Sinawali Mapping

Making Sense of Double Stick Patterns

By Pete Kautz 2004

Sinawali (weaving) is a Filipino martial arts (FMA) term referring to a structured

double stick pattern. These drills can be done solo or with a partner, and are common
to many styles.

In movies and television shows today, many times movements of the sinawali are
incorporated because they give the impression that a lot is happening, yet no one is
getting hit so the censors are kept happy.

If you go to see a FMA demo, odds are good that you will see some two person
sinawali because the drills are very exciting visually and the striking of the sticks
sounds impressive. Depending on the school, a student may have to learn dozens of
specific sinawali.

Some FMA instructors today believe that learning sinawali is a waste of time,
however. They consider it overly structured and unrealistic. The point to the clunky
robotic-looking mess that some players make out of sinawali. Who fights like this,
they cry.

So where does the truth lie? Is sinawali a vital part of the art, or is it just a flashy
trinket to be thrown away?

Well, over the years I have seen the sinawali (which I believe to be a useful skill) be
grossly "over used but under utilized". That is to say, I feel people spend a lot of time
on them without necessarily understanding their structure or greater purpose. Lots of
people run around and collect sinawali patterns, but the truth is that when you
understand them you can create all the patterns you want.

This article, then, is designed to offer some insights that might just be what you need
to open up new horizons in your study of the sinawali.

Ready? Let's go!

One teaching device I learned many years ago was the sinawali map. This opened my
mind to the possibilities that existed. By using the map, you become not only capable
of writing down sinawali patters, but you quickly learn how to modify and create
them for yourself.

This is the difference between memorizing addition tables and understanding the
addition. In the former case you are limited to only what you know, but in the later
you are unlimited - you can add anything to anything, since you know HOW it works.

In this method, sinawali are first mapped for the right hand side. The left hand side
will be the mirror image of the right. Together, these two sides form the complete
sinawali.

Drawing the Map

First, you draw a cross on your paper, to make 4 boxes. These represent the high and
low lines of attack, on the left and right sides of your opponent. The vertical line of
the cross is the opponent's centerline, and the horizontal line is roughly the opponent's
belt line or tan-tien (lower abdomen).

Now, let us look at what the late Professor Remy Presas would call Single Sinawali.

In Single sinawali, the right hand strikes a high forehand and then a low backhand,
and then the left hand does the same. You can find pictures of Professor doing this on
pages 98-99 of his widely available book "Modern Arnis: The Filipino Art of Stick
Fighting" (Ohara, 1983).

This would be mapped out as:

Single Sinawali (Right Side)

1R
2R

Single Sinawali (Left Side)

1L
2L
Whereas in the Single Sinawali one hand does each side (i.e.. right hand right side,
left hand left side), in the Double Sinwali (pgs.104-105 of the same book) the hands
alternate. First the right hand strikes a high forehand, then the left hand strikes a low
backhand, then the right hand hits a high backhand to complete the right hand side of
the sinwali. Then the mirror image left hand side is performed to complete one cycle
of Double Sinawali.

This would be mapped out as:

Double Sinawali (Right Side)

3R1R
2L
Double Sinawali (Left Side)
1L3L
2R
Finally, in the Reverse Sinawali (pgs.110-111 of the same book) the right hand strikes
a low forehand, then the left hand strikes a low backhand, then the right hand strikes a
low backhand to complete the right hand side of the sinwali. This would be mapped
out as:

Reverse Sinawali (Right Side)

3 R 1 R, 2 L
Reverse Sinawali (Left Side)
1 L, 2 R 3 L
By learning to break down all your actions on this kind of analytic level, you will gain
a deeper insight and understanding, as well as have an easier time hardwiring them
into your body. Try mapping out other sinawali patterns you know and creating new
sinawalis by modifying existing ones.

There is a lot more to mapping than what we have covered here, but this should open
the door...now it's up to you!

Functionalizing Sinawali for

Combat
By Pete Kautz 2004
Two problems present themselves immediately when looking at using the sinawali in
a combative (free fighting) mode.

The first is that most times the sinawali is practiced in an isolated fashion. Sinawali is
done mainly "to do sinawali" and not incorporated with other drills. To remedy this
problem, we want to work the sinawali patterns out of other exercises.

The second problem is that sinawali is mainly practiced from the classical chambered
position, with one stick over the shoulder and the other under that same side arm.
While this chambered position is good for its purpose of learning, one doesn't go into
a fight standing in this position. Thus, the student must learn to deliver their sinawali
patterns out of an open guard structure.

Here are just a few of the many double weapon drills we utilize in the Alliance
Modern Arnis Program to bring out this more combative aspect of the sinawali.
Enjoy!

Drill 3: Numerado into sinawali - feeder matches the sinawali - against the #1 strike
 In this example, a left-hand cut / parry is followed with a
right-side double-sinawali stabbing counter which the feeder matches.

Drill 1: Sinawali from the open position

To practice this drill, the student starts from an open position with the double sticks.
Both hands are kept up (like a boxer) and they are kept in constant movement to avoid
making them easy targets. From here, the student practices delivering specific
sinawali patterns on the left and right side. Deliver only the first few strikes of the
sinawali when doing this - don't go through the whole sinawali more than once or
twice. Instead, keep it short and powerful, like a boxer working their basic
combinations on the heavy bag. The point here is to learn to get into the sinawali from
wherever your hands are.

Drill 2: Numerado into sinawali

Once the student can comfortably go into the sinawali out of the open structure, the
next thing is to work with a partner and practice defending against their attacks and
immediately countering with the sinawali. To do this, the numerado exercise is
utilized. In numerado, the attacker strikes through the 12 angles first in order, then
later in a random manner. When the attack comes in, the defender must either evade,
block, or pass and then go into the predetermined sinawali pattern on whichever side
they chose. Depending on which hand does the defensive action, the left or right side
of the sinawali may be more convenient to go to.

Drill 3: Numerado into sinawali - feeder matches the sinawali

When the second drill is under control, the attacker now tries to match the defender's
sinawali pattern at the end. So, as before the attacker delivers one of the 12 angles of
attack and the defender evades, blocks, or passes the strike and counters with sinawali.
The attacker must try and see which side the sinawali is coming from and match it
with the identical sinawali, hitting stick to stick. This really ups the skill level
involved for the feeder and develops quick reactions.

Drill 4: Broken rhythm sinawali

In this drill both student's train the sinawali, but utilize a broken-rhythm rather than
the symmetrical cadence normally associated with sinawali. It is best to start this drill
out with a leader and a follower, but as skill improves either student should be able to
change the rhythm. Move around, add pauses between strikes, speed up, slow down,
etc. Try and make the sinawali feel more like a fight than a performance. Focus on
short bursts of activity rather than continuous flow. This is a challenging drill that will
test how well you really "know" the sinawali.
 Deadly Dualities
Exploring Mathematical Probability &
Connecting the Lines of Combat
Copyright 2001 Pete Kautz

Part I
    There is a martial application to the concept of polar opposites, like the Western
Twin Pillars of Mercy and Severity, the Eastern Yin and Yang, or the computer's
binary code.  All actions in the martial arts may be viewed through this filter, which
allows us to better understand the ever changing reality of combat in a simple
mathematical way.

    Working in single attacks and defenses is the most basic form of learning.  As a
beginner learns to cut along the segno, how to do the passing and gathering steps, the
volts and so on they first learn these skills in isolation, but these all must be
reintegrated into the overall performance package before they become useable in a
contested (ie. fighting) situation.  These Duality drills then help to make the
connection between all the basics and the way they are strung together in the flow of
combat.

Six of the many Dualities

Attack Defense
Right Left
High Low
Forehand Backhand
Slash Thrust
Standing Moving
To create a technique string, you want to have between 1-6 movements.
(For our example we will select 3 movements)

Each Movement should contain 1-6 dualities (the more Dualities, the more
descriptive)

Flip coins (heads/tails), roll dice (odd/even), or draw cards (red/black) to start.
 For an example, if you were using only 1 Duality and drew 3 cards (to create a 3
move sequence),
And you got black / black / red, It would create the following sequence:

Thrust Thrust Slash

    How you train the sequence is up to you.  How you slash or thrust is up to you,
what you know, and what your style dictates. Only when we add more Dualities into
the mix will we have more specific types of attacks. For now, hitting any kind of pell,
a heavy-bag, or hanging tire is good.  Having a partner work with you using focus
mitts is also good, but remember that the reason you work with a live person is to
develop timing and reflexes - save your "Conan power-swings" for the pell!  The mitts
are great for any kind of rapier and dagger work.  Always give the trainer a helmet
and consider elbow and forearm protection as well.  Accidents happen, and a bag full
of gear in the other room, unworn, will not help you.

As stated, the more Dualities you invoke, the more specific a technique becomes!
As an example, if you were using 4 Dualities, in a 3 Technique sequence, it might
look like this:
Attack Attack Defend
Low High High
Forehand Backhand Forehand
Slash Thrust Slash

    Further, when doing the Duality drills with a partner, you could create a sequence
as before, and as one of you does the sequence, the partner fills in "the other side" of
the equation.
Your partner's mirror image form, that will match the one above, is thusly:

Defend Defend Attack

Low High High
Forehand Backhand Forehand
Slash Thrust Slash
If you can understand this "other side" to the actions, you can create dynamic two-
man sets at will

Your understanding of kata may double as well!

 How could you use these concepts in the study of forms you already know?

Create your OWN Dualities to Enhance What You Already Do!

Here are some examples to get you started - Think of more that can enhance what you
do!

Cut Back Cut

Evasion Engagement
Kick Punch

Part II
Randomization and Chaos at
Work!
Now that we have established the basic ideas of duality and random patterning, let's
look at more specific applications for training.

Cards as Random Elements

One simple method for training the Dualities involves cutting out a number of squares
of cardboard (maybe 2"x2" or so) and writing one part of a Duality on each side (so
one would say High on one side and Low on the other, etc.). Make one for each
duality you are interested in using and place them all in a box large enough for them
to shake around with a removable lid (like a shoe box or something).

To practice, simply shake up the box, see what you are told to do...then do it! Once
you have this motion, then shake the box, create a new technique, and add this to your
first one. You can develop all kinds of interesting technique chains to practice this
way.

Dice as Random Elements

You can create random patterns for practice within a range of techniques most
effectively by randomizing with dice. If you have all the "funny" dice, you can create
charts with 4, 8, 10, 12, 20, or 30 items each! For the scope of sanity, we will stick to
good ol' 6 sided dice for now. Using boxing for a technique sampling, we might select
to make a chart with:

1 2 3 4 5 6
Jab Cross Lead Hook Rear Hook Lead Uppercut Rear Uppercut

To use the chart, you simply roll a few times to make a combo. If you roll different
colored dice then you can preselect an order based on color (ie. red, green, white).

If we wanted to apply the same kind of theory to kicking, perhaps we might select:

1 2 3 4 5 6
Lead Leg Rear Leg Lead Leg Rear Leg Lead Leg Rear Leg
Front Kick Front Kick Round Kick Round Kick Side Kick Spin Kick

Combining Dice and Coins

Now if we wanted to combine these charts, we could do so by the addition of a
random element which will choose between them. To do this, just like in the I-Ching,
we will use coins to give a basic heads / tails (+ / -) reading. If we wanted to create
several moves at once, we could use different size coins (penny, nickel, dime) along
with the different colored dice (so the penny and red die would be technique #1, the
nickel and green die technique #2, the dime and white die would be technique #3)

Die Roll Coin - Heads Coin - Tails

1 Jab Lead Leg Front Kick
2 Cross Rear Leg Front Kick
3 Lead Hook Lead Leg Round Kick
4 Rear Hook Rear Leg Round Kick
5 Lead Uppercut Lead Leg Side Kick
6 Rear Uppercut Rear Leg Spin Kick

Additional Concepts in Rearrangement

The great conceptual thinker Ed Parker once wrote a simple formula regarding the
importance of Rearrangement in the Kempo system. It was simply Kempo x
Rearrangement = Infinity

If you have even a few basics (let's say 18, to give the nod to Shaolin) then
Rearrangement means you can have 18! possibilities, or (18 x 17 x 16 x 15, etc.)
specific combinations.

Let's explore the possibilities with 2 and 3 step combinations of just 2 things (we will
call then A and B for the sake of clarity). There are only 4 possible 2 step
combinations:

A-A B-B
A-B B-A
When we add a third step, with again 2 variables, we yield twice as many combos!
A-A-A B-B-B
A -A - B B - B - A
A-B-A B-A-B
A-B-B B-A-A

Apply these concepts to your art and find the secrets that were
there all along!
Want more insights on these kinds of advanced mental concepts
of combat?
Read Master at Arms James Keating's article on  Progression
Training