The Philippine Art of Balintawak Eskrima Cuentada: Volume 2 The Basic Syllabus

This book is the black and white version of the second instalment in a 3-volume series on Grandmaster Bobby Taboada and his Filipino Stick fighting system of Balintawak Eskrima Cuentada. This volume details the ‘Basic Syllabus’, which is the structured teaching curriculum created by GM Bobby to safely teach the Balintawak system, whilst still maintaining the reality of Balintawak as a street effective martial art. In Volume 2, the basic training principles of Balintawak are discussed before the seven progressive levels of the ‘Basic Syllabus’ are fully explained. First the fundamental skills are covered comprising stances, footwork, basic strikes, basic blocks, shadow fighting form, defense and counters and semi-hitting drills. The interactive drills with a partner are then broken down and explained in a step-by-step description of how to correctly perform the defense and counters, grouping system, butting, off-balancing, disarming and the semi-advanced techniques. The testing process and requirements for passing each of the seven levels of the ‘Basic Syllabus’ are fully detailed including for the Completion and the Fully Qualified Instructor certification. In a special chapter over 60 instructors in the Taboada Balintawak system from around the world share one of their own techniques and fully explain how to perform it. With over 400 pages and 3000 photos, the ‘Basic Syllabus’ is a must read for anyone interested in the Filipino martial arts.