About the Styles We Offer
At Typhoon Philippine School of Combat, we offer four complete systems and curriculum of combat. We do not offer “crash courses” in any style to control the quality of our representatives’ performance. Each style should suit the characteristics of the student, and a consultation with our Head Instructor will be required in choosing a program. This is to protect the student as well as the school, and ensure that students are comfortable with the training they endure.
Students
with less than a year’s worth of martial arts experience are required to spend
at least one year studying Typhoon Kuntaw before attempting to train in any of
the other three systems. If you have questions about this policy, please give
us a call.
Typhoon Kuntaw is the style developed by Punong Guro Mustafa Gatdula
during the mid-1990s. We created Typhoon Kuntaw to serve the needs of most
martial arts students who wish to develop practical fighting skills, while
sampling the various martial arts styles. Typhoon Kuntaw is a combination of
Chinese Kung Fu, 2 styles of
Filipino Kuntaw (Gatdula and Boggs Lao), Southeast Asian-Style Kick-Boxing, Tae Kwon Do,
Presas style Arnis, and Gatdula system
Fighting Eskrima. We give students
the foundation of all of these systems of combat, and then train them to
develop a working knowledge of these techniques.
The
curriculum includes the basic concepts and techniques of each system, plus five
weapons for minors and seven for adults. Students under 18 learn more than 10
empty-handed forms, plus a form for each weapon. Each level is accompanied by
sparring requirements, which are techniques that should be adopted into one’s
arsenal (and demonstrate one’s ability in sparring). Upon receiving the Black
Belt First Degree in Typhoon Kuntaw, the students is considered an “expert” in
the martial art, but must pursue the Second Degree to teach. Once the Second
Degree is awarded, the new Guro (Instructor) receives ranking in both Typhoon Kuntaw and Gatdula style Fighting Eskrima.
The
fighting philosophy of Typhoon Kuntaw is to finish the opponent with as little
wasted movement as possible. In the children’s program, focus of fighting
technique is on subduing and deflecting technique, while the adult’s program
specializes in more brutal technique. Typhoon students learn 5 categories of
empty-handed attacking methods—including Boxing, choking technique, joint
locking technique, and subduing technique. A full curriculum of kicking methods
are taught, including leg attacks, sweeps, head kicks, and jump kicks. Unlike
many martial art styles that teach one-dimensional martial arts, Typhoon Kuntaw
is designed to give the martial arts fighter a wide variety of options and
skills when dealing with a combat situation.
Because
of its broad range of fighting skills, we highly recommend the Typhoon Kuntaw
style for inexperienced martial artists to sample various fighting techniques
before attempting to specialize. After studying the style for one year, the
student will have a solid foundation in punching, kicking, weapons and
grappling…giving him or her an idea of what his strengths and weaknesses are.
Tuition for Typhoon
Kuntaw : (Teens 14 to
17) $99/month
(Adults
18-older) $580 for 6 months or $149/month plus one-time fee of $115
Jow Ga Kung Fu
Jow Ga Kung Fu was created over 100 years ago by five brothers of the Jow family of the Sa Fu village in Canton, China. The brothers—Jow Hip, Jow Hoy, Jow Tin, Jow Biu, and Jow Lung—were known as the “Five Tigers”, because of their martial arts prowess. Jow Lung, who was the oldest brother, combined his uncle’s Hung Gar Kung Fu with Choy Gar, which he learned from the village masters. Years later, while in Malaysia, Jow Lung joined the Kek Lok Si Shaolin Temple, where he studied the Bak Siu Lum (Northern Shaolin) Kung Fu style. He originally called his synthesis “Hung Tao Choy Mei”, meaning “having the head of Hung and tail of Choy”. After Jow Lung’s early death at age 31, the remaining brothers renamed the art Jow Ga in honor of their brother, and spread to art to become one of China and Southeast Asia’s most well-known Southern-based Kung Fu systems. Jow Ga was imported to America by the late Master Dean Chin, who was a student of Chan Man Cheung, under the Jow Biu branch of Jow Ga. Chin Sifu was also a master of Lau Man Fat’s Ying Jow (Eagle Claw) style Kung Fu, and studied other styles, such as Bak Mei (White Eyebrow) and Wing Chun.
Jow Ga is known for the use of the strong hand techniques of Hung Gar, the intricate and fast footwork of Choy Gar, and the advance kicking techniques of Northern Shaolin. The Jow Ga fighter is truly a versatile opponent for attackers, because of the intense training and variety of skills Jow Ga requires. We teach more than 30 forms and weapons to Jow Ga students. In addition, Jow Ga students are required to learn 35 grappling and seizing techniques, as well as learn the board and brick-breaking feats of our style. The beginning level of Jow Ga focuses on developing a strong, but mobile stance. Beginners also learn more than 20 empty handed strikes and blocks while preparing to learn our first empty handed form, Siu Fok Fu (Small Subduing Tiger). During this time, students begin sparring to learn to apply their techniques against a live, moving opponent. After learning Siu Fok Fu the beginning student will learn Gune Lic Kune, which is our first Ching Wu form, and the Small Tiger 2-man set and Sern Tao Gwun (Double Headed Staff), our first weapon form.
In addition to forms, weapon and fighting technique, Jow Ga students also learn Chinese Lion Dance. The Lion Dance is a cultural ceremony whereby the Kung Fu students displays his versatility, endurance and strength, and ability to improvise, while “dancing” with a 40-pound costume. This skill is reserved for students who have developed a solid foundation in Kung Fu, although we will teach basic skills to beginners for motivation.
Tuition for
Jow Ga Kung Fu: (Teens and Adults only) $580 for 6 months or $149/month plus $115 registration
1 year of previous training
required to qualify
Gatdula-style
Fighting Eskrima
The Gatdula system of Eskrima is called our “Fighting Eskrima”. We use the term “fighting Eskrima” to differentiate our system from the classical forms more popular today. While many styles of Eskrima employ several weapons throughout their curriculum, Gatdula’s Fighting Eskrima (GFE) specializes in only two weapons: the single stick and the single knife. Our philosophy is that in order to ensure your survival against any opponent, and to truly say that one fears no man, the fighter must have a specialty that has been trained to his highest potential. If a fighting arts student has only spent 20 percent of his training time on five different weapons, he has not developed any of those skills to its potential. By contrast, if he has spent all of his time on a single weapon, he has taken his skills to the reach it can be at that time.
GFE uses Classical Visayan Eskrima as its base. Visayan Eskrima specializes in the use of the stick as a weapon—as opposed to using the stick as a blade—and its techniques reflect the use of the stick as a striking and crushing weapon, instead of a slashing weapon. GFE does not use wide strokes, and emphasizes body motion and wrist strength for power. Our three main strategies of stickfighting are Abaniko, Singko Tiro, and Pikiti Tirsya.
Many of the strategies of combat and basic attack methods are interrelated between the stick and the blade; but they are taught separately as weapons and their techniques. This method is used to help the fighter understand the weapon and become a specialist of that weapon. Similar to most Eskrima styles, we teach the stick first, and the blade second.
One may study GFE by itself, as part of the Typhoon Karate
system, or as part of the Gatdula system of Kuntaw. We have no prerequisite for
study of GFE; however, we only accept adults in this program. Upon completion
of GFE, you should be able to fight full contact with the stick with minimal
padding with the stick against the stick, empty handed against the stick,
against an unarmed opponent, unarmed and armed against a blade, with a blade
against an armed and unarmed opponent. A public demonstration of these skills
will be required to graduate from the GFE training. Students wishing to teach
must continue to train one year after graduating. We do not charge tuition for this
period, but a fee is charged for teaching credentials.
Tuition for
Fighting Eskrima classes: (Adults only) $580 for 6 months or $149/month plus $115 registration
Teaching
credential for GFE: $350
There is no prerequisite for
this program, but one may not be concurrently enrolled in another class.
Gatdula-style
Philippine Kuntaw
Kuntaw is the family fighting system of our Head Instructor, Mustafa Maurice Gatdula. There is a great debate concerning the origin of Philippine Kuntaw, but most agree that Kuntaw originated in China, and arrived in the Southern Philippines through trade with Chinese sailors and emigrants. Kuntaw and its cousin art, Silat, are bare handed and blade-fighting arts practiced by the Moslems of that region. Unlike the Indonesian and Malaysian counterparts, Philippine Kuntaw does not use prearranged form or dances (called Sayaw or Langka). Instead, most styles shadowbox, often to music. In the Gatdula system, shadowboxing is used much like a boxer uses it. Planned attacks and counters are trained until those skills can be delivered without thought; yet, if the opponent moves unexpectedly the fighter should be able to adapt or change his attack without regard to the plan.
Gatdula style Kuntaw includes 9 categories of empty-handed technique and 10 weapons. The weapons system includes single stick, short dagger, stick and dagger, machete, long sword, spear, chain, walking cane, palm weapons and long pole. Students who undertake a weapon must demonstrate fighting ability with that weapon against any other type of weapon, and demonstrate the ability to fight empty handed against that weapon. Finally, full-contact fighting is a required activity of Kuntaw students (empty-handed and with weapons). Candidates with less than a year of prior experience are required to train in Typhoon Kuntaw Karate before being accepted into the Gatdula Kuntaw program.
Tuition for Kuntaw classes: (Adults only) $750 for 6 months or $175/month
Candidates must have two
consistent years of training or one year in Typhoon Kuntaw to qualify
