In this post, I discuss the slap-off/pull-off* in Filipino martial arts. These moves are also common in other arts.

The slap-off/pull-off drill is a mainstay of Modern Arnis training groups and classes. Professor Presas spent time on this drill in every camp I attended while alive. The demonstration in the above video is designed to teach the basic skills of the slap-off and pull-off. 

Slap Off

We like to emphasize the heavy check hand to execute this technique. After all, you are removing an obstruction to hit your opponent. If your check hand isn’t sufficiently heavy, the opponent may buy time to counter you.

You must execute the slap-off with authority as GM Bobby Taboada does below. Done properly, this is a powerful entry technique.

GM Bobby Taboada executing the slap off. See video here.

The slap-off is found in many other arts. For example, this is the “pak sao” in Wing Chun or JKD circles. Some have described pak sao as “a slapping hand” technique.

I have received the heavy check hand on the slap off by the late Professor Remy Presas and Professor Chuck Gauss. It is very powerful.

Pull Off

The Wing Chun/JKD equivalent of the pull-off is the “larp sao.” Depending on the lineage, this has been spelled “lop sao” or “lap sao.” In any case, it is most commonly translated as “grabbing hand.”

GM Bobby with the pull-off.

One of the advantages of the pull-off is that you can take the opponent’s balance and exploit the momentary vulnerability. There are so many things that you can do with the pull off, ranging from pulling, jerking, grabbing, seizing, controlling, and setting up for another technique.

The late Professor Remy Presas doing both the slap-off and the pull-off. Video here.

Once the student has learned the basics of the slap-off and the pull-off, we can play with these techniques’ energy in various ways through tapi tapi. The student will learn to feel the opponent’s energy and execute the appropriate technique, whether it be the slap-off or the pull-off. 

The four basic ways that we practice these two techniques are as follows:

  1. Right vs. right cane;
  2. Left vs. right cane;
  3. Left vs. left cane; and
  4. Empty-handed.

Bottom line, we practice these two techniques ad nauseum.

How often do you practice these techniques in class?

*Terminology used in Modern Arnis.

Additional Reading