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Filipino Martial Arts as Taught by Dan Inosanto
By Dan Inosanto
* Publisher: Know Now
* Number Of Pages: 175
* Publication Date: 1980-01-01
* ISBN-10 / ASIN: 0938676016
* ISBN-13 / EAN: 9780938676010
* Binding: Paperback
Summary: Excellent Martial arts book but flawed history
Rating: 4
This excellent book on the Filipino martial arts has become an out of print collectors item.
It covers angles of attack, empty hand infighting parrying, double dagger, rattan stick single and double as well as an excellent solo training skills section.
The only area that it falls short in is in the historical description of Magellans death at the hands of King Lapu lapu.
According to many Filipinos magellan landed with his men ready to assault the local village, Lapu lapu and his corageous tribe of warriors attcked the spanish with only rattan sticks.
The firceness and bravery of the filipino warriors were too much for the spanish bandits and after a good fight, Lapu lapu overcame magellan and killed him Thus he became a Legend.
The above story sounds amazing, however we do know from historical spanish records and by recreating the conditions weaponry and situation of the 1600s that the above version found in Inosantos book is a fallacy.
In fact there were fewer than 40 spaniards accompanying Magellan( a portuguese explorer) to shore on that fateful day, Magellan had thought he had rights of passage due to a pact he had with another chief.
Not long after disembarking Magellan and his men realised they were in an ambush. Surrounded by more than 2000 filpino warriors the lightly armoured spaniards who thought they would be on a scouting mission were soon in the midst of a hail of arrows and spears and gunshots ( yes the filipinos had small cannons albeit handheld as historians noted).
Here we then have the truth of the matter, over 2000 filipno warriors armed with high powered bows, spears swords and to some extent hand held cannons against 40 spaniards that were manly armed with sword and dagger and a few muskets. They fought back the Filipinos fiercely, killing hundreds of them in close range combat before being completely overun by the ferocity of the arrows and spears being hurled at them from a greater vantage point, magellan was pierced by several spears and arrows thus he was leaning forward half dead when Lapu Lapu and his thousands of warriors finally surrounded the spaniards. It was at this point that LApu Lapu took advantage of the situation and felled magellan with a blow to the back of the head severing it from his body, not with a rattan but with a kampilan sword.
The Filipinos were intrigued by the efficiency of the dagger and sword method, it is said that it was a combination of portuguese , Italian scrimia methods and Spanish techniques that the Filipinos incorporated as the bulk of what later would become the Escrima that we know of today.
Incidentally just in the last 10 years or more ancient Italian books on their art scrimia dating back to the early 15th century were translated into English, it is strikingly similar to the later art we now know as Filipino Escrima. Evidence that the European Martial arts were in full force and influential in helping to forge modernised FMA.
Summary: This book is the authority on Filipino Martial Arts
Rating: 5
This book contains great information on the history of Kali (arnis, escrima, etc) as well as the basic concepts and drills that are taught by Dan Inosanto. None would argue that Danny Inosanto is one of the leading authorities on Filipino martial arts and his book demonstrates his depth of knowledge. It is complete with pictures and diagrams, making a lot of the information relatively easy to learn. Learning any type of movement from a book is difficult, but this book does a pretty good job of making the information clear. If you can find a pretty inexpensive copy (under $30.00) grab it! It's a collectors item as well as a great martial arts reference.
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