Complete Sinawali: Filipino Double-Weapon Fighting (Complete Martial Arts)

This book contains 18 dual-stick/sword forms that can be practiced separately or combined into a single drill. The process of learning them is well documented and visually displayed. The photos are very small, and the biggest issues are the lack of clarity on footwork (descriptions will say step forward/back with left/right foot but the photo doesn't clearly show this, so you have to learn this on your own through practice). But overall this is a priceless book for anyone trying to learn ambidextrous weapon use, coordination with double weapons, and expansion of skill through the ability to transition between any one attack to another. Most arguments against books like this start with "you can learn nothing from books you need a teacher" but you will likely not find many teachers who can train you in Lakbay Sinawali, as fully described here. You are going to be on your own, and if you have training and are capable of inference then you will learn a lot from practicing what you see here. There are no other books on this topic that provide a full systemic protocol of sinawali techniques. Most of what you see is flashy demonstration videos or overly redundant flows that only cover a few basic patterns. I've searched for years for books to augment this one and the only one of any true value is the Secrets of Kali Ilustrisimo book. I think they are both out of print so get copies if you can and plan to spend a lot of time learning and then practicing to get it down. Good luck!

It is very rare to find a book teaching dual wielding with two same weapons. I believe this is the only book in the market. The explanation is ... somewhat wordy. Paragraphs are set in random ways, such that it sometimes explains 1 picture, but other times 2 or 3 pictures... Or sometimes 1 picture is explained over 2 paragraphs. Basically, the reader should read EVERY word, and find the key words HIDDEN in the middle of paragraph. The picture is easy to understand in early part. However, once it gets to multiple combo moves later, the picture skips some steps. The only thing I don't like is that 1/3 of the book is about the master's family tree and history. Overall, very good book... and the only book in the market to learn the dual wielding.

I purchased this book hoping to add to my knowledge of double-stick movement and fighting patterns to my existing base in escrima. If you have base knowledge in the fundamentals of single and double baston work, then this book is really helpful in advancing your art further and looking to see how two sticks can be used effectively in coordination. The illustrations, although may be confusing to somebody new, but by reading the text and thinking through the movements, you can more or less figure it out, and maybe this is one of the best ways to learn and to initiate deep cognitive learning - other than a teacher showing you movements in a class. Although two sticks may not be practical in combat in this day and age, the ability to coordinate and work both hands at the same time in the various striking patterns illustrated I believe has helped my single stick and knife work due to my ability to use my left (non-dominant) hand almost as well as my right even in sparring - useful in combat if your dominant hand is rendered useless for example. All in all, I found this book does the job it was meant to do and shows you the many patterns found in siniwali in a methodical and logical order for learning.

Written by one of the Pillars of Ilustrisimo, Master Rey Galang, This book contains 18 Double stick sinawali drills. Each drill has a picture breakdown and description. I thought it would be hard to follow but it made sense. Although each drill can have many variations this covers more sinawali drills than most people ever practice. Highly recommended to increase you agility and knowledge with double stick. If you have no knowlege of Escrima, Kali, Arnis this may not be where you start. But if you are looking for a good all in one reference book you will find this book very helpful.

so much book space was devoted to the history of the Philippines, particularly Pampanga province and also the elite Bakbakan organization. well over 35% of the book went on these alone, interesting but frustrating. the book should get 4.5 to 5 stars based on the remaining 60+% content but unfortunately it lacks pictures to illustrate what the author is trying to portray. also, the pictures and text are far apart from each other. this book is okay but definitely needs revisions with more pictures and less babbles.

I practice Kalis Ilustrisimo in a park with some other escimadors. We started sinawali (double stick fighting) early this year and I ordered this book. This is an excellent book to learn and study sinawali. The written instructions are very clear and the pictures, albeit small, very clearly depict what the technique should look like. Each picture clearly shows the progression of movements. It gets straight to the point. The book delivers its promise of teaching distance, timing, angle of attack and footwork. All of the drills in the book tie together to create a complete sinawali drill called Lakbay Sinawali. If you practice Arnis/Escrima then I highly recommend this book.

At only 100 pages, this is a rather tiny book, but don't let its diminutive size suggest a lack of value. Sinawali drills are not only essential in Arnis training, but are so numerous that they become difficult to remember at times. I have found no single compendium of Sinawali drills that contains "all" the standardised drills, but this book contains 18 of the most common foundational Sinawali drills, comprising 70 strikes/techniques. As others have mentioned, this is not a "beginner's guide". It assumes at least a small amount of exposure for the reader to properly utilise the drills outlined. GM Rey Galang begins this book with a brief history of the Kapampangan region and language, which is at times unrelated to the main content of the book, but interesting, nonetheless. The remainder of the book focuses on established standards of the Bakbakan International organisation for inter-disciplinary Filipino martial arts training, describing some of the member schools/systems in Bakbakan, and moving on to the basic stances, warm-up exercises and, finally, the sayaw that help unify the Bakbakan member styles. All the photo series examples begin from abierta (open) stance, which is easily adaptable to the cerrada (closed) beginning practised by many schools. Each drill is presented as a solo image series followed by the "application" as a two-person drill. One thing missing from this book is an overview of the numerada, or target points, for the strikes shown in the series which would lend to a better reference for the beginning student and to those studying at schools that use a different system of numerada than employed at Bakbakan seminars. As with most martial arts books that demonstrate techniques, the photos are small and frequently struggle to convey the actual movement being described. However, this is more a reference book than a tutorial, and as reference material it is an invaluable resource for the student of Arnis/Escrima.

Most FMA practitioners only know one form of Sinawali/Sinuwali. This book shows you 18 techniques in detailed instructions on how to execute them from steps to drills to tips. They are accompanied with illustrative photos. Once mastered you can combine them to create your own sayaw or anyo. This book is indispensable it should be in your stick bag. Highly recommended for all FMA practitioners from novices to experts.

Great book to have in the martial arts reference library at home if you are or have trained in Filipino Kali / Arnis / Escrima arts.

dit boekje is zeker zijn geld waard! je leert veel bewegingen en verdedigingen. Ideaal te gebruiken als extra aanvulling bij bijvoorbeeld krav maga

Great book.

Lo acabo de recibir, cumple lo que promete. Buena explicación, lenguaje claro pero fallan un poco las fotos porque son un poco pequeñas aunque se ve relativamente bien, se debe de compaginar con el texto de forma simultanea para entender mejor. No obstante muy recomendable

It is ok.