# 3:
“The Filipino arts represent the most well-rounded and practical fighting techniques in the world.”
How so? They’re well-rounded in that they cover all distances in which combat takes place: long range (kicking), middle range (boxing, elbowing, kneeing) and short range (grabbing, poking, biting, grappling). They’re practical in that they don’t focus on fancy or complicated moves that are likely to fail under duress. Even the forms (anyo) used by some Filipino systems are composed of actual fighting moves. Historically, those components were hidden in a dance (sayaw) for a variety of reasons.
The practicality of the Filipino arts is enhanced by the versatility of the weapons. At long range, you can use the tip of the stick or sword; at middle range, you can use the body of the stick or the blade of the sword; and at short range, you can use the bottom part of the stick (punyo) or handle of the sword.
– Guro Melegrito –
