Learn about the history, culture and techniques of filipino escrima with this informative martial arts guide. The history of the Philippines and her martial arts is a history of resistance and revolt. Born into this fertile time and place, Grandmaster Leo M. Giron became a child of revolution. He grew up in a time when martial arts training was a necessity, not a luxury. His system was taught to him by five renowned masters; his experience honed in the jungle warfare of World War II. The Secrets of Giron Arnis Escrima is an engaging biography of Leo Giron, a renowned master of escrima and survivor of numerous hand-to-hand encounters in the Philippine jungles. It is also a visual and descriptive survey of Giron's fighting art--a classical weapons and empty-hand self-defense system applicable in today's modern society. Included is an overview of the twenty styles that make up the Giron system in general, and an analysis of the de fondo and cadena de mano styles in particular. Packed with over 300 historical and instructional photographs this book truly reveals the secrets of this Filipino martial art.

A highly effective and well-rounded Filipino martial art, Cabales Serrada Escrima uses basic stick-fighting movements whose applicability extends into both unarmed engagement and knife fighting. In Secrets of Cabales Serrada Escrima, Mark V. Wiley offers not only a clear presentation of the strikes, blocks, counters, and disarms unique to this style, but goes beyond mere self-defense techniques into the concepts underlying the fighting art, explaining how and why the moves work, and when best to use them. This revised and expanded edition of Mark Wiley's authoritative volume presents the heart of the Cabales Serrada system in six clear parts: an outline of the history and development of the system, personal accounts of Grandmaster Angel Cabales, discussion of the dynamics of body positioning and distance control, sections on the art's core single-stick and empty-hand defensive methods, as well as a comprehensive set of drills.

Arnis: Reflections on the History and Development of the Filipino Martial Arts is an intriguing collection of essays on Filipino martial arts. Featured are insightful essays by Filipino martial artists: Krishna K. Godhania Antonio E. Somera Abner G. Pasa Dr. Jopet Laraya Felipe P. beano, Jr. Rene J. Navarro For centuries, Filipino martial arts have played integral and often momentous roles in the history of the Philippines and in the survival of the Filipino people. But what are these arts? Where do they come from? How have they developed? Where are they headed? And what inner dimensions do they offer their practitioners? These questions, among others, form the basis of Arnis: Reflections on the History and Development of the Filipino Martial Arts.

Sonny Umpad's Eskrima provides insight on Maestro Santiago “Sonny” Umpad's life, philosophy, and teaching methods, as well as the structural underpinnings of his system. Born with the soul of a warrior, the intellect of a scholar, and a zealot's devotion to his art, Maestro Santiago "Sonny" Umpad forged an enduring contribution to the rich and colorful history of Filipino martial culture. In 1976, after immigrating to the United States, Sonny founded the school of Visayan Style Corto Kadena & Larga Mano Eskrima—rooted in his training in the Philippines and tested by a hard and dangerous life on the streets, Sonny's system was above all else practical. As Sonny's reputation as a talented fighter became well-known, he began to cross-train with masters of other martial arts, including Jesse Glover (Bruce Lee's first student) and Wally Jay (founder of Small Circle Jujitsu). One of the most innovative and visionary exponents of the Filipino arts, Sonny pioneered the concept of "mixed martial arts" long before the term was in use. Instructor George Yore has assembled the writings of six of Sonny's students (including Wade Williams, 2012 nominee for the U.S. Martial Arts Hall of Fame) to create a biographic homage to this remarkable martial artist; basic techniques and applications are also demonstrated, accompanied by 130 step-by-step photos. Practitioners of Filipino martial arts—as well as mixed martial artists and security specialists—will find valuable instruction in techniques and applications, while the thousands of people touched by Sonny's teachings will gain a new understanding of this notoriously reclusive master's life—and how his experiences informed the development of his system.

In the early twentieth century—not long after 1898, when the United States claimed the Philippines as an American colony—Filipinas/os became a vital part of the agricultural economy of California's fertile San Joaquin Delta. In downtown Stockton, they created Little Manila, a vibrant community of hotels, pool halls, dance halls, restaurants, grocery stores, churches, union halls, and barbershops. Little Manila was home to the largest community of Filipinas/os outside of the Philippines until the neighborhood was decimated by urban redevelopment in the 1960s. Narrating a history spanning much of the twentieth century, Dawn Bohulano Mabalon traces the growth of Stockton's Filipina/o American community, the birth and eventual destruction of Little Manila, and recent efforts to remember and preserve it. Mabalon draws on oral histories, newspapers, photographs, personal archives, and her own family's history in Stockton. She reveals how Filipina/o immigrants created a community and ethnic culture shaped by their identities as colonial subjects of the United States, their racialization in Stockton as brown people, and their collective experiences in the fields and in the Little Manila neighborhood. In the process, Mabalon places Filipinas/os at the center of the development of California agriculture and the urban West.

Due largely to its effectiveness, Escrima is one of the world's most popular martial arts systems. Grandmaster Leo M. Giron designed this method to overcome a larger and stronger opponent in life-or-death encounters. Giron's Escrima contains many ingenious exercises and strategies while remaining the essence of simplicity. Giron's Escrima knowledge has been in great demand by thousands of Escrima, Arnis, and Kali students from all over the world--and now for the first time, the original work of Grandmaster Giron is brought to the public with the most comprehensive information ever published in an Escrima book. Packed with photos taken with painstaking care to assure correct positioning and execution, this volume covers all of the fundamental and advanced principles as taught by the late Grandmaster Leo M. Giron.

Martial Arts Biographies: An Annotated Bibliography lists hundreds of martial arts related biographies and autobiographies. Most of the entries are annotated, giving a synopsis of the relevant material in the book. Included are listings for martial artists of Karate, Kung Fu, Aikido, Judo, Jiu Jitsu, Tae Kwon Do, Ninjutsu, Tai Chi, and many other styles. Appendices list productive sources for new and used books, and contact information for major publishers of martial arts books. Martial Arts Biographies: An Annotated Bibliography is a useful resource for martial arts researchers, readers, book collectors, and libraries.