Arnis (Filipino stick fighting) Another Bad Ass MA?

[anabolicfreak]

Dragon on valium. I like that.lol
I have not met J. Clark.
Danny has taken so many guys up through the ranks. I have trained with some of his guys as well as some other FMA instuctors. The problem is that the closest guy is in T-dot and I'm in East Canada. It takes $$$$ to train with the top boys all the time.
My instructor(ors actually, two brothers) are top-shelf. But it is always fun to learn form ledgends like Inosanto or Cicoy Canete.
Are you familiar with Bobby Tubodas Balintawak???
No Lie, he can strip a stick during a session and you do not know its gone. I'm not kidding.
I asked him to show me three times and still can't figure it out.

Bobby Taboada is unreal. I live in Charlotte and was fortunate to train with him a few times about 5 years ago. Check this out...

...he was demonstrating knife disarms and had the school instructor put on a thai shin/instep pad and come at him with a training knife. The instructor was coming in for real, too. Feinting and just trying to touch him with the knife... Bobby Taboada hit his hand as he was coming in with the knife and disarmed it straight into the shin guard! He just touched his hand as it was coming in and the knife went straight into his foot! Nobody could believe it so he did it again, and a third time, and fourth, and so on.

He would slip and move as the knife would come in and then every time, it was like he just parried the hand and the knife went straight into the foot or shin.

I could sit here all day saying how great he is but you have to see it for yourself. Check out his videos if you can. He is insane!

 

[AzaThoth]

The Philippines' history "as a nation" began in the 1500s (16th century) with conquest of the archipelago by Spain. The country's name, in fact, honours Philip II of Spain. Before Spanish rule, the Malay peoples of the islands had not been united under a single government but they lived under hundreds of local chieftans. They couldn't even communicate with each other as there was no common language. Ferdinand Magellan claimed the islands for Spain in 1521. Magellan was killed by a warrior resisting the Spanish intrusion. Supporters of Filipino fighting arts seem to focus on this one incident in recorded history (the killing of one prominent person) to substantiate their claim of superior techniques. In fact, more than two hundred revolts by the Filipinos against Spanish rule occured between 1565 and 1898, all to be smashed by the superior bladework of the Spanish. It wasn't until the Spanish/American war that Spain ceded the archipelago to the U.S. on June 12, 1898. In 1902 Filipino nationalists themselves surrendered to the Americans. The internally self-ruling Philippine Commonwealth was created in 1934 with independence pledged in a decade. In 1945 General Douglas MacArthur led the liberation of the Philippines when they were invaded by Japan in WWII. The Philippines became an independent republic on July 4, 1946. There are 116 languages and dialects spoken on the islands. Pilipino, a language based on the Tagalog dialect of the capital Manila on the island of Luzon is the other official language beside English. 95% of the population of the Philippines is Malay. The next largest group is 1.5% Chinese. If you research Chinese knife fighting in particular you will find it cross references to Kali/Escrima. In spite of their Kali/Escrima the Philippines were a Spanish colony for more than three centuries. The superior technology of the Spanish ruled the Filipinos for over three-hundred years until the Spanish themselves stepped aside for the overwhelming numbers and technology of the Americans. That the Filipinos with their Kali/Escrima/Arnis, were crushed and subjugated by the superior technology of the Spanish, is recorded history. That the Filipinos were unable to repel the Spanish invasion in over three-hundred years of over two-hundred squashed revolts speaks volumes for the Spanish techniques. Spanish swordsmanship and Spanish knifefighting are unequalled by anyone, anywhere in the world. Practitioners of other knifefighting systems are quite simply, mindboggled by the Spanish. (No, I'm not Spanish) Conveniently absent from your list of "experts", James Loriega an expert on the subject of blade weaponry has information on this "Sevillian Steel". You want to argue? Argue with him. I encourage the more astute to read THE ART of THE ANDALUSIAN KNIFE by James Loriega. http://www.realfighting.com/0102/andalkni.htm A very well written article, it actually prints out in six pages. I especially enjoyed the second paragraph of the Reality Knife Fighting section. It kind of puts things in perspective. James Loriega's contact address is at the very end of the article. [email protected] OR care of realfighting.com Too many people are relying on internet discussions of erroneous and highly flawed "facts" by supposed authorities who expound this drivel in support of their own egotistical doctrines. (If the shoe fits wear it!) I can only view that as I would another "Fractured Fairy Tale" on an episode of Rocky and Bullwinkle.

 

[digger]

Superior skill, or superior steel? Hard to be a great knife fighter when the only way for your side to get knives is to take them away from the other guys. 'Course, that's where the stick comes into it.

Let's talk present-day. Did the Spanish really keep up the sword-fighting tradition, or is Toledo churning out "Conan" movie props as tourist wall-hangers?

 

[AzaThoth]

Superior skill, or superior steel? Both. Spanish rapier and dagger systems had the greatest influence on the evolution of Eskrima. Eskrima is the Filipino spelling of the Spanish word Esgrima,"fencing". The Filipinos were using sticks to emulate what they obviously perceived as a superior skill, or they wouldn't have bothered. Let's talk present-day. Did the Spanish really keep up the sword-fighting tradition? "In Andalusia, as throughout other regions of Spain where cellphones, laptops, and the latest information technology co-exists alongside horse-drawn carriages, cobble-stoned streets, and ornate wrought iron balconies, there are training halls where edged weapons combat is still practiced as it was three hundred years ago". This is the very first sentence from the introduction of the article written by James Loriega that I provided the link to in my previous post. I encouraged the "more astute" to read it. If you had read it, your question would have been answered before you asked it.

 

[BOSSDAWG]

when talking about sticks one should never forget to mention the dog brothers. They had a proposition with ufc to have nhb stick events , but was turned down for being too brutal by ufc chairmen. It is all on thier website. THey are still trying to get a nhb stick deal. Until they do its just stick fights held all the time in a park. They also crosstrain students in Sayoc kali.

 

[Saintinistic]

There was an outfit back in the '70s who made a really sweet "gentleman's walking stick." No hidden sword blade, no James Bond bullshit; just a beautiful piece of hardwood and a heavy brass knob. You could whip that tip up as though it were weightless.

They still do make these walking sticks, was shown some of SAVATE's methods with preference to the cane. Savate in Australia:HERE have a look through the essays, they go into historical use of the cane, as a weapon.

On topic: The stick fighting is one of th ebest brain gym tools too. exercising the brain through opposing movements. The kung fu school nearby incorporates it into the weapon syllabus because of its ability to improve co-ordination and skill through training each side independently but simultaneously. Took a bit to get a flow happening, but when it started moving in a flow, you hum along nicely.

 

[Inspector]

This has been a great thread to read, recently i saw an Arnis Filipino arts poster at my uni, the poster looked tacky and i honestly thought any art based upon knives must be ridiculous. I was wrong and seriously will look into this martial art, i have been searching for an art to train in. And this looks very practical, If savate have anything going on in melbourne ill look into that too.

Thanks guys