 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
At Typhoon Philippine School of Martial Arts, we offer four complete systems and curriculum of combat.
Each style should suit the characteristics of the student, and a consultation with our
head instructor will be required in choosing a program. This is to protect the student as well as the
school, and ensure that students are comfortable with the training they endure.
Students with less than a year’s worth of martial arts experience are required to spend at least one year studying Typhoon Kuntaw before attempting to train in any of the other three systems. Typhoon Kuntaw
Typhoon Filipino Kuntaw was created by Guro Gatdula to serve the needs of most martial arts students who wish to develop practical fighting skills, while sampling the various martial arts styles. Typhoon Kuntaw is a combination of Chinese Kung Fu, 2 styles of Filipino Kuntaw (Gatdula and Boggs Lao), Southeast Asian-Style Kick-Boxing, Tae Kwon Do, Presas-style Arnis, and Eskrima. The curriculum includes the basic concepts and techniques of each system, plus five weapons for minors and seven for adults. Students under 18 learn more than 10 empty-handed forms, plus a form for each weapon. Each level is accompanied by sparring requirements. Upon receiving the First Degree Black Belt in Typhoon Kuntaw, the student is considered an expert in the martial arts, but must pursue the Second Degree to teach. The fighting philosophy of Typhoon Kuntaw is to finish the opponent with as little wasted movement as possible. In the children’s program, the focus of is on subduing and deflecting techniques, while the adult’s program specializes in more brutal techniques. Typhoon Kuntaw students learn 5 categories of empty-handed attacking methods — including boxing, subduing techniques, joint locking techniques, and choking techniques. A full curriculum of kicking methods are taught, including leg attacks, sweeps, head kicks, and jump kicks. Because of its broad range of fighting skills, we highly recommend the Typhoon Kuntaw program for inexperienced martial artists to sample various fighting techniques before attempting to specialize. After studying the style for one year, the student will have a solid foundation in the martial arts, and can decide which area to specialize in from there. Gatdula-style Kuntaw
This is a more in-depth and advanced study of the Phillipine fighting art of Kuntaw than the Typhoon Kuntaw curriculum. Kuntaw is the family fighting system of our Head Instructor, Maurice Gatdula. There is a great debate concerning the origin of Philippine Kuntaw, but most agree that Kuntaw originated in China, and arrived in the Southern Philippines through trade with Chinese sailors and emigrants. Kuntaw and its cousin art, Silat, are bare handed and blade-fighting arts practiced by the Moslems of that region. Unlike the Indonesian and Malaysian counterparts, Philippine Kuntaw does not use prearranged forms or dances (called Sayaw or Langka). Instead, most styles shadowbox, often to music. In the Gatdula system, shadowboxing is used much like a boxer uses it. Planned attacks and counters are trained until those skills can be delivered without thought; yet, if the opponent moves unexpectedly the fighter should be able to adapt or change his attack without regard to the plan. Gatdula-style Kuntaw includes 9 categories of empty-handed technique and 10 weapons. The weapons system includes single stick, short dagger, stick and dagger, machete, long sword, spear, chain, walking cane, palm weapons and long pole. Students who undertake a weapon must demonstrate fighting ability with that weapon against any other type of weapon, and demonstrate the ability to fight empty handed against that weapon. Finally, full-contact fighting is required of all Kuntaw students, both empty-handed and with weapons (helmets and other protective gear is worn when fighting full-contact with weapons). Candidates with less than a year of prior experience are required to train in Typhoon Kuntaw before being accepted into the Gatdula Kuntaw program. Fighting Eskrima
The Gatdula system of Eskrima is called “Fighting Eskrima”. We use the term “Fighting Eskrima” to differentiate our system from the classical forms more popular today. While many styles of Eskrima employ several weapons throughout their curriculum, we specialize in only two weapons: the stick and the knife. Our philosophy is that in order to ensure your survival against any opponent, and to truly say that one "fears no man", the fighter must have a specialty that has been trained to it's highest potential. If a martial arts student has only spent 20 percent of his training time on five different weapons, he has not developed any of those skills to its potential. By contrast, if he has spent all of his time on a single weapon, he has taken his skills to the highest level achievable. Gatdula's Fighting Escrima uses Classical Visayan Eskrima as its base. Visayan Eskrima specializes in the use of a stick as a "weapon" (as opposed to using the stick as a "blade") and it's techniques reflect the use of the stick as a striking and crushing weapon, instead of a slashing weapon. Gatdula's Fighting Escrima does not use wide strokes, and emphasizes body motion and wrist strength for power. Our three main strategies of stickfighting are Abaniko, Singko Tiro, and Pikiti Tirsya. Many of the strategies of combat and basic attack methods are interrelated between the stick and the blade, but they are taught separately as weapons and their techniques. This method is used to help the fighter understand the weapon and become a specialist of that weapon. Similar to most Eskrima styles, we teach the stick first, and the blade second. One may study GFE by itself, as part of the Typhoon Karate system, or as part of the Gatdula system of Kuntaw. We have no prerequisite for study of GFE; however, we only accept adults in this program. Upon completion of GFE, you should be able to fight full contact with minimal padding with the stick against the stick, empty handed against the stick, with the stick against an unarmed opponent, unarmed and armed against a blade, with a blade against an armed and unarmed opponent. A public demonstration of these skills will be required to graduate from the GFE training. Dean Chin's Jow Ga
Jow Ga was created over 100 years ago by five brothers of the Jow family of the Sa Fu village in Canton, China. The brothers — Jow Hip, Jow Hoy, Jow Tin ("teen"), Jow Biu ("Bill"), and Jow Lung — were known as the “Five Tigers”, because of their martial arts prowess. Jow Lung - who was the oldest brother - combined his uncle’s Hung Gar kung fu with Choy Gar, which he learned from the village masters. Years later, while in Malaysia, Jow Lung joined the Kek Lok Si Shaolin Temple, where he studied the Bak Siu Lum (Northern Shaolin) Kung Fu style. He originally called his synthesis “Hung Tao Choy Mei”, meaning “The Head of Hung and Tail of Choy”. After Jow Lung’s untimely death in 1919 at age 31 from pneumonia, the remaining brothers renamed their art "Jow Ga" in honor of their brother ("Ga" or "Gar" in Chinese means "family" - so it translates into "Jow family style" kung fu). Jow Bill became the new leader (Grandmaster) of the system. He set out to promote Jow Ga, and within a few years he had established more than eighty schools throughout China. In 1936 the first Jow Ga school was established in Hong Kong. Several notable masters emerged from this Hong Kong school - among them the current Grandmaster of the system, Chan Man Cheung. In 1968 a desciple of Grandmaster Chan Man Cheung, Master Dean Chin, brought the Jow Ga System to the United States. Sifu Dean Chin established himself in Washington DC's Chinatown community, and in 1973 opened his own school, the Jow Ga Kung Fu Association. Sifu Dean Chin was was also a master of Ying Jow Pai (Eagle Claw) Kung Fu - which he studied in Hong Kong under Lau Man Fat for many years before he began his Jow Ga training. He studied several other styles as well, such as Bak Mei (White Eyebrow), White Crane, and Wing Chun. Some of these styles he incorporated into his system - respectively referred to as "Dean Chin's Jow Ga". His curriculum included techniques and sets from Northern Eagle Claw, Praying Mantis, etc - the "best of each system", according to Sifu Chin. Jow Ga is known for the use of the strong hand techniques of Hung Gar, the intricate and fast footwork of Choy Gar, and the advance kicking techniques of Northern Shaolin. The Jow Ga fighter is truly a versatile opponent, because of the intense training and variety of skills the style requires. We teach more than 30 forms and weapons to Jow Ga students. In addition, Jow Ga students are required to learn grappling and seizing techniques, as well as board and brick breaking feats. The beginning level of Jow Ga focuses on developing a strong, but mobile stance. Beginners also learn more than 20 empty handed strikes and blocks while preparing to learn our first empty handed form, "Siu Fok Fu" (Small Subduing Tiger). During this time, students begin sparring to learn to apply their techniques against a live, moving opponent. Jow Ga Lineage
Jow Ga Forms
Beginner Level: Siu Fok Fu (Subduing Small Tiger) Gune Lic Kune (Building Power Fist) [Northern Eagle Claw] Small Tiger Two Man Set Sern Tao Gwun (Double Headed Staff) Intermediate Level: Faa Chune (Flower Fist) Staff vs. Staff Two Man Set Mui Faa Cheung (Plum Blossom Spear) Dye Fok Fu (Big Tiger) Small Tiger Broadsword Bong Bo Tung Lung (Eight Step Praying Mantis Fist) [Northern Praying Mantis] Spear vs. Single Broadsword Two Man Set Small Three-Sectioned Staff Advanced Level: 35 Chin Na Style Siu Hung Chune (Small Hero Fist) Fu Mei Darn Do (Tiger Tail Broadsword) Left Handed Spear Tit Geen Kune (Iron Arrow Fist) Fu Pow Chune (Tiger and Cougar Fist) Jow Ga Double Broadsword Double Broadsword vs. Spear Two Man Set Chai Jong Chune (Advanced Attacking Fist) Woo Dip Sern Do (Double Butterfly Swords) Staff vs. Three-Sectional Staff Two Man Set Tiger vs. Crane Two Man Set Instructor's Level: Jeet Kune (Intercepting Fist) Advanced Three-Sectional Staff Gawk Jeet Chune (Square Patterned Fist) Darn Gim (Stright Sword) Fu Hok Chune (Tiger And Crane Fist) Double Dagger Five Pattern Fist Dye Pa (Tiger Fork) Man Jeet Kune (10,000 Fist) Double Steel Whips Ng Ying Chune (Five Animals Fist) Kwan Do (General Kwan's Knife) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
