1. Pretty cool.
2. Pretty scary. I'd wimp out and at least have goggles and gloves:)
3. It occurred to me how different what we do now--whether weapons, or striking, or grappling--must look from when it was done in battles and in large groups. Most FMA, fencing, striking, and grappling is now "dueling"--one-on-one fights for honor or money or both.
Paul Hopkins,
that was brutal! Not fun at all. The second clip made me wanna puke.
John Frankl,
Hence the need to train situational combat. :)
BTW, those were blunt blades in the sparring clip.
What if one guy wanted to close the gap and just go for the femoral artery or the head?
It would be like an MMA bout where they agreed to exchange "light jabs only".
I see two guys saying "Mayroon akong anting anting".
But thats just me...
This is a clip of what my weapons program looked like firearms included.
Training firearms and tactics with Demi has been on my bucket list since about 2001, guess I should have jumped sooner at the opportunity... 
Paul Hopkins - Demi is a depressing buzz kill poo poo head
;)
If one guy did a strike like the way you do it in the video, you'd have your digits cut and you won't be able to play your guitar anymore.
Your basic on-guard stance- hand, shoulders and hips are not even aligned properly. Such wide and telegraphic movements. Jeez. Ask guys like Roy Harris, Anthony Lange, John Frankl, etc. After a few min of learning the proper way to cut/strike and keeping your blade and body aligned properly, you'll realize that those wide,telegraphic (2-count) movements just makes no sense.
Check out this clip.
Hand Sparring 2Posted by Toby Ramos Reyes on Tuesday, January 27, 2009
And that happened to a guy who wasn't telegraphing that much.
And calling it "mayroon akong anting-anting" just shows your complete ignorance and lack of comprehension again re protecting your hand/fingers,etc.
Check out this clip:
At :10. See what happened to the Kendo guy's hands.
Proper sword fighting is not (during a duel) hacking each other in the head without controlling or neutralizing your opponent's weapon hand.
At :14-17 Notice the kendo guy raising his weapon before striking. Look at the counter.
At :29-30 = Watch the digits get attacked.
In your video - 2:16??? What the hell was that?
If you noticed, you guys get off balanced a lot with the weapons thing. Ask yourself why. Improper posture and stance is the reason.
And BTW, those kickboxing, HKE movements are very similar to Vunak's JKD streetfighting series videos. I don't understand what made you so different from him - and why you even bother to criticize his stuff.
We just have different opinions. I think it's GREAT that you are enjoying what you're doing. I like how passionate you are about that material.
"""If you noticed, you guys get off balanced a lot with the weapons thing. Ask yourself why. Improper posture and stance is the reason. """
We get off balanced because people are hitting at 75%-90% at times at that tends to knock you off balance. Nobody can maintain proper/perfect balance when an attacker is unloading. Look at the best MMA fighters. They get rocked off their feet by kicks, punches and takedowns BECAUSE that material works even when the opponent has good defense.
"""And calling it "mayroon akong anting-anting" just shows your complete ignorance and lack of comprehension again re protecting your hand/fingers,etc. """
I was just being silly. It didn't come across well I guess.
"""Your basic on-guard stance- hand, shoulders and hips are not even aligned properly."""
You may be right. That's how "imperfect" fighting gets for most of us.
"""HKE movements are very similar to Vunak's JKD streetfighting series videos. I don't understand what made you so different from him - and why you even bother to criticize his stuff."""
I cannot think of a time where I ever said negative things about Paul Vunak. Knowing me the way I do however, I could be wrong, just as I am about so many things. I usually don't criticize people on the interwebs tho.
"""In your video - 2:16??? What the hell was that?"""
It was a fun trick. I like that one. I've had my two hands on someones stick and almost knocked them out with it.
I hope your not offened. This is just a difference of opionion and stylistic approaches.
Seriously, we need to train. If anyone from your crew, etc is located in Vancouver, BC, let me know.
i really like the philosophy about "aliveness" (who in his right mind doesn't) I'm just actually being an a$$ with a bone to pick because it has become very obvious that you along with many other weapons enthusiasts have missed a couple of tiny details that MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD.
Simple stuff like:
1. proper alignment and posture
2. For cuts/slashes, the fulcrum should be at the center of the blade.
3. For thrusts/stabs - the fulcrum is at the tip.
etc, etc.
When you get it, everything will start making sense. Trust me.
Just to flesh out my whole way of thinking/training for purposes of our discourse.
Includes SIMUNITION scenarios.
This video is for entertainment purposes only. Not meant to be advisement in any way.
"""At the end of the day I would rather listen to Demi play guitar than watch "cage fighting" """
I'm working on some new material as I type (or before and after I type actually).
Fun stuff.
Looking at it as a whole, the fulcrum is actually the hips.
Other concepts to grasp:
- Supposedly, there should be no edge to edge contact. Parries and deflections are done with the flat and back of the blade.
"We just have different opinions. I think it's GREAT that you are enjoying what you're doing. I like how passionate you are about that material. "
Demi. It's not about me being passionate about this material. If i see or encounter a better method, I'll throw this one away, no problem. Just like I did with the other stuff I learned that I "thought" was cutting edge back then.
It's got nothing to do with Filipino pride. Hell, I bash my culture as well as the Catholic religion but let's not get into that. It's about EVOLUTIONand efficiency of movement.
"We get off balanced because people are hitting at 75%-90% at times at that tends to knock you off balance. Nobody can maintain proper/perfect balance when an attacker is unloading. Look at the best MMA fighters. They get rocked off their feet by kicks, punches and takedowns BECAUSE that material works even when the opponent has good defense."
To say that you can't maintain proper posture and balance when in trouble is akin to saying a good BJJ practicioner can't shrimp and hip escape when being pounded from top control. It's about awareness my friend.
Again, all that will make sense once we train. I'll show you exactly what I mean.
By the way, sorry for assuming that you were bashing Vunak. Don't know why I thought so.
"""To say that you can't maintain proper posture and balance when in trouble is akin to saying a good BJJ practicioner can't shrimp and hip escape when being pounded from top control."""
A good BJJ practicioner can't shrimp and hip escape when being pounded from top control "always". That's the point. SOME can and SOME cannot. That's why ONE person can BEAT another in competition. AND there is no magic.
Sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you.
Very hard to explain things over the internet. If we ever meet up, you'll understand everything I'm trying to tell you within a few min.
Ask the others who have tried it.
From what I can see with most FMA and non-projectile weapons clips, it's like watching Pancrase back during gthe 90s. Ken Shamrock or Funaki applying a very crude leg submission on Bas Rutten. Yes. Those leg locks were pretty effective and could break your knees or ankle, but the set-up and the movement is very unrefined.
Compare that to what we have now with Paul Harris.
I just cannot train anymore. I knee a left knee replacement surgery (after having 6 knee surgeries already) and a right knee and elbow clean up surgeries. My hips and gait are thrown off completly.
NOT TO MENTION the fact that I am DONE with training/martial arts/the sub-culture et al...
I am still consulted and I still make myself available online BUT the whole physical thing is a no-go for me.
I boxed, grappeled, did stick and knife, clinched, did SIMUNITION scenarios and was on the firing line etc with "everyone who came to train with me for 12 years".
I'm sick of it all. But, just like yourself, I know what I know to be true through 20 + years of experience. Some of it in the labratory and some of it real world.
Demi,
I am sorry to hear about your injuries. What would you have done differently to avoid this situation?
Best,
Marc