Does your FMA typically train with a variety of weapons?

geezer

Grandmaster
MT Mentor
Joined
Oct 20, 2007
Messages
7,364
Reaction score
3,571
Location
Phoenix, AZ
Does your FMA train primarily with one particular weapon of a standardized size and weight, for example a 1" x 28" stick, or do you frequently change it up using a variety of different weapons of different weights, sizes, and capabilities?

By this I don't just mean impact weapons as well blades, but also vastly different sizes and weights ranging from bare hands, to palm sticks, to box-cutters, to baseball bats, to machetes, to long staffs ...and, of course, "improvised weapons of opportunity"?
 

Brian R. VanCise

MT Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Sep 9, 2004
Messages
27,758
Reaction score
1,520
Location
Las Vegas, Nevada
In IRT it is varied in every class. From stick, to longer stick, to long blade, short blade, etc. improvised weaponry and more. A lot of variety.
 

Charlemagne

Black Belt
Joined
Jun 19, 2016
Messages
691
Reaction score
245
Location
Texas, USA
Does your FMA train primarily with one particular weapon of a standardized size and weight, for example a 1" x 28" stick, or do you frequently change it up using a variety of different weapons of different weights, sizes, and capabilities?

By this I don't just mean impact weapons as well blades, but also vastly different sizes and weights ranging from bare hands, to palm sticks, to box-cutters, to baseball bats, to machetes, to long staffs ...and, of course, "improvised weapons of opportunity"?

Our system is built around a few specific weapons categories, namely:
  • Solo and double ginunting
  • Espada y daga
  • Solo and double daga
  • Bankaw (staff)
  • Sibat (spear)
  • Flexible weapons (I actually see PTK doing very little of this, but I know it exists)
  • mano y mano

That being said, if you understand the principles of range, timing, footwork, and weapon manipulation, you can easily transfer to to other things such as impact weapons, hatchet/tomahawk, karambit, etc.

Here is a good example. Pekiti Tirsia has not classically taught kerambit. Only in recent years as karambit has gained popularity have you seen people training it in PTK. The same can be said for tomahawk. However, that does not stop anyone from taking the understandings of movement and weapon manipulation and applying it to a different weapon.

Here is a good video showing our normal abecedario, simply done with tomahawk.


Here is a good example of karambit work done with very little alterations to our daga curriculum (albeit it with manipulations which are specific to the weapon).


We also do some work with tactical flashlights/palm sticks/tactical pens, etc.

 
Last edited:

Blindside

Grandmaster
Founding Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2001
Messages
5,175
Reaction score
849
Location
Kennewick, WA
Just for convenience sake we tend to use the same tools fairly regularly. Most of the time I use a 31" stick, but I try to use the 28 and 24 inch sticks regularly in sparring. We use polymer training blades regularly as well using a variety of long blade designs. Training knives are usually folder stand ins though once in a while we break out the larger training knives. Infrequently use staffs and spears and tomahawks and arming swords and baseball bats and axe handles.
 

Latest Discussions

Top