in many major magazines, and the comedian Trevor Noah even graced the FFE with a Daily Show segment.1,2 Yet the topic of debate was not traditional sport fencing.

Rather, the FFE had announced they were adding the LED saber, or replica lightsaber, as an official fourth weapon within the French fencing establishment, alongside the better-established foil, epee, and saber.

The response to this announcement was electric. Some commentators were delighted, others aghast. The viral spread of this conversation, which went far be1 Sixt Wetzler, “Martial Arts Studies as Kulturwissenschaft: A Possible Theoretical Framework,” Martial Arts Studies 1 (2015): 20-33.

2 Paul Bowman, Deconstructing Martial Arts (Cardiff: Cardiff University Press, 2019), 44.

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yond the sorts of individuals who typically took any interest in fencing, played directly into the FFE’s media strategy. Like many oldguard sports federations, it was concerned as fewer new students took up fencing. And keep in mind, other governing bodies had already proved that adopting a new telegenic “extreme sport,” such as snowboarding, parkour, skateboarding, or rock-climbing, was a tried-andtrue strategy for boosting an organization’s relevance in the current era.

This announcement did not come as a surprise to members of France’s Lightsaber Combat community.

The FFE had openly announced its intentions and publicly examined several different approaches to the LED saber championed by various pre-existing clubs before finally settling on its preferred model. It is interesting to note that, while Star Wars is often thought of as a quintessentially American film, Lightsaber Combat is a global phenomenon, which has grown more quickly in France than perhaps anywhere else.

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Yet, how did this global community emerge, and what is the nature of their practice? Clearly, one might design a competitive sport based on ideas found in a fictional film, but is it possible to create a new martial art while drawing inspiration from these sources? What specifically is the relationship between historical practice and modern media? Most important were the many traditional instructors who contributed to the development of these practices. And was the FFE correct in their assertions that the LED saber could reach new audiences uninterested in historical blade or stick-fighting?

The following article addresses these questions. It begins with a brief description of the LED saber both as a material object and in relation to the development of the larger Star Wars film franchise.

Next, we review the creation and expansion of the Lightsaber Combat community between its first stirrings in the early 2000s and the current moment. Lastly, we directly address the function of history, fiction, and hyper-reality within the martial arts.

[Source: Author's collection, featured on: https://chinesemartialstudies.com/2019/07/11/historyand-myth-in-lightsaber-combat/]

The Question of Legitimacy & Historical Legacy For most individuals, it is virtually impossible to separate the term traditional from martial art. Many practitioners exhibit something close to religious reverence for the history of their practice. For some cultural traditions such as those often seen in the Chinese martial arts, the authenticity of one’s art is

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inexorably linked with the legitimacy of one’s lineage status. Within such a framework, a practice without the proper sort of history such as Lightsaber Combat, Mixed Martial Arts, or even something like the Keysi Fighting Method, could not be entirely accepted as a “legitimate” martial art.

Much debate has occurred recently in scholarly circles as to how we

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should define the concept of “martial arts” in a cross-cultural context and whether engaging in such a definitional exercise is even a good idea. Benjamin Judkins has made his own contributions to this discussion, specifically addressing the reasons to accept Lightsaber Combat as a martial art, for theoretical purposes, and how this realization affects our understanding of how these communities function.3 We do not intend to relitigate those debates here. Instead, we focus on a related problem in this article.

Practitioners often claim to be deeply impacted by the historical legacies of their arts. Yet the development of the interdisciplinary academic field of Martial Arts Studies has demonstrated that many of the claims passed on within traditional hand-combat communities fall into the realm of myths and legends. Most of the Chinese martial arts practiced today are not the product of an ineffable past; 3 Benjamin N. Judkins, “The Seven Forms of Lightsaber Combat: Hyper-Reality and the Invention of the Martial Arts,” Martial Arts Studies 2 (2016): 6-22.

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instead, they are the legacies of the final decades of the 19th century and the Republic of China period (1911-1949). Rather than being an “ancient Korean art,” Taekwondo developed as a clear attempt to appropriate and nationalize Japanese karate in the post-war period.

Further, the entire understanding of the “samurai spirit” promoted in many Japanese budo contexts is primarily the product of nationalist reformers, working with Western sources in the Meiji period, rather than an authentic reflection of the medieval past.4,5,6 While all martial arts have a history, it does not always bear a close resemblance to the stories venerated by their students. What happens to our experience of the 4 Benjamin N. Judkins and Jon Nielson, The Creation of Wing Chun: A Social History of the Southern Chinese Martial Arts (Albany: SUNY Press, 2015).

5 Udo Moennig, Taekwondo: From a Martial Art to a Martial Sport (London: Routledge, 2015).

6 Oleg Benesch, Inventing the Way of the Samurai: Nationalism, Internationalism, and Bushidō in Modern Japan (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014).

practice of a fighting system when we cannot attempt to historicize our legends? Can real techniques be transmitted and honed when those relating them compel the receiver to accept the mythic nature of the exercise fully? The Star Wars films, after all, may be the most successful modern myth ever produced, but no one would claim the lightsaber as history. Yet, the very nature of Lightsaber Combat forces one to practice as if they were.

Origins of a Community One suspects that fan-sponsored lightsaber duels began to occur the day after George Lucas’ epic space opera opened in 1977.

Yet, the first identifiable Lightsaber Combat organizations did not emerge until late 2005 and 2006.

Given the immense popularity of these films and the iconic nature of their signature weapon, how should we understand this delay?

The current generation of replica lightsabers, including the LED-illuminated stunt sabers most often used in a martial arts context, dates only to the early 2000s. Initially, the arts developed as part of

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the marketing effort surrounding the release of the prequel trilogy (1999, 2002, and 2005). At this time, Lucasfilm began to issue licensed replicas of a number of weapons seen on screen. These had detailed metal hilts, sound effects, and blades that appeared to ignite.

It was difficult for individuals who held these early sabers not to feel as though they had just been given a relic from that far-off galaxy.

Soon, third-party vendors entered this market space, offering simple training sabers with in-hilt LED modules and hollow polycarbonate blades. These sabers still had aluminum hilts, though more ergonomically designed and better balanced than the original film props.

While marketing some of these sabers to collectors, other nearly indestructible weapons were developed specifically for staged choreography and martial arts applications. It was only a matter of time before various martial artists decided to seriously investigate what these new sabers were capable of within a training context.

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The franchise’s marketing efforts encouraged this desire to explore the world of lightsabers more fully.

In 2002, an archeologist employed as an author by Lucasfilm by the name of Dr. David West Reynolds published an article titled “Fightsaber” in the October issue of the Star Wars Insider fan magazine.7 He acknowledged that lightsabers had dominated much of the personal combat on screen. They played a progressively greater role in each new film, but very little was mentioned about the specialized training required to wield such a weapon. Dr. Reynolds, a non-martial artist, sought to fill this lacuna by exploring the “seven classic forms of Lightsaber Combat,” as taught in the fictional Jedi temple. His descriptions borrow much from the image of the Asian martial arts that circulates in popular culture.

This tendency towards Orientalism—the West’s idealization of the East—only grew as successive video games, novels, and comic books sought to expand the lore, drawing on an ever-widening body of pop culture references.

7 https://starwars.fandom.com/ wiki/David_West_Reynolds_(author)

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Again, it was only a matter of time before actual martial artists started to ask what combination of real-world fighting techniques could best replicate the alluring reality that was beginning to emerge around the idea of Lightsaber Combat. The inexpensive, durable, and versatile nature of LED sabers as material objects ensured a wide variety of practitioners would be swept up in the task of reconstructing the lost systems of Lightsaber Combat. For some, this was simply an extension of their Star Wars fandom. In other cases, individuals saw it as an intellectual and technical puzzle deepening their appreciation for various stick and blade-based martial arts.

Given the global appeal of this franchise, it is probably impossible to know, with certainty, where the very first dedicated lightsaber group emerged. Greg Ember, who has carefully tracked the creation of groups within this community, hypothesizes that the first schools or performance troops may have formed in either Russia or the

Philippines.8 Lightsaber Combat remains extremely popular in Russia and across Southeast Asia.

However, the first group to generate sustained media attention was NY Jedi, which offered classes in New York City after marching in the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade in 2005. The press coverage that this group would generate along with the creation of the Saber Guild in 2006 led to an explosion of other small clubs across the Eastern seaboard of the United States in the coming years.

Most of this first generation of groups focused on a type of fight choreography that attempted to emulate the techniques and costumes seen in the films. They often organized themselves as non-profit enterprises and would perform at fan gatherings and charity events.

However, as there was not yet an ecosystem of specialized lightsaber schools and organizations, many members had a relatively diverse set of interests and practices.

Perhaps the first truly specialized group to emerge was Ludosport, 8 Personal correspondence, April 16, 2016.

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created in 2006. This Italian organization used the same LED sabers to develop a fast-paced combat sport. Their approach to Lightsaber Combat is unique in that they favor light contact and tend not to wear protective gear beyond light gloves and occasionally eye protection. Initially drawing inspiration from the seven classic forms of Lightsaber Combat, they began to offer instruction in a set of progressive techniques, allowing for safe play with minimal gear.

For much of the next decade, Ludosport expanded its network of academies across Europe, opening its first location in North America in 2016.

However, Ludosport has not been alone in approaching Lightsaber Combat as a competitive sport.

The publicity preceding the 2015 release of The Force Awakens helped support a wave of specialization within theLightsaber Combat community. On May 4, 2015, two important groups were created. In North America, this date saw the formal emergence of the Saber Legion, a heavy dueling league featuring full-contact, full-force striking. Participants in these contests

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typically wear heavy hockey, motorcycle, or HEMA armor, which has been selected and decorated to invoke a specific persona. On the same day, the Sport Saber League was created in France. It occupies a middle ground, requiring fencing masks, heavy gloves, and some other minimal equipment while only allowing medium-intensity contact.

The third category of Lightsaber Combat groups also emerged in the lead-up to the most recent trilogy of Star Wars films. While choreography clubs and sports leagues often appropriated traditional combat systems’ pedagogical or tactical insights, this last set of organizations explicitly identify themselves as martial arts schools.

This is something leagues such as Ludosport or the Saber Legion have been hesitant to do, even when their members or creators have been traditional martial artists.

This rhetorical choice reflects a more fundamental shift in the goals and self-understanding of these groups. The growth and differentiation of the community

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in recent years have allowed for the establishment of a number of schools focused on questions of realism. In a few cases like the Lightspeed Saber League, organized in southern California in 2016, their discourse centers on the hypothesized nature of the lightsaber as a weapon with unique characteristics. Depending on how these are understood, one can attempt to derive techniques fitting this mental map.

More common are schools that seek to achieve a sense of realism in the sorts of techniques employed. This approach allows them to use the lightsaber as a means of testing and teaching a vast range of real-world fighting philosophies that might not otherwise come into contact with one another. One cannot easily walk into a kendo school to test your HEMA techniques against unsuspecting Japanese martial artists. These practices’ historical, national, and even ideological aspects tend to prevent this sort of exchange, except in special limited circumstances.

Yet the ahistorical nature of the lightsaber, as well as the complex

mythology that surrounds it, tends to encourage exactly this sort of creative play. In some cases, this means mixing and matching techniques from within a single cultural framework. Other organizations might draw on a much wider variety of source materials in their attempt to realize the full breadth of the seven classical forms of Lightsaber Combat, essentially imagining each component as a distinct and separate art.

The Terra Prime Light Armory (TPLA) is one of the first and most influential martial schools within the Lightsaber Combat community. Established in 2012, it has posted instructional videos on YouTube to create an open-source instructional system drawing on various Chinese and, to a lesser extent, European fighting styles.

Indeed, the creators of this system viewed the lightsaber as an ideal tool to test and preserve these techniques in a quickly changing era. Remember, too, the TPLA’s approach and progressive curriculum formed the basis of the LED saber program recently adopted by the FFE. Further, it has recent-

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ly entered into a partnership with the FFE to promote its competitive ruleset in the United States.

Unsurprisingly, there is often a regional component to the relationship between martially oriented lightsaber groups and the historical styles from which they draw.

HEMA techniques appear more frequently in European lightsaber schools. Likewise, organizations like the Saber Authority (established in 2014) have promoted systems with a distinctly Southeast Asian flavor, drawing on their region’s rich stick and blade-work traditions.

Instructors in this last group of schools often express enthusiasm for two ideas that may at first appear to be in tension with each other. On the one hand, they note the freedom that the LED saber grants them to test and combine styles that might not otherwise meet on culturally neutral ground.

This allows for genuine martial exchange and a welcome escape from the politics of the traditional martial arts. At the same time, they also note the LED saber’s potential to reach new audiences, popular-

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ize, and preserve skills that have emerged from historic martial arts.

When commenting on his students who regularly compete in Saber Legion tournaments, Stephen Fick, a noted HEMA instructor who also runs a saber training program, notes: “One of the things that I like about working with them [the Lightsaber Combat community] is that they are taking what is essentially a silly weapon and learning how to bring it to life. The skills that they learn, the questions they ask, and the work they put into learning the lightsaber is what makes it a valid martial training tool.”9 Lightsaber Combat as Martial Art Such commentary about the efficacy of lightsaber training as a martial art in the same capacity as other more established styles still raises questions about its legitimacy among the broader fighting arts community. It also draws attention to the question of history and tradition, providing a compara9 Personal correspondence, February 21, 2019.

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tive lens through which to consider their pragmatic purpose in the study of any given close-combat system. When the apparent goal of a martial art is to become skillful in a given mode of fighting, why bother maintaining nonfunctional behaviors at all?

Traditional practices are embedded in many systems, including uniforms, courtesy behaviors like bowing and honorifics, and the memorization of foreign words and phrases that serve no special function. For example, from a combat-efficacy standpoint, there is no pragmatic reason to practice solo, dance-like patterns while counting in Japanese. Likewise, a resident of any developed nation today has no logical combative goal in studying traditional swordsmanship. Even in martial arts marketed as practical for personal protection, such as Brazilian jiu-jitsu, there is often an element of the traditional such as judo uniforms and a colored belt ranking system.

Likely no martial arts component is more tradition-bound, however, than their origin stories. As with all types of folklore, these oral tra-

ditions are often transmitted informally between practitioners, usually growing more extraordinary over time, and tend to conform to certain tale types. The narrative structures of these stories are so formulaic that they match common folktale structures found internationally. These stories are usually fantastic in some way. Perhaps the style’s founder was inspired by watching two animals fight; a physically weak individual developed techniques that enabled him to overcome larger opponents, or, in some more ancient cases, a demon or god transmitted knowledge to the founder.

Regardless, folklorist Thomas Green has argued that “martial arts folk histories reflect the desire of modern practitioners to establish credibility through association with a legendary past.”10 Legends are an important part of life. Humans rely on the inspiration and 10 Thomas Green, “Sense in Nonsense: The Role of Folk History in the Martial Arts,” in Martial Arts in the Modern World, ed. Thomas A. Green and Joseph Svinth (Westport, Connecticut & London: Praeger, 2003), 5.

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framework found in legends and myths to make sense of the world and its place in it. These stories do not simply conform to established mythical structures—they are ultimately about finding or creating conformity to structure in our own lives. The historiographical events that led to any given martial art’s creation are inevitably complicated and muddy compared with their practitioners’ clean, formulaic renditions. Indeed, as Judkins has written of martial arts history, “[o]ften these genealogies exist only in the realm of popular lore.”11 Suppose the exponents of a martial art are cognizant of its fictionalized origin story. In that case, it is at least worth considering that a new style emerging from such a fantastical background is equally legitimate in every capacity to which that word might apply.

Lightsabers are not imminently practical weapons for daily self-defense, but neither are whips, flails, broadswords, deer horn knives, or polearms. Jedi clothing is not 11 Judkins, “The Seven Forms of Lightsaber Combat,” 8.

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the most practical athletic wear— however comfortable—but it is no less imminently practical than the pleated skirt-like hakama or even a judo outfit.

Such impractical features as myths, costumes, and irrational beliefs within any group of people serve very practical purposes. Uniforms of any type are a powerful means of creating group identity and cohesion. We are naturally defensive of those who appear to be members of our tribe. For the same reason, military recruits and marching bands spend painful hours training to step in precise formation with their units, not because modern warfare or music calls for it, but because it creates a collective rhythm, a sort of flow state.

Belief in an art’s extraordinary origins gives the individual an opportunity to project a personal identity onto known or at least suspected mythic structures, extending his agency beyond the self and into a realm above the mundane. This state of hyper-reality is a portal allowing individuals to perceive themselves as existing within a constructed reality—that is, sub-

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stituting the mundane for the preferred, potentially necessary, extraordinary. This is useful from a survival standpoint as the human brain can understand the world as a harsh, unforgiving, essentially meaningless exercise in futility and suffering. Instead of accepting such a reality, though, a hyper-real existence is one in which the suffering has a purpose and actions accompany a teleological outcome. As the American anthropologist Clifford Geertz famously wrote of cockfighting in Bali, our actions become “stories we tell ourselves about ourselves.”12 It is largely through these mechanisms that the martial arts have become a powerful pathway for asserting personal agency in the modern world.

When one puts on a karate uniform to undergo formal training, there is an uncomfortable blurring of the line between daily mundane reality and the costumed fantasy that plays out in the minds of those within the practice space.

12 Clifford Geertz, The Interpretation of Cultures (New York: Basic Books, 1973) 448.

However, this line is very clear among lightsaber groups, as trainees don acknowledged costumes and may even use Star Wars-inspired character names. The result of both karate and lightsaber combat is the same, yet there is greater clarity about the nature of the exercise among the lightsaber group.

This is also true of origin narratives. Not only does Star Wars fulfill classical mythic structure, but George Lucas himself has been quite vocal about his intent to do so, stating that “I consciously set about to recreate myths and the . . . classic mythological motifs. And I wanted to use those motifs to deal with issues that existed today.”13 It is instructive to compare the transparent origins of Lightsaber Combat with an origin narrative from the classical Japanese martial arts, which did so much to inspire them. In 1159, a young Minamoto no Yoshitsune was driven into ex13 George Lucas, “The Mythology of ‘Star Wars’ with George Lucas,” interview with Bill Moyers, June 18, 1999, video, https://billmoyers.com/content/mythology-of-star-wars-georgelucas/.

LIGHTSABERS

ile on Mt. Kurama by Taira no Kiyomori, where he was to live as a monk. The mountain was heavily wooded and known to house supernatural creatures. As chance would have it, Yoshitsune became acquainted with a tengu (a sort of magical, crow-like goblin), which taught him martial arts. He became uncannily powerful, skilled in arms, and could run and jump with preternatural agility. He then staged a coup and seized back his hereditary position of power. This story is the basis for a number of martial arts styles in Japan.

Historiographically, it is doubtful that the twelfth-century warlord received tutelage from a mystical folk spirit. One would be hardpressed to locate a practitioner of the Japanese martial arts today who genuinely believes the story’s accuracy. Instead, the classical combat arts community engages this and similar narratives with a comfortable skepticism, even as the tale continues to be passed on to new students with the utmost seriousness. The function of such fantasy is, rationally, not to convey historical trivia but to contribute

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to creating a larger life schema, portraying aggrandized interpretations of both physical and cognitive behaviors encouraged by the school. Just as group identity and flow states facilitate profound development from an athletic standpoint, they can also be applied in this sense to develop the trainee’s personality through a constellation of psychosocial immersion and proprioceptive education.

Governments have employed such didactic tactics to recondition public thought and behavior. For instance, Japanese youths were mandated to train in kendo, judo, and other martial arts during the early 20th century. There was little expectation that these would be useful battlefield methods, but rather, the goal was to indoctrinate children with the morals the ruling institution found most desirable.

Although less extreme, this same basic function and methodology is visible in Lightsaber Combat communities. The Star Wars narrative is largely a chronicle of morality. It conveys the values and preferred qualities of modern heroic

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archetypes portrayed dramatically.

These qualities embodied in the Jedi knights are one whose role one inhabits while participating.

Whether taken strictly as a sporting endeavor or accompanied with detailed costuming and pseudonyms, the fact that Lightsaber Combat communities are organized entirely around the iconic fantasy weapon unites them in a symbolic, tangible, somatic expression of shared principles. While the lightsaber may not be real, those values and identities are.

The specific definitions of martial art notwithstanding, these are some of the essential qualities that attend those activities exhibited

by Lightsaber Combat. Compared with many traditional martial arts, however, the endorsed personal qualities in lightsaber groups are made clear due to the recent advent of their origin narratives.

Rather than making affectations to legitimize a fictional history, they overtly embrace the fictional narrative. This, in turn, situates training and competition not as severe and life-or-death preparation for conflict but as a community-oriented form of creative play.

Fick’s support of the lightsaber as a helpful training implement points to the benefits of openly accepting a pleasurable pursuit as such; to wit, reduced stress on the trainee results in improved performance precisely because the stakes are not high. Yet, the practice carries powerful meaning because of the deeply mythic structure of its origin narrative. Given the instinct found in many animals to develop skill through play, it seems that, as Alan Watts suggested, “[m]an suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun.”14

Benjamin Judkins, Ph.D https://chinesemartialstudies.com/

14 Alan Watts, Become What You Are (Boston, London: Shambalah, 2003) 29.

LIGHTSABERS

Jared Miracle, Ph.D https://www.goodreads.com/ author/show/15098190.Jared_Miracle

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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 @ wheelersystema

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PREVENTION OF INJURIES AND POWER OUTPUT IN STICK-FIGHTING Luis Preto

GIVEN THE NATURE OF stick-fighting, in the sense that landing powerful strikes on the body of the opponent is the central success criterion, traumatic injuries resulting from such events can only be prevented by expertly avoiding being hit altogether.

Nevertheless, one’s body may also succumb to other injuries, such as soft-tissue injuries, because of the specific accelerative and decelerative forces that the motions of this activity place on the body of its performers.

Injuries in Stick-Fighting Depending on the ruleset followed when competing in stick-fighting, striking only or a combination of striking and grappling is permitted.

Considering that the essence of weapon combat is to maximize striking effectiveness so that physically smaller or weaker individuals can avoid grappling altogether, the injury profile about to be presented will focus on striking-related soft-tissue injuries. Those competing in a mixed striking and grappling setting should look to complement this analysis of striking-related soft-tissue injuries with the research available on injury prevention strategies within grappling settings.

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THE ACTIVITY PROFILE FOR THE GENERATION OF MUSCLE & SKELETAL TENSIONS

Apart from the precision-based parrying actions, stick-fighting is, fundamentally, an activity in which combatants mostly perform overhead throwing-type actions, together with stepping actions.

Throwing-Type Actions The “thrown” object is, however, not thrown, given that it is never released. Nonetheless, such reference to throwing actions is relevant to study through the analogy of the forces imposed on the body.

Additionally, such analysis of the accelerative and decelerative forces that are specific to striking motions needs to account for what takes place within the scope of both two-handed and one-handed weapons.

In striving for maximum striking reach, two-handed weapons are momentarily held in front of the performer at the end of the striking motions. In doing so, the

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non-dominant upper-limb reaches full extension, while the dominant upper limb fails to reach such range-of-motion.

Additionally, given that the hands of stick-fighters wielding two-handed weapons are not overlapping, strikes on the forehand side of the performer call for the muscles of the dominant (forehand) shoulder to decelerate the forward throwing-type motions. On the other hand, strikes on the backhand side call for the muscles of the non-dominant (backhand) shoulder to decelerate these striking motions.

Grip with hands not overlapping.

In opposition to the latter, when wielding one-handed weapons, only one upper limb is in direct contact with the weapon. Therefore, only this limb (the dominant / forehand-side one) is subjected to the accelerative forward forces of the striking motions and, simultaneously, in need of developing decelerative forces meant to counter the latter ones, to protect the body of the performer.

Lastly, the combined effect of the forward (pulling) forces of striking motions and the placement of a body-of-mass (in the form of the weapon and upper limbs) in front of one’s center of gravity results in the forward off-balancing of the attacker’s upper body.

Stepping Actions The displacement performed by stick-fighters, usually referred to as footwork, is of mostly single steps sequentially taken in different directions. The most common examples of such sequences of individual stepping actions are the performance of one step forward followed by one step back, and vice versa.

As a result, and despite the relevance of footwork in the maximization of combat effectiveness, the simple performance of single steps fails to bring about injury concerns to the lower limbs, as so happens in many other sporting activities, in which the occurrence of ankle sprains and muscle tears command specific training attention in terms of preventative strategies.

Keeping upright posture versus leaning forward.

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THE ACTIVITY PROFILE FOR SOFT-TISSUE INJURIES

The previous description of stick-fighting allows for the conclusion that significant soft-tissue injuries that stick-fighters are in danger of succumbing to and, thus, should strive to prevent, are those related to overhead throwing actions and those associated with the forward off-balancing of the body.

Regarding overhead-throwing-related injuries, as shown within research on volleyball and tennis players: such actions are directly connected to shoulder and scapular injuries. The development of these injuries is a direct consequence of insufficient strength on behalf of the external rotators of the shoulder, to cope with the (eccentric) decelerative forces placed on them.1 1 H. Wang, “Mobility impairment, muscle imbalance, muscle weakness, scapular asymmetry and shoulder injury in elite volleyball athletes,” The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 41 (2001): 403-410.

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As for the off-balancing effect of momentarily holding a mass in front of one’s center of gravity, as shown in other settings such as Olympic weightlifting, this circumstance increases the structural stress placed on the lower back.2 When unable to sustain such forward off-balancing forces, performers tend to lean forward in a way that they come to break the neutral alignment of their lower back. When such occurrence repeats itself regularly, it will be a mere matter of time before performers experience the structural damaging of their lower back and, consequently, come to develop chronic lower back pain.3

2 Mark Rippetoe, Starting Strength: A Simple and Practical Guide for Coaching Beginners (The Aasgaard Company, 2005).

3 Christopher M. Norris, Back Stability (Human Kinetics, 2000).

INJURY PREVENTION STRATEGIES

Shoulder The prevention of injuries to the decelerative muscles of the shoulder joint should be pursued by undergoing a strength training program that strengthens the external rotators of the shoulder.4 Note, however, that though the prevention of such injury should be a concern for all stick-fighters, in the sense that it includes both those wielding one-handed weapons and those using two-handed weapons, there are a few differences in terms of how one goes about managing each specific setting.

For starters, one-handed weapons only stimulate, and thus stress, the shoulder joint of the dominant 4 Yvonne Niederbracht et al., “Effects of a shoulder injury prevention strength training program on eccentric external rotator muscle strength and glenohumeral joint imbalance in female overhead activity athletes,” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 22, no. 1 (2008): 140-145.

side. As a result, the major training effect sought in this context falls on the strengthening of the shoulder joint of the dominant side, while the strengthening of the other shoulder joint merely needs to seek an above-average strengthening effect, so as to minimize the difference in strength output between the dominant and non-dominant shoulder joints.

Wielding two-handed weapons, on the other hand, means that both shoulder joints are called upon (at different times) to decelerate striking actions and, therefore, both shoulder joints warrant injury-prevention strength adaptations. Nevertheless, such weapons are held by placing the non-dominant hand in a leading position, and doing so results in the minimization of the decelerative requirements set on the dominant shoulder joint when performing strikes on the forehand side.

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In turn, this means that, while two-handed weapons mostly warrant the strengthening of the shoulder muscles of the non-dominant shoulder, one-handed weapons place the focus of strengthening the shoulder muscles on the dominant shoulder.

Still, within the context of two-handed weapons, another relevant variable that warrants consideration is the defensive tactical system implemented by stick-fighters. In short, opting for the performance of mostly side parries has stick-fighters performing counterstrikes on both sides, which stresses both shoulder joints and thus calls for the strengthening of both, as previously presented.

Side parries

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When, however, stick-fighters opt to perform mostly parries with the grip on the forehand side, most counterstrikes will also be on the forehand side.

Ultimately, this circumstance minimizes the performance of strikes on the backhand side, which, in turn, lowers the need to invest time and energy in the strengthening of the muscles responsible for the deceleration of the shoulder joint of the non-dominant (backhand) side.

Side parry and oblique parry 1

Lower Back As for preventing structural damage to the lower back, such type of injury concerns also calls for the implementation of a strength training program.5 This time, however, such a program needs to be focused on strengthening the back and core muscles.

In addition to the latter, such an injury prevention strategy ought to accompany technique-oriented drills that target the development of greater body awareness and postural control (technique).

Prioritizing Strategies

Injury

Prevention

Since injuries to the lower back are both more prevalent and more constraining of one’s physical performance, it is logical to assume that they ought to receive greater attention when planning a training program.

Additionally, the need for novice trainees to learn the fundamental techniques that make up performance in stick-fighting results in having execution speed kept at moderate to low levels during

this initial training stage. Consequently, the supplementation of sport-specific practice amongst novice level trainees should focus mainly on the injury prevention strategies listed for lower back issues.

As trainees progress in their skill level and, therefore, start performing overhead throwing-type actions progressively faster, strengthening the external rotators of the shoulder accompanies other supplemental (injury-prevention) drills. In doing so, and as previously explained, stick-fighters focused on one-handed weapons should focus mainly on strengthening the external rotators of the dominant (forehand) side, while those focusing on two-handed weapons should target both shoulder joints, though under special attention so as to be sure to effectively strengthen the external rotators of the shoulder of the non-dominant (backhand) side—especially if they happen to privilege a defensive tactical system that makes use of both-side parrying techniques.

5 D. M. Carpenter and B. W. Nelson, “Low back strengthening for the prevention and treatment of low back pain,” Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 31, no. 1 (1999): 18-24.

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SPEED, FORCE, AND POWER OUTPUT IN STICK-FIGHTING

Within the context of physical performance, the topic of speed encapsulates, for starters, two concepts: that of reaction speed and movement speed, also referred to as execution speed.

sists of identifying both a stimulus from a multitude of potential stimuli and its subsequent response.

The product of these operations is, then, designated as complex reaction speed.

Reaction Speed

Before one’s muscles are activated to respond to a stimulus, the identification of the stimulus in question is, in theory, followed by the selection of one’s response to it. However, this only happens when performers encounter a stimulus that was previously either unknown to them or unexpected. Furthermore, given the high-speed trait of most competitive settings, the need for a decision as to how to react proves to be, in most cases, too much of a challenge to overcome during an exchange with an opponent.6 Ultimately, this means that the speed at which performance takes place

Reaction speed refers to the time interval that precedes movement, in the form of the gap that goes from the presentation of a stimulus to the activation of the muscles by the performer who is about to respond to the stimulus in question.

Since the latter means that reaction speed measures a time interval during which no movement occurs, its improvement targets a quicker activation of one’s muscles, and not the improvement of movement performance. In the specific context of stick-fighting, this involves overcoming the uncertainty as to which stimulus one will encounter. In short, this con-

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6 Richard Schmidt and Craig Wrisberg, Motor Learning and Performance: A Problem-Based Learning Approach, 2nd ed. (Human Kinetics, 2000).

forces performers to study their activity beforehand and, thus, enter a competition while being already supported by a specific tactical system that identifies both the stimuli one should expect and the preferred response to each particular stimulus.7 Movement Speed Following the previous processing-centered stage, the coordinated activation of muscles by performers generates actual movement. The performance of movement can then be characterized using a multitude of traits, including the displacement rate of one’s limbs in space—in other words, speed or velocity.

Movement (be it raising a glass or raising a 40-pound dumbbell) is a product of one’s ability to activate his or her muscles, in the sense of shortening specific muscle groups

7

Ibid.

with the degree of tension that is needed for them to successfully pull on the bones they are attached to and, thus, displace the body of mass in question at the desired displacement rate.

Despite most movements sharing this common root, it has become customary for displacement rate to be referred to as either velocity or speed when displacing light loads in space (for example, swinging a racket) and, in opposition to the latter, for this same phenomenon to be referred to as either strength or force output when displacing heavy loads in space (for example, performing a back squat). The simple rationale that causes, as well as justifies, the existence of such distinction, is the fact that the ability to generate muscle tension is load-specific. Nevertheless, realizing that the same variable (one’s ability to produce muscle tension through the shortening of one’s muscles) fuels displacement rate

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within both speed-oriented tasks and strength-oriented tasks, simplifies both the planning and the execution of training programs.

Power Finally, in the context of physical performance, the term power typically refers to the peak muscle tension one can generate throughout a limited time interval. For example, when sprinting, one’s foot is in contact with the ground for just 100 milliseconds, which prevents anyone from generating their maximum force output. As a result, the peak muscle tension (force output) generated within such time-constrained tasks equals power output.

Ultimately, this has training still coming down to one simple variable: the maximization of one’s ability to generate muscle tension; , with the concept of power merely adding the specific time interval that limits performance and, therefore, on which one needs to focus when pursuing this performance-enhancement goal.

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TRAINING STRATEGIES

Reaction Speed Improving complex reaction speed can be accomplished through two processes: by improving one’s ability to identify the stimulus, and by lowering the time that it takes to select the adequate response to the stimulus.

Starting with the latter, lowering the time needed to select a response can be achieved mostly by developing a tactical plan that skilfully reduces the number of different reactions required in responding to the numerous stimuli provided by the opponent. In stick-fighting, this occurs when performers, for example, can use the same parrying technique to overcome more than one strike.

Within the realm of stick-fighting, this can lead to performers relying on only three parrying motions: one to parry their left side, one to parry the center (thrusts), and one to protect their right side. In an extreme case, performers may even try to lower this number to

two, by having one parrying technique for overcoming thrusts and one (generic) parrying technique for dealing with strikes on either the left or right side (overhead/ oblique parry).

Such strategic, tactical systems should, nevertheless, be sought only by advanced level trainees.

The reason for the latter boils down to the fact that the perfor-

Oblique parries 1 & 2

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mance of these defensive tactical systems calls for both blocking parries and deflecting parries, with the latter ones being too complex and, thus, inadvisable for novice-level trainees.

As for the improvement of one’s ability to identify each stimulus, and assuming that there are no pending issues with the sensory organs responsible for receiving the stimuli (for example, adequate eyesight), such improvement can be achieved through a combination of sport-specific practice, video analysis tasks, and mental imagery exercises (Schmidt, 2000).

These latter stimuli-familiarization options carry a vast potential for improving complex reaction speed amongst stick-fighters. Additionally, novice-level trainees are, by definition, new to the activity. Therefore, such sport-specific practice should be the central training approach in improving complex reaction speed among them.

Movement Speed The improvement of movement speed in stick-fighting lies in the combination of mostly two elements: first, through the development of one’s coordinated activation of the muscles in question, which is just a fancy way of

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referring to the improvement of one’s ability to execute the motor patterns (technique) that make up the art; secondly, through the enhancement of one’s ability to generate muscle tension (force) within the load range and time-frame intervals (power) that are specific to stick-fighting.

A simple but effective way of managing these training options boils down to asking oneself whether a trainee has enough (base) strength to perform the predetermined movement pattern. If so, a practice should focus on sport-specific coordinative training, which is the case amongst most novice-level trainees taking up stick-fighting. Should a trainee lack the base strength, which is most common when teaching either children or females, then an initial phase of strength enhancement is called upon before embarking on the practice of sport-specific technique.

When dealing with advanced-level trainees, on the other hand, their coordination (technique) has not only leveled out, but quite frequently it is preferable to refrain from frequent corrections to their motor patterns to avoid a drop in their ability to perform both automatically and with confidence.

Therefore, improving movement

speed amongst advanced-level trainees mostly calls for the enhancement of their sport-specific strength output. Doing so can be achieved, within stick-fighting, through the practice of sport-specific motor patterns with gear of different weight, in the form of both heavier and lighter sticks. The use of heavier sticks should be implemented when the goal is to improve the degree of muscle tension developed within the sport-specific motor pattern in question.8 The use of lighter sticks, on the other hand, is meant to get trainees to experience the proprioceptive feeling of performing faster actions, under the goal of improving one’s movement speed when performing with the standard gear of the activity.9 Though useful, neither of these training options ought to be used excessively, under the risk of disrupting the performance with standard gear.

Lastly, on the topic of motor patterns: a couple of their primary functions are to maximize the transference of kinetic energy between the body segments that are

in action during the performance of each technique, and to improve the timing with which different phases of a technique merge.

Therefore, there is a third important element one can drill to improve movement speed. This refers to the actual movement patterns (technique) that make up each school of thought of the stick-fighting community—in the sense that such motor patterns can (and should) be continuously analyzed and improved on whenever possible. One stick-fighting example of such a process was the development, within jogo do pau, of rotational strikes in which the swinging of the weapon started from the very beginning of the striking technique—instead of doing so only after raising the handle of the weapon over the head.

Such change brought about quicker strikes in that, by improving the timing with which different components of the techniques merged, the strikes began reaching the target in less time.

8 Yuriu Verkhoshansky, Special Strength Training: A Practical Manual for Coaches (Ultimate Athlete Concepts, 2006).

9

Ibid.

Luis Preto @ luis.preto.50

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TRAINING WEAPONS IN THE MODERN ERA Jeffrey "Stickman" Finder

THE WORD MARTIAL DERIVES from the Latin martialis meaning “of war” or “belonging to Mars.”

Among those belonging to Mars, there has always been the practical matter of training without causing unnecessary injury or death to students or partners. This was often an unfortunate and perhaps even regrettable outcome in societies, which had little qualms about culling the weak. Nevertheless,

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the goal is to promote proficiency in fighting, whether it is children play-fighting with sticks outside a family compound, or a warlord training raw recruits for an army while doing so in relative safety.

The modern martial arts’ focus on empty hands is, historically, a relatively recent phenomenon of the 19th and 20th centuries. Weapons are ubiquitous in hunting, self-defense, and combat in every culture.

Training weapons and martial arts probably go together (pun intend-

ed) as far back as the efforts of our earliest ancestors to pass on survival skills to their offspring and tribe. As sticks and rocks evolved into shapes and materials capable of inflicting more dangerous wounds, those became symbolic of hunters and warriors who earned the right to bear them, as well as the social costs of time, skill, effort, and resources invested. Let us not discount that economic value.

Whether sticks, wooden swords, or even fake wooden rifles sometimes

carried by modern military units in training or on parade, cheap basic materials have been a traditional stand-in for expensive and ostensibly more lethal weapons, and in places where live-bladed weapons may be frowned upon or banned, ordinary objects can and have become combative tools in the hands of martial artists.

In today’s modern world, martial artists who train with weaponry have a wealth of choices in both traditional and modern materials, and designs from many different cultures and eras. While mainstream martial artists have access to the offerings of large retail companies that have long advertised in magazines and now online, we live in a golden age of knife-making, and that has spilled over into the relatively small niche of training blades, as discriminating martial artists are no longer satisfied just to accept low-quality mass-produced trainers. The internet has allowed small custom artisans to be able to reach customers far beyond their local venues, expanding the options to those interested in going beyond generic store-bought tools. In the case of practitioners of the various martial arts of Southeast Asia, they are now able to find

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replicas of the many exotic weapons that have evolved throughout that region.

The style of martial art that is pursued by a practitioner determines, to a large extent, which weapons one chooses. There are three main directions in which martial artists train. These are traditional martial arts, sports styles, and self-defense-oriented systems. Of course, there is overlap, but generally, one will be the main area of focus, and this is frequently the basis on which training weapons are chosen.

Traditional martial arts tend to claim lineages going back hundreds or even thousands of years. There is a focus on the transmission of techniques and philosophies that have been passed down for generations. While training techniques oriented towards self-defense is common, training often takes the shape of formal or ritualistic mannerisms. The weapons used for training in these styles reflect the culture and time from which the style originated. Okinawan martial arts are a good example, as the weapons used come from a historical period in which the people of that island, having been forbidden weapons by Japanese overlords,

developed ways of using ordinary farm tools and other implements which would not be suspicious to carry. Thus, we have the long bo staff, the tonfa (a stout forearm-length piece of wood with a handle used for turning rice grinding stones), and nunchaku flails used to separate the rice grain from the hull.

Hardwoods are the wood of choice for these weapons that have a history of successful use, even against steel weapons such as katana or sai, and so can handle contact in sparring or two-person forms. Bo staffs and bokken (Japanese wooden swords) traditionally use red oak, while the shorter jo staff is of white oak. While these Asian weapons are familiar to most martial artists, historical European mar-

tial arts also made use of wood for many weapons, including wooden practice swords known in English as wasters.

Sports martial arts may be modern descendants of traditional styles or downright eclectic compilations put together from various sources.

These styles may focus on sparring or forms. The latter has increasingly become more acrobatic and flashier over the years, at times resembling gymnastics more than combative martial techniques, and at times abetted by weapons that have become lighter and lighter to emphasize the speed at which they can be handled. A good example of this is the hollow aluminum “toothpick” bo staffs that have become common. These can move in dazzling displays of con-

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trol but would be almost useless in a fight as the weapons are not designed to take more than the most superficial contact—if even that. The more traditional divisions, however, still tend to compete with weapons in keeping with their style, though even there, aluminum sometimes can be seen replacing wood or steel, such as the blades of Okinawan kama, the short-handled sickles.

Self-defense systems may also come from traditional styles that focus on evolution within the art, or that can be eclectic. Kajukenbo, comprised of elements from karate, judo, kenpo, and boxing, is a famous example of such a system.

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Jeet Kune Do, a concept popularized by the late Bruce Lee, is another modern art that has taken a myriad of directions according to individualized training. “Reality-based martial arts” is another concept that breaks the mold of traditional martial arts, using things like scenario training for a real-life simulation involving things as diverse as improvised weapons and modern firearms. There is a lot of cross-over between some of these arts as practitioners might bring expertise in one area to shed light on another. One example of this comes from Dog Brothers Martial Arts (DBMA®), which brought the concept of stick grappling to the

forefront by combining weapon elements from Filipino martial arts (FMA) with Brazilian jujitsu, a grappling art, bringing back a level of realism and intensity applicable for self-defense on the street.

The best-known martial arts in the West come from Japan, Korea, and China. Japanese and Korean martial arts tend to use hardwoods and iron or steel, which are traditional resources in those countries. China, a much larger country, has a lot of regional variation, so more tropical woods like wax wood, bamboo, and rattan are to be found, both as wooden weapons, and as shafts for spears, halberds, and so on.

Rattan has become popular in the West in recent years. It is a vine that grows widely in the tropics, with over 2000 species worldwide.

Like bamboo, it differs in having many tiny tubules rather than a large hollow center, which makes it more impact-resistant as well as able to absorb shock exceptionally well, making it extremely popular for sparring. When dried, it holds its shape very well, making it a popular material for commercial use in furniture. In the martial art world, however, it is most closely associated with Filipino martial arts, where its use is ubiquitous among the many hundreds

or thousands of styles practiced there, though in recent years its use has spilled over to organizations such as HEMA (Historic European Martial Arts) and the Society for Creative Anachronisms (SCA), another Western-oriented group.

Due to its cheap and easy availability in the Philippines, rattan is the most generic material used therein training—an association carried with the FMA to the West.

Some say rattan is only for practicing while denser hardwoods such as kamagong and bahi are the preferred woods for personal combat, though rattan can vary in weight and density by species, age, and so on. Within the FMA, common opinion feels the stick is a training alternative to live blades, though that is somewhat interpretive, as the tactics may be similar but optimized for each. A saying about that goes: “Sticks seek bone; blades seek flesh.”

Known by a whole array of names, Filipino martial arts go by the names of kali (popular in the West), escrima (a term from the central region of the Visayan islands), and arnis, the most widely recognized term across the Philippines and the one used in legislation that declared it the national sport. These

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arts are popularly associated with the use of rattan sticks, wielded either singly or in pairs. While 28inch sticks are the most common length commercially available, they can range from 18 to 32 inches, depending on the tactics preferred by specific systems. The benefits of rattan are quite pragmatic. Its relatively light weight means serious injuries are less likely than with dense hardwoods or steel, hence its popularity now with many martial artists around the world. Rattan does not last long with vigorous training, but it is relatively inexpensive. It also reproduces easily, so it is a renewable resource.

While the weapons mentioned are usually wood or rattan, the modern era has ushered in a variety of new resources applicable to training. As mentioned earlier, aluminum has become popular as a lightweight replacement for heavy wood, such as in staves intended for forms competitions. In recent years, though, its use has expanded into other realms. Many martial artists train with swords and knives, and while wood has long been a stand-in for steel, it does not have the look or feel of the real thing. Tai chi training swords, for example, are often made of lighter wood than Japanese bokken, and unlike the latter, swords are not intended to make

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contact. Aluminum swords and knives are thinner and much sturdier than wood, while thicker and less edgy than even unsharpened steel. Much of the appeal of aluminum comes from its shiny silver metallic appearance, which is like the brightness of plain steel blades.

As opposed to forging or grinding steel, aluminum is relatively quick and easy to work with, requiring little more than basic cutting and polishing tools to create blades, making it accessible for many small shops and home craftsmen.

Aluminum knives are in demand these days, particularly among FMA practitioners. From the mid1980s, most non-wooden training knives came from industrial manufacturers that used flexible or semi-rigid rubber. These can still be found and offer a high degree of safety in sparring or two-person self-defense techniques, but are useless for training many disarms since the blades easily bend under pressure—unlike live blades—making it impossible to practice techniques applicable to real knives. For that reason, rubber never really caught on as a replacement for wooden trainers.

Aluminum solves that issue, and its flashiness mimics that of many live blades, increasing the sense of realism in training.

When it comes to swords, however, aluminum has drawbacks of its own. Edge-to-edge contact can quickly turn a smooth edge into one that is jagged and saw-like, and capable of drawing blood. While optimal sword work does not block with the edge of the weapon, there is a reason ancient armies had armorers to hammer out damage to weapons after a battle, and while one can remove aluminum burs through sanding (preferably with a belt sander), that is not al-

ways a level of care or attention given by practitioners. The most common grade of aluminum used is 6061, which is relatively inexpensive and easy to machine with standard tools. A higher grade is 7075 aircraft aluminum, which is much harder and also more expensive. Whether or not that is subject to the same kind of contact damage as 6061 is unknown to me, as I have yet to see training swords of this material put to the test.

Sparring with kampilan swords made to specification.

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A newer and less common option is making training blades from high-impact plastics, which offer some specific advantages over both wood and aluminum, particularly regarding durability for sparring.

Plastics like polycarbonate, nylon, and acetal are highly resistant to damage from impact. They do not splinter like wood, or develop rough, sharp edges like aluminum, and are rigid enough for sparring and disarming techniques. Some, such as acetal, are very easy to cut and machine, and can have beveled edges to more closely represent the cutting edges of live blades, a feature rarely seen in aluminum.

While still lighter than ¼-inchthick steel, the denser ½-inch plastics rival heavy hardwoods or ¼-inch aluminum in weight, and with a bit of finish work, can look and feel like wood rather than the kind of slick texture often associated with food-grade plastics.

As someone with extensive experience working in this medium— over 30 years—I can attest to the durability of well-designed plastic weapons. Both sticks and swords I have made with these materials have given users years, even decades, of service, far beyond what most would expect, especially compared to wood. The only reasons plastics are not more popular are

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two-fold: first, most people associate plastic with disposable products, though the issue of non-degradable throw-away plastic is one of global significance; the second is appearance, as plastic does not have the flashy look of metal. That prejudice is one that is slowly fading, given stealth treatments such as Parkerization in black, or camouflage applied nowadays to many steel blades to minimize corrosion and avoid reflectivity.

When it comes to contact-training with sticks, plastic is superior to aluminum or even steel as a modern alternative. I have bent or crumpled steel pipes with just two or three strikes against stop sign poles, while whacking away with a lightweight polycarbonate stick only results in some scuff marks.

Many certified police batons are now using glass-reinforced polycarbonate—a more substantial and very durable variation (at a premium cost to plain polycarbonate)—as an alternative to wooden batons. The limitation of plastic is that it lacks rigidity over longer lengths due to not having an internal grain structure such as found in wood. Past four feet in length, plastic rods will begin to have notable flex, not unlike Chinese wax wood staffs. Increasing thickness to compensate for flexing quickly

increases the weight beyond what is acceptable to most people.

Beyond aluminum or plastic are composite sticks, generally designed for safety training or light sparring. One example from the 1990s was the soft stick made by Maestro Sonny Umpad, creator of the Visayan Korto Kadena style of FMA. He used a thin ¼-inch fiberglass rod core, inserted into a short wooden handle, over which he then slipped open cell foam pipe insulation, which was finally covered with a skin of heat shrink tubing with neoprene end caps.

The purpose of this was for safe light contact with the hands while practicing techniques. While these had some popularity for a while, the downside was that the end caps could come off or the heat shrink tear if used for hard sparring, exposing the fiberglass core.

Many people have tried similar ideas, such as covering PVC pipes with foam. Those too tend to fail, as the uncovered foam tears easily, and PVC can shatter dangerously, leaving sharp jagged ends. Nevertheless, there are variations on this concept used for some types of padded stick tournament competition, as opposed to live stick bouts using thin, lightweight rattan.

Today’s martial artist has a multitude of choices in materials and designs available for training.

Wood certainly is not going away, though good hardwoods are becoming increasingly rare and expensive as those are slow-growing trees—not a sustainable resource.

Despite rattan’s popularity for sparring, it too has become more challenging to obtain as less affluent tropical countries have, in recent years, become somewhat restrictive in its export to try to bolster domestic crafts and manufacturing. Aluminum and plastic are the most available alternatives in the industrial world’s “jungle,” and can be attractive economically because they do not need to be replaced with the same frequency as less durable materials. Ultimately the choice comes down to the individual practitioner, a decision based on personal aesthetics, intended use, and how the weapon feels in the hand.

Jeffrey Finder @ jeffrey.finder

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BANDO STAFF Geoff Willcher, Ph.D

“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).

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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, Ph.D @ gwillcher

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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

•

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 @ mark.e.stewart

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WEKAF AND DOG BROTHERS: TOGETHER AT LAST! Nick Merchant

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Putting Your Skills to the Test…

IN MARTIAL ARTS, THERE IS an everlasting conflict between theory and reality regarding the effectiveness of fighting techniques. How does one know that a strike or defense will actually work? More times than not, in class or practice, there is a partner who “allows” the technique to happen. It looks effective, especially when years of practice allow the technique to flow with speed

and grace. But what happens when a combatant refuses to let you hit their hand five times in a row without disruption or counter? This is where sparring and fighting come into play. It allows a practitioner to pressure-test their skills against a non-compliant opponent. And when it comes down to fighting, there are two major groups that allow FMA enthusiasts to put their skills to the test: WEKAF and the Dog Brothers.

My initial fight training started with WEKAF under GM Sonny Mayo of Alpha Doce Pares. I eventually competed in several events and ended up as a competitor in the 2022 WEKAF International tournament. However, early on in my WEKAF journey, I “drank the Kool-Aid'' and started full-contact (Real Contact) fighting with the NY Dog Brothers group. Even though I am not in the tribe of the Dog Brothers, I have consistent-

WEKAF bangkaw tournament (year unknown).

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ly trained with Dog Brother Tribe Members and have participated in the 2019 Dog Brothers’ Open, benefitting from the experiences.

What happened to me on my FMA journey was that I concurrently trained and sparred in both types of fighting. I am lucky enough to have experienced both of these worlds, and to explore what each asks of and offers a practitioner.

What Is WEKAF Fighting?

WEKAF was officially started in 1989 as a means to promote and preserve FMA. There are several local and regional tournaments that allow fighters to compete and qualify for the culminating international championship (held every two years at varying locations). Gold, silver, and bronze medals are presented to fighters as a reward for their performance.

There are clearly winners and losers.

WEKAF events are broken down into age groups (kids to adults, male and female) and categories.

The categories are padded knife, padded stick, full-contact single stick, team single stick, full-contact double stick, and full-contact bangkaw staff (there are also forms competitions, but for the sake of this discussion, we are going to focus on fighting).

Padded stick match at WEKAF 2022.

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All matches consist of three one-minute rounds overseen by a referee and judges. For the team matches, each of the five fighters gets one minute to fight their opponent in back-to-back combat.

Padded competition (knife or stick) works off of a point system: score a strike, and earn a point.

No thrusts to the face are allowed, even though the weapons are made of soft foam. Competitors are also required to wear a WEKAF helmet.

Full-contact is essentially scored off on four criteria: the number of strikes made, the variance of strikes (target areas), demonstration of defense, and ring control. No thrusts, whatsoever, are allowed, and there is no striking below the knees or to the back. Fighters can check the arm but cannot hold it. There are no throws or shoving permitted; the fight is to remain in the ring with both fighters standing. Fights take place in a seven-square-meter ring that ensures participants will be in close proximity.

Full-contact competitors are to use WEKAF 28-inch regulation sticks made of light rattan. They are required to wear a WEKAF helmet, full sparring jacket, and protective gloves (which vary in protection and mobility). Fighters may also choose to wear forearm guards, elbow pads, knee protection, and a cup. For the most part, the additional protective gear has no real regulation (though we can assume hard materials like wood or metal would be frowned upon) and is up to each individual fighter.

Criticism and Drawbacks WEKAF Fighting

of

Although the criticism of WEKAF is no secret, I found it peculiar that it resurfaced during the week leading up to the 2022 tournament.

Some of it was clearly clickbait,

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but several accomplished martial artists called into question whether there were any benefits to this style of fighting and training.

Perhaps the biggest criticism that WEKAF faces is that it is completely unrealistic in terms of actual combat. Point matches become a game of tag. Thrusts to the face would very well end a fight in real life, but in competition, they warrant a warning (of point deduction or disqualification) from the referee and do not count as a point. The judges do not see every strike, and sometimes the fighter that should have won does not. What is supposed to be Filipino martial arts

looks more like a fencing match more suitable for HEMA-trained fighters. Yet, there is still skill and tactics necessary to win. One cannot enter the ring and go into berserker mode. There needs to be the employment of tactics to beat your opponent and come out on top.

Full-contact matches can turn into a standoff between competitors as they simultaneously land strikes that would render both of them too wounded to fight, unconscious, or dead if they were not wearing armor. During the 2022 tournament, I noticed an interesting trend among the light and middleweight fighters. They

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Nick Merchant vs Foxhound

would give each other roughly 12 inches of space and just exchange hits, moving their weapons around each other (with some use of the check-hand in attempts to either disarm or disrupt their opponent).

Heavyweights tended to demonstrate more crashing, shoving, and holding. From an outsider’s perspective, it all looked chaotic and unrealistic, devoid of any real technique.

Overall, there is a feeling that the protection and light sticks give fighters a false sense of security.

The equipment is so protective that it prevents fighters from feeling any real consequences of being hit. Although jarring, the light

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sticks mixed with padding make it uncomfortable at worst (though hits to open flesh will still sting and give bruises or stick hickeys). This helps to prevent the nemesis of any athlete: injuries. The organization is protective of its fighters and ensures, as best it can, that they will be healthy enough to fight another day.

Additionally, there is criticism regarding the mindset of competition and fighter ranking which strongly influences a fighter’s attitude and training. When you give out medals, you open up the door for egos to emerge. Now, martial arts are plagued by egos in general, but competition brings about

a whole new monster. Winning becomes the focus, not growth.

Sportsmanship is present, but I can honestly say that some of it was only at face value. There are sore losers that will complain to the judges at length after the match.

Judges and referees make bad calls, leading fighters and spectators to question their visual acumen. For some, though, competition brings out the best in terms of skills and fighting acumen. There is a goal to drive the athletes to reach their utmost potential.

Skills and Benefits of Training for WEKAF But is there merit to this style of fighting? The short answer is “yes.”

For a fighter to succeed in the WEKAF world, they cannot just come off the street and compete.

Knowing your counter techniques and being able to perform carrenzas or sombradas is not enough.

There is a need for specific training and conditioning that will give a fighter worthy attributes and help them succeed.

Speed is crucial. You need to land more strikes than your opponent.

Hundreds of hits are thrown for each round by each competitor.

Power shots are present (quite a few fighters will crack you as you stole from their mother), but to

be honest, much of the protective gear negates all of that. That means you need to be relentless in your output. You have to go nonstop. This will require rounds and rounds of bag or tire work of continuous striking. I would warm up for a few rounds with a heavier stick, going as fast as I can (avoiding injury) and staying as clean as possible with my strikes. For each round, I would focus on a particular angle, sticking primarily to forehand and backhand attacks.

For the last round, I would send all angles of attack non-stop, switching to the lighter WEKAF stick. My strikes would just fly.

Next, a fighter really needs to work on sending a variety of accurate hits. That means working on combos and varying your targets.

If a fighter hits the same spot three times in a row, all successive strikes no longer count. So, it makes sense to avoid hitting the same spot more than twice. Again, bag or tire work is essential. I would do a few rounds of T-strikes, then move on to broken-U and X-patterns. The purpose is to keep the attacks unpredictable by changing sides and levels. Additionally, I would work in my own combos using the area-code system I developed. On these focused rounds, I would really practice the mechanics needed

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to execute the combinations, trying to economize my movement and target my strikes for accuracy.

For the last round, I would execute any and all combos in whatever order they felt natural in, developing my own rhythm and collection of chain combinations.

I would say defense is key, but honestly, it is defensive counters. You need to block a strike and then blast away at your opponent. This requires sparring. Here is where it gets tricky. You need to outmatch yourself. I always choose to spar the fastest, strongest, most skilled fighters I can. They will come with varied attacks and strikes and I must defend and counter them.

For my training, I focused on the umbrella (roof) and cross blocks as an entry (fairly standard), negating their initial strikes and setting me up for my return volley of attack.

It may seem basic, but basics win fights. And by outmatching yourself and consistently sparring, you will be forced to rise to the occasion.

One minute is an eternity in the ring, especially when you need to deliver a nonstop salvo of attacks while wearing bulky gear. Remember, each fight is three rounds. And if you win, you will be fighting in the next 5-10 minutes. That means

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cardio and endurance are a brutal necessity. Not only must you strike more than your opponent, but you must outlast him while donning cumbersome gear that does not let your body breathe. There were times when I have been fighting and my lungs were burning and my arm went numb with the painful strain of non-stop striking. Too bad; the fight was not over. I still had to continue. Any and all cardio exercises are needed. Part of my training philosophy was to “embrace the suck.” I would do my cardio/endurance work while wearing as much of my WEKAF gear as possible for as long as possible.

I would also use those elevations (restrictive breathing) masks. Now, I know there have been studies to prove that elevation masks do not improve cardio, but I found that they make me work under adverse conditions (i.e., not being able to breathe). By the week before the tournament, I was doing two hours’ worth of training like that.

To be honest, I have won fights against much more skilled eskrimadors because I still had gas in the tank and they did not. Cardio is king.

I feel that environmental conditioning is too often ignored. It is important to know where you are fighting and when, so you can

WEKAF 2022

best prepare your body. The 2022 WEKAF International was held in the Philippines and I knew that I would be dealing with the brutal humidity of the region. To prepare, I would often train in a sauna suit and with an elevation mask. I would only do this for 30 minutes at a time as I did not want to die of heat exhaustion. However, I wanted my body to work under extreme environmental stress. I also arrived about a week early to allow my body time to acclimate to the change of weather, time, and food.

Yes, food. Coming from America, one’s diet cannot easily escape

the processed chemicals found in American fare. I went through a short withdrawal and adjustment in those first few days. By the time the tournament started, my body had adapted.

Speed, accuracy, combinations, and endurance are all viable qualities for a fighter. Even though the actual combat of WEKAF is not wholly realistic, fighters do acquire skills that will help them.

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What is Dog Brothers Fighting?

The Dog Brothers culminated in 1988. The driving philosophy is: “Higher Consciousness through Harder Contact” (HCTHC)©.

There are no tournaments. There are no medals or trophies. Fighters participate in events called Gatherings. There are two types: Open and Tribal. Open means just that; they are open to anyone willing to take the plunge into “real contact” combat, regardless of their association or standing with the Dog Brothers tribe, as long as they are of good spirit and heart. This event is only for one day. Tribal Gatherings are strictly for members of the Dog Brothers tribe (Full Dogs, candidates, and dogs) and last for two days unless it is a 10-year milestone. Then there are three days of fighting. Both the Open and Tribal events are held three times a year, each in the US, Canada, and Europe.

There are no real “rules” aside from the belief that combatants should be friends at the end of the fight.

No one is to hold grudges. There is also this stipulation: “ON THIS DAY OR ANY OTHER, No suing no one for no reason for nothing no how no way! Also, please note that we are a corporation, so you

cannot sue us personally anyway.

PROTECT YOURSELF AT ALL TIMES. YOU ALONE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOU. If you cannot do it in this spirit, you should just watch.” No one celebrates a win, even though someone may have clearly dominated and won the fight. It is about brotherhood and not ego.

Remember when I mentioned above about being of good spirit and heart? That means fighters are not going in looking to cripple one another. Punong Guro Mark “Crafty Dog” Denny said at the 2019 Open Gathering, “We are a tribe of warriors here to prepare for war. We are not looking to hurt each other but to make each other stronger through combat.” Fighters are there to test and elevate one another, not defeat.

The types of matches vary. From what I have experienced, fighters warm up with sport knife and bolo matches that are one minute and 30 seconds long. Then things ramp up to whatever weapons fighters agree to use. Typically, Dog Brothers use a 31-inch rattan stick that ranges anywhere from 1-1½ inches in diameter. This is much heavier and longer than the WEKAF tournament weapon. However, that is not always the case.

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Fighters may also choose to use double sticks, staffs, whips, swords, 2x4s, chains, or whatever they agree to fight with. Weapons can be matched or mixed. Some fighters will agree to fight two opponents at once or partake in a group fight (six fighters on each side). Matches are not relegated to strict reliance on and use of the weapon. Many fighters will resort to using empty-hand techniques and grappling to gain the upper hand. Sometimes a hidden knife will make an appearance. It is a mixed bag of styles and weaponry that fighters

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discuss and agree upon beforehand. Fights run for two minutes.

If the Ringmaster likes the way the fight is going, it may extend longer than the allotted time. Otherwise, fights run unless there is an injury or submission.

The Ringmaster’s responsibility is to start the fight and call time at the end of the match. He is also there to either remove masks when the fight hits the ground or call time on the account of simulated death (for example, getting your throat slit by your opponent, which has happened to me). The Ringmaster

is usually one of the more established Dog Brothers that makes sure the fights stay clean and honorable. Matches occur in a gym or park, so the size of the “ring” and the terrain will vary greatly. Fighters may have to contend with large open spaces or uneven surfaces.

Since the belief is HCTHC, there is minimal gear worn by participants.

You are expected to wear a fencing mask, mouthguard, gloves, and a cup. As for gloves, anything too protective (such as hockey or Red Dragon HEMA gloves) is frowned upon. Some participants choose to

fight with baseball batting gloves only to prevent their knuckles from grating on the mask while punching (if the mask happens to be on at that time). You may wear elbow or knee pads, but they must be soft. The reason is so that fighters will recognize and respect the consequences of being hit. There is no teacher as effective as pain.

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Criticism and Drawbacks of Dog Brothers Fighting As far as criticism of the Dog Brothers’ style of fighting goes, it really boils down to the risk of injury. With minimal gear and heavier weapons, you will feel the hits unlike in any other sparring you have done. It is not uncommon to see fighters with broken fingers, hands, or ribs after a match.

The bruises and lumps one will get from the fights will last for days.

And this is what the public sees and hears about. It is a very real risk, but it is one that fighters are well-informed about before they take part in an event.

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Another public misconception is that they envision a violent group of psychos beating each other into a pulp. I have had fellow martial artists cringe when I told them I participated in Dog Brothers events, all based upon this perception.

But I have not witnessed any bad blood or maliciousness on the mat.

Some of the most brutal matches ended with fighters putting arms and hugging as they walked off. My closest friends in the association have time and again bested me.

In regard to the actual fighting and its approximation to reality, there are those that say it is not effective.

An unnamed grandmaster once

told me, “You will not get into a fight wearing gloves, so why would you fight that way?” However, the goal is to push the limits without pushing a wheelchair or walker.

Fighters want to get as close to a real fight as possible without going to the hospital or morgue. To accomplish that, some protection is necessary. This is a tribe looking to elevate its members, not destroy them.

This also connects to the criticism of DB fighting being considered unsophisticated FMA, some even referring to it as barbaric and sim-

plistic. The honest truth is that, for the most part, under stressful and adrenalized conditions, a lot of technique goes out to pasture. This also happens in WEKAF matches. Yet, the more seasoned and well-trained fighters will exhibit a higher execution of technique that may go unnoticed by pedestrian eyes. There is a complexity to fighting a non-compliant opponent who is out to attack you while you do the same. Thus, it takes practice and self-reflection (on top of training) to evoke sophistication at this level.

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Skills and Benefits of Training for Dog Brothers It is essential that a fighter is versed in several forms of fighting. Stick and knife is all well and good until you clinch or you lose your weapon. Then what? Well, the fight does not stop. You need to finish the match. That is where the striking and grappling aspects come into play. Muay Thai is useful for sending kicks and clinching. Fighters will crash and get entangled, leaving you in a situation where you need to make the most out of close proximity striking, such as knees and punches. However, that does not always last too long, as many fights inevitably find themselves going to the ground (which is a harsh reality of what could happen in real life). That is why it is also

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important to have some proficiency in grappling as well. If you focus only on weapons, you are neglecting the reality of what may happen in real life. You do not have to be a BJJ black belt or Muay Thai champion, but you should be able to handle some striking and groundwork. So, train it. Versatility is a trait many martial artists outside of MMA neglect.

Power is definitely an attribute you need to acquire for this style of fighting. You need to be able to swing hard and make sure your opponent respects your range and attack. Additionally, you will need to fend off powerful strikes, and a soft block or counter will not cut it. There is only so much one can do with your arm to increase power. That is why there is a need

to develop mechanics that involve the full body to fuel a strike.

Shoulders, hips, knees, and feet all need to work in conjunction with the swinging of the stick. That is why tire training is so helpful in this area. As shown to me by Steve “Defender Dog” Sachs, a tire is an amazing tool to help you develop core strength and power for striking. The tire can be used while walking, swinging it side to side and coiling your body to appropriately and efficiently deliver the next strike with power. Additionally, throwing the tire will help you mimic sending a ferocious power-shot.

There is also a dire need to train to send strikes while moving.

Many Dog Brothers matches involve circling, entries, exits, and

stalking. You need to evade and invade while delivering offensive or defensive hits. A lot, and I mean a lot, of FMA stress footwork, but they seem to forget about actual movement. Your opponent is not going to stand in front of you waiting for an attack. And if he is, he has got something up his sleeve.

Therefore, a fighter must be able to move and strike simultaneously. This involves some of the power work training discussed above. Yet it can be as simple as “shadow boxing” with a variety of weaponry, paying attention to how different shapes and sizes want to move and adjusting your steps accordingly.

This will also help a fighter to develop explosiveness, knowing how to burst in with the best body mechanics and physics possible.

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One admirable aspect of Dog Brothers' fighting is the encouragement of participants to use different weapons. This will get you out of your comfort zone and open new doors for your practice. For me, doing double sticks with two 31-inch sticks proved to be an issue. So I switched one of them up to a 26-inch stick. Then I realized I was just doing a form of espada y daga. My double stick greatly improved. And as above with training with different weapons to help with your movement, you learn the attributes and deficiencies of each. A hatchet is top-heavy and not good for thrusting. A short stick loses range, but gains an advantage on the inside. Whips and chains require different coordination and mechanics. Knives introduce a different element of speed and range. Training and fighting with different types of weapons will offer you a broader perspective overall and will add to your arsenal of skills and knowledge.

That is why I incorporate as many different types as I can—sticks of varied lengths/thickness, blades of varied weights and materials, and mixing up weapons (for example, buckler and stick).

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Strategy is perhaps the most difficult to train. You can train a particular technique for weeks on end, and when given the perfect opportunity to execute it during a match, it does not happen like you thought it would. Why is that?

Well, GM Jeff Finder once asked me, “Did the technique not work, or did you just not work the technique?” What I derived from that was that I needed to reassess how I used and executed the technique.

Sure, in theory, or with a compliant partner, a technique is perfect.

However, in an open field with some adrenalized martial artist swinging at your head, the technique needs to adapt. So, it is important to reflect on your performance. That means you have to fight and run the movie in your head over and over again. Replay your steps. What worked? What left you open for that nasty shot to the midsection? How did your technique help you? How did you shortchange the technique? That all leads to the HCTHC concept at the core of Dog Brothers. If you fight and forget about the experience, you might as well have stayed home and watched reruns of Barney Miller. As physical as Dog Brothers fighting is, you need to reflect, learn, and grow from your experiences.

Closing I would be remiss if I did not say that both paths do not have their merits. I think at this point in the realm of martial arts, they do not have to be mutually exclusive. WEKAF has given me speed and endurance I did not think I could achieve, which has helped me during some grueling Dog Brothers fights. And Dog Brothers gave me a widened perspective of what my fighting is (and could be) and grit that helped me truck through some of my opponents in the WEKAF tournament. You may not have to fight both, but there needs to be respect (even a begrudging one) for each.

Please Check Out These websitses for more information: http://wekafinternational.com/ index.php/about/ https://dogbrothers.com/ the-gathering/

Nick Merchant @ nickmerchant

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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

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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.”

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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. 438-439 256 | The Immersion Review

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.

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Figure 56 - Vintage photograph of a Nihang Singh with a club at Harimandir Sahib, the holiest temple and place of pilgrimage for Sikhs.

Harjit Singh Sagoo Harjit Singh

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STICK GRAPPLING & IMPACT TRAINING FOR SECURITY PERSONNEL IN CENTRAL AMERICA

Darren Patrick Friesen

IT WAS QUITE A SHOCK, culture-wise, when we first moved to Costa Rica from Canada roughly 12+ years ago. I think it took almost two years for me to find my footing and actually get over the “deerin-headlights” sentiment to take an active part as a contributing member of society. That “part” also did not come easy even after that point. One of my first gigs here was being subcontracted from a major security firm in the Central Pacific which operated out of seven cities or towns here (Jaco, Quepos, Manuel Antonio, Santa Ana, Dominical, Uvita, and Hermosa). It seemed like a great opportunity to test my skills, expand my portfolio, and re-engage with an outlet I was worried about having left behind in Canada. It was a rather knee-jerk shock to the system, to be sure. My wife did not like the training as I was challenged, tested, and even jumped and threatened at times. The solo ride in the dark from the beach was not always the safest, especially for a foreigner that could break down at any time and be a target for robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, and the like. The demographic was often obligated and required to be there—translation: many did not want to and resented the extracurricular commitment.

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Remember, too, I was a Caucasian from North America where stereotypes and resentment often run deep from foreign interference politically, expatriate entitlement, and the view (often rightly so) of foreigners´ better chances in life than their own. I was inevitably putting myself in the line of fire, but we needed the money.

The learning curve was steep and unlike anything I had experienced in my teaching and training in Canada to that point. I had taught in some very notably bad areas in downtown Winnipeg, some very sketchy and dangerous people, in the core of what was at the time dubbed “the murder capital of Canada.” But nothing like this. The value of life was much lower, past traumas from violent upbringings were frequent, and exposure to violence was exponentially greater. The circumstances were rife for some very risky and temperamental situations to unfold, which they often did. The security guards

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generally enrolled in the programs were not highly educated, came from very poor backgrounds of abuse and violence, and had been exposed to aggression as simply a part of the growth process. Most came from Nicaragua or lower-class Costa Rica, and a few were from El Salvador, Colombia, and Panama. A number had permanent scars (physical and psychological) from having to commit atrocities to or kill others in their civil wars.

Some revealed as much. Some were ex- (or current) gang members. I remember having to “play-fight” in the center of a circle with one who had admitted to killing multiple people in the war and seemed quite practical and resigned regarding the acts. Real-world stuff and the security industry in Costa Rica in general often do not pay very well, training is minimal, and conflict is often a foregone conclusion. Because of that cocktail, legal liability was often a very real concern for companies.

The first thing that needs to be remembered is that this is Central America, so security is generally done with a low-tech scope, not a high-tech one like most high-level security in North America.

A lot more is left to the “eye” of the guards instead of to technology. That also means that the threats are also much more low-tech than they are high. Top-of-the-line technology is simply not accessible due to the cost for security companies here.

No metal detectors, no computer tech, no digital equipment. I did these workshops for 15-20 groups of 10-15 individuals over the course of five years, not to mention the specialist training for two other security companies, including profiling and vetting potential guards for very specific training in bodyguarding, protecting assets, and giving consultation on security-breach potential, illegal entry, and safety protocols for a major port in the country. All in all, it was a ton of learning-on-the-fly, but one that supercharged the learning curve in a way that no other experience could have legitimately given. It was all with very real threats and potential aggression in mind, not hypotheticals or theory.

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In the end, apart from personal risk, I would not have traded it for other learning methods. Inevitably, my entire martial learning process has come the proverbial hard way from hard men whose history of usage is more pronounced than their martial rank, which has ingrained an experience, immersion, and environments that hardened and gave permanence to the lessons learned. Had I gone the other route, I am not sure how all this would have turned out. I developed a lot of friendships, communication, and networking with the guards. I gained an appreciation for the vulnerability they showed.

And they learned to trust someone willing to throw his ass on the line for learning—theirs and, as it turns out, my own as well. I accepted all challenges, testing, proving ground, and ritualistic “hazing” that were thrown my way and came out the other side with respect and admiration that filtered throughout the companies. It may not have gone that way and any weak link in the chain may have been disastrous, but I also know the testing

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methods we had gone through previously. We inevitably had a “fight club” in Canada filled with the military, law enforcement, security personnel, corrections officers, and long-serving hard martial artists that wanted to push the boundaries of their personal knowledge on violence and counter-violence without ego. I also have an innate mean streak where “challenges” are accepted quite regularly when necessary and when I can dictate the outcome. It served well in the new environment. Without it, I am not sure it would have turned out quite so well. Knowing that all confrontations would be individual instead of multiple (remember, their job still hung in the balance, and I was aware of this), that weapons were left at the door, and that if I succeeded in “breaking” a tough opponent, the rest would fall in line and learning could commence, was a tactical advantage that was utilized with frequency—manipulating the “rules of the game” for a greater purpose. There were injuries produced in establishing group control out of neces-

sity—note that I was subtly threatened, jumped, challenged both verbally and physically, and disrespected on multiple occasions. I remember there being a shoulder subluxation (popped-out shoulder) that I had to put back in using hilot (Filipino bone- and joint-resetting), a blown-out ankle, a deep eye-gouge leaving the victim with a question of seeing the joys of life again, a liver punch that brought a 220-pounder to his knees gasping for air—various MMA and kickboxing exponents that were skeptical of the content and heckled their doubt before “buying in.” It was high-stress, without question.

I was told, whether truthfully or not, that various other martial arts instructors had been brought in only to turn tail and bail the minute the testing and tribalism started, and push-came-to-shove was not met with a return shove. That being said, to be “accepted” into a very tribally driven (and proven) clique was actually very gratifying, and eventually, learning took precedence in each workshop, until the next when the proving began

again. One learns to glean almost immediately—and out of necessity—who in the group will be leaders, who are the malcontents, who are the skeptics, and who has the eyes and body language of the violence experienced.

Apart from this and continuing with the overview of dynamics present in the job description, there were varying threats that these guards faced with some regularity, which immediately opened the door to a very grand sliding scale of potential response, not always easy to glean. The threats were anything from drunk or hostile clients from the workstations they were placed at, hostility from community criminals, to violent gang members building within the community. In one of the major locales where I gave the training, there were ongoing gang battles between Colombians and Dominicans, foreign prostitution rings, and expatriates from North America that were generally known to be on the lam (exiles) from something in their home country (violent crime, money owed, legal

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entanglements, and so on), plus the transients moving from beach town to beach town looking for even low-paying work. The manner of dealing with clients—even disorderly clients—that one wanted to return, to continue staying, and for whom they would want to ensure a great experience even amidst a one-time meltdown, is completely different from dealing with a local trying to access the grounds aggressively, or dealing with a gang member simply there for the violence or chaos. And the last two are community members you may see again on the street away from work on a Saturday night when out with the family— so the dynamics are complex, to say the least.

A couple of the companies themselves did not want firearms as part of their company protocols due to potential legal or financial issues, so the tools used were all impact- and concussion-based.

Now, whether this was because of the history of violence of some of the guards, to increase the need for solid conflict-management

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tools, solely for the potential legal and financial implications should something go wrong, or all of the above, I cannot say. I would bet a combination of the above. But it did change the focus of the training. The training itself was over the course of three, sometimes four afternoons, so it was imperative it was streamlined, functional, easy to absorb, and instantly implementable. The second phase was another four classes for more experienced and term-serving guards with leadership or specialist positions. Time wasted was at the expense of the guards´ safety and survivability.

So, the imperative nature of the classes being high-intensity, easily absorbable, unity- or team-building, understanding threat assessment and assessing accurately, and building confidence in their new repertoire was at the forefront— not an easy task with all the other goings-on mentioned above being prevalent. Confidence was also a rather large barrier as the resentment derived from an inferiority complex over the very people they

were generally there to protect— foreigners, with money, from the First World, in comparison to whom they had a perception of being second-class citizens—a very complex dichotomy. So, learning to stand up to, enforce, and look eye to eye (and not fall for the myth that “eye contact” reflects greater capability for violence, that was quashed early on, as many dangerous men do not give much) was something on the periphery that needed addressing. For all this to work, they had to legitimately (and rightfully) believe they were equals—that violence was not the first option, and that communication and corporal projection was valid, legitimate, and authentic.

Many of the guards themselves did not like their coworkers, so convincing them that every other guard´s goal was to return home safely to family and loved ones— same as theirs—was an ingrained motivation to that team-building.

You could continue hating or disliking your peers/coworkers after the shift ended, but on shift, you were a team, a unit, a working or-

ganism whose sole purpose was to ensure everyone had the ability to achieve that goal. If not, it was on you, trust was broken, and the revenge on you could be repercussive. An intricate human-behavior balance, to be sure, but I cannot stress enough how imperative team-building was, simultaneously with the actual physical and mental training—getting them to understand that they could feel whatever and however they wanted after work ended was their prerogative, but ensuring that those peers were there to feel that way was their responsibility, and that they needed to do everything in their power to make that a reality.

The weapons generally worked with, moving on, were blackjacks (closed and extendable), side-handle batons, pocket sticks, flashlights, and small tactical folders (closed, generally), not to mention any other work-related tools (asymmetrical/unconventional) that could immediately be turned into a momentary arm-of-opportunity, if needed and the situation called for it (a pen is just a pen un-

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til used as a weapon, but a weapon that is legally more justifiable when one is carrying potentially far more lethal or high-impact tools on oneself).

Now, an element often neglected is deployment. Deployment is not so hard when practicing quick removal from a smooth draw-point.

It is quite another when sheaths, Velcro seals, belts, holsters, carry location, and clothing are the staunch prohibition of accessibility—and often for a specific reason in that other tools are supposed to take precedence (e.g. verbal, corporal, communicative, subliminal—friendly, smiling, helpful— remember, clients, community…).

Maintaining networking, positive perception, and community positivity are imperative. Remember, even old warriors often got that way because they knew the value of diplomacy, allies, networking, and not burning bridges. And it is important to note that the R.O.E. (rules of engagement) are still present even here in Central America—legal justifiability, following protocols, the maintenance of the tourism industry´s reputation for positive experience and

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repeat business, industry security (one bad experience can blacklist you from further industry opportunities as word travels fast, security owners often congregate and interact, and it is a small country of five million people—bad reps carry), etc.

Moving on from context to content: there was, as necessary, a ton of content packed into a three- or four-day workshop, out of necessity. However, the overlap of general fight fundamentals and tapping into their natural body movement and innate survival instinct were imperative and the focal point of everything that followed. Too many “new” and unique skills would cause information overload. Overlap, transferability, and principle-based concepts were the nucleus. We often hear that “if you only had two hours / twenty-four hours / three days, or whatever, to teach someone how to survive a violent encounter with a powerful violence-prone opponent, what would you teach them?” So, let us move on to that content: utilization of escalated force over a greater threat, armed or unarmed, for self- or public safety.

Let us break down the stick skills focused on, compartmentalizing them into some order. Let us also acknowledge that “order” when it comes to fighting fundamentals is somewhat overplayed when presented in a “user” environment as opposed to a “practitioner” one.

Most systems I have trained in and instructors I have trained under have often had a “finished product” and functional package at the expense of a syllabus-based methodology, for quite intentional reasons, though those reasons may not have been clear early on. When the focus is adaptability, resilience, critical thinking, problem-solving, and on-the-spot decision-making, a specific chronogram is less adhered to as principles, concepts, and context take precedence out of necessity.

Emotional Impediments As I have mentioned, during a workshop, I can generally tell immediately, when I walk in and have an initial briefing with the trainees, who is the funny guy, who are the challengers and testers, who has peer-pressure control over the others, and so on. That goes into

the profiling aspect and is filed away in the knowledge bank for later.

Regarding those who have a history of violence that could cause knee-jerk reactions to generally non-threatening situations—what are the biases, stereotypes, and triggers that must be explored and made self-aware of? How these states can affect judgment in highstress situations—fight with the wife, hangover or alcohol problem on the job, resentment towards the company, personal vendettas, dislike of or rivalry with a coworker, animosity towards foreigners or tourists. These all shape whether you have the capability of reeling in any emotional elements that can affect job performance and the ability to use force—or not. Confidence, abuse, trauma, and personal issues can also negatively affect the same.

I had one guard who approached me post-session and told me he had been held up twice at knifepoint, and that the other guards, even his wife (displaying how “machismo” is NOT just a male thing, but reinforced by many females here, and

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in the region), belittled him for being a coward. That affects job confidence. So, listening to him, hearing him out, and explaining that these are trauma-inducing events and his confidence being rattled was entirely normal, is crucial. Furthermore, reinforcing the fact that he is alive (not dead) to be there for his children, parents, and loved ones from a position of power and leadership assuage his guilt and shame, as he starts to learn that it is the others (who often have not gone through similar circumstances) that are off with their perception. As well, what the others do not quite seem to understand is that this gentleman was going to be in the trenches with them, covering their back, and acting on their behalf should an issue hit the proverbial fan. Tearing him down and wearing away his confidence could have rather strong repercussions on you if you are relying on someone to watch your back or perform in support of you in times of high stakes.

Courtesy and Carrying Oneself Be. Nice. Your number one job for clients is to make them feel safe, attended to, helpful, and nice—not to intimidate them and make them feel under the microscope. Far too many security officers here, that

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I see, are in constant macho and tough-guy mode. You are a public servant for your clientele. If you are ignorant, rude, and standoffish, their tourist experience will be diminished, and their perception of the country negative. Remember, too, that your discomfort and intimidation tactics make them feel like you are that way for a reason—that incidents may occur regularly, and that is why you have taken on that persona. Not a good look. While the above may not be true all the time, and many may not think that, they could, and a large part of your job is to make people feel safe and relaxed. This does not achieve that. Be a public- and customer-service expert.

If they have confidence and trust in engaging with you, they are far more apt to trust you with something more serious.

More and more guards here, it seems, are waiting for the inevitable violence to happen, or looking for something to give them a reason to use it themselves. Go take MMA, if that is your mentality—this job is not for you. Security work is often boring, slow, and fundamentalist ad nauseam. Fill in those gaps with positive elements, opportunities to study the human factor, and to learn intimately about yourself.

Become proficient at those bor-

ing fundamentals, learn your own self-control, and assess that human behavior on such an intimate level that incidents that do occur will be handled effectively as a natural offshoot of what you have learned.

Basic Non-Lethal Striking Instead of teaching the “48 angles of attack” and having memorization and pattern repetition a part of the matrix, I teach a basic “X” concept where inevitably every other angle or line can derive from.

That way, full attention can be paid to other areas of greater impor-

tance—power generation, targets with the capability of shutdown or biomechanical stoppage via concussive impact, movement while striking, and so on. Basic angles of diagonal up-and-down, horizontal right-and-left, and the thrust1 is a base of simplicity where the focus moves from the one-dimensional to the three-dimensional.

1 Note that thrusting, though fine with a side handle, pocket stick, and even closed folder, can present risks with the collapsible baton or blackjack; it can, as the title infers, collapse, though that will be addressed briefly ahead.

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POWER GENERATION Regarding power generation, I use three general methods of power delivery, dependent on a number of intangibles that are not assessed “mid-stream.” Meaning, if you understand how power works and practice that power from an array of awkward, obscure, off-balance levels, positions, and dynamics, power will be present regardless. a. Elastic Recoil The final third of the impact weapon is used kinetically and with a whip-like motion, whether active or static. The myth that power needs to be delivered in solely traditional means with full-body reinforcement is simply that: a myth.

Delivered by the arm in a whip-like motion, all impact power is left with the target and can be done actively (in motion) or statically.

I did a demonstration once on a guard that did competitive MMA, standing aligned but almost be-

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hind, static, and with my back to him, and hit with enough impact to bend him over, surprised at the amount of power that arm punch generated in that short distance.

“Casting” in fishing is another analogy that is appropriate. b. Kinetic Chain This is the traditional means of delivery power. It starts from the ground, and continues with the torque of the rear foot, up the leg to the hip pivot, shoulder drive, and into the weapon delivered to the target. Boxing, kickboxing, and Muay Thai are all examples of styles that are at the forefront of this. c. Isotonic This is a “spasm” of explosivity where the entire body simultaneously tenses and explodes with no preparation or telegraphing to give a fully-charged impact to the surprised target.

All of these have their place and, more specifically, range: elastic recoil from mid-to-long range, kinetic chain from short-to-mid range, and isotonic from short range, though this is always and forever context-dependent. It is important to acknowledge, which many industry folks do not, that power is generated in several ways, not just in a traditional one. Power is often innate, and the generation of that power is learned.

Two other elements that I add to all of the three above: d. Ballistic Release This concerns being able to strike from any position—even static— to confound and confuse the opponent. Odd angles, obscure positions, innocuous delivery, and unconventional body movements are all crucial. It is more than simply non-telegraphing; it is about ensuring full-body compliance with the suddenness of the strike.

5. Kinetic Impact All of the impact and power should be left with the target, not

absorbed by the hand-wrist-shoulder of the deliverer. This is done by following through on strikes and continuing the line of trajectory after impact, not by “pushing” into the target post-initial impact.

Flash knockouts and liver shots usually contain this element in professional boxing.

Keep in mind that all of these principles are conceptual and much easier to implement and learn in an exorbitantly short period of time than actually explaining them on “paper,” aligning themselves with the need for quick absorption of understanding and implementation.

(See below for demo videos by the author.2,3)

2 “A Round on the Hanging CQC Bag” video by the author: https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i3FCFZKK-k.

3 “On Power Generation” video by the author: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=znTcKCzpMdY.

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Grips and Grip Changes Remember that knowing the different grips one can use with a stick or impact weapon is but one element, and knowing when to utilize one or more over others is the trick. Often grips of opportunity (how you pick it up from whatever position it is in) or deployment avenues (depending on position, dynamics of the engagement, and deployment availability) are either not within one´s control or dictated by the context of the confrontation—a smooth, textbook deployment is sometimes simply unavailable.

Knowing when to switch grips for striking, locking, takedowns, and throws is a skill built over time and with experience and cannot be achieved when compartmentalizing each of their own volition.

It is transitioning or switching grip from one range to another seamlessly and knowing innately what tools are available from what range and in what situation. If vertical grappling, ground-fighting,

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fighting at distance, on knees vs. grounded opponent, grounded vs. standing opponent, or from stalemates is always done in isolation, those transitions or switches will be near impossible to achieve other than for a select few.

While we address the grip changes from a locking perspective further down the document, let us briefly go over them here as well in a wider context and for striking purposes: 1. Regular or hammer grip This means grabbing with a closed hand, leaving roughly 1.5-2.5 inches of leeway from the butt of the stick to keep that puño available as a secondary striking tool.

2. Baseball bat grip This is a two-handed “dos-manos” technique designed to augment power delivery.

4. Mid-, middle, or medio grip This is like grabbing the stick like a suitcase in the middle, for thrusts, high-hand javelin- or spear-like strikes; the fist loads.

3. Reverse grip This is similar to Bonafant cane techniques from the Argentinean stick source—grabbing the stick at the butt-end, palm-down, and with the index finger nearest to the butt.

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5. Quarterstaff / cross-check grip Here the hands are on both ends of the impact weapon, one palmup, one palm-down, or both palmdown, like with a staff.

7. Loading Here a reinforced hand is used to “load” the strike with the opposing hand and add kinetic impact and force multiplication.

6. “Pool-cue” grip Place the near hand palm-down near the butt, the front hand midway up the shaft palm-up; use in thrusts (either drives or extensions), cross-checks, or powerful butt-ends.

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Dynamics of Violence The above also leads us to the dynamics of the altercation itself that so many tend to neglect or simply pay only lip service to, which is especially pertinent to the security field and real-world dynamics. a. Static “The interview”: two potential combatants standing face to face as a measuring takes place either pre-violence or while managing the conflict. b. Active “The duel”: two combatants square off and engage in ritual violence mano y mano. c. Dynamic “The ambush”: for lack of a more comprehensive and all-encompassing definition. Asymmetrical.

A sucker punch, an ambush, a surprise attack, multiple attackers, or deployment of a weapon by one of the parties.

Each requires a difference in an immediate shift of mindset. Static presents opportunities (read above: clients, clients present, clients onlooking, company protocols, job security, self-restraint). It presents the greatest sliding scale of response. Verbal dissuasion, rational discussion, de-escalation of

potential conflict, mention of repercussions, and generally non-violent approaches with the above in mind.

Active gives less response availability as the squaring-off has already been engaged. So, the responses involve decisions on level of force utilized, assessment of threat on a danger scale, collateral damage (which can mean legal and financial damage to the company), state and intangibles of the opponent (drunk, big, allied, female, aged, and so on). It is not easy to make these assessments on the fly, so discussion, visualization, and decisions prior to these events are imperative.

Dynamic is in the midst of violence itself and the decisions have inevitably been made for you. Your own safety (and that of the clients or patrons) is your only response—mitigating the damage or aftermath, gaining control either yourself or with assistance from your team or partner. As I am told anecdotally (I was not there and therefore cannot confirm)m one of the guards had a very hostile guest that was both under the influence and a Brazilian jiujitsu exponent that ended up in a violent conflict after the guest berated and threw items from the front desk at the receptionist. He

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ended up being on the bottom of the attack and kept his composure before utilizing some non-lethal yet psychological/affective tactics to regain control and handcuff the assailant before yelling for assistance from other guards. Did he “win” the fight? No. Did he do his due diligence covering the above caveats and nullify the situation in a textbook manner? Absolutely. He is a professional security guard, not a street fighter; it is not about ego—it is about context and end goal. Following the rules of engagement while in a very highstakes situation is not easy, but this is where utilizing their previous violent experience can be very beneficial. It is a tool, and one that, when combined with immediately practical tool usage, gives a rather stark advantage over someone— even trained—lacking it.

All of these in the above two categories are far easier to teach than to articulate in writing. The concepts are simple, and the scenarios are made dynamic, so critical thinking, adaptability, on-the-spot decision-making, and problem-solving are utilized from the onset. In a short, compact course, the mind is by far the most important tool, and providing it with an easy, simple conceptual framework with overlapping and transferable usage

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is paramount. The “if you only had two or three hours to teach someone how to stay alive” what-if, we so often hear on social media, is something I have not only had to think about, but put into play in real time with individuals whose safety and security depend on it and had many instances of actual “usage” documented.

Ergonomics of Tool Availability As we mentioned, the guards were outfitted with side-arm batons, blackjacks, pocket sticks, flashlights, and small tactical folders.

Each one has its own nuances and intricacies of usage. While impact damage can be created with each one using the three methods broken down above, they also each have their own niche benefits.

The side-arm baton has a perpendicular extension that can be used for hooking, pulling, pushing, impact, and short-range damage to bones, fossas (bodily indentations), nerves, and joints. It can be used to generate more torque and speed from the long end. Joint locks, controls, and movement containments are more easily applicable. It can also be awkward and grip-confusing, should one not practice with it or utilize it in some manner with regularity.

The baton is steel so the impact as a force multiplier is exponentially greater. The rounded ball on the end adds damage potential to wider target areas like joints, nerve bundles, and bone. It can, upon collapsing, allow one to not miss a beat as one now utilizes it as a closed pocket stick. However, the collapse can catch one off-guard if one is not prepared for it to happen and defaults into the “non-functioning tool” or range-disadvantage mindset.

The flashlight, of course, can be a blinder both longer term (working with seconds and microseconds here) in the dark, and shorter term in the light before utilizing it as an impact weapon. The batteries and functioning on/off switch need to be maintained by the individual; however, the transition from a blinding tool to an impact one is a pre-thought-of option. Getting back to the legal concern: it is generally not seen or perceived as a potential weapon, especially for a night shift.

The pocket stick / tactical pen are subtle tools that many often overlook or brush off as ineffective, but it can be a highly effective impact and containment tool. It has the diversity of doubling as a fist-load, a distraction-cutter (with keys),

a limb-controller, and a pressure-point reinforcement as a secondary level of pain compliance.

That can be two-fold: as a strike to pressure point areas for pain shutdown, and as a “penetrator” into areas like the ribs, jawline, clavicle, hip, brachial plexus/armpit, and so on. Remember, the pointed ones generally carried are not just impactful; they are penetrating and go “into” the body in inches. This is not your “one-touch knockout” variety often seen. It also needs to be used very close to an active, dynamic, three-dimensional individual, so the risk is undeniably greater. Regarding utilization of the keys, we are not talking about the often overstated “keys-betweenthe-fingers” variety, but its role as a flexible weapon for cutting, distraction, misleading, transitioning to a superior position, blinding or to diverting vision, deploying a greater force multiplier, and closing for containment or control— not for finishing.

The tactical folding knife is a utilitarian tool for multi-diverse uses on the job that have absolutely nothing to do with self-defense or counter-violence. Using a blade as a security guard will, 9.99 times out of 10, land you and the company in hot water outside of extremely dire and drastic circumstances.

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However, a closed folder is an option akin to the pocket stick above, and the legal “coverage” of “I had the opportunity to open it and use lethal force but chose not to” is an avenue that might give judge and jury a lot of food for thought and mitigate, in their minds, the level of force actually used.

Deployment In real-world “stick” usage, this is an area often neglected almost entirely but is the difference between carrying and presenting a functional tool vs. being adorned with a decoration on your waistline.

For instance, blackjacks or collapsible batons have form-fitting cases with Velcro straps that simply prevent most single-hand deployment methods. They are tight, the Velcro is non-detachable with a single-hand handle pull, and half-deployments (not clean, not fully deployed) are a regularity. If you do not practice that deployment with both hands—one pulling the Velcro open and sliding down to keep the sheath or holster in place, the other pulling out the baton with a quick snap-open—you are likely going to be in for a very rude awakening. A half-open baton from a clean deployment is another element that rarely goes addressed.

Under pressure, or attempting to

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enforce a solid commanding presentation with a partially opened tool can cause hesitation, shock, or freezing. I have seen it happen. There are multiple elements that go into deploying a blackjack cleanly and smoothly.

The side handle is in a loop at belt-level. While much less problematic than the blackjack, the side handle can get caught on loose clothing or “knot or twist the loop.” It should be one of the reasons why company uniforms are form-fitting and tighter than dayto-day clothing. Not on the whim of expecting violence that will never happen, but loose clothing prevents clean deployment, and it can negate tactile feelings of someone trying to gain control of one of your weapons, lessening weapon-retention possibilities.

The folder needs to be practiced both single- and double-handed.

The clip and where you have it located—pocket, belt-line, or the belt itself—determines the speed of accessibility. Opening a folder is not as easy as one would have you believe, especially under any amount of duress. There are inevitably at least some complex motor skills that go into it, and nothing replaces practice in usage. It can get caught on clothing, it can open

on one’s fingers, and it can also be dropped, or partially deployed. I advocate a two-finger pinch when pulling it out before it is in-palm; if using the second hand, that hand goes into holding the clothing (pocket, belt-line, or the belt itself) in place while detachment is employed.

Note as well that the lack of firearms-carry forces guards to access and develop soft skills on a far greater level. The lack of full accessibility to lethal force leaves some psychological power trips and knee-jerk responses of violence on the cutting room floor.

Guards are forced to understand that they are inevitably customer service reps, peace officers, and tourist assistants before they are an indomitable force throwing their proverbial weight around, either psychologically or mentally.

As a sub-contractor, you are forced to work within the parameters of company protocol and policy, and utilize those elements as strengths.

So, the type of verbal engagement and interaction was addressed with clear vernacular and idiosyncrasies on cultural provocation— words and phrases that could escalate instead of de-escalate were covered, though not pertinent to this article.

During a concealed draw for specific circumstances where drawing attention is not desired (e.g. an emotionally invested crowd is present), distraction and misdirection can also be utilized. This involves keeping your elbows in, limiting the struggle of deployment, smooth innocuous release, and various tactics for keeping that tool hidden: blading the body, palming or reverse-grip aligned with forearms, bodily concealment (covert non-aggressive positions or “submissive” postures). And notice that all weapons carried are black, the same color as the work pants, so color concealment is also rather handy.

In evaluating others, the reverse is true: the “invisible hand” (assume any hand not visible to the naked eye is reaching for something to be utilized against you), elbow extension or protrusion, blading body, odd angle-manipulation, verbal distraction, feigned verbal threats creating uber-focus, layers of crowd participation—the further from the fray, the less invested emotionally the party, or more covert and nefarious the entry.

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Here is a short case-study:

The picture was taken by me outside a major grocery store chain here, where security is always placed due to the reality that these places do get robbed and it is not an aberration when they do. Here is what this tells me: 1. There is zero access to his only carried weapons. Zero. In its current location, he has nil accessibility where it is positioned at the corner-rear of the back. Imagine an oncoming attacker with a weapon moving with intent while he simultaneously tries to deploy with adrenaline.

2. If you have ever worked on deployment with a collapsible baton from a Velcro-laced holder pouch, it sticks even if placed at

the front of the waist without a two-handed deployment, simultaneously pulling the baton and ripping open the Velcro. It takes practice and micro-details for speed. This guy does not even have the butt or tip protruding for easy accessibility. That tells me he has never practiced deployment, making this tool purely a decoration. I do not know what is in the other two pouches (taser? utility blade?), but they are even more poorly positioned for accessibility in the small of the back.

3. No firearm. Here, that tells me that the security company he works for has concerns about liability and accountability. It also tells me they are opposed to the use of escalating force should the situation call for it. He is a stopgap until authorities get there, at best.

4. Hands in his pockets the entire time we were parked out front and inside. Never took them out once: unprepared and oblivious.

5. Having worked in and trained security here, I know his training is deeply lacking or completely nonexistent. Couple that with this: while his weight may well be

an impediment and may demonstrate a lack of conditioning, where it will manifest itself more clearly is in performance. Several scientific case studies in the industry demonstrate that overweight people can and often do have reduced cognitive function, poorer decision-making capacity under stress, and less neuroplasticity.4 That is an element that addresses the “he is overweight so has poor stamina,” “poor conditioning and not in shape make him vulnerable as a fight draws on,” and “fatigue makes fools of us all” rhetoric, which are possibly true, but we should be asking why that is so.

6. He may never need skills and this job may be inevitably nothing more than a sentry posting, but most security guards here come from the lower class, get paid very, very little, and are given (as stated above) poor to no training for high-risk situations. But, as this is often a survival income in a one-income family with a wife and children, why would you not make the attempt to educate yourself on areas that may keep you alive, keep 4 Leaving an example here for perusal: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih. gov/pmc/articles/PMC7598577/.

your family fed, and minimize the long-term risk of leaving your family vulnerable?

7. This one is a small stretch but I am going to mention it. His features are very Costa Rican—lightskinned with lighter hair, and his accent was more Costa Rican. I trained over 150 guards here; all were either Costa Rican, Nicaraguan, or Salvadorian. Ticos have far less exposure to violence from either civil war, youth initiation, or poverty/extremely low-income upbringing. The Nicaraguan and Salvadorian guards I taught did not usually need to be told any of the things above more than once, if ever. Most often, they knew to do them instinctively. It may not be the case here, but violence breeds an understanding of violence.

(See below for the videos by the author.5,6,7) 5 “Drawing/Deployment Drill” video by the author: https://youtu.be/ Eez9S_waiuo.

6 “Drawing/Deployment Drill 2” video by the author: https://youtu.be/ wenEUIP1X3k.

7 “Strategies for Ground Counter-Deployment in Worst-Case Scenario” video by the author: https://youtu. be/7AIGrk81LFY.

Pre-Event Presentation Deploying a weapon can be either covert or overt. Covert, we discussed above. Overt is presenting it openly to the rival party or parties.

It is done intentionally usually for a psychological, psychic, emotional, or mental effect. Hesitation, inner turmoil, lack of intent, or indecisiveness on potential usage (often pretty overt itself) are absolute killers to projection.

Command presence and psychological intent have to be transmitted and clear. If not, you have just

escalated the force level and tipped your rather precarious hand. As much as a powerful message can be exuded with a strong presentation, so too can a weak message with the weak presentation. And you have likely given off a lot of valuable information for free by doing so.

Your presentation of that impact weapon unequivocally needs to be congruent with your powerful emotional state to have the desired effect. A powerful presentation can be as crippling for the opponent as it can be empowering for you.

Here is an anecdote: In the weapons community, here is what we mean by “successful presentation”: Many tell me, “Then what? What if he calls your bluff?” It is more than thisk though. In Winnipeg, Manitoba, we have the largest Pinoy population in Canada (as an aside, this is where I grew up in my combative martial arts youth, surrounded by quite gifted weapons-folk, which I benefited from being surrounded by sometimes 4-5 times a week). There are a lot of Pinoys here that can take care of themselves: FMA, boxing, street smarts, and predisposition to violence (many are first-generation immigrants, so they grew up in the Philippines). In high school, we had a group of guys that were always heavily into bodybuilding, steroids, and aggression, and who always went out to the bars to fight and intimidate, and so on.

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Now, this is a second-hand story, but it was confirmed by the individual in question, to me directly at a later date. Steroid-rage with alcohol can be a very dangerous combination, often for those around the individual, as they become very unpredictable and aggressive. One of the gents that I know was looking for trouble outside. He saw a short Pinoy gentleman standing outside the nightclub having a cigarette, minding his own business, as most Pinoys do until provoked: a target. He approached the guy and started getting in his face (easy mark: small, seemingly peaceful, not looking for trouble, and having a cigarette)—face-to-face, a couple of inches away, frothing at the mouth, threatening, finger in the face. Next thing he knows the gentleman has a knife to his throat, and he is pressed up against the wall, being asked politely, and with a total calm, “I am sorry, I did not bloody hear you the first time.

Could you repeat, please.”

Turns out that while my acquaintance was mouthing off, the other man had been deploying his blade while finishing his cigarette with the other hand. My acquaintance started whimpering and apologizing, actually shedding a few tears, seeing his life pass before his eyes.

Naturally, the Pinoy let him go.

Upon asking the guy the next time

I saw him what had happened, he filled me in on these exact details, admitting he filled his drawers. “Lesson learned, man. Never again. He had a total calm and I had no idea where that weapon came from.” This is what a successful weapon presentation can accomplish coupled with calm, subtle deployment, surprise, and the perceived will to use. It is not about just showing it as a deterrent (of course, legal consequences are always omnipresent, but the anecdote provides for transmission of meaning and clarity).

Retention Retention is another area of focus.

In any skirmish, and noting the above form-fitting clothing, your weapons are not concealed and are easily seen by others who can formulate ways to access them, and their deployment issues. I always advocate taking note of individuals staring a little too long at your belt line. Some very simple retention methods I utilize in a short course are: •

Explosive retraction—yanking the weapon-hand back rapidly to detach from grasp.

•

Hand-pins—the second you feel your weapon or belt-line touched, live-hand can attack, disconnect, stiff-arm to enforce space.

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•

“De cadena”—hard jarring inner-wrist slaps or hits while creating immediate space.

•

Snake/circular releases—quick circles to put pressure on the opposing wrist to release.

•

“Filipino roll”—the forearm is used as an impact tool on the forearm while circling the weapon-hand inward or outward while pulling or pushing.

•

Utilizing the puño or butt-end to press or impact the grabbing hand.

All are simple, learned almost instantaneously because of reflex actions we already have when retaining something we do not want to give up. Use one movement, not multiple movements, for facilitation.

Once deployed and some distance created—or a sufficient distance to start with—a stiff-arm front-arm to shield the active tool, or rear-hand utilization of strikes and the weapon retention skills explained above covers both potential positions of weapon-back and weapon-front, which are dictated by the scenario, not by choice as many would have you believe in a dueling, weapon-magically-appears-in-hand situation that the dojos of the world often offer. Footwork can be used

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to gain angles of advantageous positive hits, force-delivery re-setting of an opponent, geometric shapes and serpentine movements, and odd delivery angles to throw an opponent off and confuse intent (though also not pertinent to the scope of this article). Active livehand incorporation and natural body weapons reinforce the effectiveness and success of the weapon. This is not fencing—the rules of engagement do not apply in that regard. I have found that, generally, the greater the live-hand interaction with the weapon-hand, the higher the skill and comfort level with both the tool-of-choice and with confrontation itself.

Targeting This is extremely context-dependent, as always. One simply cannot go off and start pounding on someone with a weapon during a work situation, even if that work entails potential violent conflict.

Targets are offered with the caveat that violence is already inevitable, that legal implications are always present, and that the pre-event de-escalation process has already expired, or was ineffective (the biomechanical stoppage, corporal shutdown, or incapacitation are always the first and primary options, if possible):

the shoulder blade (limp arms do not lift weapons well), hands and wrists (little bones break easily), elbows (non-working joints affect three-dimensional movement), knees (no movement, no fight, and disconnection possible), ribs (breathing and torso movement becomes erratic and thrusts can achieve a higher degree of damage with a long solid tool).

As it is the security industry, thrusts to the sternum and back of the neck can be liabilities. As it is aggression, groin shots often do not create the desired effect, at least until later. Hips can be effective if hitting bone, but the more defined the target, the less chance of hitting it, and clothing and movement also play a big role. Tops of feet are difficult to hit with a moving opponent and the close range and the associated vulnerability of one’s own head are liabilities while trying to achieve that hit. A solid hit to the head is the most immediate and decisive hit one can get—a brain no longer active, an unconscious attacker is a fairly placid one, but again, legal issues, long-term damage, and secondary impact from the ground, obstacles, and barriers render it an iffy target. When all else fails, and life is in balance, the calculation is different.

With heavy-impact weapons, some valid targets have the potential to create the above, if hit cleanly, while moving, and with an opponent´s physical intangibles in mind. Noting that often with adrenaline or high stress, altered states, pain tolerance, and pain threshold, there are no guarantees; thus the biomechanical impact shutdown or concussive-force elements are important.

Those aforementioned barriers, obstacles, ground paraphernalia, bystanders, and movement impediments are a thing that I always stressed to prepare for. The better one becomes familiar with one’s work post, the grounds, the layout of the property, and the terrain; the better one has the ability to adapt during high-stress times.

Knowledge is understanding. Understanding is pre-preparation for events acknowledged to be a possibility.

(See below for a demo video by the author.8)

8 “Hand-Head Hunt” video by the author: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=rtDQbLmi_TE,

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LOCKING AND CONTROLS Remember that there is a staunch difference between a “break” and a “control” when it comes to joint locks, whether with a stick or without. We practice “joint locks” often without the acknowledgment that they are designed to break limbs, joints, and bones as an end result.

As a civilian, that is an important distinguishing feature: you cannot hold one in position indefinitely, and if you are not breaking, you are holding and attempting to control, and the one on the receiving end eventually thinks of escape, counter, striking, feigned compliance for release, strength discrepancy, altered states skewing normal pain responses, or becomes accustomed to the pain and psychologically finds ways to alleviate it. That is the truth that many martial artists neglect to mention. “Locks” are a temporary solution to a more long-serving problem, not an end result.

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Note also that violence never happens in a vacuum. Walking up to someone and attempting to jointlock them with or without a tool will likely result in a rather large degree of pain received. Like some arts (aikijutsu and modern arnis, for example), the damage is accumulated and a debilitated opponent resists much less. The following are some theories presented in this regard: a. The damaged-fighter theory—it is far easier to apply control and containment techniques when a fighter is already injured. b. The filling-in-the-gaps theory— hitting early and often. As others focus on one element or another (striking or joint-locking or takedowns or throws or…) we take the “or” out and increase damage exponentially in whatever half-beats are available.

c. The pain-overload theory—the more points of pain, damage, or injury an individual has, the less pain tolerance and threshold come into play, and the central nervous system is shut down or overloaded. d. Suddenness—abrupt, dramatic, and explosive (isotonic) motions yield great results and minimize active response from an opponent. They are unpredictable, immediate, and shift momentum. If you do not know what is coming, you cannot stop it.

Stick-locking is a rather unique skill unto itself when one puts in the time—and few do to that high a level. Opponents can break the lock, counter to escape, or counterstrike to release in a split second—in that “second” adding multi-layered and multi-diverse pain to overload the system, steal-

ing balance to disrupt base, breaking rhythm to prevent pattern recognition and destroy their timing ratio, and ferocity to psychologically hesitate are imperative. It is not a flow drill; it is knowing what connects to what else, inevitably, breaking their spirit to fight back.

One has to remember that stick-locking is transitional, not singularly focused. You need to be able to switch lock type, pressure, and target smoothly, and without impediment, as context and broken rhythm (whether dictated by you or the struggle of the opponent) dictate. I often hear lip service paid to use the stick/ baton/blackjack/pocket stick as an “extension of the hands,” but I propose that it should be used as a “second pair of hands,” and one should be able to transition from one to the other with interchangeable grips as the circumstance calls for it.

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Moving on, instead of teaching 1001 joint locks and noting that “lock” or “hyperextension” in the security industry is more legally viable than “break,” I teach conceptually. I give a number of types of locks that are transferable to different joints on the body. Remembering the concept instead of the technique means having to think less and managing the current situation instead of being overrun with possibilities. The eight I usually introduce and will demonstrate via video or still are: 1. X-lock—used as a pressure, throwing, takedown, control, and temporary (air) choke-compliance tool. One palm-up, one palm-down utilizing the midpart of the impact weapon as a pressure or squeeze element.

One palm-up, the other palmdown as pressure is applied with the forearms crossing as an X, as the name implies, and with both choking up towards the middle of the stick.

2. “Medio lock”—used as a pressure, throwing, and takedown tool. The mid-part of the impact weapon is used with other elements (body, head, wall,

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ground) to inflict pain as a transitional tool for a better position, greater damage, or throw/ takedown. Utilizing the middle part of the stick for pressure, hands can move up and down the ends of the stick depending on whether the situation demands a throw, lever, pressure, or break.

3. Edge lock—90-degree angle used as high-pain, takedown, and temporary (air) choke-compliance tool. The meeting of the two edges of the tip or butt are used as a prying tool on the body. One hand generally guides the puño or butt-end of the stick to the point where pressure is needed, while the other uses the top third of the stick as a fulcrum or lever to drive that butt more devastatingly into the required target.

4. Scissor lock—used as a pressure, throwing, takedown, and temporary (blood and air) choke-compliance tool. The target is in the middle, hands one palm-up, one palm-down as a squeeze; the vertical version of the horizontal X-locks.

An X-lock with an arm-trap, generally to the neck, throat, face as a cross-face, calf, shin, ankle, or foot.

A medio lock is applied to the neck, throat from behind, shin, calf, ankle, shoulder, or back, and done with a partial circular roll inward and a lift of the body weight before driving down or completing the semicircular roll.

An edge lock is applied to the carotid artery or jawline, back, hip, thigh, clavicle, orbital bone, brachial plexus, eye socket, or behind the ear.

A scissor lock is applied to the neck, calf, shin, forearm, upper arm, or ankle.

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5. Vice lock—used as a pressure, take-down, and temporary (blood and air) choke-compliance tool. Circling the target and tucking the impact weapon in the armpit and pulling; the effect is like that, obviously, of a vice grip. Most often tucked under the near armpit after circling the intended target area while pressure is applied up top by pulling the top third of the stick to exponentially increase pressure.

6. Triangle lock—used as a pressure, throwing, and temporary (blood and air) choke-compliance tool. The arms and stick form a triangle around a target and outward pressure increases pain levels. Full triangles are as implied, by creating a triangle with the stick and two forearms.

7. Half-triangle—used as a pressure, throwing, and temporary (blood and air) choke-compliance tool. Same as above but one hand freed to attack viable targets simultaneously to add

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multiple pain levels to overwhelm the tolerance ability; multiple pain areas puts added pressure on the brain to deal with varying levels and types of discomfort. The only difference between the half- and full-triangles is that the nonstick-gripping hand is released to place on a secondary area to add to the push-pull dynamic.

8. Lever/plant-the-flag—used as a takedown, pressure, and transition or position-change tool.

Driving the tip down or utilizing it as a turning or prying mechanism to alter the opponent’s position due to discomfort. *Note also that the point can be driven into certain body parts as well, if not as a pain-compliance mechanism, then to move a body from discomfort into a more beneficial position to apply pain—places like deep in the armpit, fossas like the clavicular notch/back of knee/sternal notch/small of back, and the ribs.

A vice lock is applied to the neck, shin, calf, bicep, elbow, ankle, or foot.

A half-triangle (here) or full-triangle can be applied to the neck, throat, shin, calf, or shoulder.

(See below for demo videos by the author.9,10,11)

A lever can be applied by simply releasing the butt of the stick with the near-body hand, using the knee to keep a body part stable, and using the ground as the base.

Targets include the neck or throat, ribs, thigh, and shin.

9 “Stick-Locking Nuance” video by the author: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=XZng38YRb_I. 10 Mandirigma Arnis Sticklocking” video by the author: https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=rp_jcbxglcw.

11 “Vertical Stickgrappling” video by the author: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=DOl8Gp-n-n8.

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Takedowns The goal of a takedown is to immediately establish ground control and a dominant position for either verbal or psychological submission, calling local authorities, handcuffing, team assistance/ backup, or any combination thereof.

The stick can be used in any number of ways to accomplish those positions. Again, concepts and principles take precedence over an accumulation of techniques: 1. Head-and-neck control takedowns (Neck lock drive-down, scissor lock, rodeo, vice lock, edge lock, butt-end shoulder fossa) 2. Single- and double-leg takedowns (Single-leg with sweep, double-leg with forward momentum, hip-throw from side position) 3. Levers or fulcrums (“backbreaker”, leg-pry, step-on-foot two-hand drive) 4. Limb-isolation takedowns (arm-wrap, single-arm catch/ Doherty, arm- or shoulder- bar)

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It is important to address the fact that the “joint locks” above are not only pain-compliance (I actually prefer “pain-enforcement” as it is not a gradual application, but a sudden, rapid one, ensuring greater cooperation) techniques, but with a transition all inevitably become takedowns or throws as well.

They are multi-diverse and that only adds to the increased learning curve when a concept transfers from one goal to another in an easy fashion and with only a different motive involved.

(See below for demo videos by the author.12,13,14,15,16) 12 “Vice Lock to Takedown” video by the author: https://youtu.be/J4Ccgt96t8s.

13 “Scissor Lock on Arm, to the Ground” video by the author: https:// youtu.be/qh_RsM_aaos.

14 “Medio Lock to ‘Backbreaker’” video by the author: https://youtu.be/ SRFOZ_wBnqI. 15 “Lever to Ground, ‘Plant-theFlag’” video by the author: https:// youtu.be/MhgJh-yGxXM. 16 “Armlock to Takedown” video by the author: https://youtu. be/0986e38z-bU.

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Ground Control and Handcuffing On the contrary to there being liability concerns with firearms in the security industry here, there are more liberties in Central America than in North America regarding the use and application of impact weapons. None of what I proposed with any of the security companies was met with resistance or concern as the playing field is a little different in that manner. While having free hands is preferred with an act that takes some more fine and complex motor skills, the stick can be a very useful tool when controlling opponents that can be in altered states.

For the security training I did, to cover legal avenues and negligence, the owners told me pain-compliance techniques were a prerequisite even if they did not (fully) work because it allowed force multiplication from a legal perspective and perception of witness (read: client) looking on. Without the attempted pain compliance, it was just seen as a force. So, while the standard “pressure points,” as they are used in most corners, are often ineffective against adrenalized opponents, there are ways to uti-

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lize them quite effectively as transitional tools. A highly forceful thumb under the ear with a snarling vocal command sets a psychic and psychological tone of intent and willingness to escalate, as a method of moving a body where you want it to go, or as a drawn freeze response, so tool access can be accomplished. This is not your average “pressure-point control tactics” (PPCT) most law enforcement or security utilize back home in Canada, but a highly efficient form of the subliminal messaging pain-induction method that works without eliciting permanent damage. It also allows for force multiplication from a lower to a higher level should the opponent be non-responsive, struggling, or increasing the threat.

It can be used as a cross-face, neck, and head control, to put true ongoing pressure-point pain on, as shoulder locks and armlocks, “surfboards” (where the stick is in between the arm and body pushing or pulling towards the head while the opponent is stomach down), striking, pins, and position maintenance while driving the middle part of the long stick into the body,

edge locks and “plant-the-flag” pain (opposite of the edge, where the tip of the stick is driven into an opponent), and hits to joints and bones, all reinforced with strong and imposing verbal commands.

It certainly adds a different level of pain, physiological control, and potentially biomechanical stoppage through concussive force that empty-hand controls cannot, especially if backup is either on the scene or arriving shortly.

Positional superiority can be obtained through side knee-onchest/ back-mount/rear-mount, and reverse-mount head control with constant visual-peripherals on potential third parties or allies always at the forefront. What you want is the offender on his stomach or seated, as it is much harder to fight, see escape routes or resistance possibilities, and know exactly what is being applied.

Applied with one of the impact weapons, a number of techniques can be utilized for both application and turnovers into a superior position for cuffing, stomach down: 1. Single-arm turnover—an armlock applied to the far arm from side control can bring the

assailant over, turning towards you while simultaneously trapping the near-arm from accessing a weapon-of-opportunity. The armlock is maintained throughout the turnover so placed behind the back.

2. Neck manipulations (the body goes where the head dictates) can also result in a quick turnover when secondary pain elements are added so as to alleviate the possibility of any neck damage—pressure points under the jaw, the carotid artery, under the nose on the top lip, the cross-face, and behind and below the ear are some that have shown to work on even the biggest of opponents jacked up with adrenaline.

3. The kimura puts immense pressure on the shoulder for a smooth turnover as well, following tightly to the arch of the back and putting the arm in prime position post-turn.

4. The reverse wrist lock with the stick reinforced by the thumbs and sliding both hands towards the center of the stick is also effective.

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As always, the greater overloading of the central nervous system with multiple outlets of pain, the easier a thing is—“point-based” grappling with elbows, knees, chins, that wonderful forearm pipe, “God´s notch” on either side of the wrist, heel, and shin digging into the body, weight on the diaphragm to inhibit breath control, fingers in fossas, “skin-grapples” or twisting the flesh, utilizing the forearm as the body’s lead pipe or a second stick applicant, for example. None of these are “finishing” moves, but they contribute to the multiple levels of pain or discomfort theory and facilitate moving the body into positions of greater advantage.

Like the so often chastised “trapping,” they are misplaced as the end instead of a means to that end.

They are transitional and momentary to create a specific outcome.

If partner-assisted, the potential is even greater for varied elements of effectiveness. Second-party kneeling on the back of the ankles, calves, knees, or thighs is extremely uncomfortable—limb isolation with body weight as well. One person with body weight and control,

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with the other in control of limbs, can be dictated through training with hand or eye signals to make clear one’s role under higher-stress situations.

Be attentive, too, to the fact that struggling, adrenalized, and paindealt people wanting to free themselves are often not compliant, or even sometimes pain-reactive.

Vocal commands explicitly clarify what is expected of them to prevent accidental or unintended bodily injury and legal liability.

Strong, confident tone, inflection, and depth of voice while shouting out commands give expectation to someone otherwise preoccupied with anger, escape, or panic.

Voice coupled with pain can be a very powerful sedative. Be clear on what is expected—yet another element often neglected in traditional martial training, with a stick or without. Subtle growling, snarling, and deep, controlled tone release an inner feral quality and confidence while concurrently giving psychological subliminal messaging to the other party. Remember, though, that projecting a perception of always being in control is an

imperative tool for witness recollection and sway. With onlookers, make sure that intensity does not get carried away into unnecessary aggression or taking advantage of a vulnerable individual.

Voice direction is extremely important, as mentioned earlier, in that often an opponent is intoxicated, adrenalized, agitated, and stressed so they do not know what is expected of them, and they only see a fight for “freedom.” Giving strong voice commands was one of the major points I drilled home because most guards were not experienced enough under duress to maintain that composure while attempting to control and ground an individual. “Turn over,” “Stop fighting and the pain will stop,” “Your shoulder will break if you continue resisting,” “Sit up,” and “Give me your hand,” are all commands—and used with the functional pressure points to facilitate movement simultaneously—that are directed and clear when the brain is reeling. Simple, easy-to-understand commands (commands, not requests), when coupled with an element of discomfort or pain,

are often the difference between successful control and an accidental injury, greater resistance, or third-party intervention. It is not always as easy as it sounds when the guard is under pressure, struggling, or in a scramble with a person who may or may not be with limited or singularly focused faculty. I do not at all like negatively reinforced commands such as “You don’t want that to happen, do you…” because the brain is taxed and tense and the messaging may not come out clearly neurologically to someone under the effects of adrenaline.

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The Pat-Down Generally, I advise a tactile feeland-touch for the most practical and accessible areas that I would— and have—carried a tool or a weapon in. Remember that quick deployment and daily usage are paramount for where one carries potential weapons. They include: 1. The belt-line—feel for clips, butts, ricasso, and spine.

4. Boot- or shoe-line—sometimes boot knives are carried around the ankle, in the shoe-side, or at the boot-line level.

5. Hat-line—people have been known to carry small razors on or in the seam of a hat worn.

6. Shoulder-line—bladed and projectile arms can be carried with a shoulder strap.

2. Pockets (hip-line)—same as above and visually more accessible to the naked eye.

7. If a jacket is being worn, check inside the jacket for hidden seams or pockets where covert weapons can be carried.

3. Chest—hung from the neck via a lanyard so looking at the neck-line is also important.

Inevitably, I go with a similar diagram as that of clothing conversion charts:

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One hand should always act as a feeler or controller of the body, or for sensing movement while the other hand does a full body search.

Distance should be created between vitals and face or head while attention is paid to the hands of the perpetrator and where they are at all times. The hands are most dangerous when at close quarters with an agitated offender.

(See below for demo videos by the author.17,18,19,20)

17 “Buno Armed Grounded-Defense against Ambush-Predator” video by the author: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=6lR7GwQAkOg. 18 “Cane Buno/Dumog” video by the author: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=Npp6dTiVlGM. 19 “Cuffing Wrist” video by the author: https://youtu.be/uCKLyZa6lpU. 20 “Ground Scramble to Cuffing” video by the author: https://youtu.be/ cFQa4ifzy0U.

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Counter-Knife Just a quick commentary on counter-knife: William Fairbairn supposedly stated that he did not do “empty-hand counter-knife” because it was not realistic. One was at a staunch disadvantage and extremely vulnerable, and thinking in terms of the counter, defense, and response was a defensive attitude that could get one killed.

While we did address one’s own weapon deployment and, if successful, lateral movement for presenting a hard target, getting offline of the blade, jamming and passing, elbow containment, armwraps, grab-the-hand, 2-on-1s, a general control, contain, and attack on central nervous system (the three Cs) was the simplest concept for individuals to grasp in that short a period of time. Get control at all costs, hang on for dear life, keep the flat side close to the body, and inflict simultaneous damage to the central nervous system with the simplest, most accessible natural weapons of the body.

After this general principle and pounding it home during live movement resistance, two methods of increasing the odds were found to be successful, one surprisingly so:

We did a “counter-knife” experiment where, with minimal time and difficulty adapting the above techniques, there was one rule against a dynamic, three-dimensional knife attacker—survive.

When asked what that meant, my response was “whatever it takes, however you do it, with the simplest means possible—just survive.” I looked on in amazement as the performance suddenly went through the roof. Visualizing what they were living for by being on the job, they utilized instinctive body movement, innate survival skill elements, evolutionary reaction to evade, hit, and use surprisingly agile footwork, and intense blade consciousness before closing or detaching safely. It was an eye-opener. Letting them dictate outcomes proved far more successful short-term than breaking down options to implement under stress. Whether that would hold true to ongoing, continual, consistent training or not, I cannot say, but in that time frame—generally the four classes of four hours each mentioned, or ongoing 3-4 hours for supervisors and officials—the results were drastic, almost shockingly so.

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The simple responses of esgrima criolla,21,22 utilizing shields, materials, obstacles, and barriers to superimpose between themselves and the knife wielder provided much simpler solutions after #1 was implemented. Pulling off t-shirts, work shirts, jackets, belts, hats, or whatever items strewn on the floor for distraction were used almost naturally while grabbing whatever was available as an offside tool-of-opportunity. Simple, basic, and fundamental. Zero complexity, just evening the odds in any way possible.

Frankly, “counter-knife” is—and should be—the weakest part of any even very experienced martial artist’s game, if he or she is being honest. Many are not. But it is not a strength. There are no 90-percent solutions. Survivability is a success, not a guarantee. Non-injury is fortunate, not a foregone conclusion.

21 “Esgrima Criolla Sparring” video by the author: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=OKf9GPuJxHc. 22 “Esgrima Criolla 1” video by the author: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=bCQPPydw4RY.

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Now, since this is, in fact, an article on security-based stick use, those same principles were applied to the stick. Usually, I would break down the nuance and intricacy of the difference between the two weapons and how to address them, but with rank-minimal time, concepts and principles had to overlap in the basest sense. The vast majority of the concepts above were applied to the stick as well and with great success. The guards picked up on the “survivability” aspect almost immediately and started honing the predominant elements they felt would up that survivability quotient on their own for a time before coaching intervention and fine-tuning. Basic and fundamental are adaptive.

In closing, when working in an industry with time restraints, sometimes resistant employees, with defined parameters of company protocol, and with legal and financial liability always at the forefront of thought, a distinctly different program is formed through trial and error. With the very real potential here in Central America / Costa Rica of the guards having

to face real violence, daily conflict, and potentially high-stakes situations, something well-sculpted comes out the other end. It is a very different entity, especially here, then an ongoing martial arts program.

Pragmatism, immediate functionality, and short-term applicability become streamlined as you go, tweaking and fine-tuning the program for maximum effectiveness in minimal time. So, the “what would you teach if you only had hours or days for someone who will be utilizing it for real tomorrow” question is not theory or hypothesis; it is something I have intimately thought about at length because I have had to. You learn to take your attendee’s safety very, very seriously, but it is also imperative to note that the safety, security, and potential lives of clients, guests, attendees, and peers can legitimately be at stake so the pay-off and stakes are rather high all around. Due to the cultural, experiential, class, stereotypical, and legal (greater leeway, but greater price) considerations, the content is, by nature and in both content

and dynamic, primal, and simple—delivered with fast results, in a specific time frame, and with the potential for immediate usage.

Fighting fundamentals is not a, but the method of delivery, as well as stick aesthetics shaved down to their most bare and base components.

Darren Patrick Friesen @darren.p.friesen

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BONAFONT CANE FIGHTING SYSTEM NEW WAYS OF SELF-DEFENSE ON THE STREET WITH A CANE Arturo Bonafont (Translated by Darrin Cook)

*Originally: Nuevos Modos de Defenderse en la Calle con un Bastón (illustrated edition with seventy-two photographs)

To the Prestigious Institution, The Fencing and Physical Education Club of Buenos Aires, on the 11th of November, 1930 (the 50th anniersary of its founding) the Author dedicates this modest work. ~

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Foreword by the Translator

My love is Filipino martial arts and stick-fighting, especially with the long stick of approximately 36 inches in length. I was fascinated when I heard of a unique method of self-defense with the long stick or walking cane that features the inverted grip, meaning that the length of the stick protrudes from the bottom of the fist instead of the top of the fist, as in almost all stick-fighting systems. I am always looking for new ideas and want to learn from the insight and experience of past masters, so I decided to learn his one-of-a-kind system.

The catch, though, is that the original source of the Bonafont walking stick defense method is an obscure book, Nuevos Modos de Defenderse en la Calle con un Bastón (New Ways of Self-defense on the Street with a Cane), published in Argentina in 1930. Only a handful of copies exist, and I know of just one other person in North America who owns a copy. The book is very expensive, which puts it out of the reach of many who are interested in learning this style. Furthermore, even if you do succeed in getting your hands on a treasured copy, it is written in Spanish, which is yet another barrier to learning this system. In my research, I read talk of a plan to translate and publish the lone copy in the United States, but that obviously fell through.

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When I did an online search I came up with just a handful of sources on Bonafont method, which did more to whet my appetite than to inform me.

Then one day, while researching Bonafont, I found a copy of Nuevos Modos de Defenderse en la Calle con un Bastón for sale on Ebay. I gulped when I saw a price of nearly $200, but I knew I would not be able to live with myself if I did not get the book, so I bought it.

After a long wait, I got the book, and I knew that I needed to make this rare manuscript available to the public. No one should have to go to the lengths that I did to learn this fascinating system. I want to honor Maestro Bonafont by sharing his teaching with the world. In this translation, I will strive to get out of the way and let Maestro Bonafont speak directly to you, conveying his ideas in modern English and maintaining the original appearance of the manuscript.

After Maestro Bonafont has had his chance to speak without interruption, I will add my thoughts on his system. My few comments are in brackets.

I am proud to be able to offer this long-lost treasure to the martial arts world.

Sincerely, Darrin Cook

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Prologue “At last I have been able to end the book on personal defense that so many friends prompted me to write,” I told myself as I was going about putting in order the last of the manuscripts, but now, you send it out publicly with all the ostentation that is customarily required. What is missing is to add a prologue by a person who is honorable and at the same time understanding in the art of defense.

After much meditation, it occurred to me to ask an accredited maestro of fencing who dedicates himself, as a matter of preference, to handling the combative sword. And so, to get it out of the way as soon as possible, I directed myself toward his residence. *** What a beautiful house! I rang. The doorman came out and, after looking over from head to toe, asked me: “With whom do you wish to speak, sir?” “With Maestro C.” “On behalf of whom?”

“Of professor Bonafont.” And I gave him my card, which I had prepared.

“Please have the goodness to wait a moment. Have a seat.”

Once I found myself in the anteroom, I began to inspect all that surrounded me with curiosity. In the corner to my right was a coat hanger formed by sabers and spears. In the corner to my left, a magnificent pedestal with a statue of a knight from the Middle Ages, with the face of one making the sign of the cross; long and pointy whiskers, tall plume on the hat; the cape rolled on the arm and the left hand supporting the hilt of an oversized sword. At the foot of said statue, an inscription that says, “I am the handsomest.”

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What most caught my attention were some oil paintings representing, with somewhat sad colors, duels of Chestegneraye, defeated by the blow of Jernac; that of celebrated Jean-Louis fighting with one of his thirteen adversaries, who waited their turn in line; that of the poet Cavalottí, dead from a thrust to the mouth by the journalist D.N.; that of the Cuban Jorrín, who died from a thrust to the abdomen given to him by the captain of artillery of the Spanish army, S.D.; and, lastly, the encounter between Sir Eugenio Pini and the Baron of San Malatto, that the fencing world spoke so much about.

While I was reflecting upon the importance of the duels, and if the thrust that caused the death of Mr. Cavalottí could be suitably added to the blows with the tip of the cane displayed in my book, I heard someone drawing near.

Suddenly the maestro appeared, and extending his hand, said to me, “How are you, my friend? How may I help you?”

“I have come to implore you to sponsor me…”

“Yes, man, yes. Nothing more needs to be said. Is the matter to first blood, or is it more serious?”

“It’s nothing of the sort, Maestro: but I desire to publish a book titled, New Ways of Self-Defense on the Street with a Cane, which I just finished writing, and I would be grateful if you, sir, being an experienced master in the art of combat, would sponsor me by adding a small prologue.

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After reflecting on my last words, with definite seriousness he answered me, “Look, Maestro; if it were about a matter related to the field of honor, I would help you with pleasure, but dealing with vulgar brawls or street encounters, I can’t do it. In the first place, because decent people shouldn’t be fighting in the street, and, in the second, it’s an issue that doesn’t pertain to my profession.”

Then I asked him: “And if after turning the corner, for example, you were to find yourself assaulted or attacked, and, as such, obligated to defend yourself against an evildoer? I believe that you wouldn’t trouble yourself to give him your card to signal a duel.”

“In that case, I would content myself with breaking my cane on his ribs.”

“Precisely, my book explains distinct methods of striking with more efficiency.”

“Yes, I understand; but…it’s not in any way possible for me to accept your offer.”

And stretching out his hands once again, accompanied very courteously with words of farewell, we considered the interview ended.

Upon arriving at my house, discouraged by the negativity, I returned to thinking about who would be the most suitable candidate to fill the vacancy in the fruit of my late nights, of which there were many.

After reflecting for a bit, and further convinced of the little that could be said in praise of my writings, I resolved that myself should become the author of the prologue to my own book, which goes as follows:

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Studious reader: upon presenting this small volume, a compilation of several years of practice in the handling of the cane employed as physical exercise and for personal defense, I do this without the least doubt that there are those defects that men of letters or writers will label as an incorrectness of style or ignorance of the language; but with the impossibility of being able to offer it adorned with eloquent words or phrases, since I handle the cane better than a pen, it has limited me to explaining, plainly, but with the greatest clarity possible, the execution of the most efficient attacks and defenses to fight with a cane against any dangerous adversary.

Furthermore, so that you will be able to implement, with precision, the movements of which combative actions are composed, seventy-two photographs have been inserted, depicting the most important actions of the principal scenarios, in which the reader will be able to verify that these are about new reasoning, since neither the means of gripping the weapon, nor the guard positions, nor the means of striking, nor the manner of executing the parries and blocks, have been, until now, known or, at the least, published by any other teacher.

The different attacks displayed in this work, I have categorized and divided into eleven parts or sections, making known, beyond the indispensable rules to implement them, several bits of general advice of well-known usefulness prior to fights and for the means of their execution.

No one can say, “I’m free from assault!” And, as a consequence, everyone should know how to defend himself with a cane.

In the conviction that this book will lend a great service to humanity, I await with resignation its much appreciated condemnation.

THE AUTHOR. *Note: The demonstrations that this book contains have been undertaken by the author and his son Roque, assistant instructor.

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Causes and Effects NOW MORE THAN EVER, IT IS necessary to know how to defend oneself with a cane in the hand; although there have always existed quarrelsome individuals and outlaw robbers, the many assaults, robberies, and killings perpetrated during these last years show that, although the end of the great European war has added to the number of keepers of public order, crime has increased considerably.

The constant unrest of certain nations, and the well-known scarcity of means for progress in life, have motivated such a great influx of people of all classes and social spheres into the big cities, so that between those families who willingly abandon their respective countries and those that have seen

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themselves forced to flee, such as the outcasts, deserters, and those escaping for diverse reasons, the great capitals have become veritable flash points in which there exists a large quantity of subjects without scruples nor considerations of how to make themselves money, since, not having paid attention to means employed for doing so, they dedicate themselves with total brazenness to fraud and robbery, and even sometimes to killing. For that reason, each day it becomes more indispensable to know how to defend oneself against evildoers.

Furthermore, we know that all populations of growing development have their characteristic slums or more or less dangerous neighborhoods, which, apart from being inhabited by a certain num-

ber of honest families, also give shelter to unsavory persons that usually have some unfinished business with the police because they are troublemakers, lovers of what belongs to others, and even killers.

In these suburban neighborhoods, that are generally lacking in development and in security lighting, so that you cannot go through them at night without being more cautious than confident; since its dark and deserted streets lined with trees favor the bad guys, they become real danger zones in which one finds oneself exposed to being a victim of some attack or brutal assault, because every tree, bend, or corner can hide a killer.

A solid walking stick, one of those that is used for support by peace-loving men, is an accessory that, wielded by a person expert in the subject matter, can easily be transformed into a weapon of great efficiency for one’s own defense.

Upon the arrival of the moment in which it is indispensable to defend ourselves, we must instantly observe the position, attitude, expression, or aggressive movement of the adversary, in order to implement our attack, detaining or counterattacking his assault the moment he initiates it. Seeing

and executing with the speed of a lightning bolt must be done simultaneously.

Watchfulness and the preservation of calm give certain confidence, and even the assurance to employ the necessary force and precision when one wants to stun the opponent for a short time.

Upon finding ourselves face-toface with an outlaw and our lives at risk, we must hit violently at the selected spot in order to put him out of the fight as soon as possible.

We must keep in mind that law enforcement officers, although they may be bold men and loyal in the fulfillment of their duties, in as much as they cannot be everywhere at the same time, almost always come to the rescue after the commission of the deed—that is, too late to protect us.

Consequently, it being difficult to avoid all the misdeeds of those thieves who are constantly looking for the opportunity to achieve their purposes or bad impulses, the peace-loving citizen must exercise, in case of trouble, the right of his legitimate personal defense, without waiting for help, nor counting on, in this instance, the protection of anyone.

Although a revolver may be the

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most suitable weapon to confront, intimidate, or to kill one or several individuals, in many cases using such a weapon would be an overreaction; in addition to the remorse at being the cause of death, we would see ourselves bound to appear before the court, with the objective of convincing the judges that such a serious mishap was truly caused in self-defense upon finding our life threatened.

For these and other reasons that I will expound upon below, I do not consider it prudent to routinely carry arms of bloody and destructive efficiency, such as revolvers, automatic pistols, and so on.

•

First—Because during our activities, routines, and daily struggles in life, due to any carelessness we would run the danger of injuring or killing our own selves. Well, as the saying goes, “Weapons are mobilized by the Devil.”

•

Second—Because the law prohibits the use of arms by persons who do not have the capacity to carry them, by order of the administration.

•

Third—Because using firearms, even if having been used in legitimate defense, causes a great deal of trouble, such that one

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must suffer, at the least, a preventive arrest, giving an infinite amount of declarations and convincing proofs that in the face of danger you saw yourself forced to proceed, risking every time to save everything. And you can still be thankful if the authorities do not throw the book at you.

•

Fourth—From the humanitarian point of view, one should avoid all aggression that endangers the life of any fellow man.

On one occasion, I drew my revolver in self-defense; and after pointing it at the chest of my opponent, I raised my arm and fired into the air . . . because . . . I was scared. I was afraid of killing! How many men have had the same thing happen to them that happened to me?

Carrying a weapon is not the same thing as using it.

The walking stick is not considered a weapon, nor is carrying one illegal, so it is able to be our companion as much in meetings as in jaunts about, outings, and so on; whereas, knowing how to handle it, in a difficult situation in which we would have to defend ourselves from some adversary that we bump into in life—either a brutal troublemaker, a mugger, or sometimes a murderer—a single blow,

well applied, can make them lose consciousness, depriving them, momentarily, of the ability to carry out aggressive intent.

Fighting off an attack, rendering the opponent useless for a while does not mean taking the law into one’s own hands, but rather defending oneself in the face of an assault. Besides, you can ask for help afterwards.

The Walking Stick To become skilled in the actions of fighting, one should employ the walking stick that one would use on the street, or one that combines qualities of length, thickness, weight, and strength. It is always best, in the event of a fight, to make use of the weapon that you are accustomed to handling.

The walking stick that we should use for self-defense needs to be straight, made from a slightly flexible wood, and one that will not break easily:1 of a length approximately 95 centimeters [37 inch-

1 Cherry, lignum vitae or ironwood, quince, palo rosa, and holm oak are strong and fibrous trees from which can be obtained straight canes that combine good qualities to make walking sticks that, by their elegance and strength, can serve equally for strolling and self-defense.

es] and with a weight of 250 to 300 grams [9-10 ½ ounces], perhaps a little more or less. Rather, the length and weight of the cane should be adequate for the stature and strength of the individual who wields it.

Height and muscular strength are two very important physical qualities for the combatant. The strong and tall individual, besides being able to use a somewhat longer and generally heavier weapon than someone of shorter stature, has the odds in his favor; whereas, the guy who is short and weak, in order for his strikes to be effective, must above all else strengthen himself, and then gradually acquire the ability or mastery necessary to even out the forces at play, or at least to get great advantage despite his physical shortcomings. As it is known, in the majority of cases skill comes to dominate force.

For a better understanding from the outset, the walking stick is divided into three sections: the strong or the thick part is closest to the handle or pommel, the middle third is the center of the cane, and the weak third, or thin part, is closest to the tip or ferrule.

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Gripping the Cane

The Guard

The main ways of gripping the cane in a combative posture are two in number: the inverted grip (one-handed) and the power grip (two-handed).

Guard means to protect yourself. It is the foundation of every fighting art. It is the supporting point and starting point of all fighters.

The inverted grip holds the cane in an uncommon manner, but one that is very important for combat.

It is when the thumb and first finger are located closest to the strong end of the walking stick, some 1015 centimeters [4-6 inches] from the pommel.

The power grip proceeds from the inverted grip, grasping the cane with the left hand (turning the fingernails downward), and with the little finger situated some 1015 centimeters [4-6 inches] from the tip, which is to say, to hold the cane with a hand at each end.

Guard is a single word, but it says a lot: a posture or position of bodily stability; the positioning of the weapon to defend ourselves and to attack with it; and the act of determining ahead the likely danger and with what action we will be able to avoid it, taking the opponent out of the fight.

As demonstrated, the one who says “I’m on guard” lets it be understood that he is alert facing the adversary, with all attention on calculation, vision, attitude, and readiness, and finds himself perfectly prepared for attack and defense, as well as to counter any adversary’s attack by means of a stop-hit or counterattack.

A Piece of Advice In order to execute some combative movement to perfection, when you read that one hand is turned with the fingernails on the inside, one should understand that the hand referred to should be closed, and turned with the fingernails in the direction of your own body, then the other actions that the hands should undertake in action can be understood easily with a simple explanation.

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Since there are different kinds of combat—for example, fencing, wrestling, stick-fighting, boxing, and so on, both friendly and real— it is indispensable, in order to be able to fight with a certain advantage, to situate oneself in the special guard position that corresponds to every encounter, ensuring that your posture combines, in every circumstance, the conditions of effectiveness already explained.

However, as the unusual circumstances that one experiences in a fight without rules that occurs in the street, the café, the theater, and so on, require us to use defenses that differ from those used in academic exercises in the wielding of the stick—which demand that the stick-fighter assume an elegant stance, perfect, artistic posture, and correct execution of twirling and attacks with a flourish, widely celebrated in the classic attacks in stick fencing—I have adopted two guard positions that, apart from being very natural and easy, fit any combative movement.

These positions, I make known in my stick and cane school by the names open guard and closed guard.

Open guard means a natural position and one where the cane is not in a place where parries or blocks end. It is completely opposite of the scholarly stance in stick and cane fencing (Figure 1). Iis taken in the following manner: the body must be straight and calm, nonchalant; the legs flexible and standing naturally, but with the left foot some 20 centimeters [8 inches] forward, which is to say, presenting a bit of one’s left flank to the adversary; the right arm slightly bent forward, holding the cane vertically with the right hand,2 having the thumb and first finger approximately 10 centimeters [4 inches] from the knob (inverted grip);3 the left hand falls naturally; the head elevated, looking at the opponent suspiciously, with the aim of divining his intentions, selecting, at the

2 Obviously, for a lefthander these conditions are reversed.

3 Inverted grip means having the cane held upside down—that is, the opposite of the usual and ordinary.

This being an unusual manner of holding the stick in the hand, and, as such, uncomfortable for many beginners, I recommend that, instead of getting discouraged (as often happens), you practice it confidently, so that when you are used to handling the cane in this manner you will become convinced of its good results.

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same time, the place or target4 that we can attack with the greatest certainty and safety. Let us make sure that we do not show the opponent that in this posture we are ready to carry out any defensive act.

The closed guard is a very strong position for striking the opponent the moment he initiates his attack (Figure 20). It consists of placing the cane on our left side, with the right hand turned with the fingernails facing outward and the arm slightly bent, keeping the cane supported by its middle third, which is in the groin area of the side; the body bent a bit forward, making certain to present the right side to the opponent; the legs bent, with the right foot forward and raising the heel of the left foot. If appropriate, we can place the left foot closer to the opponent.

The two guards can be used during the same fight.

4 The target is the site where you should direct the attack. We call targets those exposed parts that the opponent presents. The place or point selected for striking is the target.

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Cane Strikes The most important cane strikes for self-defense are divided into two classes, the first category consisting of stick strikes, which are directed, with sure execution, in the form of a blow like an ax to the head (temple), face (lower maxillary), clavicle, hand, crotch, knee, and shin of the opponent.

Stick strikes should not linger on the opponent, but should be thrown with the force necessary to strike and continue the movement of the cane. This is the main way of keeping the opponent from grabbing our cane.

A Piece of Advice The distance that should exist between the two feet in motion during combat will be between 40 and 60 centimeters [16 and 24 inches] depending on the height of the fencer, in that way forming a sufficient base to keep the body balance.

The second class of strikes, delivered with either the pommel or the tip of the cane, applied directly, are the form of a thrust to the eyes, nose, upper lip, carotid (under the

Figure 1

earlobe), jaw, throat, chest, stomach, kidneys, and lower stomach.

The bulk of these strikes can easily cause a knockout or severe injuries. One must keep in mind that these are the most efficient strikes for self-defense.

How One Must Strike The main directions that the cane must take in order to strike one or several individuals are: horizontal, diagonal, and vertical (see windmill strikes below).

The study or practice exercises are, foremost, delivered slowly with the cane, and with much expansion— that is, making the cane trace a large circle until one has managed

to attain the perfect path. Later, one goes about decreasing, bit by bit, the length that the cane travels, making sure that the action each successive time is faster and that the cane strikes with greater precision.

The strikes delivered with the pommel or with the tip should be applied directly (without windup or wasted motion), gripping the cane with one hand (inverted grip) or with both hands (power grip).

The cane strikes complement each other, and you can use them singly or one after the other, according to the circumstances or the kind of attack that you want to carry out.

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Attacks and Counters

Combative Ranges

Attacks, naturally, are the aggregation of various movements applied with the cane, arms, body, and legs with the aim of striking the adversary. They can be single, combined, or compound.

The ranges that exist between two combatants armed with walking sticks are four in number; namely: long, true, short, and close.

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Single attacks are those that are implemented with a single strike.

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Combined attacks are those in which you attack with two or more strikes.

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Compound attacks are those that are made with windmill strikes, feints, controls, and so on.

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Furthermore, there are double attacks, which are when the cane is directed two times in succession against the same side. They are formed from the windmill strikes; the first strike can be just a feint. One also doubles up when the attack does not hit its target because of a miss on the first strike.

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The attacks that one makes immediately after defending against a strike are called counters.

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They are at long range when they cannot reach the other without first advancing (more than two meters of separation).

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They are at true range when they can reach each other by making a half-step (two meters of separation).

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They are at short distance when they can reach the other merely by extending the arm (a meter of separation).

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They are at close range when having come so close (less than a half meter of separation) that there is almost no distance separating the two. They are now in close combat, or hand-tohand.

It is called hand-to-hand [chest-tochest] when one has the opponent so close that, in order to attack him advantageously, it is necessary to strike with pommel blows or the tip of the cane.

There are many that hold the belief that the walking stick cannot be deployed in hand-to-hand combat.

But keeping in mind the strikes

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that can be delivered with the tip or the knob while gripping the cane firmly with both hands, I am sure that, the closer we find ourselves to the opponent, the more dangerous our attacks will be.

In summary, defenses should be made according to how far you are from the adversary. The greater the distance, the less is the danger.

same distance.5 In the event it is necessary, one can replace one’s foot position by short hops.

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Side retreat or profile retreat is to separate oneself from the opponent with the foot that is rearmost, followed by the front foot.

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A half-step is obtained by leaning the body forward, advancing only the foot nearest the opponent, until one gains the distance necessary to reach him.

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The leap backward is made by taking a vigorous jump backward, pushing off with the legs and bodily momentum.6

Foot Movement In order to be able to execute the attacks and the defenses while placing the feet in the appropriate place, one must practice stance switches, turns, advances, retreats, half-steps, and leaps.

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The guard switch or stance switch, in place, consists of making the right foot occupy the position of the left foot, and vice versa.

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A turn is to change the side advancing or retreating, making the body spin over the tip of one foot while the other foot traces a half-circle, a little bit more or less around the body.

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Side advance or profile advance [fencer’s step] is to advance the foot furthest forward while making the rear foot gain the

5 The advance or step forward is executed by advancing 30-40 centimeters [12-16 inches]—that is, the distance necessary to reach the opponent.

6 This movement should be made in the action of attack or defense. It can be practiced at the same time one is performing combative exercises.

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A Piece of Advice All of the foot movements that need to be made during combat are based upon the guard positions, turns, switches, and so on. These actions reinforce each other, and with exercise they will be applied instinctively.

Windmill Strikes

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The horizontals are performed laterally, making the cane trace one or more circles from right to left or vice versa. These are generally aimed at the jaw or the carotid of the aggressor (Figure 2).

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The diagonals are those that are performed from upward then downward with a slight slant from right to left or vice versa, aiming the blow at the temple or the clavicle of the opponent (Figure 3).

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The verticals are accomplished, usually, by making the cane trace a circle from underneath moving upward, directing the strike to the hand or the lower stomach of the opponent.

The circular movements that are used with the cane to direct blows or to defend ourselves from the opponent are called windmill strikes.

They are of great usefulness in wielding the cane, since, besides facilitating the carrying out and management of our attacks, they enable us to acquire skill, agility, power, and dexterity.

The main windmill strikes are classified as offensive and defensive.

They are offensive when they serve during the attack to facilitate the aim of the strike.

They are defensive when we execute them for defending ourselves against the opponent’s strikes.

There are three offensive windmill strikes, and they are executed in six directions: two horizontal, two diagonal and two vertical.

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Figure 2

Figure 3

The windmill strikes can be repeated and alternated with each other by means of rotating the wrist and with the assistance of the forearm.

Defensive windmill strikes are accomplished by making the cane trace perpendicular circles with the

aim of stopping the opponent’s blow by crashing our cane into his.

These should be implemented in front of oneself in the form of circular parries, which I will take on later.

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Training Training means, in walking-stick defense, combative drilling with the aim of acquiring, by means of physical work or the repetition of rational movements, good vision, looseness, and resistance, strengthening at the same time the muscles of the entire body and especially the shoulder, arm, forearm, and hand that hold and lend force to the cane.

“In order to be strong, one must train carefully.”

We should not forget that theoretical knowledge of combat is useful, but, without practice, insufficient—since “no fighting action can be undertaken with perfection,

Figure 4 - training board

Figure 5 - training dummy

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without having done simulations of that action beforehand.”

“Ten minutes of action are better than ten hours of theory.”

Consequently, in order to be able to emerge victorious from real combat, it is necessary to have practiced all the strikes and actions possible that could occur during its unfolding.

Training Dummy In order to drill in precision, speed, and power in striking, one can employ a very simple apparatus that consists of a wood post or board, held up by a base, which has been placed against a wall or partition.

When practicing, do not get too close to the target. In order to do away with the base, one can nail the board to the wall.

This board or post, so that it can serve perfectly as a training dummy, should be the height of a man and covered from the upper part to some 40 centimeters [16 inches] from the floor, with a sack or canvas lined with crinoline or other similar material so that one can strike energetically without major discomfort or jolts to the arm or wrist.

If you would like to give this mannequin a more human form, instead of the sack or padded canvas, put on its upper end a football

stuffed with crinoline, etc., marking it, furthermore, with the main points or targets to direct attacks.

On the lower end of this ball one can place another target representing the trunk of the opponent, adding others to act as hand, knee, and so on, with the aim of being able to hit them as though they had a real opponent in front of them.

It will be of great usefulness to drill attacking in these conditions the selected target of this apparatus, from the same spot both advancing and retreating in order to gradually acquire the muscular strength, bodily flexibility, and familiarity with the proper distances for real combat.

Training Program So that the highly qualified reader—a novice in the art of self-defense with a cane in the hand— can practice, one by one, all of the strikes considered most important for personal defense, I have prepared a training program divided into eleven parts or sections composed of five attacks in each one, and in progressive order with the goal of being able to practice them, starting with the easiest, and ending with the most difficult.

For the study and practice of these actions one should observe the following instructions:

Once the beginner is in front of the training dummy and in the open guard position, be certain to attack with the recommended instructions for each attack, not forgetting that upon initiating any attack one should implement it, as much as possible, from a position of stillness—that is to say, without making any movement that could signal to the opponent that one is about to throw a strike.

The best way of getting vigorous training is to exercise for ten minutes daily with the aim of perfecting the actions learned, and to maintain, at the same time, a perfect state of health due to the effect of the physical exercise that you are practicing.

It is not necessary to constantly practice all the attacks explained in this book, since perfecting just one or two in each section, adapted to one’s own inclinations or physical condition, will be sufficient for one to emerge victorious from any street fight.

Although it would be preferable to train while wearing light clothing or what one is used to wearing around the house, it would be very advisable that, every once in a while, one should practice combative movements in street clothes.

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SECTION I Single Attacks: Strikes that are applied with the knob of the walking stick

All of the blows comprising this part should be thrown with the pommel of the cane, holding it gripped tightly with the right hand, to the temple, nose, carotid, throat, and stomach of the opponent.

For their execution, one starts out, always, from the free guard position with inverted grip, setting the left foot at some 30 centimeters [12 inches] from the training dummy.

Upon finding oneself fighting at less than a meter’s separation from the opponent, the encounter is regarded as occurring at close range or hand-to-hand.

All of the attacks should be drilled separately to the point that, through the precision, speed, and force developed in the strikes, one should understand that these will be genuinely effective.

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The various movements that make up each attack should be blended together into just one—which is to say, executed simultaneously and making certain, furthermore, to begin from a state of motionlessness.

A Piece of Advice It is not enough to know a certain number of strikes from reading about them, even though they may be the most important strikes for real combat; because in order to defend oneself and triumph, it is indispensable to practice on the dummy until one is certain that, when the moment arrives, the strikes can be delivered with maximum speed, force, and accuracy.

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1st strike to the temple—This blow should be delivered by raising the weapon-bearing arm until the hand (with the fingernails facing downward), elbow, and shoulder are almost horizontal, and with the knob of the cane in the direction of the left temple (forward of the upper part of the ear) of the opponent, in order to attack him, obliquely and from right to left, with the arm and shoulder somewhat tightened and accentuating a rotational movement of the body for bringing more force to the blow. With the aim of striking with the greatest impact, simultaneously advance the left foot toward the right of the dummy, raising the

heel of the other foot. Executing the same movements, one can direct the strike to the left lower jaw of the opponent. It is an attack with a great crushing impact. (See Figure 6.)

After striking, one must observe if the opponent has a stunned reaction, so that, in case he does not, one can execute a new attack. It is a fight; it is not prudent to get too confident.

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2nd strike to the nose—This attack is performed like the previous one, making sure, this time, that the pommel of the cane is directed to the nose or the upper lip of the opponent in order to strike him from underneath, moving upwards, simultane-

Figure 6

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ously accentuating a rotation of the body from right to left with the objective of lending greater impetus to the attack. It is a blow of great sunning effect, which, in addition to dazing the opponent, brings a sparkle to one’s eyes. (See Figure 7.)

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3rd strike to the carotid—This action is executed by raising the arm until the hand (fingernails turned downward), elbow, and shoulder are almost horizontal, and with the pommel of the cane in the direction of the carotid (below and a bit behind the left ear) of the opponent, in order to attack him from right to left, having the shoulder tightened to lend greater force

Figure 7

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to the strike. The left foot advances a bit toward the right of the dummy, with the body inclined over the same side, simultaneously raising the heel of the right foot so that, from this position, one can bring the lower back around and add to the effect. It is a blow that should be prohibited, and only should be used to save one’s life.

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4th strike to the throat—This attack is accomplished by aiming the knob of the cane (with the hand turned fingernails downward) to the throat (under the chin) of the opponent, in order to attack him from underneath moving upward, keeping the arm and shoulder lightly con-

tracted. One advances, at the same time, the left foot toward the right of the dummy, supporting the body over the leg of that same side, raising the heel of the right foot with the goal of driving the blow by means of an energetic expansion of the lower back.

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5th strike to the stomach—This blow is executed like the previous one, making certain, this time, that the knob of the cane

is directed to the stomach (the hollow formed underneath the sternum, also known as the pit of the stomach) of the opponent, in order to strike him directly from underneath moving upward. With the objective of adding force to the attack, the arm and the shoulder should be somewhat tightened. It is a blow of great efficiency to put the opponent out of action by means of a knockout. (See Figure 8.)

A Piece of Advice The various movements that make up the single attacks, in addition to starting from a state of motionlessness, should be executed simultaneously.

Figure 8

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SECTION II Single Attacks: Strikes that are applied with the tip of the walking stick

The five strikes or attacks assembled in this part should be thrown with the tip (tightly gripping the cane with both hands) to the left eye, jaw, chest, kidneys, and lower stomach of the opponent.

These attacks are executed on two beats (one of preparation and the other of attack) starting from the open guard position and at close range, directing the blows to the left side or the front of the training dummy.

The first beat of each attack is effectuated by making a light rotational movement of the body toward the right, simultaneously raising the tip of the cane so that it is parallel to the ground (one meter off the ground, more or less) and gripping by its weak third at some 10 centimeters [4 inches] from the tip, with the left hand turned fingernails down. This manner of holding the cane with both hands, I have made known by the name power grip.

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From this position one continues raising the tip until it is pointed at the selected target, holding the hands pretty much at the same height.

However, one should execute the five attacks by different means due to having to direct them to different parts of the body. The second beat that makes up each attack will be explained in the place corresponding to the strike that you are employing.

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6th strike to the left eye—This is an extremely dangerous blow that we should only employ against a killer or in the face of a deadly weapon, such as a revolver, knife, and so on; which is to say, using it only in defense of our life, since the application of this could cause the opponent’s death. The execution is as follows: to realize the movements of the first beat at the beginning of this section, one aims the tip at the opponent’s left eye, holding the left hand

with the fingernails facing outward and the right hand’s nails facing inward. The second beat is executed by applying the strike by means of energetically leaning the body forward (with a slight movement from right to left), simultaneously advancing the left foot and raising the right heel. The walking stick should be gripped strongly with both hands (power grip). The two movements that make up this attack, as much as possible, should be combined into one.

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7th strike to the jaw—In order to execute this attack, one does the movements of the first beat, described previously, directing the blow to the jaw of

the opponent, holding the left hand turned with the fingernails facing downward, and the right with the nails facing upward, making certain that the hands are more or less at the same height. The second beat is carried out by energetically rotating the chest from right to left, simultaneously advancing the left foot a bit toward the dummy with the aim of giving greater force to the blow. The walking stick should be gripped strongly with a hand at either end, and striking with hands and shoulders tightened. With the proper application of this strike, one can put an end to the fight.

Figure 9

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8th strike to the chest—The first beat of this attack is executed like those earlier, aiming, this time, the tip at the chest (sternum or over the heart) of the opponent, holding the left hand with the nails turned downward and the right in the opposite direction. The second beat is carried out by energetically leaning the body forward, giving, at the same time, a strong drive with the arms to hit the selected target with the greatest force possible. The left foot should advance a bit toward the right side of the training dummy, simultaneously raising the right heel. This is a very effective blow for street fights. (See Figure 9.)

Figure 10

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9th strike to the kidney—After having executed the first beat by aiming the tip at the kidneys (over the empty spot or lower ribs of the left side) of the opponent, holding the left hand with the fingernails facing downward and the right with the nails facing upward, one executes the second beat in the following manner: gripping the cane strongly with both hands, apply the strike to the left side of the opponent by means of an energetic rotation of the body (from right to left), advancing, simultaneously, the left foot toward the right side of the training dummy. This is one of the best strikes for taking the opponent out of action.

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10th strike to the lower stomach— In order to carry out this attack one executes the movements of the first beat, aiming, this time, the tip at the lower stomach (lower abdomen) or at the groin of the opponent, holding the left hand with the fingernails facing inward and the right with the nails outward.

The second beat is carried out by strongly driving the arms (toward the front and from bottom to top) aided by means of an energetic bending forward of the body, simultaneously advancing the left foot with the aim of adding more force to the blow. All of the attacks should be executed with great speed, unifying the beats as much as possible. (See Figure 10.)

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SECTION III Combination Attacks: Two strikes that are applied, one with the tip and the other with the knob of the cane

The attacks assembled in this section should be launched at the specific undefended targets that the opponent presents, alternating between the tip and the pommel, from close range, holding the cane in the power grip—that is, with a hand at either end.

These attacks are combined in order to hit two times in succession, from different directions in the following order: kidney and carotid, jaw and temple, stomach and throat, chest and the right eye, and upper lip and the groin, with the capability of varying the second strike according to the circumstances and the exposed areas that the opponent presents.

The two strikes that make up each attack are executed in three beats (one of preparation and two of attack), starting from the open guard position, carrying out the first two like the attacks in the previous section.

The second strike of each attack should be thrown with the knob of

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the cane at the right side or front of the training dummy.

One should execute the movements of the third beat by aiming the strikes at specific parts of the opponent’s body. These are explained in the corresponding place to the action that one is carrying out.

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11th strike with the tip to the kidney and strike with the knob to the carotid—The first beat of this attack, as has been stated previously, will be executed as in the prior section. The second beat occurs after delivering the blow to the kidney (left side) (Figure 11), removing the tip from the target by means of an energetic lurch of the arms and rotation of the body (from right to left), aiming the knob of the cane at the next selected target.

The third beat is carried out by applying the pommel to the carotid (right side) with a strong thrust of the arms, causing the body to rotate (from right to

left), simultaneously advancing the right foot toward the left side of the training dummy (Figure 12). The right hand should be turned with the fingernails facing upward and the left with the nails downward.

A Piece of Advice The tip or knob strikes delivered with a hand on either end (power grip) can be applied twice in succession at the same spot or at a separate target.

Figure 11

Figure 12

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12th strike with the tip to the jaw and pommel blow to the temple— The first beat of this attack is executed like those previous, this time aiming at the tip at the jaw (left side) of the opponent. The second beat, which is the blow to the jaw is executed in the same way as explained in the seventh attack, continuing the rotation of the body (from right to left) accompanied by a strong lurch of the arms until the knob of the cane remains pointed at the temple (right side) with the right hand turned fingernails upward and the left nails down.

The third beat delivers the blow to the aforementioned target by means of an energetic drive of the arms accompanied by a twist of the body (from left to right), simultaneously advancing the left foot toward the training dummy. The heel of the left foot should be raised, making certain not to lose one’s balance.

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13th strike with the tip to the stomach and pommel blow to the throat—The first beat of this attack, like those preceding, consists of gripping the cane in the power grip and directing the tip toward the stomach of the opponent, with the left hand turned fingernails inward and the right’s turned outward.

The second beat or first strike is executed by vigorously driving the arms toward the front and moving from underneath upward, aided by means of the body strongly leaning forward.

The left foot simultaneously moves forward. Then, rotating the body (from right to left) with a slight lean backward, aim the knob of the cane at the throat of the opponent. The third beat is carried out by driving the strike (from underneath upward) by strongly shifting the arms and leaning forward while simultaneously advancing the right foot.

A Piece of Advice During suitable instances, these attacks can be made up of three or more blows, which can also be applied against multiple opponents.

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All attacks should be executed with the greatest speed possible.

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14th strike with the tip to the chest and knob strike to the right eye— The first beat of this attack is executed like the preceding, but with the tip aimed at the chest of the opponent. The second beat is carried out by forcefully striking the selected target, causing the body to rotate (from right to left) leaning back a bit and aiming the knob of the cane at the right eye of our adversary. The third beat or second strike is performed with a strong drive of the arms supporting the blow with one’s body weight. This attack should be executed by holding the right hand with the fingernails turned inward and the left with the nails outward. This is a very dangerous strike.

15th strike with the thin end to the lip and pommel strike to the groin—The first beat of this strike is executed like those before, aiming, this time, the tip of the cane at the upper lip of the opponent. The second beat or first strike is executed by strongly attacking said target.

Then, rotating the body, from

right to left, bending over from the waist, aim the pommel of the cane at the groin or lower stomach of our attacker. The third beat is applied by driving the blow (from underneath traveling upward) with a strong drive of the arms and leaning the body. Simultaneously advance the right foot, while raising the heel of the left. The right hand should be turned with the fingernails facing outward and the left with the nails turned inward.

A Piece of Advice All of the strikes that until now have been delivered at close range can also be applied from a starting point at short range, leading with one’s side in the act of executing the first movement, thereby causing close-quarter combat.

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SECTION IV Single Attacks: Stick strikes

The five strikes in this part should be delivered with the weak third of the walking stick, from the open guard position, holding the cane in inverted grip in the right hand, and at short distance (a meter, more or less, of separation from the training dummy), to the temple, jaw, wrist, groin, and knee of the opponent.

These strikes should be directed to the left side of the training dummy, always beginning from a state of motionlessness.

The stick strikes thrown in the manner of an ax blow can also be delivered at true range (two meters, more or less, from the opponent), advancing the right foot by means of a turn or blading the body, simultaneously raising the left heel.

All of the attacks in this section should be executed in a single beat and with the greatest speed and force possible.

A Piece of Advice First: After striking, move into the closed guard (Figure 20) remaining aware that it may be necessary to attack with another strike or simply turn to defense with a circular parry or a power block that will be explained at the appropriate time.

Second: When the reader has learned the attacks contained in the first four sections, I believe that one will be able to develop the remaining even if they are not explained in great detail.

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16th stick strike to the temple— This strike is executed from the open guard and a meter away from the training dummy, making it trace 3/4 of a circle with the weak third of the walking stick by raising the arm, moving in a circle, diagonally, from the rear to the front, with the aim of making it fly, aiming it at the left temple of the opponent. The body should rotate, from right to left, simultaneously raising the heel of the right foot. During this action, the hand should be with the fingernails turned outward and the elbow pointed upward. As has been said earlier, this attack should occur in a single beat. It is a blow that could cause the

opponent to lose consciousness momentarily.

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17th stick strike to the jaw—This strike is executed from the same guard and at the same distance as the previous attack, raising the arm, slightly arched, toward the right, until the hand (nails facing downward), elbow, and cane are horizontal at the level of the shoulder; then rotating the body from right to left, simultaneously raising the heel of the right foot, delivered with the arm somewhat tightened, a stick strike to the enemy’s left jaw. After striking horizontally assume the closed guard position. This attack could cause our attacker to black out for a few moments.

Figure 13

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18th stick strike to the wrist— This strike is carried out from the same guard and at the same distance as the previous one, forcefully directing the cane (from underneath moving upward) at the wrist of the opponent with the aim of making him drop the weapon from his hand. During the execution of this strike one can advance the right foot, but keep at a steady distance. This strike is recommended for street fights. (See Figure 13.)

19th stick strike to the groin— This strike is executed in the same way as the prior one, aiming the cane vertically at the groin of the opponent. This is an extremely dangerous strike.

Figure 14

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We should vary the severity of the strikes according to the adversaries we have before us.

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20th stick strike to the knee— This strike is performed from the same guard and at the same distance as the previous attacks, raising the arm a little toward the right, until the hand (turned with the fingernails facing downward) stays at the level of the waist. Then rotate one’s body from right to left, applying horizontally and with the arm tightened, a strong blow to the opponent’s knee, while raising the heel of the right foot. After striking, assume the closed guard position. (See Figure 14.)

SECTION V Combination Attacks: A stick strike and a blow with the pommel of the cane

The attacks taught in this section are composed of two strikes—that is, one stick strike with the weak third of the cane and one blow with the knob of the cane, starting from the open guard position at a meter’s distance, more or less, from the opponent and executed in two beats (one beat for each strike).

These attacks are combined in order to achieve two consecutive strikes in different parts of our adversary’s body in the following order: temple and stomach, jaw and carotid, wrist and lip, groin and throat, and shin and lower back.

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21st stick strike to the temple and knob strike to the stomach—The

first strike of this attack, that is, the stick strike to the temple, is executed the same way as the 16th, but advancing the right foot by means of a turn or a stance shift. The second strike is executed while advancing the left foot forward a bit while simultaneously gripping the cane in power grip, in order to throw, to the front and from underneath moving upward, a strong blow with the pommel to the opponent’s stomach.

With the objective of lending greater force to the blow, take a short half-step while leaning the body forward, at the same time raising the heel of the left foot.

A Piece of Advice First: The stick strikes should be applied in the same manner as presented in the previous section.

Second: The strikes delivered with the knob of the walking stick are carried out by bridging the distance in the same way as presented in Section III.

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A Piece of Advice Instead of delivering the second strike with the knob, one can execute the strike with the tip as follows: after striking the opponent’s temple, lean the body back, carrying the knob of the cane next to the left side of our waist with the objective of taking it by the strong third with the left hand and sliding the right hand rapidly until it is gripping the weak third of the walking stick. The hands should be turned with the fingernails facing downward.

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22nd stick strike to the jaw and pommel blow to the carotid—The first strike of this attack, that is, the stick strike to the opponent’s jaw, is executed like the 17th, which appears in the previous section, but advancing the right foot by means of a turn. The second strike is carried out while moving the left foot forward a bit, simultaneously gripping the weak third of the cane with the left hand turned fingernails down, in order to attack the opponent’s right carotid, rotating the body from left to right and forcefully driving the blow with the arms.

The right foot should advance, a bit, toward the left side of the opponent or training dummy.

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23rd stick strike to the wrist and pommel blow to the lip—The first strike of this attack, which is the stick strike to the hand or the wrist of the opponent, is carried out like the 18th, but advancing the right foot by means of a turn. The second strike is carried out by moving the left foot forward a bit while simultaneously gripping the cane with the left hand in order to attack with the power grip the upper lip of the opponent. With the aim of lending greater force to the blow, lean your body forward, strongly supporting the arms and advancing the right foot. The right hand should be turned with the nails facing inward and the left with the nails outward.

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24th stick strike to the groin and pommel blow to the throat—The first strike of this attack, which is the stick strike to the groin of the opponent, is carried out like the 19th, but while advancing the right foot by means of a stance switch (Figure 15). The second strike is carried out by advancing the left forward a bit while simultaneously gripping the walking stick with the left hand in order to attack from the front and from underneath moving upward, a strong pommel blow to the opponent’s throat (Figure 16). The right foot is set to the left side of the training dummy.

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25th stick strike to the shin and pommel blow to the lower back— The first strike of this combination attack, which is the stick strike to the adversary’s shin, is executed like the strike to the knee explained in the 20th attack, but advancing the right foot by means of a turn. The second strike is performed by moving the left foot forward, at the same time gripping the weak third of the cane with the left hand in order to strike the opponent’s kidney at his right side, by means of an energetic rotation of the body from left to right, and the force of both arms.

The right hand should be with the fingernails turned upward and the left nails turned down.

Figure 15

Figure 16

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SECTION VI Combination Attacks: Three stick strikes applied with the weak third of the cane

The attacks assembled in this part are composed of three blows, each of them executed, of course, from the open guard position with the cane in the inverted grip and with more or less two meters of separation from the training dummy.

To place ourselves at the appropriate distance, we should advance the right foot by means of a turn or stance switch.

To launch an attack of this nature, we should neither have concern for, nor even think about, the attacks that our opponent might make; let us just make certain to hit non-stop with force and great speed.

During these combinations we should present the right side to the opponent.

Once we have finished a combination, we should set ourselves in the closed guard position, just in case it is necessary to return to the attack or attend to defense.

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26th three stick strikes: temple, jaw, and clavicle—The first strike of this combined attack is executed by raising the arm from back to front, with the aim of tracing a 3/4 circle with the weak third of the walking stick, attacking diagonally with the hand turned with the fingernails facing outward and the elbow pointed upward, the left temple of the attacker. During the execution of the strike the right foot advances by means of a turn. The body should make a rotational movement from right to left, until after having struck, keeping the arm bent at the level of, and next to, the left shoulder, with the hand turned fingernails facing downward.

The second strike is carried out by gripping the cane firmly, attacking the right jaw of the opponent horizontally and energetically, by means of a rapid rotation from left to right. After striking, the arm stays bent

on the right side at head height, with the hand turned nails outward. The third strike is delivered like the first, but with neither the large arc of the first strike nor the turn, remaining afterward in the closed guard position.

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27th three stick strikes: jaw, temple, and carotid—The first strike of this combined attack is executed by raising the arm, slightly bent, toward the right, until the hand (fingernails turned downward), elbow, and cane are aligned horizontally with the shoulder. And turning forward to apply, with the arm slightly tensed, and a vigorous rotation of the body from right to left, a stick blow to the left jaw of the opponent. After striking, lean the body back, keeping the arm arched to the left at head height, with the fingernails of the hand facing outward. The second strike is performed by strongly attacking with the arm tightened, to the right temple of the opponent, by means of an energetic rotation of the body from left to right, and driven by the lower back. After striking, the arm should stay bent at our right side at shoulder height, with the nails of the hand turned downward. The

third strike is applied like the first, remaining afterward in the closed guard position.

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28th three stick strikes: wrist, carotid, and knee—The first strike is executed by advancing the right foot by means of a turn or a shift in stance, vigorously aiming the cane from underneath moving upward, to the wrist of the opponent with the aim of making him drop his weapon.

After striking, lean the body back, keeping the arm arched at the level of, and next to, our left shoulder, with the nails turned downward. The second strike is delivered by striking forcefully at the opponent’s carotid, by rotating the body from right to left, gripping the cane securely. After striking, the arm should remain bent at our right side at waist height, with the fingernails turned downward.

The third strike is carried out by rotating the body from right to left, delivering a stick strike to the opponent’s knee. Afterward, assume the closed guard position.

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29th three stick strikes: groin, temple, and jaw—The first strike is executed by advancing the right foot while turning the side toward the opponent and

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throwing the cane from underneath moving upward and with the nails facing inward to the groin of the opponent.

After striking, lean the body back, keeping the arm bent at our left side and at head height with the hand turned so the fingernails face outward. The second strike is delivered by attacking, with the arm slightly tensed, the right temple of the attacker by means of rotating the body from left to right and a forceful movement of the lower back. After striking, the arm should remain at our right side at shoulder height, with the hand turned so the nails

are facing downward. The third strike is delivered by executing a strong rotational movement from right to left, aided by the impetus of the lower back, with the objective of delivering a forceful blow to the left jaw of the opponent. Immediately following, take the closed guard position.

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30th three stick strikes: knee, jaw, and temple—The first strike is executed by raising the arm a little to the right until the hand, with the fingernails turned downward, is at waist height with the aim of making a turn forward delivering a strong blow to the opponent’s knee

Figure 18

Figure 17

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(Figure 17). After striking, lean the body back, keeping the arm arched next to our left shoulder, with the hand turned so that the nails face downward.

The second strike is carried out by swinging strongly and horizontally at the right jaw of the opponent, by means of a vigorous twist of the body from left to right (Figure 18). After striking, the arm remains bent at our right side at head height, with the hand turned nails outward. The third strike is implemented by striking diagonally to the left temple of the opponent by means of a vigorous drive of the arm while rotating

the body from right to left (Figure 19). Upon completing the combination assume the closed guard position (Figure 20).

A Piece of Advice Immediately after attacking from right to left we should assume the closed guard position; after striking from left to right we find ourselves in the open guard, prepared in either case to resume fighting.

Figure 20

Figure 19

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SECTION VII Combination Attacks: Four stick strikes or blows applied with the weak third of the cane and with the pommel

The attacks assembled in this chapter are combinations of four stick strikes or blows, each of them starting from the open guard and at two meters’ distance, more or less, from the opponent.

(Figures 21, 22, and 23), applied as in the previous section, making certain that after the third hit you grip the cane with both hands (power grip) and with the knob aimed at the opponent’s stomach. The fourth strike is delivered to the front and from underneath upward, by attacking with a strong blow with the pommel to the aforementioned target (Figure 24).

In executing these combined attacks of multiple strikes, they should be applied continuously and with the greatest speed and force possible.

When strikes are delivered with just the right hand, we should be certain to always present the right side to the opponent.

This class of continuous attack or series of blows are really useful when you want to violently attack one or several opponents at the same time.

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31st three stick strikes and a pommel blow [to the stomach]—In the following four strikes, the first three are delivered in the form of ax blows to the left temple, right jaw, and left temple

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32nd three stick strikes and a pommel blow to the upper lip—In the following four strikes, the first three are delivered with the weak third of the cane to the opponent’s left jaw, right temple, and left carotid, making certain that after the third hit you grip the cane in power grip and with the knob aimed at the opponent’s upper lip.

The fourth strike is delivered to the front and from underneath upward, by attacking the aforementioned target.

Figure 22

Figure 21

Figure 24

Figure 23

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33rd three stick strikes and a pommel blow to the throat—In the following four strikes the first three are delivered in the form of ax blows to the opponent’s wrist (hand), right carotid, and left temple, applied as in the previous section, making certain that after the third hit you grip the cane with both hands and with the knob aimed at the opponent’s throat. The fourth strike is delivered to the front and from underneath upward, by attacking with a strong blow with the pommel to the selected target.

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34th three stick strikes and a pommel blow to the chest—In the following four strikes of this combined attack the first three are delivered with the weak third of the cane to the attacker’s groin, right temple, and left jaw, making certain that after the third hit you grip the cane in power grip and with the knob aimed at the opponent’s chest. The fourth strike is implemented by strongly attacking, directly, to the indicated target.

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35th four diagonal or crossing stick strikes—The first blow of this combination is carried out by throwing the stick diagonally from the ground upward with the aim of attacking from right to left on the attacker’s knee or groin. After striking, one should continue the movement of the stick, tracing an arc over the top of the opponent’s head (as in Figure 3). The second strike is delivered diagonally from above moving downward to the jaw or left clavicle. After striking, one should continue the movement of the stick into closed guard. The third strike is executed by swinging the cane diagonally and from underneath moving upward to the opponent’s groin or right side knee. After hitting, one should continue the movement of the cane, making a circular arc over the attacker’s head. The fourth stick strike is thrown diagonally and from above moving downward to the opponent’s jaw or right clavicle, continuing the action until one arrives at the original guard position.

The four stick strikes should be delivered consecutively in the form of windmill strikes, which are very useful for keeping the opponent at long range.

SECTION VIII Combination Attacks: A feint and a strike

A feint is an act of threatening or pretending to strike in order to make the opponent believe that you are attacking him at one spot, with the objective that his defense will uncover another target, or making a false attack to distract him or to slip past his defense.

Although it is recommended in combat tactics to sound out the enemy by threats or some other movement with the goal of examining his intentions before undertaking real attacks, I am not in favor of employing a lot of feints in a street fight, since when wielding the walking stick in self-defense we should not put all our hopes of winning on these kinds of tricks, because the majority of these opponents do not know the art of self-defense with the cane; they will not take the bait of our threats, but will take advantage of this beat to strike us.

But for the reader to know and to be able to practice an attack of this nature, I will limit myself to

explaining attacks composed of a single feint and a strike, and which I believe are most suitable for real combat.

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36th feint to the lower stomach and strike to the temple—This compound attack is executed in two beats, starting from the open guard position and at more or less one meter’s distance from the opponent. The first beat is implemented by threatening a blow with the tip, from underneath moving upward, to the lower stomach of the opponent, holding the cane in power grip (Figure 25). In order to give the strike greater realism, take a short half-step with the left foot, at the same time bending at the waist.

These movements should be executed simultaneously. The second beat is performed by releasing the left hand and making the weak third of the cane trace a diagonal circle by means of elevating the forearm, with

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the hand turned so that the fingernails face outward and with the elbow pointed upward, in order to apply a stick strike to the left side temple or jaw of the attacker. Your body should rotate from right to left, while simultaneously raising the heel of the right foot (Figure 26). After striking, assume the closed guard position.

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37th feint to the nose and strike to the groin—This compound attack is executed in two beats, starting from the open guard position and at more or less one meter’s distance from the opponent. The first beat is executed by holding the cane in power grip and raising it to head height, threatening a strike with the narrow tip at the nose or upper lip of the opponent.

The second beat is performed by releasing the right hand in order to vigorously swing with the left to the enemy’s groin.

This blow should be delivered with the strong third [knob end] of the cane.

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38th feint to the jaw and strike to the throat—This compound attack is executed in two beats, starting from the open guard position at two meters’ distance, a slightly different distance for the training dummy.

The first beat is carried out by making a turn or presenting the side forward, simultaneously threatening a stick strike to the left jaw of the enemy (Figure 27). After feinting, grasp the cane (at the strong end) with the left hand, while rapidly sliding the right hand to the middle third and aiming the tip (from underneath moving upward) at the opponent’s throat.

The second beat is implemented by forcefully striking the indicated target (Figure 28). To strike with greater power lean your body forward, advancing the right foot and lifting the left heel.

Figure 26

Figure 25

Figure 28

Figure 27

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•

39th feint to the temple and blow to the stomach—This compound attack is executed in two beats, starting from the open guard position in inverted grip at two meters’ distance from the training dummy. The first beat is implemented by turning the body toward the front, while threatening a stick strike to the opponent’s left temple. After feinting, grab the cane with the left hand, briefly placing both thumbs together, then quickly slide the right hand down until it is gripping the middle third of the cane and aiming the tip (from underneath moving upward) at the opponent’s stomach. The second beat is accomplished by striking forcefully at the aforementioned target, holding the cane firmly with both hands. Support the strike with the weight of your body, advancing the right foot and lifting the left heel.

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40th feint to the lower back and strike to the jaw—This attack is executed in two beats starting from the open guard position approximately a meter’s distance from the attacker. The first beat is accomplished by raising the tip of the cane until it is seized in power grip and threatening by leaning the

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body, a blow with the tip to the lower back on the opponent’s left side. After feinting, move the cane away, positioning it at the opponent’s jaw on the same side. The second beat is realized by striking with the tip at the previously mentioned target, while rotating the body from right to left. With the goal of supporting this attack, move the left foot forward while simultaneously raising the heel of the right.

SECTION IX Various Techniques: Attacks, blocks, counters, controls and stop-hits

This section and the ones that follow are the most difficult to execute.

Up to this point the studious reader has been able to practice all the movements explained in this book without the aid of a training partner, but upon arriving at this section dealing with fighting cane against cane, it will be indispensable for you to train with a partner.

In order to accomplish the different ways of blocking a strike, the appropriate counters, the ways of seizing the opponent’s stick, and the perfect execution of stop-hits, it is necessary to have a friend or stick fencing instructor set in front of the reader for the purpose of executing these actions.

The success of the attacks and defenses that will be appropriate in a fight depends upon the patience of the teacher and the will of the student.

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41st defenses against a walking stick—In order for us to be able to defend ourselves against an opponent armed with a cane, it is necessary to have practiced beforehand with a friend or someone who has mastered this defense, that is to say, the blocks corresponding to the strikes that we could receive from the opponent’s weapon.

There are eight blocks or parries in stick fighting, which are designated numerically according to the side and the target they defend: ◊ The left side is defended with block One; the right side is defended with block Two. ◊ The right side face and waist are defended by block Three; the left side with block Four. ◊ The right side head and face are defended by block Five; the left side with block Six.

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Figure 29 - Block One

Figure 30 - Block Two

◊ The right side waist and hand are defended by block Seven;7 the left side with block Eight.

Furthermore, there are blocks with the power grip.

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The circular parries Four, Six, and Eight, assigned to defend the left side of the body, are executed with the hand turned so that the fingernails face the opponent. Blocks Three, Five, and Seven belonging to the right side, are carried out with the fingernails toward ourselves.

7 Block Seven cannot be executed with the necessary perfection, due to the violent and uncomfortable position of the wrist; but by simultaneously moving the right leg backward we can defend ourselves easily.

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Figure 31 - Block Three

Figure 32 - Block Four

Both the blocks and the parries can be done with the assistance of the left hand.

Once the reader knows the blocks and parries, in addition to the different directions that the cane can take to stop or deflect that of the opponent, the teacher will aggressively deliver strikes to any part of the student’s body so that the student will hit the cane with his own, in this way getting used to deviating the opponent’s cane from its line of attack via the collision produced.

Figure 33 - Block Five

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•

Figure 34 - Block Six

42nd blocks or circular parries and counters—The preferred blocks that we should use to defend ourselves at true range are those that are called circular parries, which are executed by a circular movement with our cane to counter that of the opponent and to deflect it with a violent collision, usually taking advantage of that same action to immediately strike the opponent’s body. The attack that one makes immediately after having stopped a blow is called a counter.

Since it is not possible to demonstrate practically the efficiency of a block, counter, or counterstrike unless there is a threat or strike thrown, for that purpose, the teacher and the student stand facing each other

Figure 35 - Block Seven

Figure 36 - Block Eight

in the open guard position with inverted grip to practice the following attacks and parries: ◊ The instructor attacks horizontally to the left jaw, and the student defends with circular parry Four (Figure 37). The instructor attacks diagonally to the left temple, and the student defends with circular parry Six (Figure 38). ◊ The teacher vertically attacks the lower stomach from the left side, and the student defends with circular parry Eight (Figure 39). ◊ The teacher attacks from underneath moving upward, from the right side, and the student draws back the right foot while executing circular parry Seven (Figure 40).

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Figure 38

Figure 37

Figure 40

Figure 39

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Once the student knows how to defend against single attacks, practice the blocks or parries against the combination attacks of two or three strikes explained in Section VI. Blows with the tip and the pommel are defended with the blocks and parries corresponding to the side and the target to which they are delivered.

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43rd power grip blocks and counters—The blocks that we should ordinarily use to defend ourselves at short range are those that are called power blocks, which are executed in expectation of the opponent’s strike, holding the cane gripped at both the weak and strong thirds. To defend our right side the left hand should be held above and

the walking stick almost vertical (Figure 41). The power block that we should employ to protect our left side is executed the same as the First (fallback), but gripping the weak third of the cane with the left hand.

In order to practice the execution of these blocks, the teacher and the student position themselves in the open guard and afterward in the closed guard with the goal of practicing the defenses from both guards holding the cane in power grip.

After defending ourselves with a power block, we will counter with blows delivered with the tip or the pommel (Figure 42). You could also use a neck hold and trip like those I will explain in the next section.

Figure 41

Figure 42

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44th fallback block, grab, and counter—This compound defense of fallback block and counter is executed in three beats, starting from the open guard position with inverted grip at more or less one meter’s distance from the opponent and at the moment that he launches a strike at the right temple or jaw. The first beat is defending the attack by means of fallback block Two, which is accomplished by raising the arm and holding the cane vertically with the intention of stopping the strike. At the same time close the distance between you by advancing with the left foot (Figure 43). The second beat is accomplished by resting

the left forearm over the opponent’s cane [in Figures 43 & 44 he grips the opponent’s cane with his left hand] thereby stopping any aggressive movement.

The third beat is carried out by delivering a blow with the hilt to the face (Figure 44). ◊ If the opponent’s attack were delivered to our left side, we would defend ourselves with fallback block One, while gripping the opponent’s stick by underneath and next to ours, so that we are capable of countering with a stick strike to the jaw, a strike with the narrow tip to the face, or with the pommel to any undefended target.

Figure 44

Figure 43

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◊ These compound blocks and counters should be done so quickly that the three beats making them up become just one.

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45th stop-hits or counterstrikes— In combative tactics, stop-hits are those that are delivered by taking advantage of the beat that the opponent employs in threatening or executing an attack. A stop-hit is striking him in the midst of his attack. Any movement the attacker makes with his arm, leg, or body can provide an opportunity to attack him on that beat. ◊ Although in executing these strikes you will always be exposed to some risk, these are distinguished from con-

trol strikes, which, that is to say, means throwing and holding. However, keeping in mind that circular parries are executed by striking the opponent’s cane before attacking his body, these can easily be transformed into stop-hits or counter-strikes when—instead of colliding with the attacker’s cane— one hits him in the wrist, jaw, lower stomach, and so on (Figures 15, 45 and 46). ◊ To perform these: the instructor threatens some attacks which will be counterattacked by the student, who should be very careful not to injure his trainer.

Figure 46

Figure 45

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SECTION X Various Techniques: Natural weapons, disarms, controls, neck holds, and throws

In this section, just as in the last one, it will be necessary to get the help of someone else in order to practice the techniques explained.

Because this is the next to last section, and one of the most difficult to execute, I do not doubt that the reader will do anything possible to understand how to put into practice the techniques presented here, which are very useful in closerange combat.

In hand-to-hand fights we should apply pommel blows, blows with the tip of the cane, natural weapons,8 and attacks comprising controls, neck holds, throws, and so on, that are explained in this section.

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46th hand-to-hand defenses and natural weapons—Once we get to hand-to-hand combat, we must fight until the end. In a fight at close range, if the op-

8 Blows thrown with the fist, elbow, head, foot, and so on, are called natural weapons.

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ponent grabs our cane with the aim of preventing any offensive movement and takes advantage of this situation in order to hit us, we must deliver blows with the tip and the pommel, and if these come up short, our natural weapons, which I recommend you practice every now and then with your instructor or on the training dummy. In addition, it is useful to know the natural blows, so that we are not taken by surprise when the opponent delivers one, and before or during a hand-tohand fight, we will be able to apply them whenever necessary. “Often a surprise delivers the victory.” The most common natural weapons are executed as follows: ◊ The punch is accomplished by strongly hitting the opponent’s jaw, stomach, or kidney; ◊ The elbow strike is hitting him with the elbow to the jaw or nose;

Figure 47

◊ The head-butt is causing the side of the head to collide with the attacker’s face or nose (Figure 47); ◊ The knee strike is energetically hitting him with the knee in the gut; ◊ The toe kick is striking him with the tip of the foot to the groin; ◊ The stomp is stomping with the heel of the foot onto the enemy’s toes; ◊ The oblique kick is striking him in the shin, with the edge in the inner side of the sole of our shoe (Figure 48).

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47th disarm by striking his cane— Any strike forcefully directed to the opponent’s wrist, forearm, or cane can result in a dis-

Figure 48

arm. If the attacker threatens us with the tip of his walking stick, rapier, umbrella, and so on, we will apply a blade ride or beat-down,9 making certain that the stick strikes the opponent’s hand (Figure 49). The same action is employed in order to strike the head of our adversary the moment he crouches down to attack the lower body (Figure 23), alternating diagonal windmill strikes (from right to left, and up and down, and vice versa) and aiming the cane at the opponent’s wrist, which can easily result in a disarm.

9 A blade ride is to hit forcefully and with prolonged pressure, causing our cane to slide down along the opponent’s cane until it strikes his hand. A beat-down is to strike our cane into the opponent’s.

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Figure 50

Figure 49

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48th feint, control, and strike— This compound attack is executed in three beats, starting from the open guard and at a meter’s distance from the opponent. The first beat is accomplished by holding the cane in power grip and taking a halfstep with the left foot, simultaneously feigning a blow with the tip to the chest or face of the enemy (Figure 50). The second beat is executed the moment the opponent defends against our strike by placing his cane against ours. At this instant we make certain to keep his cane hooked in the vertex of the angle formed by the weak third of the cane and the left hand, rapidly turning the body forward,

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while controlling10 his cane (Figure 51). The third beat is implemented by delivering a blow with the pommel of the cane to the attacker’s upper lip (Figure 52) or by executing a neck hold and throw.

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49th side throw with a neck hold—This compound counter is achieved after using the power grip to block the opponent’s forceful strike to our right side (Figure 53), putting our left foot behind his right while simultaneously pushing his neck at an

10 A control is to trap the opponent’s cane, separating it from the line of attack by means of firm pressure with the aim of preventing any movement.

Figure 52

Figure 51

angle formed by the weak third of the cane and the left forearm (Figure 54), in order to make him lean back and fall to the floor on his back (Figure 55).

In order to knock him down more easily, we place ourselves in front of the enemy by means of a turn. In order to make him fall to our right side we must stop a blow to our left side, using the power grip, catching his left leg with our right leg and executing the same movements as in the previous sequence, but in the opposite direction. One can also execute a neck grab and throw after effecting any control.

A Piece of Advice First: The best strike that you can deliver to a fallen opponent is a good stick strike to his legs (shins or ankles).

Second: In order to topple an attacker by means of a throw, one needs opportunity, speed, and force.

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Figure 54

Figure 53

Figure 56

Figure 55

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49th (extra) stick strike to the shin—Against a toe kick to the groin. (Figure 56). This is a counterstrike that is executed just like the stick strike to the head in the 47th attack (Figure 49).

50th throw from the front with pressure to the face—This compound attack is executed at close range and with the left foot a bit forward (Figure 57) turning the body over that foot with the aim of rapidly placing our right leg behind the enemy’s same side so that by forcefully throwing the right leg a strong collision occurs jolting his leg toward us (Figure 58). At

the same time, we will push his upper lip with the knob of the cane in order to make him lose his balance and fall on his back (Figure 59).

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50th (extra) pommel strike to the nose—Against a headbutt to the stomach. This attack is accomplished with the knob of the walking stick, hitting strongly from underneath moving upward, to the opponent’s nose (Figure 60). In order to increase the power of this attack, the arm and shoulder should be somewhat tightened. Applied correctly, this will take the enemy out of the fight.

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Figure 58

Figure 57

Figure 60

Figure 59

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SECTION XI Various Techniques: Closing parry, simultaneous hit, knee on the ground, flying thrust and varied defenses

The various attacks explained in the present chapter should be carried out with great precision; otherwise, they lose all the effectiveness that we are pursuing.

Real success will only be obtained by executing the movements precisely, rapidly, and forcefully, with it being indispensable—just as in the previous sections—to execute them with the person who acts as trainer.

*Note: So that the reader will not be shortchanged with regard to the resources necessary for his legitimate defense, I have sought to complete these last sections expounding on the main actions necessary to be able to face any kind of combat.

Figure 61

Figure 62

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51st: Sixth parry with closing, strike with the tip, and pommel blow—These actions of defense and attack are executed in three beats, starting from the open guard, but with the right foot forward at two meters’ distance, more or less, from the opponent. The first beat is carried out at the instant the attacker directs his stick strike at our left temple, which we will defend with the Sixth parry while simultaneously closing the distance by means of a turn or hop. At the same time, let us make sure that the left foot remains further forward toward the enemy’s opponent’s right

Figure 63

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side and the left hand reinforces the strong third of the cane (Figure 61). The second beat is realized by taking a half-step to the side, delivering a blow with the tip of the cane to the opponent’s lower right back, holding the walking stick in the power grip (Figure 62). The third beat will cause close physical contact by means of a turn from left to right, simultaneously attacking the right side carotid with the knob of the cane (Figure 63). All the movements should be executed with the greatest speed possible.

Figure 64

•

52nd: simultaneous blow with the tip against a leg attack—This attack is accomplished in the following manner: At the moment our adversary delivers a stick strike to the left leg, we will turn or hop to close the distance, striking him in the face with the tip while holding the cane in power grip (Figure 64).

By closing the distance we will make sure that the attacker’s weapon-bearing hand hits behind our waist.

•

53rd: held by the waist and arms, knee on the ground and pommel blow—This attack is executed in two beats, from close quarters at the instant the enemy

encircles our waist with his arms (Figure 65). The first beat is accomplished by dropping down until the right knee hits the ground, while at the same time sliding the hands on the walking stick, until the right hand is gripping the middle third and the left hand gripping the weak third (Figure 66). The second beat is executed by rising up forcefully, striking him under the chin with the knob of our walking stick (Figure 67).

•

54th: blow with the point (flying thrust), to the left eye—This attack is achieved (against a deadly weapon) by raising the forearm forward until the hand

Figure 65

Figure 66

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(turned fingernails facing inward) is at head height, aiming the tip of the cane at the left eye of our opponent, in order to deliver the strike by extending the arm forward, simultaneously advancing the right foot a bit (Figure 68). This strike can also be employed as a counter, with one or both hands, immediately after having executed the Fifth or Sixth circular parries.

•

55th: two strikes (one with the pommel and another with the tip), two stick strikes, and getting clear—If we must defend against several individuals at once, finding ourselves sur-

Figure 67

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rounded and receiving threats or more aggressive actions, we will grip the cane with a hand at each end, placing the cane at neck height with the intention of attacking by means of forceful blows with the pommel and tip, directed to the opponents closest to us and immediately delivering strong strikes against those surrounding us. These strikes are executed as follows: first, striking with the knob of the cane, strike the face of the attacker on our right by leaning the body and driving with the lower back toward the right side (Figure 69); second, strike with the tip to the face or stom-

Figure 68

ach to the one on our left side, by forcefully rotating the body and the arms tensed (Figure 70); third: strike with the weak third of the cane to the adversary on our right, turning a bit backward (Figure 71); fourth, strike the temple of the enemy we find on our left, twisting the body toward him (Figure 72).

The four blows should be delivered with the greatest force possible, in just two seconds.

We will continuously deliver strong blows by spinning and throwing horizontal and diagonal windmill strikes, trying to eliminate one by one the most dangerous adversaries around us and within reach (Figure 2).

*Note: The reader who has regularly practiced the defenses and attacks contained in this book, when in a tight spot or a moment prone to danger, should not lose calmness of spirit; but with determination and courage, he will be able to come out of the encounter with flying colors, having defeated the enemy.

Figure 69

Figure 70-

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Figure 72

Figure 71

General Advice The cane is a fragile support, used by men since time immemorial. In actuality one can say that it complements one’s dress and is an accessory of well-known usefulness for one’s defense.

When going out for a stroll with a cane in the hand, we find that this does not disturb the others who are present; otherwise, one could cause some incident, which is so annoying among decent people.

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In places where there are other people, one should not execute windmill strikes with the walking stick, nor move it from side to side, nor put it sideways under the arm, placed so that the tip is constantly threatening the passers-by in our surroundings. And if, for any reason, we should need the cane to point to something, we should do that by always keeping the tip in front of us.

So that the cane will not hurt anyone, we should carry it almost parallel to the body, just giving it a light swaying movement with the arm and aid of the wrist with the aim of supporting ourselves every now and then with the cane, by means of a gentle touch on the ground.

Furthermore, it is not enough to know how to carry the cane in the hand, with the customary inverted grip but with ease and elegance; in case it is necessary, one must also know how to use it in self-defense. *** The well-educated man keeps his behavior irreproachable in all the actions of his life; and since he prefers social harmony to discord, he is extremely agreeable to his peers.

In order to become good citizens, and not imitating the braggart who is confident in the advantages to be gained by fighting, we should offend no one, neither in word nor in deed, but to the contrary, it is better to be respectful and careful, in this way avoiding unpleasant quarrels and their dangerous consequences.

kind of quarrel or fight, whether individual or group, as well as not being offended by slights nor giving any great weight to certain words or facial expressions that for the most part do not cause anyone harm.

Neither should we retaliate when someone has unintentionally offended us, and even less, if those who have caused offense own up to their actions, whether in private or in public.

Furthermore, let us be certain to be tolerant with those people of an excessively restless temperament, who get extremely worked up to the point that they cannot find reasonable words to finish the debate, so they resort to insults, or to blows. Before we fight, it would be best to be able to dodge or check those blows as much as possible in order to convince our antagonist that fighting does not lead to reason. *** Fights are almost always due to a lack of prudence and calmness.

***

To fight over something insignificant is cowardice in the guise of bravery.

A kind act, worthy of praise, is to avoid, by whatever means, any

On the other hand, the best way to avoid a fight is to flee from it,

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not approaching where there are violent discussions or quarrels, let alone intervening in them without a good reason, because even if you do not receive a bump, punch, or kick, to teach you not to be a meddler, it will be very likely that you will have to go to the trouble of being a witness.

Only upon finding ourselves unavoidably obligated to act in legitimate defense, should we make use of our true right. And we should not just defend our own person, but also our mother, wife, daughters and other weak persons when they are attacked by any wrongdoer.

We should not forget that: “Prudence is the mother of safety,” and that “Only after actions end does one suffer the consequences.”

***

Fighting is an act of imposition, revenge, or venting. The outcome does not mean justice is served, because usually the stronger, more skilled, or cunning man wins. Nevertheless, there are moments in life when it is impossible to refuse to fight.

Since there exist those individuals who are so vulgar and rude that they are constantly annoying peaceful people, goading them to fight, and when peaceful people find themselves in the unavoidable necessity of having to fight them, often it turns out they are as cowardly as they are rude. ***

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One is always exposed to incidents for having unintentionally committed some small offense on the street, such as: bumping into someone; hitting someone with the elbow, or stepping on his foot; finding oneself apparently giving a provocative glance, and so on; quarrels, all of which, if it were not for an excess of self-regard and individual pride, would not be important at all, or at the very least, would be ended with an “Excuse me, sir, it was an accident.” But unfortunately, it often does not happen like that, but due to the arrogance or phony pretentiousness of some antagonist, it causes him to take the liberty of rattling off a series of insults, threats, and profane language so shameful that no sensible person would dare to use

them, let alone on a public street.

Due to motives like that, it is difficult for these challenges to end in an insignificant encounter. *** In a real fight you cannot choose your enemy: according to fate, he may be large or small, weak or powerful. The individual that we have confronting us could be a skilled fighter, or just somebody who is confident of his chances, making use of his boldness and strength, and his instinct for self-preservation. Whether he is skillful or inept, we must make certain to defeat him.

Before and during combat, we should maintain a calm spirit, which will help us execute the right defense or simultaneous counterattack.

We should not think only about our attacks, but rather in getting ready to counter those of our opponent.

In combat tactics one should take advantage of his resources and of the mistakes of the opponent.

Let us not forget that the main defense is to have the enemy at a

distance where we can reach him with our attacks.

On the street we should strike without the cane tracing all those big circles that the common fencing styles recommend. It is not necessary to wind up a blow in order to make it fly, because the enemy can see it coming, and easily avoid it.

We will also refrain from making threats [feints], because if the enemy is expert in the subject matter, he will not be fooled by them, and if he is fooled, we will not have to resort to them in order to hit him.

As such, it will always be most appropriate to attack with really effective strikes than to make use of threats.

When fighting an enemy who appears to be inferior in skill, we should not get too confident, because a moment of distraction could lead to our defeat. “You must be suspicious of the opponent, no matter how ignorant he appears.”

To execute an attack, we will employ sufficient force so that the cane travels with great force; otherwise, our strikes will be nearly

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harmless. Instead, a well-delivered strike can deliver us a victory.

will always be prepared for any of the opponent’s surprises.

We should not use the same caliber of strikes against a dreadful opponent, that attacks us with a knife or some other weapon like that, as opposed to a citizen that we have bumped into, or entered into a heated discussion who gets so agitated and enraged that he prefers to resort to his hands instead of to reason. In the first case, we should employ deadly strikes, but in the latter case it would be unwise to deliver excessive punishment.

***

One must defend and attack according to the opponent that we have before us. We know that there are certain blows that should only be employed in defense of one’s life.

Although, as the saying goes, “The one who hits first hits twice,” the individual who has confidence in himself, waits until he is attacked, or at least waits until sees himself threatened with physical violence, before stopping or counterattacking the adversary in the act. The one who knows how to defend himself, and keeps a calm spirit,

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In order to defend ourselves against someone who wants to hit us with his cane, but without blocking his strike with our cane, we will lean the body backward, simultaneously hitting his weapon-bearing hand (Figure 46). The stop-hit (stoppage) to the wrist is recommended because in addition to being capable of applying it at quite a distance, one can disarm the opponent with it without causing him much damage. Furthermore, if in the middle of his attack, we can injure him without being injured ourselves, he will lose the opportunity and the moment. As such, it will always be preferable to strike him with a stop-hit than to turn to a block. *** If the adversary continuously attacks us, we will defend those strikes by means of circular parries and at long range, making certain to injure his wrist and keeping on the lookout for him to throw a backhand blow. In this case, we will close the distance while si-

multaneously using a power block (Figure 41) with the aim of countering with one of the main strikes in this defense.

We can also apply the Sixth parry, closing the distance unflinchingly, at the instant the opponent directs a stick strike to our left temple in order to deliver a tip strike by means of a sideways half-step, to his right-side kidney or carotid (Figure 61). *** When the attacks are directed to our legs, we will move the forward leg to dodge the blow while hitting him in the head at the same time (Figure 23), or we will close the distance while striking with the tip to the face or the stomach, holding the cane in power grip (Figure 64). *** If the individual attacking us with a cane in his hand shows that he has some knowledge of fencing, we will place ourselves out of his reach, in the closed guard (Figure 20) awaiting his feint or attack, advancing with the intent of striking him in the hand, temple, jaw, and so on. This position, in addition to

enabling us to execute any parry or block, is very recommendable for when one does want to have concern for the opponent’s attack, who frequently is going to threaten us with the goal of making us resort to blocking, so that we remain without a cane in hand and a lump as a gift. *** If by coincidence the enemy wields the cane in the same style as ours, which we will know by the way in which he holds the cane and in the guard he adopts; we will avoid any surprises by placing ourselves outside of his reach, ready to execute circular parries, transforming them whenever possible into stop-hits to the hand with the aim of of disarming him, or to remain standing once combat has ended, even if there is no winner or loser. *** If we have to defend ourselves against someone who attacks us with a curved cane, we should be prepared for the hooking attacks that he can employ. And if he aims to hook our leg, neck, forearm, or walking stick with his curved

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cane, we will utilize stop-hits to his wrist or head at the instant he bends over in an attempt to hook (Figures 23, 46, and 49). *** On the street, it could happen that we are threatened with an umbrella; but because the blows with this are harmless, we only need to avoid thrusts with the point. *** If, at the start of the fight, the opponent attempts to surprise us with a toe kick to the lower stomach, we

will dodge the attack by means of a short hop backwards, simultaneously attacking him from above, moving downward, striking him in the shin (Figure 56). *** Some individuals, when they fight, are used to grabbing the opponent’s lapels, with the goal of throwing him strongly, while at the same time delivering a headbutt to the face. This attack is defended by applying a blow to his left jaw with the knob of the cane (Figure 6). ***

A Piece of Advice The pommel blow or the stick blow to the lower left jaw, thrown at very close range, or at a meter’s distance, are the best attacks to apply the moment the opponent attempts to attack us, whether by punching, grabbing us by the lapels, making a motion as if to draw a weapon, or throwing a blow with the cane, and so on. These blows should be practiced as a priority (Figures 3 and 4 [also 5 and 6]).

If he attempts to attack us with a headbutt to the stomach, we will defend ourselves by moving the left leg back, at the same time striking him in the head with the weak third of the cane, or in the nose with the knob of the cane, from underneath coming upward (Figures 23 and 60).

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Getting entangled in a fight with a boxer, who due to the skill and power of his punches, if he reaches us, can cause us to lose consciousness for a bit, we will make certain to attack him at a distance, and if by any mistake or accident we end up hand to hand, we will attack quickly and continuously with pommel blows and tip strikes holding the walking stick in power grip (Figure 11). The use of the throw can knock down the opponent (Figure 54). *** If in a hand-to-hand encounter our opponent holds us by wrapping his hands or arms around our neck or waist, in the first instance [a neckhold] we can get loose by striking him in the nose or upper lip with the pommel (Figure 7).

In the second instance [a waisthold] we will instantaneously collapse until our knee hits the ground, at the same time sliding the hand over the cane until we are gripping it at the middle third with the right, and the weak third with the left. From this position we will surge upward with great speed and strength, hitting him under the chin with the pommel (Figure 65).

Finding ourselves against a wrongdoer attacking us with a knife in hand, courage and skill will doubtless contribute to the preservation of a calm spirit, and remaining at a good distance, we will attack him forcefully to his hand, groin, temple, and jaw (Figure 13 and 29th Attack). And if, despite all these attacks, our attacker tries to close the distance by defending or cushioning the blows with the left forearm, wrapped in an article of clothing and raising it up, we will go all out, giving him a strong blow with the tip or the pommel to his face, holding the cane with both hands (Figure 27). *** If we find ourselves in a fight hemmed in by the crowd and consequently lacking enough space to be able to execute attacks with the cane, due to an inability to let loose with the cane, or due to fear of hitting other persons, we will attack by using blows with the tip and the pommel, gripping the cane firmly in power grip (Figure 11).

In hand-to-hand combat we should not forget natural weapons (Figures 47 and 48). ***

***

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Having to fight in a dark place in which the dim light gets in the way of us seeing the aggressor’s attacks, we must be sure to hit strongly, circling the cane quickly and forcefully in all directions (Figure 2). *** It often happens that automobile drivers, by the poor judgment or carelessness of some of them who are driving without following the traffic rules, cause a commotion on the public road, and while exchanging a string of words that are quite profane, the most easily angered guy lets go of the steering wheel and grabs a hammer, wrench, or crowbar, ready to confront his antagonist in a menacing manner (31st Attack).

In order to be able to defend ourselves against any attack of this nature, it will not be very difficult for the reader of these lines to be in the habit of seeing the necessity of always traveling with a good walking stick in the car. *** When we find ourselves in the predicament of having to fight against several opponents at the same

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time, starting the fight at very close range, we will firmly grasp the cane in power grip, placing it perpendicular and close to our chest in order to attack with the knob and the tip to the faces of our adversaries, by energetically rotating the body from right to left and vice versa, until the moment we are able to jump backward to escape the encirclement. In order to clear the space of our surroundings and reach, we will execute vigorous windmill strikes, horizontally and diagonally, simultaneously revolving around the left foot, moving forward and backward, strongly hitting those opponents that present the greatest danger (Figures 2 and 60). *** It could be the case that we must defend against an enemy armed with a revolver.

At the instant the opponent makes a gesture of drawing a weapon from his clothing, we will stop him by striking him powerfully in the stomach, wrist, or jaw (Figure 45).

Any of these strikes will momentarily make it impossible for him to carry out any aggressive action. If

he already has a revolver in hand, but has not been able to take aim, we will strike as quickly as possible with a blow with the tip to the left eye (Figure 68). This action will stop the attack, taking all the fight out of him due to the effects of the blow he received.

Confronted by an individual of bad character who means business, as he points the muzzle of his revolver at our face, and consequently finding our life seriously threatened, it matters little in such circumstances whether you are brave or a coward, because facing such imminent danger there are only two possible defenses: one, attack the enemy, and the other, take off running. You need to decide before the opponent squeezes the trigger.

Afterwards, it will be too late. In the first case, as is understandable, we should use the most effective strikes; in the second case, we should be certain to distance ourselves from danger, but not running in a straight line—rather moving from right to left and vice versa (in zigzag) so that the enemy will not be able to get a bead on us with any confidence. In this case,

our salvation relies on trusting in his bad aim. *** When an assailant with the intention of robbing us aims a weapon at us, whether visibly or from within the pocket, being at four to six steps’ separation, he only needs to squeeze his finger to fire off a shot. We do not have an option other than to obey, and as is often said, we submit to his directions; otherwise, it would be exaggerated bravery to attempt to fight in the face of death. *** If, in order to carry out our daily tasks, or being in the tight spot of having to go out to a call, we find ourselves in the unavoidable necessity of having to go through some street or road at night that is deserted and has little police presence, we must go about prepared; we should scan at the greatest distance possible, every bend in the route we must take so that we are not surprised by assailants who take advantage of the darkness, who could be hidden behind a tree, underbrush, corner, or doorway, to

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pounce and rob us at the moment they find opportune.

Good vision and confidence in ourselves will be the main factors in keeping them from cleaning out our pockets, and getting clubbed on top of that; although bad guys just use this last tactic to stun their victims, they often wind up hitting too hard.

Consequently, if we find ourselves stumbling into a difficult-to-escape ambush, in which it is more dangerous to retreat than to continue walking, we must not let ourselves be controlled by fear, but advance with determination, prepared to confront any act of villainy that the bad guys are attempting.

We should not walk on the sidewalk, much less hugging the walls, because not only can bad guys be hidden in some entryway, it would not be uncommon for someone pretending to be passing through to push us into some doorway in order to strip us of everything without a second thought.

It would also be advisable that while we are nearing the site of an

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ambush, we should note how many assailants there are, and the weapons they intend to use, so that the instant they attack, we are prepared with the corresponding defense, not forgetting that in these cases, “the best defense is a good offense.” *** As has been said before, if we find ourselves in the inescapable necessity of having to fight against multiple opponents at the same time, we should try to take them out one after the other, by means of strong strikes with the cane. *** There is no doubt that knowing how to wield a walking stick in self-defense will produce excellent results in a tight spot; nevertheless, we should not have any illusions about our abilities, since, although always carrying a firearm could cause us some trouble or danger, in those cases where one is obligated to defend himself from men of bad character or genuine killers, it is logical to go about armed with a good revolver than just a simple cane.

*** When robbers want to carry out some mischief they almost always find some way to take their victims by surprise. As such, we should cross through an isolated place alert and suspicious, because these people will make use of an infinite number of tricks—for example: following behind the person they intend to rob, waiting for the moment they are favored by darkness or a lapse in alertness in order to intimidate him, or club him in the head in order to make off with his wallet. *** A bad guy of this nature could also take us by surprise by acting drunk, staggering from one side to the other in order to best employ this trick as we are approaching. *** Similarly, he could pretend that he has been hurt, and ask for our help amid moans and cries in order to clean out our pockets, or employ their better or lesser known tricks and schemes to fool their fellow man, such as: asking for a light for a cigarette, asking for the time,

pretending to be lost, asking for a buck, offering us their company, and so on, all in order to get close to us and lie in wait for the moment they can take us by surprise. *** Since these guys almost never act alone, they do not always employ these simple stratagems, but will also resort to others of greater cunning and danger, which are very difficult to escape from without putting up a serious fight.

Sometimes they will pretend to be old ladies walking with difficulty who will approach us asking for some favor with the objective of leaving us later without even a single coin for the streetcar. *** Other times, they will use a woman of loose morals who has been tasked with leading us to the place they plan to assault us. *** They are also used to staging a fight among themselves, so that when we intervene to try to calm them down, they can pounce on us and give us a thumping before cleaning out our vest pockets.

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When the riffraff feel pleased to rob from the crowd, they choose their candidate during a public scene, whether it is in the plaza, the theater, the cinema, and so on, provoking him and throwing some blows or encouraging him to go out into the street so that they can more easily distract him while he is preoccupied with the fight.

Once the fisticuffs have ended, the victim does not know how he lost his tie tack, wallet, and watch.

tract the police who are attracted to the detonation and will temporarily neglect their radio or station where the riffraff are planning to attack.

***

***

Sometimes they put a wire across the road so that when the victim passes by he stumbles and falls. Afterwards they offer a hand to help him up, and he can be grateful if they leave him with his shoes still on.

Consequently, we must go about prepared against these tricks and others that the bad guys employ to take their victims by surprise.

*** Especially at night we should be suspicious of a vehicle that stops ahead of us without its occupants getting out, because they could be waiting for the right moment to attack us. *** Some thieves are so clever and brazen that, in order to steal within the city, they will throw an explosive into a side street before committing the crime in order to dis-

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*** Some are so soulless and cowardly that they have the vile habit of throwing tobacco, salt, pepper, and so on, in the eyes of their victims so that they rob them without meeting resistance.

*** I remember having read in a book about street self-defense the following, more or less: “If you want to be a strong adversary during a street fight, learn the practical strikes of English boxing, French boxing (with kicks), wrestling, jiu-jitsu, cane, and revolver, always being well-practiced.”

Is not that too much for a man to learn on his own? But even if it is, there is no doubt that the author of that paragraph makes a lot of sense.

[Another work will soon be published by the same author, titled: Scholarly Fencing Course of the Stick-Cane Alternatively Wielded with the Right Hand, the Left and with Both at Once, which will be highly recommended as a sport and an art of physical cultivation.]

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Stick Arts VOL 1, ISSUE 5

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