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Espada Y Daga
Espada Y Daga means “stick and dagger”,
but the expression is used by Filipino Kali instructors to refer to any
fighting in which one hand holds a long weapon and the other a short
weapon. This unique idea of fighting with a short and a long weapon
simultaneously is an offshoot of the Filipino warrior mentality!
“It is one-upmanship”,
noted Kali instructor
Dan Inosanto
says. “In the Philippines, if the opponent
was empty-handed you got a knife. If he had a knife, you got a knife and a
stick. If he had a knife and a stick, you got a knife and a sword, and so
on”.
There are dozens of Filipino styles, most of which include some variation
of the “short and long”.
Many different combinations of weapons fall under this heading, including
the practice of Espada Y Daga with a shield in one hand and a sword, stick
or dagger in the other.
Inosanto teaches his students to ply the art of Espada Y Daga with several
different combinations of weapons, including the sword and dagger, cane
and dagger, shield and sword, and shield and dagger. “You
can put a book in one hand and a broomstick in the other and the art will
still work”, Inosanto asserts.
Espada Y Daga Traits
Espada Y Daga contains both knife and stick fighting concepts. The
movements are combined simultaneously in a whirlpool of action.
Kali instructor Paul
Vunak claims Espada Y Daga is one of the most challenging aspects of
the Filipino systems. “In the Philippines, if
there is a hierarchy in weapons in terms of efficiency and difficulty,
Espada Y Daga would be right up there”, he
notes. “It is one of the more intricate, if
not the most intricate, of the weapons methods”.
Filipino stylists pay special attention to the “Ranges”
of combat. When without weapons, they concern themselves with the
following four fighting ranges: kicking, punching, trapping and wrestling
distance. When, however, Kali practitioners are armed in the fashion of
Espada Y Daga, the distances for combat expand to include stick and knife
fighting.
Stick range begins at the distance in which fighters are able to strike
each other’s hands and arms with the weapon. Because of the average length
of Filipino sticks, this distance is considerable. Knife range, on the
other hand, begins at the much closer point in which fighters are first
able to gash each other’s hands and arms with a relatively short blade.
But fighters armed with both stick and dagger make use of a third distance
known as “hit-and-cut”
range. Hit-and-cut range is the distance at which a fighter is in close
enough to slice his opponent with the knife, but no so close that he is
unable to clobber him with the stick.
Attributes &
Special Functions
“You can break Espada Y Daga down into two
sections, one training and one functional”,
Vunak states. “In the category of training,
Espada Y Daga has more drills – intricate drills – than in just about any
other aspect of Filipino combat”.
This is true mainly because of the fact the Espada Y Daga practitioner
must simultaneously accommodate two different weapons and cope with three
ranges of combat. Espada Y Daga techniques are tricky and take a great
deal of time to master, but the result is a fighter whose speed, timing
and “range
flexibility” are
greatly increased.
Learning to deal with short and long range weapons at the same time is
practical in many ways. It teaches body movements, footwork, “zoning”
(moving away from the enemy and into position for a counterattack),
evasion, and attack methods that apply to many aspects of empty-hand
combat, including kicking, punching, trapping, and grappling.
Filipino stylists training in Espada Y Daga learn early to dodge the
deadly tip and edge of their opponent’s blade. Once they have learned to
deal with the stick and successfully dodge the knife, getting out of the
way of a boxer’s rear cross is comparatively simple.
Training Methods
Filipino stylists use many training methods to teach the principles of
Espada Y Daga. Among the most important are
Contra Sumbrada,
Numerada
and Cerrada.
Contra Sumbrada
is a counter-for-counter training method. In this drill, students
participate as equals: one attacks, one counters, back and forth in rapid
succession. “Over
time, you can triple your reflexes with the Contra Sumbrada method”,
Kali instructor Terry
Gibson says. “Contra
Sumbrada is a vehicle to get the martial artist to a higher overall speed
and skill level”.
“Bill Wallace has one
of the fastest kicks in the world, traveling about 60 miles per hour”,
Gibson adds. “But
even an average Espada Y Daga student’s stick with be moving faster”.
Numerada
means “one side feeds”,
and is an extremely important part of the Espada Y Daga training
infrastructure, as well as one of Gibson’s favorite drills. “The
Numerada exercise adds elements of complexity to the stick and dagger
workout, including zoning and footwork”,
Gibson states.
In the Numerada exercise, one partner is designated the “trainer”. He
stands in the middle of a circle and “feeds” the “student” an attack. The
student uses footwork and zoning to move along the circumference of the
circle while defending and counterattacking.
The defender can move in either direction, and may travel as much as
one-half the circumference of the circle. The trainer can attack with any
number of stick and dagger combinations, along any angle. “It
is an excellent drill for developing footwork, zoning – evasion skills,
and capture techniques (traps, tie-ups, etc.)”,
Gibson notes. “Numerada
also teaches students to defend against multiple opponents”.
The training method known as
Cerrada
requires one partner to “feed” the attack and restricts the other to a
defensive response with no zoning. Its purpose is to further enhance a
practitioner’s reflexes and speed.
Any combination of Filipino weapons may be used in Contra Sumbrada,
Numerada and Cerrada training, or with any of the other Filipino training
methods. Furthermore, the principles which make Espada Y Daga work are the
same universal concepts which govern the entire Filipino Kali art,
including empty-hand fighting. “You
learn possibilities in these arts, you don’t always learn set responses”,
Gibson claims. “Cerrada,
Numerada and Contra Sumbrada are versatile training methods; there are
thousands of techniques possible with each method. Kali is a warrior art.
That is why Espada Y Daga has evolved into such a high level method”.
As Inosanto says, “Espada
Y Daga is not about fair play; it is about winning and survival and
one-upmanship”.
History
The
Espada Y Daga is a system or a technique that was developed and perfected
in the Philippines. The focus of this method of fighting is to be able to
go in and out of long, middle and close ranges to trap up the enemy and
kill. Though, it is a fighting method indigenous to the Philippines, one
of the inspirations for it's evolution is said to be
European
Western Fencing,
mostly Spanish; as you can see by the Spanish name of "Espada Y Daga"! One
of the few long lasting cultural and martial influences the Spanish
conquistadors left with the Filipinos was the Spanish names to some of the
techniques and the names of the fighting systems popularly known as Kali
or Arnis or Eskrima. The Filipinos imitated the Spanish version of Espada
Y Daga and soon found the weaknesses working a way to make the offensive
moves complicated so Spaniards could not counter it.
To be able to coordinate such skills with a sword and knife together
consisted of many hours of training drills for the development of the
proper reflexes and good flow in using two weapons for parrying, checking,
scooping, thrusting and slashing. Included in this training was the
incorporation of geometrical footwork, body angling for evasiveness to be
able to close in and attack without being killed. Various locking, and
takedowns from
Dumog are normally added once a student has demonstrated good fighting
skills. Both the Espada and the Daga are employed at the same time with
beautiful looking weave like movements are very deceiving and quick to
finish the job!
The
study of Espada Y Daga improves one’s single stick skills by improving the
aggressiveness of the Alive
Hand
(or free-hand), since the Espada Y Daga knife hand is trained to be more
offensive. Espada Y Daga movements translate nicely into double knife
techniques, both in
Pakal
(ice-pick) and Sak-Sak
(hammer) grips. Double knife techniques can also translate into single
knife techniques…
Espada Y Daga, also
known as "Punta
Y Daga"
or "Olisi
Y Baraw",
is a modern discipline of Kali and the Filipino Martial
Arts (FMA) believed to be influenced by Spanish
swordsmanship, in particular the Spanish style of
Side Sword
& Dagger
used by the Conquistadors who invaded the Philippine islands in the 16th
Century, and not the Rapier and Dagger styles used for dueling and self
defense purposes by the Spanish upper classes as was once believed.
It is believed that the indigenous peoples who were sympathetic to the
Spanish rulers were enlisted into the Spanish forces to help fend off
regular invasions from the Muslim pirates from Mindanao and Sulu. Once
recruited into the garrisons it is believed the Spanish Friars and
commanders taught their fighting skills to the native recruits, who in
turn adapted this style of fighting and combined it with their own
indigenous fighting skills.
Espada Y Daga discipline of Kali art focuses
on engaging an opponent(s) in Close (Corto),
Mid (Medio)
and Long (Largo)
ranges.
Typically the stronger or dominant hand (usually the right hand) will hold
the long weapon (sword or stick) and in many styles will serve as the
primary weapon. The weaker hand (usually the left hand), or off-hand,
wields the short weapon (dagger or knife) and is
used for both offense (thrusting and sliding) and defense (blocking,
checking and locking).
Training typically begins with drills teaching coordination of the two
weapons in striking and checking patterns. The incorporation of footwork,
body angling, locking, and takedowns are normally added once the student
has demonstrated competence in their application of the basic
patterns/sets.
Training Espada Y Daga is generally precipitated by
Solo Baston
(single stick) and/or
Doble Baston
(double sticks), with
Mano Mano
(empty hands) and
Dumog (wrestling) being taught to advanced students. The number and
variation of the disciplines taught will vary by
Guro
(teacher) and style.
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Photo below: Grandmaster
Floro Villabrille
(1912-1992) in an Espada Y Daga stance.
Photo below: Grandmaster
Angel Cabales
(1917-1991) in an Espada Y Daga stance.
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