Help Me Out Here Folks

[SOUTHPAW]

I am pretty new to "traditional" martial arts of any style. I have an extensive backround in western boxing, and more recently have started training in Muay Thai as well. I am also very interested in the Filipino arts such as Kali and Escrima. I am a little confused about which is which or what they entail. I had always thought that Escrima involved mostly stick/baton fighting? Then I hear about JKD "concepts" and it just adds to my confusion. Can anyone help clarify these styles for me?Humble thanks in advance.

SP

[Juramentado]

From what I understand, JKD concepts include the study of FMA techniques mainly to teach a specific concept. So JKD only teaches a part of FMA, not a whole system.

Escrima / Arnis / Kali are all fundamentaly the same and the differences between them are a source of controversy; the answer you'll get depends greatly on who you ask.

One way to differentiate between styles is to look at emphasis, training methods and techniques. Some styles are more blade oriented than others and some have more empty hand techniques than the rest. Some prefer sparring with a lot of gear while others like to spar with minimal protection.

Read up on the major styles and see what interests you.

Hope that helps,

[kruzada]

It seems as though you are already studying most of what is covered in JKD Concepts. But keep an open mind about changing your path, and studying the FMA as an independant style.

You don't have to give up what you know, but sometimes you might come across certain realizations that might lead you to "omit" some of the less effective or impractical techniques that you have been taught.

The FMA have been battle tested, and although some are "mixed" arts themselves, they are usually very combative, as opposed to other MA that are sports oriented such as the arts that you have already studied.

Techniques that work in the ring can be dangerous to use in a real self defense situation i.e; High kicks in uneven maybe even wet terrain, Closed fist strikes to the head (a good way to break your hand), and the limitation of Ground grappling (which addresses only one opponent at a time, when you may very well end up fighting multiple attackers on the street, possibly armed with knives and other weapons).

Many FMA styles address all of these possiblities in their curriculum from a very strong base grounded in reality. The trick is finding one that you feel comfortable with.

Hope this helps you. Good luck in your search.

Rich Acosta

[SOUTHPAW]

Many thanks to all of you for your knowledgable and informative replies. I am looking forward to learning more about and studying the Filipino martial arts. thanks again.

[NuffSpeed]

Boxing and Muay Thai are only pieces of JKD concepts, there is a whole spectrum of other things incorporated.

[kruzada]

I realize that my post suggested that JKDC is comprised of mostly boxing and MT, but I am aware of that there is much more to the JKDC curriculum.

Thank you for pointing that inconsistency out. I actually realized my mistake as I clicked the "post reply" button.

JKDC is very well rounded covering MAPHILINDO (Malaysian, Indonesian, Filipino) Silat, various interpretations of the FMA (Inosanto Blend among others), French Savate, Jun Fan Gung Fu (Modified Wing Chun), Jun Fan Kickboxing, BJJ and a host of other arts depending on whom you study with.

JKDC is not limited to these arts and is always expanding their base of knowledge.