Local Academy offering courses in Filipino Combative Systems.

[zombieHD55]

Hello all ,

I am new to the Filipino Combat Arts and eager to learn.

What are your opinions on these two systems, good or bad?

There is a local Academy offering lessons in Blademaster John McCurry’s knife combat and defense and Universal Kali-Arnis-Escrima Filipino stick fighting systems.

The Blademaster’s stick system includes a number of family Kali, Arnis, or Escrima systems - including the Presas, LaCoste, and Villabrille stick systems, among a number of others – taught in a logical progression to assist the student in progressively learning how to fight with the stick.

The Academy also offers lessons in W. Hock Hochheim’s Knife/Counter Knife Combatives. Guro Hochheim’s Filipino Combatives system principle sources are Grandmaster Ernesto Presas and Professor Remy Presas.

This looks like some good training, the tuition is $80 per month for up to two 1hour lessons per week.

I'd like to thank you in advance for all your replies.

 

[Benjamin Liu]

IMO FMA systems are very similar. Sure, there are differences, but they are more similar than different, especially when compared to other arts. Any FMA school should be good unless it is a very strange school. The important parts of FMA are easy to learn, and the bulk of the training will be to develop your speed, power, and reflexes. Sure, there are lots of drills and advanced techniques, but the best people I've seen don't really do any techniques the lower-ranked people do, they do the same ones but with far more speed, power, and precision.

Regardless of the school and system you choose, it is a good idea to train and study on your own outside of class. Ultimately you are the one responsible for your training.

As for the specific systems you mentioned, I'm familiar with Hock's CQC system, and have his knife videos levels 1-6 and his CQC Training Mission DVDs/manuals level 1-3, and his book "The Knife Fighting Encyclopedia." I don't have in-person training in his system, but from these materials IMO it is a good system.

In any system, the individual instructor is usually more important than the system.

 

[zombieHD55]

Thanks for the reply Benjamin. My Brother and I have decided give the local academy a try and see what they have to offer in these systems. My Brother was an instructor for the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program so he will have no problem training with me outside of class.