This past March 2nd and 3rd, I had the privilege of attending the Filipino Combat Systems(FCS) Family Gathering. My two FCS instructors were extremely kind in inviting me to the event.
The gathering was held in Clearwater, FL, at Rick DeAguila's Hapkido International Dojang. Rick DeAguila is not only a respected Hapkido instructor, but is also an accomplished FCS instructor. He is also a 1997 inductee of the World Martial Arts Hall of Fame. Oh, and he's one helluva nice guy!
The event was headed by FCS founder and head, Ray Dionaldo. For info on Ray and his credentials, it's simplest to just refer you to his site, fcskali.com. Just as my instructors had predicted, the gathering started just as it always does, with Ray asking what we wanted to work on.
I must add that I am very green when it comes to FMA, and my instructors warned that the material covered at the gatherings was fairly advanced, representing enhancements, additions, and changes Ray has made to the FCS curriculum. My instructors were only able to attend the second day of the gathering, so I was there on the first day all by my lonesome.
Despite being new the the organization and FMA in general, everyone there was extremely nice to me. They welcomed me into the fold without hesitation and no one minded that I needed additional help every now and then. A few of them even went out of their way to make sure I could keep up (big thanks to Gary, Rico, and Donovan!). From my perspective, it seemed like a family reunion, with people coming from all over Florida, and I think one person came from Puerto Rico. Great people, all.
With my limited knowledge of FMA, and my very poor memory, I will now attempt to give a brief description of what was covered. I was asked to take notes, but I've found that it's physically impossible to do so. Next time, I'll do what several others did, which is to bring a camcorder and record Ray demonstrating the techniques. Basically, Ray would demonstrate the technique we were to work on. After everyone picked their jaws up off the floor, he would demonstrate the technique again from various angle and at various speeds. Often, while we were all working the technique, he'd interject with some helpful pieces of advice to help us better understand and perform the techniques.
We started the first day off with stickwork. We jumped right into Ray's version of tapi-tapi. From what I understand, Ray's tapi-tapi is a bit different from Modern Arnis tapi-tapi. In addition to the Modern Arnis influence, there are also shades of Pekiti-Tersia, Balitawak, and other systems he's studied. He also incorporates hubud into the drill and utilizes a lot of stuff in deep corto range. Some of the variations we worked on utilized switches from the flow and other ended with takedowns.
Following a short break, we went to knifework. Various knife techniques were taught, some very simple, other very complex, but fun to train. A lot of the techniques involved disarms, so there were training knives raining down around us for the remainder of the night. We ended with a couple of group photo sessions.
I missed the first couple of hours of the second day, but was very glad to see my instructors there. I didn't feel quite so lost after that. There were also a couple of new faces, one or two who just happened by the school on the first day of the gathering and signed up for the following day. The second day was similar to the first. We started off with stickwork,, working the tapi-tapi variations. This time, more switches were done from the flow, as well as transitions. The takedowns led to a little work in stick grappling. Again, the break was followed by knifework, starting with some disarms that started off simple. The same disarm was enhanced a few times until it became fairly complex, but extremely nasty. I started to gain a new appreciation for Sayoc Kali and its bladework. Nasty stuff. I like it!
Some of the other knife techniques from the previous night were worked again, followed by counters, then counters to the counters. Lots of knives and bodies flying by this time. Good thing Mr. DeAguila had some good mats! Bladework was followed by some silak (emptyhand vs. knife), which was pretty similar to the bladework material. This was followed by a little sikaran, which resulted in more bodies flying to the mats. Eventually, most of us ended up 'playing'. Arnisandyz and I had fun with that.
Unfortunately, it all had to end eventually. We wound down with a tai chi demonstration, then certificates were presented, as well as the announcement of two new instructors (congrats, Jesse and Roland).
Everyone there had a blast. Even though I was an inexperienced buffoon, I actually managed to absorb some of the material. More important, I had a helluva good time. If any of you have the opportunity to attend an FCS seminar, I highly recommend it, especially if it's being done by Ray himself. Bring a camcorder. You'll kick yourself later if you don't.
Once again, I have to thank my instructors, Andy and Al, for inviting me to the gathering. I also have to thank everyone there for making a complete stranger and FMA newbie like me feel so welcome. Hopefully, this won't be my last FCS Gathering.
Cthulhu
PS - arnisandyz, if you want to make any corrections or additions, please do!
The gathering was held in Clearwater, FL, at Rick DeAguila's Hapkido International Dojang. Rick DeAguila is not only a respected Hapkido instructor, but is also an accomplished FCS instructor. He is also a 1997 inductee of the World Martial Arts Hall of Fame. Oh, and he's one helluva nice guy!
The event was headed by FCS founder and head, Ray Dionaldo. For info on Ray and his credentials, it's simplest to just refer you to his site, fcskali.com. Just as my instructors had predicted, the gathering started just as it always does, with Ray asking what we wanted to work on.
I must add that I am very green when it comes to FMA, and my instructors warned that the material covered at the gatherings was fairly advanced, representing enhancements, additions, and changes Ray has made to the FCS curriculum. My instructors were only able to attend the second day of the gathering, so I was there on the first day all by my lonesome.
Despite being new the the organization and FMA in general, everyone there was extremely nice to me. They welcomed me into the fold without hesitation and no one minded that I needed additional help every now and then. A few of them even went out of their way to make sure I could keep up (big thanks to Gary, Rico, and Donovan!). From my perspective, it seemed like a family reunion, with people coming from all over Florida, and I think one person came from Puerto Rico. Great people, all.
With my limited knowledge of FMA, and my very poor memory, I will now attempt to give a brief description of what was covered. I was asked to take notes, but I've found that it's physically impossible to do so. Next time, I'll do what several others did, which is to bring a camcorder and record Ray demonstrating the techniques. Basically, Ray would demonstrate the technique we were to work on. After everyone picked their jaws up off the floor, he would demonstrate the technique again from various angle and at various speeds. Often, while we were all working the technique, he'd interject with some helpful pieces of advice to help us better understand and perform the techniques.
We started the first day off with stickwork. We jumped right into Ray's version of tapi-tapi. From what I understand, Ray's tapi-tapi is a bit different from Modern Arnis tapi-tapi. In addition to the Modern Arnis influence, there are also shades of Pekiti-Tersia, Balitawak, and other systems he's studied. He also incorporates hubud into the drill and utilizes a lot of stuff in deep corto range. Some of the variations we worked on utilized switches from the flow and other ended with takedowns.
Following a short break, we went to knifework. Various knife techniques were taught, some very simple, other very complex, but fun to train. A lot of the techniques involved disarms, so there were training knives raining down around us for the remainder of the night. We ended with a couple of group photo sessions.
I missed the first couple of hours of the second day, but was very glad to see my instructors there. I didn't feel quite so lost after that. There were also a couple of new faces, one or two who just happened by the school on the first day of the gathering and signed up for the following day. The second day was similar to the first. We started off with stickwork,, working the tapi-tapi variations. This time, more switches were done from the flow, as well as transitions. The takedowns led to a little work in stick grappling. Again, the break was followed by knifework, starting with some disarms that started off simple. The same disarm was enhanced a few times until it became fairly complex, but extremely nasty. I started to gain a new appreciation for Sayoc Kali and its bladework. Nasty stuff. I like it!
Some of the other knife techniques from the previous night were worked again, followed by counters, then counters to the counters. Lots of knives and bodies flying by this time. Good thing Mr. DeAguila had some good mats! Bladework was followed by some silak (emptyhand vs. knife), which was pretty similar to the bladework material. This was followed by a little sikaran, which resulted in more bodies flying to the mats. Eventually, most of us ended up 'playing'. Arnisandyz and I had fun with that.
Unfortunately, it all had to end eventually. We wound down with a tai chi demonstration, then certificates were presented, as well as the announcement of two new instructors (congrats, Jesse and Roland).
Everyone there had a blast. Even though I was an inexperienced buffoon, I actually managed to absorb some of the material. More important, I had a helluva good time. If any of you have the opportunity to attend an FCS seminar, I highly recommend it, especially if it's being done by Ray himself. Bring a camcorder. You'll kick yourself later if you don't.
Once again, I have to thank my instructors, Andy and Al, for inviting me to the gathering. I also have to thank everyone there for making a complete stranger and FMA newbie like me feel so welcome. Hopefully, this won't be my last FCS Gathering.
Cthulhu
PS - arnisandyz, if you want to make any corrections or additions, please do!
