Advice on Blade for Arnis and the Filipino Combat Arts

A

Anthony

Joined
Jun 11, 1999
Messages
47
Hello Everyone,

I just started studying Modern Arnis about two weeks ago and am very new to the Filipino martial arts.

Does anyone have any advice on traditional Filipino and non-Filipino blade styles for both knives and swords that optimize the techniques taught in the various Filipinio arts?

Does anyone know of good factory and custom makers of such blades designed for combat use?

Thank you for the help.

- Anthony
 
Anthony

Good to see that you have started training. But slow down a little. You have only been training 2 weeks and are asking questions on a open forum that should better be left to your instructor. There is nothing wrong with the question you are asking but what tools does your instructor use (recommend)and have you asked him why? Myself I am a nut about edged weapons and have been down the path you are standing on right now. There are thousands if not more different knife and sword patterns, makers out there give yourself some time to develop your art and you will find the answers to your questions. I have spent a ton of money on knives and find that I am almost always drawn back to the same couple while the others lay in their drawer waiting for me to play with them again. Your instructor should be able to direct you to what is necessary for your training right now. Soon you will meet other students and instructors who will have different things for you to look at and try out to see how they feel and handle and as your experiance grows your taste will change and your own preferences based on knowledge and training will help you make better choices than you can right now. Plus save you some money. I have made some bad choices in my time. Please do not let my remake about an open forum give you a bad view on forums I am not knocking forums I think they allow a free flow of ideas and exchanges of points of view that a decade ago would never happen but there are a lot of people who will pass on an opinon thats right for him or her as the only way. So you have to learn to take things with a grain of salt. Believe me Knives are one of these items where everyone has opinon. I see you are fort worth tx. I am in irving tx your email is blocked so send an email I am curious about who you are training. '
jim
 
Good advice, gentlemen; however, it does not work for me. Forgive me for not going into more detail...

My background in knives is very extensive with some experience in fighting with them. My instructor is just the opposite. He is first rate on technique, but lacking in hardware knowledge.

He's a stick and empty hand fighter who knows the same techniques translate to knives and swords, but he brings a more senior instructor in monthly for the specifics on blades.

This is why I posted.

I'm interested in specific blades which are used in the Filipino arts. Recently, I saw a poster for sale online which appeared to display a wide array of knives and swords specific to the Filipino arts. Unfortunately the image of it was too small to see specifics.

Does anyone have any advice which might help me other than "wait and see"?

I'm interested in studying the blades as I study the art.

Thank you...

- Anthony
 
here's my pick: Hellcat by Mad dog with 14" blade, fully-insulating composite glass-epoxy handle surrounding a full tang. Drawback: dreadfully expensive and a long order time.

Hellcat_Dundee.jpg
 
Anthony,

I know a top kali instructor, who mentioned carrying two small Sebenza's, one lefty, one righty, in his front pants pockets. However, his skill is >>> greater than mine, so what's good for him may not be the best for me, or even you. In class, we used an aluminum trainer with, I think, a 5" - 6" blade and a cord wrapped handle.

If it's not impolite to ask, what sort of knife training have you done?


Alan
 
Hi Anthony,

I agree with Jim in that you should use the blade that is specified by the instructor. This way you can learn the intracacies of the specific application before you assimilate it to weapons of other lengths and shapes.

That said, you should look for dull, lighter practice swords/knives first. I know that when I first started practicing FMA, I was always hitting myself with my stick. Don't want to do that practicing with live blades.

I recall modern arnis favored a 18-20" stick. So any knife or sword of the same length or shorter should translate pretty well.

As for live blades, take a look at Livesay's Recon Combat Machete. No BS construction. Used by law enforcement and military. Cross between knife and machete 18" overall length. Production knife, so it won't break the bank.

As for the blade specific styles, Kali Illustrisimo is heavily focused on blade emphasis. I also related best with the Kali Illustrisimo style because of the emphasis on ambidexterity as it pertains to a forward facing centerline.

Clearly the stick and blade have vast commonalities but fundamentally are totally different beasts. The stick has undifferentiated sides so the impact point of contact is always the same, power delivery is the variable. The blade on the other hand has 4 sides, with 3 of them differentiated. Thus 3 distinct categories of techniques.

Ray Galang in New Jersey is the Kali Illustrisimo representative in the US (last I heard).

Sundsvall
 
Originally posted by Sundsvall
Hi Anthony,


I recall modern arnis favored a 18-20" stick. So any knife or sword of the same length or shorter should translate pretty well.


Sundsvall
Click to expand...

I think you mean Serrada. In Modern Arnis, I'd say that the usual stick length is 26" to 28". I like short sticks also...especially if they are hardwood. The extra weight of the hardwoods makes up for their short length when manipulating them.
 
K. Williams,

Doug Pierre in NYC teaches Modern Arnis with a shorter stick. That's where I got the info from.

Hellcat looks really cool. I want one.

Sundsvall
 
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