Latosa Escrima

What is Escrima?
The Filipino martial art of Escrima (Latosa Weapons System), is actually a method that aligns your whole body to create energy and power while providing a proven practical method of self-defense. Escrima is a art form that challenges you to think outside of the box.
The martial art of Escrima has its origins in the Philippine Islands. The art is beautiful to watch as it is effective and deadly. The first recorded episode of the arts existence was dated around the 1520’s when Ferdinand Magellan and his men did battle with Chief Lapu Lapu and his tribe.
The Filipino marital art of Escrima is distinct and unique because of how the art is taught. Escrima defies all normal martial arts training routines where normally the student learns the concepts and techniques of empty hand first, then advances on to weapons. In Escrima, the teaching progression is the opposite, the student learns the concepts, strategy, techniques of the weapon
first then concurrently transitions into the empty hand. This is an important aspect of training because it actually familiarize the student to some of the real perils of the street such as knowing the potential dangers of a weapon, and being able to reacting in a rationale manner.
The main tool used in teaching this unique Filipino martial art is a 24-26 inch rattan stick. In the art of Escrima, the stick is a representation of weapons (anything that can be held in your hand - knives, palm sticks, bottles, etc.) that a student learns to be familiar with using and avoiding. Once a student learns the concepts of Escrima, a student gains respect for a weapon whether using or avoiding the weapon in a serious situation. Escrima builds self-confidence through awareness of simple and practical concepts of essential survival skills. Learning these concepts can turn something as simple as a comb, keys or even a hairbrush into a lifesaving tool. The art is far more then students hitting each other with sticks. The art is deeply rooted in history and concepts. If a student can learn to deal with weapons first, the empty hands should not be a problem. The sticks and various weapons brings a deadly beauty to the art because of the fluid motions which make up the art. The biggest fear is the misconception that a bad person will
take away your weapon and use it against you. In a dangerous situation, a person only has what he has and uses it to the best of their own ability, that is reality. Women are very adaptable to the art since the weapon can be a neutralizer in a given situation.
GM Latosa has taught many of the top martial artist, several law enforcement agencies in the US and in Europe and produced several World champions in full contact escrima tournaments.