Truman Fisher has got a problem and his problem is coming after him full force. Truman's problem goes by the name Claude Rains

."The Prodigy", a new crime thriller film by director William Kaufman tells the story of small-time enforcer's (Truman Fisher) vicious conflict with a sadistic assassin who has chosen the unwilling Truman to be his successor. The assassin, who goes by the alias Rains and whose exploits has become the source of legend among Truman's underworld colleagues, drives Truman, through the pressure of constant violence and grief, to understand his own capacity for both bloodshed and compassion. Ultimately this reveals to Truman that he as with all of us, must find our place in, as Rains would say, "the grand design. "This action begins quickly as Truman meets with a turncoat from a rival gang. This tenseshowdown erupts quickly into mayhem, when Rains makes his unexpected entrance. In the wake of the ensuing bloodbath, Truman is forced to reevaluate his own role in the small, violent world he inhabits, suddenly aware that there are larger powers at work. It soon becomes obvious that the strongest of the powers that be is Rains, whose jarring introduction into Truman's life is only the first in a series of carefully calculated steps meant to change Truman in to Rains' warped perception of his "grand design." During the course of the film, Rains, after kidnapping [the nephew of Truman's boss], will force him into the role of detective, spurring Truman to assemble a rogue's gallery of underworld contacts in an effort to find his nemesis. But Rains has an agenda more ambitious than merely terrorizing minor hoods; he soon begins to threaten Truman directly, menacing Truman's love, Nicki, with whom Truman hopes to soon escape from the drab meanness of his life. Rains will also threaten Truman's few true friends (played by Matt Beckham as Pat Doyle, Diana Lee Inosanto as Ash Carter, Mirelly Taylor as Nicki, Lawrence Varnado as Kinyon 'King') and sow deadly confusion among underworld enemies and allies alike. Striking with murderous effectiveness and leaving behind fewclues, Rains uses his own near-mythical reputation to cloud his presence and even his own existence. Truman struggles to find his mysterious enemy while at the same time attempting to understand why Rains has chosen him as his target - and as his inspiration.

Kaufman came to martial artist Ron Balicki to set up the innovative and never before attempted fight scenes for this movie. It was understood from the start that Kaufman wanted Raines to be a martial artist without creating a martial arts movie. He didn't even want Rains to look like a martial artist. What Balicki and Kaufman came up with was a character that looked like someone who may have been a Special Forces soldier or a well seasoned street fighter. When Balicki came up with the fighting style for Rains he drew upon his years with martial arts great and father in law, Dan Inosanto.  Ron Balicki was quoted as saying " I wanted to show a martial art that was a no nonsense system that could look like something a professional killer would use. I didn't visualize arts that used a lot of kicking like Tae Kwon Do or Muay Thai. I love these arts but they were not going to be in this movie. For this movie I wanted to combine Filipino Kali, Maphilindo Silat and Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do."

Balicki stated, "It was surreal getting in to Raines outfit. I actually started to act differently once in it. I remember working on films where you would see an extra (background actor) get in to a policeman's uniform. That day you would see him start to act like a cop, even when the camera wasn't rolling. The same with others who had to put on a prison uniform; they started to act like hoods even when the camera wasn'trolling. With me I started to feel the character (Raines). I didn't want to kill anyone, well... (Just kidding). It was seducing how powerful Raines's character was.

"According to Dennis Harvey of "The Daily Variety magazine wrote: Special kudos are due fight choreographer Ron Balicki for visceral combat that looks punishing rather than cartoonish .Harvey had it dead on right! This character is the scariest thing to come on film since the Exorcist. Rains is a killer without a conscience and a burning desire to destroy and punish everything in his path. 

Producer, Actor Holt Boggs had the arduous task of facing Rains. With this mission put before him he spent several months in a gym with Balicki going over the fights for "The Prodigy". When asked about Boggs, Balicki was quoted as saying "Holt is an amazing talent and aggressive fighter. He would have been a great ring fighter if he had wanted to be. He made my job easy". If you're into scary, creative and aggressive movies that make you think about the good and bad in us all, then "The Prodigy" is for you. A must see for every serious
martial artist.

The screenplay for The Prodigy was written by Kaufman and Holt Boggs (see below) with Matt Beckham (see below). The movie's cast includes Holt Boggs as Truman Fisher, Glen Vorhis as James/'Claude Rains', Matt Beckham (PDF file) as Pat Doyle, Diana Lee Inosanto as Ash Carter, Mirelly Taylor (a.k.a. Ruth Osuna) as Nicki, Lawrence Varnado as Kinyon 'King' Taylor, Marc Hebert as Ricky, Marc Jeffreys (PDF file) as J.T. Baker, Jay Moses as Danny, Tery Corkran as Sam, Dameon Clarke as Chris, Gabriel Buentello as Jesse, Mark Hanson as Jimmi, Jimmy Costello as Leon, Ivan Melgarejo as Cesar, Jeremy Rives as Mick, Ron Balicki as Frank, Steve Simpson as Big Ed, Christie Sanders as Michelle, Aaron Garrett as Smiley, Josh Jordan as Johnie, Michael Rodrigues as Mad Dog, Russell White as Larry, Lorenzo Mercado as Jonny Perez, Christian Craft as young Truman Fisher, Robin Robinson as a CPS counselor, and William B. Laureano (a.k.a. Willie Laureano) as Miamoto.

The Prodigy trailer #2 (downloadable 6.1 MB MOV file)
The Prodigy trailer #1 (downloadable 12.1 MB MOV file)
The Prodigy official website
Film Threat : Review of The Prodigy
Variety: Review of The Prodigy

Truman (Ben Affleck-looking co-scenarist Holt Boggs) is a mob enforcer first seen posing as a cop in an attempt to shut down a rival syndicate's operations. The tense standoff turns into a bloodbath with the mysterious, sudden appearance of a heavily disguised and armored third party dubbed "Claude Rains" because he's feared in felonious circles as a sadistic, "invisible" hit man.

Only Truman appears to survive the melee, but Claude -- who Truman left for dead -- also lives and goes on to slaughter some of Truman's boss' posse, kidnapping a most unfortunate nephew for prolonged torture.

Truman's enraged boss assigns Truman to find Claude, a pursuit that Claude perversely encourages while staying just one deadly step ahead, laying waste to hero's intimates and fellow wise guys.

Among the imperiled are hothead sidekick Pat (Matt Beckham), tough-girl Internet jockey Ash (Diana Lee Inosanto) and hulking strongman King (Lawrence Varnado), not to mention the inevitable bland love interest (whiny-voiced Mirelly Taylor as Nicki).

Pedestrian dialogue, routine character conceptions and some fuzzy plot points leave pic a bit flat whenever it's not delivering pure creeps or combustive thrills. Fortunately, that's seldom -- even given the fairly long runtime. (Midsection could be tightened a whit or two.) Aided by excellent lensing, editorial and design contribs, Kaufman creates taut suspense and dynamic action set pieces.

Special kudos are due fight choreographer Ron Balicki for visceral combat that looks punishing rather than cartoonish.

The few really tired devices -- the gang's forced pop-culture banter, killer's mystical mumbo-jumbo in messages left at his crime scenes --make it clear how indebted pic is to the basic templates forged by "Reservoir Dogs" and "Se7en." But style and enthusiasm lift it past simple imitation, with a cracking, bloody good B-flick the result.

Perfs are generally solid, tech aspects accomplished.

Ron Balicki (born 2 September 1963; age 45) is a martial artist, stuntman, and stunt coordinator who performed stunts in several episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise. He first portrayed an alien soldier in the second season episode "The Communicator", later a Triannon in the third season episode "Chosen Realm" [1], and appeared in several episodes of the fourth season for which he also served as fight choreographer. Balicki received no credit for his performances. His costume from his previous appearance was sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay. [2]

Balicki was born in Chicago, Illinois, is married to fellow Enterprise stuntwoman Diana Lee Inosanto since 1995, and is the son in law of martial arts icon Dan Inosanto, under whom he studied martial arts for over twenty years. He also taught and managed at the Inosanto Academy between 1993 and 1998 and studied under Anthony DeLongis. Balicki is an instructor and holds multiple ranks in several martial arts techniques such as Jeet Kune Do, Lameco Escrima, and Thai Boxing. As a former sheriff of the Cook County Sheriff's Department, Balicki is teaching martial arts defense techniques to agencies in the United States and Europe and is holding seminars around the world. [3] In addition, he has written articles for several magazines such as "World of Martial Arts" and "Inside Kung Fu" and published his own book, "Jeet Kune Do: The Principles of a Complete Fighter", in 2000 and several training videos and DVD's.

Balicki served as martial arts trainer, fight choreographer, and stunt coordinator on several projects. He trained Temuera Morrison for Barb Wire (1996) and Milla Jovovich for Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) and coordinated and choreographed the action film The Cutoff (1998, with Mike Mukatis), the short film Life Streams (2000, with Diana Inosanto and Mike Mukatis), the thriller The Prodigy (2005), the horror thriller The Cursed (2008, with Brad Greenquist and Tom Wright), the horror series The Dark Path Chronicles (2008-2009), the action thriller Sinners & Saints (2008), and the action comedy Shotgun Kiss (2009), as well as the New Edition music video "Hit Me Off".

On screen, Balicki has performed stunts and stunt acting roles in television series such as JAG (1996, with Marjean Holden and Cress Williams), The Burning Zone (1997, starring James Black and Michael Harris), Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, Spy Game, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Roseanne Show, J.J. Abrams' Alias, Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, and Just Legal, and feature films like the action drama Sword of Honor (1994, with Jeff Pruitt and Angelo Tiffe), John Carpenter's science fiction thriller Escape from L.A. (1996, with Michelle Forbes, Jeff Imada, Shelly Desai, Leland Orser, and stunts by Jeff Cadiente, Maria Doest, Manny Perry, and Joni Avery), the action film The Glimmer Man (1996), Tim Burton's science fiction comedy Mars Attacks! (1996, with Paul Winfield, Willie Garson, Michael Reilly Burke, Valerie Wildman, Jeanne Mori, and stunts by Joey Box, Lynn Salvatori, Jimmy Ortega, Brian J. Williams, Dana Dru Evenson, and Pat Romano), the comic adaptation Spawn (1997, with Melinda Clarke, Michael Papajohn, Jay Caputo, Stewart Lew, and Spice Williams-Crosby), the action drama No Tomorrow (1999), the action film Redemption (2002), and the horror thriller The Cursed (2008).

Beside doubling for actors such as Tony Colitti and Louis Mandylor, Balicki served as producer/ associate producer for feature films such as A Ribbon of Dreams (2002), The Prodigy (2005), The Cursed (2008), and Sinners & Saints (2008). For the drama The Sensei (2008), which was written and directed by his wife, Balicki worked as producer, executive producer, second unit director, stunt and fight coordinator, and portrayed the supporting role of Vince. The Sensei also features Trek performers Mike Mukatis, Spice Williams-Crosby, Tzi Ma, Michael J. O'Laskey, Tim Lounibos, and Rosine "Ace" Hatem.

Balicki:  Diana can go from tender to tough in a flash. A lot of women have been coming to our seminars specifically because of her.

Inosanto: The Lee family had a huge impact on my father's life, and my father is one of my biggest influences. Even three decades after Bruce's passing, many people still have a burning curiosity about the Lees and my dad.

Inosanto: I grew up in a twenty-four-hour-a-day martial arts academy. The Inosanto house was always full of martial arts people, equipment, books, magazines and photos.

Balicki: School owners and teachers of all styles bring me in to help them expand their curriculum. My knife classes are very popular, as are my shoot-wrestling seminars.

Balicki: Using the knife-defense techniques that I taught him, my student escaped [the knife attack] with just superficial injuries. He said that he called the police from a nearby pay phone and then when he was pretty sure he was safe, he passed out.

He came from the Windy City, Chicago, where kids naturally grow up tough. She was raised in California, in the sunshine, in the heat, and in the long, tall shadow of Bruce Lee.   Ron Balicki began his study of the martial arts in the 70s under Chicago martial arts legend Fred Degerberg. You could find it all at The Degerberg Academy: judo, aikido, karate, boxing and kickboxing, savate, escrima. Degerberg's school was big and gothic, with three sprawling floors of rooms to train in, a martial arts labyrinth, like the temple Bruce Lee had to fight his way through in his final film, Game of Death.

Most martial artists recognize Diana Inosanto's last name because her famous father. Diana's dad, Dan Inosanto, co-starred in Game of Death. Dan had a school one-hundred times bigger, more eclectic and diverse than Degerberg's; that school was in his mind. Diana's dad was Bruce Lee's Number-One student, and Diana is the Number-One daughter and only child of the man people came from around the world, reverent and in awe, to study with.   Diana grew up calling Bruce Lee “Uncle Bruce.  She grew up in a home where the furniture was forever being pushed aside to make way for flying feet, bladed weapons and stick fighting.

The fighter, the cop, the tough kid from Chicago moved to Los Angles to study with The Man. Diana had seen thousands of others do the same, but something about Ron caught her eye. Ron had come to train with his instructor's instructor, his hero, but he didn't know until he met Diana that he had traveled 2,000 miles to meet his soul mate.

Ron Balicki and Diana Inosanto met on the mat in her father's school and the two have been nearly inseparable ever since. He may be one of Dan Inosanto's finest proteges and she is, well, The Man's Daughter. She's the product of a lifetime of fanatic martial arts training, and, together, the two are East meets West, the right and left hand of the same body of knowledge.


MARTIAL ARTS SUCCESS: Diana, would you say that you grew up in the shadow of Bruce Lee?

DIANA INOSANTO: You might say that. The Lee family had a huge impact on my father’s life, and my father is one of my biggest influences, so in that light, yes. Even three decades after Bruce's passing, many people still have a burning curiosity about the Lees and my dad.
Sometimes it's healthy and other times it's a little obsessive. I once had a guy tell me, straight-faced, Your Uncle Bruce came to me in a vision and told me to tell you that I should train at your dad's academy.  It reminds me of when William Shatner of Star Trek did a skit on Saturday Night Live where he played himself at a Star Trek Convention. They kept asking Shatner all these questions as if he really was Captain Kirk, and he finally says to them, Get a life!

MA Success: So what have you learned from it all?

Inosanto: Do you mean politically, spiritually, physically and behaviorally [laughter]? As a human being, I've learned to give myself permission to evolve as an individual and to push myself, especially in my career. I often think about Uncle Bruce, after being denied [the starring role in] the TV show Kung Fu. He went on to mold his own destiny and create opportunities for himself.   My mom told me before Bruce left the first time for Hong Kong that he told dad and mom, Circumstances? Hell, I make circumstances! And that's what he did. He went on to make his own films and plow forward despite his setbacks. That, I hope, is me.   As a family woman, I've learned from the tragic and untimely deaths of Uncle Bruce and Brandon [Lee, Bruce's son]. I've watched my father wrestle with his role of being an international figure in the martial arts. I know I've learned to appreciate my family, my husband, my children and my friends.   Life is too short and precious to waste on negativity. I thank God everyday for every moment. The day I die I don't want any regrets about not being here for my family. Being a new mom [Diana recently gave birth to her second child] reconfirms my feelings for life and love. Sounds corny, but it's true.

MA Success: Ron, I understand that your career is split between giving seminars internationally and, like Diana, working in the entertainment business.

RON BALICKI: These last few years I've been doing a lot of film stunt work. Right now, I'm working weekly on the Star Trek TV series. I've been teaching lots of seminars across the U.S. and Canada. I also teach in England, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland and France at least once a year. I have a pretty loyal following in Europe.

MA Success: What are school owners looking for when they host you?

Balicki: Well, school owners and teachers of all styles bring me in to help them expand their curriculum. My knife classes are very popular, as are my shoot-wrestling seminars. Shoot is a great art for competition and even better to use for material to teach students in any style of martial arts. In shoot wrestling, there are lots of combination drills that show a student how to go through a series of locks with very little risk of injury, which I think is of the utmost importance.

MA Success: Can you give us some names of school owners who are using your material?

Balicki: Places like The Degerberg Academy in Chicago, Illinois, Fariborz Azhakh's Team Karate Centers in Woodland Hills, California, and the Lenderman Academy in Tacoma, Washington, are using some of my teaching ideas and drills. By the way, all of these men are amazing martial artists and leaders in the industry and I’m honored that they like even a little bit of what I do. I have spent lots of time categorizing all the arts I teach and I think instructors like it because it’s a lot easier for them to add it into their own curriculum.

MA Success: How is it teaching seminars with Diana Inosanto?

Balicki: Diana is amazing in seminars. One of the things about her is that she is very feminine, but then there's that other side to her that can really turn on the fighting ability when she needs it. She can go from tender to tough in a flash. A lot of women have been coming to our seminars specifically because of her.   Diana has shown a lot of people that there's not that much difference between the sexes, in the martial arts anyway. I'll teach a technique at a seminar that seems very "male" and then Diana shows how it works from a female perspective.
Diana also has a way of teaching that is very disarming for men. Lots of guys have a little ego thing when it comes to taking martial arts instruction from a woman. She has a way about her that gets through to everyone. She doesn't do it by throwing them to the ground to prove she can, but by talking to them to make them drop their guard. She does it to me all the time [laughter].

MA Success: You said that your knife-training seminars were popular. Can someone realistically learn to defend him or herself from a knife attack?

Balicki: Definitely! Anything is possible. I have one seminar student who was getting money out of an ATM, and turned around to leave when a man with a knife told him to give it up. My student said that he was going to freely give his money to the guy, because I'd taught him that you don't want to fight a knife-wielding opponent if you don't have to.  But evidently, he didn't give the money to the robber fast enough and the guy slashed at him. He tried to evade the knife, but was cut across the stomach. Then the guy tried to stab him in the stomach. My student reacted to the knife in a way that we had been practicing in a seminar and he actually disarmed the guy, took him down to the ground and finished him with strikes. My student then escaped with just superficial injuries. He said that he called the police from a nearby pay phone and then when he was pretty sure he was safe, he passed out. The police found him and woke him up. They didn't catch the perpetrator, but my student survived, and that's the idea.

MA Success: So what are the basics of knife self-defense?

Balicki: I have a list I teach, part of it goes like this. One: Use common sense to avoid trouble before it happens. You know, like don't go down a dark alley in a bad neighborhood. Two: Run like hell when someone brandishes a knife. Three: If you can't do that, get an equalizer like another weapon, a shoe, a book, a coat or anything you can use as a defense. Five: Get something between you and your opponent. Six: Fight like hell and escape as soon as you possibly can.

MA Success: What did you learn from being a Deputy Sheriff?

Balicki: I think that my years in law enforcement taught me that you can survive most attacks no matter how bad the odds or numbers are against you -- if you're willing to fight for your life. I've seen a lot of people walk away from a lot of bad episodes because they refused to quit fighting.

MA Success: Diana, what was it like learning from your dad?

Inosanto: My childhood was different. I grew up in a twenty-four-hour-a-day martial arts academy. It was fun, sometimes, and other times it wasn't. The Inosanto house was always full of martial arts people, equipment, books, magazines and photos. We had a gym in the garage, our living room, our backyard; even the bathroom had martial arts figurines in it!   Sometimes, I just wanted to play with my Barbie dolls, but dad wanted me to hit a focus mitt or feed him an Angle Number One in kali! He wanted me to grow up with an appreciation for my culture and to know I could take care of myself.   On the other hand, do you know how hard it was for me to get a date as a teenager? One look at my dad’s massive sword collection in our entry and front hallway and guys just bailed on me!

MA Success: Ron, what have you learned from being the son-in-law of Dan Inosanto?

Balicki: I've learned a lifetime's worth of material and a lot of things that have little to do with combat and everything to do with being a human being. I have been a student of Sifu Dan for about twenty years now. I would not be the person I am today if it were not for this man. Because of him, I've traveled to many places, met amazing people and, oh yeah, got married and became a father. He truly opened my eyes to the world of martial arts and to life.   Along with my first instructor, Fred Degerberg, Sifu has taught me to be an eternal student. What I mean by that is that you will never know it all. There will always be another perspective on how to punch, kick or whatever. No one holds a monopoly on the truth or on what is true martial arts. Everyone has his or her own way of looking at a strike or a kick -- and they are all the right way if it gets you the desired results.

MA Success: Has Bruce Lee played a part in your life?

Balicki: Growing up, I was a Bruce Lee junky. I loved everything about the man. So, with Bruce Lee gone, I sought out the person who was the next best thing to him, Dan Inosanto. I had no idea what I was in for. I, like so many others, thought Sifu Dan would be impressed with what I already knew. After meeting the man you feel like a baby. You realize that this very nice, soft-spoken man can tear you apart if he wanted to.
Sifu Dan Inosanto is truly a dictionary of motion. It's my strong belief that he is the leading authority on martial arts today. I seriously don't think that there is another person alive with more knowledge than him. I guess that's exactly how Bruce Lee has impacted me. He sent me to Dan Inosanto.

MA Success: Diana, what's it like to train and teach with your husband?

Inosanto: Like any couple, we have our moments when we agree and disagree, but honestly, Ron is one of my father's best students. My father gave me my wings, but my husband taught me how to really fly with them.   Ron has wisdom and knowledge as a martial arts teacher. He understands the streets; he understands what it is to be a victim of crime [Ron survived a drive-by shooting as a teenager in which one of his friends was killed]; he understands the ring; and he has thoroughly trained in several systems under dad's guidance. He has over twenty years experience as a teacher and, on top of that, he has worked as a successful stuntman and stunt coordinator. His passion for the arts amazes me. So, training and teaching with him is an honor.  On the topic of teaching, it's funny but even though I'm an actress and love performing, I prefer Ron at center stage when we give seminars. I like walking around the room, doing one-on-one with people. I think this method of "team" teaching work well for us.

MA Success: What do you hope people come away with at your seminars?

Balicki: An open mind! I don't think that I'm the best fighter in the world, but I bet I can make anyone a little better at his or her own fighting game. I've given many people curriculums that they have successfully employed in their schools. I have a strong understanding of weapons, striking arts and ground fighting. I have competed in weapons tournaments. I have fought professionally in Japan in shoot wrestling and I'm a former law-enforcement officer.   I try to look at martial arts from a survival point of view. I teach martial arts to people in the military, para-military, anti-terrorist, police and the French Secret Service. I have also taught many seminars all over the world to people who keep coming back to me to learn more. I try to stay current with my training and, if I find something that I think is different, I don't shy away from it. I try to let go of my ego and empty my cup so I can take a taste of something new.

MA Success: Diana, tell us about your new movie, Vault.

Inosanto: Actually, I have two films coming out. One is purely an acting role, no martial arts, in an independent thriller called The Prodigy. Check out www.theprodigymovie.com . I play Ash Carter, a neurotic, computer hacker. We showed the trailer at the Sundance Film Festival and we had an amazing reaction to it, so I'm hopeful it goes over well.
The other film I just wrapped is Vault. It stars Bas Rutten, Paul Logan (from Days of our Lives), Lace Szabo and me. Lace is a talented martial artist and the son of a famous director from Europe. It was a very enthusiastic team. Visit www.tritannorthstar.com  for more info.
The Vault is basically Die Hard in a museum. I play the right-hand woman [Grace] to Bas Rutten's character, General Matos, a bad guy. We had a blast doing the fight sequences. I loved working with the Florida stunt team and I incorporated jun fan (JKD) and kali/escrima into all my fight scenes.

By Tom Callos

Edgar was born on September 25, 1957 in the Visayan islands. When Edgar was a boy his father a Filipino boxer and an Arnis expert introduced Edgar to the Filipino martial arts. Growing up in the Barrios of the Philippines, Edgar witnessed many skirmishes settled blade against blade.Completing college, Edgar earned his Bachelors in Arts and Majored in Economics. During his time in college, he sought out different Eskrima Masters to study under. In addition, Edgar was honored for his many achievements in the Filipino martial arts. He became a member of Bakbakan International (An Organization governing the legitimacy of the Filipino martial arts). He also became the representative for Leo Gaje's national Arnis Association of the United States. Being a man of great vision, Edgar came to the United States in August of 1989. His plan was to bring his family over from the Philippines, own his own home, and spread Lameco throughout the world. He desired to live the American dream.

Upon his arrival in the U.S., Edgar would meet and befriend world renowned martial artist Dan Inosanto. Recognizing the talent and knowledge that Edgar possessed , Dan Inosanto would become a lifetime student and an advocate of the Lameco system. Edgar appointed Dan Inosanto as Vice President of Lameco International.

Edgar believed in his potential for personal achievement. If one walked into his house, they would see affirmations written out on paper in each of his rooms (including the bathroom). Being an avid reader of motivational guro Anthony Robbins, Edgar attacked all of his personal and professional goals tirelessly.

Determined to bring his wife and three children to America, Edgar Sulite started teaching his method of Lameco on the seminar circuit around the world. As he envisioned, he became one of the most sought after instructors. Edgar managed to bring his wife, Felisa Sulite from the Philippines in 1992. However, Edgar would still have to battle with the bureaucracies of immigration to bring his three children to America. His children would have to reside with relatives in the Philippines for several more years. During this painstaking time, Edgar and Felicia had two more children (Edgar Andrew, and Leslie) bringing the total of children to five. Soon after the birth of his youngest child, Leslie, he finally managed to bring his three eldest children from the Philippines. In addition, he bought a house in Palmdale, California, and had a full calendar of seminar engagements. He was living the American dream.

The Lameco System

In 1981Edgar created the Lameco System of Eskrima. The name Lameco is actually three words joined together.

La = Largo (long)

me = Medio (Middle)

co = Corto (close)

All the ranges you will fall into in combat. Lameco uses primarily Double and single Stick, Double and single Dagger, Stick and Dagger, Sword, Staff, Handkerchief, and Empty Hands. Lameco Eskrima is a synthesis of five major and 6 minor systems of Eskrima.

Edgar created training drills that he called Labon Laro (Play Fighting). Labon Laro would allow the practitioner to come as close to real combat as possible with out injury, it was also designed to make you get an uncountable number of repetitions in, in a short period of time. Following the theory "repetition is the key to success". Edgar was always looking for unique training methods to improve Lameco. He devised training armor for the hand and forearms that let the practitioners train more realistically.

The Future of Lameco?

When asked to comment Guro Dan Inosanto spoke of Edgar's wish to make Lameco grow and prosper in the U.S. and around the world. Inosanto also expressed his hope that The Surviving Lameco Instructors under Edgar would continue in the tradition Edgar established.

The students of Lameco can be thankful to Edgar for a well documented system of Eskrima. Edgar left us with three books that he had written: "The Secrets of Arnis", "Advanced Balisong", and "Grand Masters of the Philippines". Also The foundation of the Lameco system on video: "Lameco Eskrima at the Vortex", "Labon Laro", and a series of instructional video tapes by Unique Publications. With all this material Lameco will live on forever.

Punong Guro Sulite will be missed by his wife Felisa, His five children, and the countless students around the world. To you Edgar we say, Maraming Salamat Po (Thank You) Punong Guro!

By Ron Balicki

"Knife self-defense is the hardest area for the martial arts instructor to look at honestly. In Knife fighting the odds can be at their worst, and the margin for error essentially non-existent.  However, I have found that compositions of the right techniques from a variety of Filipino martial arts that I have studied can substantially push things towards your favor.  If you are honest and diligent in your art, work different ranges, test different arts and drills, and train for every situation, you can significantly increase your chance for surviving a knife confrontation".

Have you ever honestly asked yourself, what you would do if confronted by a knife-welding attacker?  Should you grab something and defend yourself, run, or start begging and pleading for your life?  To be brutally honest, my first inclination is to run.  In a knife fight there is near absolute certainty that you will be cut, and likely cut fatally.  Why take the risk? Instructors, especially those who teach a wide variety of disarm techniques need to be honest with their students.  Nothing could be worse than giving your student an inflated sense of self-confidence.  There is no shame in running from a fight that you will almost certainly be seriously injured in.

Being a former law enforcement officer I have seen the bad side of knife confrontations more than I would like to remember.  Defending yourself in a knife altercation should be your course of action only after escape is impossible and you can't seem to talk your way out of it.  Given the danger, your students deserve at least this much honesty right from the start.

I believe an instructor should have a combative solution but I also feel the instructor owes the student an honest answer about the ramifications of a knife confrontation gone bad.  Being a former law enforcement officer I have seen the bad side of knife confrontations all too often.  This is why I say to my martial arts student that the odds are against you even with a strong knowledge of knife self-defense.  To come out of a knife confrontation unscaived is highly unlikely.  For this reason I think that you should train even harder.   The odds are against you, but all hope is not lost, there is still a chance.   That's the reason you need to train harder at knife self-defense. Anyone with a knife is at a monumental advantage over you. Although the odds are against you, wouldn't you still like to go out fighting?  For a martial artist to be hurt or killed because they avoided this area of self-defense would be a shame.

For the martial artist who feels confident against the knife try this, put a rubber-training knife in someone's hand and have a sparring session and see what happens with the techniques that you have been learning.  I'll bet you get cut.  Try this put on a fencing mask, a white t shirt and hand your training partner a marker and see if you can disarm the marker with out getting inked up.  A marker is an excellent training tool.   You can't argue with stab and slash ink marks all over you.

Many systems of the martial arts offer a small section of knife self-defense or none at all.  Many instructors avoid the whole subject altogether.  Worse yet, I have been in some classes where it is clear that the instructor is making up the defensive tactics as he goes along.  This is a disaster waiting to happen!  Never equip your students with untested opinions about the knife.   Show what you know and end it there.  Your unwillingness to show that there is something you don't know may lead to a situation where your student, brimming with unwarranted confidence, losses his or her life.  This is too serious a matter for ego and posturing.  Your students deserve an honest assessment of your knowledge and limitations.  This is why many instructors avoid the whole knife subject.  It's very hard to go out in front of a class full of your students and get stuck on a tough "what if" question.  I have been in some classes where I feel the instructor is clearly making up the defensive tactics as he goes along.  Think of the ramifications that could go along with this.  A student could go up against the knife and something horrible could go wrong. Although this could happen while attempting the proper techniques, but you will know that you have presented something that was formally taught to you in your martial art system.  I think that you will be able to cope with it better than arming your student with your untested opinion on what you think might work against the knife.  My advice to the martial art instructor is to show what you know and end it there.  What you teach might not be full proof, but interjecting what you think could work and possibly cost your student their life.

One of the other major advantages for both Filipino Kali and Lameco Escrima is the emphasis on knife fighting at all ranges.  In my experiences I have seen many who refuse to work certain ranges with the knife because they feel that they can avoid a range where they are at a disadvantage.  This common mentality is patently unrealistic.   Anyone can be caught at any range at any time.  Those who feel that will never be forced to work close range with the knife are simply deceiving themselves.  One may, for example, be falsely arrested and temporarily find oneself behind bars facing a "shank" (homemade knife) at close quarters. Similarly, a slippery or icy surface may force anyone to the ground in a knife confrontation. Can you honestly say you won't end up on the ground?  I think the one with the best chance is the one who trains for all situations.  Any range is possible at any time.  That is why I prefer to work in the Filipino Systems, where all ranges are examined.

Another problem is, many knife system favor different ranges, and some close others far.   Just like a good football team you need to train your defense against a good running team as well as a good passing team.  You should look at all areas (on the ground as well as standing up, left handed as well as right handed) an attacker can come from.  Imagine getting cut by a left hander knowing you could have stood a chance if he had just held the knife in his right hand.   If you currently train in a system that trains in one area of defense against the knife, I say stay with that system, but don't stop there. Find another system to compensate where that system lacks.

How do you know which system to train in?  It's going to be different for each person.  I have found tremendous success in the systems I teach.  I have been studying the Filipino Martial Arts for 25+ years under Guro Dan Inosanto in the art of Kali and 8 years under The Late Punong Guro Edgar G. Sulite in the art of Lameco Escrima.   I have found both of these arts to have an amazing amount of wealth.  They both have examined all ranges and have a very sophisticated training progression.

You as a martial artist must weigh what you are doing and see if it has value to you. There are many techniques and training drills that I have seen.  At first glance I thought that many had no merit until I researched further.  What looks pretty at first is not always functional.  Just as what does not look aesthetic is sometimes functional.  Beauty is sometimes in the eye of the beholder.  Any knowledge learned is power and I believe that any martial art has something to offer you.  I also believe that no martial art has the total answer to every problem.  What you the reader have to do is take an honest look at what you are training and think honestly, can I execute this technique successfully.  For this reason is why other martial artist's and I should continue to investigate more efficient ways to protect ourselves as well as our loved ones.

"In all of my training and experiences, the one area of the martial arts that frightens me the most is the knife. It is hard to convey the ugliness of the knife as a weapon. Anyone, trained, untrained , man or woman, is at a significant advantage with a knife." "What you will learn from this training method is what you can do when you can't run away and there is no opportunity to pick up or throw anything in the environment. These techniques are what you will use when you have absolutely no other possibilities".   -Ron Balicki ____________________________________________

In the world of baseball, if you can track an object coming at you going 90 miles an hour and hit it with a stick at least half the time, you are batting .500 and are worth several million dollars a year. In the world of knife fighting if you are batting .500, you have been cut four times in the first three seconds of a knife fight and are as good as dead. This is the reality of understanding defensive knife fighting and reflects the need to get your average as close to 100% as possible in order to survive a knife confrontation. Reality is the key here, as most martial artists train primarily to defend against a face to face " Hollywood " type knife attack. In the Maphilindo (Malaysian/Philippines/Indonesian) martial arts, you train to defend against successive thrusts and slashes coming at you from all angles at the rate of three cuts per second. Most martial artists would have a hard time dealing with three empty hand attacks per second and would question the feasibility of a training method capable of developing the necessary skills to deal with high speed blade attacks. The key here is in the training method and this is what sets the training system developed by Ron Balicki apart from the others. Balicki's training program for defensive knife fighting is based on his law enforcement experience, extensive training in the martial arts which includes his years of training in Wing Chun under Randy Williams, 9 years of Escrima training under Guro Edgar Sulite, his Silat training in Indonesia, and his 25+ years of study of the Chinese and Maphilindo martial arts under Guro Dan Inosanto. In addition Balicki has instructorships under Fred Degerberg, Surachai Sirisute (Muay Thai), and Yorinaga Nakamura ( Shoot wrestling).

Training with edged weapons is virtually useless unless it is balanced out with significant real world experience. The problem is that unless you actively go out and seek edged weapon encounters the only place you can find to experience the reality of bladed attacks is in the prison system. As a prison guard, Ron Balicki got his firsthand experience dealing with edged weapons attacks on a daily basis. Walking the corridors of Cook County jail in Chicago provided him with the constant awareness that an edged weapon attack can come from any quarter at any time. Balicki’s experience as a Cook County jail prison guard and his training in the martial arts led him to the realization that most martial artists were in need of a comprehensive real world defensive knife training program. Balicki's training method has three distinctive elements. These elements consist of an edged weapons defensive philosophy, a progressive training method, and a series of knife training drills that allow for creative, relaxed, and playful training. The first element, Balicki's edged weapons defensive philosophy, is one of the most critical to his training method. To appreciate his philosophy you have to look at the philosophy the military has in approaching knife fighting. Their philosophy is based on having a carte blanche to kill at will. Furthermore they are actively seeking situations involving using the knife as an offensive weapon. Balicki's philosophy is the exact opposite in that avoiding any bladed encounter is the number one rule. Balicki's first rule of defensive knife tactics is this: " There can be only one winner in a knife fight and more often than not there are two losers. This means that the only time you really want to test your skills is when your tennis shoes have failed you." When you are in a confrontation that can cost you your life you have no excuses for not having prepared as thoroughly as possible in your training. This means that your training exploration has to encompass everything that works and that you have to thoroughly know as many offensive and defensive tactics from other systems as you can find.

Martial artists as a group tend to focus on self defense rather than offensive tactics. So why then would a responsible martial artist train in offensive knife fighting skills ?. According to Balicki the answer is simple "You have to understand the offensive elements of all systems in order to develop defensive tactics for any offensive techniques you might encounter". Once you fully understand this basic philosophy you are then ready to begin the physical training progression. Balicki's training progression uses Filipino training methods as a foundation for the layering of skills necessary to effectively train in defensive knife work. In the Filipino arts the student is taught first with weapons and then moves into empty hands techniques. This type of training progression is the exact opposite of most Chinese and Japanese systems which teach the weapons only at the more advanced levels. One reason the Filipinos teach the weapon first is that the weapon, due to its length, tends to magnify the quality of the hand movements. If you can move the tip of a weapon at five feet of extension from your body with precision, then your empty hands will have a correspondingly high level of precision in the grappling range, which is where defensive knife work occurs. The first piece of Balicki's training progression is its highly specialized footwork. This part of the progression addresses the fact that defensive blade work requires a very high level of angular mobility that can only be achieved through specialized foot work training. Balicki's footwork consists of the forward or male triangle, the reverse or female triangle, the lateral step, the push shuffle advance and retreat, and the Humpak Paewass which provides mobility on the four corners of a square.  Once you have achieved the high level of mobility developed by these footwork patterns, you can then begin to practice the next part of the progression which is the skill drills that form the third part of Balicki's training method. One of the most important aspects of training in the skill drills is to understand that the ultimate goal is smooth relaxed flow from technique to technique without conscious thought or any apparent pattern. Defensive knife work occurs at a combative speed that allows only for reactive movement and the progression in the skill drills is designed to build the proper mental and physical reactions to any given attack.

Balicki's drills are broken down into 18 primary groups of techniques and has three to twelve variable drills for each group of techniques. A typical example of a variable drill would be to take a single knife slash from any of the three attack numbering systems that Balicki uses, and defend first with the left hand , then learn a defense with the right hand for the same attack and then finally to use both hands for the defense. As the student progresses the number of variables increase until the student is defending and countering continuous attacks on any line. The eighteen primary groups and subgroups of drills can be classed into the following areas: Numbered striking patterns, footwork, categories of attacks, strips (disarms) and counters, strips in the grasp (while physically restrained), strip for strip (countering techniques), tussling (very close range work), flow drills with single and double knives, and knife grappling techniques. Flow drills are particularly important to learning knife defense. A good flow drill allows the student to train in a completely relaxed manner and to begin to play with the techniques. This element of playfulness is critical to the student's growth. A typical flow drill in Balicki's progression would be to have both students with knives in the pacal (point down) position and have one student feed a downward attack to the collarbone. The defender would scoop the knife down and away with his knife and feed the same attack to the other student's collarbone. Once the students have continuous flow with this basic movement they would then use the same attack, counter with the scoop with the knife, elbow parry the attacker's knife with the other hand and then again attack on the same line. As this drill progresses the number of added variables would increase until each student is executing four or five techniques against each other in continuous flow. Balicki's philosophy, footwork, training progression and drills form a thorough foundation in reality based edged weapons self defense skills. These skills can only be developed through an intensive directed training program that takes into account all known variables and offensive systems. When your life is on the line there are no other options.

by Tom Meadows

Many people think that they can make there own version of Jeet Kune Do without taking a Jun Fan class.  This is a serious mistake.  Jeet Kune Do is a process, not a product, and it begins with Jun Fan.  There is a strict process that you go through while taking classes in Jun Fan that will teach you the fundamentals that lead to Jeet Kune Do.  In my studies early on I was taught that Jeet Kune Do is not a system; rather it is a concept.  This is no simple matter, and is not amenable to a simple explanation.  To follow the path Bruce Lee cut, we must begin with the fundamental elements Bruce Lee developed.  Only when these Jun Fan fundamentals are mastered, can a JKD student begin to experiment with different styles, such that, over time, he or she can create an approach that is truly his or her own.  This is not simply a matter of “add styles and stir”.  Rather, there are defined concepts that one follows in developing a personal “style” based on the fundamentals of Jun Fan.

This “concept” expression of JKD became taboo in the 90’s when many Bruce Lee wannabes started telling the world that every “concept” person is not really doing “authentic” Jeet Kune Do.  It was said that since they are doing Filipino Kali, Thai Boxing or Pechak Silat they were practicing arts that Bruce Lee did not know.  Since he did not do it, neither should we.  JKD, they said, should remain just exactly as Bruce Lee practiced it and never change.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  My instructor always encouraged us to grow and experiment in the same manner that his instructor (Bruce Lee) told him.  We were instructed that the art should continue to evolve, that it had no boundaries.  The evolution of JKD should not die with Bruce; but rather it is a living art, living in the hearts and minds of JKD practitioners everywhere.  It was taught to me that Bruce Lee was forever researching different martial arts and that he himself was constantly changing with the times and different influences around him.  Ask anyone who knew him and they would tell you that the 18-year-old Bruce Lee they knew was not the same as the 32-year-old man they had known before he died.  Commonsense would tell you that there would naturally be changes in a teen maturing into a man.  So why is it so hard for everyone to come to terms with Bruce Lee’s concept of Jeet Kune Do providing the intellectual foundation for the continued growth of the art even after the man is gone?  Bruce Lee founded a school of thought as much a martial style.  Like anyone who founds a way of thinking, be it Sigmund Freud inventing modern psychology or Margaret Meade inventing modern Anthropology, theirs is only the first word on the subject, not the last.  The subject continues to grow through those who follow their lead and apply their concepts.   For us life goes on, just as Bruce Lee wanted it to. 

Bruce said that the only thing you can be sure of is change.  So, my instructor continued on with this philosophy and continued to grow and develop the art, bringing in new influences and new ideas.  My instructor started to research other methods just as his instructor (Bruce Lee) had done.  Bruce Lee talked about the martial artist as being the sculptor.  But in order to begin sculpting one needs a mass to start chiseling at.  This mass would be the systems you study.  It is not acceptable to look at one system and say that I like their roundkick and to look at another system and say I like that punch, so now I have just created my own system of Jeet Kune Do.  This arbitrary association of preferences ignores the key concepts of JKD.  What Bruce wanted was for the student to go through a system thoroughly, and only after he or she understood the system fully, its advantages and disadvantages can he or she really start to chip away at it.  Only someone who has mastered one or more systems can begin to add and remove what does not work specifically work for that person.  Student must know that no two truths are the same.  Everyone is unique; this is concept one and, for some reason, very hard for many to understand.  This is why my instructor teaches Jun Fan and Jeet Kune Do Concepts.  Jun Fan does not change; it is the foundation and will remain forever the gift Bruce Lee left us.  On the other end Jeet Kune Do is not a system and it is not bound by the same rules as Jun Fan; so it is forever changing.  Jeet Kune Do, because it is just a way of thinking, is an approach, an attitude taken by the individual based on Jun Fan principles.  For this reason every Jeet Kune Do instructor will look different and perform differently.  Since they are being true to themselves, and individualizing the art to truly create a system that will serve them, no two will look the same.  But if the artist starts with a solid foundation in Jun Fan, and follows the concepts as they develop what works for them, that practitioner will know Jeet Kune Do as Bruce Lee really meant it to be known.

Trapping for some is an acquired taste that needs to be well nurtured before many see the results.  Even after one starts to see result it is not like riding a bike after years of being off it, you are going to have to maintain it to keep it crisp.  Some feel that it takes to much time to see any success with it.  Some say even with a lot of training you are not going to be able to pull it off or be proficient in it.  This may be true for some.  If you were about to go in to a No-Holds Barred tournament and you are a novice with trapping it may not be the best thing for you to work in the ring. 

A comparison story I like to use is this, once many years ago I trained a friend who was going to fight in a Dog Brothers stick-fighting tournament.  He was an Escrima practitioner who came to me and asked me to train him to grapple because he was set up to fight a Brazilian Ju Jitsu fighter.  He was nervous about fighting this man because he had no ground experience and the man he was fighting was a black belt in BJJ.  I told him with only a little over a month that there was not enough time to get him to a level to be able to give a Black Belt in BJJ a run for his money.  What I did tell him was that his best chances at coming out on top were that he should concentrate on staying his feet.  So with this plan in hand we started going over many of the Shoot Wrestling drills I have for stopping the tackle and fast recoveries for getting back on your feet.  This was all we did.  We did not go to the guard, the mount, the scarf or any other ground position.  All we did was work the tackle and a plethora of ways of stopping this from happening to him.  I would spend every lesson stick sparring and shooting in whenever I though I had a chance of getting him on his back.  Just like any other learning curve you go through it was frustrating at first for my friend but after a few days there was marked improvement.  By week 3 he was very formidable against grapplers that were attempting to tackle him.  When I say formidable I do not mean untouchable but we seen marked improvement.  There was a vast difference between the fighter he was just one month earlier to where he was the day going into the fight.  I remember the day of the fight for some reason the BJJ fighter could not be there.  My friend was paired up to fight a student of mine from another state.  This fighter to me was more of an advisory that the BJJ man was.  The BJJ man was an amazing ground fighter but in previous fights that I had seen him fight in he would literally throw the stick away whenever he got close enough to his opponent and just go for the takedown and then try to go to the ground and pound game.  He was very successful with this tactic.  I had seen him walk through a lot of stick fighter’s.  Now that my friend could not fight the BJJ man he was paired to fight an out of state fighter who happened to be my student.  I new the history of this fighter well since he had trained with me for several years.  He was well trained on the ground in BJJ and was an awesome fighter standing on his feet.   It was hard for me to watch this fight because both men were training under me so I could no longer offer any advice to either fighter, I had to just sit there and watch this.  This did not sit well with me, but I guess that’s to bad for me.  The fight was on, each man stalked each other, both new the reputation of the other.   When they finally started swinging at each other my out of state student tried charging several times.  Each time my student was successful at stopping him.  On the last attempt by my out of state student to take my hometown student to the ground my hometown student used another one of the techniques I had taught him he checked my out of state student with a stiff arm to the side of his neck and circle stepped to the side.  This drove my out of state student head toward the ground as he tried to drive forward causing him to go on to his hands and knees.  All the time my hometown student was striking him in the head.  My out of state student tried to raise his arm to block the stick from cracking his skull.  When his arm came up my hometown student stick came down on it breaking his arm.  The training came through, the technique worked for my hometown student.  The fight never went to the ground.  My out of state student finished the fight without knowing that his arm was broken, his game had changed because he had to start protecting his hurt limb.  He knew he was in great pain but had the fighter’s spirit and continued on.  A day or two later he went to the doctors office and was told it was broken.   He had to have the boneset and was sent home to care for it.  So, the moral of this story is that had my hometown student tried to grapple with either of those individuals it is my educated belief that he would not have been victorious; it is my belief that he would have been slaughtered.  Lets get back to trapping.  Trapping is something that will probably take you years to become proficient at.  If you need to use it tomorrow it may not work for you, it may not be the best medicine for that individual at that particular time and place.  It is something that takes some time to refine for most of us. 

Does this mean that we should not train trapping?   No, it doesn’t it means that we should have it in our reserves and play with it whenever you can.  In time it will be there for you.  I love trapping but it is not a magic pill it is not always going to work for everyone even an accomplished trapper may not be successful with it.  Sometimes it is just not the technique to use, it is the mature fighter who knows when to attempt it and when to abandon it in a fight when it is not performing for you. Just like the jab in boxing.  It works well for most, but if you were fighting Mike Tyson it may not work for you.  If you were to fight Mike and the jab was not working discard it and move on to something else.