Sticks are also the weapon of cultures with restraints. And I don't mean US versus Philippines here. I don't believe for one instant that all conflicts are settled in the PI with sword duels. A stick affords a level of damage control that, personally, I want in a self-defense weapon. I want to be able to pull a hit. To break rather than sever. To bruise rather than slice. And to discourage rather than kill. And my sticks, when not in use, are stored in a bag in the garage. Not under my pillow. Curiously, they get a lot more use than my swords. Why? Because I don't understand blade culture? No (though I probably don't). But because you can use sticks in training to a degree that simply isn't feasible with blades. Honestly, I doubt anybody here can claim to have actually hit someone with a sword. Stuart
I do agree that we need a balanced view (even though, in this case, I tend to fall on the opposite side of the debate). But bear in mind that "keeping the pressure on", if you're using it in terms of pressure testing, is a lot more viable with blunt weapons. You can have full-contact stick fighting matches with minimal gear (e.g., Black Eagle Society or Dog Brothers) and get a pretty good sense for the capabilities of the impact weapon. The blade is much more of an abstraction, to my mind. The closest we usually come is substituting a blunt implement for the blade, in which case you're not recreating the experience of bladed combat (thank goodness). Stuart
If you're referring to the bit about hitting someone with a sword, you're quite right. That's why I was very careful not to phrase it in the form of a question.
We do some blade work, but one thing that is really stressed is accept that you are going to get cut, and bad or deadly. We learn to try to protect our self and get out of there for defense reasons. When doing the blade we usually use sticks and practice blades. Most have aversion to playing for real When practicing "espada y daga" many quit and say what is the use to do this, running is the best thing. Most are not of the mentality of warriors and zealots, it is going backwards and should not be embraced they feel. It appears in the civilized worlds where the art is catching on again, because of the stick, not the blade. Knives are where it is at and the quick moves and getting out of harms way and being aware. Some embrace the the knife but it is not a real friendly item if you get my drift. It is a tool for many and that is all they believe it is. Just one of many to learn and study, don't get to caught up in this for it has taken thousands of years to get away from the mentality that is being instigated by a few. I truly enjoy the training and the exercises for they are what is important. Of course if you are going to cut "mangos", bolos are good. I like my finer knives for it though. Breaking open a coconut is good with the back of a good machete, but most of the coconut I buy is already avaliable, cooked and packaged for use Civilization is nice. To visit the culture, you are subjecting yourself to danger, big time. Why do we embrace this That is the real question. War is "Hell" and should not be desired nor loved, that is for sure. It is something for the controllers to desire others to die so they can rule and usually with an iron hand... Pretty silly really, Marco's was terrible, probably why the people are still searching for a good leader ptkalista: To embrace the horrible things that happened during WW 11 is not really where I am at. Here are some numbers, show your numbers for the lives lost on the Philippines, I have saved it for you. http://www.cbs.gov.il/lmse.cgi?i=2&ti=3&r=0&f=3&o=0 Okinawa is an Island country, that still has not recovered from the trajedy. Gary
Hello again, PTKalista - I don't think anyone is denying that there are great arts in the Philippines, or even that a culture where everyday blade use is common is found there either. But many FMA practitioners will never utilize a live blade everyday in their life , but swinging sticks in training and for protection is good thing as well as well as offering a legal alternative to justifiable force. The FMA has so much to offer from sticks to blades, or empty hands, and in other parts of the world other cultures do as well, so why try to belittle them? It does nothing good for the FMA or martial arts in general, by trying to slam other cultures, it fosters the "individual tribal" nature that was used to subjugate the Philippines as well as other areas of the world in the Colonial period. Gumagalang Steve L. www.Bujinkandojo.net
I am not celebrating violence. I was just trying to differentiate the Philippines from those other so called "blade cultures". There is only one blade culture left. A very few are trying to save it. Big schools like Doce Pares and Modern Arnis have watered down their art to accommodate the weaker of the species who just like to wear uniforms and belts and feel good in camps and seminars. But if you look at the Presas family they used blades in WWII so did the Canetes. When you cater to the weak not the strong, your art weakens. Sticks cant break coconuts, blades do. Anyone can pull a trigger of a gun or rifle, this does not take skill. The skill of a sniper is another story. There is no need to keep the 'gun culture' alive because it is very easy to continue this culture, you just get a gun and shoot. The people that dont train in the blade, do not train in the blade because they are afraid of it. But the true fighters know. For those not scared of the blade you already know where the flavor is, come to where the flavor is. :woo:
"Come to where the flavour is." Wasn't that a commercial for cigarettes? In any event, as a catchphrase, it's getting pretty tired. There are lots of valid reasons to emphasize sticks in your training, as has been pointed out. Would you care to address them directly? The need to control the level of damage you dole out in self-defense, for instance? Fear? Yeah. Of course. I fear getting stabbed. I'd wager that doesn't make me an anomaly. I also fear going to jail for the remainder of my life for stabbing someone else. And looking in the mirror every day for the rest of my life after stabbing someone else. I fear that too. I don't think that blade combat is something that can be approached lightly. A blade can alter or end a life in no time flat. Let's not be casual about that. That's not mystique. That's killing. Stuart
Those 'other' blade cultures you listed do not even compare. You have to call it what it is. This every snowflake is special mentality is why you have many weaklings practicing FMA and because schools accommodate them, bend over backwards for them, they end up watering their art down to make it safer for the weekend warriors, god forbid they'll hurt their fingers and wont be able to type their keyboards the next day. I like money just like the next guy but not at the cost of soften my indigenous art. You can't expect NBA players to watch a high school game and say that those guys are actually equally good. Sticks are just for scratching your back, blades, knives, whips, bows/arrows, throwing knives, blow guns, thats the real FMA developed in the Philippine jungles where the true flavor comes from. :woo:
Thank you, that is actually what FMA is all about. The only think left is do or do not. There is no maybe, there is no I will just do sticks because I am scared of the blade, there is no I will use the stick and pretend it is a blade. There is only the truth and when you look at the truth it looks back you. Will you run or will you face it? The flavor is good you should taste, if not move on. :woo:
I personally don't believe we can know absolute truth through something we can't directly experience. I see no sense in harping on "the blade is truth" stuff if we haven't ever truly been in that situation. And I'm wagering the vast majority of us haven't. So we can talk about "facing it." But in truth, most of us will never need to. And that's a fortunate thing. Sticks suit my needs. They do what I need them to do. And nothing I don't. Stuart
I am not here to advertise, just to remind the true FMA. I have not disrespected individuals and I have not attacked schools. I have only attacked the notion of safety and the watering down of the arts. I have used FMA not Kali because that debate is meaningless. FMA is being hijacked by the weak and those that prefer to guide the weak. FMA is going down the same road as kung fu, karate, judo. The sould of FMA is the blade, once you put the blade down, you've lost your soul. You have weakened FMA, and all the forefathers who have bled for this art have done so in vain because you wanted to be safe. :woo:
Would it be valid from a Glaswegian? They too have a knife culture which dates back many hundreds of years, everything in moderation. If the OP is genuinely in fear of his life then he needs to sleep with his blade, if not then see it as an art and stop being so obsessive. You are coming across as a nutter, which I'm sure you don't want to.
To be clear, I think ptkalista is flat-out wrong that the Philippines represent the only living "blade culture." I gather I'm not alone in that. Again, I'm inclined to agree that this seems excessive. But perhaps it would help if ptkalista shared some personal experiences that have shaped his views. Stuart
