New and Much To Learn.

Infi-del · May 18, 2009

I have always been interested in training with Escrima Sticks. I believe the art is called Kali (Please correct me if I'm wrong). There are no such schools near me so I was wondering if it's possible to find info and do a home study course on the art? Probably not as good as a real instructor but I wanted to combine it with the To Shin Do class I have begun taking. Thanks a million everyone.

Pahtoocara · May 19, 2009

You might have to ask around. There are some kali/arnis/escrima teachers that do not work out of commercial schools.

Can you tell us where you live? Often people on this forum can chime in with people they know in your area.

Colt6731 · May 19, 2009

Here's the deal: the techniques and application of those techniques are quite different in TSD/Bujinkan fighting systems than FMA. Your TSD training will influence your FMA if you try learning from books or DVD. My advise as a someone who trains in both FMA and Karate is to focus on your TSD training until you can find an actual FMA instructor. I played with FMA for years reading books and collecting some videos and thought I had a handle on at least some basic FMA techniques. Finally got a chance to attend a FMA seminar by a well known instructor (Kelly Wordan) and found out what I had was worthless as far as FMA was concerned. I decided to lay off any FMA until I could get actual training, which I was able to do several years later. Now I have almost four years of FMA training in one specific system under a legit and certified guro. My FMA is light years ahead of what I was trying to do before.

Pahtoocara · May 20, 2009

Many things in FMA requires a hands on approach in order to better see the application of the movements. Having a knowledgeable guide to lead you, especially in the early stages, can be helpful.

Many FMA outsiders don't understand what is going on when they see a demo of the art. Things are often happening in a very fast and yet very subtle way. It's sometimes hard for practitioners of some styles to pick up on the movement.

blindside · May 20, 2009

Infi-del said:
I have always been interested in training with Escrima Sticks. I believe the art is called Kali (Please correct me if I'm wrong). There are no such schools near me so I was wondering if it's possible to find info and do a home study course on the art? Probably not as good as a real instructor but I wanted to combine it with the To Shin Do class I have begun taking. Thanks a million everyone.

Where are you? Most FMA groups tend to be pretty small, lots of backyard/garage clubs that you'll only hear about through the grapevine. Its pretty unusual to find them in the yellow pages.

Infi-del · May 21, 2009

I live near Anderson South Carolina

Hickory67 · Jun 16, 2009

I waited for years - literally - to begin studying Kali. When I finally found an instructor, it was nearly two hours from my house. I've since changed schools to shorten my commute (1.5 hours now). Be patient and keep looking - you'll find one.

If you end up training from a distance like that, I would recommend having a training partner join you - you get so much more out of the drills that way and, for some styles of Kali, you really can't do it without one. I took my son to begin with - he's small (12 yrs old) but at least can do the stick and knife drills with me so I can get the movements down. Funny - he corrects me sometimes.

Anderson, SC, huh? Are you familiar with the school that Phil Little runs down there? He's an Isshinryu stylist, and was my first Karate instructor back in Tennessee.

me2 · Jun 27, 2009

I've thought about combining these 2 for a while now, but have no FMA experience. They both use basically the same tool, so combining them should be possible, though a firm grasp of both styles is a must. Where are you taking To Shin Do? I'm in Spartanburg and was unaware of a school in the area.

Benjamin Liu · Jun 27, 2009

I've not trained in To Shin Do but did train the the Bujinkan and also Eskrima.

I don't see any conflict. Both arts compliment each other and have similar principles and even similar techniques. Low stomp kicks and toe strikes are common to both arts, for example. FMA doesn't have high kicks AFAIK, but those are usually not all that practical to use anyway.

There are some Bujinkan instructors who are also FMA instructors who teach FMA with their Bujinkan classes.