Escrima Self Defence: Stick, Knife, Empty Hand by Mark Romain

ESCRIMA SELF DEFENCE: STICK, KNIFE, EMPTY HAND  

by Mark Romain 

Paul Crompton Ltd., 1982

Spoiler alert: I like this book. It has an important distinction in the history of FMA books. Escrima Self Defence: Stick, Knife, Empty Hand is the first book ever published by an Englishman in the U.K. on the Filipino martial arts. The book provides insight on Mark Romain’s philosophy of FMA and shows how he used the knowledge and experience gained from his own training and research to develop a unique and highly effective system of armed and unarmed self-defense.

 

The book is 107 pages in length, softcover, and divided into 9 sections as listed in the table of contents, with additional pages of “Escrima For Policing”, “Notes”, and also “About The Author”.

Some quotes from the Foreward and Introduction:

“It is our duty, and we owe it both to ourselves and our loved ones, to ensure that in the event of
attack, we can defend ourselves adequately and repel any aggressor.”

“The ultimate quest of the true martial artist is to preserve life, not destroy it. But sometimes in
trying to preserve ourselves and our loved ones, the culture we live in and the beliefs that we
hold most precious, the taking or harming of some life may be necessary; however, the
destruction of life must never, under any circumstances, be our primary objective.”

“To start with, because of the obvious dangers involved when training with weapons, a great deal
of patience and concentration is required. It is not something that can be rushed, but once the
basics have been mastered, the road is then open to much excitement and interesting variation."

In the section “Escrima For Policing”, the author details reasons and information as to the importance of law enforcement officers being trained in how to properly handle a baton. He writes:

“To arm a professional man with a weapon and then not to train him in it’s use seems ludicrous,
especially as such training need not be very time-consuming. Escrima basics would arm a man,
whose job necessitated carrying a stick, baton, or truncheon, with both defensive and offensive
ability. It would teach him how to block and counter, where and how to hit, how to either wind,
stun, immobilize or otherwise stop an aggressor and so on. In other words, it would increase his
efficiency in performing his prime function - that of keeping the peace.”

Following, in “History”, Mr. Romain gives, in three pages, a better short overview of the early history of the Filipino martial arts than I find in most books I have read from that time period. Mentioning that FMA dates back to a time long before the Chinese people of the Ming Dynasty began to arrive to the Philippines, then briefly covering the first arrival of the Spanish in 1521, through the times of Spanish and then American rule, the resistance of the Moros, and on up to the 20th century, it is a very enjoyable section to read.

Chapter One - Stick Fighting

“A weapon in the hands of a trained man can determine the difference between a lethal or 
non-lethal confrontation in a hand to hand combat situation.”

This section begins with information on grip and striking. The 5 strikes (a.k.a. Cinco Teros) are taught: diagonal down (left and right), horizontal (left and right), and a center mass thrust. Next is distance: “an important factor in the use of a weapon for combat” - “we must be able to judge and alter our distance to the opponent’s weapon and situation as it arises”. Following distance is movement: “skill in movement is very important in any form of fighting” - “it is heavily relied upon in both attack and defense”. A diagram of triangular movement is given to illustrate angular stepping.

After movement, the back-up hand (a.k.a. the live hand) and stance are discussed and explained.

“Used properly, the back-up hand, sometimes called the alive hand, will put a pause in the
opponents motion, hindering his movement and giving valuable time to counter attack.”

“...in Escrima, unlike karate or kung-fu, there are no formalised stances. Therefore, what we term
as a good or correct stance is co-ordination of body movement and footwork, a position in which
the fighter is alert and ready to react with either attack or counter attack.”

The concept for an exercise to practice blocks based on the earlier mentioned triangular foot pattern is explained, and then the remainder of the chapter is filled with captioned photos demonstrating the following:

1. Basic strikes (10)

2. Basic blocks (10)

3. Examples of sparring movements (stick to stick sparring)

4. Other uses of the stick - take downs and chokes (5)

5. Take Aways - locks and disarms (5)

  

Chapter Two - Fighting With Two Sticks

The second chapter begins by discussing that, “once the student has attained proficiency in…striking and blocking techniques, he or she will have begun to develop a basic understanding of Escrima…the escrimador will have a foundation from which to build his study of weapons fighting on…”. He also goes on to explain concepts and differences between single and double stick fighting. The remainder of the chapter is filled with captioned photos demonstrating the following:

1. Swinging double sticks (in a Cinco Teros fashion)

2. Defenses against 5 single stick strikes (a.k.a. Cinco Teros)

3. Defense exercises

4. Attack exercises

Chapter Three - Short Stick Work

“There is no doubt that the short stick is an amazing little weapon for self-defence. It is a totally
deceptive and easily concealed weapon and as such it must be regarded as one of the most
economical and totally effective methods of self-protection that we have available at our 
disposal.”

In this third chapter, the short stick (a.k.a. Dulo Dulo) is explained - it’s use “against the bony protrusions and vital nerve centres of the human anatomy” as well as fist loading. There are four pages of captioned photos demonstrating defense exercises against single stick (3) and empty hand (1) attacks.

Chapter Four - Unarmed Fighting

“Since in this book the various weapons at the disposal of the escrimador are our main concern, it
must be stated that the most natural and convenient weapons at our disposal are those that we are
born with - hands, elbows, legs etc. If during armed combat you lose your weapon, you would have to continue the fight against your opponent unarmed.”

Mr. Romain begins chapter four by reiterating the importance of timing, distance, and movement. We must confuse and interrupt our attacker, throwing off his rhythm with feints and dodges. Once the  unarmed defender is able to enter and counter-strike, he should try to immobilize the attacker by throwing him or going for a break or dislocation. He continues by providing concepts for defense against a knife, baton, and an unarmed attacker.

“...the object of Escrima is to teach the individual to adapt to any situation at any time.”

The balance of the chapter is filled with captioned photos demonstrating exercises for the following:

1. Defense against a knife (5)

2. Defense against a baton (5)

3. Defense against an unarmed attacker (5)

Notes

This section provides some terminology, and briefly discusses weapons characteristics, flexible weapons, bladed weapons, and short light weapons, all with the goal of giving the escrima student “a basic idea what to look for when assessing a weapon.”

Conclusion

In the conclusion of the book, Mr. Romain reminds us about the importance of training diligently, being prepared for any situation, being eager to progress in our training - we must give it our all.

“A good martial artist never ceases to study and learn and is constantly inspired not only by the teaching of others but by the creative thoughts of his or her own. It is my hope that this book will not only teach and enlighten but will inspire the urge to experiment and develop the skills and potentials that each of us possesses.”  

My thoughts on this book

Escrima Self Defence: Stick, Knife, Empty Hand is a terrific choice for anyone who likes old martial arts books as I do, or likes to collect FMA books for personal enjoyment or historical value. I picked this up about a year ago, while visiting my daughter in the U.S., and have enjoyed reading about escrima from the author’s perspective and experience. As this book is out of print, I would recommend websites like Abe Books or ThriftBooks in your search.

Thanks for checking out the blog. God bless you, have a great day, and remember - whenever you train, train with all your heart!