This annual gathering is open exclusively to active KAMA members and is designed to foster connection, exploration and professional growth within the organization.
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Who we Are and What We Do
Welcome to the Phoenix, AZ chapter of Eskrima DeCuerdas - Filipino Martial Arts (EDC-FMA), proudly affiliated with the Kada Anan Martial Arts Association (KAMA). We are a public park, garage and backyard based martial arts club offering instruction in Filipino Martial Arts, also known as Eskrima, Arnis or Kali, as well as Karate and QiGong. Our goal is to provide a welcoming, informative environment for individuals with dedication to training. Our club is a place for beginners looking to grow and develop their skills, as well as experienced practitioners seeking to expand their knowledge. We offer:
Purposefully small with 10 or fewer students. Everyone gets the instructor's attention, the instructor gets everyone's attention.
Reduce your learning curve, get one-on-one attention, personalize your training, work around your schedule, learn at your own pace.
Introduce others to our system or help other practitioners cross train. We also attend events to broaden and improve our own training.
If you have a passion for training and sharing your skills, our doors are open to you. We are committed to fostering a love for the arts, embracing the challenges of personal growth and building lifelong friendships along the way.
Have questions? Ready to train? Let us know how we can help.
CONTACT US
Where and When We Do What We Do
“If ignorance was a train, it's not a good idea to stay on for a long ride.”
There's a lot more involved in martial training than just learning fighting techniques. Consider history, culture, anatomy, strategy, philosophy, clothing, food, language...this list can go on and on. Many "fight" practitioners question whether these peripheral subjects lend any improvement to fighting. No, they don't, not directly. However, learning from these subjects can help students gain deeper understanding of what/how/why things are taught and trained the way they are. Having this understanding can provide the extra tools needed to survive an encounter. At EDC-FMA, we encourage students to delve deeper into the art - look beyond just techniques.
Interested in training? Please come visit us and participate in up to four (4) classes at no charge. We don't have isolated or fluffed up intro classes to showcase how great we think we are. You're going to get right in and see, hear, feel and do what we do, exactly as we do it. Use the time to evaluate our system, the group dynamic and our teaching style before making the commitment to train with us.
Note: Our training location is not a permanent "brick and mortar" school. Sometimes we're at a seminar or other event. If you're unsure whether we're training or at an event, please CONTACT US
What's Going On
This annual gathering is open exclusively to active KAMA members and is designed to foster connection, exploration and professional growth within the organization.
Read More
What We Do, It's Not For Everybody
“A man cannot understand the art he is studying if he only looks for the end result without taking the time to delve deeply into the reasoning of the study.”
— Miyamoto Musashi
At EDC-FMA, we don't dabble. Our mission is to raise the bar; ensuring in-depth, high quality martial arts instruction. While we understand not everyone is destined (or even wants) to master the martial arts, we provide the information and level of training to enable students to take the art as far as they desire. We recognize the difference between being "shown" something vs. being "taught". Students don't memorize a set of techniques and then perform them just good enough to get through the next rank test. We strive to pass on our knowledge by teaching, not just showing, while guiding students toward gaining understanding and developing functional skill.
Although there is influence from several styles, practice centers around a Filipino Martial Art (a.k.a. eskrima, arnis and kali) called Eskrima DeCuerdas and a form of karate called Koshiki ToKen Jutsu. We train both systems with an "old style" mindset. Neither art makes the claim of having been unchanged or remaining pure from days past. "Old style" refers more to the mentality behind our practice; one of developing fighting skill instead of just practicing for art, self defense or competition.
Eskrima DeCuerdas is a Filipino Martial Art based on the teachings of late Grandmaster Gilbert Tenio, late Senior Master Juan Eliab Sr., and Grandmaster Gilbert Cordoncillo. While GM Tenio's DeCuerdas is the core style of the system, the blend taught by Sr. Master Eliab comprised of Serrada, Larga Mano and DeCuerdas, accounts for the majority of the material practiced during training. Read More
The word "Koshiki" 古式 consists of two Japanese characters that, when used together, mean "old style". The word "ToKen" is a combination of two Japanese characters: "To" 唐, meaning "China" (specifically the Tang dynasty) and "Ken" 拳, meaning "fist"; thus, ToKen means "China (Chinese) fist". The word "jutsu" 術, refers to "technique, skill, or method". So, Koshiki ToKen Jutsu means "Old Style Chinese Fist Technique/Method". Read More
Don't hesitate to connect with us. We're happy to help in any way we can.