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Yesterday started my first lessons in Kalis Ilustrisimo at around passed 10 AM. Ma'am Peachie first introduced the name Kalis Ilustrisimo (which I already knew) then started with the few basics.
The eyes should be looking a little lower and not that straight so it could see a wider scope. That's called the peripheral vision. Also the stomach should be tucked in. It's necessary to release your chi energy according to Ma'am Peachie. The hips are used always in turning, flexing, twisting around as you do the slash. Shoulder should be straight and you should use your height advantage always. Your upper arms and elbow should be lowered near your chest because if not, you'll be opened for strikes from your opponent (I also saw and remember that teaching from kenjutsu).
The most important thing is the footwork. The metatarsalia and phalanges bones of your back foot are flat on the ground while the other part which is the ossa tarsi bones of your back foot are raised so you can easily do a sudden forward or backward pressing movement.
The other foot is in front of you and flat straight to the ground. Combining the feet is similar to a boxing stance. Ma'am Peachie always tells me to straighten my feet and they should always be in front of her. It feels like my feet are pigeon-toed everytime I do it. She also pauses with her count before moving on to the next. She told me I have to wait for her count. My other teacher today is a 41-year old Australian student named Anthony. He is considered as my "senpai" or someone who learned the teachings at an earlier time than me. He started last December 2012 and according to him, this is his first and only martial art just like me. His stance teaching is quite different than Ma'am Peachie. If in Ma'am Peachie's teaching, it feels like she lets me do a pigeon-toed, Anthony tells me that my feet should be widely separated.
If you're holding your sword in the right hand, then the foot in the front should also be the right foot and vice versa when you switch the sword from right to left hand. In a ready position, the sword should be pointing upward; the dagger, pointing to your opponent. Mostly after doing the step in a freezing position, the sword and dagger are pointing to your opponent. There's a time when you need to fully swing the sword in a rotating motion and sometimes, just a slight swing so you can do a return or follow up movement of your sword.
The grip of the blade should be that the middle and ring fingers holding the handle and you're using your index and pinkies as guides. The grip of the sword should not be that tight or else, you will be easily disarmed. Ma'am Peachie also told me about the different kinds of holding a sword. If you're holding it in an attacking or neutral position. The way they swing the sword is similar to a badminton racket for a light swing and a tennis racket for a full rotational swing. Ma'am Peachie taught me the 3 parts of Amara which are the Anggulo (diagonal downward slash), the Plantsada (the horizontal mid-section slash on the stomach of your opponent) and the Aldabes (diagonal upward slash). In doing Anggulo or Aldabes, I should always imagine to hit the temple of my opponent. They say Aldabes is my best form. They also taught the Reterada or the retreating movement.
Anthony taught me the Kombate Heneral which is a strike where when someone is attacking you, you move aside but not that far from your opponent, then do the 3 steps of Amara. Also, Ma'am Peachie and Anthony taught me the 12 body strikes. It's quite confusing after step 6. There's another senpai whose name is Anton and he guided me with the steps.
Also, the parrying in Espada Y Daga (Sword and Dagger) or Punta Y Daga as they call it are quite confusing because you always change the position of your sword and dagger (sometimes the sword or dagger is flat as it deflects your opponent's weapon, sometimes you use the spine of the blade to parry) when you move to the next step after you finish doing the Amara. The whole idea is to always strike the wrist or arm of your opponent with the sword (reminds me of the emphasis in Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-ryu Otake-ha), as well as stabbing the vital organs of your opponent's body with the dagger and they should be done simultaneously. Here are what they look like:
These are the advanced lessons at my first day in training. They always tell me about the "intention"- that I should always intend to do a kill but what hinders me of doing it is totally memorizing and remembering the next step. I also sometimes forget to move the dagger I'm holding in my left hand and just swinging my right hand with the sword. Also, I sometimes don't make a small step for my back foot or making a shortcut by a little jump with it which is bad. Even with all of those that happened, Ma'am Peachie and Anthony told me that I'm a fast learner. Afterall, this is my first time and I don't have any background in any FMA or other martial arts whatsoever. They are quite encouraging during practice.
I should have bring 2 elbow wraps and not just 1 because I switch the hold of the sword from right to left hand. Also, I should buy a shoulder support band since my shoulder ached after the practice because of the heavy weight of my bolo. I should also buy & bring 2 same length and weight bolo/machete/itak and not just 1. I also forgot to bring the receipt for my membership in Ayala Museum. It's closed tomorrow- Monday.
It's almost a 5-hour practice and I didn't notice the time when I practiced, even during drinking water breaks. I wish I video-recorded this practice. The group is planning to go to Banahaw mountains in Northern Luzon on October.
The prohibition in the group is teaching the steps to outsiders. I should first master all the techniques and get the permission from the senior instructors and from Grandmaster Tony first before teaching anyone because I couldn't explain the techniques further as of this time. This FMA style is combative in nature that's why Ma'am Peachie told me that they don't teach this in schools. I'm 1 of the walk-ins and they told me that they mostly teach this to someone related to them. Grandmaster Yuli Romo is the 1 who teaches the karambit and the group is often teaching the straight dagger.
I feel so privileged that this style was invented or originated in this country and it only costs PHP250 or US$5.59 per session. It's a family secret passed down from father to son, from 1 generation to the next and not allowed to be taught to outsiders especially to non-Filipinos before. In the past, people in other countries only learn it through seminars done by masters in this country that costs mostly US$80 or more these days.
There are so much more to learn...:
It's a good thing there are no rituals here where you need to chase & catch a piglet and a monitor lizard like in this video:
(funny)
or spar wrestling with a carabao or water buffalo (dangerous) like here:
or be submerged in the water (spiritual):
Those are mostly Pekiti Tirsia Kali videos by the way, a different FMA style.
