How-To-Be-A-Student:

Teaching any art, craft, or discipline is a challenging endeavor - ask any teacher! However passionate one may be about teaching, I use the 'litmus test' of how I feel after teaching a class:
A: Energized or B: Drained
I began teaching Serrada publicly last summer. Prior to this I was only training with fellow martial artists whom I'd known for years - so there was no "screening" of various characters who might waste my time.

I was recently conversing with a senior Yamashita Karate Sensei and I remarked, "I don't want to have to teach a student how to be an adult..." - to this he grinned and disclosed how he's had to be father, confessor, & therapist to his various students throughout his career. I contemplated his words and realized I would have to step-up and "dictate policy" in my curriculum.

Training and teaching any art is rife with paradox: what does it matter? who cares? Especially in a world hellbent on consumption and instant gratification.
Yet it does matter for those reasons of impermanence exhibited everywhere one looks.

So I've come to terms with the fact that if I must straighten out an individual who is a candidate trainee, rest assured, "I will staighten you out."

The 4 Ps of Learning of The Serrada Escrima Club Of San Antonio Texas:
1. Punctuality
2. Pay On Time - At The Beginning Of Class
3. Pay Active Attention
4. Practice

Part of my criteria for a potential candidate-trainee is that they be 25 years of age and fully employed. Here's the logic behind this criteria: If we recognize the age of 21 as being a legal adult then a 25 year old has been an adult for 4 years - they're a 4 year old adult and the majority of their life experience has been in childhood. Now, if they are fully employed this tells me that they know what it means to show up on time consistently throughout the week. And if they are self-supporting, well heck, they just might be student material! ;-)

This past March 9, 2008 was a dynamic and positive start to the official training season of this Serrada club. During this three hour intensive training session a civilian walked up to the class to inquire about training. This gentlemen was clearly older, mid 60s perhaps. I thought, "This could be interesting...". However, he wasn't inquiring about training for himself but for his 37 year old son who was out of work and living at home...yeah, there was a time I would have been congenial and gregarious to any and all who inquired about training with me - now I just refer them to posts like this one on my blog.
Sincerely,
Mr. Castro
p.s. one of my favorite movie quotes from a classic, "Training Day" w/ Denzel Washington - "You're in a unique position to learn something, if you act right!"

Training Method

Its been said that Serrada can be learned in a short period of time - compared to traditional empty hand lineage arts there is truth in this statement. Other remarks I've heard range from, "one can get good real fast" to "a student can quickly become advanced". When approached with these remarks from inquiries I prefer to respond by stating that "ONE CAN DEVELOP REFLEX REACTION SKILLS SOONER than in a traditional empty hand lineage art." How quickly a student-practitioner progresses through the system will depend on a variety of factors, ie. training frequency, individual ability "talent", assimilation and understanding of the system, to name a few.

Learning By The Numbers

One of the training methods that is vital to the speed-of-learning of Serrada is the vocalization of the number of movements in a technique during the execution of the movements. However rudimentary this may seem, its benefits are far reaching:

Counting is a memory device

Counting coordinates movement & rhythym

Counting separates each movement - we can only really do one thing at a time but it looks like many things are happening simultaneously because of the sequential flow of each technique.

Counting aids in the troubleshooting of problematic areas that need work.

Dancers count when learning new steps, orchestras count when playing extensive pieces of music, soldiers count everything from marching, close order drill, small arms firing skills, to commando raids with synchronized watches...because counting is vital and the angles of attack are numbered I refer to the practice of the defensive techniques as "Numerado".

Structure

I was ruminating about a student's progress of the first two angles in Serrada to improve my coaching ability and the following construct formed in my mind: "You have learned defensive techniques to protect the Upper Left & Upper Right quadrants of your body - conversely you have learned to attack the Upper Left & Upper Right quadrants of your opponent's body. Now begins the putting-together of these left and right sides with "Lock & Block Drill". This begins building the "Trunk" of your fighting skills - along with the practice of the foot exchange "papeet" to face the attacks, you learn to be "Rooted" and "Mobile" in the same place. As you learn other angles and their respective defenses you continue to build the "Branches" of your skills to provide coverage and protection and grow your own Fighting Tree Of Knowledge...

Nuts & Bolts

Basic training is practiced with two practitioners squaring off with eachother, measuring distance and Giving and Taking single direct attacks to practice defenses and counters. Attacks & counters begin to be put together with Lock & Block Drill. Numerado and Lock & Block are the "Backbone" of this training method. The branching out, development, and refinement of individual skill continue with the constant practice of "picks", "passing drill", "closing drill", & "flow sparring"

Repetition Is The Mother Of All Learning.

The Serrada training method is designed for immediate application thru the repetition of techniques with a partner to program reflex reaction muscle memory.

Striking is the "Spearpoint" of a combative engagement. If you fail to successfully negotiate this field-of-fire it will shut you down. Serrada excels at this "Front End Of The Engagement".

Thank you for visiting.

Sincerely,

Mr. Castro

Recruitment Window Is Closed

The recruitment window is closed for this training season. All five candidate positions have been filled.
Individuals wanting to get a headstart on their training for next season I recommend Guro Carlito Bonjoc Jr.'s DVD set of Serrada Basics Vol. 1 & 2. These can be purchased on-line at www.bagyo.net

Keep visiting the blog, more posts on the way! :-)

Sincerely,
Mr. Alex Castro

The Official Serrada Escrima Of San Antonio Training Season Begins March 9, 2008

This Sunday March 9, 2008 will begin the official training season of Serrada Escrima Of San Antonio - the training season will end September 30, 2008.
I will begin interviewing potential candidate trainees starting March 9, 2008 and will conclude April 30, 2008. After April 30, 2008 I will not be accepting any candidates for the group class - I will only be available for private instruction at the private rate of seventy-five dollars an hour - this rate is competitive with local Brazilian Jujitsu and Karate instructors who charge ninety to one hundred dollars an hour.
The group class rate is twenty dollars cash per person per class paid at the begining of the class.
The class size will be limited to five candidates. This is designed intentionally to allow for each candidate to be trained, coached, and corrected by my instruction within the one hour timeline of the group class. Students of varying levels of progression may find themselves working with beginers in the class, this is part and parcel of a group class, in other words its a standard condition of group participation. Students wanting further one-on-one instruction can arrange for private instruction. There are presently three openings left in the group class.
I will interview each potential candidate to determine suitability: come with an "empty cup", check your ego at the door, have training goals in mind - if a candidate's progress is floundering they will be dropped from the course. Potential interviewees must be at least 25 years of age and fully employed. Ultimately candidacy is a probationary state of existence.
Further conditions: A trainee is allowed 3 excused absences. On the fourth absence the trainee will be dropped from the course and can re-interview next training season. If a trainee is a "no show" without prior notification the trainee will be dropped from the course and will not be accepted back. Of course cancellation due to inclement weather and my own personal schedule will not count against the trainee.
I have intentionally emplaced a timeline, a deadline, and probationary conditions to incentivize the trainee to consistently practice, develop, and grow.
My current candidate trainees are experiencing a highly engaging, hands-on curriculum, that challenges the mind and body, and ultimately empowers the individual.
Going into this season I look foward to productive and enjoyable training.

Cinco Teros Concepts Pt. 2

In this second installment I will use two standard Cinco Teros patterns to present training ideas: The "full body pattern" - downward figure 8, upward figure 8, thrust to midsection. And the "torso pattern" - downward figure 8, waist high horizontal fore and backhand strikes followed by centerline thrust.

Mirroring
With this exercise both practitioners execute the full body pattern making contact with eachothers sticks in the downward and upward figure 8 concluding with a #5 thrust - both players can parry outward the #5 thrust with the empty hand. This exercise is not limited to the typical type of striking such as pulling thru as though cutting thru the target. Another way to practice is by using Redirected Strikes - #1 strikes meet but don't pull thru, instead they redirect up, around and overhead to the next angle. This action might be considered akin to an abaniko action but on a larger path. Why practice this? 1.This action begins to introduce the practitioner to "go around the obstacle" and seek other targets. 2.During the path of Redirection the check hand can be timed into the sequence. 3. The practitioner begins to learn the concept of deception through misdirection by using these actions in a variety of sequences & rhythms.

Targeting
In this exercise one partner acts as a passive-live target for the striking partner to lightly touch targets with weapon.

Defanging
Mirroring the attacker, the defender, using the top portion of his weapon, lightly makes contact with the attacker's hand,wrist, forearm, elbow.

Limb Destructions Using Gunting
Mirroring the attacker, the defender uses empty hand to parry/pass the attack in order evade and guide the limb into his counter attack.
Example of a training sequence illustrating the first three angles versus a #1 single direct attack: the defender using gunting against #1 then follows up with #2 on hand/wrist/forearm, staying on the limb makes a fileting action to the inside of the elbow executing a #3 on the bicep while checking the back of the elbow.


Sonkiti
Thrusting, stabbing, hooking using the front end of the weapon can be practiced using the cinco teros template of the 4 quadrants and center line. If practicing with a short weapon such as a training knife the practitioner can integrate checking with the empty hand on the partner's body - during the practice of targeting I have the student check on the chest as a point of reference. This exercise is more for coordinating two limbs and two actions in succession without them interfering with eachother. Once a familiarity is gained I introduce obstacles in the form of static blocks so the student can see how the check hand can remove obstacles. I gradually move from introducing static blocks to passes to further challenge the student.

Punyo Sonkiti
When using a stick for these exercises the practitioner will want approximately a fist's width of punyo protruding form the bottom of the fist. This will translate to reverse grip when practicing with training knives. Now at this point to get more bang for the buck I like to use the Punyo Sumbrada drill - I affectionately think of Punyo Sumbrada as Outside Double Parry's ugly cousin. ;-) They are closely related except PS checks on in the inside of the wrist followed by a lifting action with a crossing of limbs and weapons bringing it over from the left side to the right side of the defender, followed by a check and a counter strike #1. Punyo Sumbrada can be a little treasure trove for extracting tactical attributes, ideas, & potentials. Now here's how I like to use it with the Cinco Teros template, its simple!;-) After the third movement, checking on the arm - identical to the 3rd movement of Outside Double Parry, the return strike is typically #1...now #1 can be replaced with 2,3,4, &5. However using #5 conceptually as a centerline strike I will target the centerline of the body from the neck to crown, essentially a vertical #1, and example of this could be an uppercut with the punyo under the chin then coming down on the throat. Want to make this drill more interactive as in counter-for-counter? During the overhead bridging-action of PS the roles can change, meaning there is opportunity to interrupt the flow. Look carefully and you can interrupt the flow on the first move...;-) Also keep in mind that using punyo requires players to move into a shorter-corto range.


Direct & Simple Tactics
What caught my attention and intrgued me about Cinco Teros was a demonstration of simplicity by two FMA instructors from different styles on separate occasions. They simply used one strike, the same strike, repeatedly to hit all 5 angles on the hand/wrist. One of the instructors made reference to cinco teros as he executed this simple strike...Angle One. In Stickman's article #1-The Mother Of All Angles, Jeff gives examples of its value and primacy and how it is not just a basic strike to get past and move on to advanced angles. This angle is such a vital denominator that it is figured into every Serrada technique - inside and outside gates - and used to finish a technique before closing to the lock position.
When I witnessed this demonstration of simplicity a question mark and a light bulb went off in my head and I knew this warranted further investigation.


Palusat a.k.a Scooping is an inside passing action executed typically at the punyo in the corto range followed by a lifting check on the attacker's elbow and concluded with a counterstrike. This action is related to angle #1 except that it is an adhering-passing action that can be used against angles 1,3, & 5. Against #4 it becomes a hard outside block. Against angle #2 the motion becomes #2 vs. #2 and I use the punyo to hook-sonkiti the wrist to capture while using my check hand to trap the elbow creating a bar type lock. While this action against #2 may not be regarding as pure palusat by some, I am using the concept and adapting it, and exploring how it may be used in a reverse grip knife training. Palusat can also be worked in the forehand grip as well as reverse grip - there are of course trade-offs, gains and losses with each type of grip, and risk versus reward with the palusat. My reasons for introducing this into Cinco Teros Concepts are 1. Working the weapon from tip, middle, to punyo. 2. Working the ranges Largo, Medio, Corto. 3.And drawing a clear comprehensive line of connectivity from the weapons work to the empty hand work for the Non-FMAer.

Stay tuned for another episode! :-)

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Cinco Teros Concepts - Part 1

Cinco Teros, the five cardinal strikes - a striking pattern based on five strikes that target four quadrants and the body's centerline on the vertical seems to be a universal pattern that runs throughout FMA as well as other bladed arts.

Designed to be an all encompassing pattern, the body is divided into 4 quadrants and a centerline: upper left, upper right, lower left, lower right, and the centerline from crotch to crown. This pattern may be immediately recognized as a downward figure eight followed by an upward figure eight and concluded with a thrust to the midsection. Cinco Teros can also be expressed in the form of five thrusts to the four quadrants and centerline as well as slash and thrust, one weapon, two weapons and other forms.

Cinco Teros in Cabales Serrada Escrima
I've seen the concept of Cinco Teros expressed in CSE within the very first defensive technique against angle one - "Outside Block" is a sequence of five movements that is designed to cover and counter a combination of five strikes in differing patterns against single stick, double stick, and espada y daga, and still protect the four quadrants and centerline. While the novice practitioner may not yet see this, this construct is deeply compressed with data. As a Shuai Chiao Kungfu brother recently told me of his art, and its applicable to CSE, "Each technique is a whole world..."
Its been said by my Serrada elders that the core of the system is the first five angles.
The sumbrada flow drill utilized in CSE is composed of a five movement counter-for-counter sequence that recycles itself - this drill has also been referred to as "the box drill" or "defending the box". This drill covers the four quadrants and centerline.

Simplifying the complex
If a system has twelve angles of attack and twelve counters for each angle totaling 144 techniques, thats alot of options to choose from, maintain and retain. A system may be built this way to continue and ensure the survival of a lineage, however it seems even these extensive systems utilize some form of a Cinco Teros training method as sort of finishing school to pare down and simplify reaction skills for combat readiness. Easy to remember and practice, instinctive under stress.

In upcoming Cinco Teros Concepts posts I will give some examples of training drills, ideas, and observations. Stay tuned! ;-)

The Credo Of Resourcefulness

A friend and I were having a conversation regarding short attention spans and a lack of imagination among the general population who are plugged in vertically and horizontally into today's nano-technology gadgetry.
A remark my friend made that had me in stitches regarding the now ubiquitous "I-pod" went something like, "Now you can be out-of-it all the time everywhere!"
I reminisced of a simpler time when as a child I had to utilize my imagination to keep myself entertained. Whether it was exploring a creek, climbing trees, imitating risky stunts on a BMX bike, or "playing war" in an overgrown alley, it was primarily my imagination that kept my attention fixed on "doing something". It is this "imagination" that is sparked and generated internally in the mind - yes it does begin with outside sources but it is up to the individual to keep the train of thought moving along.
Today's imagination is already produced and packaged in bytes ready for consumption. This artificial imagination is externalized and only seems to train an individual's short attention span that when not placated with distraction responds with, "I'm bored..."
After my reminiscing my friend commented, "We did more with less where as today people do less with more." This immediately brought to mind something I read as a teenager. Some of you may recognize this and I can't recall the source - it may even be incomplete. I'm just going to call it The Credo Of Resourcefulness:
We The Willing, Led By The Unknowing, Are Doing The Impossible For The Ungrateful.
We Have Done So Much For So Long With So Little, We Are Now Qualified To Do Anything With Nothing.
Resourcefulness and imagination are attributes that can be assets or tools in various aspects of life. In training I use these attributes to coach and help a student find what works for him if he has hit a mental-block or a plateau with the standard training method.
As Napolean once said "Imagination Rules The World".