Woof Marc ,
Yesterday while up at the Inosanto Academy I noticed a quote up on the board that caught my attention:
"It's what you learn after you know it all that counts."John Wooden.
How very true! In a similar vein we began our "Kali Tudo: Running Dog Game" with this quote:
"The greatest obstacle to discovering the shape of the earth, continents and the oceans was not ignorance but the illusion of knowledge."Daniel J. Boorstin
In contrast, in MMA today, many tend think like this: "If we don't see it in the cage, it must not be valid because if it were valid, we would see it in the cage." The illusion of insight contained in this tautology presents a tremendous challenge in our mission of establishing "Kali Tudo"(tm) as having worthy contributions to real MMA. I underline at this moment that the true mission of KT is not the young male ritual hierarchical combat of MMA, but to test the idioms of fighting movements, tactics, and strategies that we seek to use for the street wherein where weapons (concealed or otherwise) and uneven numbers of players (concealed or otherwise) or part of the reality.
As founder/head instructor of Dog Brothers Martial Arts, my thought is that MMA simply is a subset wherein we test and install in the adrenal state our Kali Silat idioms of movement in a pure empty hand context. Kali claims the movements of the empty hand are like those of the weapons. Is this claim true, or is it simply fantasy martial arts and crafts? We search for Truth, and when the facts prove us wrong, we change our minds. My research so far, persuades me deeply of the validity of Kali/Kali Silat/"Kali Tudo" for MMA.
In "Kali Tudo 1" I sought to establish some understandings of footwork that would reach both pure MMA types as well as practitioners more grounded in the FMA. Some people really got it and raved, and others were more... "well, I like Guro Crafty, but for me this one was a bit of a let down." I suspect that in part this was because they were not seeing the kind of trapping and destructions as seen in hubud and other similar training methods.
I made a deliberate choice that to include such motions in the KT-1 would be a bridge too far for too many viewers and left that next step to KT2: The Running Dog Game. The RDG does show Kali limb destructions, trapping and non-thrusting/boxing strikes against the guard. Why against the guard? Because with the ground behind the opponent, he cannot move away very easily and it is easier to maintain trapping range-- and this IMHO has been one of the two primary missing links for FMA people who have looked to apply Kali empty hands.
Thus it is in Kali Tudo 3 (working title: Blending the Arfful Dodger and the Dracula) that we will put it together for standing striking-- the Kali/Kali Silat/Kali Tudo destructions and striking methods against an opponent who can move around.
My larger point is this: What you have seen so far in KT-1 and KT-2: The Running Dog Game, are building blocks of something in which I believe has a lot of merit and that more is coming. I am very excited to have started a "Dog Brothers Team Kali Tudo" group in Hermosa Beach
http://dogbrothers.com/phpBB2/index.php?topic=1825.0Thus it is a great pleasure when I receive emails such as those from Max, the author of this blog
http://maxiitheblindwatchmaker.blogspot.com/2009/05/training-kali-tudotm-week-two.htmlsharing with me something of his explorations with our KT material. I particularly appreciate that he a) gives credit and b) does not seek to give away our "trade secrets" that I offer in our DVDs c) and instead encourages people to come to DBMA for them.
As the saying goes, integrity is what you do when no one is looking and I thank Max for his. Also see his review at:
http://maxiitheblindwatchmaker.blogspot.com/2009/05/dog-brothers-kali-tudo-review.html.
I sincerely hope that other people out there will do the same thing (explore the material, give credit, protect the trade secrets for our benefit, and send people our way). In particular, the Kali Tudo thread on our forum would be a good place to share too. And, if I may be indulged a moment of shameless marketing, best of all would be to join the Dog Brothers Martial Arts Ass'n:
http://dogbrothers.com/amember/"Walk as a warrior for all your days!"
Guro Crafty