Sinawali practice is an integral part of Filipino Martial Arts. I am amazed to see how little some understand the value of sinawali. Some don’t get beyond the double stick practice of the patterns or the “pattycake” empty-hand version. There is much to be mined in the empty-hand applications of sinawali.

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The late Professor Remy A. Presas always said, “you see, it is all the same!” when demonstrating the empty-hand application of stick concepts, such as single sinawali or other sinawali drills.

When one views Wing Chun videos on YouTube, one will often see similar parrying techniques. In the video below, you will see Master Wong parrying his partner’s punches. The parry is what we Modern Arnis players call the “sinawali parry.” Different name, same thing!

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The late Professor Presas often looked for the commonalities between different martial arts and told us to look for the connections. He would say, “you see, this is sinawali parry!” and then show us the connection between empty-hand single sinawali and another martial art, such as Wing Chun. Unfortunately, some martial artists often prefer to look at the differences and contrast their styles with other styles. Instead, they should be looking at the similarities. In doing so, their martial horizons will be substantially expanded. Conversely, looking for the differences may blind one to other technical and conceptual possibilities.

Looking for similarities means cross-training or contacting fellow martial artists from different styles. In either case, one will look for commonalities between your style and the other. Or, in the case of training with a fellow martial artist of another style, you will be sharing information and looking for similarities.

In any case, you will connect with another martial artist in search of commonalities to expand your knowledge base. I think that this is a beautiful experience. Not only are you expanding your martial horizon, you are also connecting with another human being with a shared interest.

In this day and age, this can serve as an example for others focused on differences and divisive politics, martial or otherwise. This was the singular genius of Professor Presas. Not only did he look for similarities between martial arts, but he also connected with thousands of martial artists worldwide through his seminars. He was one of the greatest martial artists of all time and one of the greatest networkers I’ve ever seen. He showed us how to connect martial arts concepts, such as sinawali applications. As a result, he was constantly evolving. More importantly,  he showed us how to connect with martial artists from different backgrounds. The latter was his true gift to the martial arts world.

To expand my understanding of sinawali, I drew upon Chinese martial arts such as Yi Quan and Wing Chun. Not only did I expand my martial horizons, but I also expanded my circle of martial arts friends. In many ways, gaining new friends is more enjoyable than my expanded martial knowledge.

Do you think the same way? I’d like to hear from you!

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