# Geographic influences on weapon styles



## arnisandyz (Oct 8, 2003)

Just wondering how your style of FMA was influenced by location.

for example, many northern styles have a more largo base relying more on secure footing and positioning due to the beaches and rocky areas (unstable footing).

Other styles might use the shorter weapons to fight closer in, possible because of space constraints (jungle or narrow hallways, rolled up newspaper on a jeepny?).


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## bart (Oct 8, 2003)

Hey,

I'm skeptical of regional influences other than those based on urban vs. rural or extremes of climate such as tropical vs. tundra. GM Cacoy Canete has a fierce up close game. GM Momoy Canete had a fierce long range game. They both could do long and short and they hailed from the same place, Cebu. But they preferred certain ranges and techniques and taught and developed their styles along those lines.  I think rather than the case of range being based on region that it is much more closely tied to personal preference. 

The Philippines has pretty much the same climate everywhere. Some of the mountains areas are colder but not more than a 10 to 15 Fahrenheit difference consistently and so the feel is pretty uniformly tropical. It's unlike China, which has true climate differences by region.

Perhaps exploring the difference between the development of Serrada in California vs the development of Balintawak in Cebu would be more evocative. They share common roots regionally, but are quite different. But that means we have to expand the regions beyond the Philippines and even then the differences between the two may have arisen from personal preference and developmental isolation more than anything like climate.


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## arnisandyz (Oct 8, 2003)

I agree with much of what your saying, That personal preference has alot to do with the development of the style.  Most systems recognize mutiple ranges and train accordingly.  I was just wondering if becuase of the conditions one might be favored.  For example in the "golden" days of football before the "dome" when it was raining, or windy, or snowing, the team that had a better running game usually had a more effective offense than a team that is focused on passing, both teams could do both but the one who adapted to a specific enviormnent had a definate advantage over one that did not.  Therefore, if it rains alot on your homefield and you practice alot in the rain, you should have an advantage over someone who comes in from a geographic region where it doesn't rain alot (provided the fields are wet).

Thanks

Andy


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## arnisandyz (Oct 8, 2003)

Bart,

I read your post again, in regards to the PI being much th same whever you go...
There are differences rural to urban (as you mentioned), but also natural differences, rice fields vs jungle vs mountains vs beaches vs concrete  is very different.  I'm not saying a different style exists for each geographic example, but perhaps because somebody who worked in the rice fields for many years and understands the terrain, mightdevelop certain techniques vs a fisherman who spends alot of time on the beach vs somebody who lives in the deep south jungle areas.

Thanks

Andy


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## bart (Oct 8, 2003)

Andy,

I see your point and agree about the difference in styles according to what people's occupations may be. What I took a beef to was the reference to region as being the main influence ala Chinese Martial Arts:



> many northern styles have a more largo base relying more on secure footing and positioning due to the beaches and rocky areas (unstable footing).



All of the major islands have mountains. All of the islands have beaches and rocky areas. Pretty much everywhere has some jungle, although in the less densely populated islands they have more. The terrain of the Philippines is uniform when compared to other larger asian countries (China, India), so in my opinion the major develepmental influence is personal preference of the founder, teacher, or fighter. 

I think that even occupation, such as the fisherman or the rice farmer analogy you used could be construed as personal preference. The personal art of a fisherman may in fact be quite different than that of a farmer or to extend that analogy, the personal style of a miner who works in the mountains or the clerk who works at the municipio. But I think that can't be chalked up to regional difference in the case of the Philippines as often they may all four live in the same village.


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## OULobo (Oct 9, 2003)

Besides personal styles there is the issue of the time frame the style was formed in. Some take into account crawling around in the jungle with large weapons while others stick to generally concealable and easy to carry knives. As in the past it wasn't unusual to see people walking about with machetes, but now its less tolerable.


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