# Why should I study FMA??



## StraightRazor (Jun 20, 2004)

Im a new guy here..I have taken some TKD (yellow) and Kenpo (blue) in the past and have picked up some Modern Arnis from a friend (no rank). I liked the arnis stuff and am thinking about taking it up. Im also thinking about going back to Kenpo. What reasons are there for me to take FMA instead?? Sell it to me. What are its strengths vs. weaknesses?


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## Rich Parsons (Jun 20, 2004)

StraightRazor said:
			
		

> Im a new guy here..I have taken some TKD (yellow) and Kenpo (blue) in the past and have picked up some Modern Arnis from a friend (no rank). I liked the arnis stuff and am thinking about taking it up. Im also thinking about going back to Kenpo. What reasons are there for me to take FMA instead?? Sell it to me. What are its strengths vs. weaknesses?



Well, in my opinion I like Modern Arnis. It is for me. I like the weapons training approach. I also like the joint locks, and empty hands.

As to kenpo, I have had a very limited exposure, and I would to say that it has a godo vocabulary for learning and definitions.

It all comes down to what you want to do.


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## loki09789 (Jun 21, 2004)

StraightRazor said:
			
		

> Im a new guy here..I have taken some TKD (yellow) and Kenpo (blue) in the past and have picked up some Modern Arnis from a friend (no rank). I liked the arnis stuff and am thinking about taking it up. Im also thinking about going back to Kenpo. What reasons are there for me to take FMA instead?? Sell it to me. What are its strengths vs. weaknesses?


Visit schools of both styles, base the decision on the group as well as the movement that seems to feel right for you.  Internet doesn't do either justice.


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## Dan Anderson (Jun 21, 2004)

StraightRazor said:
			
		

> Im a new guy here..I have taken some TKD (yellow) and Kenpo (blue) in the past and have picked up some Modern Arnis from a friend (no rank). I liked the arnis stuff and am thinking about taking it up. Im also thinking about going back to Kenpo. What reasons are there for me to take FMA instead?? Sell it to me. What are its strengths vs. weaknesses?



Why not both?  If you only have the money/time for one, I slide towardsarnis.  Why?  In kenpo youwill have some weapons training to back up the empty hand.  In arnis you will have lots of empty hand training along with the weapons work.

Yours,
Dan Anderson


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## Datu Tim Hartman (Jun 21, 2004)

I can't tell you why you should study, I can tell you why I study FMA.

1. Practical approach to self defense.
2. The ability to learn armed and unarmed defenses from the start.
3. The ability to innovate when the situation dictates.
4. Its pretty damn cook to hit someone in the head with a stick!! :hammer: 
5. It just feels right for me! 

These are some of the reasons that I do Modern Arnis. No martial art is good for everyone. The trick is to find the one that is right for you.

 :asian:


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## arnisandyz (Jun 21, 2004)

In other arts I have done, a big focus is on the technique (reverse punch, frontkick, etc.), in most FMAs there is more focus on the "flow" and chaining together of techniques.  You'll learn many different flow drills which serve as a canvas for you to develop individual techniques.  so not only will you be learning the technique itself, but how, when, where to apply it. You will also be encouraged to put your own spin on things, so if you have a boxing background, you don't have to give it up, just find where you can use it, or if you have a grappling background you learn where to get your entries. A friend told me of an FMA instructor who said 'FMA is like peanut butter...you can eat it almost with anything (jelly, chocolate, celery, etc).

Many FMA groups are less formal, some people like this and some people need something more structured. Most of the teachers I have met in FMA are very well grounded.  They didn't have an air of "invincibility" or superiority about them. Alot more humble.  I guess dealing with weapons makes you realize anybody can get a good shot in and take you out, so you respect that.

You don't have to relearn anything..the motions you learn with the weapons will flow into your emptyhand skill.

Andy


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## StraightRazor (Jun 21, 2004)

So the empty hand techniques I already know will work "as is", or do I have to learn a new way to punch and kick? Im not a black belt in another art, will I be up to say a Kenpo black belt level when I reach Arnis black belt? I mean in terms of "fightability".


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## KyleShort (Jun 21, 2004)

What you should really ask youself is, "Do my kicks and punches that I already know, actually work?"

I knew plenty of material (Kajukenbo, YMCA Karate, Ninjitsu, Wing CHun) long before I started Escrima training...but in the few months that I have studied I have thrown much of it away.  Not because I had to in order to learn the FMA, but because I had to in order to really be able to hold my own should the need arise.

Have you tested your techniques in full contact sparring (not full contact point-based)?  Have you tested them in real situations?

You do not need to give up anything...but you will naturally "trim the fat".  FMA training is a window into the realities of human to human combatives.  Good knepo techniques will do well, bad ones will fall away...you'll see.


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## MJS (Jun 22, 2004)

StraightRazor said:
			
		

> Im a new guy here..I have taken some TKD (yellow) and Kenpo (blue) in the past and have picked up some Modern Arnis from a friend (no rank). I liked the arnis stuff and am thinking about taking it up. Im also thinking about going back to Kenpo. What reasons are there for me to take FMA instead?? Sell it to me. What are its strengths vs. weaknesses?



I'm a little late to this thread, but I'll still give my thoughts, although you already have many good posts already here.

Modern Arnis can stand alone as an art, but it also blends very well with pretty much every other art out there.  Any of the FMA that you look at will give you a very good understanding of weapons.  Sure there are other arts out there that teach or talk about weapons, but IMO, nothing can touch the FMA when it comes to that.  

Their empty hand skills are also very good.  You will find that they incorporate many different locks and limb destructions.  

In addition, the techniques that you'll see can easily be translated from weapon to empty hand and empty hand to weapon.  Everything flows from one thing to another.

As for your other post regarding if the techs. will be the same.....A punch is a punch and a kick is a kick, although there are different ways to execute them, some being more effective than others.  For example, in my Arnis class, my instructor also focuses on boxing skills, kicking, grappling, as well as throwing in a little from some of the other FMA that hes done.  The way that we do our kicking is based more on Muay Thai.  Now, I've done Kenpo for 17yrs, and they have their way of kicking and its much different that the Thai style of kicking.  Did it take a little while to adapt?? Yes.  Was it worth it and did my kicking get much better???  YES!!!!  Same kicking ideas and priciples, just supercharged a little!!

I hope that this was a help to you.

Mike


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## Guro Harold (Jun 26, 2004)

Also, its just plain cool and practical to learn!


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## Littledragon (Jun 26, 2004)

StraightRazor said:
			
		

> Im a new guy here..I have taken some TKD (yellow) and Kenpo (blue) in the past and have picked up some Modern Arnis from a friend (no rank). I liked the arnis stuff and am thinking about taking it up. Im also thinking about going back to Kenpo. What reasons are there for me to take FMA instead?? Sell it to me. What are its strengths vs. weaknesses?


Even though I would love to learn Modern Arnis and any other martial art that interests me I don't take FMA but I can tell you a very simple answer to your question, if you want to be a GREAT Martial Artist you must be a multi dimentional fighter so every martial art you can feed from in order to help you become a better martial artist, go for it!

But don't give up one art over the other because no art teaches you everything there is to know, each martial art has its pros and cons and its specialty in each specific fighting form so be a well rounded fighter and open your mind as well as heart when you are a student of the Martial Arts.

Tarek


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## bart (Jun 27, 2004)

StraightRazor said:
			
		

> So the empty hand techniques I already know will work "as is", or do I have to learn a new way to punch and kick? Im not a black belt in another art, will I be up to say a Kenpo black belt level when I reach Arnis black belt? I mean in terms of "fightability".



This has been touched upon in other threads but every time it's brought up I always feel as if there is something new to say although along the same lines. Bear with me while I meander toward the point. So as not to embroil myself in a terminology bout, I'm going to use eskrima and by eskrima I mean arnis, kali, eskrima, etc., basically, the weapon based arts originating from the Philippine Islands. 


Learning the weapon first is part of eskrima and if you don't learn the weapon first, then you are not learning eskrima. You are probably learning something that someone calls eskrima but is not really. It may for instance be Karate, Taekwondo, or what have you. But eskrima begins with the weapon. 

Teaching the weapon first instills a principle. The principle is applied through a technique with the weapon. If a principle can be applied with the weapon, then it can be applied with the hand and it takes effort on the part of the instructor and the student to make it work or to figure out if the principle is not being applied correctly. Nobody holds your hand or spoon feeds you the information in eskrima. You learn the principle and then internalize it. Then you express it through you. If you were spoon fed, you would only be expressing someone else. 

Now is where I get to the point. If you learn to fight with the weapon and then you learn how to interpret and express the principles that you have internalized through your practice, then you will be able to fight, with a weapon or without. A black belt really has nothing to do with your fightability. It has a lot to do with how much information that you've amassed that you now have to develop and refine. A black belt is where the learning really begins. Many styles don't even begin to teach weapons until the black belt level anyway, so there's a good chance that if you're thinking of fightability, you'll have a leg up in FMA because you'll already have a better understanding of how weapons work compared to a black belt from another type of martial art. But that differs from group to group as some are simply not that good. 

That being said, eskrima is not for everyone, but only by trying it, will you find whether it will be for you. I encourage you to give it a shot.


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## Seig (Jun 27, 2004)

While my own exposure to the FMA is somewhat limited and I am focused n Kenpo, I can say that from what I have been taught the systems are not drastically different in terms of actual movement. Your experiences will vary depending on your instructors.


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## Flatlander (Jun 27, 2004)

Hi all, 

To build a little on what Bart said, let's look at this:



> Learning the weapon first is part of eskrima and if you don't learn the weapon first, then you are not learning eskrima.


StraightRazor, you said you've done some TKD and some Kenpo.  Remember back to when you were still green, and maybe the idea of taking a punch or being kicked was unfamiliar, and perhaps even scary?  But then, as you trained, you became accustomed to people trying to hit you in the face or kick you or whatever, you just dealt with it, and dealing with it became easier and easier as you became more comfortable.  Same thing here.  But with weapons.  Certainly with a cane, and depending on the teacher, hopefully with a knife, and other weapons too.  And so, in not a lot of time, you will become 'comfortable' in dealing with these weapons. (Tempered with a healthy respect for what they can do.)

Keep in mind, that in the context of self defence, a blade or pipe has a huge likelyhood of making an appearance, so, isn't it better to have a leg up?

My thoughts on this.


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## KyleShort (Oct 13, 2004)

You get the added benefit of becoming 'comfortable' with kicks and punches too because, well sticks and knives are just more scary.


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## GAB (Oct 13, 2004)

SR,
If you don't have the desire, want someone to sell it to you. Then you need to look for something that you alone, want to do.

I don't personally know enough about you, to make that decision for you, you are the one, the only one as an adult (if you are),to do that.

If you want my opinion, I will say go there do it, don't over do it, because you will be very sore and won't continue with it.

The drills alone, that I do, cause people to shy away from it.

When I am done with a work out I am exhausted, _I_ work out until my stomach feels like I am going to throwup. You have got to be intense to enjoy that type of dedication.

Just a few thoughts. Regards, Gary


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