NOMAD Kali & Combat Fitness

Our Combat Fitness Program, is a unique combination of Strikes, Blocks, Kicks, Kettlebells, MMA Conditioning & Cross Training. Train Hard and Have fun all while learning valuable self-defense techniques!

Our Kali Program, is a Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) system indigenous to the Philippines, that is known for its in-fighting and close-quarter techniques. Unlike other martial arts, training begins with the use of bastons (aka: eskrima sticks) which represent edged or impact weapons.. Most commonly med out of rattan, or a native hard wood. Movements and techniques done with weapons can be directly translated into empty hand techniques. As the student advances, he/she begins to understand that the weapon becomes an extension of their body and that moving in fluid motions is essential to maximize speed and power.

Most people think Filipino Martial Arts, such as Kali, are stick fighting arts only. This is a very common misconception because rattan sticks are the primary tools used in training. These rattan sticks, or "bastons" are used to represent a bladed weapon for combat, but that is not all there is. The FMA are equally based in weapon skills AND empty hand skills (such as kicking, punching, trapping, and grappling). The FMA cover all the fighting ranges, defending against armed and unarmed attacks with whatever is available. Whether it may be a broken broom handle, tree branch, baseball bat, or it could be other types of weapons, or just the fighter's empty hand skills. The FMA teach the interrelationship between empty hand skills and weapons. Therefore the FMA should be considered a complete martial arts system that develops many different types of skills for combat.

Keep in mind that there are also other FMA that do not involve the use of stick fighting as a training method. Dumog, Sikaran, and Panantukan are examples of FMA that are based on empty hand skills only.

The FMA were designed to be simple to learn. The arts were originally used to train fellow villagers, in a short period of time, for combat against other villages and foreign invaders. There was no time or reason to teach flashy techniques, nor techniques that required special abilities. Only the skills that were proven effective, and could be easily taught, were used. The people who were learning this art depended on its effectiveness and simplicity for survival. They were generally not martial artists or soldiers, but rather just villagers who had to defend their land. They had to become proficient or perish in battle. There was no time to teach a detailed and complex martial art if the village was under immediate threat. Therefore, good generic methods and solutions needed to be taught in the quickest time possible. This philosophy of simplicity is still used today and is the underlying base of FMA.

In keeping with the philosophy of simplicity, most of the techniques are taught early in training. This is an important key to the FMA. The student can pick what works for him and create his own method of combat. The basic principles are more important than raw numbers of technique. The difference between an older practitioner and a newer one is not the knowledge of greater numbers of techniques, but rather the skill in executing a smaller number of personally selected techniques. Each FMA practitioner keeps a small core of basic techniques that can handle many different types of situations.