PINK UMBRELLA ESKRIMA

This is another very short footage of myself doing some beginner's Arnis/Kali/Eskrima moves--this time using my Nanay's old pink umbrella.

I videoed this while waiting for the rest of the family to leave the house to eat somewhere else.

And, no, there's no such thing as "Pink Umbrella Eskrima."

MY FIRST-EVER VIDEOED PRACTICE

After more than a year of never been able to practice (due to lectures, hospital duties, review classes, thesis work, and other "ordeals" of a graduating nursing student), I casually picked up one of my already-dusty Arnis/Kali/Eskrima sticks just this afternoon and made a few beginner's swings, and decided to video it.

I realized--just now--that videos can reveal many gaps (e.g., bad habits) that need to be worked on--especially if one only trains alone most of the time. Like myself.

This first-ever footage of myself doing a spur-of-the-moment "practice" is no exception. It indeed reveals a lot of bad habits.

This is a very short video (and bad-quality, too) for a viewer to make some sound assessment, but please feel free to leave a comment.

WEEKEND SELF-DEFENSE WORKSHOPS FOR WOMEN

Any mundane object that can be turned into an instant weapon during assaults is a great equalizer (and a life saver)--especially against a male assailant.

With the right mindset and training, almost anything (almost!) that can be found inside a woman's purse is a potential weapon:

• Keys.
• Lipstick tube/case.
• Pen light.
• Ballpoint pen.
• Felt-tip pen/marker.
• Cellphone.
• Toothbrush. 
• Perfume/cologne bottle. 
• Hairbrush. 
• Paper-and-binder personal organizer. 
• Folding umbrella. 
• Beverage tumbler. 

The question is, do you or would you know how to use any of these to your advantage when the need arises?

These weekend workshops will NOT transform you and your friends into Charlie's Angels, but--at the end of the session--each one should be able to:

• LEARN simple, non-flowery but incapacitating strikes to strategic body parts (either with or without makeshift weapons).

• DEVELOP acceptable speed in delivering such strikes (which you can further enhance by practicing them regularly, even on your own).

• TRANSFORM a long umbrella, tennis/badminton racket, rolled newspaper, culinary spatula, and similar objects into an effective self-defense tool using Arnis/Kali/Eskrima techniques.

• PERFORM helpful drills that you and/or your friends can practice to improve reflex and develop muscle memory.

• BUILD awareness of and common sense against impending attacks.

• DISCOVER instant "life-saving interventions" (which more organized schools will teach you only after many months or even years). 

Preferred participants are health professionals, media correspondents, call center employees, students, and the like who are based in the province and the city of Iloilo.

Appointments are open to at least a group of four participants.

For inquiries, please text or call +63946-871-2222 (Smart) or +63906-871-2222 (Globe).

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Warrior In Scrubs is the former media and communications officer of the Gender-Responsive Economic Actions for the Transformation of Women (GREAT Women) Project, a capacity-development initiative funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and implemented locally by the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), the national machinery for the advancement of women in the Philippines.

Now into nursing as his second career, Warrior In Scrubs uses his working knowledge in human anatomy and physiology in evolving women-friendly techniques that require minimum exertion but produce maximum results, particularly in self-defense situations. Warrior In Scrubs has more than 10 years of formal and informal martial arts training. His background includes blunt and bladed weaponry based in Arnis/Kali/Eskrima as well as eclectic empty-hand combatives influenced by Street MMA, Western Boxing, Kickboxing, and Aikido.