- Joined
- Apr 2, 2006
- Messages
- 269
There's alot of crap out there that is sold as good tactics for "empty hand defences to a blade wielding attacker". Some of the principles are sound, but many times the training lacks aliveness, or realism.
For hand to knife training I am a big fan of the Filipino arts. These arts fall under the premise that if you want to take care of business, you bring a Bolo or stick. You don't go to a fight empty handed...that would be a recipe for disaster. Probably a losing proposition. Why? Because we live in an armed society.
And so it is with this appreciation for a realistic fight, that the Filipino arts emphasise high performance training for hand to knife. No offence to my brothers and sisters of other disiplines, but compared to much of the "counter-knife" work that is taught in many
schools, the Filipino Arts can teach a 1-3 year practioner to embarrass a 6th degree Black Belt of many other arts. Laugh if you will, but I have experienced this personally.
The reasons for its success are many. One reason is that the Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) train off movement. This requires the empty handed practioner to develope Timing, Line Familiarization and Evasion. They learn ballistic dis-arms, not just static. They learn advanced not just basic.
The FMA also teach the "half beat" which allows
for micro motion. This half beat combined with say, an eye jab, could make a great "entry". One way we can understand the "half beat" and gain understanding of it timing is to imagine that you have one hand full of flat stones. You reach with your throwing hand, to grab a stone and skip it accros the water. The flat stone skips 3,4,5 times before you can grab another and throw again. So this is like the "half beat", in a fight we try to overwelm the attacker, by attacking him with superior target aquisition, positioning and timing(the half beat). A main ingredient in "Self Offence".
Lastly, a sound approach of training which is favoured for empty hand is understanding how the knife fighter works. How they act and re-act. This is one reason why the FMA teach weapons first. It is often said, the knife teaches the stick, and the stick teaches the empty hand. It's true.
For hand to knife training I am a big fan of the Filipino arts. These arts fall under the premise that if you want to take care of business, you bring a Bolo or stick. You don't go to a fight empty handed...that would be a recipe for disaster. Probably a losing proposition. Why? Because we live in an armed society.
And so it is with this appreciation for a realistic fight, that the Filipino arts emphasise high performance training for hand to knife. No offence to my brothers and sisters of other disiplines, but compared to much of the "counter-knife" work that is taught in many
schools, the Filipino Arts can teach a 1-3 year practioner to embarrass a 6th degree Black Belt of many other arts. Laugh if you will, but I have experienced this personally.
The reasons for its success are many. One reason is that the Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) train off movement. This requires the empty handed practioner to develope Timing, Line Familiarization and Evasion. They learn ballistic dis-arms, not just static. They learn advanced not just basic.
The FMA also teach the "half beat" which allows
for micro motion. This half beat combined with say, an eye jab, could make a great "entry". One way we can understand the "half beat" and gain understanding of it timing is to imagine that you have one hand full of flat stones. You reach with your throwing hand, to grab a stone and skip it accros the water. The flat stone skips 3,4,5 times before you can grab another and throw again. So this is like the "half beat", in a fight we try to overwelm the attacker, by attacking him with superior target aquisition, positioning and timing(the half beat). A main ingredient in "Self Offence".
Lastly, a sound approach of training which is favoured for empty hand is understanding how the knife fighter works. How they act and re-act. This is one reason why the FMA teach weapons first. It is often said, the knife teaches the stick, and the stick teaches the empty hand. It's true.