Dedicated to the support of Filipino Martial Arts under the FCS Kali system, respecting and recognizing all other martial arts systems and participants.
Acknowledgements
"Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far." - West African Proverb
So this blog site being for all of us, please feel free to send us something you want to share or find interesting to post. We are Family here and the more all contribute, the more interesting and important our blog site becomes for us, so if you have something you want to post please send it to us for consideration at our e-mail address. Below is a shout from our FCS Cali brother, Jim Rosas. As you will see Martial Arts training does so much for us in many ways....
"Okay so since starting up with FCS and training under Rich I've dropped about 35 lbs., lost about 10% body fat, my blood pressure went from"normal high" to much lower and healthy, and my testing heart rate went from 75 to 55. All this because I took the initiative to change my eating habits and set goals with my workouts with his guidance. Thanks to Manong Rich Verdejo. Still a long way from my goals but getting there."
So I stumbled out of bed at 7am on New Year's Day with only 5 hours of sleep and a slight hangover, part of me wishing there was no practice as I hydrated and got myself together for practice. A couple big cups of coffee later at 8am at our "Luneta" found that about half our usual group made it to practice, it's understandable, it WAS New Year's day and some still had Family obligations to fulfill. Those who made it to GP made the most of our last group practice before the scheduled Level 1 Test Out with Manong Rich Verdejo. Group practice again concentrated straight up Level 1 Curriculum, hopefully we are ready. I don't know what to expect really other than that to also expect the unexpected and some twist or twisted test for us from Manong Rich. LOL! Check back next week for the details and I am sure pics and maybe video from Manong Rich. Wish us luck!
Sunday morning the bells being were ringing, and not from the neighborhood church, but from the heads of the FCS San Diego Cali Crew in sparring helmets! LOL! The pinging from the helmets was a great sound to hear, and the strikes to the head were a sight to see as our group was in the midst of our first taste of sparring. There was no roar of the crowd, and there was no blood drawn, but we were gladiators if only for a few minutes! Although the way the morning started we did not start in such sure numbers, only a few came in on time at 8:00am sharp for group practice. The handful of that were on time were scratching our heads, where was everyone.... we began to think had my Facebook posts hyping up the weekend sparring maybe scared people off... or was it Holiday hangover from Christmas shopping and parties wherein our participants perhaps preferred to stay in the comfy confines of their warm bed? As we were about to start with only the handful, slowly and surely our usual core group began to show up. Some sleepy eyed, others just getting a late start, but all with a twinkle of excitement in their eye to start GP Sunday morning. We even had another family member from all the way up from Washington come out of the woodwork to join us for a taste of FMA, a shout out to another brother in law of mine - Anthony for joining us, not lick of martial arts but jumped right in there with us!
Focus of our practices have been again Level 1 Curriculum for those that are thinking of going through the trial. More of the usual, mano a mano , knife tapping, forms, etc... However the highlight of GP was the sparring, for the first time out we only strapped on the helmet and gloves, this was mainly just to get used to the equipment, what it feels like to move in such confines, and more pointedly how it feels to get hit up the side the helmet and get your bell rung in such fashion. Personally this was a great learning experience, 1) yes your movement is quite different. 2) field of vision is again quite different, 3) depth perception ( for me) was quite different, 4) things move so quickly, 5) but lastly the great experience out of all this was seeing where your skills was at. I actually did not think I would enjoy it as much as I did, like anything a new, once you have passed the initiation of trying it for the first time, I can't wait to try it again!
As always a shout out to our San Diego Crew, great to practice with you all, and let's make Manong Rich proud, continue training and showing up!
I look forward to the weekends, not because it's just a break from a long work week, and not because it's time to cut loose, or relieve stress, beyond all this, it's because I'm eager to put in some work - FCS style. As I get deeper into our martial arts discipline, I find it's changing me, opening my eyes on how I view and approach things - even in the simplest and most basic things in life. I see why those who follow martial arts fall in love with it, it's not just a discipline, it's a way of life... mind,body and soul, and until you are fully involved with something that's purely for yourself, people will always be in search of this thing that I believe we all strive to find within ourselves whether it's a passion in some other hobby, sport, or interest. I believe my fellow FCS Cali San Diego Crew in their own personal ways feel the same way.
Today we had a total of 18 training today, that's got to be our high since we started our little club with 4 members in September. We are not only growing in number, but coming together, as we progress together not only are our skills improving and sharpening, we also strive to build an extended family, and with this in spirit today we had a gathering of families after practice with a backyard potluck at Ed's house so as to get to know each other better out of the regular training environment, It was great to meet each other's family because we recognize that although those who train sacrifice their time, the family's also sacrifice their time as well. I'm impressed, here we are in the middle of the Holiday Season, while most are likley trying to find a deal at the stores, our group topped itself out in Group Practice, good showing San Diego Crew!
So guess what... I'm going to sound a like a broken record, but it was another beautiful San Diego morning, a bit chilly to start but warming up beautifully - yes in the middle of December it was sunny and warm (check our pictures out) only requiring light sweats attire. Today we were anticipating Manong Rich coming down again to train with us. We didn't have any Level 1 test out which is still yet to be determined, however his visit with us was fruitful and productive. We covered again basics for Level 1 Curriculum, as a group our focus was to have a more "combative" mindset as we train as our system is so aptly named. Manong Rich further detailed small things he expected from us, observed us through some drills, some knife tapping, and then showed us some more additional material with stick take downs, today was also highlighted with the return of the "sarong". For many in the Group this was new and hopefully enriching, and further adding to our skills. BTW... we only had 2 stick drops today, which means 20 push ups, we've adopted the no stick drops otherwise everyone does push ups! San Diego Crew, as busy the next week will be, try to put ins some time, be prepared, who knows what Mng. Rich may have in store for us on his next visit. Manong Rich, thankyou for taking the time to come down again and train with us, San Diego Crew let's continue to show him our appreciation and dedication! Happy Holidays All!
Standing L to R: Bernard, Gustavo, Dianna, Ileah, Ed, Glenda, Faviolo, Wendell, Jeremy, Erwin
Kneeling: Daniel, Angelo, Greg, Paolo
The Super Bowl should be permanently played in San Diego, hands down... we have the best weather in the Country and this is something we can boast out loud as San Diegans.... the Chargers might suck, the Padres might suck, and thus our hometown has no major sports championships to claim ( other than the Little League World Series a couple years ago), but DAMMIT ALL.... we have the best weather in the World!!! Hint, Hint... - maybe a major FCS Kali Gathering should be hosted in San Diego in the future! So to all our FCS Kali brothers and sisters across America and internationally - throw the idea out to Tuhon Ray ! "wink wink"
So is it getting boring how regularly I mention how beautiful our San Diego mornings are even when the weather is what us spoiled San Diegans call too warm or too cold for our warm blooded tastes! This morning was a brisk but very sunny 38 degrees... BRRRRR! That's cold for us! Today I broke out the sweats and a long sleeve undershirt, Bernard had his thermals, and most of us had some sort of sweats attire. Group Practice has been the same of late, stressing foot work, stick speed and handling, form, and Level 1 curriculum. Manong Rich may want to test some of us out on Level 1 Curriculum, I'm not sure if he's eager to test us out as an end of year goal, or if he's just looking for winter entertainment, probably both! LOL!
Mng. Rich's Level 1 testing has been famously or maybe infamously reputed to be interesting to say the least, for sure it will cover the Level 1 Curriculum, but fellow San Diego Group Crew... please view the Youtube video of Mng. Rich's Level 1 test below, you'll see what I mean. I post it not to shy anyone away but to be forewarned and prepare yourselves mentally and physically, who knows what our Manong Rich has in store for us. FCS Kali San Diego Crew - practice and be prepared! Also before I sign off, San Diego GP saw 4 new participants, a shout out welcome to: Ileah, Dianna, Faviolo, and Greg, we hope you enjoyed your experience with us and hope you all become regulars!
So I woke up this morning slowly getting out of bed, thoughts of coffee and lingering effects of 3 days of straight food coma giving me a food hang over. My son was even ready before me this morning, I hastily got our gear together and we got to practice a little late, though my body wasn't feeling it early on I had one reason to get up for practice for sure... I had my new knife training rig to bring today! The last 2-3 weeks rain has threatened to come down upon us on a San Diego Sunday, this week after a few days of cool brisk Fall weather, today we were greeted with an Indian Summer type of day, for us San Diegans we are used to this, virtually every day seems like an Indian Summer, but spoiled as we are when those days leave us and we experience normal weather we cry.... but not today and this kicked off another great day of practice with an added surprise bonus for the San Diego Crew. While we had some of our regulars out today, we had a new participant - Mike Gomez, welcome and thank you for joining us! Mike is a long time practitioner, Guru, and even "professor" of martial arts, not only has Mike practiced the combat side of the art, but also the healing side and for this it was a special session to have him with us. Our Sunday practice emphasized the basic Level Curriculum as we wanted to further review what we may face and be expected to demonstrate for our Level 1 Test Out with Manong Rich.It's funny how time flies, today what seemed like only a couple hours, we ended being out there for almost 4, a definite good day!
L to R: Erwin, Tony, Wendell, Jason, Ed, Mike, Bernard, Jeremy
Kneeling: Glenda, Josh, Paolo
Although we had a good session of practive, the special treat we had today was to see some of the healing art of FMA, Mike was willing to show us some "Filipino Hilot", from what I can try to describe it's a Filipino form of Reiki/Chinese/chiroporactic style massage, one of our own - Ed, volunteered eagerly for a demonstration from Mike on his healing technique. In Ed's case he was stiff from Thanksgiving Day's Flag Football session with the family and was stiff from a sore back. Mike proceeded to work with Ed as you will see in some of this week's pictures that with various pulls, stretches of the limbs, joints, muscles, and a combination of accu-pressure style technique, the mysteries of how our body and mind can work itself to help heal can open doors to relief. This was great to see this demonstration as it surely looked relieving and comforting what Mike was doing for Ed's aching back! All this was a reminder that there is a balance to what we do, while we have the combative side of our art and system, we should also be mindful of the healing side, after today this is a most healthful reminder for ourselves. Once again, thank you "professor" Mike Gomez, we hope to see you become a regular to our San Diego Crew, to all others who were at group Practice today, thank you for your continued dedication and hard work!
From L to R: Erwin, Dan, Marlon, Bernard, Angelo, Glenda, Jr., Ed, Mng. Rich, Wendall, Karen, Paolo, Jim, John, Jeremy
I love Sunday Group practice, but even more when Manong Rich comes down. It was a very good day of group practice, first off we had 2 new participants show up and even participate in the extended training. FCS Kali West Coast welcomes Wendall and John!! Awesome to have you guys come out and we look forward to you both becoming regular members. Secondly, we are appreciative for those who were able to attend the extended training, this was a good showing for our San Diego Crew to be there and spending the extra time with Mng. Rich., it was also great to meet two other students Rich brought down, Karen and Jim, and so the FCS Kali West Coast Family grows!
Once again as has been the norm the last three Sundays, rain threatened to wash out our group practice, but it was gonna continue come rain or shine, especially if Rich is taking his time to come down and visit us! I do believe Mng. Rich was happy to see how the San Diego FCS club is forming up and got a good feel as to where we are at, so much so he is already planning on possibly testing out some of us for Level 1 - oh boy! His reputation precedes him, we hear Rich is notorious for grueling test outs, and who knows what lays in store for us. In preparation for an upcoming test out at Level 1, Mng. Rich reviewed what he expects from us with his Level 1 test out which covers the Level 1 Curriculum, after this Rich generously helped break down parts of the drills we have been covering, such review and insight is great edification. So great thank you to Rich for coming down and we look forward to his visits, (well maybe not too much on the test out). LOL! A thank you to the San Diego group for the continued support and dedication.
This morning there was a threat of rain to dampen things for Sunday Group Practice, however come rain or what be, we were going to meet! If need be, a couple of us were ready to practice in the rain (albeit cold rain would have not been fun), LOL! Fall has arrived at our "Luneta" (Heritage) Park and we were greeted with cloudy skies and a brisk cool morning which helped us open warm ups with a quick 5 lap run around the basketball courts, mixing it up with varied laps of regular run, zig zags, reverse, and laterals. Practice was more or less the same as least week, although no knife tapping today. Picking up from 6 count siniwali, we tried our hand at 6 count sambrada and working our way to a flow drill based on this.
How are we doing...? Two months in and with a steady count of at least 10 participants on average, we are overall still learning to crawl, but every week we strive towards that expected level. We'll get there as we get more familiar and comfortable with the skills. While we develop the physical aspects of the art we are inspired to learn, personally I enjoy the camaraderie developing , like any other group organization a bond and unity is formed and develops and this to is coming into fruition for our small club. While today was another good day of practice and great to see our regulars, I end today's blog with a quote to inspire....
"If you want to go into the martial arts
don't do it unless you want to become
better than the others.
You must practice, practice, practice.
- A.P. MARIÑAS
Left to Right: Erwin, Daniel, Angelo, Glenda, Josh, Ed, Jeremy, Bernie
It was great to be back in the Park for our weekly FCS Club of San Diego Group Practice, I believe not only for myself, but as well for those who showed up after last week's cancelled session that we were all eager to get back to practice and honestly I missed being at the Park sweating it with our Crew! By popular request and demand we are now starting the group practices at 8:00am . I like it, it's a little cooler ( not that San Diego has bad weather to begin with), but I'm up early anyways and I'm rearing to go! So we started things off a little differently and a little more intensely, our warm up included running a couple laps around the basketball court, the idea being: 1) It'll warm us up, 2) an exercise in footwork and agility as we also did part of those laps, laterally and ran backwards, and 3) I can use the exercise! LOL! Yesterday's practice we covered the usual basics of footwork, strikes, and walls, for the beginners and newcomers, but we quickly went through this part as we also wanted to cover ground with some drills to improve coordination and speed, and also to more excitingly practice double baston siniwali for the newbies. When you're having fun and loving what you do, 2 hours goes by very quickly, for those who could stay a little longer, we also did some knife tapping practice.
While we didn't have the high count of the last group practice which was a total of 15 participants, we did have a showing of two new faces, Marlon and 13 year old John, a big Welcome to both and we're glad to have you in! Thank you All to those who participate and are becoming regulars to FCS Kali Club of San Diego, we like seeing the dedication and your support, and truly appreciate the time and effort you have made to be out there with us, we are building the foundation, and one day the regulars who stick with us can say you were part of the Founding members crew in San Diego. One last note, practice what we have covered, we want to show Manong Rich Verdejo how far we have come by the time he comes back down, the further along we have developed, the more he can present to us!
Back Row: Marlon, Daniel, Erwin, Bernard, Ed, Jeremy
My mind is in a little of a blurred state, it's been a long last 48 hours for me, I had to work a Saturday shift yesterday (solo), and worked extended hours, and to top it off I'm On call for work, however despite all of this I indulged myself in a late Saturday night session of FCS Kali with our Manong Rich, Bernard, my son, and myself up in Temecula, then we drove back early this morning for Group Practice. It was worth it, anytime I can learn from someone that has great experience and knowledge, and whom I respect more and more as I get to know him, it's worth it in more than my words can explain. Mng. Rich gave us some drills and exercises to practice and we quickly introduced then in Group Practice this morning.
First a couple of apologies, to my drill partner Jesse this morning - a thousand apologies for the errant stick blow to of course of all the worst places on the arm the funny bone! That taught us two lessons, firstly the giver needs to be a little more careful, and secondly the receiver -be ready for anything. Although for the rap tap on the knuckles from my stick, that was yours, that'll remind you to practice your side wall block! LOL! Although Jesse, you have an awesome redondo, very powerful! If it's any consolation, somehow I got a knuckle/hand bruise from holding the stick while you were practicing your strikes.
This morning we stressed some more foot work drills based off the male-female training formation. Over the weeks and hours of practice I'm feeling my footwork being much better than when I first started, but still plenty of room for improvement. The more and more we practice the stick drills and hand to hand drills, the more I fully understand how critical the footwork plays into everything, this was evident as I practiced with partners today, and I hope those newest in our Group see the light in this. Correct foot and body positioning help create your defensive and offensive postures by creating those openings or creating the personal space for block. With the rhythmic beat of the carenza drums, it's easy to feel the the foot work drills as seemingly light and elementary, but it is a lot more demanding than it appears (how many of us were breathing heavy after all the footwork drills?), for some it is a martial arts resemblance of a Zumba step, and while this may make the drill fun, we are really looking for the ready warrior, cat like movement of a predator, so mind that thought for those who were at practice today!
I forgot, my second apology for the group and my blog readers, we forgot to take a group picture today, it was another good turn out and we were very pleased to see returning faces and some new ones. First a big welcome back to Glenda, Paulo, and Jeremy, with busy schedules and commitments the last couple of weeks they were able to make the session this morning. An equally loud shout out to Gustavo, Daniel, Angelo, Elma, Jessie, and their son JR, glad to see we haven't scared you guys off, great to see the commitment to learn and support FMA! Finally a great Welcome to first time visitors Rico and his son Nico. Bernard, Ed, Tony and myself Thank You for checking our club out and what we have to offer, we're hoping to see a continued return by all 15 of us!
I enjoy the time I am in now.... and what I hope to be witnessing.... What do you ask am I talking about...? The state of geopolitics in the world today, the economy, our nation...? Nope none of these....!
Don't you love when you feel you are at the right place at the right time? The time when you are on the verge of something coming together, or something big coming along...? This is the moment in time I enjoy watching and if I can be a part of it... yes being part of history I want to be there, great or small, personally or publicly, it doesn't matter, it's these times that make part of life beautiful...
I'm hoping for my FCS Kali Club of San Diego, we are about to witness the beginning of something. Our humble little club is still at it's very infancy, but we proudly move forward in the quest that one day we will be all that we hope for it to be. There is a scene from one of my all time favorite movies about one of my heroes, its from the movie"Dragon - The Bruce Lee Story", if I recall the scene this is where Bruce Lee is talking to his wife Linda in their newly started kung fu studio, almost broke and just starting out, Bruce drops a stone or pebble in the middle of the dojo floor and asks his wife, "did you hear that...?" Linda looks at him and wonders where he is going with it, and he explains, that it's like a pebble or stone in a pool of water, when you drop it in the water a small ring or wave forms and expands outward. That scene really refers to one of his philosophy, here is the quote...
"I don't really worry about the reward, but to set in motion the machinery to achieve it. My contribution will be the measure of my reward and success. When you drop a pebble into a pool of water, the pebble starts a series of ripples that expand until they encompass the whole pool." - Bruce Lee
...and this is what I hope I am seeing with our small group here, FCS Kali Club of San Diego and FCS Kali West Coast.
So before I get too deep... It was a beautiful morning, perfect San Diego weather, anyone in our area knows what that means... very light wind, very light clouds, sunny and around 70 degrees.... paradise! :) Today we had newcomers show up that we were very glad to see and welcome. A couple came from our core member's Tony and Ed's circle of martial arts circle, a couple of old friends, and a father and his son came out to participate and see what our club and group practice was all about. For the freshest members of our group, I am sure there was some information overload that we shared with them, but something for them to take home, process and practice and hopefully come back for more next week and to become a core member of our club. This is what we want to see, for those who come out, to first enjoy what we have to offer and gain, and secondly inspiration, passion, or dedication to the Filipino Martial Arts. This is a chance for all we invite right now to become a part of something early on. It was a great day of practice, and I like the feeling I am beginning to get, are we about to see the beginning...?
"Have we heard the pebble drop...?"
Maraming Salamat,
Erwin G.
FCS Kali Club of San Diego Group Practice - Oct. 9th, 2011
Top row: Angelo, Daniel, Bernard, Ed
Second Row: Sergio, Tony, Josh, Gustavo, JR, Elma, Jesse
Photographer - Erwin
Last Sunday we were privileged to have Manong Rich Verdejo finish out the weekend with us after our FCS Kali Demo the day before, he stayed the next day and joined us in our Sunday morning Group Practice. It was great to get some instruction and valuable insights from Rich on some basic technique and showed he us some new drills and exercises. One of them we were most impressed with was one involving the eskrima stick. Mng. Rich displayed to us how much speed and power can be drawn from an innocent enough rattan stick. Below are some pictures of an exercise he showed us... the pictures do not do the demonstration justice, if I get permission to show the video I'll post it later. (Video has been posted below the pics.) As you will see, the power generated from the whipping action of the eskrima eventually decimates the hardened rattan stick... I loved the advice of Rich... "...stock up on duct tape...". LOL! Thank you Mng. Rich for the instruction and the memorable demo exercise with the eskrima stick, I'll need to have my Auntie ship us some more sticks!
Today marks the first group practice of FCS Kali Club of San Diego. Albeit only 5 of us turned out today, this is our club's humble beginnings with more participants to follow soon enough. We hope to end the year with a core group of 10 as we move forward, so anyone in the San Diego that is interested, come check us out!
Under a cool overcast San Diego morning, it was great to be outdoors practicing the skills. With the tribal rhythms of Carenza music in the background it was another great workout, I find as I get more time in, the muscle memory is taking over as a natural instinct as I find the flow. In 2 hours we reviewed and practiced the Level 1 Curriculum as dictated by FCS Kali Founder Tuhon Ray Dionaldo as follows:
LEVEL 1 (minimum 3 month FCS membership required for test)
Solo Baston:
Solo Baston formal salute meaning & application
12 count of the 64 stick form
4 count right/ left & changes
Range Awareness
Largo
Medio
Corto
Corto Corto
Footwork:
Open Male Triangle
Open Female Triangle
Closed Male Triangle
Close Female Triangle
Full Diamond
Side stepping
Replacement Stepping
Take Off
Basic Striking:
Labtik
Witik
Redondo
Abaniko
Punyo
Defenses:
Umbrellas and the individual block names
4 walls and the individual block names
Disarms:
Snake inside #1
Snake outside #2
Vine largo #1
Vine largo #2
Vine corto #1
Vine corto #2
Hand Switches: (with application)
Shoulder Switch
Application
Labtik/Chamber & Switch
Application
Carenza using basic strikes and hand switches
For those interested in the group practice sessions, visit this blog to find postings of when we plan or schedule the group practice sessions. If you have any further questions, you can find the FCS Kali West Coast Fan Page in Facebook and contact, Bernie or me.
