“Secrets” of the Filipino Fighting Arts
Words from a Modern-Day Warrior

“Fear No Man…”

Fear is a subject often thrown around in public by martial artists, rarely addressed in training. As teachers, we like to think that our training will create fearless killing machines. Yet many teachers do not understand fear or courage enough to place them in their rightful place in training. How do you treat fear in a student’s psyche and training? How can we make a cowardly student courageous and brave? How can we implement these concepts into a modern-day martial arts program? We have a duty to ponder over these topics when we assume the responsibility of being a martial arts instructor. We are leading people into battle when we teach them, whether or not we accompany them. The information we pass down to them will one day succeed or fail in saving their life.

The old masters of the past understood these things well. They understand fear and courageousness in a way the Arnisador of today could never fathom. Imagine living where a hostile (or uninvited) army was making its way through your country. A man leaving the home for any period of time would have a real concern that someone would invade his home and harm his wife and children. Also, in those days, you couldn’t call the police. Altercations were handled themselves and these men faced their fears frequently.

The martial arts community was much less friendly than today. Rivalries were acted upon then, and a lost match sometimes meant a damaged reputation. Today’s Eskrimador are mostly “undefeated” because they just don’t fight. Several generations ago the only way to have a reputation was to fight; they didn’t rely on youtube clips or the media to establish credibility. 90% of todays teachers would crumble at the thought of fighting a match. Many old masters have this information, but they remain secrets. As the late Grandmaster Vincent Tinga once told me, martial artists today only want technical martial arts because they have no plans to ever fight. Several generations ago, the FMA teacher had to know how to instill bravery in all students–regardless of his walk of life, physical prowess or social status. Today this need is just as important as it was 50 years ago.

Here are some basic things to know about Fear and Courage:

Fear is healthy. It motivates you to work harder, and in combat it can flip the switch to your aggression. This is something all men experience–whether or not they admit it. You can never erase fear; the opposite of fear is stupidity. We must control it, bottle it, and face it when it’s time to do so.  Uncontrolled, unleashed fear is dangerous; this is what makes 16 year-old boys bring a knife to school to kill a bully. This is not courage, it is stupidity, and cowardice at it’s lowest point. It is the reason I am opposed to teaching beginners our most dangerous techniques, and why I am repulsed by trained martial artists who hide behind their weapons…. they simply have not resolved their problems. Mentally, cowardice is still there and is magnified by inflated “confidence” and image. Some men study the art and never address their fears because they never developed their skill to proficiency. Their answer, then, is to pretend to be fearless by “carrying knives to school”. Not every teacher is capable of drawing this out of a student. It must be done as part of a full martial arts program. Martial skill without control of fear will create a generation of Bernard Goetzs.

Healthy fear is what happens before the altercation. Unhealthy fear is when you experience fear during the altercation. This is where your training will take over instinct. Thug asks you for a dollar and you say you don’t have one. He gets angry and insists you give him one. At that point, fear should turn to anger, and with a serious look on your face you tell him again, you don’t have one. Your eyes, your voice, and your body language should let him know he’s picked the wrong guy. Most likely, he’ll move on, because muggers don’t really want to fight. But show that you are afraid, and he will believe that your money is his. Once he sees your fear, he will want to fight. Either that, or you will end up killing a possibly unarmed man. (Again, cowardice) On the other hand, fear while fighting will slow your reflexes, raise your heart rate and breathing (making you tire quickly), and ruin your coordination and focus.

Some would say that courageousness is the absence of fear. I disagree. Courage (and bravery) is the strength to do what you fear doing. I was once approached by about 20 members of a gang in the Philippines (“Phi Bets”). I was afraid, so I challenged the leader to a fight, pretending to be irritated by their presence. After I mopped the sidewalk with him, I ended up fighting and beating two more members (Seattle TKD teacher Rolando Cutaran was with me that day), but I did not have to fight the whole group. They watched, threw a few bottles at me, and I was able to leave (running, lol) and go to my sister’s house. It could have been worse. I could have fought all of them and been killed. Worst of all, if you know about Filipino gangs (“fraternities”, we call it), my family are Tawa Gama and I have a large “sigma” branded onto my left arm. If I had fought today, no doubt someone would have shot me. Anyway, courage can get you killed, but sometimes you can have just enough courage to make other men afraid. You see, the bad guys are afraid of the courageous because in reality, they are cowards who prey on cowards.

So, how do you teach a student to control fear and develop courage?

That is a secret. Sorry, but I am one who believes in saving some things for my students. But I will give you one piece of the secret with this tip:  Fighters develop courage when they feel physically superior to the enemy, and when they know what damage they are capable of inflicting. Train your students with this in mind, and they will benefit from it.