FMAT: Chris "Lt. X" Pizzo and Noble Learning Systems, Inc.

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Chris "Lt. X" Pizzo and Noble Learning Systems, Inc.
By The Fighting Edge - Sat, 07 Jul 2007 16:56:49 GMT
Originally Posted at: FMATalk

====================

Hello Fellow FMA Community members!

Nothing makes me angrier than people taking advantage of the public with so called “Secret” Training. Especially when they pass it off as having Special Operations origins. I got into this guys automated email cue and here is the first piece of marketing dribble he sent me. It is also posted on a site which allows comments… http://ezinearticles.com/?Kali---The-Filipino-Cultural-Art-of-Stick-and-Knife-Fighting&id=617956So let’s give him some feedback and see if we can’t stop jokers like this from spreading their garbage! If you have any questions regarding this guys claims of SF involvement… I currently serve in the 3rd Special Forces and am quite knowledgeable of current and recent training provided throughout USASOC.

Hi Jason,

Every culture throughout history has created some form of martial art so their people can defend themselves in a time of crisis.

But as we already know; the only true
test of a martial art is in actual combat.

Known as Kali in Europe and the United States, the knife and stick fighting based art is actually called Eskrima or Arnis by the Filipino people. It is said that the art was developed over centuries during many intertribal conflicts and wars with outside invaders.

Those who practice Kali claim that is more then just a cultural art and remains an effective form of self defense that can be taught to someone quickly. And while on paper Kali seems like it has a lot to offer, both its historical data and self defense methodology say otherwise.

Many Filipino martial artists cite the Battle of Mactan, which occurred on April 27, 1521 as proof that their system works in battle. Warriors of Lapu-Lapu, a chieftain of Mactan Island, defeated a landing force of Spanish sailors and soldiers under the command of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan.

Magellan's forces were armed with crossbows and muskets, but were heavily outnumbered by the natives. The overwhelming tribal force cut them down and the famous explorer was killed.

The major flaw with this isolated example, is that it is the only successful battle of hundreds throughout the sad but true history of a conquered people. The Spanish Conquistadors went on to conquer all of the islands with ease and held them until the United States invaded in 1898.

The conquistadors were skilled warriors even without muskets and cannons, because they forged their skills on the battlefields of Europe for centuries fighting the also highly skilled Muslim invaders???Not a bunch of tribal natives.

Spain's fighting men conquered huge amounts of territory, and destroyed ancient empires with discipline, superior tactics, and hard training. The unfortunate tribal warriors of the Philippines (and their cultural fighting art of Kali) were no different than any other native conquest to the Conquistadors.

But historical insignificance is not the only chink in the Kali armor.

While it isn't fair to discount Kali simply because its practitioners main focus is blades and sticks (they also do practice some grappling and empty hand techniques), but this kind of training is hampered in the real world.

It has not been socially acceptable to carry a sword in public in over 100 years and there are many restrictions on smaller bladed weapons.

And although Kali stick fighting looks impressive to the untrained eye, I have yet to hear of one person beaten to death by a pair of Escrima sticks.

All said and done, someone armed with an ordinary wooden baseball bat or axe handle, could undoubtedly finish off one of these so called ???dangerous?? stick fighters in a heartbeat.

Like any cultural fighting art, I don't condemn anyone for spending their time practicing Kali because it seems like a decent physical conditioning method and a heck of a lot of fun.

And while weapons training can be a great addition to your close combat toolbox, learning from these conquered people is not the answer as it is clearly not a legitimate method of self defense.

Train Smart,

Chris "Lt. X" Pizzo
www.TopSecretTraining.com

PS. Go get some REAL self defense training at some EXTREMELY LOW prices as we finish up our "overstock"warehouse clearance week here at www.topsecrettraining.com.

To grab a some mighty discounts on our PROVEN close-combat training packages, simply type "ALERT"
in the special code box on your sjhopping cart before you check out. Go now => www.topsecrettraining.com

PPSS. If you haven't already nabbed your fre.e Accelerated Battlefield Combatives learning package ($984 value) then click on http://www.topsecrettraining.com/abc directly

Copyright, Noble Learning Systems, Inc 2007

** All material contained in this email is provided for informational purposes only. The author of this email, and associated companies cannot assume any responsibility or liability for any injuries or losses that you may incur as a result of acting upon any information provided.
Always consult a physician before beginning or changing any diet or fitness program.**

This email is protected by copyright, 2007, Noble Learning Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction of any portion of this email is strictly prohibited without the express written consent of Noble Learning Systems, Inc.

Chris "Lt. X" Pizzo
Noble Learning Systems, Inc.
400 D Lake Street- Suite C
Ramsey NJ 07446 USA
[email protected]
http://www.topsecrettraining.com
http://www.closecombatpros.org

Customer Service:

For FASTEST response ==>
http://topsecrettraining.com/help
(Use the FAQ Knowledgebase or Submit a Help Ticket Directly)

917-546-6870 Phone (M-F 9-5 EST)
973-863-7475 FAX



[email protected]

Respond to this garbage at this site http://ezinearticles.com/?Kali---The-Filipino-Cultural-Art-of-Stick-and-Knife-Fighting&id=617956

This email [email protected]

Or this number (good luck on this one) or fax: 917-546-6870 Phone (M-F 9-5 EST), 973-863-7475 FAX

Here is some great info provided by Tuhon, Artist, and Scholar Raphael Kayanan in case you had any doubts regarding this lamers filth!

“The major flaw with this isolated example, is
that it is the only successful battle of hundreds
throughout the sad but true history of a
conquered people." Chris "Lt. X" Pizzo


Hopefully his martial art instruction is not as badly researched as his history.

Here's just a small sampling of quotes from those who were there and actually saw the combative prowess of the natives.

--Rafael--

"In hand to hand combat our soldiers are simply no match for the Moro. If our first shot misses the target, we rarely have time to get off another."

This quote was written by Cornelius C. Smith, Jr - Thirty year US Army veteran of the Indian wars (he fought Apache, Comanche, Lakota etc.) and the Moro campaigns.

Smith received a Congressional Medal of Honor for gallantry against the Sioux. For his gallantry he was sent to Mindanao to fight the Moros.
----
In the latter part of 1642, the Conquistador Capitan Morales with 150 Spaniards and 450 Visayan warriors went on an expedition to Parang.

This was the conquistador's final mission.

The warriors of Parang funneled the Spanish forces deeper into the interior of the Sulu jungle.
Morales was said to have called these warriors "dogs" along the way until a well aimed bamboo spear silenced him forever.
Along with Morales, 39 Spanish soldiers also died in this battle.
The Parang Sulus numbered 70 but their tactics enabled them to defeat 600 Spaniards and their Visayan allies. Info from Muslims in the Philippines, Majul

-----

" while the Spaniards were in the open, and there was no path by which to mount, the Spaniards began to fall dead and wounded; while the Moros received no damage..." from Blair and Robertson

-----

The death of Captain Lopez Suarez
"a brave soldier" along twenty six other Spanish soldiers at Basilan. The use of a Moro spear is noted as impaling another captain named Ome, who was said to have defeated the Moro who ran him through. It is not indicated whether Ome used a sword, lance or firearm but one would suspect that at the longer range of a spear, his weapon would possibly be of equal or greater range. Eventually, the Spanish retreated with the wounded Ome. The skirmish was described by the Spanish as a "great loss" ....

----

The Moros Buysan and Silongan were two rulers of islands that faced "OUR islands of Pintados" who gathered a great fleet of roughly 150 vessels, and armed their warriors with a "large number of arquebuse and muskets". The Moros were 6000 - 8000 strong and captured "ALL of our (Spanish) ships" and made themselves "masters of the land and sea". The Moros also captured and defeated so many Christianized Indians (most possibly Visayans, Pampangans) at so great a number that "it would break one's heart to tell it." Just one Moro raid the captives were over 2500! (page 93, Vol 29 Blair and Robertson).

----

Datu Achen
was compared by the Spanish to the "most destructive of African pirates". His reputation was of slaying and making prisoners of Spaniards and their Indian allies. Datu Achen overran the Pintado island (Visayas) and "carried away (Spanish) artillery and firearms" . Datu Achen's and fellow Mindanaons and Joloans' ships were described as "remarkably swift and so have great advantage over ours (Spanish ships)"

----

"When the Spanish ruled in the Philippines, they had made a few attempts to tame the Headhunters by force, but were repelled with heavy losses." pg. 31 Sun, Slaves and Sinners, Travels in the Philippines 1964, by Karl Eskelund
----

"... But their natural weapon is the bola (sp note: 'bolo') , or native knife, used in peace and war.
The one weapon above all other with which they gained such advantage as they did with the Spanish. It has no regulation size or shape. The most common type used in warfare is between two or three feet in length, including the handle, and has a wide, thick blade edged like a guillotine. When wielded by a frantic Philippino in the heat of battle, it is a formidable instrument of death, which is capable of cutting a human head clear from its seat at a single blow, split the body from shoulder to hip, or cleave a skull in twain. At the call to charge, these native troops discard all other weapons and spring to wild attack hand to hand, wield the bola with a terrible effect." Major General Joseph Wheeler, 'The New America and the Far East' page 303. copyright 1901, 1910
---

"We fear them (Filipino natives) more than we do the Spanish."
Lieu. G.F. Teller 2nd Regiment, Infty, OR USV
Stationed in Cavite, July 18, 1898

---

"Spain failed to conquer them because she feared the general hatred of the Moslem for the Christian. Our soldiers will find them to be fierce foes at close quarters. They take great care of their arms. On making an attack they make hideous faces to scare their opponents. They protect their heads and bodies with immense shields, below which their legs are kept vibrating to resist missiles. When bayoneted they seize the barrels of the soldier's muskets and drive the steel further into them, that they may get close enough to kill their adversaries before falling....They behead their enemies by a peculiar continuation of the same movement with which they draw their huge knives.” Colonel Hilder, US Army

----
"The courage of the warrior and the skill with which he wielded his weapons always aroused the respect and esteem of the individual in the group." PG. 73 Peoples of the Philippines - by the American historian, Krieger 1942

---

It was a battle on September 13, 1900 where 37 Filipino bolomen led by Maximo Abad defeated an American force of 100 soldiers in one of the few hand to hand skirmishes of that time. The Americans retreated after suffering a lot of casualties and were eventually trapped the next day. Brutality ensued as the bolomen hacked many of the soldiers to pieces before Abad could control them.

It was a serious lesson for the US troops and few hand to hand skirmishes followed after the Pulang Lupa defeat.


----

General Henry Ware Lawton a hardened Civil War, Apache and Spanish American veteran and Medal of Honor recipient. Under General Miles, Lawton led the expedition that eventually captured another Geronimo... the famous Apache chief on September 1886.General Lawton wrote about the Filipinos:

"Taking into account the disadvantages they have to fight against arms, equipment and military discipline, - without artilley, short of ammunition, powder inferior, shells reloaded until they are defective.... they are the bravest men I have ever seen... What we want is to stop this accursed war... These men are indomitable. "

General Lawton was eventually killed in battle in the Philippines.

---
on the 23rd of July, after five days of non-stop shooting and hand-to-hand fighting, the Spanish defenders finally raised the flag of surrender.
On July 23, 1989 General Federico J. Cevallos and his Spanish forces capitulated. There was much rejoicing as the Filipino revolutionary forces finally succeeded in booting out the Spaniards from the province of Pangasinan.




And I swear… if any of you guys support this guy or peddle his crap… you’re a loser too and in my books have just lost all credibility as a Martial Artist… especially a FMA.


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