What would you study in addition to FMA's?

[Darthmaul]

Hi all, I am currently taking a kali class twice a week. That is all my school if offering right now. I was thinking of trying to get another day of martial arts in. Only thing is I really have not found another Kali school that fits my schedual (plus I feel kind of loyal to mine and plus I hate if they found out if I was going to another one, I don't want to ruffle any feathers). Now I am sure I can find another martial art that fits in my schedual. I was wondering what I should take? I know my style of Kali does a lot of ju jitsu/akido/judo (and I really like that stuff) in there empty hand, maybe I should take that route. Then my striking is so so, I could take something like that. Oh and there some cool other south east asia arts like silat I was thining about. Then also, my conditioning could be better, and my stances and technique is a little sloppy (well I just started, it is getting better, but you know, when you see your guru's at work, your like wow). Oh, then I also like to know something in case were sparing, I like to throw some other stuff in there to make it interesting.

Well thanks, any idears would be great.

[rayfloro]

Try Olympic Fencing........worked wonders for me

[Uke]

Hi all, I am currently taking a kali class twice a week. That is all my school if offering right now. I was thinking of trying to get another day of martial arts in. Only thing is I really have not found another Kali school that fits my schedual (plus I feel kind of loyal to mine and plus I hate if they found out if I was going to another one, I don't want to ruffle any feathers). Now I am sure I can find another martial art that fits in my schedual. I was wondering what I should take? I know my style of Kali does a lot of ju jitsu/akido/judo (and I really like that stuff) in there empty hand, maybe I should take that route. Then my striking is so so, I could take something like that. Oh and there some cool other south east asia arts like silat I was thining about. Then also, my conditioning could be better, and my stances and technique is a little sloppy (well I just started, it is getting better, but you know, when you see your guru's at work, your like wow). Oh, then I also like to know something in case were sparing, I like to throw some other stuff in there to make it interesting.

Well thanks, any idears would be great.

Honestly, stick to the Kali. A VERY common mistake people today make is to try to do too many things. Master what you're doing. Before you move on to silat or anything else, master the skills your training so that you have a base to build upon. There are too many Jack-Of-All-Trades and masters of nothing running around. If you like what you're doing so much and there is noticeable improvement in your abilities, dedicate at the very least 3 years to it. You won't master a system in 3 years, but you'll get a solid base to build upon. Then, as time goes on and your skill grows, you can investigate other styles and begin to pick other things up and try blending your already honed skills into your formula. Trust me, I know the temptation to run out to start new things all over the place is great, but your skill level will benefit tremendously if you find one system and become proficient at it. Kali is an excellent style that will teach you empty hands, weapons and some stand up grappling. Stick with it and you'll thank yourself.

After you've at least reached the level of assistant instructor in Kali, a system that would compliment your skills would be kuntao. When you get a chance, check it out.

[HeadHunter01]

Well put UKE. I do agree. You should stay with Kali or whatever style you do for at least 2 or 3 years. That way you will understand your basic fundementals and your movements. If you start with another style you may just bring in other habits to your school and not even notice you are doing them.

Respects,
Errol

[therenegademonk]

I'm with Errol on this one. If I were you, I would spend the rest of the week practicing your Kali at home on your own. Work on your footwork everyday for conditioning and foot speed. Get in front of a mirror and drill your technique and form. Also, go to the local mechanic shop and get a few old tires...they usually give them away for free. Gather the tires and make a tire dummy by getting the tires and some rope and tying them to a tree. Striking the tires will develop your power.

I'd also recommend getting in shape by sprinting, jumping rope, lifting weights, etc.

God Bless,
Mike Pana

[Paco]

While I don't disagree with the previous posts, I look at covering the worst possible scenarios in my self defense training, IMO ground fighting and knife/armed attack. Kali teaches you how to deal with the latter, but I think you need to back yourself up with some form of grappling. At the very least you should be able to defend against a grappler and get back up.
The answers are not always within your system, just look at the way grappling systems teach knife defense... well, they feel the same about your grappling defense!

[Uke]

While I don't disagree with the previous posts, I look at covering the worst possible scenarios in my self defense training, IMO ground fighting and knife/armed attack. Kali teaches you how to deal with the latter, but I think you need to back yourself up with some form of grappling. At the very least you should be able to defend against a grappler and get back up.
The answers are not always within your system, just look at the way grappling systems teach knife defense... well, they feel the same about your grappling defense!

This is true. Understanding how to get back to your feet while not taking damage is an invaluable skill. But Kali, or at least a good, solid Kali system teaches that by using drills that involve ground combat from the guard and mounted positions. And the Dumog part of the training is a good way to avoid going to the ground all together.

As we move forward passed the age of tradition, arts are beginning to acknowledge their own shortcomings and address them by adopting tactics that easily blend in with whatever is the core of what they've been teaching and training.

[chillaplata]

I don't know whether there is a good school near you, but you might consider training in JKD Concepts (i.e., Guro Dan Inosanto's approach to JKD). At my school (and I think at pretty much any school run by an instructor under Guro), Kali is taught as a central element of the curriculum, together with kickboxing and trapping techniques. Most good JKDC schools also offer some form of grappling training.

In my (highly noobish) view, the key advantage of Guro's approach over other kinds of cross-training in is that the various arts will be taught as part of an integrated method of fighting across all ranges of combat. If you were to cross-train on your own, it would be up to you to work out for yourself how your different styles fit together. Nothing wrong with that if you can make it work, but Guro has devoted his lifetime (he just turned 70) to studying an incredible variety of arts and incorporating the best aspects of each of them into his personal expression of JKD. If you train under one of his instructors, you will have the benefit of that learning.

I don't mean to come across as a JKDC zealot, just to make the point that if you do Kali and one of Guro's instructors has a school near you you really owe it to yourself to check it out.

[chillaplata]

Oh and there some cool other south east asia arts like silat I was thining about.

Guro Dan has studied silat extensively: some of his instructors offer training in silat and many incorporate techniques from silat into their JKDC curriculum.

[Uke]

But I will still stress learning a thing before moving on. Today's recipe of "A little of this, a little of that" prevents you from understanding the underlying principles of an art that aren't always apparent in descriptions and explanations. And if your understanding of what you're doing isn't there, how can you train your reflexes to respond correctly? How can you under pressure make split second decisions if you don't understand what the goal of your training and techniques are?

Sure, a guy who reads up on aikido can surmise that the art is about redirecting force without using strength by using footwork and unbalancing techniques. But such a broad generalization does little to inform a man as to how to defend himself with that knowledge. It only oversimplifies it in order to make the practitioner feel smarter and more informed. But when its time to show how proficient they are using those skills that feel they know intimately, they're execution looks shitty.

My point? Doing a thing just long enough so that you can carry on a conversation about it doesn't help your self defense ability. You have to do it and feel it and ponder its applications in order to be proficient. I don't want to slap on a label that says you have to do a thing for any specified amount of time because there are phenoms and exceptions to the rule that learn things incredibly fast. I use the 3-5 year rule because its enough time to study, practice, spar and teach a thing so that you can understand its subtle nuances and condition your reflexes to respond and perform under duress. Studying several things over a 3-5 year span means you'll learn the "moves", but you won't be proficient at the system.

Proof of this are the legions of disgruntled "former" practitioners of various systems that swear that they don't work, even though they wouldn't stand much of a chance against those who are proficient at it in a real fight. You'll find a lot of guys migrating to popularly marketed methods and systems because they didn't want to stick with a thing long enough to get it to work.

Just create a foundation, make it strong and understand all of it. If you want to move on, do not forsake your foundation unless you find that your foundation is inhibiting your growth.

[HeadHunter01]

Check out Fight House NYC. We train there as well as Redbank, NJ and Piscataway, NJ.


Here is the site Kuntawkali.com

Respects,

Errol

[Uke]

I don't mean to come across as a JKDC zealot, just to make the point that if you do Kali and one of Guro's instructors has a school near you you really owe it to yourself to check it out.

I prefer Sayoc Kali to Inosantos. Check out Inosanto's schools, then check out a Sayoc affiliated school. All knife all the time.

[chillaplata]

Darthmaul,

Like a dumbass I neglected to check out your location field before I posted. If you are interested in JKDC, you should drop by my school:

https://www.andersonsmartialarts.com

Our Sifu and a couple of the assistant instructors are very talented Kali guys. One of the assistants recently won a national stickfighting championship and placed second in the related world championship.

I prefer Sayoc Kali to Inosantos. Check out Inosanto's schools, then check out a Sayoc affiliated school. All knife all the time.

Uke,

How does Sayoc Kali differ from the Kali taught by Guro Inosanto and his instructors? (Obviously a greater concentration on knife, from what you're saying, but what other differences are there?) I've only trained Kali as part of JKDC, and that only for about a year and a half, so I have no clue about Sayoc Kali. Interested to hear your thoughts, as you sound like a knowledgeable Kali guy.

[Uke]

Well first, you are right about Sayoc Kali being an all knife all the time system. There focus IMO is much more heavily placed on combat rather than on the beauty and tradition of the art. I've seen Inosanto brand FMA and while he is a master and I have major respect for him, it isn't as direct to the point and doesn't focus on the objective of combat: killing. Every strike in Sayoc kali is a mortal wounding shot. He set up the transition drills not only to train the target spots, but also to be able to be proficient on knife disarms and parrying which is impressive.

They also do something that I've never seen other schools do. They use knives as projectiles often. They walk around with several knives on their person and some of them are used to throw. They say its to gauge the opponent's skill level. I say its to kill before it gets up close and personal, but hey, we live in a politically correct society.

Anyway, check it out if you can. This is not meant to put down Inosanto MA as he is already a legend in his own right. I'm saying that I prefer what I've seen in Sayoc to Inosanto's interpretation of Kali.

[Sun_Helmet]

I prefer Sayoc Kali to Inosantos. Check out Inosanto's schools, then check out a Sayoc affiliated school. All knife all the time.

If an Inosanto affiliated school is in your area, I would recommend it. If there is a Sayoc school there - they would also recommend going to Manong Dan's school as well as attending their own. He's one of our mentors and if the instructor has the same outlook as Manong Dan - you'll be fine.

I would recommend thinking outside of the box as well - a survival course, a firearm's course, an ethics class, a first aid class, a lifeguard course, driving course... martial arts goes beyond fighting.

--Rafael--
Sayoc Kali