One of the most impressive and, one could say, beautiful, techniques in the Filipino Martial Art of escrima must be the Espada Y Daga. Espada Y Daga comes from the Spanish phrase "sword and dagger", and as the name implies, is performed with two weapons. Usually the longer weapon (which can sometimes be replaced with a stick) makes the first move followed by the shorter and quicker knife weapon. This is inherently a close range combat technique, where the weaker and farther knife hand can already stab the opponent.
This particular technique is considered the "heart" of many escrima systems, such as Pekiti-Tirsia, Kalis Ilustrisimo, and Lightning Scientific Arnis, and it is taught only to advanced students since it requires good coordination with both hands, and the wielding of two different kinds of weapons at the same time. Usually this technique may be first taught with a single stick and an open hand during training.
Once mastered, one will be able to do a beautiful succession of alternating attacks, which also has an aesthetic, spiritual quality to it. The master will learn to do without any predetermined combinations but make his strikes spontaneous, and react quickly to any counter-attacks the opponent might try to make. One can imagine the opponent being literally "chopped to pieces" by the two blades.
It seems that even though the name of the technique is Spanish (because of the Spanish colonization of the Philippines for more than three-hundred years), the technique itself is pre-hispanic in origin. It is possible that native warrior clans were already using and practicing the espada y daga long before the Spanish ever arrived. They may even have used this technique on the Spanish soldiers they fought with!
Of course, some may ask whether this technique is still practical today since it is illegal to carry a knife in many countries, let alone a sword and a knife combination. And also, this technique might not be effective when confronted with a firearm. To that our usual answer is it really depends on the practitioner. Some may see the espada y daga as just a relic of the past which needs to be preserved for the sake of tradition, while others might actually be able to use it in a real fight, say with police implements such as a baton and a spray bottle.
As always, we emphasize responsibility when using such techniques. These techniques were meant to be deadly, and it was traditionally taught only to those who were mature enough in mind and spirit. Maybe you're the kind of person who is mature enough in his inner character to learn this art.
This particular technique is considered the "heart" of many escrima systems, such as Pekiti-Tirsia, Kalis Ilustrisimo, and Lightning Scientific Arnis, and it is taught only to advanced students since it requires good coordination with both hands, and the wielding of two different kinds of weapons at the same time. Usually this technique may be first taught with a single stick and an open hand during training.
Once mastered, one will be able to do a beautiful succession of alternating attacks, which also has an aesthetic, spiritual quality to it. The master will learn to do without any predetermined combinations but make his strikes spontaneous, and react quickly to any counter-attacks the opponent might try to make. One can imagine the opponent being literally "chopped to pieces" by the two blades.
It seems that even though the name of the technique is Spanish (because of the Spanish colonization of the Philippines for more than three-hundred years), the technique itself is pre-hispanic in origin. It is possible that native warrior clans were already using and practicing the espada y daga long before the Spanish ever arrived. They may even have used this technique on the Spanish soldiers they fought with!
Of course, some may ask whether this technique is still practical today since it is illegal to carry a knife in many countries, let alone a sword and a knife combination. And also, this technique might not be effective when confronted with a firearm. To that our usual answer is it really depends on the practitioner. Some may see the espada y daga as just a relic of the past which needs to be preserved for the sake of tradition, while others might actually be able to use it in a real fight, say with police implements such as a baton and a spray bottle.
As always, we emphasize responsibility when using such techniques. These techniques were meant to be deadly, and it was traditionally taught only to those who were mature enough in mind and spirit. Maybe you're the kind of person who is mature enough in his inner character to learn this art.
About the Author:
The writer is a certified instructor (third-degree black belt) in the martial art of escrima. His passion is to share only the most practical escrima knife fighting techniques for self-defense to ordinary people who cannot be full-time martial artists. Visit his website, for escrima knife fighting lessons.
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