Hi guys.. I was thinking about some of the movements I doing. Some of them are slicing motions and some are chopping motions. Now I know that chopping is something that machetes are good at, but looking at some of the traditional FMA blades they don't look like they are suited to chopping. Here is a link to a bunch. http://www.traditionalfilipinoweapons.com/Sandata.html I notice some of them are very machete like and make sense to use a chopping motion. However a good number of them were not machete like, and looked more like traditional swords that would be cut and thrusting swords. Not suited to chopping. So do the thinner swords, chop as well as slice, or is it case of having different techniques for different available swords? Can machetes cut/slice? Just trying to get a wrap around the reason for some of the movements. Thanks guys.
Hi Kframe Yes, you're absolutely right that some can chop better than others. Essentially, it's about the attributes of the tool in your hand at the time: Anything with a sharp edge can cut and slice Anything with rigidity and some mass behind it can impact (if not sharp), or chop (if sharp), and shield (if long enough) Anything with a point can puncture, rake and gouge Anything with a curve can capture/control (eg kerambit (which some say is Indonesian, not from FMA) or baseball cap) Anything flexible can whip, wrap/capture when held loosely (as it has a curve), and shield when held tight at both ends (as it has rigidity) Anything small can be concealed but has short range (except small projectiles like a handgun, or coins/pebbles/sand etc) Anything large cannot be concealed so easily but has longer range when held (eg staff, spear) Anything that takes more than a basic skill level to use can be discarded (eg sarong) I think I got most of them! All tools have a mixture of attributes, and it's up to you (being the weapon) to use your tool effectively
There's a thread somewhere around here on different swords being suited to different styles of FMA. You should try and find that out. It was interesting. So longer swords for largo mano. Lighter, more mobile swords for styles that favour a lot of witiks, etc. That sort of thing. It was a good read.
