Shoot Straight And Speak the Truth

 It’s been a year since the pandemic forced most of us to seriously look into different ways of doing things, training included. The silver lining, however, is that it also made numerous instructors around the world see the possibilities of using technology to reach potential students in remote places, thus creating great opportunity for both instructors and students.

I didn’t think twice about jumping on such opportunity to join the 4-week course conducted by Celestino “Tinni” Macachor, the founder of the Filipino stick fighting system called Estokada De Campo. I first became aware of him back in 2007 when he co-authored the book titles Cebuano Eskrima: Beyond the Myth, which caused considerable turmoil with the FMA community for its factual approach to dispelling many of the myths and tall tales that were being perpetuated almost as sacred texts over decades.

I am not going to review the book here (although, if you are an adept of arnis or eskrima, this should be on your list of mandatory literature), but his writing style appealed to me, and it is also reflected in his conversational style – open, honest, and straightforward to the point of bluntness; great sense of humor and a healthy dose of humility…the exact right recipe to my liking.

Interestingly enough, mang Tinni’s original martial discipline was (and still is) practical pistol-craft of the IPSC orientation, but he took eskrima in the late 1980’s, studying in the Eskrima De Campo school under revered professor Ireneo Olavides, the heir to legendary grandmaster Jose Caballero, and currently the head of his own organization EDC JDC-IO. Although having been in the council of elders within that organization, mang Tinni (the way he prefers to be addressed) decided to step away so that the dislike and venomous comments that he attracted following the publishing of the aforementioned book wouldn’t affect the circle of brethren in JDC-IO.

Instead, he went into recluse for a decade, teaching only selected private students, and then in 2018 launched  his own interpretation of combative stick training methodology, which he named Estokada De Campo (EDC for short).

Macachor’s training and teaching philosophy based on the functional athletic approach, meant to develop skills that work under the pressure of sparring against resisting opponents. If you are acquainted with my earlier blog materials, it won’t come as a surprise that I like it.

For the purposes of the online course (with limited attendance of 10 students from Europe, USA and the Philippines) mang Tinni put together a streamlined curriculum, very well thought out – in a logical, sequential manner, so that each block of instruction leads students smoothly to the next. This provides for the better understanding and faster assimilation of the material, i.e. its functional application.

Mang Tinni in action

Specifically, the first week covered the fundamentals of mechanical efficiency regarding the grip on the stick and execution of basic strikes, which were then put together into several combos (called BOSS – basic offensive strike series) done from the closed and open guard positions; the second block of instruction was dedicated to a different tactical application of striking angles (cirkulo); the third segment focused on one of the hallmarks of the system – kadlit; while the final session presented further methods of doble golpes and Caballero enganyo.

The format of instruction was such that man Tinni taught during weekly Zoom sessions, and over the following week the participants would film themselves performing the material, to be analyzed and corrected within a private discussion group on Facebook. I liked this setting for several reasons: it gave enough time to the instructor to really explain and demonstrate in detail the material planned for the given lesson, as well as to answer any potential questions in real time, while he was able to subsequently pay close attention to each individual student for coaching tips and correction. Also, it means all the participants were able to learn from each other’s examples, as it would be the case in a live setting.

Photo: courtesy of Celestino Macachor

The instructional sessions were conducted with attention to detail and ample examples and parallels with other  types of activities, in order to better depict the desired effect. In line with his honest nature, mang Tinni never missed the chance to give credit where it is due, i.e. mentioning the people who taught him what he knew or had contributed to his understanding of the art. On top of that, since none of the students in this particular batch were beginners, he also repeatedly praised our previous instructors for having instilled certain good habits and attitude. As a side note, it was fairly impressive to see a gentleman of his age perform the way he did.

Finally, the mark of a true teacher, Macachor repeatedly noted that the point of training is not to mimic his exact way of movement, but rather to make the material your own by refining it through training and testing, so that it would be effective for the end user. This focus on prioritizing individual students over general curriculum is what will lead to favorable outcome.

In the case of EDC, after this module of instruction, in mang Tinni’s words: “It will not make you unbeatable, but you will be able to competently hold your own in a stick fight”. And let me tell you - you can take his word for it!

On a side note, I would like to extend my gratitude to Mr. Steve Del Castillo of the Bunal Brand, who ably provided the logistics for the whole program, and whom you may contact to join the next batch of students, starting on April 9.

Knowledge that sticks, in 1...2...3...

The issue of weapons training can be contentious issue from various aspects, be it the choice of tools (firearms circles seem to be ridiculous with constant bickering over the best caliber, makes, models etc.), or relevance of some of those tools nowadays (like, does it make sense practicing fencing). As always, my approach is contextual – the legislation here is very prohibitive of firearms, so I focus on the “weapons” that require the least legal hassle, in terms of owning and carry, and most carryover in terms of training being applicable to various improvised weapons. So, in the end, it means impact and edged weapons.

It is a widespread belief that some of the best methods of use of such implements can be found among the exponents of Filipino martial arts (FMA). While I have found out that there are other approaches that are just as valid, while of different geographical origins, it is definitely true that some of the arnis and eskrima systems (oh, all right…and kali, too) have a lot to offer in this regard. That said, although I have trained in various methodologies, my foundation for weapons handling is the Astig Lameco system of eskrima.

If you run even a cursory research on Lameco, you will find that it is formulated on the founder Edgar Sulite’s background in several traditional Filipino systems, five of them being main influences. Through my own training in the system, two of those have had most appeal to me, one for the blade training – Kalis Ilustrisimo; the other for its impact weaponry training – Eskrima De Campo 1-2-3 Original. It is the latter that is the subject of this article.

Eskrima De Campo 1-2-3 Original was founded by the legendary eskrimador Jose Caballero, and the system is renowned for its highly functional, hard-hitting approach to stick fighting, with no fancy maneuvers, but rather well organized training method of proven and effective techniques and tactics, honed through diligent practice. If you belong to the category of practitioners who seek a highly functional set of tools that you can confidently apply (naturally, after having invested proper effort and hours in training – no magic bullets here), you will feel right at home with this approach.

Due to Caballero’s reluctance to teach his art openly, the system never got the recognition it deserves, and only started slowly spreading in the West over the last decade or so. I was among those that felt frustrated with the lack of relevant sources of instruction, because the bits and pieces I was able to get from my Lameco instructors were very enticing. However, the advent of modern technologies has finally come to the rescue!

Today, the head of the school is Jose Caballero’s grandson Jomalin, who lives and teaches out of Ibo, Toledo City in the Philippines, i.e. the same home where his grandfather taught his handful of students. Owing to the great enthusiasm and tech-savvy of one of the modern day students, guro Paolo Pagaling, maestro Caballero has filmed the entire curriculum as the series of well-produced lessons, which is now available through the website decampo123.org

The technical material is demonstrated by maestro Caballero himself, while guro Pagaling does the narration additional explanations as needed, while the drills and applications are then shown by both instructors. The lessons are filmed against the backdrop of Caballero’s own backyard, which gives additional impression of authenticity, and to me makes the videos more pleasant to watch than if having been recorded in some studio. In other words, this is as close to the private lesson as possible, having in mind the format of the material. You can get free sample lessons on the website, to see for yourself how it is laid out.

Now, at the first glimpse, the program might look a bit pricey. However, if you keep in mind that we are not talking about some sort of the “best of”, “selected techniques”, “peek into the system” etc., but actually FULL curriculum and proven training progression, as well as the fact that the authors are willing to respond to potential questions and help you get most out of the material, maybe even potential certification, I would say it is a fairly good deal. Just check their Facebook page to find out more.

In conclusion, what the authors did with this program is essentially the exact thing that in the 1990’s I used to hope would be the main advantage of the Internet – finding true information from true sources, while dispelling myths and not wasting time on digging through the fluff and artificial mystique that has been surrounding all kinds of human endeavors for a long time. Well, we all know how it turned out with the spreading of internet forums and the ability for every wannabe and delusional self-appointed expert to say whatever they want from the anonymity of their homes and behind their screen avatars. The efforts and results such as the subject of this review are the high points in the presentation and preservation of some traditional martial arts that are out there and in dire need of being properly displayed.