Martial Arts Co

Martial Arts

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Martial Arts is not just self-defense, it is a journey of self-improvement, and a discovery not just of yourself but of your community. My goal with each class is for you to learn and experience the following:

1. How to defend one’s self, and thus feel safer
2. How to defend other people, and thus live with the knowledge that in a potentially dangerous situation, you can better help your friends 
3. To get to know your own body, and thus feel more comfortable in your own skin 
4. Be more confident, and thus live as the very best version of yourself
5. Get physically stronger, more flexible, and have better balance, thus making you a healthier person who can potentially even do more things and have more opportunities
6. Have a strong and supportive community, thus not only will you feel safer, but also build friendships that could potentially last a lifetime

These goals are good to keep in mind, but what exactly will we do to achieve them?  Every class will begin with warmups. These include joint rotations, a flicking exercise for your forearms, pushups, situps, and stretching. The goal of these exercises is to complete goal number 5 and 3. As a teacher, I will push you so that you do more than you previously thought you could so that you grow, but also you can adapt each exercise so that you do not injure yourself. The goal is to see you happy in every class. As you grow stronger, you should also grow more confident, completing goal number 4. The second part of every class is the fun martial arts part. This is where we will be training one of 4 things: 

• Pukulan Kuntao Silat: This is an Indonesian Kung Fu style, developed from a mix of indigenous Indonesian arts and Chinese immigrants who brought their styles to Indonesia. It was used during the Indonesian war of independence against the Dutch and Pukulan literally translates to ‘hands and feet striking repeatedly.’ In training, this manifests as learning, kicks, strikes, take downs, sweeps, grappling, ground fighting, sparring, and forms. This martial art has so much material you can learn almost anything you want. All you have to do is ask me before class. :) 
• Silat Suffian Beladiri: This is a Bruneian style of Silat that focuses on knife and karambit work. You will drill in partners on how to defend yourself against knives, and how to use knives yourself properly. I will often teach this alongside Pukulan Kuntao Silat, you can ask me in class which techniques stem from each martial art. 
• Silambam: This is a 2,000 year old spear style from Tamil Nadu in southern India. It was originally a battlefield martial art meant to train recruits for formation fighting. When training this style you won't just learn to strike and stab and spin the spear around. You’ll also learn coordination, balance, shoulder and wrist strength, and body mechanics you’ll be able to apply to any weapon, or even empty hand. 
• Eskrima Libre: A machete style from the Philippines that melds indigenous martial practices with European Spanish fencing methodologies. This martial art is not about forms or structured practice, and is far more free-form. (Libre). It trains you for a fight, where everything is unpredictable.  
  • (secret number 5- Self-Defense): Periodically, I will be teaching broader self-defense techniques. I will teach you how to approach safety not just from a physical lens, but also from a mental one. I teach awareness, communication, mindset, and different ways in which we can choose to approach danger and conflict. I will also teach basic distance management, and methods of generating power in basic strikes that are broadly applicable. 

This all sounds like a lot. But really, each art is just a different people’s practice on how to stay safe, healthy, and survive dangerous situations. It’s all just moving your body, having fun with friends, and building a better, stronger you. 
    Hope to see you in class!

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Contact Martial Arts Co

E-mail: [email protected]
Instagram: ucu_martialartsco