°lipino knife fighting is as serious as it gets.

By Ryan Richard * Photos by Ichiro Nagata

"Move, move, move! Attack, ttack, attack! Take his hand!"

yells Master blade-fighting instructor Tim Waid.

As the burned smell of rattan fills the musty air

inside the Ralph Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy, in

rkeley, Calif., Guro Waid continues to yell out

his instructions over the distinctive popping

sounds of rattan sticks striking each other. "He who controls the circle, controls the

ranging, controls the fight!" adds the Guro.

Guro Waid keeps a sharp eye on the speed,

power, and footwork ofthe students attending

the two-day combat blade-fighting seminar

based on the Pekiti-Tirsia Kali system. Magi-

noo Tim Waid is a certified Master Instructor

of the system, president of the Pekiti-Tirsia Global

Organization (PTGO), and national director for Pekiti-

irsia USA. The term maginoo means "elder," and guro

eans "instructor."

He also serves as Director of Survival Edged SystemsI

ekiti-Tirsia Tactical Training Institute and is respon-

sible for all tactical training curriculums of the Pekiti-Tirsia system. Guro Waid has extensive experience

in the Republic of the Philippines, where he cur-

rently serves as a Tactical Training Instructor to

the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine

National Police, government agencies, and pri-

vate businesses.

Associate Instructor Mike Shimer and the

Pekiti-Tirsia Kali training group from San

Francisco invited Guro Waid to come and

141

teach, hosting the Berkeley event that I'm attending.

Guro Waid was kind enough to travel from his home in

Dallas to pass on his knowledge to his eager kalistas (kali

practitioners) of the Bay Area during this two-day event.

Guro Waid constantly reminds his kalistas of a fun-

damental principle of blade-fighting- you don't want

to be hit with any of these weapons. Protecting yourself,

through constant maneuvering and offensive striking,

should be your first priority.

A History of Kali

Kali is the ancient martiai art indigenous to the Phil-

ippines. It uses edged, as well as impact, weapons. Edged

weapons include spears, bolos, and knives, while impact

weapons include fire-hardened rattan and hardwood

sticks. There is also a complete empty-hands technique

(or "hand blade" system) that includes striking with all

natural weapons of the body.

Unlike other martial arts, such as Kung Fu or Karate,

which first teach empty-hand techniques before mov-

ing to any form of weapons, only the Filipino art of Kali

begins with a weapon. In Kali, the edged-weapon tech-

niques are taught first, which are easily transferable and

adaptable to impact weapons and, ultimately, to emp-

ty-hand techniques. As Guro Waid simply explains it,

"Nothing changes."

After all, the Pekiti-Tirsia system is employed with

many types and combinations of weapons. Pekiti-Tirsia

regards all weapons as having the same lethality as edged

weapons. A steel bar, lead pipe, hardwood flat stick, or

rattan stick can all maim and kill just as easily as a bolo

or machete. It just takes a bit more forceful application

the farther away you get from a cutting weapon.

The deadly art of Kali was first introduced to famed

explorerFerdinand Magellan and his Spanish conquista-

dors in 1521, when they invaded the Philippine Islands.

Armed only with crude swords, home-made spears, and

fire-hardened sticks, Datu Lapu Lapu and his fierce war-

riors prevailed against the finest Toledo steel and best

Spanish rapiers, killing Magellan and totally overpow-

ering the armor-clad Spaniards.

In the 1570s, the Philippines finally fell to the Span-

ish tactics of divide and conquer, pitting the different

island tribes against each other. However, the Filipino

blade remained a feared weapon throughout the Span-

ish occupation as the deadly art of Kali brought many

regional victories in the numerous revolts against Span-

ish subjugation. The Spaniards outlawed the practice

of Kali and banned the carrying of edged weapons.

The Filipinos preserved their martial arts by secretly

practicing it onlyamong the family clan and sometimes

within the close-knit Barangay (village) community.

Native dances also preserved the fast triangle footwork

techniques and patterns. Ironically, under the very

noses of their dictators, Filipinos performed the deadly

Kali movements within dances or mock battles staged

in religious plays known as Mora Moro for the pleasure

and enjoyment of their Spanish overlords.

In parts of the Philippines, the mother art of Kali

Technical sparring is the application Of specific tactics and techniques on predetermined target areas. Blocks are as much a part of the drills as strikes.

COMBAT TACTICS. FALL 2009 3

evolved into what the Spaniards called Eskrima or

Arnis de Mano. The term eskrima is thought to origi-

nate from the Spanish word escrime or esgrima, which

means to fence with a sword. Others believed the word

derived to mean any sort of skirmish.

Some believe that the term amis comes from the

word ames, which refers to the decorative harnesses

used by the actors in Moro Moro plays. The plays fea-

tured Filipinos, sometimes costumed as Spanish sol-diers, wearing ames, the harness worn during medi-

eval times as part of a knight's armor.

De mana simply qleans "of the hands," so a literal

translation of Amis de Mana is "harness of hand."

Since the Spanish occupation, these have been the three most popular terms generally used to describe

the martial arts of the Philippines.

Moro Uprising

In the early 1900s, the Filipino Muslims, called

Moros, rose up in rebellion. These early Islamic ter-

rorists violently opposed foreigners and were no more

ready to obey the Americans than the Spaniards. It

wasn't long before American troops took over fighting

the Moros where the Spanish had left off.

The Americans faced a frightening phenomenon

of the juramentadas, Moro fanatics who would whip

themselves into obsessed states of frenzy and stride

solo down the streets, chopping and hacking every-

thing and everyone in their path. These blood-lust-

enraged Moros would charge blindly into the ranks of

the American enemy, believing that every slain infidel

guaranteed their place in Muslim paradise because

they had been killed in battle against infidels. In their

religious fervor, the Moro zealots often raced directly into heavy volleys of gunfire, shrugged off incredible

wounds, and had to be literally shot to pieces before

their attack ended.

These tenacious rampages led to hair-raising tales

from American soldiers that their .38-caliber pistol

rounds failed to stop the advancing Moros. This ulti-

mately led to the adoption of the Colt .45 ACP caliber

1911 pistol, a weapon having tremendous hitting power,

specifically to stop the Moros. The deadly art of Kali that

the Moros so precisely employed with the use of their

edged weapons was a crucial element, along with their

religious fervor, which allowed the bloody, fanatical

rampages to succeed in their path of destruction.

The Ginunting is the principle combat blade Of this art (middle photo, man on left) originating from the province of Negros Occidental. "Pekiti" means closeness or up-close

and "Tirsia" means quartering or cornering.

144

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COMBAT TACTICS. FALL 2009 145

In World War II, the Philippines were occupied by

Japan, and once again the Filipinos were not willing

to obey the Japanese any more than the other previ-ous invaders. Welcoming American intervention dur-

ing the war, Filipinos eagerly enlisted in the U.S. mili-

tary. The 1st and 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiments, with

their favorite weapon, the bolo, fought in the campaign

to liberate their Philippine homeland. Filipinos also

established themselves as fierce guerrilla forces, some

known as "Bolo Battalions," with reputations for close-

in, hand-to-hand combat with bolo knives, marching in

triangle formation, with the point man disabling enemy

soldiers, leaving the other guerrillas to finish the job.

Following the war, many adventurous kalistas and

escrimadors left the Philippines for Hawaii and California,

which became the new homes to the largest Filipino com-

munities in the United States. With them, they brought

SureFire blades from the SureFire Edged Weapon Division may be either folders or fixed blades, drop points or spear points, but they're all designed as no-nonsense

tadical blades and are ideal for use in arts like Pekiti-Tirsia.

146

the different Filipino martial arts styles stateside.

Pekiti·Tirsia Kali

The Pekiti-Tirsia Kali system originated from the

provinces of Panay and Negros Occidental in the Phil-

ippines and is one of the few remaining authentic and

complete Filipino combat systems in existence today.

Pekiti-Tirsia is a traditional family system, formulated

and perfected by the Tortal family, which traces its exis-

tence back to a time and era when the carry and use of

an edged weapon was common, even required, among most men.

Pekiti-Tirsia is al close"-quarters, in-fighting combat

system against multiple opponents, based on the use of

a blade. Something called a ginunting is the principle bladed weapon of Pekiti-Tirsia, originating from the

province of Negros Occidental.

The name Pekiti-Tirsia literally

means "to cut into pieces at close

range." It encompasses all tradi-

tional weapon categories and is for-

mulated on the strategic principle of

the triangle. The triangle serves as

the basis for footwork, striking and

the tactical principles of close-quar-

ters combat. Meanwhile, back in Berkeley, if

a student dosen't understand some

fine point about the footwork, Guro

Waid patiently demonstrats and

works with his kalistas. When the

student finally gets it, Guro Waid

yells, "That's it!" before darting off

to another group. Guro Waid is con-

stantly on the move, demonstrating

and reminding the group of vari-ous training points and fine-tuning

each student.

"Diagonal attacks are superior!"

Guro Waid proclaims as he care-

fully eyes another sparring pair of

kalistas. Diagonal attacks, the Guro

says, may destroy either vertical or

horizontal strikes or other diagonal

strikes. With proper body mechan-ics, footwork, and timing, a particu-

lar strike may be used to destroy a

number of other strikes.

Guro Waid's seminar instruction

provides students with clear and

concise knowledge, understanding,

and the basic skills in Pekiti-Tirsia

combat blade-fighting. He gives you

what to train and how to train it.

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Make no mistake though, Guro Waid stresses that these

techniques need not only training repetitions but also

training that is dynamic and realistic.

Guro Waid's seminar generally operates on the basis

that the opponent is armed, highly trained, and well

prepared. That's okay. For Pekiti-Tirsia, the best defense

is a good offense- direct and effective tactics designed

to instantly end an encounter.

Remember, you don't want to be hit with any of these

weapons, and protecting yourself should be your first

priority. Keep moving to the left. Range and timing,

range and timing. Explosive footwork. Make an entry!

Strike! Attack!

This is a weapon-to-weapon principle-based art.

Strike to the hands or arms, cut the nerves, sever the

tendons, break the bones that control the enemy's

weapon. "You have to be able to control your weapon!"

GuroWaid yells. He demands his practitioners to be able

to strike very precisely and quickly.

The seminar opens with a review of the grip and

basic strikes to ensure proper mechanics and proper

angles were executed. Transferable technology at its

best- the stick work transfers directly to the knife work

in the seminar. These edged-weapon techniques are

also easily transferable and adaptable to empty-hand

techniques.

As Guro Waid later shows the students, a Pekiti-Tirsia

trained operator with a Glock in his hand, at close quar-

ters, can counter-attack a knife attack when an operator

is too close or can't shoot initially. Nothing changes. Tap,

trap and shoot! Dominate the combat.

His demonstrations are with the single stick, but then,

when he moves to double sticks, he left no doubt that

Guro Waid Can hit very hard, very fast, very accurately,

very many times! Any outsiders will never look at a rat-

tan stick the same, way again. Equally impressive is the

skill and grace with a razor- sharp Ginunting, a pair of

Spyderco knives, and espada y daga. Training with a

"live" blade is one way to validate skills.

The final point (no pun intended) was what Guro

Waid repeated as the Pekiti-Tirsia guarantee. No one

will remove the knife from your hand. The only way that

someone will remove the knife from your hand is ifyou

decide to stick it in and leave it in one of the vital organs

of your opponent. After all, Pekiti-Tirsia Kali is a ..-....

complete combat blade-fighting system.

fl. I • . - -----" ,,-

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