Today's entry concludes the series of articles for now by Master Ron Saturno on Espada y Daga. In case you missed the previous articles, please check out:
I had been writing about the formulation of distance(s) and its effect upon espada y daga. I tried to begin to describe elbow-in v.s. an elbow-out position, when striking. And the most effective ranges of the parabolas formed by the shorter and longer weapon. I know that it was boring, but the information had reasons for its being shared. I was starting to explain the theoretical foundation of Serrada Escrima and its proper use in espada y daga. I was going into the explanation, nuts and bolts. It was boring, but necessary. But, it didn't go over well, so I will save it for my students. They will be given the foundation of Serrada Escrima. They will be fast, hit very hard, will have good footwork and angleation and hopefully if they ever "need" Serrada, will walk away unharmed. And "if" I had any part in this: I will have done something positive in this very ugly world.
When we strike from an elbow in position, we have economy of motion. The elbow tucked-in position helps in speeding the strike and allows us quicker recovery times, to accomplish the next strike. Because the arm mass is closer to the body when we strike from an elbow-in position and because we are using our hips to roll the weapon out. But, we" have" to be a little more closer than usual to accomplish this. It forces us to get closer to our opponent(s) and is somewhat "less" safe because of this reason, "without" a daga. But, with the daga as back-up, it can offer a "lot" of safety and advantages that we wouldn't have "without" the daga. We are hitting faster and harder from a elbow-in position. Since we are using our legs to strike, our arms do not become as tired and we can mentally mind-f*ck an opponent because of the speed and power of our incoming blows.
I did begin to show my private student yesterday the proper use of the daga. The daga kept cutting his hands at unpredictable moments: Unseen, but felt. We need to learn to hide the smaller blade. It must be felt, but seldom if ever seen. I used the daga as a reversal tool as well. We take their mind to the small blade when we cut them and while their minds are transfixed upon the shorter weapon and the pain and damage that it can accomplish, we strike with the larger weapon: heavily and decisively. This is accomplished by a neutral weapon feel. We don't push, press, pull, or hurry our opponent(s). They shouldn't be able to ever "read" our intentions. We want "him/her" to completely commit themselves when they strike. Their complete commitment is their downfall. Espada y daga properly performed violates common sense. We want someone to hit us very hard and very fast! Their commitment is their own undoing. The faster and harder they hit, the easier they are to deal with. This runs against common sense, but it works. If you watch the two videos I put up today here on Facebook: In one of them I was overpowering my opponent. In the other my opponent was overpowering himself. In one video we depend upon being faster and stronger than our opponent. In the other video: Are we using our opponent(s) power against themselves? Hell yes. This is a whole other beast than trying to fight the knife. We don't want to fight the knife, we let the knife fight its owner!
Other articles by Master Saturno:
- Basic Movement Theory
- Basics in Defense
- Basics of Serrada
- Freight Training! (Body Alignment & Power Transfer)
- The Secret to Surviving Fights
- "Your fight is with time"
- Vidclips of Serrada Basics and Angles of Attack
- Audio Interview (97 mins!)
- The Very Heart and Soul of the Filipino Martial Arts
- "A reason to live is the greatest gift that a teacher of FMA can ever give."
- "You have to teach everything you know, because this forces you to learn more."
Notes
My deepest gratitude to Master Ron Saturno for his kind permission in allowing me to repost his articles to my site.
My deepest gratitude to Master Ron Saturno for his kind permission in allowing me to repost his articles to my site.
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
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