FMA refers to the Filipino Martial Arts. Modern Arnis, Kali & Eskrima are all forms of Filipino Fighting Arts. There are hundreds of different styles of these stick fighting arts each with there own theories of combat, weapon preferences & stylistic differences.
Not at all! Matter of fact nothing could be further from the truth. People confuse the Filipino arts as having no empty hand component because when you start the FMA you usually start off learning solo baston (single stick) techniques. What the general public does not realize is that anything you learn with a weapon translates into empty hand self defense or using what is at hand to defend yourself! The FMA has joint locks, hand trapping, punching techniques, sipa (kicking) and dumog (Filipino wrestling). All movements are based of the use of the single & double baston (stick) and are interchangeable with the stick, blade or empty hand.
You might think so but if you give a black belt student in karate a stick and a martial artist trained in the Filipino Martial Arts a stick, you will quickly see the FMA fighter quickly dispose of his Karate counterpart. Why? Because the traditional training a karate student learns is not effective when it comes to a FMA based system of self defense. The karate student has to unlearn and retrain his body to respond. The FMA student adapts, redirects & flows. The concepts learned in the FMA are proven in combat. The Filipinos did not have years of training to "get ready" for a fight or invasion of their country.. So they developed techniques...simple techniques, that were deadly effective, easy to learn and easy to teach to the masses in a relativity short time. Everything from effective hand positioning, body movement, striking angles and using different weapons including empty hand techniques interchangeably without having to unlearn the previous techniques taught. The strength of the Filipino Martial Arts is their adaptability to the moment. If you are choosing a martial art to be able to defend yourself, not to necessarily get a black belt, then I would recommend you enroll in our F.M.A. program of Modern Arnis, Kali & Eskrima. When our school competes with others in stick fighting tournaments our intermediate and advanced students routinely beat experienced black belts of karate, kung fu & taekwondo, many ranks higher than themselves. Of course these are tournaments and not actual street encounters but it does help to validate the effectiveness and simplicity of the Filipino Arts over other styles of martial arts.
Simple...Limited kicking & grappling ability. Yes the FMA has kicks. Usually low line kicking is emphasized, usually to the knee or lower leg. Also sweeping and takedowns with the legs are often found in the the Filipino martial arts. However there is no kicking system that can compare to the Korean systems of Tae-kwon-do or Tang-so-do. The F.M.A. also has dumog (Filipino Wrestling) but it does not even come close to the ground fighting ability of Japanese Judo or Brazilian Jujitsu.
With other styles of martial arts such as Karate, Taekwondo & Kung Fu you spend most of the class time (80%) practicing individual techniques such as static punching, kata, striking & kicking targets etc and very little time (20%) practicing with a partner. In the Filipino martial arts it is almost impossible to learn without having a partner to train with. At least 80% of our class time is spent working with a partner doing drills, blocking & checking skills, footwork, takedowns, joint locks, sparring, etc and very little time (20%) is spent on individual training such as striking drills etc. This is why the FMA student is able to learn what we call the "invisible techniques" & attributes such as timing, proper distancing, free flowing, reaction time etc, faster than that of a karate, taekwondo or kung fu student or other practitioners of martial arts that involve solo training. It is not that other styles don't possess these skills it just takes their students longer to learn those techniques because you need to spend more time working with partners to learn these skills. This is why anyone who is in a art such as karate can benefit by cross training in the F.M.A. Imagine trying to learn Judo, Jujitsu or Aikido without having a partner to work with! It would be next to impossible. Those styles also involve most of the class working with a partner.
There is no upper age limit. The beauty of the FMA is that you can continue to study up into your 70s & 80s where in other arts you may not be able to do that. The U.M.S.A. does not usually accept any students younger than 12 years old into our full time F.M.A. program. Exceptions can be made depending on the maturity of the student. Talk with the instructor for details.
Class starts out with some general warm up exercises and then progress to single & double stick striking techniques, foot work & angling. There is an intensive amount of partner drills and exercises that involve disarming, counter striking, takedowns, joint locks, sparring, knife & blade work, sword techniques, empty hand striking & hand trapping & low line kicking. The focus with the FMA is on simple direct techniques that work! Ok...I am excited to start...now what do I do? Click here for list of where we teach the F.M.A. program.
What do I need to purchase for your Modern Arnis class?
You will need to purchase our school uniform within the first month of class if you are going to stay in our program. On the first day of class the instructor will have Arnis sticks available for purchase. You will need two sticks for the class. After the second month of training you will need a padded training weapon. If you stay beyond the 3rd month it is expected that you get your own safety gear for the class. Headguard & hand guards are a required minimum. Optional equipment includes elbow & knee pads. See the instructor to purchase the required equipment. As you advance in skill it is mandatory that you get a training knife & practice sword for advanced techniques.
How long does it take to earn a black belt in the Filipino Martial Arts?
You can earn a black belt in the F.M.A. in around 2.5 to 4 years. This depends on your overall dedication to practice & attendance. To see our average rank chart and belt progression click here. M.A.T.T. refers to the minimum active training time. The amount of time one is actively training in the Filipino martial arts. If you take time off for summer then your M.A.T.T. time is only 9 months, not 12 months.