ello, Couple of years ago i attended a Dog Brothers Guro Marc Denny seminar in warwick. A section of the seminar included Staff training such as strikes an blocks from krabi krabong,power strikes etc. It was done with a 4.5/5ft staff but it was explained by Guro Marc that the techniques could be used with brush shafts,longer weapons etc. On some of the DB video's you can see them fight an must admit its pretty awesome! Am sure DocePares teaches a "long stick"(tapado?)which is measured to the top of your hip(?Dave?). Was just wondering if anyone has/is training with a staff or maybe has knowledge of a kung-fu style which includes staff in its curriculum??? cheers
I do a little work with the staff in the FMA and in Silat, who use it less for striking. The thing that struck me (was a big stick) though was that the staff is supposed to come level to your chin which is also how long a pool cue should be, and some of the best pool players in the world come from the phillipines. I have seen a lot of people holding the staff with a double overhand grip, where as I would naturally and have now been taught one up one down.
Hi Brooster, Danny Guba says that the long stick he teaches is Momoy Canete's Ananangkil, and the sticks should be about 40" - although that does vary with the practitioner. He showed a brief demo on one of the Newcastle seminars, and it was a difficult weapon to deal with, until you got inside its arc. Then it was just hard work ;-) Bill Lowery
Another heads up for Danny's Ananankil. I've done some with him - interesting stuff. We've developed qite a good curriclulum with it over the last 12 months. Very basic but efficient & translates well from the regular stick. On the staff side Danny's 6 foot staff stuff is pretty good too - works as an offshoot of double stick and flows really well.
CooL, Would GM Guba's ananakil be similar to tapado unless the name's are different due to the regional dialects in the philipines? (hope someone understands that)
What is your style with the staff? Some people will use ends alternatively/equally, while other people will concentrate on using one end of the staff almost entirely for both attack and block...
I've only touched on staff work but found it pretty interesting. The longer staff that reaches the chin I've mostly worked with a wide grip (i.e. a hand nearing each end of the stick) either double overhand or one-up-one down and switching between the two. Its pretty much a situational thing. My original exposure was in a kung-fu school and mostly in forms. However I really liked the variation of being able to use both ends. I've also used a slightly shorter staff which corresponds with the tapado/ananakil. According to the FMA database: With the shorter staff we held it with both hands at one end (dos manos I seem to remember it being called but that might be bad memory). Craft Dog/Marc Denny shows a bit off in some of the DB videos but I can't remember which at the moment (and still haven't finished the second series yet). As with the definition above we've only really used it to emphasize body mechanics. I'd very much like to investigate further... anyone have any drills or advice... .... YODA? Anyone...
Hello Everyone, There is a very good thread currently running on the DogBrothers public forum regarding various styles and methods of employing the staff. Check it out at www.Dogbrothers.com. Train Hard it is the Way! Guro Steve L. -Kayan Dalawa Guro Sayoc Kali www.Bujinkandojo.net
