Lameco?

[gungfuhero]

Hey guys.

I've been doing Kali for several years, and I've consistently heard from FMA aficionados (sp?) that Lameco training is incredibly beneficial. My question is what are the defining characteristics of Lameco? I'm aware of the emphasis of being able to fluently fight in the three ranges, but what are some of the stylistic points?

[MikeJKD]

I am certainly no expert, and let me preface this response by saying that any and all mistakes made in my description to follow are mine. That said, here goes:
In my experience, Lameco is very good at generating power in the stick with hip movement rather than stick and arm extension. You don't often see a good Lameco practitioner let the tip of the stick travel behind their body. It happens, but it seems to be rare. Also, the structure referred to by fencers as "passata" or short weapon in the lead, while not the first choice in positions, is very effectively applied in Lameco drills. Stick and Dagger drills often have the dagger out in front, and the stick behind. Doing some of the drills this way for a while, you'll notice that the dagger scores a lot more often in sparring, and effectively makes you a more capable fighter with multiple weapons and in multiple ranges. Additionally, the blocking is slightly different, depending on the range, with a little less emphasis on the checking hand to assist in deflections. Mostly, the live hand causes damage to vitals, and the stick blocks all on its own.
These are some of the benefits and characteristics as I have seen them. Hope it helps. Check out Edgar Sulite's tape titled "Laban Laro" for some killer drilling and footwork.
Bahala Na,
Mike

[Guro Dave Gould]

Lameco Eskrima...

Hi guys,
I just want to clarify a few things concerning what Mike stated. You all need to understand that there are many characteristics of Lameco, or any other system for the matter, that you just can`t pick up by solely watching a video or attending a seminar. As i`ve stated many times in the past and feel it important to do so again Punong Guro Sulite had 3 different curriculums in Lameco for specific reasons.
1)~ Private curriculum (Private students). 2)~ Group curriculum (Backyard group). 3)~ Public curriculum (videos and seminars). Things were set up this way as a means of allowing punong Guro Sulite the ability to discern the lineage of students learning his system under sources other than himself. For example, If you were to learn Lameco via videoes / seminars and later went to Punong Guro Sulite and told him that you had trained under one of his instructors he would know for a fact that you were a video or seminar student based solely on how you moved, the material that you presented and in what order you presented it. This was his safety net designed to filter truth from fiction concerning his system and what each individuals level of comprehension was and from what source each had learned.
In the video series "Essential Single Stick Skills" Punong Guro Sulite goes over the "Eskrima" and "Kali" drills on a very basic level. What is represented on tape is only 1/4 of the actual progression as is found with-in his private curriculum. In the private curriculum the focus of the drills is on more combative footwork, power, recovery and non-telegraphic striking elements of the drills among other critical areas. As well the combination of the material shifts from what is shown on video to modified versions such as: "in and out", "permanent out", and "permanent in" and then each drill is compounded with specific finishing strikes and enhanced with alertness drills.
As for striking "walang bunot" (not allowing the tip of your weapon to point behind you), this is emphasized mostly with edged or thrusting weapons. In fact, if it were an impact weapon in question Punong Guro Sulite would require you to strike with "big circles" as to generate enough power to break the head of your opponent on contact which means allowing the tip to fully pass to your back, but with the intention of recovering quickly as to come back and cover your center line ASAP. What you saw him doing on video is heavily influenced from Kali Illustrisimo this is their requirement for striking with all weapons be it edged, thrusting or impact alike. This is only a minute option in Lameco and is more of an exception to the rule as opposed to being the rule when utilizing "impact" weapons.
In Lameco Punong Guro Sulite felt that the way that you would fight with a stick is different than how you will fight with a knife or sword. To be effective with a knife or sword you don`t need an excessive amount of power because the sharp edge will compensate for the lack of overwhelming power. Whereas with an impact weapon this is not the case. You have to generate heavy power with a stick in order to break the head of your opponent which requires you to strike with bigger circles whereby placing more of an emphasis on the recovery issue. As you strike "bigger" the counter opportunity that you leave behind becomes great as well so you have to pull the recovery strike back across your center line at least as fast if not faster that the initial strike went out.
So... when fighting with a bolo or knife Punong Guro Sulite would adhere to and stress striking "walang bunot" (keeping the tip facing forward) from the Kali Illustrisimo system because this is most effective with bladed weapons. And he would heavily stress "palong malakas" (heavy striking) with impact weapons as influenced by De Campo Uno-Dos-Tres Orehenal whereby allowing the tip to pass behind you with recovery as to generate the required power to break the head of your opponent quickly. I hope this clears some things up. Take care guys and be well. Paalam.
~ Guro Dave Gould.

[gungfuhero]

Thanks for your insight. I don't have the means to train in Lameco right now. Presently I'm trying to understand the strategy and get a very generalized understanding of the abstract principles. Your post is enlightening and much appreciated.