|
Balintawak aims to develop a defensive posture because one should always assume
that one’s opponent is skilled. Most practitioners of other arts are taught speed
and timing in offensive moves, with the ideal of downing an opponent with successive
attacks, whereas only a few arts practice speed and timing in the realm of defense.
Balintawak bridges the gap between offense and defense. Once speed and timing in
the defense are developed, the offensive attack follows automatically. The contrary
is true when one only practices offensively.
Since Balintawak is defensive in nature, it allows mental, as well as motor movements
to develop and synchronize. It also constantly places the practitioner in high-pressure
situations, by means of defensive sparring, which also makes for good cardiovascular
exercise.
[Back to Top]
|
|
What makes Balintawak Arnis different from other Arnis, Kali, Escrima?
|
|
Balintawak uses a unique method to train its practitioners.
After learning the basic offensive and defensive techniques, the Balintawak student
is, from day one, placed in harm’s way. He is given random and continuous attacks/strikes
by his instructor, generally at a speed just beyond his (or her) current ability
to defend against. The student’s mission is simple: to defend and counter the attacks.
The result is an instructor-led training framework - called agak - that immerses
the student in a dynamic state of attack and counters that he must strive to overcome.
This free-flowing duel programs the student to respond instinctively to random attacks,
with crisp, effective offensive and defensive techniques executed fluidly and, if
called for, continuously. Quickness, power, and economy of movement are emphasized.
As the student improves in this counter-to-counter play, the attacks become stronger,
faster and more complex, progressively “pulling” the student’s skill level upward.
At all times, the instructor guides the student, from the most basic, to the more
advanced, techniques. Eventually, the student’s defense, timing, speed, body mechanics,
and techniques improve to a level where he is able to overcome his instructor’s
attacks. However, as the student improves, so does the training level. The higher
the skill of the instructor, the higher the student can go.
A good Balintawak instructor constantly keeps the student in a state of jeopardy,
challenging - but without overwhelming - him to strive to match the instructor’s
intensity and skill level.
At the highest levels, the distinction between instructor and student diminish as
both attack and defend with equal vigor and skill. This is known as cuentada.
Because of this, Balintawak can only be taught one on one, by an instructor more
skilled than the student. It cannot be taught ‘en masse.’ It is this personalized
tutelage that distinguishes Balintawak from other arnis/kali/eskrima and martial
arts styles.
Practitioners of other styles might think this is equivalent to what other styles
call freestyle or laban-laro. This is not so. It has been observed that the freestyle
and laban-laro exercises of other styles are choreographed. In Balintawak, the
“give and take” is truly random. There are no patterns. Moreover, it is taught
from the very beginning, unlike in other styles where sparring and “pseudo-freestyle”
drills are usually reserved for advanced students.
In Balintawak, there is no such thing as a foul blow. At advanced levels, all
conceivable attacks are allowed, including punching, elbowing, head butting, tripping,
kicking, pushing, pulling, grabbing, butting, trapping, spitting, etc.
[Back to Top]
|
|
What are Balintawak's Systems of Instruction?
|
|
The grouping system of instruction was developed by Atty. Jose Villasin in an effort
to systematize the random teaching style of Anciong Bacon. Under the grouping system
of instruction, a student is taught twelve basic strikes, and the corresponding
twelve basic blocks and counters. Once the student is familiar with these basic
movements, the instructor attacks the student with a series of basic strikes, first
in sequence, then later randomly, to which the student must respond with the basic
blocks and counters. As the student’s ability to defend and counter progresses,
the instructor increases the speed of the attacks, varies the timing, introduces
feinting, footwork, twisting, etc. and introduces more sets of attacks, counters,
counters to the counters, and so on. This advanced set of attacks, counters, and
counters to the counters which are called “groups” are what characterize this method
of instruction. The “groups” address the variables that arise in combat, the “what ifs”
such as “what if the attacker holds your hand,” or “what if he moves left,” etc.
At the higher levels, the groups form a corpus of movements that can be combined
in an infinite number of ways, allowing the student to express himself in combat
in his own unique way.
As its name suggests, the random method does not use groups. In this system, after
a student is taught the basic strikes, blocks and counters, the instructor randomly
delivers a series of attacks with no particular order in the way the student is
guided through the attacks and counters. This is the traditional method of teaching
Balintawak and is favored by the older masters.
[Back to Top]
|
|
