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What is Escrima?
Escrima, is an age old weapons tradition from the Philippines dating back to 1521. It is noted for using weapons, usually sticks, as the primary tool to learn the basic concepts of the art, with the secondary focus being the empty hands. The stick(s) represent any kind of actual or improvised weapons with which to defend yourself with. Escrima Concepts has removed much of the showy techniques to develop a no-nonsense and very sought after combat system.
What is the benefit of training with weapons?
Weapons have always been part of human culture throughout recorded history and our computer age makes no exception. Violent attacks with knifes, bats, machetes, bottles, etc. fill the headlines more than ever.
Several traditional martial arts styles incorporate various weapons as part of their curriculums, many more useful and practical than others.
In many ways training with any kind of weapon is a lot more ‘unforgiving’ compared to unarmed training. You may want to trade punches, but you do not want to find out what a wooden stick feels like impacting with any part of your body. This fact alone will force you to move and movement is the key to fighting.
If you stand still you will get hit or worse. Training with weapons will also highlight any weak areas you may have in your balance or footwork for example, whether you move too much, too little or just in the wrong direction. Range awareness is also a huge benefit of training with weapons, it is essential that you are in range for your attacks or blocks but out of range of the attacks of your attacker. Once you have overcome the initial apprehension of training with weapons unarmed attacks become a lot more manageable and less threatening.
At the Rapid Defence Academy personal safety comes first, which is why we always use the appropriate protection equipment wherever necessary.
What is Escrima Concepts?
After thirty years each in Martial Arts, Escrima Concepts, has been progressed by Chief-Instructor Steve Tappin and Master Stephen Kinvig along with their Masters, friends and high-ranking teachers of Escrima Concepts who decided to teach Escrima using concepts rather than just getting caught up in techniques and tradition. The word Escrima is used out of respect for the teachings and guidance of past teachers and cultures that influenced present instructors.
Western influences have enriched this system so that it has progressed with the Filipino teaching of centuries ago.
Escrima Concepts have removed much of the showy techniques to develop a no-nonsense combat system for today’s society and from this improvement we have provided a lot of freedom and creativity for future instructors to build.
In Escrima Concepts we use all the tools so we could improve on our foundations to which we first introduced. Now some of these instructors, among the first taught in Europe, have evolved the system to a new, progressive, modern and creative combat art that is: ESCRIMA CONCEPTS
Generic Concepts using our Theories
The most important factor of these concepts is, that on their own they are only parts of a puzzle – but when you put the concepts together, they become one, and the bigger picture can be seen - only then will you have a trained and adaptable person confident in the use of everyday weapons.
Our practical application is based on simple, proven, honest and direct methods for people to use in training and under stress. Our theory is designed to improve and understand the syllabus, its techniques and drills so an individual can use and adapt our concepts to analyse strategies and also progress to self-discovery when outside of the training environment.
Understanding how the body and weapon works together based on the following five concepts that hold the whole thing together:
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