From Cebu To Your Gym

Balintawak Eskrima or Balintawak Arnis is a Filipino martial art created by Great Grandmaster Venancio "Anciong" Bacon in the 1950s to enhance and preserve the combative nature of eskrima which he felt was being watered down by other styles of Filipino martial arts. It is named after a small street in Cebu where it was founded. 

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Balintawak is commonly identified by it’s use of the single stick and close quarter range of play, it is designed to develop combat attributes: speed, timing, reflexes and proper distance control. Additionally, emphasis is placed on economy of motion, use of the left hand, traps, ruses, and tactics of delivery to produce well-timed and accurate attacks and counter attacks.

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Although it is viewed as primarily a close quarter range (CQR) style, the training prepares the practitioner to feel comfortable entering from a longer range to the CQR, or from the CQR to a grappling range of engagement. The stick is the primary training tool but the theory is that the stick is only an extension of the arm, the system prepares the practitioner to adapt. Whether it is with the baton/baston, blade, improvised weapons, or empty hand fighting – the goal is to produce confident, functional, and adaptive practitioners of the practical self-defense and art form of Balintawak Eskrima.