Floro Fighting Systems

Those of you, who know me, will attest to the fact that I abhor any form of exercise.

In fact, after a long day of teaching, the last thing I want to do is anything else that resembles physical work

I don’t even like watching Martial Arts movies when I retire for the evening.

However, there was a time where my waist was pushing 40 inches, and after a mild heart attack……………

it was time to get serious. I didn’t want to join a gym, and I didn’t want to spend money on a warehouse of fitness equipment.

Don Stevenson has been instrumental in getting me to lose weight and increase my fitness.

His website is http://octogen.com.au/

So, Don suggested ONE piece of kit………..The Russian Kettlebell.

Looking into the various weights of the Kettlebell. Don suggested I go for the 16kg size.

I made a comment that the 16kg may not be “heavy enough” for an experience martial artist like myself (ego talking). He smiled and just made a comment “Ray…I can make you throw up with a 16kg…” POINT TAKEN.

Since my introduction to “the bell” and doing my 15 minutes workout….I have been able to reduce my waist size to 34 inches. Of course, cutting down the food I stuff in my face by half also helped.

Being on the constant search for ANYTHING that would cut down the time of my workout. I consulted “Dr Don” again, and he suggested a program called TABATA.

The workout can be done in FOUR MINUTES….WOO HOO!!.

The session is split up 20 SECONDS workout 10 SECONDS rest…..done for EIGHT reps.

The idea is to do AS MANY REPS AS YOU CAN within that 20 seconds.

I usually choose to do either the Kettlebell “Swing” or the “Snatch”.

Sounds easy………..NOT!!!!!!!!!

By the 6^th session…my tongue is dragging on the carpet.

A valuable tool for this is the TIMER. Very hard to find a stopwatch that keeps time for 20 seconds then rests for 10 seconds for 8 intervals.

SEARCH NO MORE….Don suggested I get the “Gymboss” timer. http://gymboss.com/

For about $25.00 Aussie Dollars this valuable tool keeps it all timed. And I don’t even have to count.

So equipped with ONE kettlebell, with ONE exercise with ONE Timing tool….for FOUR minutes, my whole exercise regime is done.

Ray Floro

I’ve been fortunate enough to have been involved with the Australian Military since 2003. Throughout this time, I have developed many a close friends, and have worked closely with them to develop their Edged Weapons Awareness program. Although I cannot divulge the exact details of what is taught. I can give you a glimpse the topics covered.

The three major “Awareness” components that I usually cover in these seminars are:

What is an Edged Weapon? – In many instances, and edged weapon is ingeniously concealed or improvised to the extent that it doesn’t even look like a “knife”. Exposure to how these implements are concealed and fabricated goes a long way to identifying potential threat.

Image RMC1 – shows the typical samples I take with me in showing what edged weapons are like. By actually seeing and feeling the dimensions and weights of the weapons, goes a long way to identifying them, as opposed to just photos

What can an Edged Weapon do? – Many people are unfamiliar of the damage even a one inch blade (such as a Stanley Knife) can do. Demonstration on the leg of meat showing the effects of a one inch blade up to a 9 inch blade, shows the devastating cuts and “amputation” it can inflict.

Image RMC2 – shows the damage that a slash with a one inch Stanley knife can do. The leg of meat was slashed right to the bone.

You may also be interested in this demonstration I did showing actual tests done. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9xJejkInvE

How fast is an Edged Weapon? – Here I actually ask for volunteers to don a helmet to see if they can defend against the speed of the knife attack. A simple thrust to the face is what I do. But, as countless of volunteers have experienced; the potential speed of a well timed stabbing strike can be frighteningly fast.

Image RMC3 – My photographer Scott Hartog manages to capture the moment the knife impacts on the “victims” helmet.

Image RMC4 and…

Image RMC5 – shows the result of impact to other unsuspecting volunteers. Notice that my knife arm is out and back, even before then can recover.

You may also be interested in this demonstration of knife speed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV5TfZBB1Lo

Once this Introduction and Foundation has been established…….the next stage is to show the exponents how to deal with these attacks.

Ray Floro

It was refreshing to see the open mindedness and genuine interest from Instructors of all styles.

One unexpected enquiry was from a group of Filipino countrymen who asked me about my experience with Kalis Ilustrisimo. I haven’t taught the Ilustrisimo system “officially” for a while, and if was a nice change to be able to show people my roots and foundation in the Filipino Martial Arts.

There was a lag in the crowds when Christian and his mates, came up, so I was more than happy to do a small impromptu seminar on the Ilustrisimo system.

They loved the direct, and efficient way “Tatang” Ilustrisimo developed the system, and the emphasis on disguising the striking motions, leading to fakes and deceptions that are designed to bewilder the opponent.

I also went through the basic disarms, which is slightly different because of the emphasis on the bladed weapon. It is known that the Ilustrisimo system is more of a blade art rather than a stick art; hence its training reflects that.

This just took me back to when I first met the Grand Master. The most significant impression which stayed with me was his SIMPLE, EFFICIENT moves. In fact, all I saw was striking using an up and down motion. His footwork was just a step forward and step back, using his front foot.

With this basic footwork and the vertical striking, he easily defended the strikes his partner was feeding; and at the same time successfully pulling off counter attacks at will.

I thought to myself – Here is a man in his mid eighties, and he can still effectively defend himself. THIS HAS GOT TO BE THE SYSTEM FOR ME.

The countless hours I was privileged enough to spend learning one on one from the Grand Master himself has been one of those PRICELESS life experiences.

From the first private lesson, when I was asked by “Tatang” what I wanted to learn, I said that I didn’t want to learn the entire system……….but would much rather learn his personal fighting style.

Tatang was kind enough to oblige me. His teachings and concepts have stayed with me even today, using simple concepts, extrapolating variations and subtle changes in distance and timing, all tactics cleverly designed to make a simple deal with complex situations………..

I digress……..as for the Supershow. All in all an extremely pleasurable break in the show to be able to share knowledge.

Which leads me to think……..would there be interest out there in the Kalis Ilustrisim System as taught to me one on one by the great Grand Master himself Antonio “Tatang” Ilustrisimo?

I wonder…

Ray Floro.