Kali-fornia love

When I first got to Japan, I was taking Aikido classes because I was so intrigued by the beauty & flow of this Japanese martial art. But as I was progressing, I didn't see how Aikido could be useful in real-life situations when the danger is at an all-time high. Kali is more of a practical combat application that focuses on offensive & counter-offensive tactics with triangular movements. It is indigenous to the Philippines that dates back to pre-Spanish colonization around the 16th century. The main focus is on blade (knife) work but also utilizes the baston (stick). By learning how to use the knife and the stick correctly, empty hand fighting is easier because it's the same techniques...basically, your hands act as the blade/stick. The popularity of Kali is growing, especially in more action movies like the Bourne Identity that use kali techniques in their knife fighting scenes. Luckily, there was a Filipino Kali group on base so I decided to check out a class back in July and fell in love with it ever since.

Shin-Kali is the name of my group....we are the official Pekiti-Tirsia Kali training group in Japan but also incorporate some jiu-jitsu into our program. Pekiti-Tirsia Kali is the only system of Kali that the Filipino military uses as well as the military forces in India. There are several Shin-Kali groups spread throughout Japan (Tokyo, Roppongi, Osaka, Saitama) but I am a member of the school in Yokohama which is headed by Sensei Satoshi. He is full Japanese but grew up in the Philippines so he is way more Filipino than I am. In addition to Sensei Satoshi, Yoko is a senior student that helps Sensei Satoshi run the business side of the school, and Lakan Guro (high-rank) Vince who is a Filipino-American who ran the Yokosuka training group. LG Vince is in the Navy who recently got stationed in the Bay Area so he is busy trying to get Shin-Kali going in the states. We all miss LG Vince but Ben (who I recently went to dinner with at the Lockup restaurant) is now leading the group in Yokosuka.

Satoshi Sensei, LG Vince, Yoko

   

The techniques we learn in class are used in occasional sparring sessions where we really get to test our skills. We only use a fencing helmet and lacrosse gloves but everything else is fair game. Trust me when I say that during this short time, I've had my share of cuts & bruises. But it's totally worth it because it gives me an opportunity to see what areas I need to work on using the stick & practice knife.

About a month or so into joining Yokohama, I had my official "initiation" which consisted of me sparring everyone from white belt to Sensei for one minute rounds and only about a 30 second break in-between to catch my breathe. After getting my finger nail broken off and getting back kicked in the stomach by LG Vince, I was now a part of the Yokohama family. I say family because
we train hard, fight hard, and sometimes get into each other's faces but at the end of the day, we still care about each other and like to have fun over a few drinks.

Back in October, we had a Shin-Kali gathering where all the schools around Japan came to Yokohama for the day to participate in some really cool Kali-related scenarios like gang war, man-down, blind-kali, & escape from North Korea. All the sensei's were keeping tabs of the stand-outs of each game and were going to hand out prizes accordingly. Although I didn't excel in one particular game, me and LG Nikko did get honorable mention for our fighting throughout the entire gathering and got awarded training bastons (sticks) which we were really happy about.

 

 

I am so glad that my cousin Merve, who also trains in a different style of Kali (Sayoc & Atienza Kali)in Los Angeles, insisted I at least try out a class and see how I like it. Shin-Kali has given me the opportunity to learn more about myself, learn how to protect loved-ones, & make new friends.