Informative Issue No.

128
2014

Leopoldo C. Lasaleta Jr.

Training Director

Joseph Edgar R. Roquid

Assistant Training Director

Sayoc Fighting group in the Philippines

Basic Concepts and Principles
Knife vs Empty Hand
Knife vs Empty Hand
Baston vs Empty Hand
Baston vs Baston

The FMA Informative representative while in the Philippines got to meet and talk with Leopoldo C. Lasaleta
Jr. the Training Director and Joseph Edgar R. Roquid the Assistant Training Director of Sayoc Fighting International of the Philippines.

The Sayoc Fighting group in the Philippines started in 2004; Grandmaster Baltazar Bo Zook Sayoc
formally organized the group in the Philippines in 2006. However unfortunately Grandmaster Sayoc passed
away in 2007, before establishing a head instructor in the Philippines.

Sayoc Fighting International when accepting a student holds nothing back, but teaches all aspects of the
art. In doing so they build strength, coordination of the body, endurance, self confidence, and self awareness.

Let it be understood that this group has no affiliation with the Sayoc Kali group in the United States
which was inherited by Tuhon Chris Sayoc one of the sons of Grandmaster Balthazar Bo Sayoc
Leopoldo C. Lasaleta Jr.

Sayoc Fighting International

Casa Hacienda, Tejeros Convention, Rosario
Cavite, Philippines
Email: sayocfighting@gmail.com
Facebook: Click Here

Born 1969, the eldest six(6) siblings in Davao City, Davao del Sur in the island of Mindanao. When
Leopoldo was seven (7), the family moved to Rosario, Cavite in Southern Luzon island for greener pasture. It
was there that he finished his Primary and Secondary education. Leopoldo continued his quest for education in
Adamson University, Manila and while an ROTC Cadet Officer got his first taste of Arnis.

Leopoldo met Grandmaster Balthazar Bo Sayoc of Sayoc Kali in 2005, who enlightened him about
Filipino martial arts that got him hooked from that day to the present. When Grandmaster Balthazar Bo Sayoc
passed away in 2007 it was his son Michael Anthony Sayoc who continued his fathers responsibility to teach
and guide the Sayoc Philippines group.

In 2012 the Group changed its name to respect and avoid confrontation with the group in the United
States. The group is now called Sayoc Fighting International and Leopoldo C. Lasaleta Jr. is the Senior Guro of
the group. Sayoc Fighting International has branches in Switzerland under Yakan Guro Martin and Korea under
Yakan Guro Jin Ho Lee.

Each issue features practitioners of martial arts and other internal arts, other features include historical, theoretical and technical articles; reflections, Filipino martial arts, healing arts, the culture of the Philippines and other
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Michael Anthony Sayoc with Philippine Sayoc group

Sayoc Fighting group in the Philippines

The Sayoc Fighting group
in the Philippines started in 2004;
Grandmaster Baltazar Bo Zook
Sayoc formally organized the
group in the Philippines in 2006.

However unfortunately
Grandmaster Sayoc passed away
in 2007, before establishing a head
instructor in the Philippines.
Sayoc Fighting International is not
affiliated with Tuhon Chris Sayoc,
and his system, Sayoc Kali.

Since the passing of Grandmaster Sayoc the group was organized and named Sayoc Fighting
International and has been busy
teaching students from the grass
roots up as they had learned if
from Grandmaster Sayoc. At once
time having up to 500 students,
through time this has dwindled
down to around 50 to 100 students
attending the Sayoc schools in
Cavite and Manila, which were
established since 2006, due to the
local government school regents
not supporting the program with
lack of funds.

Finding that with the lack
of support by the local government
the Sayoc Fighting International
group has been going from school
to school to build interest and support from the schools for student
involvement.

Since Arnis has become the
national martial arts in the Philippines, Sayoc Fighting has gone
out to talk with elementary school
principles, telling them that Sayoc
Fighting International will be conducting free Arnis training classes

this summer of 2014 to children.

The Training Director Leopoldo
C. Lasaleta Jr. and the Assistant
Training Director Joseph Edgar
R. Roquid believe that in teaching
elementary students the Sayoc
basics it is instilling the foundation
of Arnis in them and even if they
move on to High School the basics
or roots were taught to them no
matter where the student continues
their training.

In 2004 when Grandmaster
Baltazar Bo Zook Sayoc visited
the Philippines he conducted a
seminar to introduce his art. Guro
Roquid was there in attendance
(Guro Lasaleta did not join Sayoc
Fighting International until 2006);
there was approximately 40 students at this seminar.

In coming to the Philippines Grandmaster Sayoc wanted
to find practitioners that would be
interested in promoting his art of
Sayoc in the Philippines. The original students of Sayoc in the Philippines were all black belts from
various styles, but were fascinated
with what Grandmaster Sayoc was
teaching.

Many wanted to jump
right in and learn the blade; however Grandmaster Sayoc believed
that the basics of Arnis should be
taught first. So some who wanted
the blade art first left. Also what
must be understand per Grandmaster Sayoc is that he fully believed
that the Filipino martial arts was
a complete martial art unto its self
and why would Filipino practitioners want to continually go train

Basic Concepts and Principles

in a foreign martial such as Tae
Kwon Do, Shoto Kan, Judo, etc?
Most thought Arnis was just a stick
art, however Grandmaster Sayoc
would inform them that is was
totally untrue. Arnis is a complete
art, so there was not need to go
learn a foreign art.

As time went on students
dropped out, but around a year
later others with open minds came
and the group reorganized into
Sayoc Fighting International with
Guro Roquid.

As was told by Guros
Lasaleta and Roquid, Grandmaster Sayoc was hospitalized due
to having a few beers, and due to
his medical condition he was not
suppose to drink any alcohol. The
reason as was told was that in the
morning he had held a promotion
of 30 students, which was a first in
the Philippines for the Sayoc art,
and he was very happy and had
celebrated with the newly promoted practitioners. Later in the evening he had to be admitted to the
hospital. And unfortunately passed
away.

When one of the sons of
Grandmaster Sayoc was in the
Philippines, and the group talked to him about what they had
learned. After witnessing what
they had learned from Grandmaster Sayoc, they trained throughout
the night. Upon completion the
next morning, the group was told
to continue their training and promotion of the Sayoc art.

Sayoc in the Philippines in Arnis is what one would call an energy art, which one counters using the
energy of the opponent, and using the opponents energy against them, the practitioner can counter, disarm and
takedown the opponent.

In using the blade one must not extend themselves, there is believed a circle which is considered the
safe world, and then there is the extended world (outside of the safe word, extending ones self). So when using
the blade one wants to stay within the safe world for extending into the extended world one is vulnerable to the
opponent.
Knife vs Empty Hand 1 Receiver base - return to sender principle

1. Attacker - abdominal thrust/Receiver - shave tap with right

hand and control with left hand.
2. Receiver - controls the blade hand of the attacker and points
the knife to the face.
3. As receiver pushes the knife for a heart stab, attacker blocks with his left hand

Close up: Receivers right

thumb is on the hilt of
attackers knife for more
control

4. Receiver kicks left knee and scoop the right leg.

5. Takedown, receiver still pushing the knife to attackers chest.

Close up

Baston vs Empty Hand

Knife vs Empty Hand

1

1. Block with right and head strike with left

hand
2. Attacker punches with his left, receiver
catches and extend it, fold blade hand up
3. Cut neck as attacker falls
Close up

5
1. Duck and track
2. Control with right hand
3. Put weapons hand on shoulder and push down
4. Low kick on side of right knee
5. Disarm
6. Attacker- punches , receiver- catches and cross lock it with the other
hand
6. Takedown, attacker fall backward head first

Baston vs Baston
1

In mano mano (empty hand) and tad yakan (kicking), In mano mano the idea is not to wait for the opponents punch, but move inside and attack, in Sayoc Philippines mano- mano is used as a leverage art, causing
the opponent to be off balance. Tad yakan, it is believed tat high kicks are not necessary and a waste of energy,
kicking the opponent from the waist down is productive and joints are targeted.

Overall in encountering an opponent the basic idea is to go with the flow, a natural flow to the situation
of the encounter working the opponent to their disadvantage. Do not extend yourself, or make unnecessary
movements. Be to the point in your counters.

Sayoc Fighting International when accepting a student holds nothing back, but teaches all aspects of the
art. In doing so they build strength, coordination of the body, endurance, self confidence, and self awareness.

1. Block
2. Receivers stick move inside and release to distract attacker
3. Right hand controls wrist of the attacker and left hand is positioned for a disarm

Sayoc Fighting International

Casa Hacienda, Tejeros Convention, Rosario
Cavite, Philippines
Email: sayocfighting@gmail.com
Facebook: Click Here

4. Receivers left hand pushes and disarmed the attacker

5. Attacker punches and caught by receiver
6. Left low kick and scoop from inside

7. Takedown while still locking

8. Receiver sits on the cross and lock
armtechnical school in

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