3 X 3 X 3

No, I am not hitting you with high school math stuff...(math and martial arts already discussed in previous post anyway)

Guro Fred started digging into what this current cycle is all about. As intermediate students, we are supposed to know the basics reasonably well, and start developing our flow and application of them. He mentioned the 3 X 3 X 3.

In Filipino Martial Arts, there are three distances. Largo, medio, and corto - long, medium, close. These distances determine the wide range of available responses, and controlling the distance, which to Filipinos means going toward corto in almost every case, destroying anything that comes to you as you get in. A broad definition of these distances by available weapon is:

• largo - sikaran kicks, kampilan, tip of baston
• medio - full baston, punches, panantukan kicks, daga/kris at extension, long arm throws
• corto - punyo, elbows/knees/headbutts, daga/kris, sweeps, dumog

Silat, Wing Chun, and many other styles talk about a different three. Three height lines: high line, medium line, and low line. These lines can be defined as follows:

• high line: above opponent's arms and targeting head or throat
• mid-line: tip of the breastbone down to the knees
• low-line: below opponent's arms and targeting ankles and feet

The final 3 refers to the fact that there are inside, outside and split entry solutions.

Like a chessboard, there are nearly an infinite set of solutions using the above definitions.
As we train and find our flow, we should spend time explore and expressing each of the permutations to become comfortable, especially moving between inside/outside/split, the 3 lines, and the 3 distances. Mixing it up, your training will never be boring, and you will be giving yourself the benefit of being able to flow in every situation.

Enjoy!