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WHAT IS ESCRIMA?
Escrima, Arnis, Kali are just a few name used to describe the martial art
brought to the United States by Filipinos.
Whatever name it goes under, the art has had a long and savage history, dating
back to 1521 when Spanish rule first came to the Philippine Islands. Before
colonization by Spain, Escrima was taught as a recreational activity, along with
reading, writing, religion and Sanskrit.
The Spaniards had a hard time imposing their rule on the inhabitants, who
wielded their bolos, daggers and sticks with fierce and deadly effectiveness.
Not until they brought in reinforcements and firearms could they affect any
semblance of order.
In the seventeen hundreds, when Spanish rule was firmly secured, the teaching
and study of Escrima was banned (in the same way as the Japanese overlords
banned the ownership of weapons on Okinawa). The carrying of a bolo (a long
bladed weapon similar to a machete) or dagger was also forbidden. These orders
were imposed in an attempt to "civilize" the spirited Filipinos.
Escrima then became a clandestine art (as did the art of Karate on Okinawa) and
was practiced in secret. When it re-emerged it went unnoticed by the Spaniards.
It had been set to native music and performed as it was, without weapons, the
movements resembled only a harmless dance. This "dancing" even became popular
with the rulers and demonstrations were given in public at fiesta time.
The real Escrima had not died though, as the Spanish soldiers found out every
time there was a revolt. From generation to generation, the many different
regional styles, collectively termed Escrima, were kept alive, being handed down
from father to son over the centuries.
When Spanish rule ended and the Americans took over in 1898, the ban on the art
was lifted. Friendly competitions were then conducted in public at fiesta's but
the teachers never "opened their doors", so to speak and Escrima remained a
semi-secretive activity.
The country was to see a lot more martial arts action in the ensuing years. When
the war came, the Japanese invaded the Philippines and a lot of Filipinos worked
alongside the Americans in guerilla units. Many of these owed their lives, in
countless close-quarter engagements, to their Escrima training--the custom
issued machete closely resembled their native bolo. This is an art that has been
well and truly tested, over a long period of time in actual combat.
After the war, many Filipinos had emigrated to the USA--needless to add, Escrima
went with them. Most of the immigrants went to Hawaii and California. Of these
that went to California the majority settled in Stockton and it is from there
that Arnis / Escrima has surfaced onto the American martial arts scene.
The "discovery" of Escrima, along with the widespread use of the Nunchaku
weapon, must be credited to the late Bruce Lee. His portrayal of the use of the
"double sticks" in the movie "Enter the Dragon" and the unfinished "Game of
Death" brought the art of Filipino Stick Fighting out into the open. Bruce Lee
was taught Escrima by his student and friend, Danny Inosanto who had in turn
been trained by a distinguished Escrimador (the title given to practitioners of
the art) in Stockton, California.
The Filipino Martial Arts is virtually unknown to the general public because of
it’s late entry into the mainstream martial arts world. What hasn’t helped the
popularity growth of Escrima is the stigma attached to how it is taught. Escrima
is noted for using weapons, usually sticks, as the primary tool to learn the
basic concepts of the art, with the secondary focus being the empty hands. The
idea of just picking up a stick or any weapon is a scary thought, and avoiding
rather than exploring the beauty of the art seems safer and is less time
consuming.
Learning Escrima as taught by Rene Latosa
Latosa developed his unique style of Escrima using the fighting concepts from
several of his well known instructors and from his family system taught to him
by his Father. He developed a teaching system using concepts instead of
techniques, to ensure a high level of retention among the students.
What is misunderstood most about Escrima is the idea that the stick is only a
tools used to learn the art's basic concepts. Actually, the stick represents
using any type of object, as well as the empty hand to protect yourself. What
you have is a truly unique system which students learn to master weapons while
concurrently learning how to use empty hands. In most other martial arts
systems, the line of progression is to master the empty hands before you can go
on to learn weapons.
Using a stick to learn the martial arts unearths a visual fear of getting hurt
or hurting someone (especially in the hands) while training. This is especially
true when an individual has had no previous martial arts training. There is also
that “mental picture”, or fear of an attacker taking your weapon and using it
against you. Nevertheless, weapons seem scary and rightfully so. There are right
and wrong; safe and dangerous; methods of teaching students how to handle and
respect weapons. The same rationale holds true for other day to day type of
activities such as learning how to drive, wiring a lamp, swimming, flying a
plane, jogging, weight lifting, cooking and other skills. Doing something in the
wrong way can spell disaster. Learning Escrima is as safe as the instructor who
teaches the art.
Everyone is mindful of the fact that very few people walk around with a stick in
their hands, so the art doesn’t apply to them. However, as stated before, the
stick only represents forms of weapons such as a set of car keys, a fountain
pen, a newspaper, a water bottle, your cell phone as well as your empty hands.
The idea that people can only use their fist or a kick to effectively fend off
your attacker is something you may see on television or in the movies. The truth
of the matter is, knowing how to use these concepts may save your life or the
life of your loved ones. The beauty of Escrima is that there is very little
difference when using your empty hand and using a weapon. There is a smooth
transition between the two because the art is taught using concept instead of
techniques.
Like in everyday life, we never know what to expect. We never know who we are
dealing with that day, what business deals we have to make, decisions that have
to be made, so we have to react with the ability to be flexible and rationale in
what we do. In the basic survival skills the same applies. What are the
attributes of an attacker? An attacker comes in any shape or form. They could be
stronger then you, faster then you, have knowledge of the martial arts, and
could be a veteran in street fighting just to name a few attributes. An attacker
can attack from the front, but usually it will be from your blind side. If you
hit your attacker with your hands or with a kick, you may end up hurting
yourself more then your opponent, or if you don’t execute the defensive attack
with any strength, it wouldn’t stop the person anyway. A weapon on the other
hand has no nerve endings, bones or skin, and unlike your hands and it doesn’t
hurt or feel pain. Think of it, if you don’t have the same strength as your
attacker, you might not be able to stop the attack. In the same setting, if you
had used an object like car keys and you hit your attacker in the face, this may
allow you the time to run or call for help. The harder the object, the more
damage the weapon will do against your opponent with less applied strength.
Hitting an attacker with a weapon, especially if it will save your life or
someone in your family, is warranted. That is the harsh reality.
Training in the Filipino art of Escrima teaches a person to use everyday objects
as a weapon or in more civil terms, “leveling the playing field”. Escrima
teaches the basic and logical concepts in using weapons (focus,
speed/timing/distance, power, balance and transition), These concepts are so
logical and pure that a person can actually use them in living their everyday
life. For example, the most important concept is balance. Balance is the
foundation of Escrima as well as most tasks we perform throughout our lives.
Knowing how to obtain it, and when you get off balanced, how to get it back.
Balance is a key that opens the other concepts necessary in the martial arts.
Balance is truly multi-dimensional. Think of balance in terms of learning how to
ride a bike. There is more then just getting on, peddling and keeping the bike
upright. The bike has two wheels, and the main objective is to keep it going
forward by balancing the front wheels against the stationary back wheels while
moving forward. If there is too much weight to the left or to the right, the
bike will tip over. The rider must be able to balance their focus to make sure
they don’t ride into a ditch or a tree, and also looking ahead at the cars on
the road, people walking, plus being aware of what is coming up from behind. So
far that seems pretty easy but now there is an issue of speed and controlling
speed so that the fast approaching tree won’t be the collision point. And what
about those traffic lights? Eventually there has to be a time to stop. This is
the braking point, which also has to be balanced. When there is sudden braking
applied to the front of the bike, there is a chance the rear of the bike could
easily become the front of the bike, or even flip over. If there is too much
brake in the rear and not any pressure on the front, this may not be enough to
stop. All these tasks have to be balanced or it becomes unsafe to ride a bike
for both rider and everyone else who occupies the road. If you look closely to
this objective of riding a bike, the Escrima concepts are exactly the same.
There is the balance which becomes the foundation of the system. Speed (timing,
distance) is the element of execution as to when you can hit your attacker.
Power is driven by the foundation of balance, dictated by the distance and the
speed of the attack or offense movement. Your focus is expanded to look at the
person as a whole rather then just focusing on the on coming attack. In other
words if you look too much at one hand, you may never see the other hand.
Transition is the ability to use a comb, brush or keys without radically
changing any physical movements you already know. The objective is to neutralize
the situation, not focus upon whether the attacker throws a right hands or a
left hand, the main objective is to nullify the attacker.
Escrima makes use of concepts as the main catalyst of learning and increasing
the rate of information retention. In Escrima, techniques are used as a device
to practice concepts. Techniques teach a person how to apply the concepts in a
practice setting. Concepts are applied as needed, in various circumstances and
this provides more flexibility and adaptation in the execution. This is Latosa
Escrima.
Latosa Escrima Concepts are exclusively taught
by GM Rene Latosa.
If it's not taught by GM Rene Latosa it's not Latosa Escrima!
Sifu Edgar Rotger is the Head instructor for
Wing Tzun Kung-Fu and Latosa Escrima Filipino Self-Defense System
in
Brooklyn NY (Park Slope)
and is a 2nd Technician Level in Wing Tzun & 2nd Technician Level in Latosa
Escrima.
(Technician levels are comparable to black belts in other styles.)
A FREE week of Wing Tzun (WT) and Latosa
Escrima lessons!
We have also privet lessons for Wing Tzun and Latosa
Escrima as well.
Call now: 646-369-7704
(Hablamos Espa~nol)
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