All Blade, All the Time

STG WARRIOR Pistol 1.0

I just got back from the two-day Sayoc Tactical Group (STG) “WARRIOR Pistol 1.0″ course in Southern California this past weekend.

Tuhon Tom Kier and J. Wolfe are excellent instructors. While this was a “1.0″ pistol course, don’t let the title fool you, this was a serious pistol safety and marksman course with tough qualification standards and “incentives.” If you assume, like I did, that flogging would be a training component to a Pistol 1.0 hostage evolution, then you assumed correctly

As always in Sayoc, Mindset was constantly emphasized throughout the course. The concept of Readiness and its three components (Awareness, Preparedness, and Willingness) were discussed in great detail during breaks from physical activity. The concept of Readiness that we discuss in our public Family Safety Protocol courses are exactly the same.

Training Material Covered:

Safety:

Safety habits – Thoughts become Words, Words become Deeds
Gun handling / Safety rules
Firing Line rules and commands
Gun manipulation – Load / Unload drills
Dry Fire rules

Drills:

The “200″ – Student Qualification = 150
My score: First attempt = 120 FAIL / Second attempt = 163 PASS

“Farnam” – Student Qualification = 12 seconds
My score: First attempt = round out – DQ / Second attempt: = 14 seconds FAIL

The “700,” AKA “The Humbler” - Student Qualification = 500
My score (we only ran this drill once): First attempt = 497 FAIL
(Explanation of The 700 from STG friend, Kyle Defoor)

I would have considered myself an intermediate pistol marksman prior to attending this course (I have pistol certificates from other schools). Clearly, that is not the case according to STG standards, as I did not pass.

These standards must be met in order to continue on to more advanced courses in training and tactics. While STG places a high importance on accuracy, after the 1.0 course the STG curriculum focuses on combat application and tactics. This change in curriculum happens quickly because STG uses the “swim-lane” theory of training and skill development. If you are really good at shooting targets, that may mean you are spending too much time training at bullseye shooting and are not spending enough time training in other areas, such as tactics and combat application. This is why the accuracy standards for the 1.0 course are so high before you can move to 2.0.

If you have a group in the Northwest and are interested in bringing Tuhon Tom Kier out for a firearms, blade, or combatives course, please contact me directly.

August Schedule Change

The class schedule will change for the remainder of the month of August, starting tonight. Classes will be held on Tuesday and Thursday nights from 7:30pm – 9pm. NO SATURDAY CLASSES for the rest of August.

First Aid Kits

Folks, Guro Joe Marana from Inland Empire FMA wrote up a nice article on First Aid Kits.

As Sayoc Practitioners, Health is always part of our protocols. All practitioners and Instructors are required to carry their own, light-weight first aid kits on their rigs at all times. Only YOU, in the end, can be responsible for your own health and safety. We all wear our own kits so that if something happens to us, we are guaranteed to have a med-kit on us with at least the basic tools in it for wound management. Some carry other things that they might need for which they are at high-risk  - allergic reactions, diabetes, etc…

Just like those credit card commercials: “What’s in YOUR med-kit??”

New Training Location

It’s official: Sayoc NorCal is now in a new home. Don’t worry, the change is minimal! We are continuing our arrangement with Crossfit Oakland and sub-leasing the space in the back of their new gym. The new location is only 0.9 miles away from the old facility.

New Address:
1313 67th Street
Emeryville, CA 94608

We are in the back-room of Crossfit Oakland, but we now have our own entrance. The door to the training area is on the right, towards the rear of the building. There is still some work that needs to be done to the training area so bear with us while we get it dialed-in.

Due to some of the difficulties CFO is having with the city, we are currently training in the parking lot of this new location. Sorry for the inconvenience. We hope to have this resolved as soon as possible

Regular class schedule resumes immediately in the new location.

 

Tuhon Rafael Kayanan – Tribal Weapons Seminar

What: Tribal Weapons Seminar
Who: Tuhon Rafael Kayanan
When: Saturday, June 18th, 10am – 4pm
Where: Sayoc NorCal
5741 Doyle Street
Emeryville, CA 94608 (map)
Cost: $100

REGISTER NOW

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Tuhon Rafael Kayanan, the brother of our very own Tuhon Ricardo, will be coming to Sayoc NorCal in two weeks to teach the Tribal Weapons seminar. You will not want to miss this!

Tuhon Raf might be best known as the fight choreographer for the movie THE HUNTED (http://sayoccombatchoreography.com/), and has also recently been recognized for his collaboration with the famous blade smith, Dan Winkler (known for his work in the movie THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS), in creating the Sayoc-Winkler Tomahawk (http://sayocwinklerhawk.com/). Tuhon Raf is aslo, however, one of the most highly-recognized experts in the history, martial arts, and tribal culture of the Philippines.

Just like everything else in Sayoc Kali, we accept the lessons learned from the people who came before us and evolve with them to create a modern system with modern applications.

Tuhon Raf starts with the foundation of historical weapons and tactics of the Filipino warrior culture and then modernizes it for practical use in current times. His concept of “Shielding” stems from the use of the sword and shield but translates into all other aspects of close-range combat, including stick, knife, and even emptyhand.

Material Covered:

• Sword – Kris, Kampilan
• Shield (and the concept of “Shielding”)
• Tomahawk
• Stick
• Knife
• Emptyhand

What to Bring:

• Training Blades – There will also be a limited supply of kris swords for sale onsite
• Sticks
• Thai Pads – Shields are sold out! If you have thai pads, please bring them to use as shields during training

Use PayPal Button below to reserve your spot.

REGISTER NOW

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Atienza Kali “Bolo” Seminar

We’re excited to have Tuhon Carl Atienza back to Sayoc NorCal for another seminar. This seminar will be focused mostly on the “bolo.” The bolo is like a short machete or long knife. The bolo’s strength comes from the combination of attributes it maintains from both a sword (power) and a knife (low profile). Because of this, the bolo can be a very strong complement to any weapons system you already employ. It’s a lot of power that adds little footprint to your existing kit/rig.

Details:

When: Wednesday, May 25 from 7pm – 10pm
Where: Sayoc NorCal
Cost: $100

Pay Here:

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Kydex Sheaths – Design Matters

Depending on the laws where you live, you may or may not carry around with you, daily, any assortment of means of protecting yourself and your family. Blades, firearms, or improvised weapons like the ones with which we train in the Family Safety Protocol classes.

An important part of any weapons training system is the carry and deployment of any and all weapons that you are training to use. A training system that does not address this is simply incomplete and possibly fatally so. This video of Tuhon Tom Kier lecturing about weapons deployment says it all. How you carry and deploy your weapons is of such critical importance that it should be trained constantly. You should do reps drawing your weapons. You should train drawing your weapons under stress. You should train accessing multiple weapons should you fail to draw or lose a weapon from your hand.

Thus, the carry system you chose is also of vital importance. Manufacturers often make the design of the blade the primary focus of their product. Overlooked is the actual carry system from which the weapon will need to be produced. The stock sheathes that come with blades and even firearms are not always ideal, depending on your training and how you use them. This is not necessarily a fault of the manufacturer or designer (although, sometimes it is), but more from a need to design something that will be “good” for the majority of potential buyers out there. But when it comes to protecting ourselves, we don’t want to settle with “good enough.” We want something that we know works through trial and error during our training.

Enter the need for custom, after-market designs. Nick Saglibene, owner of BladeRigs.com, is an Associate Instructor in Sayoc and Atienza Kali and uses his expertise, gained from years of training in the combat application of the blade, to design some of the best kydex sheaths and carry systems out there. Not only is the craftsmanship excellent, but the designs are well thought out and have a purpose.

Form and Function is the name of the game when it comes to a carry system. Your carry system should be practical, efficient, and most importantly, fast and effective. This all needs to be trained regularly but with the right carry system designed by someone with applicable experience, many of the benefits of that experience can be passed on to you for a small cost when compared to the thousands of hours spent testing different designs.

Upcoming Family Safety Seminar

The next Family Safety Protocol seminar is coming up on Saturday, January 29th. From 11am – 2pm.

Register now ->

Awareness – It Takes Practice!

A friend had her phone swiped right out of her hands as she was walking in San Francisco today. She was walking down the street, texting on her phone. She didn’t see the guy approach from the opposite direction, right in front of her. He grabbed her phone and ran off. She was so surprised by the event, that she couldn’t even provide a description of the man. And guess what – she has trained for this very thing!

She called me to tell me how disappointed she was in herself that she did not have the Awareness to see it coming. We’ve discussed this topic a lot. It often comes up in conversation while we’re hanging out and she also attended the Sayoc NorCal Family Safety Seminar. She is bought in, takes responsibility for protecting herself, and trains. She just let herself slip and her Awareness was “not on.”  (Remember: Awareness, Preparedness, & Willingness are the three components of READINESS).

It takes a long time and constant practice to develop Awareness. It is really a discipline that must be applied and it is a protocol that must be followed. But don’t beat yourself up over mistakes – learn from them! How else can you learn the discipline of Awareness and develop your personal Awareness protocols unless you have learning experiences? This is not to say all of your learning should be done by getting into undesirable situations. Training with knowledgeable professionals should be the preferred method for learning!

Luckily, it was only a phone. But it does happen that people lose more than just a phone due to the fact that they are unaware of their surroundings. This is why we place such an emphasis on Awareness when we train. If you don’t even know something is about to happen, your options are very limited when that something happens. In fact, you may have no options at all.

What do you do when you walk down the street? Are you talking on your phone? Texting? Searching for your car keys in your purse? Playing Angry Birds? Or are you paying attention, observing, and analyzing your surroundings? Practicing, in your mind, what you would do in certain situations? That is what you should be doing.

Holiday Schedule

Due to the New Year – there will be NO CLASS this Saturday, January 1st. Normal class schedule resumes Tuesday, January 4th.

Happy New Year!

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