Yashai Warcraft
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Yashai Warcraft is a system of modern combat/war, developed by Blaise Loong a former student of Dan Inosanto, Blaise is considered to be a prodigy of Dan by many of his students. His concepts are revolutionary with the fighting arts, his knowledge in the arts of Kali, Arnis, Escrima, Silat, Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Boxing and ShootFighting - to list a few, have gleaned great insights into the training methodology of the people who had studied under him.
The practitioners were known as the Yashai; they were a modern tribal confederation whose primary purpose is to preserve the arts of war as expressed by ancient and modern warrior cultures throughout the globe. The primary focus of training, but not limited to, was mastery of the blade, it is believed by careful study of the sword it will open up pathways to what is known as "The Way" or the "Art of Strategy."
Disciples of Warcraft must progress through the fourteen levels of study which involve rigorous physical, mental and spiritual discipline not seen in most martial arts schools. The average study taking over 10-15 years to develop the higher level skills. The fundamentals are learned rapidly and the techniques can be applied by novices, due to the amount of hands on training. The system proves to be quite effective due to its simplicity in application, but grows in complexity as one develops the art. The beginners are crude but effective, at the higher levels one learns to apprectiate the simplicity of the system and through the core basics begins to expand his repertoire, at the final stages the graduate is a graceful & deadly warrior.
The training levels:
- Single Sword
- Double Sword
- Sword and Dagger
- Sword and Shield
- Double Dagger
- Single Dagger
- Palm/Pocket Stick
- Empty Hands - Striking, Clinching, Ground Combat
- Pole Arms (Blunt)
- Pole Arms (Edged)
- Flexible Weapons
- Projectile Weapons
- SOMA (Archaic & Modern Battlefield Tactics)
- Spiritual Warfare
These fourteen levels are based upon six warrior cultures: Apache, Indo-Malay, Filipino, Chinese, Greco-Roman, and Norse. Unlike traditional martial arts, there are no belts in Yashai Warcraft. The ranking system within Yashai Warcraft is as follows: student, senior student, graduate, and instructor. Because of the breadth and depth of knowledge required of its students, as well as the rigid standards for promotion, it takes many years to achieve sufficient skill in Warcraft.
The strength behind Yashai Warcraft lies in its functionality and simplicity. Its application is universal and students who study this art learn to understand the common threads which underlie all effective systems and techniques of combat. Thus, it teaches its students a way of analyzing and thinking, as well as fighting.
[edit] TRAINING METHOD
The workouts in the Blayshalla (The Hall of Warriors) are usually for 2 hour sessions sometimes longer in the training hall. The first hour is focused around rigorous cardiovascular exercise, most students often preferred to avoid & dread, but proves to be one of the most crucial phases of training - a warrior must develop a strong, fit body and a discplined mind through external hardships. These exercises comprised of developing the tools for combat with as much contact as possible without compromising the safety of the student. The 3 pillars of fitness Strength, Endurance, Flexibility.
Examples of Training for the first hour Unlike most commercial martial arts schools, the student is immersed into training and taught to train as close as possible to realistic conditions. There are no regimented uniforms and students were often taught to develop and adapt techniques that worked best for their body type as time progressed. Although students were required to know essential basics of the system for a teaching method. Each indivdual found certain methods that worked better for him depending on his physical & mental attitude, both in armed or unarmed combat. Blaise's knowledge in Close Quarter Combat proved to be immense as students brought weapons of various forms and he always could show them basic and new ways to use it.
BOXING: Heavy Bag Work, Focus Mitts, Air Shields, Sparring, Combo Drills with a Partner. Conditioning is heavily emphasized in the discipline. At the higher levels one began the study of Greco-Roman Style Boxing, often used by the Gladiators of Ancient Rome with the use of the Cestus glove, it is often labeled as dirty boxing or foul tactics in the clinch, but overlooked in most sport systems, but essential in warfare.
MUAY THAI METHOD: Basics are the workhorse of this system. Repetition & Conditioning are paramount. Punches: jab, hook, cross, uppercutt, elbow & Feet: roundkick, footjab, lead hook kick, knee. These are practiced over and over with banging on as much equipment as available i.e. Air Shields, Focus Mitts, Heavy Bags, Drills, Technique Combos and Sparring. Clinching skills were heavily emphasized with the use of knees, elbow & headbutts.
NORDIC VIKING METHOD: Primary weapons are sword, shield, axe, spear and dagger. Often wooden ones or high tech plastic are used for safety. Only upper level warriors who displayed enough technique & sense to use a live weapon were allowed. These were often struck on various objects posts, stack of tires, trees, objects thrown into the air, drills, sparring with armor or protective gear to develop a level of conditioning directly related to combat. It is often emphasized to the students to use heavier weapons than they are used to, this would develop a strong sword arm through the changing between light & heavy weapons. For those that could afford it, armor was encouraged.
SILAT: Primary Weapons were dagger, short sword/kris/machete, pocket stick, sabunang (curved palm short knife). The main focus of the workouts were to develop skills in groundfighting, sweeps, throws, takedowns on various fighting surfaces. Often outdoors in terrain that proved to be challenging to the students, grass, concrete, and at certains times even in the rain. The main focus of Silat was focused around the use of weapons, subterfuge (similar to the Ninja) and the element of surprise and the use of terrain. These were accomplished through the constant drilling of basics with a partner, the techniques are very similar to Ju Jitsu.
