PTI Blog

The following structure closely follows the way I learned Pekiti-Tirsia knife work from Grand Tuhon Gaje in the 70’s and 80’s.

( Originally printed in the Winter 2000 PTI newsletter ) When I started training in the Pekiti-Tirsia system in 1975, I was 14 years old. It very q...

Most blade based martial arts have included wooden swords as part of their training.
The samurai had oak training swords called “bokken” and european swordsman of the Middle Ages and Renaissance used hardwood wooden swords called, (in English,) “wasters”.
The Martial Arts of the Philippines are no different, but the most common wood used for training traditionally is a vine-like species of palm known as rattan (one of 600 species of Calameae).

The following is adapted from the lecture I gave as part of my job as a firearms instructor for the New York State Court system. I am not a lawyer ...

Introduction: There are three categories of Pekiti-Tirsia Hand vs Knife training. Each has its pros and cons, depending on the needs of the student...

The practice of public or commercial teaching of the Filipino martial arts (FMA) is relatively new compared to the martial arts of northern Asia (Karate, Kung Fu, etc). For centuries in the Philippine Islands, teachers would only teach their own sons, grandsons or nephews or perhaps boys from their own village. There was no ranking as such. A man taught what he knew to his relatives and that was it.  No one questioned that the boys received the full teaching from their father or grandfather (and very often the very fact that they were being taught at all was kept a secret).

When I was a range officer for my department, we taught a different grip to the officers armed with revolvers than we did those armed with semi-autos. While the grip taught was different for revolvers and semi-autos, our preferred stance for each group was a two hand hold with the arms fully extended. We also taught one handed shooting skills. Even here, there was a difference in use depending on the distance of the attacker. You didn’t want to use the same technique at grappling range as you would at long range. In addition you would not use the same grip on a rifle or shotgun as on a handgun. The same is true in regards to knives. Different tools usually require different techniques to be used most effectively.

  How does an understanding of Controlled Human Aggression aid the modern martial arts instructor in his ability to teach his students the vital s...

  CONTROLLED HUMAN AGGRESSION FOR THE MARTIAL ARTIST Part 1by Tuhon Bill McGrathCopyright 1999 William R. McGrath Anthropologists tell us that man...