I will say this topic is one I deal with all of the time and if you are reading this and are "thin skinned" stop now so you feeling do not get hurt! OK for those who are interest here is my thoughts and observations. I have seeing some of the post that my friend Daniel has posted in his satire  Guro FOB, and it has made me laugh because I can relate to what he says.

But putting the humor aside  for moment lets look at some of the Filipino American systems, these are made out of piece…

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To Vicious or violent in Self-defense in interesting question. Violence is defined as: exertion of physical force so as to injure or abuse. Vicious is defined as: disposed or characterized by violent or destructive behavior. These are interesting terms, yet neither one does justice to the real world. Today's society in American has worked hard to produce a large body of good victims being told do not be violent. I see this throughout the schools and the kids now…

I was reading an article while waiting for my son in Reader's Digest about the about the Military's Mindfullness program, and the work they have done to reduce PTSD. as I was reading it the author was talking about the two types of minds they had noted during parachute training. They said there were people who stress and function only OK to poorly and those who when stressed minds become clear and they function beast. They had found that those who had this trait where least likely to suffer…

Many people are taught to do a technique aka "monkey see monkey do". But most never learn the principles behind the the technique. This is sad as you then apply it from any angle. I have been reading and enjoying Mark Wiley's book: Mastering Eskrima Disarms that just came out. After reading some of the book and  looking at who was in the book I was not surprised that his thoughts are similar to mine. I was surprised who we shared as friends. I have always tried to teach my students the…

These three basic concepts in FMA that I try to teach to my students and get them to understand all the time. These apply to sticks knives and empty hands.

1st concept- get out of the way! If you are not at the point of impact you do not get hit, simple right, you see this in boxing, FMA and Kung Fu. In boxing its called Bobbing and weaving, in FMA it is called Elastiko or Rubber Bando, in Kung Fu you see this in Drunkin Man style. I have even seen this in Tai Chi. Kids do this in…

Good judgment comes from experience. And where does experience come from? Experience comes from bad judgment.” Mark Twain

The trick to to this is to learn from this experience of your life and others. It shortens the learning curve.

 Last Saturday night one of my students used one of my knife disarms for real in altercation between two guys at his work. My student on the weekend works as tattoo artist in a rough part of San Diego. He said that  a  guy came in to get a tattoo on his chest, After he got his tattoo, his friend who had been drinking, came in and slapped him on the fresh tattoo, his friend did it a second time and also grabbed him on the fresh tattoo. The man screamed in pain, he drew his knife and started…

Here is fun drill that we did today, take your Bolo that is sharp ( must be very sharp, like to cut paper), have your partner at least 20 feet away from you pitch an apple or orange at your center mass. It can be underhand or overhand. You will have to get out of the way and cut it in fluid motion. The goal is to cut it as centered as possible, then have them pitch you the halves to cut again. As you do each one have them pitch faster so you can speed up your reaction time. you will see and…

The stick as I said before is an impact weapon, but when sharpened on both ends it now becomes a thrusting/cutting weapon and when fire hardened or metal tipped. I have seen weapons made by Manongs that had a sharpened piece of a can held in by a nail. They would strike for impact and cut with the sharp tip. This tactic would be used on the legs and arms. I have also seen the sticks sharpen so that when a thrust was delivered they were stabbing you like a fencing foil. By the butt being…

Each weapon has mechanical principles that it operates with. Even just stick or rock, A stick is just two things in its attack mode, an impact weapon and a thrusting weapon.Understanding and apply this means you can correctly apply an attack. Adding to the an understanding of the body and its weaknesses you can now maximize the damage you can deliver. In its defense mode it is a shield, I know it is hard for a student to wrap there mind around a concept of hiding behind a 3/4 inch diameter…

Merry Christmas today, may your holiday be good one filled with friends,family and good times! Remember to say a prayer today for all of those who keep you safe at home and overseas!

Patrick Henry

“They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have…

To All,
Take time today to celebrate, share & remember all of the people, things, and situations that you can be thankful for. That is true spirit of Thanksgiving, our Fall Harvest festival.
Mataw Guro Marc Lawrence, South Bay Filipino Martial Arts.

Lately I have had huge increase in the requests for training against knife attacks, to quote Bram Frank, steel beats flesh! I have been teaching students, basics like footwork for avoidance, how to cut and check, cut check, and pass, how to get to their knives when being attack and how to counter attack and to quote Bram Frank again how to perform ethical cutting, in other words how to disable but not kill with a knife. This does require a higher level of understanding by the instructor…

I went this morning as I have many mornings recently for the park, some morning to work out with private students before they go to work. But I also have following of elderly Filipinos (Manongs) who wait for me for lessons. Many of them have seen and some did Arnis a long time ago. I have taken the simple concepts of Cinco Terros and blended them with the breathing and exercises of Tai-Chi. My little class goes about 30-45 minutes, I have five who walk around the park several times first…

It was on this day back in 1587 that Filipinos came ashore to California under the Spanish flag searching for supplies & water. One of the Filipino died defending his fellow countrymen against an attack by  local Native Americans. This occurred near Moro Bay. Hey remember it is Filipino American History Month!

Had great workout with one of my morning students on small blades.  We use a hard focus pad as the target and arm guard and glove with my knife hand, that is the secondary target. The drill is like a boxing drill of get the focus pad 1st, look out for the the punch but instead you use the the knife to counter attack. I always use safety glasses for eye protection safety. I have a variety of training knives in different sizes, these are great for working with copies of tactical folders,…

I will one of the teachers sharing their style on  board the Queen Mary, in Long Beach California from 9am to 7pm. I am on at 0955 hrs sharing the 14 uses of the live hand when stick fighting. There many other teacher going to be their systems. This event is well prices at 35.00 per seminar or 135. for the day! Parking is 17.50

Happy 4th of July, Today our nation is 236 years old! Get out today and show your patriotism. Remember thank a veteran and our members of the Armed Forces for their service and help keep our freedom!