The 12 Principles of Presas Arnis - Weaponize Everything

It's not uncommon to be asked, "Oh, you train with sticks and knives? What do you do when you don't have one? Nobody walks around with a stick handy. You're screwed if you're unarmed, right?"

Well, no.

First off, just like other martial arts, we train to punch and kick and take-down and a bit of grappling too. We do train empty-handed as well as with sticks, knives and other things.

However, our philosophy is, if you can use a tool to help you defend yourself, you probably should.

We recognize that what most folks would call a "weapon" isn't always available. But it doesn't mean you're unarmed. Look around, the environment is rich in tools you can use in self defense.

That's why the 8th of our 12 Principles of Presas Arnis is "Weaponize Everything".

As we learn by applying the principle of "Know the Commonalities, Understand the Differences", different weapons have different strengths and weaknesses, risks and rewards.

We learn to apply what we learn with sticks, knives, staff, and other martial arts weapons to things that are around us in the environment.

That is, we can use improvised weapons. Yes, a lot like a Jackie Chan movie.

At Kindred Protective Arts we have "Improvised Weapons" classes where we ask our students to bring in items from their own daily lives - work, school, hobbies, etc. - that would never be considered a "weapon".

We ask our students to bring to class objects that:

• You can carry on to an airplane

• You can have on you in a federal courthouse

• You can have on you in an elementary school

Then, we use a portion of class to discuss, "In a pinch, how can we use the this object in a self-defense scenario?"

This is how we put "Weaponize Everything" to the test, directly.

But it's not the only way.

You don't have to explicitly train with an object to use it, if necessary, in a pinch. The stick we train with is often a stand-in for a sword or short blade, traditionally, so expanding that mindset to other objects isn't that much of a stretch.

We have plenty of examples of people using objects at hand as weapons.

There's the Federal prisoner who escaped custody using his eyeglasses.

There's the man who used his backpack against a knife attack.

There's the grandmother who used a stapler gun to defend herself.

We instill in our students the mindset that they can use literally anything as a self-defense tool, based on the principles they learn in training Presas Arnis.

Come for a free, no-obligation trial class and learn how to Weaponize Everything! Click HERE and let's get you training!