Why Twirl your stick in Escrima Stickfighting

There are some schools of thought that believe twirling a stick in Escrima Stickfighting is useless and a waste of movement – it serves more for flash and no function: Where a direct powerful strike through the target – a person – is a more effective attack rather than wasting time with a fancy twirl.

We all know the object: To maim, destroy, or kill. Versus trick, mesmerize, or just to be a fancy flashy escrimador.  Systems that incorporate a stick twirl within their combos will disagree. Some practitioners may also say an Abanico strike is a useless strike. So you see, there are many theories to stickfighting.

Here’s my ‘take’:

Learn everything you need to learn in stick fighting. What some may say is the least effective strike (or combo) may be the absolute most effective strike in a particular situation.

So, the question is: Why Twirl your stick in Escrima Stickfighting?

Paraphrasing Newton’s law of motion:  “An object at rest stays in rest and an object in motion stay in motion…”

Attacking with a strike from a very static position (where the stick is not moving) creates a jerky, tense motion. If there is a lag (which is common when attacking with a weapon from a static position), the attack can be predictable and a strike may be telegraphed.  Twirling a stick is like a trigger of action that we’ll call the “Attack Trigger” – where the stick is constantly moving and as Newton’s law suggests, “An object in motion stays in motion.”

The momentum of the twirl (even if its slow) helps release the power and speed of an attack in a smoother, less jerky, way.  This Attack Trigger helps create a fluid rhythm of speed, as well as motion of flow where techniques can be combined together with another spin.

A lumber jack swings his axe back than forward in order to generate speed and power. A baseball player picks up his foot as he transitions into his swing motion even if he isn’t going to swing at a pitch. It prepares his Attack Trigger for a faster swing speed. A professional golfer waggles before his backswing in order to stay loose instead of staying at a very static position and a hurky-jerky swing.

Keeping your hands, and sticks, moving, as well as your feet, you are staying ‘in motion’ and your Attack Trigger is working at all times – ready for you to pull the trigger and strike with a smooth, and powerful motion. Swing speed creates power, and by twirling a stick as part of your rhythm prior to any counter or attack, can help create a powerful  attack that flows to another series of powerful techniques and attacks.

Thanks for reading!

Sensei Glenn Magas

To learn more about stickfighting and to schedule a class or private lessons, contact Sensei (Coach) Glenn Magas, an Armas de Mano MMA black belt, Okinawa-Te MMA Black Belt, creator of the “1-x System of Self Defense Techniques”, developer of the Hybrid Te Jitsu MMA System of Martial Arts, and head martial arts instructor at Old Town Fight Club in Monrovia, CA. email: HybridTeJitsuMMA@gmail.com

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