I will be attending a Doce Pares seminar soon (although I train in Tae Kwon Do and boxing), I have been told its a good oppurtunity that shouldnt be missed as the instructor is 10th dan Danny Guba . I was a bit skeptical at first as i usually am of anyone over 6th dan but from doing a bit of research it is clear he is no phony. I was wondering if anyone has any experience with Doce Pares or has trained with Danny Guba, any info would be much appreciated.

Thanx in advance

i have trained with Guro Danny Guba on a few occasions- he does a sunday afternoon 'mini-seminar' every month at the Cambridge Academy of Martial Arts. He is a very nice guy, and he is also 100% the real deal. He teaches at a fast rate, and part of the fun is just trying to remotely keep up as he blurs and flurries away infront of you looking like its the easiest most natural thing to be doing on a sunday afternoon.

Doce Pares is the only pure form of escrima I have any experience of, so I can't compare it to any other, but I am sure you will have a great time trying it out

I'm hoping to take-up Arnis again after over 10 yrs away from it.

I was initially introduced to the art by a friend who trained under Bustillo (Torrence, CA, USA). We did a lot of back-yard work & after he left the country, I tried to practice w/ a couple of guys (I introduced to the art to them). Both quit. Although I didn't like the occasional rap on the knuckles but I felt that I was starting to get the hang of it.

Well, I have the opportunity of taking it up again, this time closer to home. I spoke w/ a gentleman who teaches out of his home about 5 miles away from my home. He's affiliated w/ Doce Pares. I've researched him & the organizarion on the internet.

Two questions:
1. How does Doce Pares differ from Bustillo's art?
2. How "hard core" is D.P. (I can't afford serious injuries)?

Thanks

BTW: I was introduced to Modern Arnis but found it too tippy-tappy (too much emphasis ons quickness & less on impact). Is that somewhat accurate?

Crikey, i will be totaly honest and tell you that I have no basis for comparison to other systems of Kali/escrima. i do know that to grade in Doce Pares one must show proficiency in requisite patterns (kata, if you will), but also in sparring. This is in body armour, gloves and face guard, and is full contact. Guro Guba (the initial subject of this thread) has been world full contact stick fighting champ on more than one occasion, and the combat element inherent in the art is well represented, but I have never had more than a bruised knuckle or two.
I suppose I would say there is enough 'oomph' to make it interesting and legitemate as a form of fighting, but stops short of dog Brothers style gatherings.
As with every style, I suspect that it is expressed and imparted in different ways by different instructors. Its a cracking system though- your going to love full force double stick work, makes you feel like Jeff Speakman at the start of 'Perfect Weapon'

Doce Pares is a very good art. I have never trained with Modern Arnis people, but it is my understanding that the art is heavily based on Balintiwak, which I have a lot of experience. I refer to Balintiwak as the "karate" of the FMA in that it is very straight forward and does not use a lot of flash.

If you have the opportunity to train in Doce Pares, I would advise it. Don't worry about getting hurt. The use of rattan minimizes the injuries. Oh, it will hurt, but it won't be likely to injur. My daughter received her fair share of hits when she was young and would walk into the training area without anyone seeing her. She is none the worse (although she does kind of walk at an angle to her right )

Thanks for the feed-back. Back then, I never used any kind of protection. Most of the guys I saw @ a tournament used hockey gloves but they were too bulky (& expensive) for me & I couldn't seem to maintain a good grip on the stick.

I am sure they make dedicated gloves by now, as filipino arts have increased in poularity over the last few years, i only ever borrow from the club/classmates, its not my principle style so I havent invested a whole lot of cash in it (a couple of sticks and a training knife). I would think that Cricket gloves (as used in batting) would be better that Hockey gloves as their is more fine motor manipulation in cricket that hockey.

Just came across this vintage film clip on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slLL1d9je3o&NR

Comments?

There are a *bunch* of different "flavours" of Doce Pares.

The club was originally founded by 12 different masters, each with their own specialities. The current "multi-style" syllabus taught by GM Diony Canete (Who is GM Guba's current teacher, I believe) incorporates the original styles of corto, or close range (3 different versions), siniwalli, largo mano (long range), sword (single and double), sword/stick and dagger, and single and double knife, as well as empty hand covering striking and grappling.

I recently had a chance to look through the syllabus for the advanced levels, and it includes staff and spear as well...

As you can see, it's pretty comprehensive.

You'll often come across people teaching some aspects and sub-systems. It's still Doce Pares, just not the complete, orginal system.

For example, Richard Bustillo is a senior in GM Cacoy Canete's group. Cacoy's style favours the curving version of corto, or corto curbada, and eskrido or stick grappling. He also teaches other aspects like double stick, but it's not (as I understand it) the primary focus.

Incidentally, Balintawak is also a relative of Doce Pares, as GM Anciong Bacon ( founder of the style) was taught by the Saavedra family, who were early members of Doce Pares. Balintawak is similar to the corto linyar close range style in the multi-style system.

Balintawak differs from Modern Arnis (at least the Balintawak I've trained in) as there is heavy emphasis on power striking, as well as the trapping, or tapi-tapi.

I just spoke w/ the instructor (John Garcia) & will be observing a class tomorrow night. Will keep y'all informed.