In the Filipino Martial Arts, the personalization of your weapon is very important. Your success relies on the coordination of your skills through that weapon. You will spend countless hours of training to use it. If your weapon is not right, then your ability to train effectively and perform successfully will suffer. Your weapon needs to fit you by design, by training, or both. LengthWhether it be a knife, long blade or even a spear, the length of your weapon is usually measured against your body. By doing so, your weapon will have a physical relationship with your body. It will have proportions that match your proportions.Different systems have varying methods for measuring the weapons used. One method for measuring training sticks includes using four hand lengths, measured by ...

Whether you are a beginner or a long term student of Filipino Kali, you want the same thing: You want to improve your skills.  Knowing the right path to follow for that purpose is very important.  No matter what level you intend to reach, the path towards mastery is the best approach to improve your skills. With the right effort, mastery is available for anyone who is dedicated.  There are no special tricks, shortcuts, amulets or magic spells that will get you there.  You just have to do the work.  If you do the work long enough, and do it properly, you will first start to see glimpses of mastery.  You will have moments of clarity and synchronicity that bring a sense of freedom from the intensity of concentration normally needed during your practice or applica...

A guerrilla force is a small group of fighters that is agile, elusive, and carefully selective in how it engages a larger military opponent.  Guerrillas do not use a force of numbers or size of arms to overwhelm an opponent.  They use strategies and tactics that are indirect and misleading.  They use distractions to setup an attack.  They attack along lines that are less expected.  Guerrillas position themselves so that they can gain an advantage and limit the options of their enemy.  Guerrillas seek to demoralize their opponents in order to gain a psychological advantage.  Guerrillas use these tactics to be successful against a larger, more powerful opponent. You need to learn to fight like a guerrilla to defend yourself.  You cannot afford to stand...

While training, we are not only developing our physical skills. We are developing an intelligence that allows us to learn faster and accomplish more than others can do. To do this, we must always seek better methods of training and understanding that will maximize our time devoted. Understanding the nature and intent of our training methods and drills will help us do just that. Sometimes tradition gives us drills or exercises that are not fully explained to us. In some cases, the value or intent of those drills have been eroded by time. In other cases, our training is simply not complete, so the significance is not yet clear. Regardless of the situation, understanding the type of skills being developed will lead you to clarification and purpose when approaching your training sessions. Skil...

Self-defense is a component of survival.  There are other skills you need in addition to self defense skills to help you survive a violent encounter.  You may be ready to fight off the bad guy, but what if you are injured in the process?  If you suffer a serious injury during an attack, you will benefit from knowing how to treat the injury afterwards. Improving your self-defense skills is about preparation.  You study to know more about the threat.  You train techniques and tactics to use for defense.  You arm yourself with a weapon and train when and how to use it.  You cultivate situational awareness skills, verbal deescalation skills, and learn to manage situations that are common to violent crime.  In addition to these skills that are directly re...