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Curriculum
A belief that stands behind the Curriculum of the Dog Brothers Martial Arts is that there is not one style that works as the ideal solution for all situations and problems that can occur in a fight. If a fighter is presented with a problematic situation by an opponent they must come up with a solution in order not to be beaten. In this way, during the fight a unique and dynamic exchange exists between the fighters and their corresponding styles. With the Dog Brothers, there has always been an active exchange of concepts through representatives of very different fighting styles and systems meeting in order to fight against each other. In this way the Dog Brother Martial Arts developed as a "system of many styles". The Curriculum is continuously further developed, refined, and adjusted. On the day it ceases to further develop, it begins to die. The Filipino Martial Arts are the foundation of DBMA.
Filipino Martial Arts (FMA)
The FMA go back to centuries old warrior traditions and is comprised of fighting techniques utilizing a variety of weapons, primarily blade weapons and sticks. Beside the armed martial arts the Filipinos developed a series of unarmed techniques that reflect the armed techniques additionally a traditional wrestling called "Dumog" was developed. The Philippines are a far scattered accumulation of islands whose inhabitants and cultures are all unique. Parts of the Philippines were long part of the south-east-Asian Majapahit kingdoms, which had been under the control of various western colonial powers since the 16th Century, especially the Spaniards who were present until the late 19th Century.
It is probable that the Philippine fight arts were heavily influenced during this time by western fencing. In the course of the 20th century many of the Philippine fighters immigrated to the USA where they began to teach their styles first privately in the backyard then publicly in their own schools. Many fighters had taken part in duels, clan fights and/or military actions before emigrating, and that is reflected through the efficiency of application. Many of these styles developed depending upon which part of the islands and from whom it learned as well as under what conditions it was used. For these reasons a large variety of Martial Art types developed both armed and unarmed. Today, the Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) are widely known under names like Kali, Eskrima or Arnis.
The DBMA have been primarily influenced by these three FMA styles:
- Inosanto Kali
- Pekiti Tirsia Kali
- Lameco Eskrima
More specifically we train the following concepts from the FMA:
- Single stick
- Double stick
- Palm stick
- Staff
- Knife
- Empty Hand
Krabi Krabong / Muay Thai
Krabi Krabong is the military forerunner of Muay Thai. This art comprises an armed as well as an unarmed branch. The unarmed is familiar today as Muay Thai / Muay Boran. In Krabi Krabong, training is performed with a large variety of weapons, for example the sword, spear, and shield. Krabi Krabong distinguishes itself through simple techniques and efficiency. There are few exercises or drills, but these are used throughout the entire repertoire of weapons. Earlier, this training concept was used to ensure that the youngest warriors were prepared for combat as quickly as possible. In those times Thailand remained a hotly contested area and Krabi Krabong was developed and tested in battle.
Krabi Krabong was introduced to the DBMA curriculum by Ajarn Arlan "Salty Dog" Sanford who trained many years in Muay Thai and trained in Krabi Krabong during his trips to Thailand. Eventually, he could successfully apply the techniques of Krabi Krabong at the Dog Brother Gatherings and so succeeded in creating an opposing influence to the strong influence of the FMA and the BJJ within the Dog Brothers.
Ajarn Arlan "Salty Dog" Sanford
DBMA Stickfighting
With regard to fighting with weapons, the DBMA concentrates mainly on fighting with different sized sticks. The FMA (Kali) mixes here with the Thai Arts (Krabi Krabong). One of the reasons why this worked so well is that most of the South East Asian Martial Arts encapsulate many similar concepts. Likely this was because the Majapahit kingdom, which for centuries included Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Burma, mutually influenced one other.
We call this symbiosis of Kali with Krabi Krabong the "Los Triques" (the 3 K's). The best qualities of these two styles are brought together in such a way that they are mutually supportive.
Grappling
The third component of the Curriculum is Grappling (BJJ, Wrestling, and others). The Machado Brothers (BJJ) and Rico Chiaparelli (Wrestling) were especially influential.
The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu developed beginning of the 20th Century in Brazil on the basis of the Japanese Jiu-Jitsu which itself had begun to spread throughout the world. The origin of the Jiu-Jitsu in Japan is unclear, some roots and styles can be traced back to the feudal times of the Samurai. Closely related to Jiu-Jitsu is Judo, which is a more athletic version of the originally very hard Jiu-Jitsu.
Grappling is a "softer" fighting art because one tries to force the opponent into submission through bars, locks, and holds. Seen technically grappling is the idea of defeating a stronger opponent through taking advantage of favourable circumstances and an intelligent strategy. The ground fight is the trademark of grappling and it is there that the fight is usually finished.
In the in the early 90’s as the UFC was becoming known, it was seen how some representatives of the Gracie family’s BJJ could effortlessly defeat opponents who depended upon kicks and punches. As a result they were responsible for the boom of interest in grappling as an effective fighting style.
Even before the boom of BJJ and grappling, it could be seen that many of the fights at the Dog Brothers gatherings ended in the clinch if not on the ground.
DBMA Stickgrappling
Dog Brothers Stick Grappling is our own interpretation from BJJ, Wrestling and the FMA. We believe BJJ to be very effectively and when combined with Kali yields an extremely explosive mixture.
With Stick Grappling one needs good abilities in Stickfighting, Grappling, and Stick Grappling. However, the difficulty arises when one attempts to pursue all three simultaneously. One can not lose sight of any one of the elements. As soon as one relies excessively on one the others collapse. An open mind is very important here.
In the area of the Dog Brothers, it was mostly because Guro Marc "Crafty Dog" Denny first directed the necessary attention to Stick Grappling and has continued to nurture its development that it has remained a focus of the DBMA.
DBMA Empty Hands
Although we are mainly associated with stickfighting, fighting with empty hands also forms an important focal point within the DBMA.
DBMA Empty Hands comprises punching and kicking techniques that have their origin in Boxing, Muay Thai and Kali. The throw, clinch, and ground techniques of our system come from wrestling, BJJ and FMA. Our Empty Hands contains concepts and techniques that have applications for self-defence as well as in competition.
punching and kicking
ground & pound
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