What are the differences between these FMA styles, e.g. Petiti Tirsia, Doce Pares, and Dekiti Tirsia? I want to start training in FMA for self defense and I'm trying to do my homework. Are there other martial arts to consider? I'm looking to incorporate a wholistic approach that will include weapon access, e.g. folder/fixed blade and handgun. Thanks.-J
Short answer: there are only so many ways to use a weapon, and each art above has found ways to address issues such as hitting and not getting hit, issuing power, timing, distancing, etc. Paying attention to
stylistic differences will only get you so far; what's important is understanding that it's the
fundamentals that will put your dog in the fight.
Long Answer (in paraphrase): Pekiti Kirsia Kali is the Tortal family art as interpreted and developed by Grand Tuhon Leo Gaje. Its geographic origins are in the province of Negros Occidental. GT Nene Tortal (Dekiti Tirsia) is GT Gaje's uncle, and they were on good terms and working together under the Pekiti Tirsia banner until they had a diagreement. GT Tortal subsequently started teaching Dekiti Tirsia, which he claimed was
also based in the Tortal family system. Pekiti Tirsia practitioners will probably claim that there is no "Dekiti Tirsia" system, and that all GT Tortal has done is to repackage and market what he had been doing all along. Dekiti Tirsia practitioners will no doubt claim otherwise - and we are all shocked, shocked, that there is politics in FMA's going on.
You will find stylistic similarities between the two arts - but there are also fundamental differences based on each teacher's interpretation, practice, and teaching methodology. Pekiti Tirsia Kali has a much more extensive curriculum, or, if you prefer, Dekiti Tirsia Kali has streamlined curriculum that references the original family system: your choice and the source of many a flame war that you're better off avoiding. You might say (if you couldn't resist the pun) that both arts lay claim to a "family resemblence" insofar as that no matter how different they look they still look the same in certain aspects. That said, I've heard the Dekiti Tirsia footwork is different from Pekiti Tirsia footwork and that each man moves differently. Suffice it to say that if you started to approach the skill-level of either man you'd be extremely accomplished.
If you're interested in incorporating gun into your martial arts training GT Gaje has a set of "Gun Seguidas" (that I haven't seen) for advanced practitioners and has lately gained a lot of attention for training the Philppines Marines Force Recon as well as other military and LEO units; the Dog Brothers' "Die Less Often" DVD series has an interesting take on close-quarter shooting that's built on a Pekiti foundation.
Doce Pares is actually a "multi-style" system of many Cebuano sub-systems that were developed under the same organizational umbrella from the mid-30's to the present day. It's currently led by GM Diony Canete and is one of the largest Filipino martial arts organizations in the world today. It's major focus today is on tournament-style sparring although practical self-defense training is still given a large share of training time. A lot of famous fighters visited the Doce Pares organization and trained in Cebu during their formative years, including GT Leo Gaje and Professor Remy Presas, and it's arguable that each was influenced in his own way by what they saw there - although it's certainly true that Doce Pares was only one of a myriad of influences. There is also a Cacoy Doce Pares that is headed by the youngest member of the Canete family and their most celebrated fighter during the '50's to 80's. This was an era during which many fights were done without protection using hardwood sticks and Cacoy walked the walk. One of the best teachers of Cacoy Doce Pares in the United States is Chris Petrilli who combines Eskrima, Aikido, and Silat into a nice format.
There's tons of stuff on YouTube that will give you a good look at both arts. The above information is just a thumb nail sketch and is accurate in proportion to the amount of time I have at the moment.
Best,
Steve
