As far as I know, there is no formal test cutting tradition in FMA. The nearest thing to test cutting I can think of is testing a balisong by driving the tip through a coin. If it does so without breaking, then the knife is "suitable". It common to test a new itak (machete) on some tree branch, vines or any suitable object. The mountain tribes of the Cordilleras liked to bring home heads and other body parts from a battle and you might speculate that if they brought live captives back, they might have been used for "testing" as well. If you're looking for something like Japan's formal blade testing procedures and practices, I don't think the FMA has anything like that.
Hi Juromentado, that was interesting. I was more intrigued to know if there was any method used to actually get used to cutting flesh. With most of the practice being done with non-bladed sticks, there must be some modification required I would have thought?
there must be some modification required I would have thought?" hi andrew yes there are big modifications, the stick is very different from the blade. i.e the way your wrist are positioned, the way to cut is very different from striking (that is if you want a more effective cut), you can have a better feel for cutting from learning from real blade based systems as opposed to stick based. ( there is no tameshigiri like training in the FMA, but itak's are an every day tool in the province, people use them every day, thats the closest thing to test cutting in the FMA, use it everyday and youll develop forearms of steel........ thanks terry
Moro is right. The itak is a tool, and no Filipino farmer walks around without one. It's used to clear fields, chop wood and a for thousand other everyday chores. Once you get used to a tool that way, it becomes an extension of your arm and so cutting anything with it, be it wood, grass or flesh, becomes very easy. I agree, if you want to learn to use blades, seek out blade based systems like Pekiti Tirsia. Blades require that you train with the idea that you flex and position the wrist to keep the blade toward the target. Not that stick dominant style are weaker; on the contrary, there are some very deadly stick based style which would definitely kick ass But some style are blade aware and some are not, but they are all effective at what they do..
Tricky, walking around with an itak chopping down undergrowth every day, would get you locked up over here. Any alternative suggestions? I'd actually assumed that all FMA systems 'were' Blade aware. It comes as something of a surprise to hear otherwise. I'd always assumed there were two cutting edges, and hone the swings and strikes with sticks based on that thesis.
The more politically correct way of saying it is all FMA in some way or another are blade based, but some styles are more blade aware than others. But that does not mean to cast any aspersions on the other FMA styles. The Philippines is full of different cultural groups and minorities so it's difficult to say anything definitive on FMA weapons being single or double bladed. The only double bladed weapon I'm aware of is the Kris. All the rest are single bladed. My previous experience with a hybrid arnis style and currently in Pekiti Tirsia has been consistently single bladed, meaning I was always taught to rotate my wrist and make the "blade" of the stick face the other direction if I were to make a strike going back on the direction of my first srtike. So if I execute a strike coming from the right shoulder and it ends at my left leg, I rotate my right hand at the bottom of the downward strike and make the "blade" face upward for the lower left to upper right strike. I guess a good way to get more blade aware is to get used to rotating the stick to get the edge on the target and not just swing back from a previous strike. It takes getting used to but in time the movement will be instinctive and quick. Another training method is to hang a tire on a chain and go at it with full power. But tape or paint 6 inches of the tip of the stick and strike so only that part hits the tire. With a bladed weapon, that 6 inch tip is where most of the force will be concentrated and getting used to targetting that way will increase your amputation skills..
Interesting discusion i.e. Blade vs Stick. I train primarily to fight with a stick - but as far as wrist angulation is concerned I train as if it was a blade - becasue this is the most functional way to generate power with the stick.
Yes, absolutely. Getting the wrist angle right makes for great body mechanics and you can generate a lot of power for strikes.
Thinking about it, from what I've trained so far, most seems to originate from a 'single edge' system, but there are some curving strikes which seem to use the reverse edge. I'm using the middle knuckle of the index finger as a reference point for roughly where the blade edge would be. It's not that I'm ever likely to go on a blade weilding rampage anytime in the near future. I just love details is all, so thanks. Going back to the 'itak' for a moment, does it traditionally have a point?
on itaks: again, depends on the region in the Philippines. Generally speaking, all itaks have a point but some are more pointed than others. The ginunting of Negros is quite pointed while the pinahigin the Cordillera are somewhat blunt. It would be safe to assume that itaks in general, based on the typical garden variety (pardon the pun) tool available at any market, do have a sharp point. Don't worry, I didn't think that you were planning a machete wielding massacre. LOL I'm a sucker for details as well and I love finding out about the seemingly trivial stuff to make practice more interesting.
"Tricky, walking around with an itak chopping down undergrowth every day, would get you locked up over here. Any alternative suggestions?" do it in your back yard........ HAHAHA makes a lot of sense
or use plastic bottles filled with water they work for tet cutting quite well as do foam pool noddles rolls of damp newspaper about 2 inches thick or heavy carboard tubes aboutu 4 or so inches in diameter with a wall about a quarter inch
