Ron Saturno - Basic Movement Theory

Let’s speak of the basic movement theory. Let’s take an orthodox stance. Left foot forward, rear foot back. If we go left, in this instance we move the left foot to the left first and then bring the right trailing foot over. If we were traveling forward, we would move the front foot forward and bring up the rear. Going back, we would move the rear foot back and then bring back the front foot. Exceedingly simple and direct. Now let’s put a stick in our hands and have a person come at us with an over-head blow (angle #1 strike). We would step out to the left and drag the rear foot as soon as possible. A very good example of the basic movement theory! Serrada Escrima obeys "all" laws: We are good martial arts citizens! We end up in what I call the "full" position. Our acquired position allows all of our weapons to be brought to bear fully upon our opponent. They will be placed in what I call the "half" position. We will have cut them in half! I don't know about you, but I'd rather deal with half a pissed off man, than a whole one. If we used the footwork along with judicious handwork, we will have done a lot to make sure that we go home to Mama. Mama may not even like us much anymore, but the b!tch will be stuck with us again anyway, cause we'll be coming home and wanting some. It is a cruel world, but she may someday take half, let her earn it, don't die by doing incorrect martial arts and let her get it all. Basics are the key!

Did we move our center, rather than bend to get closer to our opponent, to achieve a proper distance? If our distancing was still off....did we move our center closer, rather than lean again? We have three axis's in our body.

1. Goes straight from the top of our heads directly down and out the bottom of our lower bodies.
2. Is straight across from hip to hip.
3. Is just below the navel, going front to rear.

Imagine the three planes intersecting inside the body. That is our center! Let’s call it a "ball". We want to move the ball. We want to get on the ball! We don't want to fold, spindle, or mutilate it! We want to use the "ball' as our frame of reference, when we move. Outside number 1 Serrada Escrima, recognizes this reality and the good practitioners use it, even though they may not know of its existence.

Did we enter the fight with knowledge of Distance, Structure and Movement? The Big Three! If all three aren't in sync, we stink! Yah! You heard it here...you'll stink. If the Big Three were properly used: We're going to look really good!

Did we move our hands before our feet? Hope so...or you'll be slow, with no go! Are there exceptions? Of course. Sometimes we may want to kick a knee out, upon entering. Their knee, not ours. But, personally I throw hits and depending on which blow I threw, follow behind the hip rotation with a kick. If I throw a right blow and my right hip has rotated forward: I come behind it with a right kick. Basic, but it works well for me. Most of the time.

Did we watch their chests, rather than their hands? The hands are just too fast to watch! Well, other people’s hands anyway. There are some really fast people out there. But, if watch their chests: They can't do sh!t without giving their intentions away. Yes, it takes awhile to get the hang of, but chest watching can even be fun, depending upon the cup size.

Today was a very basic post. Most everyone can capably do most of the things I've listed. But, doing them all in unison and in a coordinated way, is quite another story. Great basics are the goal of any good martial artist. It is when our basics are extremely fine tuned that we see hyper-advanced martial arts being displayed. All we are really seeing is Basics being displayed without added anything! That person will have hacked, chopped, trimmed away everything non-essential. It just looks advanced: It is really superlative basics being performed. It doesn't look like what we do, because it's not: Its better. People trained by me get hammered until they got it right. I have trained a few seven days a week, four hours a day, to get it right. I've made a few monsters.

So hoping all is well with you and yours. The very best to you.

Notes

My deepest gratitude to Master Ron Saturno for his kind permission in allowing me to repost his articles to my site. Photo Credit:  Source pic - Master Ron Saturno.

You can contact Master Ron Saturno via:

Email:  5masterserrada@gmailNOSPAM.com (take out the "NOSPAM")
Phone:  209-513-8027
Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/ron.saturno