Eskrima or Escrima refers to Filipino Martial Arts that emphasize stick and sword fighting. Other terms which have common usage include Kali (martial art of the Philippines) and Arnis de Mano (harness of the hands), occasionally the abbreviation FMA (Filipino Martial Arts) is used. Eskrima and Arnis are some of the many names primarily used in the Philippines today to refer to these arts.

This type of training is super – especially for beginners – as it is actually easy and very natural to learn, unlike some styles of Karate and Kung Fu. No training in static postures or stances. It allows a person with a light baton of rattan, or a modern, lightweight telescopic steel baton to face down multiple attackers at one time and will defeat any other weapon short of a gun against most attackers. It is the preferred weapon for defense against a knife as well – since the reach advantage is in the hands of the stick fighter. The learning time is minimal to attain enough skill to defend yourself from “most” attackers too! 

Using a simple steel baton for self defense purposes is very good choice. The baton is used as an extension of your arm, and lends itself to a natural and swift learning curve. It doesn’t take long to learn a few of the basic strikes and blocks. Although some formal training is excellent, it can be learned by watching a video tape – it’s really easy to learn if you give it a fair try!

The weapon, whether rattan or lightweight steel is light and almost anyone can swing one with devastating force in a very short time.  A strike to the head is going to be the end of the fight and possibly the attacker’s life – use caution with power shots to the head and neck – unless your life is on the line!

Burglar Pays for Intrusion With His Life

A Texas couple’s home was recently burglarized by a pair of armed robbers. The wife was awakened and found herself confronted by a pair of gun wielding burglars, one armed with a handgun and the other a shotgun. Warned to be quiet, she was turned into a real tigress when the man with the shotgun became distracted for a second which allowed her an opportunity to grab the muzzle and turn it away from her children’s room. Screaming for her son to grab his little brother to hide, she then began screaming for her husband (not in the room obviously) to help – never letting go of the grip that held the deadly shotgun barrel at bay.

She was then assisted by her husband who tackled the man and as they wrestled for control of the shotgun, she cracked him squarely in the head with a “jar” candle. Her husband then shot the pistol packing burglar who immediately ran away, then turned his attention to the man he had disarmed. As the burglar made a lunge for him he let fly at him with the shotgun but only temporarily stunned and injured the crook, he charged again as his wife screamed “shoot him again.” He then shot him again promptly and killed him with the second attempt.

The husband stated that he felt badly that someone had to die but expressed joy the his family was safe. Local law enforcement officials found that he had only acted in defense of his family and no charges would be filed against him for the shooting. It kind of makes you wonder why more people don’t have a firearm of their own to defend the family rather than an alarm system or pepper spray.

I kind of agree with a friend who blithely remarked: “Don’t you know that having a gun in your house is more dangerous for you than for bad guys? At least, that’s what all the anti-gun advocates keep saying. Anyway, it was nice of these bad guys to bring their own gun to the party so the homeowner could shoot them with it and not have to worry about the safety issues of having a gun of his own!”