dealing with weapons and fighting with weapons. I'm not really up on all the acronyms that I've seen you all using, so if you used names it would be very helpful. Thanks.
The Filipino martial arts (FMA - Kali, Eskrima, Escrima, Arnis, and various other, less common names) are very weapon oriented and highly regarded for their weapon work. Then you've got all the Japanese schools of weapon training Kendo, Kenjutsu, Tantojutsu, Bojutsu, Ninjutsu, etc. Then you've got things like Krabi Krabong from Thailand, Silat from Indonesia, Malaysia, and southern Philippines. You've got dozens of Chinese arts that deal with weapons. French La Canne. Fencing from all over Europe. Garrote (sp? stick/machete) systems from Venezuela. The list could go on for much longer. Those are just the ones that come to my mind first. Mike
That's my experience too. The silats that I've seen actually fight with weapons, esp. knives. Whereas FMA are based on knife fighting, silat is knife fighting. There's a subtle but meaningful distinction.
Actually, my experience has been just the opposite. The Silat that I've been exposed to trains with a knife and deals with the knife. But the Filipino arts that I've been exposed to are defined by the blade. Everything in them is drawn directly from the blade (or, in some, the stick) work. However, having seen top exponents of both, I think the end result is similar - just the path they take differs. Personally, as far as weapons training goes, I'm partial to the Filipino arts. But I love Silat, too. In fact, my Silat training is what I'm the most passionate about. Mike
