Today, the Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) have earned a very remarkable place in the martial arts world, but because of the multi-faceted nature of the art, they often tend to confuse some, if not many, of their practitioners, and this happens on different levels.

For a start, if a martial art begins with its name, Filipino Martial Arts troubles you from the very first step. Kali, Arnis, Escrima (or Eskrima) are all different terms to name what is more commonly called Filipino Martial Arts (also shortened to FMA).

Then, when you get more into the discipline itself, you discover that there are so many different styles under the same art, not to talk about the different terminologies employed to refer to techniques, moves, and the rest of it (this due to the countless existing dialects the Philippines).

But besides terms and styles, there are some other aspects that can be hard to figure out, like getting a proper understanding of the different segments, or areas, of this extremely heterogeneous art.

The Filipino Martial Arts are best known for their weaponry training - mainly stick fighting and knife fighting - but also for their empty hands (hand-to-hand) aspect of the art. Now, the thing is that even within those two main areas - weaponry and empty hands - some subdivisions exists, and I know that a lot of practitioners out there, be them students or instructors, try their best to define them, especially when it comes to the empty hands area.

Therefor…

A possible, simple subdivision

After all this years of practice and immersion in the world of the Filipino Martial Arts, at some point I came up with my own classification for the main areas and their respective subdivisions of this discipline, so I'd like to share it with my students and of course with any other FMA fellow out there.

Here's what it looks like:

Panandata (weaponry subdivision)

• Double sticks
• Single stick (Solo Baston)
• Knife
• Stick and knife, or long blade and knife (Espada y Daga)
• …

Pangamut or Suntukan (hand-to-hand subdivision)

• Panantukan (Filipino boxing)
• Sikaran/Pananjakman (Kicking art)
• Hubud (trapping, flowing drills)
• Dumog (grappling area)
• Kunsi (locking)
• Buno (takedowns, sweeping, unbalancing)
• Walis (sweeping)
• Kina Mutai (art of biting, pinching, eye gouging)

As you can see, a first "big" division is here made between weaponry art and hand-to-hand combat. (Keep in mind that this is not an exhaustive classification for all of the FIlipino Martial Arts areas, but just the main ones, the ones to which the majority of students and instructors actually devote most of their training time).

So, we got Panandata (or Pananandata), which is the weapons-based aspect of the art, and than we have the Pangamut (or Pangamot), which represents the empty hands - hand-to-hand - part. Somewhere, depending of the geographical area, the term Suntokan is used for describing the Filipino hand-to-hand combat art, but I believe that Pangamut is more common.

Within the Panandata a very simple subdivision is made by the different kinds of weapons (or combination of them). Again, we could identify more subdivisions, such as "double knives" or even "knife to hand", or stick to hand", but to me those are implicitly included in the relative subdivision.

One word of warning needs be spent here to say that this list does not include "all" of the weapons used in FMA. I deliberately left out some of them, like the "Stuff" and the "Pocket Stick", or some flexible weapons such as the "Sarong" or the "Nunchaku" and some sort of singular blades, like the "Karambit" (or Kerambit). My intent here is to provide a "first-level" weapons-arts that are most commonly used in FMA training.

Now, more interesting than the weaponry area and its subdivisions, is the empty hands one, since it's subject to many interpretation and therefor confusion.

First of all, it is a general habit to use the term "Panantukan" to refer to the hand-to-and Filipino style. Nothing wrong with that, actually, except that technically speaking "Panantukan" is only one part of the global empty hands system. (Panantukan gets translated into Filipino Boxing, or "Dirty Boxing" which uses various hand-type strikes, elbows, and limb destruction techniques, commonly called "Gunting").

But when you dig deep into the empty hands portion of the discipline, you discover that there are many other divisions in addition to the Panantukan, as we can see from the above classification, in the the entire hand-to-hand system.

Pananajakman (or Sikaran), for example, is the Kicking art in the system, while Hubud (shorten from "Higot Hubud Lubud") is a division that focus on the trapping range development as well as on different flowing drills needed to implement techniques and attributes into the practice.

A last division is the Kina Mutai, which is the art of biting and pinching and even though it is not often taught into the system, it is still a valuable part of the Filipino empty hands system.

So, there it is, my way of classification (at the moment of this writing), published here to help everybody visualize the main aspects of the Filipino Martial Arts.

But, as already stated, this classification is not exhaustive, and does not represents the entire Filipino Martial Arts universe.

Therefor…

The 12 areas of the Filipino Martial Arts according to Guru Dan Inosanto

I could't write an article about the Filipino Martial Arts subdivisions without mentioning the well known work of classification that Guru Dan Inosanto use to share with us and that is obviously used by many as a steady reference.

According to Dan Inosanto there are 12 areas that embody the Filipino Martial Arts (or maybe more precisely the Lacoste system), and I'd like to publish it here to accompany the rest of the article. This classification looks like this:

1st Area

• Single Stick (Olisi or Bastone)
• Single Sword
• Single Axe
• Single Cane

2nd Area

• Double Stick (Double Olis or Dubli Bastone)
• Double Sword
• Double Axe

3rd Area

• Stick and Dagger (Olisi-Baraw) or (Bastone y Daga)
• Cane and Dagger
• Sword and Dagger (Espada y Daga)
• Sword and Shield
• Long and Short Stick

4th Area

• Double Dagger (Baraw-Baraw) or (Dubli Daga)
• Double Short Sticks

5th Area

• Single Dagger (Baraw-Kamot)
• Single Short Stick

6th Area

• Palm Stick (Olisi-Palad)
• Double end Dagger

7th Area (Pangamut, Kamot-Kamot or Empty Hands)

• Panantukin (Boxing to include use of the Elbows) Elbows (Sieko)
• Pananjakman or Panantukin and Sikaran (Kicking to include use of Knees and Shin)
• Dumog, Layug, or Buno (Grappling) and Kuntzi (Locking)
• Ankab-Pagkusi also heard kini mutai (Bite and Pinch)
• Sagong Labo or Higot-Hubud-Lubud (“Tying-untying, and blending the two”, trapping range sensitivity exercise)

8th Area (Long Weapons)

• Staff (Sibat)
• Oar (Dula)
• Paddle (Bugsay)
• Spear (Bangkaw)
• Spear and Circular Shield
• Spear and Rectangular Shield
• Spear and Sword/Stick
• Spear and Dagger
• Two Handed Method (Heavy stick, Olisi Dalawang kamot)
• Two Handed Method (Regular stick)

9th (Area Flexible Weapons)

• Sarong (clothing worn in Southern Philippines and Indonesia)
• Belt or Sash
• Whip (Latigo)
• Rope (Lubid)
• Chain (Cadena)
• Scarf, headband, Handkerchief (Panyo)
• Flail (commonly known as the nunchucko) Olisi Toyok or Tobak Toyok
• Yo-yo
• Stingray Tai

10th Area (Hand thrown weapons, Tapon-Tapon)

• Spear
• Dagger
• Wooden Splinter
• Spikes
• Coins, Washers
• Stones, Rocks
• Sand, Mud, Dirt
• Pepper, Powder
• Any object that can be thrown

11th Area (Projectile Weapons)

• Bow and Arrow (Pana)
• Blowgun (Sumpit)
• Slingshot (Pana Palad)
• Lantanka (Portable Cannon)

12th Area (Mental, Emotional, Spiritual training)

• Healing Arts
• Health Skills
• Rhythm and Dance
• History, Philosophy and Ethics

As I said, this represent quiet an exhaustive list. Never less, I wanted to suggest my own classification, with just 2 main areas and their subdivisions, because thiose are what we actually train the most in the Filipino martial Arts and I always tend to simplify what can be simplified.

Conclusion

I hope this article is useful for my students and everyone else involved in the training and in the practice of the Filipino Martial Arts, and that will help you to make some sort of order out of the possible confusion that sometimes the wonderful Filipino martial Arts can generate when it comes to identifying the many areas of this art.

Feel free to comment and share your insights on the subject. I'll appreciate any adding to the article.

The series really helps developing the most used hands strikes and combination in the art of Kali empty hands. It's also a good way to work on your your cardio system, as you constantly move on the forward triangle (female triangle). You don't need much space to work this series, really, so you can practice it almost anywhere you like.

Ok, let's see how this one goes. The series can be divided into 6 sets, each with different repetitions. Each repetition is executed 5 times on each of the the two sides of the female triangle, so we have 10 executions per repetition, 5 on the left lead and 5 on the right lead.

The first set has 3 repetitions:

• 1) Just footwork
• 2) Just footwork with false lead
• 3) Cross

So, the first repetition gives you the rhythm for footwork. Even without punching yet, keep your hands up, in good guard form. For the second repetition you just put your opposite shoulder forward when stepping in on the triangle side, so to assume the so called "false lead" stance (left foot forward with right shoulder forward, and other way around). On the third repetition you just shout a Cross (bring it back on the same line, don't drop it).

Here's the second set, with 5 repetitions:

• 4) Cross - Hook
• 5) Cross - Uppercut
• 6) Cross - Body Hook
• 7) Cross - Long Hook
• 8) Cross - Low Slap

Try to work on good form. The Long Hook is a hook executed with a straight arm, not a bent arm, and the hit can be with the fist, with the open hand (slap) or with the part of the forearm near the wrist. The Low Slap is a palm strike to the groin area. Those last two attacks are very common in Panantukan. This set is a basis for the following sets of repetitions.

Here's the next set:

• 9) Cross - Hook - Cross
• 10) Cross - Uppercut - Cross
• 11) Cross - Body Hook - Cross
• 12) Cross - Long Hook - Cross
• 13) Cross - Low Slap - Cross
• 14) Overhead - Uppercut - Overhead

We now just added another motion, and the result is a 3 strikes combination for each repetition. Also, notice the addition of the Overhead - Uppercut - Overhead, which is used especially when breaking the opponent's posture and when his head ends up being in the middle line level. In application, the Overhead strike can also be a slap to the back of the head.

Let's move to the next set:

• 15) Ikis - Cross - Hook - Cross
• 16) Ikis - Cross - Uppercut - Cross
• 17) Ikis - Cross - Body Hook - Cross
• 18) Ikis - Cross - Long Hook - Cross
• 19) Cross - Low Slap - Cross
• 20) Ikis - Overhead - Uppercut - Overhead

As you can see, this set is the same as the previous one, with the addiction of the Ikis motion (or "X" pattern), which is kind of a trademark for the Filipino Martial Arts, as it is used in the weaponry area as well (stick, knife, pocket stick). The Ikis is executed with the lead hand (in a fist shape), in coordination with the stepping in.

The next set is the same as this previous one, only we now add the Ikis motion at the end as well, always performed with the lead hand:

• 21) Ikis - Cross - Hook - Cross - Ikis
• 22) Ikis - Cross - Uppercut - Cross - Ikis
• 23) Ikis - Cross - Body Hook - Cross - Ikis
• 24) Ikis - Cross - Long Hook - Cross - Ikis
• 25) Cross - Low Slap - Cross - Ikis
• 26) Ikis - Overhead - Uppercut - Overhead - Ikis

The last set has only one repetition, and it consists of an Ikis with the lead hand, followed by one with the rear hand. I believe it's a nice way to end up the series because the double Ikis, even with bare hands, just feels so "filipino martial arts", doesn't it?

• 27) Ikis - Ikis

So, there you have it, a series you can work on as a warm up or as solo training session.

If you really want to, you can work that on the "male" triangle too, actually.

Go ahead, download the PDF file, print it out, and put it together with all the rest of the Manonuda prints that we offer on the website.

Download the panantukan Shadow Boxing Series V1.0 (PDF)

Have a nice Panantukan solo work out!

This attribute is called "Reading the action".

The brain process in a fight

Actually, before we dive into the knowledge of such an attribute, I'd like to outline the brain process involved in the every fight. The dynamic of a fight is made by the interaction of the fighters' action, and this action is movement, motion, and for our brain this motion is perceived as an information.

We, as human beings, deal with this action, with this information, as follows:

1. We gather (read) the information (in our case, the opponent's motion).
2. Our brain treats this information, and choose the most appropriate way to deal with it.
3. We respond, physically, to the action, which makes it a "reaction".

Obviously, it all happens quiet fast (or it should). Some factors, like the speed of the brain to treat the information in order to choose one option among endless possibilities, and the speed of our physical reaction to the brain stimulation, those are other attributes. But as the title suggests, in this article I will focus only on the first step of the process, and the reason why I described the whole process and decidebroke it down is to draw the big picture and see where "reading the action" actually fits.

So, as you can see, the very first step of the process is, indeed, gathering the information, and such an information in our world translates into physical action. But what does "reading the action" actually mean?

Well, "reading the action" is the way we gather the information we need to pass out to our brain so that it can treat it. The ability to properly read the action is a skill that makes the difference between a fighter and another, because no matter how technically skilled one is, if you can't "see" what it's happening, you cannot respond effectively, meaning you cannot use your technical skills.

We're going to see that, probably to your surprise, there are different kind of ways to "read the action".

Visual reading

Surely enough, the word "reading" suggests that it "happens with the "eyes", and in fact the first way to read the action is indeed visually. Reading the action "visually" means that we rely on our visual capability to pass the information to our brain.

This may sound like a very basic notion that doesn't necessary deserve a paragraph (or an article) about it, but my point here is to define the importance of this attribute, how it comes into play, and how to improve it. Believe me, when you are in the wild dynamic of physical threatning you want to have the ability to understand what's happening before it's too late. In order to "see" what's going on, what moves the opponent is about to make, one needs to be clear and focused.

Of course, visual reading happens through our eyes, but the eyes are only the tools that we use in the case of "visual reading". They don't do the hard part. "We " do the hard part. Our ability to stay focused and clear, without fixing our attention on something in particular but to the whole action, this will allow our eyes to "read the action".

Bruce Lee explains the phenomenon of "focusing without focusing" quiet extensively in his "Tao of Jeet Kune Do".

Visual reading is like having our "radar" on, being totally aware and being 100% present with all ourselves. It's being able to scan everything that moves in the action, so that "as soon as he moves, you move", and to make things like "he starts the action but I score before" happen.

Visual reading mostly applies in Boxing, Kickboxing, Stick fighting, Knife fighting, whenever we need to anticipate the moves to be able to react accordingly. Therefore, proper visual reading means being able to identify the angles of attack (straight, curved), the lines of attack (high, medium, low, right, left) and also and foremost the opponent's fakes or change of movement. Identifying what is about to happen is the most important thing in all kind of fights.

The opponent's attacks are not the only things we need to "read" in a fight. Other stuff can and need to be read: openings, hesitations, intentions. All of those things are stuff that, during a fight, we need to "read".

But are the eyes the only tool we need to actually "read the action"?
Well, they're not.

Tactical reading

There are martial arts that focus their working principles on body energy, or more precisely, on the opponent's energy. Some of those are self-defense martial arts, others are combat sports.

However, those kind of styles rely very little on the eyes as a tool to gather the information from the opponent, and that is primarily due to the range of combat in which they use to live. Those are closed-range martial arts, and in close range, things are a little different than let's say, in kickboxing striking range. In close range, inevitably, body contact occurs between the fighters, so "tactical sensitivity" comes into play.

Some systems such as Wing Chun dedicate most of their training efforts to develop this tactical sensitivity, so that they can rely on this attribute rather than on their sight. In Wing Chun this strategic choice is pretty much intentional, I'd say, and it defines the whole style.

Another style that employs the principle of tactical reading is Aikido, for example.

Obviously, there are also combat sports that rely very much (if not almost entirely, in some cases) on tactical, energy reading, and in their cases the choice is probably "not intentional", meaning that they don't use this as a conscious fighting strategy (like with Wing Chun and Aikido) but they just "naturally" develop the "tactical reading" attribute because of the nature of the fighting style itself.

Basically, every grappling system relies on tactical reading, be it standing grappling or ground grappling. Judo, Brazilian Ju-Jitsu and Greco-Roman Wrestling are some examples of styles that need to "feel" the opponent's action with their own body, more than scanning it with their eyes. Even Muay Thai fighters, when clinching occurs, use this kind of attribute. It is very common, when grappling, that a fighter puts his head in a position where he cannot even see the rest of the opponent's body, but he does "feel" him, therefore he "reads" his action, and can therefore act or react upon that.

One last example of the use of tactical reading is in knife fighting. When a contact is made with the arm holding the knife, the opponent's action can be read tactically.

As a general rule, as soon as there is contact with the opponent's body, as soon as a tactical connection is established, there is energy (motion) that can be "read", and so "reading the action" becomes tactical, rather than visual.

Metaphysical reading

Picture this: a master is quietly sit crossed legs in his dojo (I picture an open space dojo on some lost asian mountain). His eyes are closed. A disciple peacefully approaches him from behind his back. When he's close enough, he attempts to attack the master with a stick to his head. The master suddenly turn himself and grab the stick of the disciple, blocking his attack. The disciple asks: "Master, how did you know I didn't come to you to bring you a cup of tea or something? How did you know I was about to attack you with a stick from behind?" The master answers: "Of course I knew. I read your intention".

We are about to enter the mystical area of martial arts.

The martial arts world is full of this kind of stories and some are build on what could be defined as martial arts myths.

I'm not going to tell you that this kind of thing is possible, neither I'm going to tell you that it's impossible. I just believed that "metaphysical reading" was the next one to close the circle on the matter.

Now, can someone develop the skill of reading the action around him even with his or her eyes closed and without establishing any physical contact? If so, it is surely not an easy skill to achieve and it is probably not given to everybody to get to that level of sensitivity.

But on the other hand, there are people who don't believe in the "Chi" because they can't even acknowledge the concept of it, and surely they cannot experience it. Still, I do believe in it and for sure I do experience it in my practice.

Even if quiet skeptical about being able to read the action with the mind, I have to say that when you think about it we all happen to say or think, from time to time, "I feel something's wrong", even if there are not apparent reasons to feel that way. So, metaphysical reading is probably something that all of us experience on some degree and that could maybe be taken to an upper level.

As I said, either it is humanly possible or not, either it's accessible to some or to none, metaphysical reading is a third way of reading the action, and this way probably deserves its place in this article.

Practical development

So, with all that said, how can one develop this essential attribute of "reading the action"? For a start, let's say that any kind of sparring develops that, and it is probably the best way to really build it up.

But beside sparring, there are some drills that can help the development of this attribute. Obvious examples for the "tactical reading" way are some sensitivity drills like the Wing Chun's Chi Sao or the Filipino Martial Arts' Hubud.

But what about "visual reading"?

If you want to build "visual reading" abilities you need to train in what I call the "variables training format", instead of the "pre-arranged format". That means that as long as the drills are pre-arranged you cannot develop this attribute. Instead, if you work a drill with variables, you force the student to having to "read the action". Variables are not the only factors that can be used. Tempo is another one.

I know, you want examples, so here are some.

Let's take Kali stick fighting, and let's take the tempo factor. Say this is the drill: you do a forehand diagonal slash (angle 1), your partner blocks with a Roof Block. Than he attacks with the same attack and you do the Roof Block. This makes it a continuous flow drill with the same tempo: I attack, he blocks, he attacks, I block. Now just add the tempo factor in the drill. One can break this tempo and after he blocks, he just wait a moment before attacking, while other times he attacks right away after the block. You'll notice that now the students will have to adjust to the action and respond with the movement of the block not automatically, but only when the actual attack occurs. They have to "read the action".

Another examples could be used with Boxing. This time let's use variables. The attacker uses a Cross, the defender uses a counter to the cross (no matter which one, this is irrelevant for the example). The attacker uses a Hook, and the defender respond with a counter to Hook. Than the attacker randomly fires one or the other, so to force the defender to "read the action" and respond with the adequate counter.

These are just some examples, the principle can be employed in endless ways, as you can imagine.

Conclusion

I often find myself using the expression "read the action" when I teach my students, so last week I thought that maybe some of them could be troubled by the meaning of these words, although I try to briefly explain it. So during a class I said I would write an article about it. And as with any published articles, this is not only for my students, but to anyone else. Hope you enjoyed it!

In this article I'm going to outline some basic Muay Thai program that you can work on solo. Suppose you're by yourself and feel like training a little bit, but there is no class to attend and nobody around to train with.

Well, instead of getting frustrated and go wasting the next couple of hours on YouTube watching martial arts videos, put your Thai shorts on and get down to business.

Remember, working solo is a very fundamental aspect of the training. It helps you to build the right frame of mind in order to really "feel" an art. When you work solo - be it executing forms or shadow boxing - you feel some kind of intimacy between you and the art you are practicing and you'll create a special connection with it. I believe one needs that, at some level.

This applies to all arts, not just Muay Thai, of course. But as I mentioned, this is about Muay Thai solo training, so let's get to it.

A Muay Thai shadow boxing series

I wrote this program for myself, so I thought that you could benefit from it by using it as well. Basically, the program is divided into series. I usually work each series for 2 minutes with 30 seconds break, but you can change that to 3 and 1 minutes if that suit you better.

The art of Muay Thai uses 4 main tools (or areas): Boxing, Kicking, Elbows, Knees. We use this division to define the series.

In the first four series you work just one of the 4 divisions at the time:

• 1) Boxing
• 2) Kicking
• 3) Elbows
• 4) Knees

Than you go on by combining those tools with all the different possibility:

• 5) Boxing + Elbows
• 6) Boxing + Kicking
• 7) Boxing + Knees
• 8) Elbows + Knees
• 9) Kicking + Knees
• 10) Kicking + Elbows

We got 6 other series out of it. This workout is really beneficial because it forces you to use one tool with the other, because otherwise you develop the tendency to use the same combinations over and over again when shadow boxing, and therefor when sparring.

You may think that this is it. 4 areas, single and combined, 10 series in total, checked. Well, don't worry. There is more.

So, moving on, let's get to the clich area. Working the clinch in solo is very hard for some, but like anything else, it is so only if you don't train it enough, right? The clinch-work as shadow boxing is very limited, of course, but still, it improves your balance and posture when knee-striking from that position, and those are fundamental factors in the clich game, aren't they?

So, this is what you can do from the clinching position:

• 11) Straight skip knees
• 12) Curve skip knees
• 13) Combined skip knees (straight and curve)

That assumes that you know what "skip knees" is (and I hope you do because that is beyond the purpose of the article). Make sure to keep a vertical straight posture while doing that, put your hands together in the proper way, and pull toward you when striking. Also, you can pivot-step and than knee-strike. Really imagine grabbing to an opponent.

So far, we have produced a total of 13 series. Let's make it 14! As you might suspect, the next series is going to be about putting it all together, which is what most of us consider to be the actual shadow boxing thing.

• 14) All together (Boxing, Kicking, Elbows, Knees, Clinch)

If you followed the whole series you should be have already worked for 35 minutes (with the 2 minutes and 30 seconds break model).

Of course, if after that you really feel like wanting more, you can always go back and start the whole thing over again. Otherwise, you can add more stuff to it, because, well, there is stuff that can be added, isn't there?

Taking it further

Beside the above ones, there are other series that you can work on and which you can create yourself. For example you can make a series of defensive moves, evasiveness and blocks. While it may feel less fun to work defensive moves than striking, those moves are very important for the fight or for sparring, and doing it by himself helps record the motions in the mussels memory.

Now, you could isolate the evasiveness and blocking moves, and than combine them into another series. For example you could work Boxing evasiveness defense such as Slipping, Ducking, Bob & Weaves, Shoulder roll, and than work on blocks, like Side covers, Front covers, Deflecting, Scooping, Straight arm blocks. (For the evasiveness part, there is not so much Ducking and Weaving in Muay Thai, but still, while you're at it, you can work this Boxing skills).

Also, you can work the lower, leg blocks: Left Shield, Right Shield, Cross Shield, and can do it for the low line and the medium line. Again, don't think this is useless only because you're just imagining a kick, not getting a real one. Mussels memory is what we are drilling out here. Don't under estimate that.

Since you start to get the idea about creating possibilities and playing around with the shadow boxing game, here's a last tip: make combination series.

Need some examples? Here's one. Imagine defending and reposting to a low kick to your left leg. You can use the same defense but different responses (options) and make it a combination series:

• 1) Left Shield, Foot Jab
• 2) Left Shield, Left Kick
• 3) Left Shield, Right Kick
• 4) Left Shield, Right Knee
• 5) Left Shield, Left Knee
• 6) Left Shield, Cross

The possibility are quiet endless, so you can really be creative, and you should. Maybe one day I'll put some options down in a downloadable document. Until then, you already got some good stuff to train with, I believe.

Ways of doing this

Remember that for the same series you can work with different intensity and purpose. You can work slow and smooth to work the proper form and body mechanics, or you can go "full speed", which is good for conditioning too. What I like to do is to alternate one mode with the other during the same series. From slow and nice to short explosions combos. Don't forget to breath out when you strike, even when you're in the slow mode. Don't worry if your neighbors (or wife), hear you through the walls of your room, you're doing Muay Thai, there's not half way of doing it.

Wrap up

So this is it. Put some music on, warm yourself up with some rope jumping, stretch properly, get started with the program and let me know how it goes. And remember, shadow boxing is one great way to "make it yours". So keep it up.

Download the Muay Thai Shadow Boxing Series V1.0 (PDF)

The Ung Moon is a form invented by Bruce Lee around 1964-1965, during the Jun Fan Gung Fu era, therefore prior to the foundation of Jeet Kune Do. The name "Ung Moon" means "5 gates", because as a primary pourpose it teaches to deal with attacks from five angles (high left, high right, low left, low right, center).

Bruce Lee believed that the sequences in this form would be helpful for new students to learn some of the basic Wing Chun moves, like simunltaneous attack and defence (Lin Sil Die Dar), Biu Jee (thrusting fingers) variations, and some options for hands strikes after trapping.

Even if the teaching of the Ung Moon was abandoned by Bruce Lee at some point, Dan Inosanto thought that the form was still benefical for new Jeet Kune Do students, and today it's still incorporated in the Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do Curriculum / Program of the Inosanto Academy.

You may wonder: "why should one train a form in an art that is supposed to be 'formless' and when Bruce Lee himself argued that forms are dead patterns that don't lead to the truth in combat?" Well, the question could arise a long discussion about the understanding of the "formless" aspect of JKD, but I'm just going to say that the Ung Moon is tought in the Jeet Kune Do curriculum for historical reasons, since the fundation of JKD is the Jun Fan Gung Fu, but also because it still has undeniable values for beginners (and not ony).

Performing the Ung Moon

In Ung Moon every move is executed with the left side of the body first and than with the right one. Before starting the actual sequence, the student will execute the Gin Lai (salutation), followed by the Yee Chi Kim Jang Ma (Wing Chun neutral stance), and by the Bi Jong (fighting stance) with the right lead.

One singularity about the Ung Moon is that the whole form is executed by speacking the names of the moves, which is a good way to memorize the names, actually, and I personally think that the fact of adding the voice element in synchonization with the moves helps to build confidence in the student, and as a teacher you can evaluate the execution of the form even by the voice tone, voice-level and emphasis.

The Sequence

Here's the sequence. The form is actaully divided in 5 sections (I've put a line-space to indicate the sections). The number 16 moves (Biu Gee - Boang Sao - Lop Sao) is a prefix to each of the moves that follow.

Please note that the following words could be written differently (it's Chinese-Cantonese and some spell it differently than others, but the phonetics should be the same).

• 1) Tan Sao Da
• 2) Biu Sao Da
• 3) Ha Woang Pak Da
• 4) Goang Sao Da
• 5) Ha Pak Da
• 6) Loy Woang Pak Biu Jee
• 7) Noy Woang PakBiu Jee
• 8) Noy Biu Jee
• 9) Loy Biu Jee
• 10) Toy Sao Biu Jee
• 11) Go Lon Sao Da
• 12) Lon Sao Da
• 13) Lon Sao Da: Go, Ha, Go
• 14) Pak Sao, Jik Dum Tek
• 15) Kow Sao, Juk Tek
• 16) Biu Gee - Boang Sao - Lop Sao:
• a) Chung Choy
• b) Gua Choy
• c) Lau Sing Choy
• d) Sut Sao
• e) Sot Que
• f) Gin Choy
• g) Jik Jern (or Dim Jern)
• h) Juan Jern

Download the Ung Moon Sheet (PDF)

Conclusion

So, there you have it! The essentials behind the Ung Moon form. If you are a Jeet Kune Do practitioner, you should learn this form, and if you are a Jeet Kune Do teacher, well, than you shoudl probably teach it. It is not a difficult form to learn, and as with all forms, it got its value in repetition, so even when you eventually got it, keep practcing it regularly.

So, this feels like the right moment to list up some of the upcoming stuff from Manonuda for the year 2011. Are these resolutions? Why not. Here's the list, broken down into sections.

The Website

As you may notice at the moment of this writing some section are still to be activated.

The Video section will show Manonuda in action. Yeah, there will be loads of videos. The section will have different categories: Trailers, Instructional, and others.

The Community section will be opened as soon as possible and will be a sort of "Facebook" for Martial Arts, with Groups, Forums, Profiles and many social network features.

The Extras section is actually the next section to come. The section will contain a "Bruce Lee's Corner", "Quotes for Martial Arts", probably a "Download page" (Terminology Sheets, Manonuda wallpapers, …) and other things.

And of course, there are lots of articles that are in preparation and which will be published on the Blog section. Believe me, as of today I got over 30 titles for articles that need to be finished and published.

Oh, and there will be an additional page called "Meet the team", under the Club section, with a little profile for every Manonuda member.

Also, all of the Manonuda profiles on social sites like Twitter, YouTube and Facebook will be improved.

Manounda Seminars

We'll be giving many Seminars and Workshops in Jeet Kune Do, Kali, Silat, MMA. If you wonder what a Workshop stands for, well, that's a seminar with a focus on one particular aspect of a style or program (Chi Sao, Clinch, Pummeling, Takedowns, Sparring, Hubud, …).

Also, we will start the training in Manonuda SDP, a self-defense program taught in a seminar-format. More information will be found on the Manonuda SDP page.

Manonuda Karaesyan Silat

My personal approach and research to Silat styles lead me to define my own Silat program. It's called Karaesyan Silat. Of course, more info will be available in the future, and in time, videos will be published about the system as well.

Communication supports

We're going to be out there! Flyers, Business Cards, and Posters will be designed and printed.

What else?

Other things that are on their way are Tests in Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do, Kali, Karaesyan Silat, MMA, to assign levels to students.

Also, we will hopefully get mew mats for ground-fighting. Oh, and I definitely will make new music playlists for training.

Manonuda students expectations

Conclusion

So, this sounds like a lot of things, but believe me, they're all going to happen. Some sooner than others, but it's all happening. And I'm sure that even more exciting things, which are not on this list at this moment, will happen in the Manonuda world this year.

So, once again, I wish you all a happy, exciting, new year 2011!

The IKIS, in fact, is used extensively when training with the "shadow", and as a prefix or a suffix in many stick fighting drills (the motion is used in the knife and empty-hands portions of the art as well, by the way).

Because it is often said that the IKIS motion consist basically in drawing an "X-shape", not everybody is aware that this well-know combination can actually have 3 slightly different declinations (among which the "X-shape").

In this article I'd like to illustrate those declinations, because the subtle differences are better shown graphically than with words, or even than with live examples.

The first of the 3 is the one I refer to as the "Flat" IKIS, and looks like that:

The second one is, actually, an exact "X-shape". I call it the "Squared" IKIS, to keep a logical consistency with the other two names.

The last one is what I call the "Tight" IKIS. Some refers to it as the "V", for obvious reasons.

The images here are very much self-explanatory, I guess, and they provide an easy visualization of the possible patterns for the IKIS.

Here's a representation of the 3 patterns overlapped.

Well, as basic as this may be, I thought to share the information with my students and with everyone else involved in the art of Filipino Kali/Arnis/Escrima, and I hope you find it somehow useful.

One of the many fascinating aspects of martial arts is the variety of styles that co-exist under the same name.

Nevertheless, this huge assortment of styles can easily turn the fascination into confusion, and not only to the novice but even to the expert on the matter.

Well, to make order out of the inevitable chaos that this multitude of existing martial arts styles can generate, some sort of classification could come handy and is perhaps necessary.

Usually, when it comes to having to classify martial arts, there are a few common tendencies. One is to do it by geographic: Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Indonesian, Western martial arts and so on. Another habit often used is to distinguish martial arts by labels such as "traditional" (or "classical") martial arts and "modern" martial arts, and yet another one is to separate them into "internal" and "external" martial arts.

As with any other exercise of the kind, the possibilities for defining the criteria of classification are many, if not infinite. So, how to pick up one based on some solid logic and clearness?

Looking in the right direction

Luckily enough, Daniele Bolelli came to the rescue with his book "On The Warrior's Path", in which he dedicated a chapter to this particular issue, and suggests a model of classification that to me just feels "right". The chapter is called "Making Order Out Of Chaos. A Typology Of Martial Arts Styles", and from the moment I read it I started to adopt it - if I can say so, because it makes perfect sense to me.

As the author explains it, the classification for this model is based on the main purpose and function of each art, and therefor on what particular aspects the practice of a given style focuses on and develops the most.

I felt like wanted to share it in this blog because I find it to be an extremely helpful way to figure out the martial arts classification dilemma. So with this article I outline some key points of this model.

The model for martial arts classification used by Daniele Bolelli is composed by 5 categories:

1. Internal Martial Arts
2. Performance Martial Arts
3. Weapons Martial Arts
4. Self-defence Martial Arts
5. Combat Sports (Striking, Grappling, Combined)

The categories proposed in this model are not exclusive, meaning that some styles can belong to more than one category, and it goes by itself that, all styles being "martial arts" after all, they obviously all have fighting applications, on different levels, but surely each of them suits a category better than another.

I'll describe briefly each category with my own words. For a comprehensive, full information on this model, I strongly invite you to read the original work from the author, it's worth every word.

Internal Martial Arts

These are the martial arts that focus primarily on the development and the exploitation of the inner energy. Examples for this typology are the well known Tai Chi, but also Pa Kua, Hsing-i. Another one that could fit into this particular typology is Aikido, because its principles are mainly based on the relationship of the opponent's energy and one self's.

Performance Martial Arts

Performance martial arts are those that focus essentially on the aestethic and choreographic aspect of the art, and in which the beauty and the perfection of the forms or techniques performed are more important than the actual efficiency in real fighting. Within this typology we find styles styles such as Wushu Kung Fu, Shaolin King Fu, Capoeira, Viet Vo Dao.

Weapons Martial Arts

Here the name says it all. Weapons martial arts are those that make use of weaponry. Because in modern times most of the weapons used in martial arts are not of common use (long sticks, swords, nunchaku), the practice of this kind of arts is basically based on the cultural aspect of the art, with an exception for a few, like Filipino Kali for instance, because it deals with weapons that can always be used, like knifes and short sticks (which represents also any kind of objects used as a weapon). In this category we find martial arts like Kendo and Kenjutsu (the art of the sword), Nunchaku, Naginata (Japanese art of long stuff), Kyudo (art of archery with ancient bow). (Of course, there are many styles that even not being primarily weapon-based, they do incorporate different weapons in their art).

Self-defense Martial Arts

Self-defense martial arts and systems are those that dedicate all the efforts toward the goal of defending oneself or another, and therefor focus on the efficiency in fighting for real-life situations. Among them we find Chinese Wing Chun, Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do, all the different styles of Indonesian Silat, Filipino Kali, Israelian Krav Maga. In this category I'd include also those martial arts that could be classified as "Military & Law Reinforcement Martial Arts" (the one taught to soldiers in the army, or Police and Special Corps Departments), because still inherent to real-life fighting.

Combat Sports

Many are the martial arts that focus on competition, therefor their training is based on a one-to-one fight under certain rules, with given equipment and in different kind of surroundings (ring, tatami, cage). This kind of martial arts are called Combat Sports. Within this category we can identify 3 sub-categories depending on the rules of the competition: Striking, Grappling, Combined.

Examples of Striking Combat Sports are Western Boxing, French Savate, Kickboxing, Taek Won Do, Karate.

Examples of Grappling Combat Sports are Judo, Brasilian JiuJitsu, Sambo, Western Wrestling.

Examples of Combined Combat Sports are Muay Thai (primarily a striking sport, but allows clinching and sweeps), Sanda (limited grappling, but still), and finally the most iconic one of the lot, the Mixed Martial Arts with all their declinations.

Conclusion

So, there you have it, a nice reference model to classify the countless martial arts out there. To end this article in a proper way, I am including a table with some martial arts classified by the typology of this model. Note that not all martial arts are included in it, but the example will hopefully help you to get the basic idea for a possible classification.

I hope you enjoyed the article and found this information useful.

Note: not a big deal, but I wanted to point out that in this article I did switch the order of the first two category as originally written in Daniele Bolelli's book, because for some reason I feel more comfortable having them this way.

Martial arts, as I often say, are essentially about motion. With this article I'd like to cover a few basics about some main paths of motion, be it for attack or for footwork.

Such paths of motion are usually represented with a scheme that is quiet common within the Filipino Martial Arts (Kali), but the principles in there apply to other arts as well.

I gave this scheme the name of "the 4 axes matrix", because it can be used as a visual reference not only for "attacks" but also for footwork (therefore the word "matrix"), and because, as you'll see, it all just happen along "4 axes".

The following information may be already familiar to some, but I thought to lay it down here and make it as clear as I could by providing a few illustrations in order to help you visualize the whole thing.

Generation of the matrix

Four are the main axes of motions:

• the diagonal axes
• the horizontal axis
• the vertical axis

Now, if we put the two diagonals axes together, we get a "x", and if we merge the horizontal and the vertical ones the result is a "+" sign.

If we than put the two generated patterns together, we get a full scheme for all those paths of motions: "the 4 axis matrix" (which looks like a star or the graphic representation of a snowflake).

You may notice that each segment (axis) has obviously 2 ends, so the scheme has 8 ends in total. Those ends can be used as reference points in the matrix (we'll see that later).

On each axis, motion can be toward both ends, in one direction or the other.

Universal angles of attack

Ok, time to see how the "4 axes matrix" can be applied.

The first application is about generating angles of attack using the axes within the matrix.

As I've already mentioned before, this scheme is employed extensively in the Filipino Martial Arts (Kali) because it provides an helpful guideline to visualize the patterns of "slashing" motions used with weapons such as sticks, blades and knife.

The next image will show you a logical progression of 8 "slashing" motions. The sequential order is not taken from any particular style of Kali (they all use different numbering system based on the matrix). Each motion starts on the right side of the matrix and is followed by the equivalent one on the left side.

So, what you see there, are the 8 possible motions along the 4 axes of the matrix, which are:

• Diagonal down - right to left
• Diagonal down - left to right
• Horizontal - right to left
• Horizontal - left to right
• Diagonal up - right to left
• Diagonal up - left to right
• Vertical up
• Vertical down

While we're at it, I'd like to point out to the fact that most Filipino Kali systems consider the "angles of attack" in relation to the human body, and define the specific target that each angle hits (for instance: diagonal slash to collarbone, horizontal to ribs, thrust to right pectoral, …).

The use of the "4 axes matrix" is different from that approach in that we consider the axes as a reference for the attacking motions, independently of the body target. For example, a "diagonal down" slash with a Kali stick can be used on the opponent's hand, as well as on the collarbone, or on the knee. Same goes for horizontal strikes, or any other strike along one of the 4 axes, for that matters.

Obviously, the slashing motions that we are using as an example of strikes can be used with any kind of weapon or object.

But what about empty hands, you may wonder? Does these principles apply to strikes without weapons? Well, they surely do. Moving away from the Filipino Kali, let's bring in the art of Muay Thai, and let's see how we can use the visual reference of the "4 axes matrix" within that style.

The Muay Thai elbow strikes are a perfect example to show the use of the matrix in its universal application, because alike weapons, their motions are also based on the same axes:

• Diagonal down elbow
• Diagonal up elbow
• Horizontal elbow
• Vertical up elbow
• Vertical down elbow

If, at this point, you're starting to mentally figuring out what other possible body strike can fit on the "4 axes matrix", than this article is doing its job.

As you can easily picture, even some boxing strikes are executed along the same axes. Hooks follow the horizontal axis. Uppercuts the vertical up and the diagonal up ones, while overheads the diagonal down one.

Ok, but what about straight, thrusting kinds of strikes? What about the good old jab? Or the cross, or the front kick, or a straight thai knee, or a knife stub? What about those kind of attacks? Don't they deserve a place in the matrix?

Well, I guess they do. The intersection of all the axes, which is the very center of the matrix, represents the angle for all kinds of thrusting or jabbing motions.

Of course, not all hands motions, or foot motions, or weapon motions happen along the axes represented on this matrix. There are infinite other circular or oval motions that are obviously not in it. But this scheme does have good value as it outlines the main paths of motion for most of the attacks.

So, is this matrix only about attacks?
Good question. Well, it's not.

Footwork

Ok, let's take the "4 axes matrix" a step further (and it's the case of saying so, as "steps" is what we are going to talk about).

As stated in the beginning of the article, the "4 axes matrix" is also used as a visual reference for footwork.

By joining some ends of the axes, we get an improved, interesting version of the scheme. Now the axes are inside a square. Also, you can see that many triangles are generated by this new scheme.

Again, it's time to bring back the Filipino Kali system, since the foundation of its footwork is based on such scheme.

By visually isolating some elements on the matrix, we can outline some interesting combination for footwork. The technical explanation of this footwork combinations is beyond the purpose of this article, but if you are a little bit familiar with Filipino Martial Arts, you will surely recognize the patterns of footwork within the matrix.

The above graphics illustrate only some of the possible patterns. And again, I have to say that Filipino Kali doesn't have the exclusivity for the application of this matrix. Obviously, Silat systems also use this scheme for their footwork framework (and they extend on it even more).

As you'll notice from the next illustration, other martial arts adopt the matrix as well (even when "not being aware of it").

Conclusion

As a conclusion I'd like to say that, as simple as it is, the "4 axes matrix" offers a good way to understand some basic paths of motion, and it can be used as a visual reference by new practitioners as well as by advanced ones, from all kinds of martial arts.

I hope my students and everybody else find this article interesting and helpful, and if you do, than share it with your martial arts friends, and don't forget to have your say in the comments.