Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - Tulwar hilt and disc pommel.....the reason for their design

LabanTayo · 24th November 2006, 05:18 PM

some of the views against how Gatka is not martial but more dancing could be changed if you were to have real edged weapons and stand in front of someone coming at you the way they do. all questions of its effectiveness will be answered. even the Filipino Martial Arts can look flowery, but put yourself at the wrong end of the battle, and you'll see/feel what the motions are meant for. before anyone can give their theory of how a sword is used in martial application, take some lessons in that art first. get a better understanding of how they move and think.
i have heard lots of "theories" of how western fencing is unbeatable against asian fencing. one of my most senior students was invited to "play" with the local fencing club. he played arnis against epee. he now runs that club. the maestre was so impressed with the filipino arts, that he invited my student to train with them and develop tactics for fighting in tournaments.
now, dont get me wrong. i truely respect fencing, and in now way am i saying arnis is better than fencing why? because i was on the wrong end of a battle with a fencer, and saw first hand how their art works.
the tulwar handle is very functional in the way Gatka uses it. put a tulwar in my hands, and i would be lost. it doesnt feel "filipino", so i would have no idea how to use it. but i can understand how the tulwar is used based on design. in this case, form followed function.
in the filipino arts, there are a lot of twirling exercises. all kinds of fancy twirls. theyre not there to impress the girls. theyre there to develop flexibility and strength of the wrist, to understand how the weapon moves with kinetic energy and to develop speed in striking from any postion the weapon may be in.

to put my 2 cents in on why the british may have never mentioned the fighting style of the Sikh's. this comes from my dealings with spanish and american written accounts of their dealings with filipino's.
they either didnt understand the movements, and couldnt put into words what they saw, or, that the only fact that mattered was that they won the battle.
the spanish almost eliminated 400 years of culture in the philippines. the only history of that time era are the spanish accounts. and why would the spanish document their defeats with details.
i do not hold the spaniards of today liable of what happened then.
i do not know how the british documented their occupation of india. so i will not comment directly on it.

24th November 2006, 05:18 PM	#28
LabanTayo Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Kansas City Posts: 177	some of the views against how Gatka is not martial but more dancing could be changed if you were to have real edged weapons and stand in front of someone coming at you the way they do. all questions of its effectiveness will be answered. even the Filipino Martial Arts can look flowery, but put yourself at the wrong end of the battle, and you'll see/feel what the motions are meant for. before anyone can give their theory of how a sword is used in martial application, take some lessons in that art first. get a better understanding of how they move and think. i have heard lots of "theories" of how western fencing is unbeatable against asian fencing. one of my most senior students was invited to "play" with the local fencing club. he played arnis against epee. he now runs that club. the maestre was so impressed with the filipino arts, that he invited my student to train with them and develop tactics for fighting in tournaments. now, dont get me wrong. i truely respect fencing, and in now way am i saying arnis is better than fencing why? because i was on the wrong end of a battle with a fencer, and saw first hand how their art works. the tulwar handle is very functional in the way Gatka uses it. put a tulwar in my hands, and i would be lost. it doesnt feel "filipino", so i would have no idea how to use it. but i can understand how the tulwar is used based on design. in this case, form followed function. in the filipino arts, there are a lot of twirling exercises. all kinds of fancy twirls. theyre not there to impress the girls. theyre there to develop flexibility and strength of the wrist, to understand how the weapon moves with kinetic energy and to develop speed in striking from any postion the weapon may be in. to put my 2 cents in on why the british may have never mentioned the fighting style of the Sikh's. this comes from my dealings with spanish and american written accounts of their dealings with filipino's. they either didnt understand the movements, and couldnt put into words what they saw, or, that the only fact that mattered was that they won the battle. the spanish almost eliminated 400 years of culture in the philippines. the only history of that time era are the spanish accounts. and why would the spanish document their defeats with details. i do not hold the spaniards of today liable of what happened then. i do not know how the british documented their occupation of india. so i will not comment directly on it. Last edited by LabanTayo; 24th November 2006 at 05:32 PM.