Carenza - The Dance Of Life and Death

note --- above is Manong Cody Chilson of FCS, who visited Japan last year with Tuhon Ray Dionaldo.

Carenza - or blade dancing - is an important part of the Filipino Martial Arts.  It is often called "The Dance of Death", but can be a great way to improve our daily lives as well.

1) History and Culture
Carenza (also Karenza, Carrenza, etc) has its roots deep in the warrior movements practiced across the Philippines.  Until very recently, specific techniques were rarely written down and, unlike traditional Japanese/Chinese/Okinawan/Korean martial arts, kata (forms) have been eschewed in favor of drilling and sparring.  As well, since martial arts were forbidden under colonial rule of the Spanish, many training concepts were embedded/hidden in traditional Filipino dancing (Sayaw), just as they are in Indonesian/Malay traditional dances, Thai dances, Vietnamese dances and are even found across the globe in arts like Capoeira's Ginga. Even the well-known Tinikling, of bamboo dance, has important uses as part of training footwork patterns for fighting (note the high-stepping replacement footwork in the video).  Carenza is usually done to music and as a general rule they are unscripted, just like shadow boxing. 

There are also suggestions that Carenza was used before battle (tribal fights or individual duels), similar to the Maori Hakka, as a way of intimidating the enemy with a show of physical and martial prowess designed to strike fear into enemy ranks and bolster the defenders' courage.  These pre-fight displays are common in the animal kingdom as ways of establishing and maintaining social hierarchy and found in human culture across civilizations.

2) Training Uses and Benefits
Carenza is also often considered a form of FMA "Shadowboxing", and as such has many of the same benefits as western shadowboxing.  Namely, it improves the look and feel of our flows by adding to our fluency of motion, helping us chain together various movements in order to become smooth and connected.  I consider 3 levels of training/visualization in Carenza.  Also, akin to skipping rope, good Carenza provides cardio and, when using heavier sticks, strength training for the arms and core.  Inclusion of abanico/witik movements helps increase the range of motion of the wrists and adds to their flexibility.  Carenza is often done with single stock, but can be practiced with any/every weapon or combination such as Espada / Espada Y Daga, tomahawk, karambit and so on.

Carenza is often done solo, but can be performed with a partner, where both show their flow dance-off style to see which person exhibits the best combination of technical mastery, physicality and intensity. 

A) Practicing Basic Movements/Chaining
At its simplest, Carenza is a way to work on basic striking angles and connect them together.  Starting with 6 basic angles, adding to 10 angles, and creating random combinations to connect the attacks.  Hits can be practiced in broken and full lines with varying tempos.  Wrist rolls and changing hands are important parts of the Carenza as well. Other add-ins can then be included such as redondo, abanico, dunga, doble, Amara.  Footwork patterns are added as well including male/female triangles, replacements, pivots and the like.  We start to change from high line to low line (one or both knees down), which works the legs and reminds us to stay coiled and low when we move.  We practice our elastico footwork 1-step and 2-step, exploring how to open and close distance between corto/medio/largo.  The live hand can simulate checking/passing/grabbing/striking as part of the flow. 

B) Application and Visualization
Intermediate to advanced Carenza includes not only continuous flowing, but also fighting application and visualization.  Now, rather than just swinging the stick,  we imagine the attacking angles and how to respond to them.  We think about ranges (largo, medio, corto) and about principles (passa/contradas) and about positioning (point up/down) and this begins to affect how our body and weapons move.  We start to visualize attacking patterns and our responses and chain them together in meaningful combinations, burning these responses into our muscle memory.  In two-player Carenza, the goal is to flow off of the opponent's movements, in effect "countering" how they move and vice versa.  This is intended to convey to the opponent that "anything you try to do I am ready and can counter you".

C) Intensity and Focus
Carenza is also a good way to practice intensity and focus.  Rather than just moving body and weapon together, we can work on the gaze and projection of our aggressive intent.  As I have mentioned in other posts, training ourselves to be bold and assertive is not only essential for survival in combat, but for success in other aspects of our lives as well.

3) Closing
Like all of our training, what we put in is basically what we get out.  How we move and flow with our weapons and our bodies is in direct correlation to the quality and amount of time we practice.  Carenza is a great way to build our skills and should not be ignored as a training method.

The Slap

(thanks for the inspiration KJ)

Q: What did the five fingers say to the face?
A: SLAP!

Lately, as we explore the various expressions of Sinawali 6 using our empty hands - specifically outside, inside and split entries, the topic of different strikes comes up in class.  Is it better to hit using a closed fist or open hand?

Open hand hitting has a lot of advantages versus striking with a closed fist.
As I have suggested in my blog before, I think that using the open hand can be a very viable and effective self-defense option.  In fact, I think many martial artists do not fully appreciate the devastating power of this striking tool.

The "Iron Palm" Tradition
Various internal martial arts focus on the palm as a striking tool and involve specific training in breathing and conditioning together with chi kung to increase the striking power and effectiveness.  Notable practitioners of this "Iron Palm" training include Brian Gray. Body hardening is found in many martial arts dating back to Indian yoga traditions even older than Shao Lin Kung Fu, as well as Okinawan Karate's Sanchin, Silat's Tarikan Tenaga, Muay Thai conditioning and others.  Some employ lotions or creams to strengthen the body (dit da jow, etc.) and some FMA even use holy talismans or other animist/spiritual magics to toughen the body or avoid injury.  That said, good, strong slapping can be done by amost anyone without additional conditioning.

The Striking Surface
For me, open hand slapping is best done across the palm surface (NOT the fingers).  I do not advocate striking with the fingers themselves, since the knuckles can flex/bend and cause hyper extension injury to the striking hand.  Instead, I advocate hitting with the pad of the palm all the way down to the palm heel, where the hand joins the wrist.  This surface is padded and yields strong impact force on contact.  In karate, palm heel strikes are well-known as among the most devastating hits.  The slap presents a broad surface area which often hits with palm heel and palm pad at the same time to two different areas (mastoid process and ear canal, for example).  It is likewise easy to transition strikes from palm heel to tegatana (knife edge) which are also delivered with an open hand and are devastating in their own right.

Key Targets
Palm heel hits in karate are often done as an option to the straight punch, aimed vertically under the nose/chin or horizontally at the ear.  Contrary to urban myth, it does not seem possible to palm heel nose cartilage into the brain via the nasal canal, although Hollywood seems to love this one.

I suggest that the open hand slap works very well against the side of the head including the ear, the temple, the mastoid process/jawline or even the orbital cavity.  Palm strikes to other soft tissues like the neck or groin are also effective, especially when using the palm heel.  I also like the slap or palm on the low line, particularly to turn the knee or change the direction of the hip line as a setup for other hits.

Opinions are divided on the use of the slap or palm against the rest of the torso including liver/spleen, sternum, plexus and the like.  I have heard some masters describe dim mak strikes delivered with the palm strike to the chest and designed to stop the heart, much like using a defibrillator on someone NOT having a heart attack.

The closest realistic variant of this is usually delivered with the knife edge strike and known as the brachial stun, applied to the brachial nerve line/auricular nerve line between the neck and the shoulder.

Training and Practice
Like all techniques, good training is done in several different ways.  I like to explore options during class, looking for places where the technique can fit into my flow.  Separately it's good to practice striking with power and intent on the heavy bag or with the focus mitts.  Make sure to keep your arm in from of your body when hitting, in order to avoid possible damage to shoulder and chest.  Slaps can usually fit in anywhere a hook punch would be used.  Be creative.

See you at class.

Area 51

Well, that's it.  I'm 51 today.

It's been an amazing year, over far too fast.  As always, I've met a great bunch of people and tried my best to make a difference while I am here. 
This year was truly a year of changes.

It was great to see messages from people all over the world wishing me well today.  It is both humbling and gratifying to think our lives are so connected.  Thank you for thinking of me, even for a moment.

Personally, my health is good and I find it hard to believe that a year or two ago I could hardly walk due to osteoarthritis in both knees.  Now I feel better than ever.  Ultimately I tried a series of injections into my knees, which at the time didn't seem to be working.  However, over a few months things improved and now they both feel good as new - without surgery.

Our Kali Family continues to strengthen, with several students preparing for their Kadua Guro tests next year.  They continue to impress me with their knowledge and dedication, each of them bringing new perspectives to what we do.  We have had some new joiners as well who are diving in with passion and energy.  Most importantly, we are using what we learn to make our daily lives better - to become who we want to be, conquering our fears and uncertainty and freeing ourselves to face new challenges.  Since last year I got chances to train with a lot of incredible martial artists, including a great training week at Peaceful Warrior Camp 2017.  See you in Phuket in March 2018!!  I can't wait!!

Professionally, the year ends with hope.  I resigned from my job and now have some time to carefully consider next steps.  Faced with being marginalized, I chose a higher path and sought better opportunity elsewhere.  This is what I advise my students to do, and I am glad that I could overcome my inertia and worries and do the right thing - look for a place where my background and experience could be more fully utilized to help our customers.  A new chapter will start for me in 2018 and I am very excited.  Salesforce was a strong beginning, and I will always be grateful to my Ohana for their encouragement and support.

Overall, despite the obstacles, this has been the best year EVER! Onward and Upward!!

There will be family time and travels before the New Year, both of which are treasures for me.  I'm looking forward to what 2018 can be. 
I'm looking forward to sharing this journey with you.

Thank you for your constant support and encouragement.

Osu!! 

Inayan System of Eskrima

On Halloween weekend we were given a very special treat.

Together with our friends at Shin Kali, we hosted the first Japan visit by Suro Jason Inay, Grandmaster of the Inayan System of Eskrima.  It was an amazing two days jam-packed with training drills, history, application and more.  I can't wait for the next one.

Kali-Majapahit stickwork is strongly influenced by Inayan Eskrima, including drilling of Cabca, Sinawali and Serrada, and it was a great opportunity to learn directly from the source.

About Suro Jason
Suro Jason is the son of legendary Eskrima master Mike Inay who, together with GM Angel Cabales, is widely recognized as one of the founding fathers of FMA in America having jointly established the West Coast Eskrima Society (WES) in the 1970s together with Max Sarmiento.  During the Pinoy Diaspora, many Filipino immigrants settled in places like Hawaii, but California was also an extremely popular destination, particularly the Bay area and around Stockton.  Suro Jason grew up training in Eskrima with his father and other famous masters, affectionately called "Uncles" - a veritable who's-who of FMA royalty in America.  The Stockton Tradition is characterized by low, powerful stances explosive striking and blinding speed, now hardly found even in the Philippines. Students of this tradition are easily recognizable when they move.

Having become familiar with many prominent styles, his grounding is firmly in the Inayan family system, to which he has added additional structure and pedagogy.  Suro Jason spent many years as a professional bouncer and currently works as a fugitive retrieval investigator/agent.  Despite this pedigree, he is humble and genuine and brings a direct, no-frills practical approach to the family tradition.  ISE includes a variety of sub-systems, each designed to cope with a different set of fighting circumstances.  These include Dequerdas, Sinawali, Kadena De Mano, Espada Y Daga, Largo Mano and Serrada among others.  While we touched a bit on all of them, we spent a majority of the seminar training specifically in Inayan Serrada.

Serrada Sticks
Although Serrada can be done with almost any length of stick (some masters use sticks over 35"), it is typically shown using a shorter, heavier stick between 22-24" in length.  The stick is unique to the individual and should reach from the armpit against the torso along the arm to the base of the wrist.  This stick allows for superior mobility at the extreme close range where Serrada is considered most effective.  Longer sticks can be used if hip rotation, footwork and shoulder positioning is good.

Stance and Footwork
Serrada stances are low and grounded, weight onto the balls of the feet.  Older pictures of GM Cabales show his knees almost touching the ground. This improves the geometry of the blocking by lowering the center of gravity and "coils" the legs for explosive counters.  Serrada is a forward-moving style, ideally suited to dueling in close quarters and does not rely on backward or sideways steps to evade.  Rapid replacement footwork delivers the full body weight on impact and positions the hips and bodyline for optimal striking and defense.  Done properly, Serrada can receive full power strikes in rapid succession while keeping very close to the opponent.

Transitions
Much of Serrada is practiced with the single stick, however double stick, double dagger, espada y daga are all based on the same responses, as well as empty hands, flexible weapons and even the bankaw.  The cornerstone movements (3 responses to each of the 5 basic attacking angles) have universal application regardless of weapon type.

Training
Apart from the many and varied training drills that ISE uses, they are renowned for the "lock and block" method.  In this drill, the receiver stands his/her ground while the feeder attacks with a set of random attacks that the receiver must block or evade.  No counter attacks are allowed, and the drill increases intensity in accordance with the receiver's ability, pushing just past the comfort zone into a high stress, high intensity session.  At higher levels, the attacks are full speed, full power and completely unscripted.  The feeder also trains to find openings in the guard and touch points on the body or head.  All of us had a chance to experience this drill one-on-one with Suro Jason and it is a humbling experience.  Some may liken this to the flow sparring of Balintawak, however in my experience the speed and power of the attacks are very different.  Lock and Block develops not only timing and reflex, but also the unique ability of Serrada to get ahead of the attacking chain and reposition proactively for the next strike.  Even at the basic level this drill is done with both stick and empty hands variations.

Summary
It would be easy to label Suro Jason as simply "GM Mike Inay's son".  This would do a disservice to the more than 40 years of training and research he has done to take ISE even further than it was.  He brings unique, practical insights to his family art and delivers extremely dense information in every moment of the seminar.

Friends in the Los Gatos area, I am insanely jealous of your chance to train regularly with Suro Jason.  He is the real deal and a warm and considerate teacher fully dedicated to making his students better.

Find him. Meet him. Train with him.  Be grateful.

Further Info
http://www.inayan-eskrima.biz/
http://www.jasoninay.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/InayanEskrimador