Manong Angel, "You are teaching me outside number one. I first step out
to my left after he strikes to the left side of my neck or head and
then I must swing my right foot back behind me to re-align my body.
Why?" He could have said because "he" said so, but instead smiled and
calmly answered my question. Manong Angel answered my question very
simply, as he answered most Escrima related questions. He had an innate
ability for answering (we felt) complicated questions very simply and
that many of us (his students) found very perplexing. Answering my
questions very simply was a blessing, because at times I was truly a
dumb-ass. I found mystery in the very fiber of Serrada Escrima. Serrada
was a deadly art form from a far off Archepalego. Small brown men with
fabulous fighting abilities was fascinating. His art had mystical
beginnings and hidden origins, yet Manong Angel's answers were never
mysterious at all, but were simple, direct, always pushed effectiveness
and were usually deadly answers to deadly questions. He always answered
simply, but I have grown to discover that taking complex information and
being able to distill the information down into simple answers, truly
requires thorough knowledge of a subject matter. If you can't answer
something very simply: You probably don't really understand the
question, or the subject matter. This is where I developed my saying
that, "Simple movements practiced over time become deadly". Utter
simplicity in my martial arts was something that took years for me to
understand and that I have yet to even begin achieving. Simple and
direct beats complicated most of the time. Perfect basics are unbelievably hard to perfect and even harder to overcome. To me, a well
thought out martial art has to be inherently fast by design, must be
easy to apply, must have redundant movements, should not require great
physical strength or speed and these are stringent requirements. Asking
these things of any martial art is quite a request. Many arts propose
that their arts posses these qualities, but unless the individual
practitioner of an art fully understands a system's underpinnings and
can display their art effectively: Their claims are just words. I didn't
know of these things decades ago, nor even cared to know of such
things. I just wanted to hit someone, before someone could hit me back. I
needed to believe that Serrada Escrima possessed mystical powers and was unbeatable against any opponent. We live and we learn. What the years
of practicing my art have done for me is to slowly bring me to the
conclusion that "any" art form only provides a theoretical frame work to
start from and that if we remain within the given arts basic
guidelines, the art form can and will many times get us home safely, if
the art is well thought out. Yet, at some point in any martial artist's
growth: He must start releasing shackles and the restraints of his
parent art and venture forth alone and at times, very lonely. He has to
make himself the martial art and not have the art form make him. Any art
form is just a guideline. In order for "you" to perfect your self: You
must become the guide and "you" must perfect yourself. What someone said
or did to help you perfect your self, how ever much appreciated, will
never be truly understood by you, until "you" can fully decipher the
true meanings of the words and movements given to you and this can only
be done when "you" make the effort to do so. In the end,"You may not be
seeking to pit your knowledge against your Master's", or seek to develop
a new and more improved art and I do see where this may happen. I am
talking about fully understanding the underpinnings of your chosen art
form by empowering your self. When we can do this...when we can fully
decipher a system's movements, theories, applications and taboo's, then
and only then do we fully understand our chosen art's. If we can learn
to understand the physics of movement, human physiology, human anatomy,
psychology, strategy, timing, etc., of man: Than we can move within the
guidelines of our system's, or choose to go outside the guidelines at
will if needed, because we are "not" limited by anything or anyone, we
will understand what few seek and even fewer achieve: True martial
ability.
