Stealing Bases An AGPS Specialty

Before I discuss the mechanics of balance disruption, I want to give a little

bit of background about myself and my sources.
Silat
In 1995, my adopted brother, Rick, introduced me to Filipino and Indonesian
martial arts and I felt like Id come home after about 17 years of foster care
training in Tae Kwon Do as a kid, Okinawan Goju Ryu Karate as an older kid and
as an adult, dabbling in a bunch of other stuff along the way. While the
weapons work of the Filipino martial arts intrigued me, the Indonesian Pencak
Silat really drew me in.

Pencak Silat is pronounced pen-chah-k see-lah-t.

My instructor, Guru Ken Pannell, taught his own blend of Filipino and
Indonesian arts calledSikal. It drew from several sources which, by and large,
dont have a lot of relevance to this specific post. One of its influences,
though, stemmed from a system of Silat called Serak.
When I met Guru Ken, he hadnt directly studied Serak but much of his
expression came from a child system of Serak called Bukti Negara that hed
trained in for about eight years.
What immediately drew me to the Silat, specifically to the Serak expression,
was the balance disruption aspects, though, at that time, I didnt have a name
for it.
Guru Ken, at 58 and about 130 pounds, was throwing large guys around like
ragdolls. At the time, I was 58 and about 230 pounds. Guru Ken a couple of
the guys he threw around like ragdolls made me look small. My initial reaction
was, No way! Theyre falling for him. Then he did it to me. I did not fall for
him. But, like those other guys, I slammed to the mat time and time again and
Guru Ken didnt even break a sweat.
Now, Id seen effortless throws before from good Judo and Aikido players but
Id never seen anything like Guru Ken. What he did surpassed effortless. His
expression was almost contemptuous. It seemed to say, I dont have time for
this. Get out of my way. Youre boring me. He walked through people. There

were no big motions, no large reaps. He just walked. Later, I would learn that,
at least as he learned it, Silat is just walking.
When I got in front of him, he said, Attack me.
I said, How?
I dont care.
That really caught my attention. In all my previous experience, instructors
told me how to attack them so they could show a specific technique. Guru Ken
didnt care. I attacked. I hit the floor. I attacked. I hit the floor. Didnt
matter how I attacked or what I attacked with. I even landed a couple of
shots during the process but they werent solid and I hit the floor.
I decided, I dont know how hes doing that, but I want it.
For a year, I drove 2.5 hours each Friday night after working my second shift
job. Id get a few hours of sleep, then go to class on Saturday morning. Train
about four hours on Saturday in class. Train with Rick on Sunday and, once a
month, take a private lesson with Guru Ken in an effort to keep up with the
rest of the students who lived nearby and could train several days a week with
him. Then Id spend 5 10 hours at home training on my own.
After a year, I quit my job and moved in with my girlfriend, who lived near
Guru Ken. Im veryhappy to say shes now my wife of 17+ years. I got a new job,
working 40 hours a week, and I trained 20 30 hours per week. After a few
years, I managed to break out of the corporate world and become selfemployed. I still worked about 40 hours a week but my schedule was more
flexible so it became even easier to train 20 30 hours per week.
I trained 20 30 hours per week, every week, for 3.5 years. Earned my
instructorship and became a guru in Sikal. Continued training/teaching 20 30
hours per week for another year before cutting back to 15 20 hours per
week when I moved to Texas.

A rough and tumble Silat Demo with Guru Ken Pannell, Guru Steve Hacht,
and me.
Shen Chuan
In 1998, I wound up spending a week in Nacogdoches, Texas for work. When I
traveled for work, I always found places to train. If I didnt get my 20 30
hours per week, my body started rebelling. I preferred to find Filipino or
Indonesian martial artists to train with but theyre somewhat rare. So, failing
that, I looked for systems Id never been exposed to previously. Failing that,
Id go anywhere, even something as far removed from my normal training as
Tae Kwon Do, just to get a workout.
In Nacogdoches, a little town two hours north of Houston, I found a school
called Lansdales Self-Defense. The head instructor, Professor Joe Lansdale,
taught his own blend of martial arts called Shen Chuan.
While Shen Chuan wasnt Silat, it was very impressive. Prof. Lansdale, much as
Guru Ken had done several years before, threw people around in a way I
couldnt immediately grasp. I stood mystified, mouth slightly open, thinking,
This is either magic or BS. Then he did it to me. It wasnt BS. That left
magic.
Then I started to see the underlying principles Prof. Lansdale was using and I
realized they were the same principles I knew from my Silat training. The
expression was very different but the principles were the same.
In January of 2001, I moved to Nacogdoches. I spent the next 21 months
teaching Sikal at Lansdales Self-Defense, and training in Shen Chuan.
I currently hold a fourth degree black belt in Shen Chuan.

Shen Chuan with Professor Joe Lansdale and Sensei Adam Coats
AGPS
Silat, specifically the Serak lineage of Silat, takes some time to learn and
develop. I trained it every day for three years before I thought I might be
able to pull some aspect of it off under stress.

Shen Chuan is much more immediately gratifying but it employs the same
principles for balance disruption.
In my system of AGPS, I wanted to teach the Silat expression I loved so much
but have the accessibility, the shallower learning curve, of Shen Chuan.
So, the way I teach balance disruption, leading to sweeps and takedowns, in
AGPS starts with the Shen Chuan expression, to build an understanding of the
underlying principles. Once that understanding is developed, then I start
bringing out more of the Silat (Serak-based) expression I personally love.
Over the past few years, this approach has become known in AGPS as Stealing
Bases.

AGPS Training Montage with Me and Various Students

Bases? Stealing? Sounds a bit shady.
What the heck are bases?
Base is, as youve probably learned in your primary training, your foundation. If
youre standing on your feet then its, at least at the basic level, your feet. If
youre sitting in someones guard, then your knees are your primary base. If
youre mounted and they try to buck you off, you may extend a hand to the
mat and it, then, becomes part of your base, along with your knees. Your base,
especially on the ground, may be on them as in knee-in-belly.
Pretty simple. For now. Well revisit this concept in a bit and itll get a little
more complicated.
Why are we stealing them?
Think about your base. You use your base for balance. Balance is essential for
movementto evade strikes, to get position, etc.
Base is also essential for power generation, whether youre punching, kicking,
sweeping, whatever. Without base, youre flailing. You may actually do some
damage with a flail but its not likely to end the fight. If youre flailing, youre
relying on luck.

While Ill take any good luck that comes my way, I dont ever want to rely on
it. Its too fickle.
So, if I can steal my opponents base, get him off balance, even for a moment,
then, at least for that moment, I have seriously put a crimp in their ability to
fight effectively.
Obviously, while stealing my opponents base is good, I also need to maintain
my own base.
Bases get a little more complicated.
In my Silat training, we actually consider two bases, the upper and lower. The
upper base is defined by the shoulders and torso, the lower by the legs. These
two bases are connected by the hips. These bases, working together properly,
provide balance and generate power.
Basic Mechanics
Time for some nitty gritty. This is just an intro and, as you might guess, a
text-based explanation is far from ideal. A video is a little better but still
doesnt compare to hands-on training. I do, actually, have a video that
illustrates some of these principles and it can be purchased here.
This DVD was shot at an event. I plan to do an actual instructional video
on Stealing Basesin the future.
This expression of balance disruption uses points on the ground as teaching
tools.
Primary Points

The first two points Ill discuss are what I call the primary points. These
points are used in every system of martial arts Ive been exposed to that does
anything with sweeps and takedowns. They may not isolate the points, they
may use some other method for teaching the principle, but they use these
points.
To find these points, draw a line from the center of your training partners
right foot to the center of his left foot. Imagine that line forms the base of
an equilateral triangle (all three legs of the triangle are the same length). If
his feet are on two of those points, then the third point is a primary point of
balance disruption. Theres one in front of him and one behind.
If you drive any part of his structure toward either of these points, youll
disrupt his balance. He may or may not fall down. Personally, I dont really
care. If hes off balance then hes less mobile and doesnt have a solid base to
generate power from, hes less of a threat and, often, hes more worried about
regaining his balance than he is about fighting me.
Thats really all there is to it. Its simple. It leads to a lot of things, though.

When I strike, I drive toward a balance disruption point. So, for instance, if I
punch into my opponents gut, I drive back and down toward that point on the
floor behind him. Whether the punch really hurts him or not is irrelevant if it
gets him stumbling for half a second and allows me to set up a really strong
follow up strike or get a takedown. Or, in the context of self-defense, to
improve my situation by finding an exit, buying a second to deal with another
threat, whatever.
When I catch a joint lock, I drive the lock toward a balance disruption point.
If Im doing a standing armbar on a guy and something goes wrong, his arm
bends, and I dont get the armbar. If, however, Im driving his elbow toward a
point of balance disruption, usually his front primary point, then I may lose the
armbar but still disrupt his balance. If I get both the armbar and the balance,
then, usually, his shoulder and face race each other to the ground in a pretty
dramatic way.

Secondary Points

Now, if you take that line between your training partners feet and you extend
it straight out past their feet, youll have a reference for what I
call secondary points. These points are used less frequently than the primary
points but are still pretty common. The secondary points tend to throw the
opponent away from me, and since I prefer to keep my friends close and my
enemies closer, I dont often use the secondary points. However, sometimes
throwing my opponent away from me, creating some space, or throwing them
into their buddies can be useful.
Again, drive part of their body toward one of these points and their balance
can be disrupted.
Steer Them

Its important to remember, youre steering them. If you drive toward one of
these points on a horizontal plane, youll probably make them stumble but the
balance disruption will be minimal. This method is useful if youre, for instance,
bouncing and want to move someone toward the door but not make them fall.
If, however, you want them to really lose their balance and increase the
chance theyll hit the ground, then steer them toward the ground. Drive your
energy, whether its a strike or a lock or a choke, down toward the points on
the ground.
They dont have to fall
As I said before, I dont really care if they fall down. If theyre off balance,
even for a brief moment, then it creates an opportunity for me, a vulnerability
I can take advantage of.
It is magic
Arthur C. Clarke, a famous Science Fiction author, said, Any sufficiently
advanced technology will be indistinguishable from magic.
When you do this well, your training partner or opponent ends up on the
ground wondering how he got there, and youre wondering why he fell down.
It really is magic because, at least at first, its a sufficiently advanced
technology. The more you work with it, the more you understand it, the more
it becomes technology and the less it seems like magic.
This works based on anatomy and leverage. It doesnt require muscular effort.
It requires motion and mass and not much of either when done really well.
If this all strikes you as strange and mystical, especially watching the video
of, for instance, Professor Lansdale, and you think, That dude is falling for
him. Hes not doing anything to make that happen. Im here to tell you, youre
mistaken.
Hes just not working very hard to accomplish it because he understands it
very, very well.
It must be felt

Obviously, when you step into the ring, or get into a fight, you cant mark out
these points on the ground. If you try to take the time to find them visually
when you strike or lock or go for a throw, youll never make it work. Youll get
your clock cleaned before you even have a chance to figure out where the
points are.
By training with it, though, using the points on the ground as a reference tool,
and developing them to the point that you feel them. As soon as you touch the
person, you feel where their balance is vulnerable, then youll be able to
incorporate these ideas into something beyond rudimentary training.
Principles are universal
These principles are universal. They will work whether your opponent is
standing or on the ground. These same principles are used, for instance, to
effect guard sweeps in BJJ.
When you get on the ground, though, you have to remember youre dealing with
more points of contact for their base. So, for instance, if you apply these
principles to a guard sweep without accounting for your opponents hands, then
theyll reach out and find a base with their hand and youll accomplish very
little.
If, however, you trap one of their hands, then dump them toward the point on
that side, it will work. If you watch basic guard sweeps, they use these
principles.
While I understand these principles and can teach them, even on the ground,
the ground is not my forte so Im going to reference a youtube video from
Carnage BJJ to illustrate an example of this in a guard sweep.

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending Guru Mike Castos Stealing
Bases Seminar in Louisville, KY. I have worked with Guru Mike in the past, tag
teaming a seminar in Nashville and also attending a small workshop with him on
balance breaking in Alabama. Guru Mike is the founder of the AGPS system of
Silat, which is the culmination of Guru Mikes 35 years of extensive training in
Pencak Silat, Tai Chi, and FMA. AGPS stands for Anjing Gembala Pencak Silat.

Anjing Gembala translates as Sheep Dog. This reflects Guru Mikes personal
philosophy, in which practitioners of the martial arts should utilize their
knowledge and experience in the protection of not only themselves, but of
others. The sheep dog philosophy is one that I very much share as a combat
veteran of the US Army.
In addition to admiring how well his system is arranged, another thing that I
really enjoy about training with Guru Mike is the fact that he conveys a
number of high-level concepts, bordering on the esoteric and into simple terms
and mechanics, making them easy to understand and perform. Guru Mikes mind
works a lot like mine and this is what has drawn me to studying his system. I
always want to know the whys and hows of the way things work. It was my
early encounters and brief conversations with Guru Mike that encouraged me
that I was on the right track with some of the things I was emphasizing in my
personal training and teaching.
Seven years ago, before I started pursuing the SE Asian Arts full time, I was
studying and assistant instructing in Japanese Budo Taijutsu. This was the
first time I had the opportunity to work with Guru Mike. At his workshop in
Alabama, he discussed the concepts of balance disruption in pure, geometrical
terms. Some of the balance-breaking lingo of AGPS consists of primary points,
secondary points, and blended points of balance. Having these basic concepts
to apply in the analysis of techniques, my progress in Japanese Arts
skyrocketed. I also attribute these experiences with Guru Mike to my
successes in FMA.
In Louisville, Guru Mike presented the essential skills of balance disruption
utilizing the diagram of AGPSs Foundational Langkah. This simple geometrical
diagram is the key to unlocking the functionality of many of the techniques
and footwork that make his system so effective. However, this diagram can be
applied universally to any martial art. We started with a few simple exercises
to illustrate the primary and secondary balance points. These exercises
consisted of utilizing our partners arm to direct them into the sweet spot at
which point their skeletal structure and balance were compromised.
In the 3 dimensional representation of the primary balance points, the
opponents head is directed to a point extending out from the center of their
feet either to the front or rear, depending on the application of the particular
technique. As Guru Mike often states, he is constantly seeking empties and

filling them. If an opponent is fighting for balance, then he is not fighting

you. This statement has broad-reaching applications, but in this context, we
are affecting the opponents structure and filling the empty space along these
lines, which will result in the opponent being off-balance or being taken down.
Additionally, Guru Mike looks to fill the empties in the opponents structure
and timing with hits. When you combine these principles, you arrive at Guru
Mikes overall goal, which is to have the opponent off balance and in pain at all
times.
The secondary points are used when your actions take an opponents balance
over either of his legs laterally. In the event of the opponent taking a step to
correct their balance, they will often leave a leg vulnerable to sweep, knee, or
kick. However in the application we utilized, if the initial movement failed, we
changed the angle slightly forcing the opponents head just over their knee
forcing a dynamic breakdown of their spinal alignment.
NOTE: These diagrams are a symbolic representation of the angles for
balance disruption. The precise angles are contingent upon the width of the
opponents stance. Here, the figure is standing in an upright natural posture,
so the angle is steeper than it would be if they were depicted in a fighting
stance. The sweet spot for balance breaking is around 45 degree.
Guru Mike then presented us with a handful of pre-arranged technique sets
that allowed us to explore and blend the concepts in a functional context.
These sets consisted of some classic Silat techniques including sweeps, head
controls, low line kicks, joint locks, and throws. These moves were all
integrated with dynamic entries, strikes, and parries to disrupt the opponents
balance structure before applying the techniques.
Overall, it was fun, engaging, and very interactive. Unlike many seminar
instructors, Guru Mike floats freely around the room and gives everyone a
little individual attention. Often this individual attention results in you looking
up from the ground wondering what just happened. Guru Mike will then help
you up and explain how to make it work and stick with you until you get it. He is
a great instructor and a great guy.

el uso de los patrones en Kali y pencak silat,

traduccin de nota de Ron Balicki

Pentjak silat (serak platform B)

Langka sliwa ,
lanka pancar or langka pantjar,
langka sundut mering,
langka lima or langka tiga
Se ha detenido a pensar acerca del
tiempo que se precisa invertir, para
llegar a dominar con eficiencia el
trabajo de los pies en cualquier
sistema de artes marciales? Podra
uno preguntarse el porque son
necesarios todos esos movimientos?
No es divertido entrenarlos, sin embargo el buen conocimiento hace
que no nos movamos como patos. Mi instructor me regaaba por al
carencia de movimientos, pero no lo escuchaba como buen cabeza
dura. Hasta que empece a ser cabeza blanda, y empece a entrenarlos.
Antes nunca usaba el movimiento de mis piernas para bloquear el
camino de mi adversario. Esto me forzo a que mirara lo que estaba
haciendo y decidiera entrenar con mas criterio. Muy temprano en mi
carrera yo entrene en sistemas que eran extremadamente rgidos. En
los 80 arranque mi entrenamiento con Guro Larry Lindenman y Guro

Dan Inosanto. Con ellos fui introducido a un mundo nuevo en el trabajo

del movimiento de los pies, con una nueva perspectiva, moviendome as
a una zona segura. Hay diferentes caminos para interpretar los
patrones geomtricos usados en Pencak Silat y en las FMA. Mucho d
elos patrones representan pasos (vas) que el practicante debera
seguir para utilizar con mas eficiencia la ruta de ataque o defensa
contra un oponente.
el uso de los patrones en pencak silat

en pencak silat los patrones son

llamados langka (lon-ka). Estos se dibujan en el piso y sirven para guiar
al estudiante a traves de una serie de pasos semejantes a un kata, con
la diferencia que se deja de lado el tema de las manos. Una vez que se
ha dominado los desplazamientos se agrega el movimientos de las
manos. La nica cosa es que en los patrones el movimiento es
multidimensional, es decir que pueden usarse a nivel bajo (piso) o a
otros ms elevados como la rodilla, cintura, hombros o cabeza. Los
patrones pueden ser verticales al cuerpo o cortarlo (como una
rebanada). Usando los patrones de esta manera le permite a uno darle
a su cuerpo un ngulo de modo que lo ponga en una situacin de
debilidad (en sus pies) al adversario. Lo que se debe tener en cuenta

es que el uso de los patrones debe usarse para s, mientras los emplea
contra su oponente. Alguno de los patrones que se emplean son:
Tiga (tringulo) en Bukti Negara el popular patron empleado es Langka
Tiga Upat, se usa en el barrido hacia atrs. Se coloca cada pie en la
base del triangulo y se va pivoteando hacia el vrtice no ocupado
(girando hacia atrs).
Sliwa : semeja a la bandera britnica. Uno de los usos es que el
practicante tome lugar en el medio del sliwa, poniendo un pie (dentro o
fuera) cerca del pie del oponente. Se perfila a la altura del hombro
del oponente. Luego mueve el hombro hacia el lado opuesto
determinado por la esquina del pie de atrs. Esto debilita al oponente
y le provoca un tropezon o hace que se desbalancee y caiga. El cuerpo
tambien debe moverse a 45 para debilitar la base.

Latihan Tiga : por Dan Inosanto en la academia de Victor de

Thouars ( Serak style) www.serak.com
(se descomprimio la tcnica en .gif de la pgina Serak para una mejor visualizacin, aunque la
definicin no sea buena)

10

11

12

el uso de los patrones en Kali

a semejanza de los practicantes de silat, tambien se usan patrones en
las FMA. Las formas geomtricas que se emplean son el traingulo, el
crculo, la estrella, el reloj de arena. La diferencia entre ambos es que
el practicante de kali los utiliza en sus movimientos (posturas) en vez
de usarlos para sojuzgar al adversario.
El triangulo: posee varias aplicaciones, desde el trabajo de piernas
(con o sin el palo) hasta el uso de patrones verticales (simil arbol de
navidad). En la posicin parados, el patrn es usado para guiarnos
donde y como debemos golpear al oponente. La teora marca que una
mano cubre dos puntos del tringulo, mientras que la otra es usada
para atacar.
El circulo: se lo emplea en un ejercicio llamado numerado ,
generalmente con armas, el atacante esta en el centro del crculo

mientras que el oponente se defiende contra los golpes (con arma o

mano vacia) a medida que el estudiante progresa, el oponente podra
caminar alrededor del crculo, mientras el atacante permanece en el
centro. Un grado de dificultad podra agregarse haciendo que el
atacante tambien camine la circunferencia, forzando al oponente a
desplazarse.
La estrella: es usada como un patron para el uso del palo. El
practicante debe mover su arma en los varios ngulos de la estrella.
Uno pordra ser ir de la 1 a las 7 (en un reloj). La estrella tambien es
usada para el movimiento de los pies. Parandose en cada vrtice,
moviendo los pies dentro de ella, por cada vrtice, mientras se golpea
con el palo.
El reloj de arena: se usa para el movimiento de los pies y para guiar
como patron el palo. En las danzas filipinas se usa mucho esta forma
una de ellas es la llamada Tinikling que se realiza con 4 personas que
usan palos largos. La gracia de la danza esta que los palos se mueven
en direccin de los pies (golpeando) y que debe ir esquivando el palazo
a medida que se va desplazando bailando.