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Dan Inosanto
Kali, escrima or arnis de mano, stick fighting was developed over a period of many centuries in the Philippines as her people fought for their independence from foreign invaders. Each skirmish with a new culture added to the Filipino Martial Arts as Kali warriors developed techniques to combat foreign styles. Subsequently, more than 100 different Filipino Martial Arts styles developed, which can be grouped into three complete self-defense systems which utilize sticks, swords, empty hands and other weapons. The systems are called Northern, Southern, and Central.
"Kali," the mother of escrima and arnis de mano, is the preferred reference by its practitioners. Always assuming the use of the blade, whether it be the sword or knife (dagger), Kali employs many techniques, including strikes, stances and weapon handling, which have influence from China, Arab missionaries, Indonesia and Spain. This is due to immigration as well as invasion and occupation. The Philippines’ colorful history records the immigration of several cultures to the islands, all of which influenced the Filipino Martial Arts. The Madjapahit, who settled in the Southern stretches of the islands, where influenced by Arab missionaries and became know as fierce Moslems (called "Moro Filipinos") who violently opposed foreign peoples on their native land. During the American occupation of the Philippines in the early 1900s, Moros, marked by tiger-eyes and red headbands - signifying a resolve to kill until killed - strode singly down the streets blading everything in their path, embracing the belief that every slain Christian assured their places in heaven. So tenacious was the Moros’ rampage that hundreds of reports by American soldiers surfaced, stating that the slugs of .38-caliber pistols failed to stop the advancing Moros. As a result of those reports, the .45-caliber pistol was designed and issued to American servicemen. Although the Moros’ religious fervor was a crucial element in their destruction, it was the use of their bladed weapons that allowed the bloody chaos to succeed. The art they so deftly employed was Kali.
Spanish conquistadors, led by Ferdinand Magellan, invaded the islands in the early 1500s. A pirate according to Filipino history, Magellan was slain by the heroic chieftain Lapu Lapu and his men. The armor-clad Spanish, overpowered by the fierce islanders and their fire-hardened sticks, retreated. In the 1570’s, unable to match the conquistadors’ muskets, the Philippines fell under Spanish rule. The Filipinos preserved their Martial Arts by integrating it into native costumes and dances, often performing Kali movements in the form of dance for the pleasure of Spanish dictators.
In 1935, the Philippines were recognized as an independent nation until occupied by Japan during World War II. Welcoming U.S. intervention during the occupation, Filipinos eagerly enlisted in American services. Known for close-in, hand-to-hand combat with bolo knives, the Filipino troops established themselves as fierce guerrilla forces, marching in triangle formation with the point, or lead, man disabling enemy soldiers, leaving the following formation to finish the job.
Following the war, many adventurous escrimadors and Kali men left the Philippines for Hawaii and California. There they grouped together, working as farm laborers and practicing their art in secret, still adapting it to their environment by utilizing farm tools -asparagus knives, machetes, hoes and the like - as weapons.
After years of clandestine practice, the old masters have begun to teach a younger generation the beautiful and deadly Filipino Martial Arts. The "old men" of Kali and escrima believe the art is dead in the Phillipines. However, they teach the younger generation to respect the art by a salutation, shown by touching the closed fist of the right hand to the forehead and the open hand to the heart. Some of these masters of Kali who have continued the art are Angel Cabales, Regino Ellustrisimo, Leo Giron, John LaCoste, Ben Largusa, and Floro Villabrille.
The following are excerpts, by Gilbert Johnson’s "The Filipino Martial Arts," of some of the modern masters who influenced the development of Guru Dan Inosanto's Escrima and Kali.
Angel Cabales’ training took place mostly in the Philippines, he gained some "street" knowledge as a laborer in Manila. While in the Philippines, he was challenged on separate occasions by five other Escrimadors. Challenges are common practice in the islands when a man gains a reputation with his sticks. Only one, Cabales remembers, gave him any trouble. That one, whose abilities equaled Cabales’ own, was the only one of the five whom he really hurt. Stick fights never last very long and this one ended when Cabales broke open the man’s knuckle. The blow lacerated an artery and the blood pumping out of the man’s hand kept him from continuing.. Cabales moved to the U.S. to seek work and peace. However, his reputation quickly grew, and with it the threat of challenges. That alone, the idea of being challenged, has kept many stick fighters in seclusion, but Cabales was the first Escrimador to open instruction to the public.The close fighting system Cabales taught was "Serada," lock and thrust. Each stroke is met with a block or deflection, a check with the stick hand to lock the opponent’s position and a thrust with the free hand that will often carry a dagger. Between the block and final thrust there may be any number of counterstrikes Ellustrisimo, a native of Bentuayen Island in the province of Cebu, a former merchant marine turned immigrant farm laborer, turned merchant marine again. He is also an Escrima master, a man who once in Hawaii fought six men off with two sticks. Nothing shows of his past-except tattoos that decorate his arms. Ellustrisimo’s fighting style is called "Repecticion" and originates on Bohol Island of Cebu. One its characteristics is its continuous and repeating attacks that don’t let up on the opponent, multiple attacks that are continually moving forward. No retreating. He learned stick fighting from his brothers, one of whom was an officer who fought against the Spaniards invading the Philippines. After he had progressed sufficiently, the brothers tattooed a kind of prayer in Latin on his leg. That was to be part of the magic to keep him safe from all harm. "Oracion," meditation or spiritual communication, and "anting anting," the magic of the Escrimadors were both powers that some swear kept them from being killed in World War II. They’re a part of the Philippines that the Escrimadors of old brought to America. Anting Anting is a token or a good luck charm. Some will stake their lives on its power of protection, some smile in humor and others, particularly in the younger generation, acknowledge it as "something" that they don’t understand.Jungle Warfare was Giron’s proving ground. He walked as the point man in World War II guerrilla warfare in the Philippines. As lead man in a Triangular formation of guerrilla soldiers patrolling through the brush, he encountered the enemy first, disabled him (or them) and kept walking, leaving his men in the rear to finish the job. Giron was born in Bayambang, in the Philippine province of Pangasinan. World War II took away one of his instructors, but it gave him others, men who depended on Escrima to stay alive. Guerrilla units in the Philippines were made up mainly of Filipinos, issued leaf-shaped bolo knives for their jungle fighting. When Giron was first assigned to a unit one of the men, an Escrimador, was appointed his bodyguard until he could take care of himself. Giron recalls one of his training sessions with the sergeant, following a near fatal incident in a Japanese ambush."When he saw I saw nervous he said, ’Take your knife and we’ll do some training. Don’t worry about hurting me because I’ve been fighting for a long time. Cut me anytime you can. If you touch me, you’ll get a month’s pay.’ That was the way you learned in the old days." Today, Giron talks about the old days in a more guarded way than many of his contemporaries. All the stick fighting styles are good in different situations, he says, but when it comes down to saving your life - keep it simple.An example of simplifying the art is "Cinco Teros," or what Giron calls the five cardinal blows. Patterned around the four areas divided by an "X" with a dot in the center for the thrusts, Cinco Teros is designated for strikes to the large fleshy areas of the body, not directly protected by bones.He’s primarily a "Largo Mano," or long range fighter, using the reach of his 30-inch stick or blade to hold his opponent at bay. He supplements the characteristic Largo Mano movements with what some would recognize as different styles and others would call tactics.One such is "Abierta," or open style, where the fighter dances about and evades his opponent’s strikes without blocking. Another is "Riterada" or retreating style, designed for wary encounters where the fighter has time and room to keep backing away in order to study his opponent’s movements. "Fondo Fuerte" or the non-retreating style is the opposite tactic used when the fighter is forced to take a stand. Fondo fuerte may have been a tactic Giron used in the jungles when closed off by the terrain or rushed for time with more of the enemy closing in. Probably the most unique is "Lastico," or what Giron describes as the rubber band style. It’s characterized by a forward sway and backward snap that accompanies each strike. Lastico is a method he used often during the war since it gives the fighter the ability to strike out between intertwined branches and snap back again for protection.Much of the training Giron describes gives special consideration to terrain. Environmental training is an integral part of Giron’s training regiment. In simulated combat, training in the environment Giron describes can be fun, but in real life a knowledge of such common situations could easily mean the difference between life or death. That Giron is still alive is strong testimony to the effectiveness of his fighting tactics in such terrain. Of all the Escrima masters in Stockton, California, John LaCoste is probably the most unique. He's the most difficult to draw concrete information from, particularly because of his limited English and mainly because he won't hold still. Guru Inosanto remembers one day in the park with LaCoste. LaCoste is dancing in the grass. He grins at each of us separately while entertaining the group with his version of "carenza," Escrima shadow boxing. I'm handling the questions and fussing with a tape recorder."Where were you born?" I ask."I tell you true," he says.He squats down into a half crouch and hops from side to side, back and forth, feet together, feet apart. Then he shakes his head and, still crouched, bobs and weaves like a boxer."Three minutes, " he says. "every morning. Then this."He drops into a pushup position and, supporting himself on one arm, swings his free arm back and twists his chest upward. He alternates arms six or seven times to make sure everyone gets the idea."Then this."He sits on the bench, straightens his legs and holds them horizontally, then turns one leg over the other and vice versa-many times."Drink no cold water. Only little warm water. Then breathe."He jumps up, inhales deeply on tiptoe, holds it, then lets it out."Every morning," he says, "and night."If anyone would like to know, John LaCoste was born somewhere in the central Philippines."What styles of Escrima have you studied?""Many," he says. "You do like this?"He bobs up and down by bending and straightening his knees and his upper body twists from side to side, turning like a radar antenna. Both heels turn inward until his feet are parallel, one in front of the other, then they turn outward and twist back and forth independently. At the same time they tap the ground - heel, toe, heel, toe, tap, tap, tap. While all this is going on his flat, opened hands stroke and pat the air against imaginary attacks. His hand and elbow do a quick pat, pat."What's that?" I ask."Look," he says and he pulls one of the Escrimadors in front of him, hands him a stick and says, "Number one." The Escrimador delivers a strike with the stick at the angle requested. LaCoste dips beneath it, passing it over his shoulder with one hand. At the end of the striker's extension, he locks it into place with another hand and pat, pats it, first with his hand (a double Checking move to keep it from swinging back on him) and then with his elbow on a nerve on top of the man's arm. The man rubs his arm."Thank you," I say. I still don't know what styles he uses. One of the group tells me that he is familiar with all different styles, but his favorites are "Moro Moro," two methods of "Cebu," "Occidental Negroes" and "one more." Moro Moro is named after islands and one more is anybody's guess."I tell you the true," LaCoste says. "You learn first two numbers, you fight any style and beat him."I understand what he's saying. Most Escrima styles have 12 numbers or angles that any attack must fall close to. For each of those angles there are about 12 blocks or deflections and another 12 counters to each block. If a person understands all the blocks and counter to the first two angles, he can adapt their motions to defend against any of the other strikes. After studying "many styles," LaCoste knows where all the principles coincide."One month I teach you. You fight okay, any style."What he means, I am told, is that he can teach anyone with a little comprehension how to do the blocks and counters for the first two strikes. Whether or not the person gets good enough with them to actually use them in combat is another matter. It's like his footwork. Guru Dan Inosanto says he's been trying to copy LaCoste's footwork for 14+ years. He's finally gotten to where he can describe it, but actually use it the way LaCoste does? No.LaCoste moved from the Philippines to Hawaii where he headed a major strike by the farm workers, that the Filipinos in Stockton still talk about today. LaCoste was a hero. The strike itself cost the lives of a dozen farm workers and 22 "policemen," but it put across the idea that farm workers, like anyone else, should be given sufficient wages to live and support a family.After being decorated for heroism by the military, he settled down in California. There are many accounts, documented by the police and local talk, of LaCoste's encounters with muggers and hoodlums. Once a man tried to rob him with a knife. LaCoste turned the knife into the man so he "stabbed himself." Another time a man tried to rob him by placing a gun in his back. The element of surprise may have had something to do with it - who would have expected a little old man to elbow the gun while twisting off to the side, trapping the gun downward while backhanding the proposed robber in the face? LaCoste has received several accommodations from the Stockton police department.LaCoste is not the typical stereotype of a brawler. His philosophy, he says, is friendliness and love to everyone. Even as he talks and dances in the grass {far, far away from the tape recorder-too far} he focuses in on each person, individually, until he gets a response, a laugh, a change of expression. He's a fighter, but he's also a lover. He doesn't pass anyone he knows and likes without patting his leg or shoulder or reaching out to grab his arm.That's LaCoste. LaCoste is Stockton's oldest most venerated Escrima master. He teaches the Escrimadors how to fight. He also teaches them how to live and make people happy. If you want to know what styles he uses, it's the LaCoste style and he's the only one who can pull it off. Ben Largusa separates himself from the title of Escrima master. He is a man of Kali, the older Filipino art. Kali is the source from which all Escrima styles developed."Escrima, Arnis, Sikaran, Silat, Kuntao, Kaliradman, Kalirongan an Pagkalikali are all phases of Kali," says Largusa, "but Kali is the mother or ancestral art. These phases are all part of our training.""Ben Largusa is a master because of his skill and knowledge," says Dan Inosanto. "If you don't know him, it's hard to draw anything personal out of him, but movement wise - can't touch him."Largusa gets his movement from his instructor, Floro Villabrille, the most commonly repeated name among the Escrimadors in Stockton. Villabrille lives in Hawaii and Largusa, who was born on Kauai, studied under him for six unbroken years in the fifties. He has maintained contact with him to become his foremost protégé.Largusa now has a school in South San Francisco with a system of ranking and a curriculum that is geared to span three years. If the student is active and learns what he is taught, he may then qualify to teach. According to Largusa, it is the first time Kali has been organized commercially and the school has Villabrille's blessing.A class in Kali at Largusa's school begins with "Orascion" or meditation and a kind of non-partisan prayer. Largusa makes a point of saying that neither the prayer nor the meditation are used to teach any brand of religion."I just teach the basics and they communicate whatever they want," he says. "If you're a Christian, they you communicate with the heavenly Father. If you're not a Christian, then you communicate with whatever you believe, supernatural spirit or spirit of light. It is the spirit of giving that is exercised in this meditation. You have to be humble. You have to give before you can take, especially when you train."After the orascion, beginners learn the 12 basic movements of Kali with a stick in each hand. Then they learn five variations or styles to each of those movements: "Numerado" style for infighting, "Literada" {otherwise called riterada or retreating style} for outside fighting, "Sumbrada" which is a fast-paced counter for counter style, and "Fraile" and "Cabisedario" that are combinations of the previous styles. The double sticks may be round or flattened to resemble a sword. The flattened sticks serve as a reminder that Kali is adaptable to any kind of weapon, bladed or blunted, and one edge of the flattened stick is used like a blade. Using a stick in each hand helps the student develop his weak side by immediately relating it to the movements of his strong side. He in effect becomes ambidextrous with his weapons and by shortening his weapon, he soon learns that the art works just as well empty-handed. All in all, the training not only makes the person ambidextrous in terms of hand movements, but in terms of weaponry as well.The Kali people often use the circle to organize their hand and foot movements. A defending Kali man, for instance, may step around his opponent to position himself in "safety zones." These safety zones are places where the opponent has either not had time to gain momentum in his strike, a zone that would jam his strike before it begins {Position "a" in the diagram}, or where his strike has reached the end of its motion {position "b"}.The end of every movement in Kali is the beginning of another movement. "DeCadena" or chain-like movements where each is connected to the next is what gives Kali its fluidity.According to Largsa's descriptions, the basic concepts of defense in Kali have three elements: the parry, the safety factor and the killing blow. The parry is the motion that deflects the opponent's strike. The safety factor is the checking motion that holds the opponent's striking hand in place after a strike has been deflected. The killing blow is the counterstrike, but it may occur after the parry and safety factor or during either one. The Kali men train to be able to insert the killing blow or counterstrike at any time in the clash."Killing blow" may be a misnomer because, according to Largusa, the ultimate philosophy in Kali {at least as he practices it} is to discourage, not injure, and to spare life, not take it."If we wanted to kill the person," says Largusa, "if we were convinced that our lives were threatened, then we would go to the vital area, the head, to the mind or its supporters, the lung or heart. But the ultimate in Kali training is when you can spare a man's life. Only then have you learned the purpose of Kali training.""A rattlesnake can kill, right? If you take off the fangs, it still looks deadly, but it cannot kill. In Kali," says Largusa, "a hand is considered a fang. If you take away the hands , it cannot pick up a gun or a weapon and kill you. People who are not familiar with Kali see us strike to the hands and say it's not deadly, but they don't realize until they learn Kali how deadly it is and why we strike to the hands."While explaining his concept of training the students to strike the hand, Largusa also demonstrates how easily the target may be adjusted when necessary. Since the hand is smaller and more elusive than the head or body, it would seem that training against the hand for a target would only sharpen a student's accuracy. In incidents such as defending against a nunchaku with a stick, the hands actually move much slower than the weapon and, therefore, are easier to hit. Seeing the kind of speed possible in both Escrima and Kali, some might wonder if trying to follow the hand wouldn't be dangerous thing to do in any kind of combat. How so you follow five strikes that take place almost simultaneously if you're trying to follow them each time? This is where Largusa brings out the concept of the rhythm triangles in Kali."It has been proven in boxing," he says, "that the hands are faster than the eye. If you shoot six darts at me at once, I can't defend against each one, so I treat them as one dart. If you throw three of four punches at me fast, I treat them as one punch. They are only one point of your rhythm triangle. Once you understand the theory of the rhythm triangle, you can understand these movements."The triangle, like the circle, is a key to understanding Kali. The rhythm triangle is pictures with the mind at the top of the triangle and the hands feet at the other two corners. Knock out any one of them and you've seriously hampered, if not completely negated the opponent's ability to fight. The mind here is at the top because it affects both the hands and feet.Another example of the triangle explaining a principle of Kali is the "internal triangle.""The internal triangle is pictured like the rhythm triangle," says Largusa. "The mind is at the top. On one side is 'ki,' the seat of internal strength, and on the other side is the point of contact. If you hit the back of the feet, the ki will weaken. Like the old saying, kill the bark and the tree will die. This is the same process."Without this spiritual and mental aspect one moves mechanical, like a robot, no feeling and no meaning. Orascion {meditation} is very important because it makes the mind stronger. It develops the fighting spirit, what we call plain old 'guts.' Now with Kali spiritual training, one doesn't have to be born with guts, it can be developed."The highest level of Kali training then would be the universal triangle. Here the supernatural spirit is at the top, communicated with by orascion. The practitioner and his opponent are on the bottom corners.Supernatural spirits, sticks and blades, fighting with weapons and empty hands - all of this leads to the inevitable question, always asked off to the side. Does anyone ever get hurt? Largusa says he has never received any injury in all his years of training. They keep injuries at a minimum in his school by teaching "slow training," a theory related to the yin and yang of Kung Fu or Karate."Our philosophy," he says, "is soft but hard, hard but soft. When you train slowly, speed comes automatically. With soft training, hardness comes automatically. We have very slow training in the beginning so they can correct the finer points and develop finesse. When we go fast, we use either the light rattan stick or the plastic baseball bat and go to the non-vital areas such as the trunk and between the joints to prevent injuries."Largusa's school now has just under 40 students who are slowly working their way up the ladder of the ranks. When they're ready for a promotion, Largusa gives them a test. The test includes "sayaw," the dance form that kept Escrima and Kali hidden from the Spaniards in the Philippines. Largusa teaches 20 or more sayaws that the students are supposed to be at random either to the beat of a drum or with their own imagined rhythm. Within the sayaws are the 12 basic movements of Kali as well as all the defensive movements, counters, strikes and footwork patterns.He also teaches sets, similar to Kata in Karate but labels them into two categories: planned and freestyle. The planned set is as it sounds with the movements planned in sequence, mainly for the beginners. The freestyle set, However, employs anything the student has learned and is more similar to shadowboxing.All considered, Largusa's school is probably the most organized and commercial Filipino arts academy found in the United States. To some Escrimadors, commercializing a school for the public use means that the art is being watered down and "frozen" to keep it organized and palpable to the public consumption. But people who have seen Largusa's students work, and particularly Largusa himself, always seem to come to the same conclusion: "You can't hit 'em with a 10-foot pole." That's got to say something. In all of the Filipino martial arts, one name keeps surfacing with great reverence and awe. That name is Floro Villabrille. He is the undefeated champion in countless Escrima and Kali matches in the Philippines and in Hawaii. Escrima stick fighting matches were full-contact bouts without the aid of armor, which resulted in death or permanent injury to the participants. They usually used the stick in the right hand and punched with the left hand. The use of the elbow, knee and head were common at close range combat. Combat grappling like techniques {standing or on the ground} were applied. These included throws, trips, sweeps, take down, chokes, strangulation, dislocations and locks on the fingers, wrists, elbows shoulders, ankles and knees. The feet were used for kicking at the low level. It was a brutal art and only the swiftest, the strongest and the most courageous survived or remained in practice. The rounds were two minutes with one minute rests in between.One instructor said, "I am very good, but Floro Villabrille is way out of my class; but then again, he is way out of everyone's class. Floro can beat you with his brain and guts."In December of 1977 my Publisher visited Mr. Villabrille at his home on Kaui, Hawaii where he spoke of his special training. "Before a fight I go to mountains alone. I pretend my enemy is there. I imagine being attacked and in my imagination I fight for real. I keep this up until my mind is ready for the kill. I can't lose. When I enter the ring nobody can beat me already. I already know that man is beaten. In 1948 my wife was at the fight. I tell her 'no worry, I can't lose." Anything you do, even go to school or find a job...in the morning you make a prayer. I want to do this, I got to do it. Walk around and work on your mind. And you will do it." Some people feel his life is charmed and that he has the power of Anting-Anting - a magical charm that gives a person super natural strength.Floro Villabrille started his training at the age of 14. He traveled the length and width of the Philippines researching the art of Kali and studied under many different instructors. His favorite instructor was a female; a blind princess named Josephina. To reach this blind princess, he had to travel many inaccessible trails, finally reaching a village called Gundari on the island of Samar. He stayed in this village for a long time not learning any Kali but just doing menial tasks as cleaning up. Finally he was allowed to practice the art. He states that he doesn't know how the princess saw the blows, but he contends that she was one of his best instructors. After training there for some time, he comes down from the village and competes. While competing in a match and winning, he is approached by a man who asks him where he learned that style. Villabrille tells him that he learned it in the village Gundari on the Island of Samar. The man tells him that is impossible for the village is inaccessible to travel and that he couldn't possibly have reached the village because he was from there. When Villabrille tells him about the blind princess, he realizes that he is telling the truth and starts to cry and embrace him.At the age 18, Villabrille was working on a ship when his training partner, Dison, telegrammed him to fight a young Moro stick fighter. Dison was a great stick fighter in his own right, but had previously lost to the Moro stick fighter. When Villabrille arrived in the Philippines he was met by his friends. They told him that the Moro fighter was just too fast and too good and that he should cancel out. Villabrille stubbornly refused to back out of the match. According to Villabrille, the Moro was much faster than he was and probably the fastest man he ever met. On sheer guts and determination, Villabrille trades blow for blow and finally wins the match in the fifth round. For several weeks after the match, Villabrille couldn't raise his arms above his head because of the blows he had received while trying to block. Villabrille now feels that if the combat had been with swords, the Moro fighter would have probably won. He competed in 1933, 34, 35, 36 and then the matches were stopped, until 1948, when his last match took place.Villabrille pooled all the knowledge from all the sources he came across and developed his own system of combat. That is the Villabrille System of Kali, which is a composite of all the styles of the Islands.Villabrille has an award, a certificate and diploma signed by General Frank Murphy, then Governor of the Philippines. The certificate states that he had won the Grand Championship of the Philippines, thus making him the Grandmaster of that country. In the Cebu Municipal Museum they have a giant picture of Lapu-Lapu, the man who killed Magellan. Next in size is the certificate and picture of Grandmaster Floro Villabrille.Guru Dan InosantoOne day Ed Parker, who has become known as the "Father of American Karate", touched a special cord in Danny with just a few words;"Have you ever seen the art of Escrima?""Stickfighting," Danny replied."No, there's more."And that's where Dan's enlightenment began. He went to his father in Stockton, California, where Escrima was practiced only among Filipinos. Sebastian Inosanto was the first Filipino farm labor contractor in California and knew most of the Escrimador by name. The first three he introduced Dan to were Max Sarmients, Angle Cabales and Johnny LaCoste. While still training with Ed Parker, Dan gained a reputation among the Filipino community as a man who, besides having ability, was willing to listen and learn. In time, doors began to open all around him.In 1964, Ed Parker made arrangements for Bruce Lee to make his first major public appearance at the International Karate Championships. Dan, an elimination chairman at the time, was asked to escort Bruce around town. The meeting began a second major change in Dan's martial arts career."When I first met Bruce Lee, I couldn't sleep that night," says Dan. "I was really bothered because it was something that I'd never seen. It was like having learned an occupation for five years, and then having someone say. 'We no longer have any use for your occupation.' But in this case, I'd studied all these different arts - I won't say that they were worthless - but what he did was counter everything without really trying. It was frustrating.""All systems regardless of their country's origin have their beauty with their good points as well as their bad points. All of them have the capability to let the practitioner grow physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually using the Martial Arts as a vehicle to grow by. This is in my opinion the martial art's greatest gift. The system or style or vehicle you choose to grow by matter only if you grow," said Guru Dan Inosanto."I have been very fortunate to have studied under many masters. It is very difficult to say whether one instructor is better than another. For that matter, one’s best instructor might have been another student, training partner or opponent. ""I have had many instructors in Filipino martial arts and some have obviously given me more knowledge than others, but each instructor has taught me something unique. To quote an ancient Zen saying, "In the landscape of the Spring there is neither better nor worse; the flowering branches grow, some short and some long." In other words, I would never compare my instructors to determine who was better or smarter, who was faster or had more knowledge. How do you compare the beauty of an ocean to the majesty of a forest; how do you compare a desert to the mountains? "I owe a debt to all my instructors."Yet it is also my belief that one learns from himself. An instructor gives mostly his love and his experience. He can teach technique, but the ability to use that technique comes from within oneself.There are four stages; (1) You must be aware of the truth; (2) you must understand the truth; (3) you must function in the truth and, (4) you must maintain the truth. One of these four stages, the instructor can help you partially in (1) becoming aware of the technique and (2) understanding the technique. To function in the technique and to maintain it is without doubt the student’s responsibility."What is learning?What is an instructor?What is discovery?What is the goal?What is the test?What do we teach?What is the school?Where is the school?A journey and a process, not a destination and conclusion.A guide, not a guard or a dictator.A constant process of questioning the answers, not answering the questions.Open minds so that you can "be," not closed issues so that you have to "do" and follow to achieve the goal.Being and becoming, not just remembering and reviewing.Individuals; not lessons, not styles, not systems, and not methods or techniques.Whatever we choose to make it.
Anywhere, not a four cornered classroom, wherever we are.
Methods (Styles/Systems of Training)
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