The weapons and methods practiced at the Raven Arts Institute are among the many used for centuries throughout the length and breadth of the Mediterranean. They represent the ultimate means for resolving disagreements and problems in dockside bars, darkened back alleys, and an untold number places not found in any Fodor’s European guidebooks; places where there is little reliance on legal recourses; places where martial arts ranks have no meaning and no one bows in before closing in on you.

Basic, intermediate, and advanced levels of training are available in each for the following arts and disciplines:

Navaja (clasp knife): first associated with Spanish knife-fighters, the navaja eventually became the primary weapon throughout the Mediterranean. To read more about the Navaja, click here or scroll down to the articles section.

Cuchillo (fixed blade knife): standard sheath knife worn by soldiers, sailors, laborers, and peasants in the performance of their respective trades.

Salvavirgo (chastity knife): small sharp knife originally carried by women in their garters to protect against molesters.

Cacha Romani (Gypsy shears): shears and scissors were the primary tool of the esquilador, the grooms that cared for the Andalusian steeds of Spanish aristocrats. In their skilled, the cacha could become a gruesome but effective weapon.

Faja (waist sash): in Spain and other Mediterranean countries, men wore sashes in place of belts to both hold their pants up and stow the items they carried daily. In time, a method was developed for using the sash as a flexible weapon against knife-wielding attackers.

Bastón: an ordinary cane or walking stick popular in Southern Europe. French, Italian, and Spanish styles of cane fighting are widely practiced today. To read more about the Bastón de Paseo, click here or scroll down to the articles section.

Articles

THE ART OF THE ANDALUSIAN NAVAJA

Copyright 2002 James Loriega

Introduction

In Andalusia, as throughout other regions of Spain where cell phones, laptops, and the latest information technology co-exists alongside horse-drawn carriages, cobble-stoned streets, and ornate wrought iron balconies, there are training halls where edged weapons combat is still practiced as it was three hundred years ago. In those days, the most prominent training halls were situated on the sprawling boulevards and taught sword-work and fencing skills to aristocrats and the well to do. The salas de armas, however, were not the only places where one could hear the ring of “singing steel.”

There were also the small informal schools located on the narrow side streets of the less-trafficked parts of the cities that catered to the common man whose only arms, by default, were the small edged weapons they carried concealed from the eyes of “decent folk.” These informal schools were known as escuelas de armas blancas (or schools of edged weapons.) It was in such an escuela that in August of 1990 I got my first exposure to the edged weapons arts of Spain. Since that time, I have continued to visit these sun-drenched lands in the hope that my skill with their indigenous blades would at least keep step with my new –found respect for their culture. Over the last decade, I have spent almost every summer in “externship” at escuelas de armas blancas, exploring the finer points of the region’s traditional blade arts.

Edged Weapons in Spain
The Spaniards’ historic affinity for edged weapons, as well their penchant for using them, has resulted in many disparaging cultural stereotypes involving Hispanics and knives. Ethnic jokes notwithstanding, the Spanish were the first to systemize the art of fencing, to actively encourage the wearing of swords by all classes (up through the time of Ferdinand and Isabela), and to pioneer and develop the use of the folding knife after the carrying of swords was proscribed. The many countries that Spain colonized during her Golden Age — Mexico, the nations of Central and South America[1], the islands of the Caribbean, and the archipelago of the Philippines’ all share in her legacy, an affinity for knives and other edged weapons.

In western cultures that have a martial tradition, the rudiments of personal combat have been informally passed down from father to son; and throughout Southern Europe and Mediterranean, the accepted methods for personal combat extend beyond fisticuffs to more seriously defending oneself with a blade. In Spain, the principal blade carried and used for this purpose has been the navaja. While it may be correctly inferred that all Spaniards were adept in its use, those from the cities in Andalucia seem to demonstrate a particular affinity for the weapon and its handling.

The navaja has a unique design that couples a wide and sharp cutting edge with a needle-sharp point, making it a formidable weapon that is as suitable for thrusting as it is for slashing. Unlikely as it may sound, there are some who believe the navaja to have been the original inspiration for the modern-day bowie knife.

The innumerable sailors, seafarers, soldiers, explorers, and other edged weapons users who traversed Seville throughout the 16th and 17th centuries made their unique martial contributions to the unnamed but growing body of navaja techniques. In time, the regional techniques for using the knife came to be informally known to as acero sevillano (in English, Sevillian Steel) and the navajas carried specifically for fighting were called sevillanas.

Since that time, the navaja has been carried and used by the rich and not-so-rich people from the cities and villages, in times of feast and famine. Its design was influenced by Moslems, used by Christians, and crafted by Jews. It was a weapon that was considered indispensable by both thugs and aristocrats, and that was equally popular with both Spaniards and gypsies. It crossed the hands—and also drew the blood—of countless people, both in and out of its native Spain.

Reality Knife Fighting
The recent popularity of reality fighting in terms of personal protection attests to a growing realization that stylized martial arts—as traditionally taught and practiced—are more art than martial, and more aesthetic than actually practical. Martial artists in such classical disciplines as aikido, jujutsu, and karate, have begun to discover that many notions of combat perpetuated by these arts are unrealistic at best and hazardous at worst. No one, after all, attacks with only one punch, reacts in a predicable or uniform manner, or stands still while a martial artist completes his traditional technique. This is a fact long-known by practitioners of military combatives who, as staunch advocates of the KISS principle, emphasize the effectiveness simplicity over style and aggression over aesthetics.

Ironically, in the realm of armed martial arts, practitioners of knife -based arts such as Japanese tantojutsu, Filipino kali, Indonesian silat, and military knife -fighting have generally believed themselves to hold a more sober and clear-headed view of combat than their martial cousins in the unarmed arts. In reality, however, many of these “sober” and “clear-headed” weapons practitioners are likewise unsuspecting victims of the same misconceptions and over-reliance in their own overstylized arts as the beguiled practitioners of the classical unarmed systems. Often they are just as clueless as their unarmed colleagues, only they are clueless with weapons.

Think back to the first time you attended or participated in a martial arts tournament. Remember how astonished and disturbed you were by the absence of traditional dojo techniques on the tournament floor. Think back to your realization that, in actual application, all of the sharp and clean katas and combinations practiced in the studio devolved to a graceless and undisciplined slugfest reminiscent of childhood brawls in the sandbox and schoolyard.

If you have ever attended any of the popular Filipino/Indonesian knife tournaments of recent years, you may have witnessed the same phenomenon found in karate tournaments: a devolution or reversion of sophisticated techniques into an unsophisticated exchange of elementary blows that probably approximates how Neanderthals fought. Why does this happen?

Fine Motor Skills vs. Gross Motor Skills
Men who play with guns have long been cognizant of an occurrence that men who play with knives are just beginning to understand; that is, in situations of great danger and stress, the fine motor skills practiced and learned in the safety of the gun range or martial arts dojo are negated by the body’s instinctive reactions to the threat at hand.

Adrenal stress can cause tunnel vision, tachy-psyche syndrome, and other involuntary physiological changes that override and eclipse everything but the grossest of motor skills. In fact, that is exactly what law enforcement, military, and handgun aficionados have been focusing their training on all these years—gross motor skills. Time and experience has taught them it is gross motor skills that remain in the fore when the body finds itself in a life-and-death struggle. This is the same lesson learned from the same teachers—time and experience—by the knife -wielders of Southern Europe and the Mediterranean. And it is the focus of this lesson that pervades all the smaller technical lessons found in their edged weapons systems.

Andalusian knife -fighting, therefore, does not present any secret methods for “defanging the snake.” Nor does it reveal any rhythmic flow drills for weaving a knife; nor any systematic routines for checking and trapping the opponent’s arms; nor any theoretical stepping patterns for closing with your opponent. The techniques used in Andalusian knife fighting are not the ones that would win a prize in the kata segment of a tournament— but they are the ones that can lead you to keep your life in the kumite of the street.

Fast vs. Effective
As is true of a handgun, the fastest blade is the one already in your hand. Thus, accustomed as I was to fixed-blade knives in speed-draw sheaths, and folders that opened with the push of a button or the swipe of the thumb, I initially had strong doubts as to the tactical practicality of the navaja. The two-handed openings used to open the traditional weapon seemed not only antiquated, but perilously slow. In situations where the first knife out delivers the first strike—and where the first strike is often the decisive one—the extra second it takes to open the navaja could have a dire cost. At the time, I did not realize that the lag time in opening the navaja with two hands had long ago been experienced and resolved by navajeros who relied on the knife for their constant protection.

Those who used the navaja in past centuries did very well without the benefit of thumb-holes, studs, springs, or push-button mechanisms. Indeed, there were more life-and-death encounters fought and finished with navajas then than there have been with all the “tactical folders” we have today — simply because there was a greater need for that type of self-protection then than there is now. While every style of modern knife known in America is also found in Spain, many contemporary navaja students pride themselves on their ability to quickly and effectively deploy a “two-handed” knife. Their attitude is a constant reminder of the truism that lethality resides not in the weapon, but in the hand of the man wielding it.

Intent is More Important than Instruction
An incident I once witnessed at an event conducted by the renowned Bando grandmaster Dr. Maung Gyi provides a telling contrast between these two different approaches. Toward the end of the seminar, Dr. Gyi informed the participants, the majority of whom were instructors seeking to expand their already considerable abilities under the grandmaster, that there would now follow sparring matches where he would pair off opponents. He then asked me to officiate the matches and determine the “victor.” In one such match, Dr. Gyi paired a well-known New York master of Filipino knife -fighting against one of the few seminar participants who lacked formal knife training.

The New York master approached the floor wearing safety goggles, padded gloves, and a grinning smile that seemed to express confidence in his knowledge and ability. He patronizingly gave his opponent an extra pair of eye goggles. What the master did not realize was that, although his opponent lacked knife training, he held black belts in a number of unarmed combat systems and, more significantly, was an active exponent of Spanish rapier fencing.

When I signaled for the match to begin, the fencer immediately tore into the master knife fighter without regard for style or finesse. He wasted no time probing the master’s speed or reflexes, but instead stormed forward to quickly cut and stab him. The master back-pedaled off the floor and gestured “time out.” He condescendingly approached the fencer and told him to watch his contact, as this was merely a friendly match. The pair then took up their guard positions and I signaled for them to resume.

Once again the fencer flashed his training knife forward and attacked the master’s eyes and face. As his knife’s point contacted the master’s safety goggles, the latter disengaged, stepped off the floor, and stalked off, shaking his head and muttering that this wasn’t how things were done. Many believed that the master withdrew from the match to avoid having to hurt his over-enthusiastic opponent. Others, however, suspected that the master could afford to have his thousand stylized techniques and tactics rendered useless by the sheer will-to-win evinced by an opponent untrained in formal knife systems.

The Andalusian focus on simplicity and intent does not mean that the system lacks structure. In fact, the system is quite comprehensive and incorporates the use of specific grips, stances, offensive knife work, defensive knife work, combative footwork, as well as a full scope of strategies, tactics, and techniques. While it would be impossible to describe all of these elements here, we will use offensive knife work and combative footwork as examples of the system’s comprehensiveness.

Offensive Knifework
For an attack to be effective, the navaja must strike the attacker in a way that incapacitates him or severely compromises his ability to fight. Though many edged weapons systems include sophisticated techniques and combinations for engaging and defeating an opponent, the simplest attacks are always the most effective. When facing an armed opponent of better or unknown ability, simplicity is the essential element to survival. This is especially true when using the formidable navaja, a weapon whose extremely lethal design almost requires directness and simplicity. The straightforward attacks of Andalusian knife fighting, when performed with practiced skill and proper timing, have proven to be as deadly as they are simple.

Combative Footwork
In the art of Sevillian steel the basic tenet concerning combat engagement distance is that one must always remain at least a thrust’s-distance away from the opponent. When there is less distance between combatants, there is a substantial risk of not being able to defend quickly enough against an opponent’s attack. On the other hand, when there is a greater distance between combatants, one may have difficulty in delivering an attack without the other perceiving it. There are essentially three primary combat engagement distances, (or intervals in professional knife combat terms), with which a navaja exponent must become familiar.

• mano a mano (hand to hand),
• cuerpo a cuerpo (toe to toe), and
• ojo a ojo (eye to eye).

The Andalusian knife fighter is able to adjust easily to any of these three ranges and find comfort in combat within them. If a would-be fighter feels that any particular interval is difficult for him to defend himself in, he has permitted a negative mindset to predetermine his fate in a given situation. This must never happen. The skilled fighter must be confident that he can apply his techniques, tactics, and strategies deliberately and effectively at any interval. He must be able to change and flow from one combat interval to another with fluidity, confidence, and ease.

Burying the Blade “To leave with your life you must bury your knife,” is an old Andalusian adage , and essential to Spanish knife fighting is the concept of “burying” the blade in the opponent’s anatomy. If the threat to one’s life, or the insult to one’s name, warrants the baring of blades, then the goal is to bury the blade into the threatening or offending party. Keeping this focus in mind helps to ensure that combat occurs only for significant reasons, and that it is undertaken with the necessary commitment and resolve.

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THE ART OF THE SPANISH BASTÓN

Copyright 2002 James Loriega

During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the use of the cane for personal protection was a common practice throughout Europe. The cane's role as a defensive weapon was particularly popular in those Mediterranean countries where indigenous schools of fencing had evolved: Italy, France, Hungary and, of course, Spain. Given this fact, it is hardly surprising that noblemen adopted canes and walking sticks, along with folding knives and daggers, as their obvious replacements to the gentleman's sword when due to legal restraints the latter ceased being an option.

Fencing Origins
It is for this reason that many of the fighting methods formulated around the cane were modeled around fencing principles, in particular those principles pertaining to the use of the saber. These methods of using the cane for fighting became systems in their own right as their exponents discovered combative movements and techniques that had no direct relation to fencing maneuvers. At this point, fighting with a cane ceased being perceived as a bastardized form of fencing and became regarded as a distinct means of personal protection.

Of the various European systems of cane fighting that evolved, the best known is the French art of la canne, which is typically associated with the practice of Savate and Boxe Francaise. Another form of cane fighting that is related to la canne is the art of canne Italiana. Despite many obvious French influences, this Italian cane system has a flavor all its own. A third and lesser-known system of cane fighting is called Paranza, an art reputed to be practiced in Sicily. The fourth, and the subject of this article, is the Spanish system of Bastón de Paseo (or simply, Bastón.)

From Vara to Bastón
The trend for carrying a cane was not limited to the aristocratic classes. Throughout Spain, peasant dandies known as majos (MA-hos) had an identifiable affinity for sporting varas. The vara was not actually a cane but rather a type of walking stick that fulfilled for the majo various functions. It served alternately as a riding crop, a cattle prod, and a probe for objects its owner might find on the ground.

In his classic travelogue, A Romantic in Spain, Theophile Gauthier reveals that, "It is the height of style to carry in the hand a rod (vara) or white stick, with a bifurcated tip, four feet high, upon which one leans negligently when one stops for a chat. No self-respecting majo would dare to appear in public without his vara."

Like the other Mediterranean cane systems already mentioned, the Spanish baston also betrays a marked fencing influence. In fact, the system's emphasis on strikes, as opposed to thrusts, reveals a heavy saber influence in its development. There is, nonetheless, a variety of strategies and techniques that make the Spaniard's cane art unique.

As is true when training with the Andalusian clasp-knife, or navaja, students training with the cane are reminded that although cane fighting and sword fighting often share a common terminology, techniques called by similar terms are as different as night and day.

The old training halls that taught cane fighting prided themselves in having none of the superficial combat courtesies imposed by fencing. Such courtesies could prove fatal in the labyrinths of Andalucia's dark alleys and narrow back streets, where one might face an unrestrained, vicious attack. Consequently, the common man's method had to be similarly, if not more, savage and uninhibited.

The Mondragón System of The Bastón
The reader familiar with la canne or other cane fighting systems should note that the Spanish system of bastón was not intended for contending against other cane-wielding opponents, such as is often the case with the French art. Although there exist techniques designed to protect the bastonero, or cane fighter, from another bastón-wielding attacker, such situations would be rare in Spain and therefore never a primary focus of the art.

The Spanish styles of bastón were developed as a means of defending against bigger or stronger attackers, or those armed with knives, which was a common occurrence in the time when the bastón was first used. Knives were popular not only in Spain, but all throughout southern Europe and the likelihood of confronting a knife-carrying street thug far exceeded the likelihood of encountering a cane-carrying nobleman.

The particular fighting method contained in these pages derives from the Mondragón system that originated in Andalusia. It combines the more traditional Spanish cane strategies with a few deceptive tactics adopted from the Andalusian gypsies.

The founder of this system was Diego Mondragón, a navajero who lived in Seville during the early part of the 20th century. Mondragón is credited with structuring Andalusia's cultural weapons arts into formalized systems that can be taught and passed on in a logical and cohesive manner.

His efforts were not limited to the region's well-known edged weapons but extended to non-edged weapons as well. Among these were the cinturón (belt), the pañuelo (handkerchief or bandana), and the bastón. Through his work, all of Andalusia's edged and non-edged weapons -- known traditionally as armas blancas -- were systematized for the preservation of what Mondragón called the Andalusian Legacy .

Nomenclature
Before being taught combative techniques, the beginning student must become acquainted with the terminology associated with the cane.

The handle (empuñadera) is the butt end of the cane, located at the extreme end of the handle. The handle extends from the small finger side of the hand when the cane is gripped in a conventional manner.

The shaft (contera) comprises the major portion of the cane. It typically tapers, being thicker at the handle end and thinner at the tip.

The point (punta) is the end of the cane opposite the handle. It can be made to move at blurring speed and is regarded as the "business end" of the weapon.

Grips
In general, the grip on the cane must be neither too loose nor too tight. Too loose a grip makes you vulnerable to losing the cane on impact; an overly tight grip limits maneuvering dexterity and also slows down execution. As in any fighting art, strikes and parries must strive for the proper balance between flexibility and rigidity, both coordinated with the proper timing. The grips listed below are the predominant ones used in the Mondragón system. They are described from the perspective of a right hand hand-dominant exponent.

Pedestrian grip is the term for the conventional way in which a cane is held under normal walking conditions. The cane is gripped at the handle end, with the thumb oriented toward the handle, and the small finger toward the point. The techniques described under Defensive Techniques, below, will be executed with the cane held in the Pedestrian grip.

Fencing grip is the term for the way in which a cane is held for defensive and offensive techniques. The cane is gripped by the handle end as it were a saber, with the thumb oriented toward the point, and the small finger toward the handle. The body is poised with the right leg forward and "sitting" as in a fencing guard. Most of the techniques in this system are executed with the cane held in the Fencing grip.

In the Bayonet grip, the cane is held as it were a staff, with the left hand near the point end, and the right hand near the handle. This time the body is poised with the left leg forward as if one were holding a rifle. While there are a number of other grips used in bastón, these three are the most common.

Targets
The anatomical targets for attacks with the cane are, in order of importance, 1) the arms, 2) the knees, 3) the wrists, 4) the clavicles, 5) the head, and 6) the throat.

The logic of this order is predicated on facing a knife-wielding attacker. The arm wielding the attacker's weapon is, of course, the preferred target. The knees are a close second. While there may appear to be more telling targets such as the head or wrists, the knees represent an easier and more accessible target for the relatively long cane. The knees are also less protected than the head and less mobile than the hands and wrists.

Defensive Techniques
In the days when men dueled, the individual requesting the duel formally communicated his intentions and his reasons to the individual he challenged. Such civilized conventions went out of fashion along with being well-read, working hard for a living, and having honor. Rarely today will an attacker issue a warning or declare his intentions before closing with you. It is more likely that he will threaten you, if that, as he invades your personal space or begins drawing his weapon.

Since you will not initially have the opportunity to assume a guard position, you must be prepared to deliver an effective counter from whatever manner you happen to be holding your cane. The initial counter will afford you the time you need to gather your wits, assume a suitable guard position, and solidly establish your defense. Since you will probably not be holding the cane in a fighting grip, initial counters are delivered with the cane in a pedestrian grip.

Offensive Techniques
The large variety of blows that can be delivered with the cane result in a comprehensive and versatile system of personal protection. Strikes with the cane comprise the primary form of attacks and are categorized as either as bastonazos or molinetes. Thrusts with the cane, less frequently employed, are categorized as either as estocadas or golpes de punta.

The techniques in this system focus against attacks with edged weapons. Defending against such attacks, as mentioned, was the original purpose behind this system's development. After the gun, the knife represents the most dangerous weapon that can be used in personal attacks, and by understanding how to defend against it we will automatically know how to defend against attacks attempted with the empty hand.

Caveat
While there are a plethora of cane fighting system advertised in martial arts magazines and on the Web, the majority of these are comprised are untested techniques made up by high-ranking karate and tae kwon do instructors. Often, this instruction comes in the form of videotapes, some of which incredibly offer the viewer/student rank testing and certification by mail.

The techniques that comprise such methods are merely derived from unarmed arts, many of which are impractical in their original form, let alone when attempted with a cane in hand. The instructors behind these systems, as accomplished as they may be in their original unarmed disciplines, have no actual training in the cane apart from what they have "invented." To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, "He who teaches himself has a fool for a student."

The reader interested in learning to effectively defend him/herself with a cane is best advised to study with an instructor formally versed in cane arts. These include qualified savate, arnis, and weapons instructors whose comprehensive backgrounds incorporate formal instruction with the cane or walking stick.

Other qualified individuals include instructors of street-focused eclectic arts. Among these are James Keating of ComTech, and Jerry VanCook. Readers wishing to train in the system described here – the Mondragón System – should contact our Raven Arts Institute in New York. The Institute offers comprehensive training in Spanish and Mediterranean arts, including the cane, swordcane, clasp-knife, stiletto, and many other weapons systems.

The weapons and their systems originated, are have been time-tested, in Spain, Italy, France, Greece, and other countries of Southern Europe. The systems that evolved in these countries were not designed for winning in kata or kumite, but for combat and personal protection in daily life.

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