Now what often happens in less than quality schools (ahem aka mcdojos), is that often teachers try to trick students into believing that hard work isnt necessary by giving them tasks/drills/techniques that while they take a little effort, are eventually easy to learn. For example many schools are fond of emphasizing drilling, and they equate memorization to skill building. Soon students start memorizing drills XYZ, or techniques 456, and perhaps they may even be able to perform these martial dances quickly. Well, hate to say it, if you can get the same benefit from the instruction at that school, as buying their DVD, then you are probably not building skill, and its skill that makes you a superior fighter.

Being able to parrot back movement you see, perhaps a quirky anecdote as to its purpose, and memorize a hundred one drills does not a fighter make. Now a passable dancer, perhaps. But martial dancing is not fighting ability. Instead fighting ability is created when you can think outside the pattern, when you can identify and deal with the un-known, and well this ability does not come from having 101 drills or techniques, but through building strong fundamentals in your ability to identify and deal with such intangibles as range, timing, accuracy, etc... Proper training allows you to work on these aspects, as well as hone your tools in order to take advantage of your work. Proper training gives you strategies by which you can create advantages in range, timing, accuracy while decreasing your opponents ability to cope with these factors. And I hate to say it, proper training is repetitive, difficult, and well often its benefit is shown in fighting ability and not the amount of tricks/drills/techniques you can say you have in your bag.

Its that good old addage, if its too good to be true, then its not. Well if in your training it is too easy to become "good", then you probably arent.

I should hope that your answer to all these questions, at least if you wish to call yourself an eskrimador, arnisador, or kalista, is a resounding NO. As a practioner of the Philippine Combat Arts, we acknowledge that our foe is inherently unpredictable, we do not assume an advantage. If anything, we assume that we may be in a disadvantage, and our training seeks to overcome the odds. We do not presume that our fights are easy pickings, against untrained or unskilled fighters.

Because of this mentality, our training reflects our perceived future foe. Our training assumes is fit, is trained, is experienced. Because of this we train with the sentiment that no matter how tough the other guy is, I must make myself tougher. We seek to take away his advantages. Because of this, we seek other escrima players, to test our skills, and hone our abilities. We seek the challenge and do not sit on the maybes. We are a show me art, that believes not in rhetoric about unverifiable fantasy fights, but cold hard experience in any and every venue it can be found.

So I tell you this, if you only seek to be better than the average guy, then our art is not for you. If you only seek to get on by, our art is not for you. But if you seek to beat the best, to fear no one, and consider what makes the "average" guy cringe with fear, a walk in the park, then give us a try.

Traditional Escrima training, consisted of the student playing with their instructor, someone who was already an experienced eskrimador. In other words, the student would try and defend himself against his instructor's attack, and if he had progressed enough in his arnis training, maybe attack as well. Or more succinctly, they would spar.

Now just like you would not expect your teenage child to be fine to handle nascar with just a short read of a car manual, sparring at the Philippine Combat Arts Club is not just a man test, where we throw a novice to the wolves. Instead, our coaches emphasize a progressive sparring program, that builds students up in the skill and ability in fighting, so that when they do finally engage in more intense sparring, they will be more than prepared to hold their own.

Sparring also helps instruct a student in the true and traditional practice of the Philippine Combat Arts. Traditionally an eskrimador did not teach by asking his students to blindly parrot movements and memorize patterns, but instead he would teach a student the strategy of fighting. Learning your basics, is like giving you hammer and nails, but sparring is where you learn to use your hammer and nails to build a house.

We emphasize many different aspects of sparring in our club, to help student progress to ever increasing skill ability. From light contact, heavily ruled sparring, to heavy contact no rule sparring. We tailor the sparring experience to the students. From padded stick sparring, hitting with 100% power with armor, to light contact hard stick sparring with no armor, to heavy contact hard stick sparring with minimal armor. Each scenario gives students a different aspect of fighting, and allows a more experienced eskrimador to share with them the benefits of their experience in arnis.

Well, for whatever reason you decide to try out a training session, only one thing will keep you coming back and help you improve at these arts, and that is love of the art. Now, love the art, doesnt mean you have to sell your instructor your first born child, wash his car using only circular wiping motions, worship a picture of some old asian dude you've never met while meditating on the secrets of the universe. No, love of the art means you love the practice of the art, whether it be at the cheer of some paid instructor, in the privacy of your own home, or to the dismay of every other person at the bus stop.

If you talk to alot of elders in the Philipines, they will often refer to the practice of arnis or escrima, not as fighting, training, but play. They will say they play eskrima, or they play arnis, or they play kali. If they wish to spar with you, they may ask you to play. This method of reference shows something other than the difficulty of learning a foreign language, instead it shows the true joy of the practice of the art.

It is not work to practice, it is not something you need to be forced to do, have hammered into you, or do at the last minute. Instead to love the practice of eskrima, kali, or arnis is joy, something that if only you didnt have that pesky day job, that need to have food every now and then, that you would just constantly do.

So if you ever stop by a session, and wonder why we dont yell at our members. Why we dont bark like a drill sargent, make them do more calistenics than a new recruit in basic training, make people chase carrots (e.g. ranks), its because what we seek to promote, arent phony tough guys, people seeking to have yet another rank to throw in their cacaphony of various martial arts belts, or technique hunters, instead we seek to show people the love of this eclectic art that is the Philippine Combat Arts.

When you learn a tradional Philippine Combat Art, the bulk of your learning is not learning "techniques" or drills, instead it is learning the strategy and timing, of how to get your simple basics to work. In other words to learn the essence of the art of arnis or escrima, is not to learn some random basic movement, or a simple drill, it is directly imparted into the practioner by someone more experienced in the art, in the sparring ring. It is an experienced escrimador sharing of their actual combat experience to a novice, in the same way in which they learned it in the first place, fighting.

To truly experience a Philippine Combat Art, is to play with an Eskrimador, or in other words to spar. Learning "techniques" or "drills" shows you nothing but the mere surface of the art, but in the ring the core of that style is shown. If you're just interested in learning "techniques" or "drills" buy a DVD, or better yet take up ballroom dance, because in the end, merely being able to mimic "techniques" without the context of real strategy and timing that is only born in the ring, is simply dancing with a tough face.

There are many guys who do this, and they do not follow real tradional Filipino warrior arts. Instead, they seek to impress girls, and fear even fighting small children. True Filipino Combat Arts, are plain to the layperson's eye, but give you the real confidence to fear no one. You do not theorize about your skill in arnis, or eskrima, and talk about what if scenarios of that magical day your skills are tested, instead true eskrima tests your skills every day in training, and gives you concrete answers of whether or not you will survive in combat. No excuses, no questions, no compromises, Mabuhay ang Madirigma (long live the warrior).

Well, this kind of view of fighting makes for entertaining movies, particularly for younger folk who have never dealt with challenges, but in the real world in regards to real life fighting, this is what we can refer to as the martial arts lie. Now what is the martial arts lie in more real terms? It is the lie, that with some magical secret or perfect technique, you can skip hard work, actual painful experience (e.g. fighting), and overcome those who have not skipped these steps. It is the lie that tells you, dont fight, your technique is too deadly for sparring. It is the lie that tells you, that you are so effecient, that while in a sports arena you wouldnt last 2 seconds, magically the minute the gloves come off, in the hardcore forge of the street, your hours spent eating donuts will be more effect than the sports fighters hours running. It is the lie that tells you that when you get hit in sparring, its not because you lack experience, because you lack practice, because you lack dedication, but because there is either a mystical 56 counter that would answer all your questions. It is the lie that tells you that because you can mimic a basic movement in the air, and maybe parrot back a reason for doing it, or even better a strategy for using this movement, this is enough.

Well hate to say it, but well it wouldnt be a lie if it were true. There are no secrets in fighting. In the end, he who works harder, who has prepared better, who has more experience monitoring, and baiting will win. This isnt overcome by learning some magical secret technique. Effeciency doesnt make up for time in the ring. Instead, it is laborous, repitive, painful work. It is honing yourself into a human wrecking ball, not just in mind and spirit, but in the flesh. It is by being defeated 1,000 times in the ring. It is by fighting, it is by working, it is by dedication.

For all the flak sports competition gets in martial arts circles, it does give you basic truths in real time. There are no mystical maybes. No ifs ands or buts. There is simply a winner and a loser. In real life or death situations, there is only life or death. True Philippine Combat Arts realize this. They realize that when your life is on the line, you cant wait for maybes, or that mystical 33rd counter or form. Instead, we realize one learns to fight by fighting. We realize one gains strength and speed through hard work. We realize that training montages and secrets are fun for movies, but in real life, it is all about the hard labourous work, developing our tools for use, testing our strategies, and practice practice practice.

Furthermore, depending on how you work your tire, not only is it a tool to help develop power, but since proper technique is usually the most effecient movement, and power doesnt come from ineffeciency, striking a tire is an excellent tool to help correcting form. Adding footwork will also help correct, balance, as well as generally movement. Also, once one begins to string strikes together, one learns how to properly set up and execute a striking combination.

In essence, if you havent thrown it against the tire, you are less likely to throw it in the ring. This means, power, combinations, footwork, etc... Not to mention, the tire doesnt hit back, unlike a sparring partner, which allows you to work these fundamental movements in a less stressful environment. Furthermore, unlike a sparring partner, the tire doesnt become injured when you hit it full force 1,000 times in a row.

Boxers punch bags, kickboxers also hit bags, soldiers shoot targets, as practioners of the Philippine Combat Arts we hit tires. We guarantee that our strike will land, and will land devastatingly.

Anyway, as I run down the road to having at least some conditioning that is decent I always wonder what others are thinking in martial arts that don't associate their rankings with fight records or tournament wins. Blade fighting in particular is a tough one to "rank" because there are few tournaments and real fighting with live blades is impractical so you must improvise. Still, beyond the flashy techniques how long do you last in a sparring match without losing your wind?

Well show me a martial artist who says this, and I will say 90% chance that this is a guy who couldnt fight his way out of a wet paper bag.

Deadliness, and battlefields are all fine and dandy. Howeverm a few problems with these excuses exist. First, the guy who proved it in the battlefield isnt you. Living through other people's glory, is like saying, cuz the guy who's style I emulate is popular with girls, I dont need to find me a girlfriend. Really? Since when is some other guy, you? In many educational fields, the study is valid because some guy proved it, but let say lets switch it up, and your field is medicine instead of martial arts. Would you trust a doctor who said, well some other doctor did this surgery, and the patient lived, just because I never did it doesnt mean I cant?

Second problem, is that any guy who says his art is to deadly for competition because competition doesnt allow him to do X, again is a guy who likes donuts more than fighting. Real life combat, when your life is on the line, is stressful. If you cant handle the stress of a competition, where there are rules, people who can save you if things get out of hand, then how are you gonna last when these things are gone. Again, would you trust a Doctor, who didnt do his lab work in school, because his medical skills are only for saving real lives, and not for disecting dead animals?

Simply said, you dont learn to fight, if you never fight. If real life or death isnt available (which hopefully for most of us it aint), then we do our best to come close. And well, in most peaceful lives, this is competition. Modern armies play war games, why shouldnt martial artists, try and simulate their real fight?

However, competition has even more value. It provides motivation and validation. In our club, we dont have ranks. If you are looking for validation, go to a competition, and beat someone. In training, we always hit plateaus. Points in our training, where we wonder what the next goal should be, is this the best it gets? Where do I go from here? Competition, gives us a goal, it lets us know where our holes are that our training mates didnt notice. Competition is how you know what you worked on, really works, and not that your sparring mate just subconsciously got used to you.

Anyways, I dont care if your teacher eats steel and pisses lightning bolts, can you? If you are gonna say your style is the best, prove it. Otherwise, I got me a bridge in Brooklyn for sale, that your teacher told me is absolutely necessary to make you level up to ultimate ninja.

Now does this mean you neglect your time in the gym working your art, to run? No, this means instead of curling up in front of the brainwasher (e.g. television), you take your tv time and hit the road. Your gym time gives you the skills, your road work ensures that you have the gas to use them, no matter what.

Now, some martial artists, particularly those rounder than they are tall, will make an excuse that because of their efficiency and skill in combat, they dont need to hone their attributes, and condition themselves. These are the guys who when they lose a fight, make an excuse that oh I ate too much for breakfast that day, my lumbago was acting up, the sun was in my eyes, etc... The only excuse for losin is lack of skill.
There is never an ideal situation, even if you are a sport fighter, and can know when the fight occurs, you never know, perhaps that day you catch a virus, the food dont sit right with you, etc...

If you have skill, and you prepare, none of these excuses matter. If you have gas in your tank, and made yourself tougher than the other guy, even on a bad day, you will still be 10 times stronger, faster, and have more gas than the other guy. Even in "street" altercations, the only excuse for not being prepared in your attributes and conditioning, is laziness.

We do not condition ourselves by doin road work, working on strength and flexibility, as a bonus. This work is essential to being a fighter. This is the work that guarantees that no matter what happens, be it a bad day or a good day, we can execute the skills we worked so hard in the gym to develop. Anything less, is the excuse of someone who is lazy, and who will always be cannon fodder to the serious fighter.

If you are serious about being a fighter, a true mandirigma (warrior), you leave nothing to chance. You make sure that if the other guy can do 10 hits in a minute, you can do 100. You make sure if the other guy can last 12 rounds, you can last 24. You take all his advantages away, and leave the outcome of the fight inevitable.

Why settle for anything less? If you went to the Doctor, would you settle for someone who only occaisionally works on keeping his skill? Who will use equipment that is not the best, but passable?

When your life or the lives of your loved onesis on the line, do you want to settle for maybe? A flip of the coin whether you live or die? Or do you want to guarantee, that no matter what, you will be victorious.

Well lets do a little math. One round in boxing is 3 minutes, or 180 seconds. In pro fights a good fighter dominating the round can throw around 100 or more punches per round, but since we talking about learnin, lets say a novice, hitting a bag, without the worry of someone else hittin them, stays lazy and throws letsay one punch every 2 seconds, or 90 punches a ronud. So just workin a jab cross, it would only take less than 24 ronds to "learn" those two techniques, if we go by the 1,000 rep addage, or 240 rounds if we go by the higher 10,000 rep addage.

Now this might sound high, but a lazier workout, following a traditional boxin scheme is 12 rounds, or 42 mins. So essentially, we are sayin at a lazy work out, it will only take two days to learn these two punches. Or 20 days by the higher standard (e.g. 10,000 reps).

Now people who want to box for real, will not stay on the lazier end. They will do far more than a lazy round, and far more than just 12 rounds per work out. And even then,even after 3 mos of 5 days a week, how well they really know these two punches is still questionable. And in this time, they have probably done closer to 100,000 reps of these two techniques, compared to the lazy 10,000 or laughable 1,000 reps.

So where does this leave us? Well, just remember, just because you did something 10 times, or even 1,000. What you see in a bad amateur boxing ring, is someone who has practiced 100 times more than you. What you see in a pro boxing ring, is someone who has practiced even more. So bare this in mind, with that kind of repition that they have dedicated to only 4 punches, can you claim the same for your own art? Do expect similar results with less? Bare in mind, if you want to be a real fighter, and not someone who just hopes one day they can do a thing or two, the kind of single mindedness to do 1,000 reps as just a single workout, is what you need.

In short, the simple answer is no, there is no secret technique. To do the basic physical technique, it is all simply a matter of practice, practice, practice. And even on the day you magically move like you may know a thing or two, its even more practice, so as not to backslide.

Just like any sport, or any other activity in life, you do not get better in martial arts or the combat arts, without practice. A skillful practioner isnt skillful just because he magically came up with a better way to skin the cat, but probably because, while some were busy eating donuts, thinking about what fancy costume they wanna wear, how many grands can they put before master, and still fit their title on a business card, he was in the gym, doing his striking work, doing his road work, sparring, rinse wash repeat.

Beware the art that does not ask you to work. Yes there is a thinking side of things, and a good instructor will get your mind right. However, a good instructor will also tell you, speed, power, accuracy, the very bread and butter that makes you a skillful warrior, that's your problem. If you are lazy, dont be surprised that no matter how good the art is, only your belly grows, and not your skill.

At its heart, what makes a Philippine Combat Art is the culture of the Philippines. It is Filipino culture that courses through the Philippine Combat Arts, informing the strategies we take, our mindset in training, our relationship to the world.

The physical side of things is secondary. There are only so many ways the human body can move. Without the context of culture, there is no art, instead only a random collection of physical techniques.

Yet, the minute you start sparring or fighting, surprise surprise, your opponent followed the single punch with another.  Or your opponent didnt leave his arm out and wait for you to execute 50 strikes.  Or your opponent wasnt impressed with you super strong well practice single counter.  Or your opponent did use the exact same attack that you drilled for time in time out, or "cheated" as some martial arts call it, by not playing by the same rules.  So where does this leave you? 

One of the strengths of a good Philippine Combat Art, is that while technique is important, it is only the tool that allows you to implement an underlying strategy, or in other words a frame work to deal with conflict.  While having the unstoppable powerful technique may work well when you are young, strong, and expecting the attack, as you get older how do you deal with that younger, stronger opponent.  This is where having an understanding of the strategy of fighting creates the art, and not having just a bag of parlor tricks to impress cameras and the untrained.