Vol 6 No 6 - 2017 Newspaper Propagating the Filipino Martial Arts and the Culture of the Philippines Using Performance Time for an FMA Revolution Profiling to Assess and Improve your Filipino Time for an FMA Revolution part1 - was published in the FMA Informative Newspaper Vol5 No8. Martial Arts Skills Well Mr. Mustafa Gatdula has now written “Time for an FMA Revolution” a part 2. So the FMA By Leslie Buck Informative will recap on part 1 once again and share part 2 with you here. Article By: Mustafa Gatdula cret if you don’t know it. And we will talk Let’s stir things up a bit. about stuff your friendly McGuros won’t. Yup, when it comes to stirring the pot, So here’s the thing. The Filipino mar- About ... there aren’t too many people other than tial arts of Arnis, Eskrima, and Kali need to Past Events good ole theKuntawMan for something like change up its weapons. Honestly. Have you Health & Safety that. That Filipino martial arts Empty Hands been hit with a rattan stick lately? Sure, they Building Blocks of FMA article was written in 2009, and it is still the hurt. But as a self-defense tool, you need Tid-Bits most read article on this blog. It has prob- something that will ruin somebody’s life, and ably gotten this blog more views, more sub- these sticks just won’t. Get hard core, take scriptions, sold me more books, signed up off the safety gear, and get a little heavier more students to my school, and brought rattan, and then we’re talking. But this isn’t me more challenges (which led to even every day FMA, and it should be. I say, it’s more students lol) than anything else on time to investigate self-defense needs of this blog. I have said it a few times in sev- the average Joe on the street, and come up eral articles–I ain’t your friendly neighbor- with something that is relevant to his con- hood seminar-junkie, I damn sure ain’t your cerns. The FMA use to be an everyman’s art, friendly neighborhood Guro/Grandmaster, every day. Today, it is too niche, too trendy, and you could get hurt playing over here. and folks who are really serious about self- But this is what the martial arts is all protections are looking at what passes for about. We are all about hurting people, stop- FMA out here and saying “No thank you”. ping people from hurting us, and discover- Why is that? Well, maybe it has some- ing more and more about the art of hurt- thing to do with the fact that the most effec- ing. One of the worst things an FMA guy tive, most practical thing we have to offer is can do is get complacent and think there something that a very TINY minority of FMA are no other new things to discover in the guys will do: Full contact, bare stick fighting. martial arts. For example, lots of Filipino Average guys won’t do it. Hell, average FMA martial arts guys thought they knew it all guys won’t even do it. What we will do is funky or have seen it all when it came to the Fili- drills, cute disarms, padded pillow fights, pino arts. Know why? Because if you took all and empty handed patty cake (that no FMA the videos on the market, all the magazine guy will ever do with in the ring with a real articles, all the seminars–all that shit looks boxer–but have the nerve to call it “Dirty”/ the same. Sure, every now and then, a “new” Filipino Boxing. Please don’t blame that on skill will become popular, but thanks to the my people). If you ever disagreed with me almighty dollar–these Grandmasters will about my views of mainstream FMA’s effec- sell those skills faster than a hungry whore tiveness, take my challenge! Go to any non- on the strip–and before you know it, EVERY- FMA guy and fight him. With the number of BODY knows it. So, yeah. If you’ve spent two MMA, kickboxing, and boxing gyms around, or three years in the mainstream Filipino you should have no problem finding oppo- martial arts community–you will have seen nents. Don’t challenge me on the net please, www.fmapulse.com it all, and there is nothing new to discover. because you’re only fooling yourself–chanc- But I ain’t mainstream. And that’s es of us meeting are almost zero. Prove it to what brings people to this blog, the fact yourself. I’ve already done my homework. that nothing on this blog–unless it’s sto- Back to the subject at hand, I would like len–will be repeated or taught in seminars to suggest a new trend in the FMA communi- MyFMA.net or youtube clips. Folks come here to learn ty. Let’s drop the plain rattan stick as a “weap- or read something new. Hence the name– on”. I’m sure there must have been an uproar Visit the FMA Informative Group on Facebook Filipino Fighting Secrets… It’s only a se- when FMA guys in the days of old switched Click Here 2 FMA Informative Vol6 No6 2017 Vol6 No6 2017 FMA Informative 3 from bolos to sticks. I can one for years, and I’ve always than occasional training with morous article I’ve published, putes. In recent times, Arnisa- So here’s something I’d like to because you are knowledge- dent, and in two years, I would imagine the arguments and laughed at Arnis guys who it to make it functional. The and I hear you’ve challenged dors have contests which al- throw out at you… able with a few weapons–and bet my life savings on that stu- the complaints the old tim- come over and try to do their handles vary, and you have to the Comrach Bas (I think that’s low them to preserve the art this just isn’t true. A good dent, armed with a knife, using ers would have had: “What?? system’s stuff with it. It’s barely have consistent practice and what it’s called) founder, Chris- in safe conditions using safety It’s time to award or cre- test is if you can be competi- his Eskrima against your favor- What the heck is wrong with got any weight to it, but most training to learn how to hold tophe Clugston–and didn’t equipment. With introduction ate “majors” in the Filipino arts. tive with–and beat–a fighter ite MMA fighter. This art isn’t these new age Eskrimadors! guys can’t do anything prac- it, how to generate power with show up. This is embarrassing. of safety equipment, the attri- Majors as in “major” fields of who is only versed in that art. perfect, but I believe the Fili- Don’t DARE call that stick shit tical with it but demo stuff in it, how to develop true blade Our elders are rolling over in butes needed to be a so-called study. Just as it’s true that ev- An inside joke I shared pino fighting arts are as close “Eskrima” please! Bastos!!” slow motion. But get to full awareness with it. their graves. Stop it. All I’ve said, “skilled” Eskrimador changed– ery art can’t contain or special- with my Filipino martial arts to being the most unbeat- LOL. speed, full power with one of 6. Speaking of which, Blade and I’m sure Mr. Clugston will which in turn will change the ize in everything–every expert friends came from a video able art on the planet. And Folks don’t like change. these–you are wielding some Awareness. Real understand- agree, that the Filipino martial way the art is changed. In old won’t be an expert in every we once watched at a friend’s this, without having to cross I believe that the Fili- serious fire power in your ing of the blade, not just the arts have a good thing going, times, power, accuracy and subart of the Filipino martial house, where a highly skilled pollinate with BJJ, Muay Thai, pino arts have evolved to hands. This should replace the usual patty cake and disarm- but money and ego has ruined pain tolerance were the focus arts. We love to brag about the Eskrima master declared to or any other non-Filipino art. what they are today, because standard 3/4? rattan, for sure. ing, but actually learning how it, and today, the Filipino arts of an Arnis student’s training. 12 weapons or fields of study, the viewer that “Kali is also Am I being biased? Perhaps. we are a practical people. We 2. The walking cane. Some- to use, cut, hold, and manipu- are NOT delivering what we Teachers used a smaller arse- the 4 subarts of the Filipino ADVANCED Judo, ADVANCED But in my prime, I trained aren’t into show; we are fight- thing you can take into an air- late the blade. Have you ever promised. Want proof? Name nal of techniques while spend- martial arts, blah blah blah… Karate, ADVANCED Kung Fu…” more than anyone I knew, and ers. But we have become not port. Again, hardwood, with attempted a cut test with ra- one FMA tournament where ing more time developing but how often have you seen Do we have grappling in the could take anyone.