So someone calls me yesterday and wants to know why I use short sticks: I don't. Why I stand still doing espada y daga: I don't. He asked a lot of whys, regarding espada y daga. Espada y daga seems to be an ongoing subject. Espada y daga is in my mind the highest level of Escrima attainment. So, I guess that others may feel the same way. We covered a lot of questions and answers.
If we look at the Filipino daga, by American standards, it is a short sword. So we could say that espada y daga is almost a double sword art. It does work very well with reasonable length weapons. If we use really heavy, or long espada's, we usually overbalance and slow our ability to engage the daga. We need to be able to quickly swing the opposite hip into the attack. In order to do this, we may have to step deep left with our daga and insert the blade. We cannot do this easily, if we have over-committed our chops or thrusts with the espada. Getting the back hip back into play is much harder to accomplish with very committed espada attacks.
The daga becomes very female when used properly. As Angel Cabales would say, holding up his left hand, "She is the woman, who brings her man (espada) to kill". I was asking him about the use of the daga. A woman cannot beat a man without her feminine wiles. She entices, lures, and then springs her trap. This is how the daga should be used. The daga is to gain attention, mystify, worry a man. While you spend your time with her (the daga), her man (espada) stands by jealous and wanting to harm you. This is the proper use of the daga. I watch people just send their woman (daga) out, without thought of her safety, or her proper use. She is not a mop or a broom. You dress her up in her fanciest black dress, that shows lots of leg and cleavage. You hide her and then put her out when least expected. When the man's mind enjoys her beauty: You finish him quickly. The last thing on his mind was the deceitful b!tch who tricked him to his death. In real terms, you would slip your daga "under" your opponent's leading arm, if he gives a thrust to your right shoulder, as an example. You slip the daga under and along the length of his arm, "hiding" the thrust.
If they attempt "any" movement to harm you: You can place the daga somewhere along your espada to "stop-catch" their strike. You would be making a cross (crusada) with your weapons. This stop catch can be quite unexpected and can literally freeze men in their tracks. It can also cause the blade to jump towards your head, if the movement doesn't stop the espada. But, you can come up under their espada, if you stop their blade and make a quick slice to their arm, parry with the daga, to clear his main weapon and finish with a harsh espada strike.
At the highest levels you can actually parry the opponent's main weapon with the daga to gain "beat" dominance. You can get a valuable half beat, full beat and even a beat and a half ahead of your opponent. You can perform double slices with your espada y daga. The list is endless. But, the main thing is that you have to use your weapons as male and female. Remember, your job is to protect your woman (daga). If you really must put her in danger, or even sacrifice her, than make her sacrifice have meaning. Yes, you can sacrifice an arm to accomplish the kill. The espada y daga that I mostly see being performed is slash and thrust Escrima. Real espada y daga is like a dance. The characters flow together in the dance as if they were one. If the couple get separated in thoughts and actions, than they are no longer a couple! The drama is missing! You are not supposed to know "when" the daga will come at you! And when she comes for you, you are not supposed to know "how" she will come for you! This is how real espada y daga is done. Now days it is thrust with the daga and thrust or strike with the espada and then begin another left-right cycle. So my friends: Dress your b!tch up! Teach her how to use her feminine wiles to lure a man to his end. I sure hope to see some better looking b!tches out there! The ones being shown are "industrial models" that men act like they don't care very much about!
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."
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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