Hi all! I am very interested in starting training in escrima. at the mo i live in quite an isolated area and haven't really got the chance to go to a club that teaches it. could you guys recommend any good training vids or books that i should get? additionally, what type of escrima is best. i had a look @ the dogbrothers vids and their tek looked pretty direct, simple & to the point. this really appeals to me. however, as there are so many styles out there, i just wanted to know the opinion of ppl who had tried various phillipino styles.

also if anyone knows any good books on yawara/kubotan techniques, i would be grateful for your suggestions.

ahh, good to see more people getting interested in fillipino martial arts they are wonderful - hope you end up being able to find a school and enjoy your training as much as i have.

dont really know for vids or books, find whatever you can get and look through it, if you already have a fair bit of martial arts experience you should be able to figure out the odd trick, but its still no where close to substituting for actual instruction.

the best style i have seen/practised is pekiti tirsia, very vicious, very knife orientated and very simple....ok just one more "very" and im done [IMG]http://www.fightingarts.com/forums/ubb/wink.gif[/IMG]

as i understand, dog brothers has a fair bit of pekiti tirsia in its influences, one of the top "dogs" (actually i think it was "top dog") was a personal student of leo gaje - grand tuhon of pehiti tirsia.

personally if i could find a dog brothers group id start traiing right away, they have a reputation for being crazy but effective

my main experience is in kombatan arnis, fairly basic moves, some garbage in it, but great to integrate with another martial art.

the most sport orintated style that i know of is doce parez, very big on tournaments and light strikes to gain points rather than smashing a stick into someone to cause damage to a person - but the sporting emphasis could be very different from school to school - so don't take that as an absolute statement.

as for kubotan/yawarra - this sort of thing is done in fillipino arts, and is very simmilar (in my use and preference) to using a knife in the downwards or "icepick" grip. imagine using a hammerfist (using the bottom ridge of your hand to strike downwards on a target) with a knife or kubotan inside it. the hammerfist itself is a great attack anyway.

the kubotan is also used for thrusting and holding into pressure points, ie like if you were using your fingers - just put it where the fingers would go

if you can set up some sort of target and strike it using the kubotan you'll be able to get an idea of how it will feel striking rather than practising on open air

Hey there Meanstreak!
thanks v much for your advice. it is much appreciated.

I just got my sticks and kubotan in the mail today. so a coupla things got knocked over in my enthusiasm, b4 i got to the garage!

i've ordered the following books:

1) Complete Sinawali: Filipino Double-weapon Fighting. Reynaldo Galang

and
2) Modern Arnis: Filipino Art of Stickfighting by Remy A. Presas

think i will just work through some of the dog brothers drills to start of with and the materials that the books have in 'em. that should hopefully give me a semi-decent understanding, so that i'll benefit more once i am in a position to see an instructor. i think the style ultimately will be dictated by availability as opposed to anything else. your breakdown of some of the styles was v informative though. the range can be quite confusing for the newbie.

i get the impression that the book on kubotan by Takayuki Kubota is prob a good buy, but an understanding of MA generally is sufficient to use it adequately. i think i'll get a punchbag to practice on as per your advice. don reiac's site had some good pics of what you were talking about. thanks for the keywords! [IMG]http://www.fightingarts.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif[/IMG]

[This message has been edited by engineersthumb (edited 01-18-2005).]

good to hear you found rearics site - very good start

i know what you mean about availibility being the decider, right now i cant train, no one into arnis/kali/escrima anywhere near where i live

also look into these links
http://www.pekiti-tirsia.net/mainfile.php?lang=en&soundsParam=&file=mainfile
http://www.selfdefenseforums.com/forums/?
http://www.yawara.com/
http://www.kombatan.com/

good luck

thanks again! [IMG]http://www.fightingarts.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif[/IMG]