The 64 Attacks is a set that combines the first three years of basic training and timing drills Tuhon Gaje was teaching in the 1970s into one group of techniques and principles. This was done mainly to give us a form that we could be tested on and compete in the forms completion at our next tournament.
Here is the form, as I learned it in the 70s. I used to test students on both the form and the application drills, but these days I only require testing in the timing drills and applications (as these are the most important parts).
However, I leave it up to the other PTI instructors to include the forms in their testing, if they wish.
Here is the numbering in the 64 Attacks form as I learned it in the 1970s.
#1 TO 12: First set of Abcedario.
#13 TO 22: Four Wall “Apat na Paligid” basic entry technique against strikes in a simple timing drill.
#23 to 25 Umbrella “Payong” fluid entry techniques.
#26 TO 31 Tapping against thrusts “Pangising” (a drill of 3 attacks, 3 counters, and 3 recounters but #26 to #31 in the condensed 64 Attacks) Taught with “Chekete” (direct) and “Echekete” (indirect) counter to weapon-arm pinning drills, counters and recounters. The whole platform is often called the Dakup y Punyo drill.
#32 TO 36: Five Attacks “Limang Sugod” diagonal attacks, entries, and counter-to- counter drills.
#37 TO 43: Break in-Break out “Pasok Lo’ob – Pasok Labas” linear attack, entry, and counter-to-counter drills. Taught with “Segang Labo”, a close-quarter engagement-disengagement drill that acts as a platform for close-quarter disarms, traps and takedowns.
#44 TO 50: Seven Attacks “Pitong Sugod” Entry, off balancing, takedown or repelling techniques.
#51 TO 64: Clock System “Orassan." Entries and baits with double force. Introduction to flat-of-the-blade strikes (called in Visayan “Witik” -lit. to flip or whip, but used here “to cheat”; called “Abaniko” in several other dialects).
Solo Baston Multiple Attacks. I was taught this set as a warm up for the Abcedario. If the Abcedario is the alphabet, then you can think of the Multiple Attacks as the vowel sounds.
#1 TO 12: First set of Abcedario.
Grand Tuhon Gaje told us that he spent one full year as a child learning the Solo Baston Abcedario, learning one set of 12 attacks at a time, building up until he had all 144 techniques in the 12 sets. Let's say he started in January with the first set: 12 strikes learned and practiced over a month's time is not too much for most children to learn. In February, he would warm up with the first set and then begin learning the second set, which was a mirror image of the first set. (This is the general pattern for most of the Abcedarios, as the odd numbered sets are the "lead" sets, with the next even numbered set as its mirror image). This 12 techniques at a time learning schedule is a much less intimidating way to learn these large sets for a child than learning all 144 techniques from day one.
#13 TO 22: Four Wall “Apat na Paligid” basic entry technique against strikes in a simple timing drill.
I learned this drill in two phases: 1. During the basics; as an emergency blocking procedure. 2. During the advanced classes as an entry. It was common for Tuhon Gaje to have us revisit a basic drill and have us practice it using the theories and principles we had learned during advanced training. In this case, we relearned the 4 Wall as a quick entry timing drill. My practice these days is to teach both methods of the drill as early as possible, since most of my students are adults with prior martial arts training.
#23 to 25 Umbrella “Payong” fluid entry techniques.
#26 TO 31 Tapping against thrusts “Pangising” (also known as Dakup y Punyo) A drill of 3 attacks, 3 counters, and 3 recounters but #26 to #31 in the condensed 64 Attacks. Taught with “Chekete” (direct) and “Echekete” (indirect) counter to weapon-arm pinning drills, counters and recounters.
#32 TO 36: Five Attacks “Limang Sugod” Diagonal attacks, entries, and counter-to- counter drills.
#37 TO 43: Break in-Break out “Pasok Lo’ob – Pasok Labas” Linear attack, entry, and counter-to-counter drills. Taught with “Segang Labo”, a close-quarter engagement-disengagement drill that acts as a platform for close-quarter disarms, traps and takedowns.
Break in-Break out drill of Pekiti-Tirsia. Core elements of the drill, with footwork and positioning details.
#44 TO 50: Seven Attacks “Pitong Sugod” Entry, off balancing, takedown or repelling techniques. This set has the only long range, lunging thrust in our solo baston material.
#51 TO 64: Clock System “Orassan." Entries and baits with double force. Introduction to flat-of-the-blade strikes (called in Visayan “Witik” -lit. to flip or whip, but used here “to cheat”; called “Abaniko” in several other dialects).
The majority of the 64 Attacks focus on two man timing drills. The basic symmetrical version of each drill is used as a warm up, to learn the gross motions and instill muscle memory. This is analogous to putting training wheels on a child's bicycle: used only as long as needed and no longer than that. The asymmetrical versions are where you really learn the application of timing and distance control through useful footwork.These drills are a important bridge between learning the basic techniques of a system and full sparing.
The video below begins with an overview of the timing drills and ends with a diagram that explains how we put this all together.
Florete (lit: flower petal) is a short form in Pekiti-Tirsia using two hits per beat; a back of the blade deflection of your opponent's sword cut, then delivering a cut of your own.
We learned this set just after 64 Attacks, but I usually test this at the same time as the 64.
Since this is the first dedicated sword set I learned, I consider it a bridge set between the basics and advanced material.
Train Hard, But Train Smart!
Tuhon Bill McGrath
PS: The timing drills of 64 Attacks will be an important part of the PTI Spring Camp; March 22-23-24, 2024, in New Iberia, La.
For info on this and other PTI camps, seminars and classes, visit:
https://pekiti.com/pages/upcoming-seminars
Hi Folks,
Here are my thoughts about advertising on social media, specifically Facebook (FB).
I thought it might be helpful for those also advertising online to see my thinking on this subject, which is based on trial and error over many years. I would be interested in hearing how my experience compares to other martial art instructors who advertise on social media and even more interested in hearing the advice of administrators of the FB groups I advertise on.
The first place I post is on my own timeline to check how the advert will look on FB.
There is often a difference in how something looks on my desktop's word processing program and how it looks on FB. If I have trouble with formatting issues, I will often make the corrections in my timeline and then, once that looks good, copy and paste the corrected version back into my WP program to use as a master.
I try to keep my posts to no more than 10 at a time and spread my posts throughout the hours of that day. This makes it more likely that it will be seen by people who are on FB at different parts of the day. It also makes it less likely that a group's admin will delete it or a company's A.I. will falsely mark a legitimate post as spam. I also leave a gap of at least one hour between my post and the last one on a group (and often more, if it is an admin posting). A little courtesy goes a long way for general good will and to help keep you out of FB jail.
It is also wise to know the rules of the groups you are posting too. Some want advertising only on certain days and some will even limit specific types of advertising to different days (for example, one group I know wants equipment vendors to advertise only on Fridays, while Saturdays are for events and Sundays for advertising your school).
My first post of an advertising campaign is usually a flyer announcing the event with a link to the registration page. This is to get the date on people’s calendar and the target audience are those already likely to attend an event with the instructors shown. I try to post this flyer only two times, at the beginning of the campaign and just before the event as a reminder of the date.
The main advertising for my events takes the form of “infomercials,” where I post a video of something I will be teaching at the event and give a description of the technique shown. I try to make the video and text about it informative, so I am not wasting the viewers time. If the viewers enjoy what they watch, they are more likely to click the link to learn more about your event. I also try to cycle through several different videos for each event over the weeks preceding the event. If you post anything too much, whether the same flyer or the same video, it will begin to "disappear" in the viewers mind. It may also, annoy the group admins and turn them off to allowing you to post on their page.
I will end my infomercial with a link, either to a playlist on my YouTube channel or a link to the seminars list page on my website, such as:
For info on this year’s PTI camps, seminars, local and on-line classes, visit the PTI seminars page: https://pekiti.com/pages/upcoming-seminars
Here is how I try to schedule posts for different times of the day, based on my home time in New York (A.K.A. Eastern Standard Time, or EST for short).
MORNING: 8 am to 12 pm EST. I post to groups based in Europe and any groups which requires an admin’s approval, or are so busy that my post may get lost in the flood of other posts during their prime hours. If you do not have as much free time as a retired guy like me, then your lunch break may also work, if you are posting to groups in Europe or Africa from the Americas.
AFTERNOON: 12 pm to 6 pm. I post to Pekiti-Tirsia groups based in the US in this period. I pick this time mainly so I don’t compete with the advertising and on-line classes of other PTI instructors; but since I also do direct advertising via FB messenger and email, (which can be done at prime evening hours) posting at these times also helps to keep my advertising spread out.
EVENING: 6pm to 10 pm. I post to Non-Pekiti US based groups during this period. Since I belong to so many groups (over 100 for my many interests), I try and spread these posts out over these four hours to get better distribution.
NIGHT: 10 pm to Midnight. I post to groups based in Asia and Australia during this time. Since this is such a large geographic area, with several time zones, I only cover part of the afternoon hours of these countries with this 2 hour period.
These days it's usually difficult for me to stay up that late, so I end my advertising at Midnight. If you know how to schedule a post to groups in Asia and Australia so it will show up during their prime viewing times of the evening, please let me know.
Please give me your thoughts on advertising on social media and what types of advertising work best for you. Thank you for your time.
Regards,
Tuhon Bill McGrath
PS. You can help the groups you advertise with by reporting scam posts you find on their group pages. The admins for these groups are often just volunteers and don't have the time to police their group pages every day. While minor spam posts can be annoying, there is a rise in criminal scam posts on social media these days. How to tell if a post is a scam? If you see a post from a well known brand advertising a price that's far too good to be true, or the death of a famous person that you know is not dead, or a screenshot of a sexual nature on a group that has nothing to do with these subjects, then it probably is a scam and likely a criminal one from someone trying to take your money or your personal data. You will usually find a 3 dot link on the right side of the post where FB gives you the option to report the post to FB, as well as the group admins. It usually takes just a few seconds to report a scam post and will help the admins keep the group members safe when visiting that group.
]]>Originally, the Solo Baston Abcedario was one of the first things taught in the Pekiti-Tirsia system, while the Abcedario de Mano was one of the last things taught.
This was due to the classic way of learning Pekiti-Tirsia, in that the system was originally taught as all the Solo Stick/Sword material first, "A through Z," with all the Double Stick/Sword coming next, then all the Espada y Daga, then all the Daga y Daga, then finally all the empty hand material.
Both the Abcedario and the Abcedario de Mano have 144 techniques, divided into 12 sets of 12 attacks. You can think of each set as an alphabet of 12 letters, while the different sets can represent a different "font" on how that alphabet is printed.
SOLO BASTON ABCEDARIO OVERVIEW:
Grand Tuhon Gaje told us that he spent one full year as a child learning the Solo Baston Abcedario, learning one set of 12 attacks at a time, building up until he had all 144 techniques in the 12 sets. Let's say he started in January with the first set: 12 strikes learned and practiced over a month's time is not too much for most children to learn. In February, he would warm up with the first set and then begin learning the second set, which was a mirror image of the first set. (This is the general pattern for most of the Abcedarios, as the odd numbered sets are the "lead" sets, with the next even numbered set as its mirror image). This 12 techniques at a time learning schedule is a much less intimidating way to learn these large sets than learning all 144 techniques from day one.
SOLO BASTON ABCEDARIO NOTES: (image from my teaching notebook)
ABCEDARIO DE MANO:
The Abcedario de Mano is the empty hand version of this material, with each set involving a different way to strike with the hands, arms and feet. Once the whole 144 is learned, then the student can find which type of strike suits his physical build and personal fighting style and specialize in the sets that use that part of the body. The video below is a sample from the Abcedario de Mano Mini Lesson.
Here is a sample from the Instructor's Notes video on the Abcedario de Mano, showing the solo form as a mnemonic device, then a two man form, then each technique used as a counter to a surprise attack with footwork.
ABCEDARIO DE MANO NOTES: (images from my teaching notebook).
PAGE 1
PAGE 2
Both the Solo Abcedario and Abcedario de Mano have sword or knife based variations which are taught during the instructor's class on these subjects.
SOLO ABCEDARIO BLADE VERSIONS:
Sets 1, 2, 3 & 4: Basic and Reverse. Double Force and Reverse = Bolo.
Sets 5 through 8: Punyo and Hook = Pakal knife.
Sets 9 & 10: Reverse grip and Reverse-Reverse grip = Large blade or sword when you disarm and find the sword in reverse grip.
Sets 11 & 12: Bayonet sets = Pekiti-Tirsia long sword (with long dull section for left hand grip), or a rifle with a bayonet, or a short spear.
ABCEDARIO DE MANO BLADE VERSIONS
Slap sets = Pakal.
Wrist hack sets = pommel of Sak-Sak knife
Forward fist = Pakal
Reverse fist = Sak=Sak or push dagger
Elbow sets = Pakal
Hack sets = Pakal
Eye jab is a small knife held alongside forefinger or thumb
Kick set is simply to practice your kicks with a blade in your hand so you can kick without stabbing or cutting yourself.
The palm stick set and drills share some principles with the blade versions of the Abcedarios, so you can get a general idea of how the blade functions by watching the palm stick material.
For more info on the Solo Baston Abcedario and Abcedario de Mano videos, visit the links below:
Train Hard, but Train Smart!
Tuhon Bill McGrath
ABCEDARIO FOR SOLO BASTON (L1) video
ABCEDARIO DE MANO MINI LESSON. SET 1 APPLICATIONS video
Abcedario Practice Flag: https://pekiti.com/products/pekiti-tirsia-abcedario-practice-flag
FMA DIY Target Chart Flag: https://pekiti.com/products/fma-dyi-target-chart-flag
For information on upcoming Pekiti-Tirsia seminars, camps, on-line and local classes, visit: https://pekiti.com/pages/upcoming-seminars
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The Learning Through Comparisons principle: There are great benefits to be had for both students and instructors when they experience different ways of solving the same problem. I first saw this during my teacher’s joint seminars in the early 1980s with Eddie Jafri and Guro Dan Inosanto.
SPARRING AT THE 1981 CAMP
Sparring during the 1981 Pekiti-Tirsia summer camp. Bill McGrath (white vest) vs Akmeed “AK” Boouraca (black vest). The referee is Tom Bisio. This was Tuhon Gaje’s famous training camp in Oneonta, NY. These were amazing camps where Tuhon Gaje and Penchak Silat instructor Suryadi “Crazy Eddie” Jafri used to take turns working us near to death on dawn warm ups and then train Pekiti and Penchak techniques until midnight. It was a great time to be involved with these arts.
EMPTY HAND VERSION OF A KARAMBIT TECHNIQUE
It was during the late 1970s and early 80s that I learned Silat weapon work from Eddie Jafri. This video shows an empty hand version of a karambit technique I taught a few years ago at Guro Rick Faye's MKG school in Minneapolis, MN.
1983 GAJE/JAFRI/INOSANTO CAMP FLYER
(Left to Right) Tuhon Leo Gaje, Eddie Jafri, Guro Dan Inosanto.
The 1982 & 83 camps were held in Big Spring, TX. These were Tuhon Gaje's first truly big camps was when he moved his family to Big Spring, TX in 1982. The 1982 camp focused on basics from each teacher, while the 1983 camp continued onto more advanced material.
Pekiti-Tirsia counter elbow drills using the platform of the Sagang-Labo drill. This is the type of drill we practiced at the 1983 camp.
A drill and technique 1 from Pekiti-Tirsia Doble' Baston Recontras. In Pekiti-Tirsia, Recontras techniques are used when you have a heavier/stronger weapon than your opponent, or when he is faster than you are, or has better endurance and you have to shut him down quickly. Recontras techniques are aggressive and committed to the attack. It's not about charging straight in though, but using the weight of the weapon to your advantage at an angle that limits the opponent's counters.
Group photo from the June 2022 Kali Evolution 5 seminar, where Tuhons Ray Dionaldo, Jared Wihongi and myself taught with a focus on knife material. The two videos below show samples from the principles I taught at this seminar.
The relationship between Pekiti-Tirsia Hand vs Knife and Knife vs Knife.
Pekiti-Tirsia empty hand vs knife is based on its knife vs knife principles. There are several reasons for this. One is that the type of knife commonly carried, such as a pocket knife or balisong, will not function the same way as a large knife, such as a bolo or bowie; in that it is much harder to instantly stop an opponent’s attack with a small knife than it is with a large knife. That is why you see a combination of evasive footwork, to move you out of the line of attack and parries with the forearms or hands, to help control the opponent’s weapon arm, used in both empty hand vs knife and in knife to knife training in Pekiti-Tirsia. Notice how both the empty hand hits and the counter attacks with the knife in this video are not relied upon to stop the opponent’s attack, but are done when the footwork and parries have brought you the time and space to use them. If you follow the same principles and gross motions in all your weapon platforms of the same size, you will have a much easier battle plan to follow during the stress of a fight.
PTI SENIOR INSTRUCTORS
LT to RT: Mataas na Guro Chris Verdot, Tuhons Jack Latorre, Bill McGrath, Scott Faulk and Magino'o Danny Terrell.
The two big camps for PTI are the Spring camp in Luisiana and the Summer camp in New York. Even after 48 years in the Pekiti-Tirsia system, I still find myself learning something new, or at least seeing a technique from a new angle, whenever another teacher shows how they teach the material. If I can learn something new after all this time in the art, so can you.
One of the subjects taught at the 2024 Spring camp will be Double Stick Fundamentals.
One of the subjects taught at the 2024 Summer Camp will be the 3rd Set of Espada y Daga.
Here is a list of the Zoom classes and the in-person seminar I did in 2023; along with some samples of the material my co-instructors and I have taught at these events.
My intro video for Bowie, Axe and Kukri, explaining the Learning Through Comparisons principle:
1. JANUARY, 2023 BOWIE KNIFE: with Bryan Cannata
Guro Bryan Cannata: Bryan is a US Army veteran, a classically trained saber fencer and has trained in several styles of FMA, along with traditional American Bowie fighting. He is the founder of Kalis Americano (a blend of HEMA and FMA).
Here is the list of bowie books recommended by Bryan.
“Cold Steel” by John Styers
“Cold Steel” The art of fencing with the Sabre by Alfred Hutton
“Bowie knife Fights, Fighters and Fighting Techniques” by Paul Kirchner.
Contact Bryan through his Facebook group "Atlanta Monthly Meet Up."
2. JANUARY, 2023 TWO HANDED AXE: with Coach Russ Mitchell: Russ is a 30-year "HEMA Dinosaur" and Feldenkrais Method Practitioner, who has trained in a variety of eastern and western lineages. He is the founder of Winged Sabre Historical Fencing, where his teaching focuses on the Hungarian sabre and the Fokos Axe. Another great instructor with (warning!) a sense of humor similar to my own.
Visit his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@russmitchellmovement/featured
3. FEBRUARY, 2023 WALKING STICK: with Instructors John Borter & Trish Chiovari of Doyle Style Irish Stick Fighting. I’ve done two seminars with John and Trish. They know their subject well, are great communicators and are very easy to work with.
Contact them via their Facebook group: “The Irish Stick.”
Principles of PTI Walking Stick:
4. APRIL, 2023 PEKITI-TIRSIA SPEAR & ITALIAN PARTISAN: Maestro Devon Boorman. Devon has 30 years experience in Italian martial arts including swordplay, polearms, wrestling, and mounted combat. He is the author of “Introduction to Italian Rapier” and “Introduction to Italian Longsword”, as well as the Director of Academie Duello Center for Swordplay in Vancouver Canada.
Sample techniques from Pekiti-Tirsia Spear sets.
5. MAY, 2023 KUKRI/KHUKURI: with Sayaji David Daniel. David is a direct student of Mahasayaji Dr. Maung Gyi in the American Bando Association and National Bando Association of America. He has over 45 years of experience in martial arts with additional experience as a Sifu of Hsing-I and Ba-Gua under Allen Pittman and Tibetan Lion's Roar under Charles Daniel. For more info on David Daniel, join the Facebook group: The American Bando Association and Friends.
Crossdraw and walking guard/carry of the kukri.
6. MAY, 2023 AXE/TOMAHAWK & KNIFE: with Dr. John Lennox. John has trained in various forms of swordplay for over 40 years. Beginning with the katana, he later moved into the western weapon styles. He is a black belt in Kenpo, an instructor with the Historical Martial Study Society, and an expert level knife and tomahawk instructor for the School of Two Swords. Over the past few years he has focused on unarmed combat theory. His recent research includes Aztec, Mayan and Inca combat systems. Since 2006 he has been teaching at workshops all over the world, including the The Shenandoah Project, the Symposium on the Western Arts of Swordsmanship through History (S.W.A.S.H.) in Leeds, England, and numerous workshops in Scotland, England, Finland, Ireland, Belgium, Germany, Australia, Mexico and Canada.
He is the author of Combat Theory: The Foundations of the Fight, and is the editor for the posthumous work of Colonel Dwight C. McLemore, The Dagger/Counter-Dagger Concepts of Joachim Meyer.
He is routinely called in to colleges and universities for workshops on historical combat and stage combat. John holds a PhD in Theatre with cognate studies in historical fencing from Wayne State University.
Website: https://schooloftwoswords.com/
Drawing and use of the hatchet for self-defense purposes.
7. JUNE, 2023 SPEAR-STAFF-CANE: with Punong Guro Marc Denny & Instructors John Borter and Trish Chiovari.
Punung Guro Marc Denny is the founder and head instructor of the Dog Brothers Martial Arts organization. For more info on DBMA, visit: https://dogbrothers.com/
Guro Marc teaching Dog Brothers Martial Arts Short Staff.
How to draw the spear from its carry position to its guard position in the Pekiti-Tirsia system.
A sample from a class on Doyle Style Irish Stick Fighting, taught by Instructors John Borter & Trish Chiovari. For more info on Irish Stick Fighting, join the Facebook group "The Irish Stick."
A sample from the PTI walking stick class in Wappingers Falls, NY on June 10th, 2023.
.
8. JULY, 2023 MACHETE: with Joe Flowers for self-Defense and Bushcraft use. Joe Flowers is the owner of Bushcraft Global. As a knife designer, Joe Flowers has over 150 Knife and equipment designs for various knife and outdoor companies. Joe’s love for machetes and the outdoors teamed him up with companies like Condor Knives, and his machete and knife designs are well known throughout the knife and outdoor world.
At Blade Show in Atlanta, Joe teaches Blade University bushcraft classes. He was also on the board of directors for the first Global Bushcraft Symposium in 2019, and is on the board of the UK Global Bushcraft Symposium in England, as well as teaching there. Joe was a Subject Matter Expert (SME) at the 7th Special Forces Group, Jungle Warfare Symposium on jungle survival in 2022.
A sample from Joe's lecture on the history and survival uses of the machete in various cultures around the world.
Contract Joe through his company, Bushcraft Global https://bushcraftglobal.com/
The Machete; a bridge between stick and sword for FMA practitioners.
9. February 25th 2024 Zoom class with Guro Bryan Cannata on improvied weapons in the Medusa System, Guro Dean Franco on use of the tactical flashling in the Piper System and Tuhon Bill McGrath on 3 tools used in the Pekiti-Tirsia system.
For information on upcoming Pekiti-Tirsia classes, seminars and camps, visit:
https://pekiti.com/pages/upcoming-seminars
Here is the playlists page from my YouTube channel with some sample techniques from the material shown in this essay.
https://www.youtube.com/@TuhonBillMcg/playlists
Train Hard, but Train Smart,
Tuhon Bill McGrath
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Ultimately, I would like to have a competition for self-defense knives similar to those for outdoor knives (as seen in the 3rd video below). However, this essay will focus on point design.
INTRODUCTION:
KNIFE BOX TEST:
BACKGROUND INFO & REQUEST:
There are many ways to test a blade’s cutting ability. On small knives, you can cut paper, plastic bottles or cardboard tubes.
On larger blades it is common in western cutting competitions to chop through dimensional lumber such as 2 x 4s, cut thick pieces of free hanging rope, or press cut through various tough materials. Among Japanese sword fans, cutting Tatami mats is the traditional choice.
As long as the swords or knives being tested are all cutting the same materials, then you have a good “apples to apples” comparison among the blades being tested.
With the exception of the katana and other blades being tested on the tatami mats (said to simulate the cutting of a similar thickness of human limb), most cutting competitions are done to simulate, not the needs of war, but outdoor tasks, such as those required by the recreational outdoorsman of today.
These tests sometimes lead to overspecialization in blade design to meet the needs of each competition. In western blade competitions, such as those seen at large knife shows, the blades have evolved from big knives that resemble 19th century bowies, to blades that look like long, rectangular meat cleavers with square ends that have no points whatsoever.
We can’t blame the knifemakers for this though. If the rules state that the blades must be no longer that 10 inches in length and the handles must be 5 inches or less, and that the competition will solely be to chop or cut things, then you want a blade whose “sweet spot” or “point of percussion” is as far out on the lever of the blade as possible, and this is going to resemble a meat cleaver, as this is the best design for that task.
In the video below you will see two types of tests: One type is a pass/fail test (as when a competitor cuts through a free-hanging rope in one slice). The other type measures quantifiable differences between blades (as when a competitor cuts through a section of 2x4 lumber in a shorter time than other competitors).
A pass/fail test for the thrust with a large knife could be thrusting into a coconut that is hanging by a cord. If the coconut is split and the water spills out, the competitor has passed.
What I need help designing though is a testing procedure for the thrust that measures quantifiable differences between knife designs: the equivalent for the thrust to the timed chop tests on the 2x4 seen in this video.
In either case, I would like a test that has results immediately visible to spectators, with no need of measurements by judges after the competitor’s run.
BLADESPORTS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Meanwhile, in one of my favorite TV shows, “Forged in Fire” my old student Doug Marcaida has his “Kill Test,” which is specifically designed to test the combat capabilities of edged weapons. In this video Doug uses a Filipino Barong in a sharpness test and a kill test. You can scroll around this video as Doug moves from test to test, following the action between the three stations. (You can pan around the room using the button on the upper left of the screen, or you can hold your curser down and drag right or left to follow the action).
FORGED IN FIRE: 360 SHARPNESS & KILL TEST
While these tests are great fun to watch, I don’t have the budget to purchase ballistic dummies or whole pig carcasses.
Therefore, if we want to create a process to test point design for the thrust on a self-defense blade, how can we do that and make it repeatable with consistent materials, affordable for most martial artists?
In video marked “BOX KNIFE TEST” I showed my first attempt at a testing device. It is a cardboard box, with a 5 pound weight on top to control how far the box slides when you thrust a blade into it. It’s not a perfect test, but it is a place to start. Please give me your suggestions on how to improve this process. The testing device must be simple to construct, affordable and consistent from piece to piece.
Regards,
Tuhon Bill McGrath
PS: This device is intended to test how various tip designs overcome resistance to penetration.
To text tip strength and handle design, one idea would be to test large knives by thrusting them into a suspended log so that they get stuck and then twisting them out without damage.
I could also use your help in designing a test for tip strength appropriate for thin bladed folding knives.
For info on upcoming classes, seminars and camps, visit: https://pekiti.com/pages/upcoming-seminars
UPDATES: Some good suggestions I've received on this topic.
An option for the pass/fail thrust test for large blades could be using a log suspended horizontally. The knife would be thrust into the end grain with enough force to stick into the wood and have to be retracted with enough force to swing the log back towards the user. I think these types of hard impact tests should only be done with large knives with good guards though.
On smaller knives, with no guards and thinner blades (such as many folders), then a softer material should be used for testing. A good suggestion I received was a stack of cardboard sheets covered with a piece of cloth. If we backed these up with a dye filled balloon, then results could be immediately seen by spectators, without the need to have measurements taken by judges.
FMA TRAINING TOOLS
A discussion of the pros and cons of various materials for training in Filipino Martial Arts, by Tuhon Bill McGrath
RATTAN
The first material that comes to mind for training in Filipino Martial Arts is, of course, sticks made from rattan. The pros of rattan for training are many, but we will focus on two here; one being that it is relatively light in weight (when compared to hardwoods) and the other is its flexibility. These two factors make it a good wood for FMA students to begin their training with, as the light weight means that it is less likely to break a training partner’s bones during an accidental hit. Rattan’s flexibility also helps the joints of the user, as this lessens the shock and vibration that gets transferred to the user’s joints on impact. This lessening of shock to the joints helps prevent tendonitis in the joint and is said to also help prevent arthritis in the joints, compared with doing the same training with an inflexible hardwood. When we began our training with Tuhon Gaje in the 1970s, we used to call drills with rattan sticks “Filipino Iron Palm Training” because of the effects it had on our hands. A more detailed description of this can be found in this video.
For more on Rattan as a training wood in FMA, read my essay "Why Rattan?"
https://pekiti.com/blogs/news/why-rattan
HARDWOODS:
TOP: A Hickory trainer I made by cutting an axe handle down to match the size of my short sword.
BOTTOM: A much nicer version done by Magino'o Dan Terrell.
While we used lightweight rattan for drills and sparring, Tuhon Gaje had us use hardwoods for hitting the tires for power development. The wood used for this was commonly Bahi, which came from heart of the Anáhaw palm. (1) Tuhon Gaje also chose Bahi wood for his personal fighting sticks as a leader of dock workers in the 1960s (where the “negotiations” for the contracts to unload the ships resembled gang wars. But that is a story for another day). Another hardwood commonly used for fighting in the Philippines was Kamagong (2). This was not as favored though by Tuhon Gaje, as it was more brittle than Bahi and was prone to break suddenly, leaving you with a shortened weapon in the middle of a fight.
For the last few years, we have been working with hickory, which is one of the highest rated hardwoods for impact resistance and is therefore used on tool handles that need to be tough, such as axe, pick and sledge hammer handles. Several years ago, Guro Dan Terrell made some wooden sword trainers from hickory axe handles (3) for his fellow PTI instructors and they have become our favorite wooden sword trainers for any task that requires surviving repeated hard impact. PS. I have tried oak in the past and it did not hold up well.
POLYPROPYLENE
My first polypropylene trainer was an Escrima Stick from Cold Steel. I like these sticks for hitting tires as they have the weight of a hardwood fighting stick, but also have the flexibility of rattan to help protect your joints. Since the polypropylene trainers I have are all factory made, they are relatively inexpensive.
ALUMINUM
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I no longer allow aluminum trainers in my classes. Here’s why:
Aluminum may not be as hard as steel, but it is still a metal and it can break bones if you strike hard with a trainer made from it.
Aluminum stays fairly stiff when in the thicknesses commonly used for sword and knife trainers. There have been cases where fighters have used aluminum trainers for full contact sparring and have had a training knife penetrate an armpit (they got lucky that the point did not penetrate the Brachial artery or nerve plexus). I did an experiment after hearing about this incident and tested an aluminum knife on an old fencing mask. I took the mask, put it loosely on a stick and did a quick thrust on it. The blade penetrated the mask half way up the blade.
In addition, aluminum is relatively porous for a metal and will hold bacteria in any rough spots which can cause an infection if you get scratched by that spot. I was given this info by a custom knife maker who had experienced repeated problems using aluminum blade blanks causing infections during use. An experienced martial artist told me of another issue with aluminum trainers. While aluminum is softer than iron, it is harder than calcium and will chip a tooth with even light contact.
H.D.P.E. (High Density Polyethylene)
HDPE is my current favorite material for realistic sword and knife trainers. I have gotten mine from Chris Byron at Vulpes Training. In this video you will see me hitting the tires with a Pekiti Longsword trainer. The vibration was dampened nicely, while still having good impact on the tires.
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H.D.P.E. VS POLYPROPYLENE
In this video I demonstrate how tough the HDPE polymer Vulpes uses while striking hard against a suspended log. I contrast this to a polypropylene Axe Head Cane from Cold Steel. I was hitting the cane against suspended car tires and had the sharp points break off. Coming to such a sharp point as the axe head was, this was likely to happen sooner or later. I really like the HDPE for “bag work” with edged weapon shaped trainers, as it seems to hold up better than the softer polypropylene.
SANTOPRENE
Santoprene is a mixture of synthetic rubber broken into particles and then encased in a polypropylene matrix. I have been using Cold Steel’s Sontoprene training knives for several years now and really encourage my beginners to use these in knife training as they are lightweight, moderately flexible and inexpensive. Therefore, if a beginner makes a mistake while practicing a partner drill, he is much less likely to cause his partner serious injury than if using a hard polymer or wooden trainer. In this video, my son and I are working on a warm up drill for the 2023 camp that shows a transition from a simple boxing drill to the double knife version of the same drill.
HDPE VS SANTOPRENE IN BAG WORK
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One place I prefer HDPE over Santoprene, even for beginners, is when doing bag work, be it on a tire stack or heavy bag or rubber dummy. As I explain in this video, the attributes that make the Santoprene safer in partner drills, (its light weight and flexibility) make it ill suited for solo bag work, as the softer material gives you less feedback when hitting a target, compared to the harder, heavier and more rigid HDPE.
SMALL TRAINERS
Another place I prefer using HDPE over Santoprene is when advanced practitioners are doing partner drills; especially those drills that involve simulated “cuts” to the partners arms. Santoprene being partially made of rubber, it seems to be more “sticky” than the harder polymer and can cause a friction burn if done repeatedly during a long practice session. HDPE being a hard polymer can be polished smooth and therefore, is more likely to slide over the skin with less friction. I still recommend that students wear arm guards when practicing these kind of drills, but find that hard, smooth polymers such as HDPE are more forgiving than softer rubber when it comes to preventing abrasions due to friction.
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Well, there you have it. My thoughts on the pros and cons of different materials for FMA training. As always, train with an experienced FMA teacher and be responsible for your own actions.
Train Hard, but Train Smart,
Tuhon Bill McGrath
For info on upcoming classes, seminars and camps, visit:
https://pekiti.com/collections/all/seminars?sort_by=created-descending#MainContent
Trainers sold on the PTI store page, usually bundled along with one or more videos.
https://pekiti.com/collections/all/tools#MainContent
Companies making the trainers cited in this essay:
Cold Steel: (good trainers for beginners)
https://www.coldsteel.com/trainers/
Vulpes Training: (good trainers for advanced practitioners)
https://www.vulpestraining.com/
Here is the Pekiti Long Sword Trainer seen in this essay:
https://www.vulpestraining.com/products/tuhon-mcgrath-pekiti-tirsia-long-sword-trainer
Here is the Vulpes sword trainer I used at the 2022 PTI camp:
https://www.vulpestraining.com/products/artisan-tier-tuhon-latorre-series-mini-kampilan
United Cutlery polypropylene practice Katana:
https://www.unitedcutlery.com/ProductDetail.aspx?itemno=UC3259
NOTES:
(1). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saribus_rotundifolius
(2). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diospyros_blancoi
(3). https://www.bnctools.com/blogs/news/get-a-handle-on-it-part-1
(4) How to measure Sticks, Swords, Knives and Spears in the Pekiti-Tirsia System.
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Tools used in this essay, with specifications:
COLD STEEL LEATHERNECK BOWIE
Weight:17oz
Overall Length:15 1/4”
Blade Length: 10”
Blade Length: 10 1/2”
Handle Length: 4 3/4”
Blade Thickness: 5 mm
Steel: D2
COLD STEEL LAREDO RUBBER BOWIE TRAINER
Weight: 5.8oz
Blade Thickness: 11mm
Blade Length: 10-1/2”
Handle Length: 5-1/2”
Material: Santoprene rubber
Overall Length: 16”
COLD STEEL GURKHA KUKRI PLUS
Weight: 22.9 oz
Blade Thickness: 5/16”
Handle Length: 5”
Material: Kray-Ex
Blade Steel: 4034 stainless
Blade Length:12”
Overall Length: 17”
COLD STEEL RUBBER KUKRI TRAINER
Weight: 7.05oz
Blade length: 12”
Overall length: 17.25"
Handle Length: 5”
Material: Santoprene rubber
COLD STEEL TRAIL HAWK
Weight: 23.6oz
Blade Length: 2-1/4”
Blade Steel: 1055 Carbon
Handle Length/Material: 22in American Hickory
Overall Length: 22in
COLD STEEL AXE HEAD CANE, (cut down to the length of a Trail Hawk)
Original weight and length:
Weight: 29.3oz
Overall Length: 38”
Material: Polypropylene
NOTE: If you have any problems viewing these videos, try switching to a different brower.
BOWIE VS KUKRI VS TOMAHAWK. Introduction:
The purpose of this essay is to show an apples to apples comparison of three different tools, a bowie knife, a kukri and a tomahawk.
“How could this be an “apples to apples” comparison you ask?
Because the same person is using these tools to cut the same items with the same techniques.
Picture a force generator (like a V6 engine or the muscles of your body). You can put that V6 engine in a lightweight sports car, or a mid-weight pickup truck, or a large cargo van. The acceleration is going to be different in each vehicle because of its weight. You are the engine and the different weight blades are the different weight vehicles.
What kind of transmission is being used to transmit the power of the engine to the wheels is another factor.
While a sports car’s transmission is geared for speed, a 4WD transmission helps for off road use with a 4X4 truck and a transmission geared for good MPG for a delivery van may be different than either.
Your grip on the blade’s handle is the transmission to give you control over your blade.
A one hand grip gives you good reach, but less control. You might place your left hand on your right wrist to add extra power and control, but you will loose some reach. If your weapon handle is long enough, than using it with two hands will give you better control, but again, you will loose some reach.
As you watch the following videos, I would like you to look for two things: one is the lag time between cuts (generally, the heavier the tool, the more difficult it is to change direction quickly at speed with the same grip). The other thing to watch for is when a tool gets stuck in the cutting material and what technique I use to extract it or prevent it getting stuck in the first place.
SPEED BASE LINE: CUTTING IN AIR
TIRE DRILL WITH POLYMER TRAINERS
CUTTING A CARDBOARD TUBE
CUTTING A STATIONARY WOODEN POST
CUTTING A SWINGING THIN LOG
CUTTING A SWINGING HEAVY LOG
Did you notice the differences between the tools, the grips used to move them with speed and control, the different techniques used to solve problems as they occurred?
If you did, congratulations, you were Learning Through Comparisons!
Train Hard, but Train Smart,
Tuhon Bill McGrath
My Learning Through Comparisons video series: 3 videos, $35 each for non-PTI members. PTI members: Use this year's PTI Member Discount Code to receive 25% off this price. https://pekiti.com/collections/all/basic-videos?page=4
All 3 LTC videos with 1 training tool for $75, plus S&H. PTI Members: Use your member discount code to receive 25% off the price of this product. https://pekiti.com/products/1-training-tool-3-learning-through-comparisons-videos-bundle?variant=40481528348751
FOR INFO ON UPCOMING PTI CLASSES, SEMINARS AND CAMPS, VISIT:
https://pekiti.com/pages/upcoming-seminars
For more essays on the Learning Through Comparisons series, is subject, visit:
https://pekiti.com/blogs/news/tagged/learning-through-comparisons
HOW LONG HELPS SHORT
As is common to many martial arts and sports, power is often first generated in a different area than the final area seen moving. One place that often acts as a “step-up transformer” for our power generation in Pekiti-Tirsia is the body’s core, the area of the abdomen, obliques and lower back.
In this essay, I will show a number of exercises and their principles of use to help develop speed and power with several different weapons, from long to short. In fact, one shortcut to learn these principles is to start with long weapons, which will highlight the muscle groups and movements involved.
I appreciate this “long helps short” principle now, but that was not always the case.
When I first started training in Pekiti-Tirsia, I was a very skinny fourteen year old. As a teenage boy in 1975 New York City, I was only interested in learning empty hand and knife techniques and thought these were the only parts of Pekiti-Tirsia that would be of any practical use for me. It was only as I went through my twenties and began sparing people outside of Filipino Martial Arts or Penchak Silat circles that I began to appreciate how training in long weapons helped my speed and power in short weapons, such as empty hand.
NOTE ON VIDEOS: If you are having problems playing videos in this essay, try switching your brower to one that allows "pop ups." This is what allows embedded Youtube videos to play on this page. Pop ups are also what allow the cart page to function properly when you place an order on the store page. In most browers you can go into preferences or settings and name specific websites to allow pop ups.
THE “HOT” BREATHING EXERCISE
Here is the first exercise I learned when I started class with Tuhon Gaje. He had me start the first 30 minutes of class with what I thought was just a breathing exercise to build me up (I was a really skinny kid in those days). As you will see in the video, there is a breathing component to the exercise, but the real benefit of it was to learn how to coordinate your hips and put them into use during a strike. I believe Leo learned this exercise from his friend Edwin Renonos, who was a Kuntao instructor. When Leo had us cross train with Edwin in the summer of 77, this exercise was the first thing he taught us and was the basis for Edwin's main blocks and footwork.
CORE SPEAR EXERCISE
So, this is how I started training, but as I got older and started teaching, I began to see how many types of weapon training interconnect and how to develop shortcuts to help teach these principles in a much faster way than how I learned them.
SHORT POWER HITS WITH THE SPEAR
If you don’t have room to do wide swings with a spear, but do have access to a tire you can hit; then you can also learn these principles through hitting the tires, which is our equivalent of a boxer hitting the heavy bag.
SPEAR DESIGN AND DRAW CUTS
Some design elements of the spear, plus the usefulness of the draw cut.
DRAWING THE SPEAR
How to draw the spear from its place of carry to its guard position.
SHORT STAFF EXERCISE: HITTING THE TIRES
Here is an exercise I would often use to help a new student learn to generate power in his stick strikes. Note: while I mention using a baseball bat for this drill, you should not use a wooden bat for this, as I have seen them break when hit on the wrong part of the grain. Instead use an aluminum bat or one of the polypropylene models from Cold Steel.
STICK CORE EXERCISE
Here is a version of this exercise using a Kali/Escrima/Arnis stick. I like to use the durable polypropylene Escrima sticks from Cold Steel instead of rattan for this. If you would like a sword trainer for this drill, then you should look at the polymer trainers from Vulpes Training (1)
PEKITI-TIRSIA GRIP COMPARISON DRILL
Here is the two man drill version of the exercise I mention at the end of the stick core video.
2 HANDED RETURN CUT
Here is a sword trainer that is designed to accommodate a variety of grips; along with some samples of how to use the core power principle in sword work. See the Vulpes Training website if you would like a version of this sword trainer custom made to your measurements.
RETURN CUT STRAIGHT SWORD
You can also use your left side to “bounce” the sword back into a faster backhand cut. I have seen this principle used on heavy swords such as Kampilans. There are two ways to use this backhand movement you see in the video. One is a standard backhand cut with the edge. The other is a hit with the flat of your blade, when you need to to knock the opponent’s sword out of the way. This is a useful move, if your sword is heavier than his.
CURVED SWORD RETURN CUT
Here is a similar principle applied with a curved sword (and the reasons for the differences).
SWORD & KNIFE
Using the core principle to move a sword or knife at greater speed.
MATRIX FOOTWORK DRIILS FROM PEKITI TIRSIA INTERNATIONAL
Here is a sample of punching the heavy bag using power generated from the core.
MORE VIDEOS ON SPEAR:
Spear training in a small space.
PEKITI-TIRSIA SPEAR: Samples from warm up sets.
A sample from the PTI video, Warm up Drill for Spear, set 1
PEKITI-TIRSIA SPEAR #1 SETS 1, 2 & 3
Pekiti Tirsia Longsword Measurement
FOR INFO ON UPCOMING PTI CLASSES, SEMINARS AND CAMPS, VISIT:
https://pekiti.com/pages/upcoming-seminars
(1) You will find the high quality polymer trainers used in my videos on the Vulpes Training website: https://www.vulpestraining.com/collections/artisan-tier-collection
You will find some basic quality polymer trainers on the following PTI Store page:
https://pekiti.com/collections/all/tools#MainContent
For the measurements of the Pekiti-Tirsia sticks, knives and swords, visit:
https://pekiti.com/blogs/news/how-to-measure-pekiti-tirsia-long-and-short-swords
Please remember to wear protective eye-wear whenever you are training with a weapon, even a polymer training sword or wooden stick or spear.
Train Hard, but Train Smart,
Tuhon Bill McGrath
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I have been asked many times to give the measurements of the Pekiti-Tirsia long sword shown in the PTI logo. The information on the measurements was told to me many years ago by Tuhon Gaje. In this essay I will give the measurements for two swords, the long sword shown in the PTI logo and the short sword that Tuhon Gaje is often shown holding in the photos of him from the early 1980's. I am also including the measurements for training sticks and spears, as well as knives intended for use with Sak-Sak and Pakal grips.
THE TRAINING STICK (BASTON)
Pekiti-Tirsia Long Sword Measurements:
The total length, minus the pommel, is equal to the length of your training stick.
The double edge portion on the tip of the sword is as long as your hand, measured from wrist to fingertips. The spine measures one cubit (from your fingertips to your elbow).
The grip portion is the full width of your hand. (The oversized guard on the Vulpes Training polymer sword you see in the video below is intended to be large enough to use while wearing padded gloves for armored sparing).
PEKITI-TIRSIA LONG SWORD MEASUREMENTS
The Pekiti-Tirsia long sword is based on a mix of the Pinute sword common to Tuhon Gaje's home island of Negros and a Cutlass with a bell guard, which was a common sword design for many navies of the 19th century.
A modern Pinute made by Bohol Blades
(Photo courtesy of Will Renfroe).
MEASURING THE PEKITI-TIRSIA LONGSWORD
The first thing to understand is that these measurements are intended to customize each sword for each individual. A man who stands 6'1" with a 32 inch long arm will use a different sword than a man who stands 5'6" and whose arm is 28 inches in length. One size does not fit all when it comes to your personal sword.
The first measurement you will need is your "cubit." A cubit is the measurement between your fingertips and elbow. My cubit is 20 inches.The spine of your sword, before the back edge begins, should measure one of your cubits.
The next measurement you will need will be the length of your hand from wrist to fingertips. For me this is 8 inches. This will be the length of the back edge of your sword. This is also the difference between blade lengths of the short and long swords in Pekiti-Tirsia. The spike you see at the point where the spine transitions to the back edge is there to help prevent over-penetration during a thrust.
Next you will take that same hand length measurement and add that to the front cutting edge. You should end up with the front cutting edge being twice the length of the back cutting edge. This main cutting edge should be centered at the "point of percussion." This is the point where the sword hits the hardest and has the best cutting ability. You have a visual reference on this sword, as the point of percussion should line up with the top spike.
The bottom spike you see on my trainer at the top of the dull portion of the blade is actually a guard to protect your hand from sliding up onto the sharpened portion of the blade.
In historical western sword technique, a fighter taking a grip on the blade is called "half-swording." Half-swording was done with all types of swords, but sharp, double edged ones were best gripped while wearing gauntlets. However, you do see several sword designs in the Medieval and Renaissance periods that had a long dull portion on the bottom half of the blade. The design of the PT long sword, with the bottom half of the blade left dull at full thickness, helps in the "half swording" spear grip techniques seen in some advanced PT material such as Seguidas and Recontras.
A knight "half-swording" his blade for more control for thrusting into a gap in his opponent's armor.
The Cold Steel Greatsword you see here has a long, leather covered grip area between the main crossguard and the subguards. (The subguards give extra protection to your hands, should an enemy's weapon slide down your blade while half-swording.)
https://www.amazon.com/Cold-Steel-88WGS-Handed-Great/dp/B000Q9GD2Y
Here are two videos I recorded at the Doge's palace museum in Venice, Italy. You can see several greatswords in the display cases.
PEKITI-TIRSIA SHORT SWORD MEASUREMENTS:
This is a sword Tuhon Gaje had made for him based on his Grandfather's "house bolo" in the early 1980s. When he showed it to me I didn't think it would be this broad and heavy. This sword was a real beast of a blade and his description of his grandfather's sword sounded like it was lighter and quicker in the hand than this blade was.
The advantage of a short sword comes in during close quarters fighting. We called this sword "Grandpa's House Bolo" because we thought of it as being used inside a house, but the design probably started out as a farm tool and then was adapted for fighting. The broad top helps bring the point of percussion very near the end of the blade.
"What's the weird tip on the sword for?" Well, I was told that the concave edge at the top of the blade helps prevent over-penetration. However, a thrust with this blade is not for targets to the torso, but to the joints, such as the shoulder: using the bones of the joint as a cutting board and capturing the tendons in that sharp concave edge.
You see that toothed base on the blade on some older types of kris, especially those from Indonesia and the Southern Philippines. They are intended to catch the opponent's sword if it slides down your blade. On the version originally described to me, the guard is a simple steel disk and of a size just large enough to cover your hand.
Note: The swords Tuhon Gaje had made for us in the early 1980s, were made for the Angelsword company by craftsmen in Mexico from truck leave springs, so that may account for their thickness and weight. Daniel Watson, the owner of Angelswords, has since gone on to making his own swords and his new designs look lighter in weight and much better balanced than Tuhon Gaje's old short sword was.
The blade that's second from the left is a traditional farm blade that may have been the inspiration for Conrado's House Bolo. (Photo courtesy Will Renfroe/Bohol Blades).
Here is an axe handle I cut down to yield a "blade" length of one cubit. It makes an excellent short sword trainer. The fork on the pommel is to help in the disarming of swords by levering their blades out of the opponent's hand.
The lighter stained wood is from a thick axe handle from Home Depot, which cost me a whopping $15. The darker stained wood is from a lighter weight handle that I got from Lowe's for only $10.
I was introduced to converting hickory axe handles into inexpensive sword trainers several years ago by Coach Dan Terrell and have been enjoying experimenting with these ever since. Here are two different trainers intended to train two different sets of Pekiti-Tirsia.
The top trainer comes from a Lowe's replacement axe handle and the bottom one comes from Home Depot. You can see some cross hatching I cut into the lighter stained trainer, but there is similar cross hatching under the grip tape area as well. I had made the darker colored, lightweight trainer as a promotion gift for those that passed their Lakan Guro testing at our 2019 Contradas camp. I thought it would be cool to take the same axe handle trainer and make a grip on both ends, so that we would not need grip tape (hence the cross hatching on each end). This would keep both ends free to hold.
Want a fast, more controlable trainer for Contradas? Hold the heavy end in your hand and the lighter end will move faster. Want a hard hitting trainer for Recontras training on the tire stack? Then hold the lighter end in your hand and the heavier end will hit harder.
Here is a two man drill that trains the different grips and types of timing you will see in Pekiti-Tirsia Seguidas, Contradas and Recontras:
A STEEL TRAINER?
Here are three machetes I purchased looking for a steel short sword trainer. My intent was to dull the edge and make a real weight, short sword trainer.
The only machete I actually use is the one on the bottom, which I modified for bushcraft use (instead of Pekiti-Tirsia training), as per Dave "Mac" Macintyre's instructions in this video: (Mac is the winner of the second season of the History channel series "Alone" and a true survival expert).
KNIFE MEASUREMENTS IN PEKITI-TIRSIA:
KNIFE FOR USE IN SAK-SAK GRIP: (A.K.A. "Hammer Grip") According to Tuhon Gaje, the minimum blade length for a knife used in hammer grip, or other blade foreward grip, should equal the length of your hand, fingertips to wrist. For more on this subject, read my blog essay "BIG VS SMALL. Does Size Really Matter?" (See the link section at the end of this essay).
KNIFE FOR USE IN PAKAL GRIP: (A.K.A. "Icepick Grip")
Tuhon Gaje taught us taught that a knife should be used in icepick grip when its overall length is equal to or shorter than the span between the outstretched tips of your thumb and pinky finger. Why? Because this lessens the chance of cutting yourself when grappling in icepick gip. For me, this measurement yields an icepick grip knife with an overall length of 9 inches, excluding any part of the handle that extends past my thumb. In the diagram that heads this essay, you will see a small dagger laid along the forarm on the figure's left side. This is using a measurement of the overall length of the knife fitting in a space between your wrist and the beginning of your biceps at the elbow joint. That is another way you can measure a knife for icepick grip. My advice though is to take these measures with a ruler and then apply them to a knife, instead of placing a sharp, pointy knife blade on your forearm or hand, to see if the knife will fit.
Note: When Tuhon Gaje first started training us on knife use, he started us with the knives we could legally carry in New York City, which was a knife with a blade no longer than 4 inches. When we moved to Texas and could carry larger blades, we spent more time training in hammer grip, since that is a better grip for larger blades.
PEKITI-TIRSIA SPEAR
SPEAR: The shaft matches your own height. The spear blade is the length of your hand.
I used the same design for the spear head in this image as the dagger used in the PTI logo. This was done to give us a dual use capability with the spear. It is common in Pekiti-Tirsia spear techniques to give a hard strike with the spear's socket and then do a draw cut before a thrust. Therefore, the straight side of the spearhead is needed so the cut and thrust can be done quickly, without getting caught up on any protrusions. Meanwhile the curved side of the spearhead extends out beyond the shaft, so that side of the spear head can be used for hooking techniques. The design also has a spike on the bottom end of the shaft, which protects the wood from wear while walking and can be used offensively in a fight.
The way the head that attaches to the shaft can be a socket (a built-in tube below the blade), or a tang hidden within the shaft. The socket type is the strongest way to attach a metal spearhead to a solid wooden shaft, but the hidden tang type is common on thrusting spears made of bamboo. The PT spear design uses a socket head mounted on a rattan shaft, due to an equal use of strikes and thrusts in its techniques. However, we are working on a polymer trainer with Vulpes Training that uses a hidden tang design that makes the best use of the polymer material and helps lighten the weight of the training tool. I will post pictures of this trainer once the prototypes are finalized.
PEKITI SWORDS IN MY FANTASY NOVELS
I used the Pekiti long and short swords as the base for the two swords the hero uses in my fantasy novel Asulon. Look closely and you can see the hero in the center of the book cover holding a sword based on the Pekiti-Tirsia short sword.
This short sword rides in a scabard on his belt, while his larger war sword rides in a scabbard attached to his horse's saddle.
For the war sword, I simply put a longer handle on the Pekiti-Tirsia long sword and made a Medieval falchion-like sword with a cavalry saber's knuckle guard.
A Medieval Falchion
This video gives a look at the simplified version of Pekiti techniques I used to form the sword fighting style the hero uses in my novels:
Train Hard, Train Smart, but remember to have fun while doing so.
Regards,
Tuhon Bill McGrath
For info on upcoming Pekiti-Tirsia International camps, seminars, local and on-line classes visit: https://pekiti.com/pages/upcoming-seminars
There are two posters available with the measurement chart at the top of this page. Visit this page on the PTI store for more details: https://pekiti.com/collections/all/membership?sort_by=created-descending#MainContent
If you would like to get these weapon designs on a hooded sweatshirt, you will find some for sale on this page of the PTI store: https://pekiti.com/collections/all/clothing?sort_by=created-descending#MainContent
BIG VS SMALL (BLADES) Does Size Really Matter?
VULPES TRAINING TOOLS https://www.vulpestraining.com/
Angelswords website: https://www.angelswords.com/filipino-swords/
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WHY LEARNING THROUGH COMPARISONS? This course is based on comparing the use of three categories of tools as weapons, the Bowie knife, the Kukri and the Axe/Tomahawk. My goal is to show you how to recognize both the pros and cons of each design and how to use them effectively, taking into account their strengths and weaknesses.
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V1: Some pros and cons of using a tomahawk as a combat tool.
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PTI TOMAHAWK TRAINING: Gear and Principles.
Some considerations to think about when training with a tomahawk for self-defense purposes.
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Let’s examine ax head design and compare the differences between axes designed as: a Woods tool, a Weapon, or a Combat/Utility multi-tool.
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V2. INTRODUCTION:
The tools seen in this video:
MAULS: (Fishkars X15 and a cheap hardware store maul shown), I use the first two axes shown in the video for splitting logs. Notice how thick the bits are. They are used to split logs that have already been cut to length (by a chainsaw these days, but previously, by a handsaw).
Mauls are designed to act as a wedge and are used to chop into the end grain of a log to split it apart along the grain.
Fiskars X15: For some strange reason, Fiskars markets this as a felling axe, but as you can see in the video, it has a thick wedge shape, better suited for splitting logs.
FELLING AXE: ( Estwing “Camper’s” model shown in video. Council Tools Double Bit axe in photo below). The Eastwind axe has a much thinner blade than axes made for splitting logs. This design is common with an axe intended to “fell” a tree; to cut it down and, if you had no saw, to cut it to length. It is designed to cut deeply across the grain, separating the fibers. I will put the Estwing in the toolbox of my truck when we are expecting a bad storm and have used it more than once to cut the branches from a downed tree across our road. I then section the tree's trunk with a large folding saw, cutting it into lengths light enough to move off the roadway. Here's the saw I keep in my truck. It's a Silky brand Bigboy.
A note on the double bit axe. This kind of axe was often used to clear land, with one side sharpened to a fine edge, which would bite deeply into the trunks of trees to fell them with fewer strokes. The other edge was sharpened at a steeper angle for rough work, such as chopping into roots, where the bit might strike the ground and the thicker edge would help prevent chipping.
CAMPING AXE: (Cold Steel Trail Boss) The third axe shown in video V2 is a good compromise design for both light felling and splitting. This style of axe, with a blade that's in-between a maul and a felling axe in thickness and a handle just long enough for use with two hands, is often sold as a camping, bushcraft or hunters axe. Note the tape on the handle to help prevent the wood from splitting if I miss my target and keep the head from flying off.
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V3. Basic Axe Skills-Tree Felling:
(From one of my favorite youtube channels The Grey Bearded Green Beret)
V4. Basic Axe Skills II Bucking and Splitting:
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V5. WAR VS SELF DEFENSE: Techniques designed for use in ancient warfare, with your brother warriors fighting beside you, may not work well in a modern self defense situation, where you might be fighting alone against two or more attackers.
Note: A Cold Steel Norse Hawk on a 30 inch handle was shown in the video below, as this was the closest thing I had to a long handed Viking axe. A Cold Steel Viking Axe with a 10" head and a 52" handle would have worked better for this demo, if I had one.
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LAGANA VIETNAM TOMAHAWK: As explained in the V5 video, this design helps mitigate a major problem in using an axe for self defense purposes, namely getting your axe stuck in bad guy number 1, while bad guy number 2 is attacking you. The SOG Tactical Tomahawk is shown in the video. If you would like a version of a Lagana style hawk that’s closer to the original than the SOG, I would recommend the American Tomahawk company’s Model 1 (with the hickory handle if you want authenticity, but the nylon handle if you want toughness).
V6. A 1999 interview with Peter Lagana:
CRKT KANGEE T-HAWK: This is the tool I keep in my Urban Get-Home-Bag, as it is the smallest breaching tool to get through man-made building materials that will fit into the bag I carry. It is the multi-tool of tomahawks..
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V7. Here is a video from RMJ designer Ryan Johnson teaching a first responder how to use a tactical tomahawk to get into a car to rescue a crash victim.
Here is a list of other uses for a tactical tomahawk as a rescue device.
People stuck in their home during a hurricane in Louisiana used a hatchet to chop through the roof of their attic and escape drowning from rising flood waters.
Pry bars are recommended tools to keep in earthquake survival kits to help open doors that became stuck during the initial quake and escape a structure before an aftershock hits and the building collapses. Both the spike and the top beveled edge of the T-Hawk can function as a pry bar, with each having the ability to get into different areas.
V8. Here is a story from a father telling how a RMJ Tomahawk was used to save the life of his son and other US soldiers in Afghanistan.
CAMPING HAWKS & HATCHETS: Photo: Cold Steel Trail Hawk, Fiskars X7 Hatchet, Plumb Boy Scout Hatchet. The short handled Plumb hatchet was the common size we used when I was a scout in the 70s. However, the longer 22" handle on the Trail Hawk makes the tomahawk safer to use, since it can be held in two hands for security. If both hands are on the axe handle, then one can't be holding the wood you are cutting, just in case you miss :-). In general, the longer the handle, the safer an axe is to use, since the length of the swing is increased and you are less likely to hit yourself if you miss your target. These kinds of lightweight tools are designed for smaller jobs, such as splitting kindling, rather than taking down large trees.
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Axe Eyes
PH Left to Right: The eyes of a Cold Steel Trail Hawk with the handle in place, a Condor Greenland Hatchet and the empty eye of a Cold Steel Pipe Hawk.
For most of its history, axes were hung by sliding the head up a tapered wood handle through the eye.
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PH Left to Right: Condor Greenland hatchet, a replacement hatchet handle with both wooden and steel wedges and the Cold Steel Pipe Hawk head above its handle.
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In video V5 of this essay I mention how the straight poll on the Trail Hawk (left) will not get caught on the beard of another hawk; while the barrel shaped poll of the Pipe Hawk will. This is one of those things you learn while doing experiments with your tools and trying out different combinations of weapon vs weapon.
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V9. DRAWING A SHORT HATCHET W/ ATTACHED SHEATH
(From the Learning Through Comparisons video)
V10. DRAWING A TOMAHAWK W/ ATTACHED SHEATH
(From the Learning Through Comparisons video)
V11. DRAWING A SHORT TOMAHAWK FROM A KYDEX SHEATH
(From the Learning Through Comparisons video)
V12. DRAWING A KANGEE T-HAWK FROM A KYDEX SHEATH
(Dominant side draw)
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CONCLUSION: One of the reasons I started the Learning Through Comparisons series was to correct a problem. In recent years I’ve watched more and more FMA people pick up weapons from outside general FMA practice, (such as the tomahawk or kukri) and use them with the exact same techniques they had learned in FMA class, without modifications of the techniques required by the differences in the designs of these weapons. Therefore, this series is just as much about how NOT to use these weapons as how to use them.
In comparing three different weapon/tool designs and their functions, my goal is to teach you how to evaluate weapon designs for yourself and take these principles and use them to intelligently compare different things in the future. Learning through comparisons is a technique of learning how to learn and can be used in many areas of life.
Train Hard, but Train Smart,
Tuhon Bill McGrath
FOR INFO ON UPCOMING PTI CLASSES, SEMINARS AND CAMPS, VISIT:
https://pekiti.com/pages/upcoming-seminars
PTI VIDEOS:
You will find the Learning Through Comparisons series and other videos for sale on this page of the PTI web store:
https://pekiti.com/collections/all/basic-videos?page=3
The three videos in the LTC series can be purchased with a Cold Steel rubber training tool on this page: https://pekiti.com/products/learning-through-comparisons-video-tool-bundle
BLOG POSTS:
LEARNING THROUGH COMPARISONS: PART 1
https://pekiti.com/blogs/news/learning-through-comparisons-vs-rules-and-how-to-combine-them
LEARNING THROUGH COMPARISONS: PART 2: https://pekiti.com/blogs/news/learning-through-comparisons-pt-2-drawing-the-weapon
NOTES:
Military veteran and retired police detective Hock Hochhiem has a really insightful discussion on the problems with the axe as a modern martial arts weapon on his website: https://www.forcenecessary.com/tomahawks-kathump-a-painful-look-at-tomahawk-and-axe-training-hock/
For more on the history of the axe in early America, visit: https://www.storey.com/article/evolution-north-american-axe/
For some good tutorials on axe use for firewood processing, visit: https://www.youtube.com/@JoshuaEnyart/videos
Cold Steel Trail Hawk IA WOODSMAN https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pvv97vPLHk
AXES DISCUSSED IN THIS ESSAY:
https://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-Super-Splitting-Inch-378841-1002/dp/B00004SD7B/
https://www.amazon.com/Estwing-Campers-Axe-Splitting-Construction/dp/B00002N5N7/
https://www.amazon.com/Council-Tool-Michigan-Pattern-Straight/dp/B000IJRISU/
https://www.amazon.com/Cold-Steel-90N-Tomahawk-Norse/dp/B000IXDHMW
https://www.amazon.com/SOG-Tomahawk-Tactical-Axe-Sheath/dp/B000PICTYC/
https://www.amazon.com/SOG-Molded-Sheath-Tomahawk-HDN-F01/dp/B0073H2PYC/
https://www.amazon.com/American-Tomahawk-Model-Hickory-ATC810690/dp/B087173L8Z/
https://www.amazon.com/American-Tomahawk-Model-Handle-ATC810669/dp/B087177RK7/
https://www.amazon.com/CRKT-Kangee-Tomahawk-Sheath-Compatible/dp/B00BBOBXD2
https://www.amazon.com/Condor-Tool-Knife-Greenland-American/dp/B004WMFNIG/
https://www.amazon.com/Council-Double-Michigan-Fiberglass-Handle/dp/B008WMPUVC/
https://www.amazon.com/Professional-BIGBOY-Folding-Landscaping-356-36/dp/B0014CA3JQ
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1015404821?pid=978267
Notes on blade design for knifemakers:
Bowie, Kukri & Hand Axe.
Your bladed tool should be:
1. Legal in your area for its intended purpose.
2. Practical for use in the 99% of the time you will not be using it for self defense.
3. Have features that will help in a self defense situation, while not making the knife look like a “fighting knife.”
More on point 3. Names such as Bushcraft, Camper, Hunter, Survival are a bit safer than Fighter, Attack, Combat, Assassin.
FOR MORE READ: ISSUES REGARDING SELF-DEFENSE & THE LAW
https://pekiti.com/blogs/news/issues-regarding-self-defense-the-law
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COLD STEEL TRAILMASTER
ONTARIO SP-10
COLD STEEL GURKHA KUKRI PLUS
HANDLES:
Professional big game hunter and writer Robert Ruark said “Use Enough Gun”. When it comes to big blades, I would recommend “Use enough handle.”
One of the pet peeves of mine is when a modern knife manufacturer puts a short handle on a large knife. While a handle that’s too thin can be fixed by wrapping it with grip tape; there is no easy way to make a short handle longer.
Questions to ask about your handle design:
1. Does your handle impede a secure grip: such as being tapered towards the blade, but has no guard (such as a Finnish Puukko).
2. Does it taper towards the butt with no swell or hook at the butt end (such as some older Cold Steel Tantos),
3. Have finger grooves that limit grip choices. Conversely, does it have a round grip, which hinders awareness of where the cutting edge is?
4. Have a historical or traditional handle, but you are selling the tool to modern customers with larger hands.
5. Are your customers unfamiliar in using the style of grip (as specifically the case of the Khukuri/kukri for most of the world outside of Nepal.
According to antique arms dealer Matt Easton, some early kukris handles were long enough for a two handed grip by small Nepalese hands of the 17th century. This would facilitate its use as a tool.
The reverse of this is an easy problem to fix. If a handle is too long for you, a well designed handle will allow for an adjustment of hand placement far easier than would a wide hand trying to fit on a short handle.
Here are some sample ways to do this:
1. Have a straight handle but wrap it in the style of a Japanese sword.
2. Have a straight handle with very positive, physical stops at the top and bottom.
ONTARIO SP-10
3. Have a palm swell at the center of the grip.
4. Have an hourglass grip, with a slight reduction in the center and a widening at each end. This is done subtlety on the kriton handle on the Cold Steel Trailmaster.
5. Have a combination of palm swell and end flairs, as found on the Cold Steel kukris.
6. Have ONE finger groove at the start of the grip.
Pic
7. Start the handle narrow behind the guard, then gradually widen towards the butt.
Blackjack Hunter
FOR MORE READ: HOW TO MEASURE A KNIFE HANDLE TO FIT YOUR HAND. https://pekiti.com/blogs/news/how-to-measure-a-knife-handle-to-fit-your-hand
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BLADES:
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Bowies: Straight vs trailing clip point.
https://pekiti.com/blogs/news/bowie-clip-preferred-length-and-shape
Trailing Point, Possible Origin and Uses.
https://pekiti.com/blogs/news/bowie-knife-design-trailing-point-possible-origin-and-uses
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Guards:
Find a balance between large enough to protect the hand and catch his blade; with small enough not to snag on clothing or get in the way of cutting. A longer handle, combined with a cross guard gives you some "stand off" area below the guard for your hand to keep away from an opponent's blade.
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Khukuris:
Note: Khukuri is the Nepalese word for this tool, while Kukri is the Hindi/Indian word. We in the west are more familiar with the Indian word because of the involvement of the British in India.
Kukri: notes on the notch. Religious design. Acts as spring, Helps prevent the focus of torque on the thin cutting edge. I would leave out the center post, so it can be used with a Fire steel. (and mount a firesteel that fits it right on the sheath)
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Matt Easton on antique Kukri design:
A sixty minute documentary about the thirty year quest by Christian Cranmer owner of International Military Antiques to rescue the contents of the Royal Arsenal of Nepal and over 300 years worth of Antique weapons.
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Antique Khukuri Repair at KHHI 2017
You'll find 19 useful videos explaining the many uses of the kukri for Bushcraft and Survival on this playlist from Blackie Thomas:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrZ07-G4bVZcvyxchmkrlADSRrKnwgKsn
Axes and Hawks:
BOWIE VS KUKRI VS HATCHET/TOMAHAWK: Comparing the three in use. (with pros and cons of each)
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I tell my Pekiti-Tirsia FMA students that just because you have training in techniques designed for a straight blade, does not mean you can transfer all those techniques automatically to all other edged weapons. It will take some adjustment, as I discuss briefly in this video. When asked which I would take into a survival situation, I usually reply “That depends what I am trying to survive.”
If I was trying to move through or around obstacles in an urban environment, then I would want an all steel tactical tomahawk. (The CRKT Kangee T-Hawk is what I keep in my car emergency bag.)
If I was trying to survive in the wilderness, then the kukri gives you many of the functions of both a hatchet and a machete. Conversely, if I needed a melee weapon, (such as trying to escape a riot, where I have time for only one cut per opponent), then the kukri hits harder than the bowie knives I own, while being far less likely than one of my tomahawks to get stuck in a target. I own a Ontario OKC kukri, as it’s a great camping tool, but would prefer the Cold Steel Gurkha Kukri Plus, if in the riot scenario I spoke of.
If I was trying to survive a knife fight against a well trained, single opponent, (and was limited to the three choices given here), then I would choose a bowie knife because of its maneuverability and its better thrusting ability than the other two weapons.
BOWIE VS KUKRI: Comparing angles on thrust.
You will find the Learning Through Comparisons series and other videos for sale on this page of the PTI web store: https://pekiti.com/collections/all/basic-videos?page=3
Regards,
Bill McGrath
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FROM TUHON BILL MCGRATH:
When Tuhon Gaje was learning the Pekiti-Tirsia system as a child from his grandfather Conrado Tortal, there was no rank structure. Young Leo was taught all of one weapon "A to Z" in the order of Solo Baston/Espada (single stick/sword), Doble' Baston/Espada (double stick/sword), Espada y Daga (sword and dagger), Daga y Daga (knife vs knife), & Mano y Mano (hand vs hand).
Leo told us that the names of the ranks he gave us where taken from the public school titles used when he was a child, so an elementary school student was called a "Yakan" (student), while a high school student was a Lakan (lit. "first step"). The school principle was addressed as "Tuhon" (From the Malay "Tuan" lit. "lord" and used for "chief.") Teachers were addressed as "Guro" which of course means "teacher." Mataas is literally "master' and was the equivalent of the Spanish "maestro." Magino'o is a term for the pre-spanish nobility among Tagolog speakers in the Philippines and is used in Tuhon Gaje's rank structure to mean "elder"or "respected person."
Our first test book in PTI was Test Book 1, from 1995. This book covered all the rank material up to Guro Isa (Instructor, 1st level). I based the requirements of each rank approximately on the material I had learned when I was given each rank by Tuhon Gaje. The times listed in the chart were my approximations of how long a student should practice each set before they might be ready to test in that material. The belt rank equivalents came from requests by seminar hosts to show their students how ranks in PTI would correlate with ranks they were already familiar with.
The two major changes from how I learned the system were the addition of the 5 Attacks Subsystem (1) at the beginning of the curriculum, and the move of the Pekiti-Disarma from the end of the solo stick/sword material to a place in between the 64 Attacks drills and Seguidas. When I had first showed the proposed rank chart to Tuhon Gaje, he asked that the Disarma be moved to its current place in the curriculum, so it would act as a gatekeeper for Seguidas; ("If they can get through Disarma, then they will deserve to learn Seguidas." was how he phrased it at the time.)
TEST BOOK ONE RANK CHART
The Advanced test book covered the ranking requirements from Guro Delawa through Tuhon.
ADVANCED TEST BOOK RANK CHART
Interior of new test book.
NEW TEST BOOK
The current test book is a spiral bound booklet that shows the requirements for all ranks in PTI and contains the following changes:
Things removed: The sash/belt colors were removed as most FMA schools don't use this system. Also removed were the training time suggestions, as few people train in the 4 to 8 hours a week format those suggestions were based on.
EYD changes: In the old test books, EYD set 2 material was split between Guro Isa and Guro Dalawa. In the new test book, all the EYD 2 requirements have been put into the Guro Dalawa section.
Spear: Tuhon Gaje had only taught me the first two sets of spear and told me I should be able to figure out the third set on my own. Since the spear sets were based on Seguidas, (or maybe visa versa, see note 2), this seemed workable when I first learned them. However, I decided I probably should have help on this, so I waited until I had several instructors in our group who had all three sets of Seguidas before working on this set.
Doble' Daga: It was common for Tuhon Gaje to teach a set of Espada Y Daga and then teach the double knife versions of the same material while training us on variations. While this did help reinforce the gross motions of each technique and gave you a deeper understanding of the material, it proved to be extremely time consuming to teach this way. When I was teaching small private groups at the same pace I learned the material (often one technique per hour), all went well. However, when I tried to fit all of a EYD set (12 attacks, 12 disarms, 12 Contradas & 12 Recontras) in a weekend seminar, along with all the corresponding double daga work, it always seemed that I had to "rob Peter to pay Paul" between the two weapon systems.
I've also learned to be increasingly careful about teaching Pekiti knife work as the years go on and thought it wise to separate the double knife work from the Espada y Daga material.
Much like Tuhon Gaje made Pekiti Disarma the gatekeeper for Seguidas, I decided that the EYD material would be the gatekeeper for Doble' Daga. Therefore, the other change I made in the new test book was to reflect how I now teach Doble' Daga today and reserve it for those with a career path towards learning the full Pekiti-Tirsia system.
PTI RANK REQUIREMENTS (Newest version)
YAKAN - FULL STUDENT
Tempering and Kickboxing,
Solo Baston 5 Attacks Subsystem,
Doble’ Baston Basics,
Empty Hand vs Knife
LAKAN - FIRST STEP
Solo Baston Abcedario,
Abcedario de Mano
LAKAN GURO ISA - ASST. INSTRUCTOR LEVEL 1
Solo Baston 64 Attacks,
Doble’ Disarms,
Solo Daga Levels 1, 2 & 3
LAKAN GURO DALAWA - ASST. INSTRUCTOR LEVEL 2
Pekiti Disarma,
Doble’ Contradas & Recontras,
Pekiti de Mano
GURO ISA - INSTRUCTOR LEVEL 1
Seguidas,
Espada Y Daga Level 1,
GURO DALAWA - INSTRUCTOR LEVEL 2
Solo Contradas,
Espada y Daga Level 2,
GURO TATLO - INSTRUCTOR LEVEL 3
Solo Recontras,
Espada y Daga Level 3
GURO APAT - INSTRUCTOR LEVEL 4
Alphabito, Numerado, Offensa-Defensa,
Spear,
Knife Finishers
MATAAS NA GURO - MASTER INSTRUCTOR
Doble’ Daga
NOTE 1: I developed the 5 Attacks subsystem back when I was doing followup seminars for Tuhon Gaje in the 1980s. The idea was that most weapon based arts I encountered had the same basics; four diagonal cuts and a thrust. Therefore, if I could use that format as a template, I could add more advanced Pekiti principles on top of something these other arts were already familiar with.
NOTE 2: If you have trained in Seguidas, you may have thought that some of the techniques seemed a bit strange to use with a baston or sword. These techniques make a whole lot more sense when used with a spear. This leads me to wonder which was the chicken and which the egg between Seguidas and spear.
Train Hard, but Train Smart,
Tuhon Bill McGrath
FROM TUHON JACK LATORRE:
When first coming to the system in 1993 or so and seeing this chart, I was very excited to undertake this system.
When I started completing the first few curricular blocks, the design of each block made so much sense for both learning and application.
After starting some of the intermediate material, I was drawn in by the level of detail and efficacy. But seeing what was required of each new block, it seemed almost daunting to learn everything.
Sticking with it and having the guidance of Tuhon William McGrath and the cooperation of my classmates really made for a quality and enjoyable experience.
Going through the rigorous and detailed testing of knowledge and application required of each block not only confirmed the quality of training, but brought more and more connectivity between curricular blocks.
In 2003, upon completing successful learning of, training in, and testing of the entire system, it became apparent to me that I was a merely a beginner in the system. Now I had a finished road map that I had been piecing together from parts I had been given from which I could begin to REALLY explore...to draw parallels between blocks, to distill technical essence from the physical exemplars given. Also, I learned to improve my methods to explain and teach others what I had been given and worked for.
2017 was the promotion of Scott Faulk and I to Tuhon rank.
One of the many things that made it odd compared to us testing out of the system for our Mataas Na Guro ranks was that there was no test. Tuhon McGrath simply thought both Scott Faulk and I were ready. Neither Scott nor I thought we were ready for such an honor.
But what came to pass afterwards helped to add perspective.
Both Scott and I became more involved in leadership roles...to help make decisions for the improvement of the organization, of the student body, and of our diplomacy in the greater FMA world.
Scott and I were making more connections for ourselves as to how the system could be taught, how it could better serve the membership, and how quality could be maintained as we grow as an organization. Both Coach Danny Terrell and Mataas Na Guro Christophe Verdot became part of the process and now we have a PTI Council to help guide you all.
After going through the system, looking at this chart is a fascinating practice.
All PTI members are somewhere on here in varying degrees. Your jobs are to learn the most salient parts to you in a quality and ethical way.
Look at it closely and carefully. It is a sort of mountain to climb...with several paths you can navigate.
What the PTI Council does is help you figure out which paths are best for you...what you might experience going one way or another on divergent paths...what paths are more "scenic" and which paths are more "direct"...and what's to be gained by following certain paths.
With the COVID-19 health crisis, our paths might alter some...but they are still paths nonetheless. We will help you progress in whatever way we can. There are the downloads of Tuhon Bill, free video tutorials that Coach Danny and I make, Zoom classes that some of the assistant instructors and Certified Trainers do, and this Facebook group. You can still progress.
Looking at this chart makes me envious of the paths you are on.
Wishing each of you health, safety, and sanity.
Jack A. Latorre
Tuhon
Executive Director
Pekiti-Tirsia International
Tuhon Bill McGrath and Guro Jens Thomsen demo techniques 1 & 2 from Pekiti-Tirsia Espada y Daga set 3 Attacks at the Kenpokan Dojo in Hannover, Germany.
Understanding the knife jab in Pekiti-Tirsia. With Tuhon Bill McGrath and Guro Zoltan Juhasz in Szolnok, Hungary.
To view more Pekiti-Tirsia Espada y Daga videos, visit the Espada y Daga playlist on Tuhon Bill's youtube channel
For info on Pekiti-Tirsia seminars, classes and camps, visit: https://pekiti.com/pages/upcoming-seminars
PTI SUMMER CAMP REGISTRATION PAGE: https://pekiti.com/products/2024-pti-summer-camp-august-2-3-4
Disarms in Pekiti-Tirsia are not taught as “goal” techniques in a fight. The goal is not to disarm an opponent, but to safely move past him, after reducing (even temporarily) his ability to pose a danger to you. A disarm is simply one tool in your toolbox to help you get to your goal.
In the classical style of teaching Pekiti-Tirsia, techniques such as disarms are first taught in isolation, with just the main mechanics of each technique, to get the motions ingrained, so you can do them while under stress. This is the “how” of the technique.
You will then learn the counters and recounters. This process helps you learn the principles behind a technique: the “why” of it, as in “why is it done this way and not another.”
For disarms, the next stage would be to integrate them with the strikes, so they can be used more effectively. This is why you will usually see a disarm used only after a disabling hit is given to weaken the opponent’s grip on his weapon. This is the beginning of learning the “when” of a technique, ie using it at an appropriate time in a fight.
A counter to a "Snake" disarm of a stick. A disarm is much easier to accomplish if a hard strike is given to the opponent first. This is especially true in disarms like the snake, which are done at grappling range.
In Pekiti-Tirsia, disarms are used much like a medieval soldier would use a coup de grâce against an enemy; as a way to make sure your path forward is safe to travel as you move on to the next opponent. With a sword, it can be obvious when an opponent has been completely disabled and is safe to leave behind, however, with a stick or small knife, this is not always the case. (For more on this, read my post on big blades “Does Size Matter.” Link in note 1).
Time is an important factor in a fight. “How much time do I have to deal with Bad Guy 1 before Bad Guy 2 can get to me?” If you have time for only one hit before you need to leave and this only stuns Bad Guy 1, then maybe taking his weapon away as you go past him is a good option to have in your toolbox. Do you want to leave a temporarily stunned, but armed man behind you as you make your escape, or an unarmed man?
The classical way of teaching Pekiti-Tirsia will often show the same general technique with several weapons - as a way to reinforce the gross motions on the nervous system. Therefore, we will teach the same disarm with a long weapon such as stick vs stick, then a short weapon version such as knife vs stick, then the empty hand vs stick version. The idea here is to teach the student how to make adjustments as needed with the same general principle, but applied with different weapons: to show which things change and which stay the same.
This is a bit like the transition my dept made from revolver to pistols in the 90s. I was a range officer at the tail end of this period and it was interesting to compare techniques between the weapon platforms; again, to see which things changed and which stayed the same.
(For more on this subject read “LEARNING THROUGH COMPARISONS.” Link in note 2).
When I train law enforcement or military personnel, I don’t have the same luxury of time as I do in my martial arts classes. With these two groups I must compress things down quite a bit and tend to teach in what I call “Chain Techniques” with a sample from each principle in each combination, such as:
1. Avoid the initial attack. Than an entry to get into a superior position.
2. Just enough strikes to buy time for a control technique.
3. The control technique: (defined as something capable of seriously reducing his ability to fight for a prolonged period). such as a break, lock, choke, disarm, or drawing and/or use of your own weapon.
Which way of teaching is better? I believe if you have the time, then the old ways will produce the better overall fighter and teacher. However, if you don’t have the time, then you have no choice and the new way may be the only way.
I hope this has helped you understand the subject of disarms in the Pekiti-Tirsia system.
Train Hard, but Train Smart,
Tuhon Bill McGrath
For info on upcoming classes, seminars and camps, visit:
https://pekiti.com/pages/upcoming-seminars
NOTES:
1. SIZE DOES MATTER
2. LEARNING THROUGH COMPARISONS
3. DISARMS PLAYLIST on my YouTube channel.
Two Training Goloks; a wooden one given to me by a student and a polymer one based on the wooden model made by Vulpes Training (2).
WHAT IS A GOLOK?
The Golok of Indonesia is a large, stout knife, comparable in use to the Parang of Malaysia and the Bolo of the Philippines.
While Google and Youtube will translate golok as “machete,” it’s really a different tool than what we in the west would think of when we use that term.
The modern, Latin style machete we are familiar with in the Americas has a blade of thin stock, most often of a uniform thickness throughout. This is to keep this agricultural tool both inexpensive to purchase and light in weight for long use in the fields, or when clearing a trail of vegetation. The handle is usually straight, with a rectangular cross section with chamfered edges.
Meanwhile, the golok usually has a blade of heavier construction, with a thicker spine that often tapers to the tip. The handle is often of a pistol grip-like shape, curving downward towards the butt. This handle is often round or oval in shape. Shown below are a Collin’s machete with a straight grip and thin spine and a Bidor parang with a thicker spine and pistol grip type handle. The Malaysian parang serves the same purpose as the golok as a jungle knife, (as do many of the bolos in the Philippines).
Notice the difference in spine thickness between the machete and the parang.
Why the difference between designs of Latin machetes and the jungle blades of S.E. Asia?
A large reason is the type of vegetation each is designed to cut. In Central and South America, the purpose of the machete is to cut light vegetation for long periods of time; either working in agriculture, or clearing a trail in a jungle. Thin, green vegetation, (such as grass or vines) does not require a heavy blade to cut effectively. When we move to S.E. Asia though, much of the work is done on much tougher to cut bamboo, (so much so that anthropologists used to refer to many of the indigenous peoples of the region as “bamboo cultures,” due its ubiquitous use among the people there.)
EDDIE’S GOLOK TECHNIQUE
Here is a look at a few techniques of Golok use I learned from Eddie Jafri in the late 1970s and early 80s. First let’s look at the differences between what Eddie would show at a public performance of Silat and what he would teach in class.
.
Bunga (flowers) vs Bua (fruit):
The video above shows Eddie during a Silat demo in 1980 or 81. The golok material is during the first 30 seconds. (The knife held in his toes is a Rencong, (3) and yes, they really did use it that way, usually kicked into the groin as a distraction when paired with a sword).
Getting back to the golok, notice the reverse grip slashes Eddie is doing with the blade. Yes, he’s moving fast and it looks scary, but this material is meant mainly for public performances. (By the way, Eddie would usually use a cheap, lightweight kitchen knife for this demo. That's why you see him toss it aside instead of sheath it, before he draws the rencong). This style of performance is called “Bunga” lit. “Flowers” in Indonesian and it is intended for public display, not for fighting. The actual techniques would traditionally be hidden and would be referred to as “Bua” lit. “fruit” ie, the real fighting aspect of the art.
The techniques Eddie taught were based on the idea of drawing the golok in reverse grip to deliver faster cuts and hacks straght out of the sheath. These are often reinforced by holding the spine of the blade along the forearm.
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The video above shows an empty hand version of one of Eddie’s golok techniques. He would often show the empty hand version of a knife technique first, wanting us to get the gross motions practiced, before moving on to the actual weapon techniques.
Here are two videos from Indonesian Silat instructors that show some concepts similar to the drawing techniques I learned from Eddie.
I rarely teach the full version of Eddie’s golok technique these days, (karambit seems to be more popular) but I have integrated some of its principles into the weapon retention material I teach to LEOs and CCW civilians.
Note: I am usually reluctant to show this kind of material in public; but I figure none of my LEO or CCW students are likely to carry a foot long golok as their weapon retention tool, so we should be good on this.
Here are a few samples: First, the empty hand version.
An attacker attempts to grab my sidearm on my right hip. I use the hand I draw with to secure the firearm in place, while striking him in the face with an open hand technique to prevent damage to my hand. (5)
If he is too close for a hand strike, I will use an elbow.
Once I have gotten a good hit into his control center, it's time to hit the radial nerve in his forearm and try and loosen his grip on my firearm.
If he's still fighting, I can deliver a hammer fist to his face. This will bring my hand back to my left side where my weapon retention tool is kept.
If I have the chance, I can draw my blade and deliver the same gross motions as the empty hand version of the technique.
At arm's length, I can deliver a punch with the pommel to the face.
Closer in, I can deliver a reinforced elbow strike and cut with the golok to the head.
I can now work on his forearm to make him release my firearm.
A backhand to the head or neck is available if needed. (6)
Train Hard, but Train Smart,
Tuhon Bill McGrath
PS: The title of my next Eddie story is: LONG STICKS & SWEATY PALMS, (how not to do Iron Palm training).
NOTES:
1. Goloks on the Indonesian version of Etsy. The price when converted into US dollars is about $10 each.
https://www.bukalapak.com/p/hobi-koleksi/koleksi/benda-tajam/cry9uh-jual-golok-betawi-gagang-bonggol-bambu-baja-per
2. To puchase the training golok I'm using visit: https://www.vulpestraining.com/
3. Rencong photo. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_Dolk_%28rencong%29_met_rechthoekig_gebogen_hoornen_greep_en_houten_schede_TMnr_17-5.jpg
4. For more Eddie stories read:
Part 1. https://pekiti.com/blogs/news/karambits-magic-swords
Part 2. https://pekiti.com/blogs/news/what-i-did-on-my-summer-vacation-crazy-eddie-stories-part-2
5. See the story on broken hands in street fights in my post, "How to Hit Hard"
6. See my post "ISSUES REGARDING SELF-DEFENSE & THE LAW"
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The purpose of this series is to learn how to learn; i.e. the technique of learning something new. One way human beings do this (especially when young) is by learning through comparisons. In this essay we will examine the differences in drawing three categories of weapons; the bowie, the kukri and the hatchet/tomahawk.
Drawing from carry position 1. This position has the sheath on the strong side hip (My right side).
Three stages dependent on time; close, medium and far ranges.
Drawing from carry position 2. This position has the sheath inside the waistband with the knife concealed.
Three stages dependent on time; close, medium and far ranges.
Why these guards? One of the principles I teach with all weapon work is how not to hurt yourself with the weapon and this starts with the draw.
Low guard: This puts the point on target as early out of the sheath as possible. By bringing your weapon hand to your hip, it helps ensure that the point of the knife is not pointed at your body. Just like you don’t want to point the muzzle of a firearm at any body parts you are fond of, you don’t want to do anything similar with the point of a knife.
This is the fastest guard to deploy and therefore a good choice when defending against a sudden attack at close quarters.
Middle guard: This gives you more control over the weapon, which is useful if you are trying to move a heavy weapon at speed and if your opponent tries to knock your weapon aside.
The left hand on the wrist is there to add power to your cuts, but also to act as a last-ditch bit of protection for the wrist of the weapon hand.
This position is also good during transitions to other guards from the draw, as the support hand on the wrist helps keep the blade a safe distance away from your face. This helps prevent a problem I have seen during sparring, when students hold the knife in a single hand middle height guard (similar to a sport fencer’s). I’ve seen students in full contact matches pop themselves in the face mask with the point of the training knife, when someone has cut towards the knife and they react by snapping the knife arm back.
High guard: This guard is useful when defending against an attacker at a distance. Having a high guard allows gravity to help you deliver faster cuts (useful when you have a heavy blade). It also gives you a clear battle plan “He is likely to attack below my knife, so I will counter-cut from above.” The less areas you have to react to, the faster your reaction time will be.
The high guard also helps prevent you from cutting your head when you make a backhand cut (something that can happen if your hands are held next to your head while you hold the knife).
Carry Positions 3 & 4 have the knife on the support side (my left) and presume you have a handgun on your strong side. The techniques here are designed to defeat a grab of your handgun. Since I usually show this material to law enforcement and CCW holders during seminars, I will not show it here.
KUKRI / KHUKURI
A Khukuri I purchased in Nepal in 2018
Two of my favorite kukris: A Nepalese made Khukuri from Knives by Hand and a Cold Steel Gurkha Plus Kukri in O1 tool steel.
Note: The English word Kukri comes from the Hindi word for this knife: while Khukuri is the Nepalese word for this knife.
Drawing the Kukri from the strong side. As with the bowie, the guard you go to after the draw depends on the time you have and conditions you are in.
Drawing the Kukri from the cross-draw position.
Comparing the thrust on a straight blade, such as a bowie, and a curved blade, such as a kukri. If you have been trained with a straight blade to do hooking thrusts, you may need to change your technique when using a curved blade.
HATCHETS & TOMAHAWKS
(Lt to Rt) SOG Fasthawk, SOG Tactical Tomahawk, Plumb Boy Scout Hatchet, CRKT Kangee Hawk, Cold Steel Trail Hawk, Cold Steel Norse Hawk.
SHORT HATCHET
COLD STEEL TRAIL HAWK
SOG FASTHAWK
CRKT KANGEE HAWK
As I said at the beginning of this essay, the purpose of this series is to learn how to learn. Therefore, keep an open mind about all you see here, analyze and evaluate, and above all use this as a tool to help you learn the art of learning.
TRAIN HARD, BUT TRAIN SMART,
Tuhon Bill McGrath
FOR INFO ON UPCOMING PTI CLASSES, SEMINARS AND CAMPS, VISIT:
https://pekiti.com/pages/upcoming-seminars
For info on PTI videos, practice tools and membership in PTI, visit the PTI store page at: https://pekiti.com/collections/all#MainContent
For videos and practice tools for the Learning Through Comparisons series, visit: https://pekiti.com/products/1-training-tool-3-learning-through-comparisons-videos-bundle
ALSO READ:
LEARNING THROUGH COMPARISONS, PART 1
LEARNING THROUGH COMPARISONS PART 3
Big Blades for your family’s Get Home Bags.
ISSUES REGARDING SELF-DEFENSE & THE LAW
CONTROLLED HUMAN AGGRESSION FOR THE MARTIAL ARTIST PART 1
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I first met Penchak Silat instructor Suryadi “Eddie” Jafri in June of 1978. He had come to watch a Philippine Independence Day festival in lower Manhattan because he had heard good things about Filipino martial arts and wanted to see if some would be demonstrated at the event.
Tuhon Leo Gaje and his students were there and after our demo, Eddie came up to him, introduced himself and the two started to talk. The two hit it off and this led to Eddie being invited to teach a Penchak class at Leo’s school.
Tuhon Gaje told us that he had studied Mustika Kwitang Silat during his travels as a young man and was familiar with the ideas of Silat. “Out of this world techniques” is how Leo would describe Silat and we soon learned what Leo meant by this.
Here are two stories that may illustrate why Eddie's nickname among us was“Crazy Eddie” and help illustrate the culture that Eddie and Silat came from.
Eddie grew up in Panian village in western Sumatra, where his father owned a small grocery store. Eddie had heard stories of Penchak Silat among his relatives, but his parents did not want him to train in the art, because one of his uncles had won a tournament and was later poisoned by the loosing side. (Eddie eventually started his training by sneaking off after school at the age of 13).
Life was not so safe at home though, even without Silat tournaments, as there were tigers that you had to be wary of when traveling between villages and poisonous snakes such as cobras, which would come into the village at night looking for prey. Even play among the children of the village was not without its dangers.
Here’s an example:
I would bet that many of you reading this had some type of water pistol as a kid. My guess is that if I asked you what you put in that water pistol, you would answer “water.” Well, Eddie and his friends would put vinegar in their water pistols. But this stuff was not the same kind as you buy in your local supermarket. Eddie told me that the vinegar they had back then was home made and so strong that if you put it on your skin it would raise a welt. But that was not good enough for the kids of Eddie’s village. They would take hot chillies, crush them and soak them in the vinegar for a few days, then strain out the chillies and put that infernal liquid into their water pistols. They would then run through the village, shooting each other, burning each other’s skin and having a great old time. Eddie said that they had to stop using that mixture when he accidentally hit his best friend in the eyes with the vinegar spray. The poor kid fell to the ground screaming. Eddie thought he had permanently blinded his friend, especially after his eyes swelled up “as big as a hard boiled egg!” was how Eddie described it. His friend eventually healed and regained his vision, but that was just how they played as a child in a village in Indonesia in the early 1960s.
Eddie told us that he had left Indonesia and got to the US by getting a job abroad a cargo ship as a cook and basically “jumping ship” after shore leave when it docked in New York. He had some experience on ships prior to this though.
I remember a conversion several of us young guys had with Eddie one day before class.
We were sitting around talking about what jobs we would get during summer vacation and talked about the jobs you would expect high school kids to have in 1970s New York; working at a grocery store, neighborhood pizzeria, etc.
“Hey Eddie” we asked, “Did you have a summer job when you were in High School.”
“Yes, I was a pirate” said Eddie, mater-of-factly.
“Oh come on Eddie, you were not a pirate.” we replied, thinking he was joking.
“Well, our gang had a small boat and some machine guns and we used to go and stop small cargo boats running between islands and steal their coffee, sugar and tobacco and sell this on the black market.”
“Eddie, you really were a pirate!”
“Yeah, I was a pirate.”
More stories to follow. In the meantime, here is a drill from Cimande Silat that Eddie taught us.
Our warm up each class with Eddie consisted of 100 body weight squats and 100 Cimande punches. The video shows some details on this punching drill.
Train Hard, but Train Smart (and don’t be a pirate!),
Tuhon Bill McGrath
For many years I have been diagramming Pekiti-Tirsia weapon techniques. I was even able to do this in the days before home computers, drawing by hand, since my diagrams were so simple (mainly just a series of lines, arrows and numbers). However, I have not been able to create diagrams of empty hand techniques as easily. I really should do a better job on the empty hand side of this, so I have a request. Can you recommend a graphics program that will help me improve my diagrams and have them show the empty hand techniques more clearly?
Please look at the two sections below, (a knife combo and a boxing combo) each with a video and corresponding set of diagrams.
The knife section shows how I’ve been working for years. The diagram is simple and easy for my students to understand.
The boxing section has my first attempt to diagram an empty hand technique. One problem I’ve run into is that the diagram style I used is ok for punches done on the horizontal plane and at the same height. However, I’m not sure how to diagram a combo that has hits to different heights and on different planes (for example, how would I add an uppercut to the combo shown here).
I did these diagrams with an overhead viewpoint as it helps to show where the footwork needs to be. The problem with the overhead view is that hits to the body are hidden by the opponent's arms.
My goal with these diagrams is to make it easier for non English speakers to follow what is happening on my videos. I've had many comments on my Youtube channel from those not proficient in English that suggests that they are having trouble understanding my verbal descriptions of the techniques shown in the videos.
If I had any skill at drawing, I could show fighters from the side, like this illustration Guro Dan Inosanto drew for Bruce Lee's "Tao of Jeet Kune Do."
Is there a graphic arts program that would allow a non-artist like myself to do this type of drawing with my iPad or desktop? One of my main goals here is to be able to do all the work by myself and not pester my artist friends. The program I am currently using is Publisher Lite, but as you can see from my diagrams below, it is limited to very simple shapes.
Thanks for your help,
Tuhon Bill McGrath
KNIFE & EMPTY HAND DIAGRAMS
Here is a video showing a simple three count knife combo I've used many times in sparring.
Here is how I would diagram this combo in my notes.
Here is a simple three count boxing combo.
Here is my first attempt at diagramming the same combo.
Here is a separate footwork diagram, showing the footwork of the boxing combo in sequence.
One of the things I actually like about my crude diagram, is that it allows me to show the correct relationship between the center line of target and power generating shoulders of the two fighters.
In this version of the boxing diagram I have added a red line showing the angle of the point of percussion on the target and the weapon side shoulder. You will notice that the line is not at the center of the shoulder. This is because the line begins where the shoulder meets the chest (or more precisely, where the front head of the deltoid meet the pectoral muscle).
Please notice the following:
During the jab, Red’s left shoulder is in line with Blue’s center and 90 degrees to the chest.
During the cross, Red’s right shoulder is in line with Blue’s center and 90 degrees to the chest.
During the hook, Red’s left shoulder is in line with Blue’s center and 90 degrees to the chest.
Put your fist on target during a left jab. You will have the most support from the shoulder to the fist when the arm is lined up at a right angle to your chest. Your follow through is an extension from that right angle. Now turn your fist into a front hand hook. You will have the most power and the safest position for your shoulder joint, if they stay in that right angle alignment with your chest, even though the elbow is outside that angle. You have to be careful not to open the angle between shoulder and fist too much on a hook, so that you do not damage your shoulder joint.
Here are some photos to help show how the fist is lined up in relation to the chest at the point of percussion during a strike. This is based on my first year of training with Tuhon Gaje, when I was being taught basic kickboxing. Many of the finer details came when he was training me for tournaments with an emphasis on hitting his very dense heavy bag, which was filled with a mixture of sand and clay.
THE JAB: At the impact point, a line runs from the deltoid/pec juncture (marked by my back hand), to the first two knuckles on my fist. Your will have the most support for your shoulder joint at a 90 degree angle chest to arm, but follow through can continue to 45 degrees and still have good shoulder stability.
Care must be taken not to completely straighten the elbow. This can damage the elbow joint, either on impact, or if you miss the target and the elbow overextends. The advice from both Tuhon Gaje and my Silat teacher Eddie Jafri on this subject is not to let your arm go beyond the natural bend it has as it is hanging down at your side when standing relaxed.
LEAD HAND HOOK: On the lead hook, the fist turns over at a 45 degree angle, so that the pinky is up and the thumb knuckle is down, with the elbow slightly bent more than it is in the jab. The wrist is angled inwards to strengthen the wrist during impact. The impact point is on the forefinger knuckle in bare handed fighting and the top of the fist, if under boxing rules with wraps and gloves on. The 90 degree angle from chest to fist should be maintained on this punch to avoid damaging your shoulder. We used a head sized sand bag when practicing this punch.
REAR HAND HOOK: Here the point of percussion occurs when the fist is in front of the center of the chest. The fist canted about 45 degrees out as a compromise between protecting the pinky knuckle from impact (as is the danger in a horizontal position) and the wrist from collapsing (as is the danger in a vertical position). In bare knuckle boxing, this position also helps protect the secondary knuckles from impact with the target. The elbow should be in a line behind the fist on impact.
ELBOW STRIKE: The point of percussion on a horizontal elbow strike has the hand in front of the center of the chest. On soft targets, the bony tip of the elbow is the impact point. On hard targets, the impact point should be moved two inches or so down towards the thickest part of the forearm.
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Lately I’ve been using this musical analogy when describing martial arts training.
1. Basic training is like learning your notes and practicing your scales, with each weapon a different musical instrument. Therefore, playing an “A-sharp” on a piano will be different than playing the same note on a violin.
2. Distance and Timing drills are your mid level training and are like learning the structure of Classical Music. You need to first learn the rules before you can understand where and when you can successfully break the rules.
3. Advanced techniques should be viewed as samples of improvisational jazz. You learn the combinations that worked well for great musicians as a comparison study. You are learning through comparisons, so that you have the mental flexibility to make your own improvisations successfully when you need them.
This essay is about that middle level of training, our “Classical Music;” distance and timing drills.
The main factors that separate beginners from experienced fighters are the latter’s level of understanding of distance control and timing.
Distance control in striking arts is usually accomplished via footwork: while timing is the ability to use specific elements of fighting at the correct time.
Getting good at these skills helps you be in the right place, at the right time and using the right tools to accomplish your goals.
One way to develop these skills, especially in the early stages of training is through drills; but these drills must be structured in specific ways to develop the desired skill. As in nearly all our drills with beginners, we do these as slowly as necessary for the students to do the drills correctly.
DISTANCE CONTROL DRILLS: The purpose of these drills is to give an understanding of the opponent’s range with various weapons.
1. Two Man Empty Hand Reverse Triangle Drill. This is the first two man footwork drill I learned when I started training. Begin by facing your training partner at arms length. Each partner will move simultaneously in a reverse triangle, while each is passing the other at their backs. This starts as a symmetrical drill (meaning you both do the same movement, at the same time), but becomes asymmetrical in the advanced stage.
It begins with open reverse triangles, then moves to closed triangles, and then has one student changing direction and the other responding after the students becomes proficient at each stage.
2. Two Man, Two Stick Connection Drill. Start facing your training partner. There are two sticks in this drill, with each of you holding one end of each stick near your hips. From overhead the two people holding the two sticks should form a rectangle or square.
Level one of this drill has one person walking forward a few steps, while the other person walks backwards, step for step, maintaining the distance. (See photo below for position).
Level two has the two people move through an open diamond pattern while maintaining the distance between the two.
Level three has the two people doing the same open diamond, but this time one is feeding strikes (usually the four diagonals) and the other is responding with the same strikes. Work on keeping your head at the same level during these drills, so your eyes will not have to change their focus (and your brain recalculate the distance to the opponent) so often.
3. Wave in-Wave out Drill. The attacker makes a simple forehand strike in the air and freezes it at the point where he intends to hit a target. The defender stands just outside this range to judge the distance. The attacker now chambers his stick. The defender, now knowing the range of this strike, leans just far enough into this range to fake an entry and draw an attack (AKA the “wave in”) . The attacker will now SLOWLY begin his strike. The defender now leans back to get out of range of the strike (the “wave out”).
I usually teach this drill during 4 Wall training. See video below.
SEGUIDAS WARM UP DRILL:
RANGE & POINT OF PERCUSSION* DURING A CUT: When humans make a simple fluid strike with a stick or cut with an edged weapon, the movement is closer to a spiral than it is to a full circle. If the weapon is in your right hand, then the greatest reach will be with the weapon pointed straight out to your right, in a line across the shoulders, However, the point of greatest force in a cut will usually not be where the greatest reach is. For example, on a horizontal cut at shoulder height, this will be when the point of percussion of the weapon is roughly at a right angle to the line of your chest. Also notice in the video the angle of the elbow. A straight arm during a cut will not have as much force as an arm that is slightly bent at impact; as a slight bend in the elbow allows more muscle groups to deliver force into the target.
Tangent Lines: A straight line outside a circle which just "touches" the circle, and intersects it at exactly one point, is called a tangent line.
The tangent line is perpendicular to the radius at the point where it intersects the circle.*
GOING OFF ON A TANGENT: If we think of the path of a sword cut or the potential range of a punch as a spiral, then it becomes possible to evade these attacks with footwork that moves you in a line at a tangent to the apex of the opponent's circle or spiral.
Pekiti-Tirsia Entry Drill Break in-Break out video: In the figure below, the black lines represent the opponent and the reach of his stick, while the red line represents your footwork direction.
Footwork in Boxing & FMA video: In the figure below, the blue lines represent the opponent and the reach of his arms, while the red lines represents the direction of your footwork and punches.
Blade Boxing Footwork Drill video: In the figure below, the blue lines represent the opponent and the reach of his arms, while the red line represents the two potential directions of your punches after your footwork brings you into position.
DOUBLE KNIFE LEVEL ONE DRILL:
This is a sample from the long dagger drill that begins the first set of PTI double knife. This section is based on long European style daggers and probably has its roots during the Spanish period in the Philippines. The drill is based on the Ranging Footwork pattern, with 6 attacks, 6 counters and 6 recounters.
JUEGO-TODO DRILL: The drill in Pekiti-Tirsia where many of these elements are put together is called Juego-Todo (lit “game everything” AKA the anything goes drill).
If you look at the strikes I am using, you will see they are mainly simple techniques from the 5 Attacks Subsystem, used with advanced timing and distance control.
The progression of drills to develop many of these skills can be found in the video Understanding Multi-Strike Timing Drills.
UNDERSTANDING MULTI-STRIKE TIMING DRILLS
Train Hard, but Train Smart,
Tuhon Bill McGrath
PTI Videos or blog posts related to this essay:
BOWIE POINT- (Discussion of the Center or Point of Percussion)
For info on Pekiti-Tirsia seminars, camps and classes, visit:
https://pekiti.com/pages/upcoming-seminars
* https://geometryhelp.net/category/circles/tangent-lines/
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If I ever had to use a bowie knife for defensive purposes, I’d want to cut with maximum effect at the longest possible distance. This means putting the Center of Percussion (C.O.P.) as far forward as possible; while still retaining a functional, piercing point (1). Therefore, I’d want to have a relatively short false edge or swedge (2). For most of my bowies, it seems that a swedge length falling between 1/4 and 1/3 of the overall blade length strikes the right balance.
The longer the swedge, the more gradual the angle to the point of the blade and the easier the penetration into a target. However, the longer the swedge, the further towards your hand the C.O.P. becomes, which shortens the reach of your most powerful cuts with the primary edge.
While too long a swedge can reduce the effective reach of your power cuts, too short a swedge can mean a severe angle that may interfere with penetration.
Knifemakers commonly solve these problems of swedge design in several ways: by sharpening the swedge, by thinning the blade stock (traditionally with a distal taper), by making a concave angle on the swedge, or with a combination of all three.
So, what are your thoughts on this subject? What is your preferred length and shape for the swedge on a bowie that may be used for defensive purposes?
About the knives in the photo: I find that the Center of Percussion on most of my bowies sits opposite of where the swedge begins (marked by a silver line in the photo). Therefore, I will aim a cut so that the C.O.P. lands just to the far side of the target (the coins in the photo).
Knives shown, top to bottom:
Cold Steel 1917 Frontier Bowie.
M-Tech 151 ( a clone of the Cold Steel Trailmaster, made with cheaper steel).
Ontario SP-10 Raider Bowie.
"Come, let us reason together,"
Tuhon Bill McGrath
Note 1: For more on the Center of Percussion and other physics of blade use, read this informative article from Swordstem: Center of Percussion? Vibration Node? Balance Point? What does it all mean?
Note 2: Knife Anatomy chart: https://www.offgridweb.com/gear/knife-anatomy-101-infographic-terms/
Also watch:
Peter Johnsson's practical demonstration of sword dynamics at Ashokan Sword year 2016.
Centre of percussion, nodes of vibration and stiffness of swords.
Pekiti-Tirsia empty hand vs knife is based on its knife vs knife principles.
There are two reasons for this. One is that a small knife like a pocket knife or balisong will not function the same way as a large knife, (such as a bolo, barong, or bowie ) in that it is much harder to instantly incapacitate an opponent with a small knife. So the small knife is used much like empty hand vs knife and vice-versa. The other reason is that if you follow the same principles and gross motions in all your weapon platforms of the same size, then it is a much easier battle plan to follow during the stress of a fight.
Therefore, the immediate goal of Pekiti-Tirsia hand vs knife training is NOT to end the fight against a knife with your bare hands. The purpose of a good hand vs knife system should be to buy you enough time to make the fight your weapon vs his weapon as soon as possible.
Let’s read that again because it’s so important.
THE PURPOSE OF A GOOD HAND VS KNIFE SYSTEM IS TO BUY YOU ENOUGH TIME TO MAKE THE FIGHT YOUR WEAPON VS HIS WEAPON AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
This concept was always inferred from the earliest days of our training with Tuhon Gaje, but I really started to strongly emphasize this with my civilian students once I became a police defensive tactics instructor.
In a police defensive tactics class, it’s obvious to all that you want to get out of a hand vs knife fight and into a gun/baton/anything but empty hands vs knife fight as quickly as possible; but this concept is not always obvious to a civilian martial arts student. Remember in most circumstances as a civilian, your goal is to escape a criminal attack, not to "win" the fight as you would in a tournament. (See note 1)
Having something in your hands that can hurt, or even just distract, an armed opponent is better than nothing for the vast majority of people. Even something as simple as a small flashlight or pencil in your hand is better than nothing.
Here are some reasons why:
1. Most tools will hit harder than your hand alone, with less chance of breaking the bones in your hand, (which you might need very soon to draw and use your primary weapon).
2. Having something in your hand focuses your mind and gives you a plan you can follow under stress. (“Thrust pencil in his eye” is a simple plan you can remember under stress).
3. Having a simple plan you can follow helps reduce stress in the first place; which also reduces tunnel vision. This in turn helps you see other bad guys coming, or potential points of cover, or avenues of escape. It also helps preserve your fine motor skills.
The less stress you feel, the more actions you can do competently in an emergency.
When Grandmaster Leo Gaje began training us in Pekiti-Tirsia hand vs knife technique, he followed a very specific structure that I often liken to the manufacturing of a modern automobile; as in several sub-assemblies are built and tested before these sub-assemblies are brought together to form a complete whole.
Each level of empty hand vs knife was divided into three sections: each taught, practiced and tested before assembly into a whole unit.
These three sections are:
1. Parrying skills: This is the classic “knife tapping” drill of primary, secondary and tertiary parries. The purpose of this drill is twofold:
A: To learn to deflect the force of a knife attack instead of trying to stop it with a block: which is a difficult thing to do against something as fast and as maneuverable as a knife attack.
B: As an exercise specifically designed to improve your hand-eye coordination, speed and reaction time.
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KNIFE TAPPING: Pekiti-Tirsia Hand vs Knife Part 1 of 4
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2. Striking skills: These are the “Third Hand” strikes of Pekiti-Tirsia. These are comprised of slaps, eye jabs and gouges, forearm hacks, hammer fists, elbow strikes and low kicks.
Both you and your opponent can strike each other in the middle of a knife fight. While you have to fit these into a countermove for each knife attack angle, so you don’t get cut or stabbed, the guy with the knife does not have to worry about this and so can strike at any time.
THIRD HAND VIDEO: Pekiti-Tirsia Hand vs Knife Part 2 of 4
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3. Grappling skills: Blade reversals, joint breaks & takedowns.
Pekiti-Tirsia Hand vs Knife. Part 3 of 4
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Pekiti Tirsia Hand vs Knife Part 4 of 4
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Grab & Stab Defense: Training for the empty hand defense of the Grab and Stab attack: starting with the grab. We begin with defending against the boxing jab, because if you can slip the fast jab, you can also slip the grab. From that point a progression of followup techniques are shown.
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PEKITI-TIRSIA KNIFE TAPPING EXPLAINED
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PALMSTICK DRILL:
Train Hard, but Train Smart,
Tuhon Bill McGrath
FOR INFO ON UPCOMING PTI CLASSES, SEMINARS AND CAMPS, VISIT:
https://pekiti.com/pages/upcoming-seminars
Note 1. For more on this subject, see the following essays:
ISSUES REGARDING SELF-DEFENSE & THE LAW
CONTROLLED HUMAN AGGRESSION FOR THE MARTIAL ARTIST PART 1
CONTROLLED HUMAN AGGRESSION FOR THE MARTIAL ARTIST PART 2
SURVIVAL DRILLS – BEYOND SPARRING
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Here are two lesson plans for teaching the Pekiti-Tirsia system; the Classical way, which Grand Tuhon Gaje learned as a child in the Philippines (with some examples of how he modified the lesson plan in the US): and the PTI way, which is how PTI instructors currently teach the system.
In this essay I am showing only the lesson plan for Solo Baston/Sword for the sake of brevity. ( 1 )
Classic Teaching Order.
This method is based on how I learned the system in the 1970s and 80s, but this plan itself was based on how Tuhon Gaje learned the system as a child.
It presupposes that students will train for long periods of time in regular weekly classes. Our schedule in the late 70s was two weeknight classes of 2 hours each, plus a 6 hour class on Saturdays.
1. FOOTWORK: When Grand Tuhon Gaje began learning Pekiti-Tirsia as a young boy, the first thing he was taught was footwork and spent three years in this stage. ( 2 ) This was also among the first things he would teach when he came to the US, but here he incorporated basic stick work into the footwork training as early as possible.
BASIC FOOTWORK DRILL PATTERNS.
Keep in mind that footwork is not a dance. It is there to serve a practical purpose. It is not simply moving the feet, but moving the body, to put you in a position of advantage.
2. STRIKING: After footwork, the next stage of training was a basic nomenclature of strikes:
The first stick training I had from Tuhon Gaje was in a set he called "Multiple Attacks." This was warmup for the full set of strikes of the Abcedario. You could think of the multiple attacks as the "vowel sounds" to help develop the subcomponents needed for the full alphabet.
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After the Multiple Attacks came the Abcedario, a much longer set of strikes comprising 12 strikes in 12 categories of attack.
Solo Baston ABC notes
Pekiti-Tirsia Solo Baston Abcedario
3. BASIC TIMING DRILLS: When Tuhon Gaje was being trained as a child, the stage after the Abcedario was the 4 Wall drill. This was the first point where young Leo had stick-to-stick contact. This is very much a “learn to swim in the shallow end of the pool” drill when it’s first taught; but moves onto a more active stage as the student progresses, as I explain in the video below:
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HOW I TEACH THE PEKITI-TIRSIA 4 WALL DRILL
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In the NYC group in the 1970s, after an abbreviated version of the Abcedario and Four Wall drill, the next step was a long period of two man timing drills. These originally were intended as timing drills for the advanced solo material. For example, Break In - Break Out was the timing drill for the first two sets of Seguidas, while Segang Labo was the timing drill for the third set of Seguidas. We learned these drills first, separate from the advanced sets associated with them. After three years of training on these drills, Tuhon Gaje made an abreviated version of them for the 64 Attacks form, so we would have something to show at the forms competition at our 1978 tournament.
The first time we had a formal test was during this tournament, Leo had us recite the same bit of history before we did the 64 attacks form. One by one each of us stood before the judges and said the same thing “On April 27th, 1521, Ferdinand Magellan, while circumnavigating the world, landed on the island of Mactan in the Philippines, where he was killed by Datu Lapulapu.”
Of course, this got monotonous after a few people gave the same exact speech. So 17 year old me, being a smart ass gave the speech as, ““On April 27th, 1521, Ferdinand Magellan, while CIRCUMCISING the world, landed on the island of Mactan in the Philippines, where he was killed by Datu Lapulapu.”
Since the judges had heard this speech several times already, they all just nodded their heads and I went on to do the 64 Attacks form. All the other students caught what I had said though and when I was done, Tom Bisio turned to me and said, “Now I know why the Filipinos were so pissed at Magellan.”
In PTI we have not had the students test on the 64 Attacks form for many years. Instead, we just test them on how well they understand the timing drills the form is abased on. Here I am at 17 years old at the 1978 tournament, testing on the 64 Attacks form.
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ADVANCED TIMING DRILLS:
Many of the drills in Pekiti-Tirsia begin with a three step process of Attack-Counter-Recounter. That’s why you will see so many triangle diagrams in my written notes. (see the end of the video below for an example of these diagrams.)
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Solo Baston Drills.
Pekiti Tirsia Solo Baston Sagang Labo
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Since the early 1990s, I have started beginners in Solo Baston training with the 5 Attacks Subsystem. This mini course combines elements of the previous teaching sections into a more compact unit, designed to give my adult students a quick understanding of the minimal elements they need for effective sparring as quickly as possible. Essentially, I took the 4 diagonal strikes from the basic 5 Attacks (since almost all weapon based martial arts have at least these four angles) and brought in advanced theories (mainly from Contradas). My goal was to take a small number of simple movements and expose students to as wide a variety of theories as possible.
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Pekiti Tirsia 5 Attacks Subsystem. Mini Lesson: Forward and Reverse Strikes (without footwork).
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I do a similar progression when I teach basic boxing. I start with the lead jab (punch # 1), and teach how to counter every other punch using only the jab. Then I teach the same process using only a cross (punch #2) , then only a hook (punch 3), then only an uppercut (punch 4). In each section I ask the student to choose the footwork needed for that particular combination: “Which footwork do I need to counter a jab with a jab, with a cross, with a hook or with an uppercut?”
Then we do the same drills with two punch combos (1-2 vs 1), then three punch combos (1-2-3 vs 1), etc.
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BLADE BOXING FOOTWORK DRILL:
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Once the students get comfortable with these combinations I then have them go through “Decision tree” training. These are drills which make then choose how and when to use each element of a drill. In the 5 Attacks Subsystem, I often start this drill with ranging footwork, which looks like this:
Here are two ways I usually set up the decision tree drill for the 5 Attacks:
1. The opponent is attacking you with angle 1. You must counter with each of the four angles ( 1, 2, 3 & 4 ). Now choose which footwork works most efficiently for each strike. For example, you can counter an angle 1 with an angle 1 while using a short, simple sidestep. However, if you are using an angle 2, then you would need a longer sidestep in order to “slip” his angle 1 attack and counter attack with your angle 2. Let’s call this the "1 vs 4" drill.
2. He is attacking with each of the four angles, but this time you can only counter with angle 1. Choose which footwork works most efficiently against each angle. Let’s call this the "4 vs 1" drill.
In boxing terms, in the 1 vs 4 drill your opponent can only punch with a jab, while you are countering separately with each of the four punches.
In the 4 vs 1 drill he is punching with each of the four, but you can counter only with your jab.
Your goal in these drills is to learn how to counter each of the four attacks with each of the other numbers, therefore if X = “counters”, then you could write this out as:
1 x 1, 2 x 1, 3 x 1, 4 x 1 (or J x J, C x J, H x J, U x J)
2 x 1, 2 x 2, 2 x 3, 2 x 4
3 x 1, 3 x 2, 3 x 3, 3 x 4
And so on.)
"A" in red denotes the Attacks, while S = single beat counter, D = double, T = triple and Q = quadruple.
Matrix Definition: “In mathematics, a matrix (plural matrices) is a rectangular array or table of numbers, symbols, or expressions, arranged in rows and columns, which is used to represent a mathematical object or a property of such an object.” ( From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrix_(mathematics))
Matrix Development: I had noticed in the Pekiti-Tirsia tournaments of the early 80s that many students whose training came only from seminars tended to rely on the 1 and 2 diagonal cuts as their main entry technique, with very little variety in their attacks. ( So much so that one of my students won his division simply by following my advice of “cut with 1,2,3,4.” The addition of the 3 and 4 cuts threw the timing of the other beginners in the tournament completely off. )
Later in the 80s, one of the first drills Tuhon Gaje had us work on for Solo Contradas was to do a set of the Abcedario, but chambered from just one shoulder. We would fire all 12 hits first from the right shoulder, then all 12 from the left shoulder. He told us that a good fighter should be able to throw any strike from any chamber and to counter any number with any other number if he understood how to use footwork properly. When we learned the full Contradas sets, you saw a real emphasis on scrambling the basic numbers of the 5 Attacks so you would hit with any order other than 1,2,3,4. The principle here is that a person trained in weapon work has probably gotten the sequence of 1,2,3,4 in their basics and also learned to counter that sequence with the same numbering when first learning counters. Therefore, one of our early 5 Attacks drills was to counter each number with anything else but the same number.
As the years passed, another difference between the original students from the 70s and 80s and newer seminar students, was that the later tended to look for that one big strike during sparring. Meanwhile the old school students tended to attack with more combinations of at least three strikes at a time.
Therefore, when I was developing the 5 Attacks Subsystem, I tried to put these concepts together in one package: 4 diagonals as the foundation, hitting from angles the opponent was not used to, and hitting with multi-strike combinations.
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MATRIX FOOTWORK DRIILS FROM PEKITI TIRSIA INTERNATIONAL
(The beginning and end of this video shows some of the drills we are discussing).
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The next step in the PTI curriculum after the 5 Attacks Subsystem is the Solo Abcedario. This will give you all the basic strikes that are not in the 5 Attacks. After this comes the drills of the 64 Attacks. From this point on, you would be following the curriculum that I learned from Tuhon Gaje in the 70s and 80s. (3)
ADVANCED TRAINING:
Here is a warm up drill for solo Contradas and Recontras, showing how a few simple grip variables can greatly effect the leverage and power of the weapon. (In this case, either one or two hands on the weapon, and where the second hand is placed).
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PEKITI-TIRSIA Stick grip drill
Here are the first few techniques of Solo Contradas. If you are familiar with the 5 Attacks Subsystem, you will see how heavily I borrowed from this set for the subsystem.
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Solo Contradas: S1, T1
REVISITING THE BASICS AFTER LEARNING AN ADVANCED SET:
After learning an advanced set, it was very common for Tuhon Gaje to have us go back to a basic technique or drill and incorporate the advanced theories into it.
This video shows the Break in-Break out drill, but instead of the basic box pattern we had first learned with it, I am teaching it using Contradas entry timing at the beginning of the drill. In the last 15 to 20 years, I have tried to compress the learning curve for my students and try to teach the advanced theories as soon as I can, whenever teaching the basics.
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ADVANCED SOLO CURRICULUM:
Most of the advanced solo material in Pekiti-Tirsia is divided into 3 sets of 12 techniques. Each category explores how to solve a different problem using a specific set of tools. You should look at these sets not as magical techniques written in stone, but simply as 12 samples of how to apply a principle using a particular tool to solve a particular problem.
If your tools or problems are different, then you should learn to apply the principles you learned in each set and modify them to your specific needs at that time.
In the current PTI curriculum, advanced solo stick/sword work is taught in the following order.
Seguidas: “Bridging.” Seguidas is useful when your opponent is equal to you in physical attributes, so you must use more efficient techniques to win.
Set 1 teaches you to hit from long range.
Set 2 teaches how to bridge the distance from long to middle range.
Set 3 is a close quarters set, that also teaches weapon retention techniques.
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SEGUIDAS INTRODUCTION
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SAMPLES FROM SEGUIDAS
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Contradas: “Counters.” Contradas can be used when the opponent is physically stronger than you, or when his weapon is heavier than yours.
Set 1 teaches quick combination strikes that are not committed and leave you an escape route.
Set 2. Expands the principles of set 1 and applies them to multiple opponents.
Set 3. On the surface this set shows a movement for movement counter to the first set of Seguidas, but it is also teaching you the principle of how to counter any combination strikes.
SAMPLES FROM CONTRADAS
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Recontras: “Recounters.” Recontras can be used when your opponent is faster than you or has better endurance, or when his weapon is lighter and faster.
Set 1 teaches joint destruction.
Set 2 teaches uses for two hand grip on the weapon.
Set 3 teaches hitting with your left hand, while you have a stick or sword in your right hand.
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RECONTRAS SET 1 SAMPLE
RECONTRAS SET 2 SAMPLE
RECONTRAS SET 3 SAMPLE
Juego Todo drill:
I learned what you see in the video below as the Juego-Todo drill, in which you put together everything you have learned in a free flow drill that still has rules: ie I should hit his weapon hand without making contact with his weapon. The principle here is to use footwork and timing to control the distance and hit without blocking. Therefore, when you hear our sticks hit, it means I messed up. If you just hear me hitting his limbs, then I’m doing it right.
FAST STICK WORK. Pekiti-Tirsia at Kenpokan Dojo. Hanover, Germany.
We did the Juego Todo drill after first getting the structure and subcomponents from the Offensa-Defensa set:
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ALPHABITO, NUMERADO, OFFENSA-DEFENSA SAMPLES
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Range Sparring: The bridge between drills and full sparring was a period of range sparring. After about 18 months of solo baston drills Tuhon Gaje began our training in sparring. He had us stand at a distance so that the tips of our outstretched sticks were about 3 feet apart. He then told us to maintain that distance while we “sparred” from that range. We were trying to score hits in our minds, as if we had been closer to our targets. Of course, as a teenager doing this, I was more concerned with “winning” than learning and so most of my attacks “scored” in my mind, while most of my opponent’s attacks “missed.” Meanwhile, the older, more mature guys in the class remembered the purpose of the drill and were calling out when it actually did look like you scored on them and they would encourage you to try that combo again so they could learn to counter it.
This range sparring period did not last very long (I think it was less than a month) and then we moved onto full contact armored sparring. But even here, we did not jump into the deep end of the pool in our first dive. We had a few sessions of specific targets: first only the weapon hand, then either arm, then adding the head, then the lead leg.
This prevented us, when we did go to full sparring, to avoid so many pit falls I see many modern students fall into when they don’t go through this step by step progression; such as only going for head shots, or “playing tag” in their sparring, wherein they trade single attacks back and forth from range but don’t accomplish much. In my opinion, it was this step by step training that made the difference between learning how to fight and learning how to fight well and shows up in the way the old school guys fought and how so many fight today.
REVIEW: The way Pekiti-Tirsia was taught to Tuhon Gaje as a child in the Philippines was in this progression:
In the PTI curriculum we teach Pekiti-Tirsia in this progression:
1. 5 Attacks Subsystem which combines elements of 1, 2 & 3 from the classical progression.
2. Solo Abcedario (full nomenclature of strikes).
3. 64 Attacks with drills (with associated complex two man drills).
4. Advanced Attack combinations.
In less time and with less repitition than in the old days (not because this is better, but simply because that's all the time most working adults have to train). (5)
The streamlined format of the PTI curriculum is based on teaching a different group (adults) in a different environment (mainly through seminars) than the classical progression. Is it better? That all depends on who you are teaching and how much time you have to teach them. I would say the old ways are better for the needs of the students in the environment and times it was taught in and the new format does seem to have benefits for the students training in the environment they are in today.
Train hard, but Train Smart,
Tuhon Bill McGrath
For info on this year’s PTI camps, seminars, local and on-line classes, visit the PTI seminars page: https://pekiti.com/pages/upcoming-seminars
NOTES:
1. The classic way to teach the Pekiti-Tirsia system in the Philippines at the time that Tuhon Gaje learned as a child was to teach all the solo stick/sword material first “A through Z” before moving on to Doble’. This was also taught A through Z before moving onto the next weapon system (Espada y Daga. Next was Daga y Daga. Empty Hands was taught last under the classical teaching method).
2. When Tuhon Gaje moved to the US and found that most of his students were adults with prior martial arts training, he changed the order of teaching and followed a curriculum that for the most part taught all the “A” level techniques across all the weapons, then all the B level material, then all the C level, etc. The curriculum and ranking requirements you see on the PTI website simply follows the order I learned each section of the system and received the corresponding rank.
3. Conrado’s plan for young Leo was to train only one year in footwork. For more info on this read: https://pekiti.com/blogs/news/modern-training-time-how-fast-vs-how-much
4. The point when Pekiti-Disarma is taught is the main deviation from the order in which I learned the system. Originally the full set of solo disarms was one of the last things I learned from Tuhon Gaje and he told me this was the last thing he learned in the solo stick/sword material. When I submitted the PTI curriculum and rank chart to Tuhon Gaje for his approval, I had put the Pekiti-Disarma at the end of the Solo section. He asked that I move the Disarma from the end to a place between 64 Attacks and Seguidas. He said he didn’t want students to get Seguidas too quickly and that if they could pass the Pekiti-Disarma set, only then would they deserve to learn Seguidas.
5. The one advantage of modern training over the old days is that we now have videos to review during our home practice sessions. Therefore, we are not as dependent on high repititions as a mnemonic device to remember individual techniques.
]]>I’ve been interested in the bowie knife for several years now and and have been exploring the pros and cons of different designs. One element I’ve been examining of late is the clip point and more specifically, the pros and cons of the straight vs the trailing clip point.
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The photo above shows five bowie knives that have a trailing clip point.
From top to bottom they are:
1: Survival Bowie from Ricardo Vilar
2. Cold Steel 1917 Frontier Bowie
3. Cold Steel Black Bear Bowie machete
4. Ontario Knives SP-5 Survival Bowie
5. Ontario Knives SP-10 Raider Bowie
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Here are four knives with a straight clip point.
From top to bottom they are:
1. A cheap clone of a Cold Steel Trailmaster that I use as a practice knife.
2. Cold Steel OSI. Note; the rubber top guard and sub hilt are removed for better use as a camp kitchen knife.
3. A Cold Steel Recon Scout that custom knife maker Zach Whitson modified for me with a micarta handle and steel butt cap.
4. Cold Steel SRK in Carbon V
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So, what’s the difference between the two styles? First I should mention that both tip styles are classified as clip points by most knife makers and historians. I use the terms “trailing” and “straight” as a reminder of the differences in function that each style brings to the table.
What I call the Trailing Clip Point has a concave curve from the beginning of the false edge to a point that meets or nearly meets the spine, or rises beyond it.
Meanwhile, what I call a Straight Clip Point is, as the name implies, a false edge that runs in a straight line to the tip.
My preferred blade shape for many years has been the straight clip point style, as this fits in better to the martial art I’ve been training in since 1975, ( the Pekiti-Tirsia system of Filipino martial arts ). However, as I have studied the history of the trailing point and learned about its use, I have come to appreciate where and when this style might be a better choice in some circumstances.
First some general background on the clip point on blades. While some may think of this as an invention first used on the early 19th century Bowie knife, this design goes far back in history and can be seen on the early Medieval “Broken Back” or type 4 Seax (1) , Medieval Falchions ( 2) and Grosse Messers (3) of the 13th to 16th centuries.
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Seax typology charts downloaded from the work of Kirk Lee Spencer at:
http://myarmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.18459.html
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Matt Easton: Anglo-Saxon seax compared to 19th century Bowie knife (Excellent channel that I highly recommend)
MEDIEVAL SINGLE EDGE TYPOLOGY CHART (note the clip point falchions in type 3) https://www.deviantart.com/shad-brooks/art/Elmslie-Typology-of-single-edged-medieval-swords-629294615
15th Century Medieval Falchion (2)
Plate from 15th Century fighting manual of Hans Talhoffer showing fighting with the Messer (3)
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Cold Steel MMA Messer
(For info on the difference between a falchion and a messer see note 10)
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St. Bartholomew. 1523 engraving by Albrecht Durer.
Saint Bartholomew is shown with one of the weapons of his martyrdom. It is common for saints in Renaissance art to be shown with the weapons that were used to execute them. Tradition has St. Bartholomew being skinned alive and then beheaded. You will see many depictions of him with a knife in his hand that resembles what we would think of as a “bowie” knife.
https://www.wikiart.org/en/albrecht-durer/st-bartholomew-1523
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Matt Easton on cat's claw and clipped-back or falchion points on swords and knives.
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As you can see, the clip point on swords and knives is an old design, but how did it originate?
Some historians will say that the name “clip point” refers to the “clipper ships” of the late 17th through early 19th centuries (4). But many blade smiths will contend that the term comes from how the tip on a blade with that shape was formed, by “clipping” the excess steel from the tip to form a point. There is good evidence for the smith’s argument on this contained in the historical blade forging process itself.
Before the widespread use of the Bessemer process furnace in the late 19th century, (7) steel was expensive, had inconsistent carbon content and often contained impurities that affected the quality of the tools made with it. Therefore, blade smiths developed techniques to mitigate these problems.
I have taken several blade smithing lessons down through the years. The first in 1984 in Texas, (unfortunately I don’t recall the smith’s name) and another in the 1990s with Dan Maragni (formally with Cold Steel and now with Ontario Knives. See note 8 ) and the latest in 2013 with Brazilian bladesmith Ricardo Vilar (9). Added to this is what I’ve learned from my fellow instructors at the New England Bladesmith Guild seminar at Ashokan, NY over the 20+ years I have taught and lectured there. (5)
These classes were in the old school method of blade making by forging hot steel with hammer and anvil. One thing that was emphasized in each class was how the steel would move under the hammer when struck. Hot steel becomes malleable when above a certain temperature (varying by carbon content, among other factors) and can be formed into desired shapes by repeatedly striking with a hammer.
One of the first steps in the forging classes I took was to pre-form the shape of the blade by bending it inward, towards the edge. This is because when you are hammering the edge to form a bevel, the steel will spread out from the hammer blows, bending the bar upward, away from the edge, which is being made thinner but broader by the hammer. If you start with a straight bar without a pre-form, you will end up with a curved blade that resembles a saber, scimitar or shamshir. (11)
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1796 British Cavalry Saber
Ottoman Kilij and Egyptian Shamshir
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So, if you start with a straight bar of steel and hammer it along the edge, you will end up with a backwards curving blade, such as a saber or scimitar: but what happens when you get to the end of the bar? Your hammer blows on the edge will stretch that area out so that you end up with a curved tip on the blade that looks very much like a trailing clip point. If you don’t wish to have a trailing point, but wish to have a straight point, then one way is to cut off or “clip” the trailing point to make it straight. These days, with our modern, homogeneous steels, a blade smith can form whatever tip he wishes. But in ancient times, with steels whose exact composition was unknown, it was often safer to either keep the trailing point on the blade, or to clip off the excess. The reason for this is that our modern steels are more forgiving on multiple trips to the fire than were most ancient steels. (Although, even with modern steels, the fewer “heats” the better for our blades).
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STRAIGHT VS TRAILING CLIP POINTS: PROS AND CONS
Visayan Pinuti
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The first swords I saw with a clip point were the pinuti swords from my teacher's region of the Philippines, the Visayas. He had given me and the other senior students a pinuti for our use during the 1983 training camp. This straight clip sword was a versatile design that fit in well with the techniques we had been learning in the Pekiti-Tirsia system. The pinuti’s point being in line with the middle of your grip meant that you knew where the point was and could easily use it in a variety of thrusts, both straight ( like a fencer’s lunge ) and curved (like a boxers hook ).
In the years since my early days of training, I have come to learn that there is a reason for the great variety of blade shapes around the world and all have their specific uses. The videos below show some of the uses of the trailing point on the bowie knife, both in wilderness survival and in combat use.
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SURVIVAL WITH THE VILAR JUNGLE SURVIVAL BOWIE
The Bowie Back Cut 1: While the back cut is a useful technique to know, you still have to do your part, which begins with a sharp blade.
BOWIE KNIFE BACK CUT 2: Edge Down vs Edge Up. In this video I examine the pros and cons of two variations of the back cut; one with the bowie knife held with the cutting edge facing downward and one that was said to be favored by James Bowie, with the cutting edge facing upwards.
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NOTES:
1. https://bamburghresearchproject.wordpress.com/2019/07/03/way-back-wednesday-week-3/
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/H_1881-0623-1
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falchion
https://archive.org/details/MedievalCombatAFifteenthCenturyIllustratedManualSwordFightingAndCloseQuarterCombatByHansTalhoffer
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messer_(weapon)
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipper
5. http://ashokanknifeseminar.com/?page_id=41
6.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabre
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scimitar
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bessemer_process
8. https://ontarioknife.com/pages/designers-1
9. RICARDO VILAR: https://www.uaht.edu/vilar-forged-in-fire-champion/
Also read: https://www.army.mil/article/230811/ny_guard_soldier_passes_tough_brazilian_jungle_warfare_course
10. Medieval Misconceptions: the TRUE origin of the KNIFE SWORD - Messer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlWvLRxen4s
11. Early development of sabres - introduction
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxPnH3M0RO4
12. For more on the subject of blade design and history, please see the following videos.
Historic Arkansas Museum Bowie Knife Exhibit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVfecdKTtUo
The Origin of the Bowie Knife
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ6PebrVhb4
Pre-Bowie fame Bowie knives:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaamlIHTF6M
Bowie Knife 1820-1870
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgDLPTAGw-k
PHOTOS:
Bardini: Saint Michael and the Dragon. Notice the falchion in St Michael's hand.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Pollaiolo%2C_Antonio_-_St._Michael_and_the_dragon_-Museo_Bardini.jpeg
FILIPINO ITAK By Jpogi - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50116412
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Guro Dan Inosanto tells an interesting story about one of his FMA teachers John Lacoste.
According to Lacoste, the optimum number of students for a martial arts teacher to have is three. He said this was because there were four ways to learn a martial arts technique and that all four ways were needed to understand it completely. The four ways are:
1. To have a technique done to you.
2. To do a technique to another person.
3. To watch a technique being done.
4. To teach a technique to others.
I have tried to enter this 4 Aces concept into my teaching during the last several years. (3)
Previously, my standard procedure for many years was to have people practice drills in two man teams; allowing them to work with their regular training partner, as a quick way to learn a new technique or drill. The way I teach lately is to move into a three man team as soon as they get a basic understanding of the technique.
Three Man Teams to teach 4 Aces: We used the Three Man Team drill in Europe a few years ago during classes in the Abcedario de Mano. Instead of having the students learn all 12 sets of 12 strikes (144 techniques), I gave them just the first set (12 strikes of forward slap). Once they could do these 12 strikes well, I then gave them the principles of how to choose which strike to use in a given situation.
Here’s how I set this drill up. The students divide into groups of three, with one “good guy” against two “bad guys.” I tell the bad guys that they are the coaches during the drill. They should move only as fast as the good guy can do the technique correctly. If the the good guy is not doing the technique correctly, then it is their job to slow down until he gets it right. We start with each bad guy doing the same attack, so the good guy can work the same technique against different opponents from different positions.
Let’s look at a boxing left jab as the attack. Against a single attacker, the “safer” angle to move is to your right, slipping outside his guard. But wait. What if bad guy number 2 is to your right? Then moving to the the left may be the safer choice. In the Abcedario de Mano you can choose between four angles in your response to most attacks: moving above or below the attack and moving to your right or left.
During 3 man team drills you get to do all four aspects of the 4 aces:
1. When you are the feeder of an attack, you are having the technique done on you.
2. When you are the “good guy” you are practicing the technique on another person.
3. When you are a bad guy, but not involved in an exchange at that moment, you can watch it being done and get an understanding of the overall picture.
4. When you are the feeder it is also your job to judge if the good guy is doing the technique properly and it’s your job to slow down until the good guy gets it right. Therefore, the feeder is acting as a teacher during this part of the drill.
I had a student who was a former Green Beret tell me that basic training is much more impressive to watch than some Special Forces training. Instead of many guys doing something loud and fast all together, he often had to sit around a diagram drawn in the dirt by an instructor. And instead of a drill sergeant barking orders on the only right way to do something, there was an officer quietly asking his small group to give him several different ways to solve a problem. This teaching via questions method is often called the Socratic method, after the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates.
Grand Tuhon Gaje’s grandfather would often teach young Leo using this method.
It began like this:
“Grandpa, what is this thing?” asked young Leo, holding up an object (for example, a knife).
“I don’t recall the name of that thing, Leo.” replied Conrado. “What does it do?”
“Well, you can cut rope with it” said Leo.
“Hmmm, I’m still not sure of the name. Go ask your grandmother.”
And Leo would go find his grandmother.
“Grandma, what is this?
“I don’t recall the name of that thing, Leo.” replied his grandmother. “What does it do?”
And so young Leo would go from one relative to another, asking the same question and being asked to list all the things that the object could do.
This would go on through his older relatives until they saw that he had struggled enough for his age and they would give him the name. But the lesson would not end there.
“Oh you smart boy. I remember the name now. That is called a ‘knife.’ Now go back through all the people you asked for help and tell them that it is called a knife and all the things a knife can do.”
And young Leo would proudly go back through all his relatives and tell them all he had learned about this object and how it worked.
Tuhon Gaje explained to us the reasoning behind this teaching method.
Instead of giving the name when first asked, his grandfather would make him analyze the problem. As he made his way through his relatives asking for the name, he would have to repeat all the information he had learned along the way and try to come up with a new piece of information for each new person he asked.
This whole process was an exercise in logical reasoning, using repetition at each stage: first up and and then back down the chain of relatives as a mnemonic device to help remember each new bit of info. By the time he had gotten to the last relative, that name had become the holy grail for that day and Leo really wanted that name and therefore, once he had it, he would never forget it.
This method is comprised of:
Analysis: “What else does it do?’
Perseverance: “Go ask 4th Aunt. Go ask 1st cousin. Go ask 7th cousin.”
Praise and Reward: “Oh you smart boy. I remember now. It’s a knife!”
Repetition: “Now go tell all the people who helped you with the name you learned and repeat what it does.”
I remember Tuhon Gaje used this teaching method with us when we started training in Seguidas in 1980. He gave us the first set of 12 combination attacks during one six hour session one Saturday afternoon. Then for the next six months, he refused to review it with us, saying “You guys figure it out among yourselves.”
So we struggled with it for the next six months, working out among ourselves what the correct version of the technique must be. Mind you, he gave us only the form, with little to no explanation of the applications. We had to work these out by ourselves, based on the material we had learned previously in the system. After six months he relented and had us show him what we worked out for the applications. We didn’t get all of it right, but we came pretty close and definitely had a better understanding and far better appreciation of Seguidas than if he had given it to us “on a silver platter.”
You can read the full essay on this subject via the link in note 5.
One of the main goals of training through drills is to reduce stress while practicing something new. You have heard the sayings, “What you practice is what will come out under stress.” and “You can’t learn to swim on dry land.” The principle here is that you must make your training as realistic as possible for it to work in real life.
While I agree with this general concept, you have to execute it wisely. The flip side of these sayings is that stress during training will ingrain whatever you are doing (good or bad) into your subconscious mind.
When the US military wants soldiers to perform an emergency action under the stress of combat, they have their people practice that action at the end of a long hard period of several days, when they are tired, hungry and sleep deprived. Multiple repetitions of simple actions when in that level of stress bury the desired actions deep into the subconscious mind.
Here’s the important part: The military usually does this type of training at the end of a course, after much time and many repetitions have been spent practicing the individual subcomponents of the action under a much lower level of stress.
The example I was given of this teaching technique was from a student who was a Vietnam veteran. The specific action taught was, when ambushed, to charge towards the enemy firing on full auto, while screaming your head off. Any other action would likely get you killed, as the enemy had a blocking force behind you and has mined the areas on either side of you. So the training was to march down a road and, when the simulated ambush began, you looked to the team leader to identify the direction of fire, then charge towards it, firing and screaming as you went. Three simple steps: Drop down when you first hear the ambush, ID source of ambush, Charge towards source of ambush with maximum violence.
Tuhon Gaje sometimes used a similar teaching technique for his advanced guys when I was training with him.
Three or four days into a five day camp, after getting up before dawn and doing your warm up with the sunrise, after Leo and Eddie would tag team you with Pekiti and Silat to exhaustion and then getting to bed at midnight: Leo would “kidnap” one or two of the senior guys at 2am for special training. He would take us out into the woods and have us do just one combination over and over again as fast as we could, calling out the names of the strikes or cuts over and over again for a set period of time. Once you started to fade and your technique got sloppy, the training would end and you stumbled back to bed. You woke up the next morning, not completely sure if that weird training was real or a dream, but you never forgot the technique and would probably do it even half knocked out and unable to remember anything else.
I’m not able to do that kind of training at my seminars these days, but here is my current version of it. At the last ten minutes of the last day of a seminar, I will ask the group to pick their favorite technique that I taught that weekend. I then have them do this attack combo, advancing across the room and counting out loud the parts of the combination. (When I did this drill in my 20’s, Leo had me do the 1st attack of Espada y Daga set 1, so I was calling out Jab-Vertical-2-1, which was only what the espada was doing. The daga moves not being said for brevity’s sake).
So this drill is a combination of AVK learning and the military stress training.
Audio: You can hear yourself saying the techniques out load.
Visual: If you have nether a partner nor a mirror for this drill, then you watch your weapons move across the background of your environment.
Kinesthetic: You perform the actions of the combo.
Stress training: You do this simple combo for repetitions at the very end of your training program, when you are at your most tired.
The shouting serves two purposes in this drill.
1. To make you feel more aggressive.
2. Most importantly, to help you remember to breath. You would be surprised how common it is for people to hold their breath while under the stress of a fight.
Also, when working with a group at a seminar, this drill works best with things like Seguidas or Espada y Daga attacks, as you need a combination that you can do in the air. (If you have enough heavy bags for everyone, then doing the combo on a bag will work well too).
I wasn’t given a set number of reps when I was trained in this drill. I think so I could not predict when it would end. Instead Leo had me stop when my reps started to degrade.
I usually just go five or ten minutes when teaching this drill at a seminar, which is a good idea with the wide variety of ages and physical conditions we usually have in most groups.
Remember, what goes in while under stress today, will come out when under stress tomorrow. So stop when the repetitions start to loose speed, power and precision. I tell people they should cruse at about 80% capacity. Once that falls by a noticeable amount, stop. (For more on this concept see my power hitting blog post in note 6).
You will find an excellent video from two PTTA instructors that address several of these subjects in note 7.
Train Hard, but Train Smart,
Tuhon Bill McGrath
For info on upcoming classes, seminars and camps, visit: https://pekiti.com/pages/upcoming-seminars
NOTES:
1. The Learning Pyramid Edgar Dales Cone of Experience updated for the 21st Century
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKW47Pd4cXU
2. https://pekiti.com/blogs/news/modern-training-time-how-fast-vs-how-much
3. https://pekiti.com/blogs/news/learning-through-comparisons-vs-rules-and-how-to-combine-them
4. https://pekiti.com/blogs/news/how-to-design-a-fma-based-self-defense-defensive-tactics-drill
5. https://pekiti.com/blogs/news/the-thought-provoking-process-leo-stories-part-3-aka-go-ask-grandma
6. https://pekiti.com/blogs/news/bag-work-in-the-pekiti-tirisa-system
7. 9 Training Tips From A Navy SEAL & Govt Combatives Contractor
I’ve been traveling to Finland since the mid-1990s to teach Pekiti-Tirsia seminars hosted by my friend Sensei/Guro Kaj Westersund. Here are some of the knives he and his students have given me, along with a look at my 2009 trip to the shop of Finnish custom knife-maker Markku Vilppola; as well as a look at the Finnish military Ranger knife designed by J.P. Peltonen.
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MARTTIINI LUMBERJACK
Here is a Marttiini puukko: their “Lumberjack” model. I was given this knife at my first seminar in the country. It has a carbon steel blade, birch handle and leather sheath.
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My next two Finnish knives were made by J.T. Pälikkö in the 1990s.
The top is a damascus hunter, while the bottom is based on a camp kitchen knife of my design.
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For info on my fantasy novels, visit: http://theswordoffire.com/
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This push knife is from the shop of Markku Vilppola. I received this from Kaj in 2009. It has a pattern welded damascus blade, with a reindeer antler and wood grip. It’s hard to see in these photos taken with my cell phone, but there is a beautiful and subtle color shift from purple to bronze going from the tang to the point on this blade.
SPECS;
HANDLE LENGTH: 12.5cm. 5”
BLADE LENGTH: 11.5cm. 4.5”
Here are three videos from my 2009 visit with Markku Vilppola of Turku, Finland. (Note: In the first video you will hear Finnish and English alternating between the question and translated answer. Only English is spoken in the other two videos).
Finnish Swordmaker 1.
Finnish Swordmaker 2
Markku also makes traditional Finnish jewelry. Here are some cloak pins and puukko knives.
Finnish Swordmaker 3
Here's Mikko, a student of Markku's who is an excellent sword maker in his own right.
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The last knife is a Finnish military knife called the Sissipuukko (AKA Ranger Knife). This knife was given to me by "Juha J," a former pilot for the Finnish air force who has helped sponsor my seminars in Finland for the last few years.
The Ranger Knife was designed by Jukka Peltonen. Jukka came to a knife defense seminar I was teaching in Porvoo, Finland in 2018 and explained his interesting sheath design to me. There is a hard rubber retention wheel in the top of the sheath that holds the knife in place until needed. This knife is designed to be worn on the shoulder strap of the backpacks of the Finnish military. Since these would be worn handle down, the military needed a sheath that would allow for quick access, while keeping the knife securely in the sheath until needed. On my next trip to Finland I plan on taking Mr. Peltonen up on his invitation to visit his shop in the village of Fiskars, Finland and see first hand how these knives are made.
SPECS:
Overall length: 22.99cm. 9.84″
Blade length: 12.49cm. 4.92″
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You can see the rubber wheel at the top of the sheath, which gives it a secure hold on the knife.
Here is an interview with J.P. Peltonen, in which he explains the history of his design.
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Here’s a video from the seminar I taught in Finland in 2018. Jukka Peltonen came by later that day. The big fellow on the right in the green shirt is the former Finnish air force pilot who gave me the Sissipuukko Ranger Knife.
You can buy the Sissipuukko Ranger knife via this website:
https://www.lamnia.com/en/p/3/knives/j-p-peltonen-sissipuukko-m07
You will find more videos like this on my Youtube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/TuhonBillMcg/videos
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A big Kiitos (thank you) to Kaj Westersund, Jay Jukka Eriksson, Alexander Stenroos and the rest of the Finnish Pekiti-Tirsia guys who made my trips there so memorable.
Stay Sharp,
Tuhon Bill McGrath
MAGINO'O GURO DAN TERRELL - MARTIAL ARTS BIO:
Coach Danny Terrell began his training at 11 in boxing at the Iberia Boxing Club and 2 years of wrestling with the University of Southwestern Louisiana Youth development program until the coach moved closing the program. Was introduced to Shotokan through a school friend and spent approx. 5 years earning his first black belt under Sensei Ernie Fournet who was a Louisiana State Police Defensive Tactics Instructor. When in the U.S. Military he received special hand to hand and close weapons tactics as part of his training. While in the military his training included Judo, Goju Ryu, Tae Kwon Do and was introduce to Wing Chun by a couple of service buddies. Having used some of this training while serving in Vietnam, Cambodia, and throughout South & Central America he came to realize there is a tremendous difference in training and having to actually use these techniques in life situations. Not only the physical but the psychological as well. While in the Philippines he witnessed several stick fighting matches from some of the locals thinking, “Whose guys are Crazy!” thereby creating an interest in the Filipino Martial Arts.
A few years after leaving the military Coach Danny renewed his training in Boxing and began traveling seeking training in Muay Thai, Kali, and Jun Fan. His training since has consisted of: (In no particular order)
Stephan Young: Wing Chun, Muay Thai, Pekiti-Tirsia
Omar Hakim: Pekiti-Tirsia
Sifu Francis Fong: Wing Chun, Muay Thai, Jun Fan
Tuhon Bill McGrath: Pekiti-Tirsia
Ajarn Chai Sirisute: Muay Thai, Krabi–krabong, Boxing
Larry Hartsell: Jun Fan Integrated Grappling Arts
Guro Dan Inosanto: Jun Fan, Silat, Kali
Grand Tuhon Leo Gaje’: Pekiti-Tirsia
Pa Herman Suwanda: Munda Muda Silat
Mike Norris: Hapkido
Rey Diogo: BJJ
Ricardo Murgel: BJJ
Pedro Sauer: BJJ
Erik Paulson: Submission Wrestling, STX, BJJ
(multiple instructors) Monadnock and Control Force Police Defensive Tactics
--as well as numerous other instructors for a short period of time or in seminars or workshops.
Today Coach Danny works to help each student develop to their fullest regardless of age, gender, or physical ability. He teaches traditional martial arts skills as well as practical self-defense including awareness, avoidance, and physical response.
Coach Danny provides Private, Semi-Private, & Seminar instruction in:
- Pekiti-Tirsia Kali
- Muay Thai
- Boxing
- Savate/Thai Cross Training
- Wing Chun
- Combat Submission Wrestling
- Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
- MMA
- Firearms
Coach Danny is the:
Pekiti-Tirsia International Council Advisor & Louisiana State Director
Francis Fong Instructor Affiliate Association Senior Instructor
Thai Boxing Association Louisiana State Representative and Special Advisor to the Thai Boxing Association
Erik Paulson’s Combat Submission Wrestling Pro Coach
Savate/Thai Cross Training Coach
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Purple Belt
Firearms Instructor
MMA Coach
Monadnock and Control Force Police Defensive Tactics Instructor
Instructor for the Louisiana National Guard Military Police and the Iberia Parish Sheriff Department.
Email: CoachDanny.IMS@gmail.com
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VIDEO INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this essay is to help you find a knife handle that will fit your hand, by filling in the information often missing on handle dimensions in the specifications on knife maker’s websites. (See Note 1)
Knife makers will often list several dimensions about a knife, usually including the blade length, width, thickness and steel used; but will often only list the overall length and material used in the handle. There are other dimensions you will need to know if you wish a handle will fit properly in your hand for high stress functions, such as self-defense use.
In addition to the overall length of the handle, you should also know it’s circumference, as well as the length of the grip portion of the handle.
If a knife has a guard, pommel, finger grooves, or other asymmetrical elements on the handle, this will often affect how much usable grip area you will have.
I have listed the specifications of several knives that I own below. In addition to the manufacturer’s specs, I have added the measurements of the grip area of the handle, as well as the circumference at the center of the grip.
Your first step in finding the right size knife handle is knowing the dimensions of your own hand.
We will be taking three measurements for this:
2. Your overall hand width. This is the total width of your fist when closed and gripping a handle. It spans the bottom of your fist (including the muscle you would impact a target with when striking with a hammer fist ) up to the top of the knuckle on your thumb.
Remember: Hand Width equals the Handle Length you need: The two measurements of your hand width will give you the length you need for a comfortable and secure grip on a handle.
3. HAND LENGTH MEASUREMENT
3. Your hand length. The length of your hand, measured from your wrist to the tip of your middle finger will give you the circumference you need in a handle to get a secure grip on it. My own hand length is 8 inches. I am giving this info so you can make adjustments, up or down, when comparing handle circumferences on knives.
Remember: Hand Length equals the Handle Width you need:
The measurement of the length of your hand will tell you the maximum and minimum thickness the handle of a knife should be for your hand (AKA the circumference ).
This circumference measurement comes from the way we measure a stick for use in Pekiti-Tirsia. Our training sticks are measured for best grip by rolling the stick into our grip and checking that the forefinger and middle finger touches the skin of the palm, but does not bottom out so that the fingertips press the flesh against the bones of the hand.
1-1/8" DIAMETER STICK
The maximum stick diameter for my 8 inch long hand is 1-1/8 inches (1.125"). This gives a circumference of 3.5 inches.
COLD STEEL ESCRIMA STICK
The minimum stick diameter for my hand is about 1 inch. A round stick with a diameter of 1 inches gives a circumference of 3.14 inches. (Note: the specs on the Cold Steel website list the diameter of this stick as 1 inch, but I find the “nodes” on the stick to be about 1-1/8 inches and the “valleys” to be closer to 1” when measured on my micrometer. I tend to hold this stick with the nodes centered in my palm, turning them into palm swells, which gives me a good grip.
Here is a Cold Steel Balicki Stick. Notice how my fingers are pressing into my palm in the photo, making the Balicki Stick is too small for my hand. The specs on the Cold Steel website list the diameter on this stick as 9/10ths of an inch, but my micrometer has it as 7/8ths. This is a small difference, but its enough to make this stick too small for me.
ONTARIO BLACKIE COLLINS MACHETE
Here is my hand gripping an Ontario Blackie Collins D guard model machete handle. Notice how none of my fingertips are touching my palm. This handle is therefore too thick for me. At 4.5" in circumference, this handle is a bit too thick for me to hold securely.
KNIFE HANDLE MEASUREMENTS
How did I measure the handle circumference on my knives? Since knife handles are not round, I couldn’t just multiply the diameter by pi to find the circumference. Instead, I took a cloth tape measure and wrapped it around the center of the handle to find its circumference.
In addition to the overall handle length, I also measured the portion of the handle where your fingers would usually grip it.
KNIFE SPECIFICATIONS LIST
Here is a list of some of the knives I own and their dimensions; as well as photos showing them in my preferred grip for self-defense with that knife.
I will update this list of specifications as I get new knives, or friends send me photos and measurements (Hint, hint... ;-) .
MORA ROBUST SPECS:
Overall Length:8.25”/20.6 cm
Blade Length:3.625”/9.1 cm
Blade Thickness: 1/8”/ 3.2 mm
Handle Length overall: 4.625”/ 11.74 cm
Handle Grip length: 4”/ 10.1 cm
Handle circumference: 3-3/8” / 8.5 cm
Weight: 133.4 g / 4.7 oz
GRIP NOTES: Pekiti-Tirsia folks will notice that I am holding this knife with the edge facing out, (instead of inward, our preference in Pakal grip). This is due to the guard and pommel giving me a more secure grip in an edge out grip. At my age I am more concerned with grip security than recounters of disarming attempts. As they say in the car commercials "Your mileage may vary."
SPYDERCO RESILIENCE SPECS:
Overall Length: 9-3/8" / 23.8 cm
Blade Length: 4-1/4" / 10.8 cm
Handle Length: 5-1/4" / 13.3 cm
Handle Grip length: 4.5” / 11.43 cm
Handle Circumference: 3-1/4” / 8.25 cm
Weight: 5.4 oz. / 154 g
GRIP NOTES: This is about the smallest handle I can get a true fencer's grip on. It is important to have the middle and ring finger touching the palm so that you have as much contact as possible fully surrounding the handle for a secure grip, as well as having good counter pressure between the thumb and forefinger in a "pinch grip."
COLD STEEL COUNTERPOINT 1 SPECS:
Weight: 4.7 oz / 133.4 g
Blade Thickness: 0.137” / 3.5 mm
Blade Length: 4” / 10.16 cm
Handle Length: 5" / 12.7 cm
Handle Grip length: 4.25” / 10.79 cm
Handle circumference: 3.25” / 8.25 cm
Overall Length: 9” / 22.86 cm
GRIP NOTES: This is the classic Pekiti-Tirsia Pakal grip with the edge on a single edge knife facing inwards. I would only use this on a knife without a large guard if I first tested my grip with it. I did this in the closed position, using this folding knife as a palm stick and striking a tire stack with it. The knife passed the test, without my hand slipping from the handle. This is the only folder that feels secure in my hand for this test in the closed position. ( Remember, this is my test with my hand, with my experience level. Please read note 1 at the end of this essay ). I would like to see Cold Steel come out with a Zytel or rubber trainer for further testing on this design.
COLD STEEL DROP FORGED HUNTER SPECS:
Blade Length: 4”/ 10.16 cm
Blade Thickness: 0.19” / 5 mm
Handle Length: 4.625" / 11.747 cm
Handle Grip length: 4.25” / 10.79 cm
Handle circumference: 3.25” / 8.25 cm
Overall: 8.625” / 21.90 cm
Weight: 7.1 oz / 201 g
GRIP NOTES: Here is another knife that feels better with the edge facing out than in, because of handle design. The handle is a bit thin for my hand, so I will be filling the handle gap with some fire making supplies and wrapping it with more tape. Cold Steel left this handle without any grip scales, since this was designed as a hunting knife to field dress game, but I intend to use it as a small survival knife.
COLD STEEL VOYAGER TANTO XL SPECS:
Overall Length:12.25” / 31.11 cm
Blade Length: 5.5” / 13.97 cm
Blade Thickness: 0.157” / 4 mm
Handle Length: 6.75” / 17.14 cm
Handle Grip length: 5” / 12.7 cm
Handle Circumference: 3.25” / 8.25 cm
Weight:7.85 oz / 222.54 g
GRIP NOTES: I can hold my XL Voyager in hammer grip because the handle fills my hand sufficiently to get a good grip. The tips of my first three fingers are touching my palm, but not pressing the flesh against the bones. In addition, there is enough length on this handle to switch to a true fencer's grip, if needed.
COLD STEEL VOYAGER 2XL SPECS:
Blade Length: 6” / 15.24 cm
Handle Length: 7.25” / 18.41 cm
Handle Grip length: 6.25” / 15.87 cm
Handle Circumference: 3” / 7.62 cm
Overall Length: 13” / 33.02 cm
GRIP NOTES: I'm holding this knife in thumb support grip due to its handle being a bit too small for my hand. Thumb support grip keeps the handle secure in my grip during cutting chores.
COLD STEEL COUNTERPOINT XL SPECS:
Blade Thickness: 0.157” / 4 mm
Blade Length: 6” / 15.24 cm
Handle Length: 7-1/8” / 18.09 cm
Handle Grip length: 6.25” / 15.87 cm
Handle Circumference: 3.5” / 8.89 cm
Overall Length: 13-1/8” / 33.33 cm
Weight: 7.9 oz / 223.96 g
GRIP NOTES: This knife feels best in my hand in fencer's grip. Notice how my middle and forefinger are just touching my palm for a good compression grip on the handle.
COLD STEEL RAJAH II SPECS:
Weight: 13.4 oz / 379.88 g
Blade Thickness: 0.188” / 4.8 mm
Blade Length: 6” / 15.24 cm
Handle Length: 8” / 20.32 cm
Handle Grip length: 5.5” / 13.97 cm
Handle Circumference: 3.25” / 8.25 cm
Overall Length: 14” / 35.56 cm
GRIP NOTES: This knife stays in my smaller survival bag and functions as a mini hatchet. That is why I am holding it in hammer grip near the end of the handle. This gives an extra bit of leverage in my swing and increases chopping ability.
COLD STEEL RECON 1 SPECS:
Weight: 5.2oz / 147 g
Blade Thickness: 0.137” / 3.5 mm
Blade Length: 4in / 10.16 cm
Handle Length: 5-3/8” / 13.65 cm
Handle Grip length: 3-7/8” / 9.84 cm
Handle Circumference: 3” / 7.62 cm
Overall Length: 9-3/8in / 23.81 cm
GRIP NOTES: Because of its size, I feel the Recon 1 is best used in a self-defense situation in icepick grip. Because of the finger grooves in its handle, it feels the most comfortable and secure in my hand with the edge forward.
COLD STEEL SR1 LITE SPECS:
Weight: 6.9oz / 195.6 g
Blade Thickness: 3/16”/ 4.8mm
Blade Length: 4”/ 10.1cm
Blade Steel: 8Cr13MoV
Handle Length: 5-3/8" / 13.65 cm
Hangle Grip Length: 4.5” / 11.43cm
Handle Circumference: 3.25”/ 8.5 cm
Overall Length: 9-3/8”/ 23.81cm
GRIP NOTES: For self defense use, I prefer icepick grip for knives with a four inch blade.
This is one of the few pocket knives that fits well in my large hand, so I can hold it securely in either edge in or edge out grip. If your hands are not the same size as mine, then edge out is probably a better grip for you. In any event, I would not try edge in use with any other locking mechanism than the Tri-Ad lock on the newer Cold Steel folders.
RECON TANTO, SRK, MASTER HUNTER ( HANDLE SPECS )
Handle Length: 4.75” / 12.06 cm
Handle Grip length: 4.25” / 10.79 cm
Handle Circumference: 3-3/8” / 8.57 cm
Handle Grip Length: 4" / 10.1 cm
GRIP NOTES: I have a SRK and Master Hunter in this photo, because they and the Recon Tanto all share the same handle. I've always found this handle design secure in my grip, even though the rubber guards are too small for me to have complete confidence in them. I would like to see Cold Steel adding a larger steel guard option on the SRK and Recon Tanto. (Other than the 1917 Bowie, I find Cold Steel guards in general to be a bit small for their intended purposes.)
COLD STEEL OSI SPECS:
Blade Length: 8.25” / 20.95 cm
Blade Thickness: 0.185” / 4.7 cm
Overall Length: 13.375” / 33.97 cm
Handle Length: 5.125" / 512.5 cm
Handle Grip length: 4.25” / 10.79 cm
Handle Circumference: 3.5” / 8.89 cm
Weight: 8.5 oz / 240 g
GRIP NOTES: The original version of this design had a steel cross guard and sub-hilt. Cold Steel then made a less expensive version with an all rubber handle, keeping the cross guard and sub-hilt in the new rubber version. Since I intended to use this knife for food prep duties, I took off the top cross guard and sub-hilt ( who would rely a small piece of rubber as a guard anyway? ). If I had to use this knife for self defense, I would hold it in thumb support grip, as the handle is a bit small in circumference for my hand for use in hammer grip.
COLD STEEL TRAILMASTER SPECS:
Blade Length: 9.5” / 24.13 cm
Blade Thickness: 5/16”/ 0.795 mm
Overall Length: 14-5/8” / 37.14 cm
Handle Length/ Grip Length: 5-1/8” / 13.01 cm
Handle Circumference: 3.25” / 8.25 cm
GRIP NOTES: The sharp eyed among you may notice that this is not a real Trailmaster in the photo. I sold mine some time ago, so I'm using this cheap knock off as a photo double. It has the same handle dimensions as the real thing, so it works for the purposes of this essay. As on most knives of this size and weight, my preferred way to hold this is in hammer grip. If you have a cross guard and enough handle length, then it is advisable to give yourself some space between your hand and the guard. This helps protect your hand from an opponent's knife sliding down your blade and cutting you. In the left side of the photo below, my hand is too high on the grip and in danger of getting cut from an opponent's knife, as he slides down my blade. In the right two photos, I am taking better advantage of the length of the handle. Just gripping the handle an inch lower means the opponent's blade must be at a 45 degree angle in order to cut me. Not a bad gain for so small a change in placement.
COLD STEEL GURKHA KUKRI PLUS SPECS:
Blade Length: 12” / 30.5 cm
Blade Thickness: 0.314” / 8 mm
Overall Length: 17” / 43.2 cm
Handle Length: 5.23” / 13.3 cm
Grip Length: 4.75” / 12 cm
Handle Circumference: 3.75” / 9.52 cm
GRIP NOTES: As on the bowies, if you have a long enough handle, give yourself some space between your hand and the guard, even if only a single quillion guard, as on this Cold Steel Gurkha Kukri Plus.
COLD STEEL BOWIE MACHETE SPECS:
Weight: 16.2oz / 459.2 g
Blade Thickness: 0.11” / 2.8mm
Blade Length: 12” / 30.48 cm
Handle Length: 5-5/8” / 14.28 cm
Handle Grip Length: 4.75” / 12 cm
Handle Circumference: 3-7/8” / 9.84 cm
Overall Length: 17-5/8” / 44.76 cm
GRIP NOTES: The Cold Steel machetes have some of the most ergonomic handles on any machetes I've used. No modifications needed for my hands ( as is the case with tradition wood handled machetes I've owned )
COLD STEEL 1917 FRONTIER BOWIE SPECS:
Overall Length: 17-5/8”/ 44.76 cm
Blade Length: 12-1/4”/ 31.11 cm
Blade Thickness: 1/4”/ 6.35 mm
Overall Handle Length 4.625" / 11.74 cm
Handle Grip Length: 4” / 10.16 cm to beginning of pommel
Handle Circumference: 4”/ 10.16 cm
Weight: 23.8oz / 674.7 gm
Steel: 1085
GRIP NOTES: This grip just barely fits my hand. When working with the knife, I can feel the sharp corners of the grip digging into my palm. I'll post some photos here once I've modified the grip to fit my hand better.
COLD STEEL BLACK BEAR BOWIE MACHETE SPECS:
Overall Length: 17.75”/ 45 cm
Blade Length: 12”/ 30 cm
Blade Thickness: 2.8 mm / .11” (just under 1/8th inch)
Overall Handle Length 5.75” / 14.6 cm
Handle Grip Length: 4” / 10.16 cm to beginning of pommel
Handle Circumference: 3.625”/ 10.16 cm
Weight: 18.1 oz / 513 gm
Steel: 1055
GRIP NOTES: This handle fits my hand well and is comfortable to work with.
COLD STEEL CUTLASS MACHETE SPECS:
Weight: 26.6oz / 754 g
Blade Thickness: 0.11” / 2.8 mm
Blade Length: 24” / 60.96 cm
Handle Length: 5-5/8in / 14.28 cm
Handle Grip Length: 4.5” / 11.43 cm
Handle Circumference: 3-7/8” / 9.84 cm
Overall Length: 29-5/8” / 75.24 cm
GRIP NOTES: The most "sword like" of all the machetes I own, the D guard here is reinforced by steel at its core.
ONTARIO SP-10 RAIDER BOWIE SPECS:
Overall Length: 15” / 38 cm
Blade Length: 9.75” / 24.76 cm
Blade Thickness: 0.25” / 6.35 mm
Handle Length: 5” / 12.7 cm
Handle Grip Length: 4.5” / 11.43 cm
Handle Circumference: 4-1/8” / 10.47 cm
GRIP NOTES: Jim Bowie is said to have used his famous knife in this grip. I started using this edge up version of hammer grip as an experiment, but found that the large handle on this Ontario bowie actually felt more comfortable in my hand this way. For self-defense purposes, I believe this grip requires long, heavy blades with sharpened clip points to be effective. This is a "just" a 9-3/4" blade and the 12" version that Bowie is said to have used at the Alamo is probably better suited for this technique.
ONTARIO GEN II SP46 SPECS:
Overall Length:11” / 27.94 cm
Blade Length: 6” / 15 cm
Blade Thickness: 0.20” / 5 mm
Handle Length: 5” / 12.7 cm
Handle Grip Length: 4.5” / 11.43 cm
Handle Circumference: 3-7/8” / 9.84 cm
NOTE: The Spec Plus line doesn't seem to get the respect from the knife public that its great steel ( 5160 ) and ergonomic handles deserve. The sheath issues this line had at first have been solved through Ontario now getting the sheaths from holster maker De Santis. Anything in the Gen II Spec Plus line works well above its price tag and is worth a place in your blade line up.
ONTARIO 6420 KUKRI SPECS:
Overall Length: 17” / 43 cm
Blade Length: 12” / 30.48 cm
Blade Thickness: 0.26” / 6.6 mm
Handle Length: 5” / 12.7 cm
Handle Grip Length: 4.5” / 11.43 cm
Handle Circumference: 4-1/8” / 10.47 cm
GRIP NOTES: The standard Ontario grip for a large blade: which means that it fits my large hands extremely well. This is the blade I chose for my son's Get Home Bag. This Ontario is one third of the price of the more popular Cold Steel kukris, with nearly as much capability (and probably one tenth the price of the new CPM-3V models). The Cold Steel kuks are heavier, so that means they will chop better and the 5/16" O1 steel is going to be more forgiving if you hit a tough hardwood knot than the 1/4" 1095 in the Ontario, but dollar for dollar, the Ontario kukris are a great value.
ONTARIO 17.75” FIELD MACHETE W/ D GUARD SPECS:
Blade Length: 17.75″ / 45 cm
Overall Length: 23.5” / 59.69 cm
Handle Length: 4.75” / 12 cm
Handle Grip length: 4.25” / 10.79 cm
Handle Circumference: 4.25” / 10.79
GRIP NOTES: The handles on the Ontario Field machete are much more ergonomic than the military version Ontario made for many years. The 1095 blade stock is heavier and stiffer than the 1055 Cold Steel uses on their machetes, so the Ontario blades are better suited for work on hardwood branches for firewood processing, rather than hours of cutting a path through the jungle, as are the Latin machetes that Cold Steel machetes are based on.
Survival expert Dave McIntyre chooses an Ontario machete when in his home state of Michigan and reserves the lighter Tramontinas machetes for the jungles of Brazil.
ONTARIO “BLACKIE COLLINS” MACHETE SPECS:
Blade Length: 17.75″ / 45 cm
Overall Length: 23.5” / 59.69 cm
Handle Length: 5” / 12.7 cm
Handle Grip length: 4.5” / 11.43 cm
Handle Circumference: 4-5/8” / 11.74 CM
Note: The Ontario Black Collins machete is the only blade on the list with a handle that is too thick for my large hands. Notice how my fingers cannot get completely around the handle. This design may be based on the machetes manufactured in South America, which have deliberately oversized wooden grip scales that are built that way, intending to be custom fit by the user. This is the older model that has been replaced by the Field machete line.
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Note 1: These are the measurements for handles that fit my own hand. The measurements for your hand are likely to be different. Please use this essay as a general guideline, making adjustments necessary for your specific situation. It is your responsibility to use all safety precautions if you decide to implement anything you see here for your own use.
Train Hard, but Train Smart,
Tuhon Bill McGrath
I will be lecturing on this subject at the 2023 Ashokan Bladesmith's Seminar.
For info on this event, visit: https://ashokanknifeseminar.weebly.com/
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