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This is my personal review of the Floro Fighting Systems Edged Weapon Instruction Course. The course is divided up into five video lessons, each lesson presenting certain aspects of the knife fighting system uniquely developed by Ray Floro. Ray Floro is both a master in the Filipino Martial Art of Escrima, and also a fencing champion in the Italian style. His knife fighting technology has received praises and commendations from professional martial artists, law enforcement and military personnel worldwide. But is his knife fighting system really that good?
In video lesson one Ray Floro starts with the essentials of his system. Beginning with his very unique grip on the knife, which is the reverse grip. The first time I saw it I thought it was odd, since one gets the impression that most of the knife blade is directed at your own body. But Ray Floro quickly shows the effectiveness of this kind of grip. He doesn't use any slashing or circular motions in any of his attacks, but only straight linear thrusts. This gives the fastest attack possible, since a line will always be shorter than a curve. As it turns out, the reverse grip is almost perfect for this kind of attack. He also introduces a strong, basic knife block in what he calls the "clap block", which forms a strong triangular shield of the arms to protect the face.
In lesson two Ray Floro also shows us an amazing innovation, of still being able to do a slash attack just with the linear motion given in lesson one. All it takes is pressing three of the fingers in the middle of an attack. This further showcases the advantages of the reverse grip since you can actually hook slash the inner arm of your opponent. Ray Floro also introduces variations of defences and blocks using this slash knife movement. At the very last part he introduces the lunging footwork which he adopted almost exclusively from fencing. Coupled with the linear attack thrust of the knife, this linear footwork makes for one of the fastest attacks I've ever seen in martial arts.
Lesson three sort of changes the rhythm a little bit, focusing now on basic unarmed defences. I think this is a great component for the video course, and is what will make it useful for the ordinary unarmed civilian. The "universal shield" is something you can teach to almost anyone, and takes advantage of the flinch response that people have when attacked by surprise. It just needs to be practiced for several weeks to commit it to muscle memory. The more advanced unarmed defense, which is a latch-on variation of the universal block, is definitely harder to do. But Ray Floro clearly shows its advantages, such as when the opponent pins you to a wall and starts stabbing you in the stomach.
Lesson four covers an element which I think few martial arts really deal with in their curriculum, faking and deceiving the opponent. It's such a shame, because fakes often come out during sparring sessions, and also in real life fights. The Floro Fighting System has clear theories in this area. One of the simplest and yet most startling techniques is "the stare" which uses the opponent's tendency to look at your eyes, and use it against him. I think the stare technique plus the non-telegraphic strikes of Ray Floro make his system one of the most unpredictable fighting systems out there. You just can't anticipate what the person will throw at you, because deceiving is part of the very system itself.
The fifth lesson gives some of the advanced concepts of the system, such as the pivot leg movement which completely evades a lunging knife attack, useful when you're facing an experienced FFS fighter. Ray Floro also introduces an elbow and forearm jam which resembles some moves in Wing Chun. And finally my favorite is the shuffling legwork he uses to close very long distances. If I might add, it confuses the enemy too. It's like a faking motion with the legs.
To conclude, I think the Ray Floro Fighting System is really one of the best knife fighting systems out there. You just won't find this kind of simplicity and honest in any other knife system. Others make things much too elaborate to be practical, while others make it too brutal and strength-based to be useful for ordinary people. I highly recommend this video course.
In video lesson one Ray Floro starts with the essentials of his system. Beginning with his very unique grip on the knife, which is the reverse grip. The first time I saw it I thought it was odd, since one gets the impression that most of the knife blade is directed at your own body. But Ray Floro quickly shows the effectiveness of this kind of grip. He doesn't use any slashing or circular motions in any of his attacks, but only straight linear thrusts. This gives the fastest attack possible, since a line will always be shorter than a curve. As it turns out, the reverse grip is almost perfect for this kind of attack. He also introduces a strong, basic knife block in what he calls the "clap block", which forms a strong triangular shield of the arms to protect the face.
In lesson two Ray Floro also shows us an amazing innovation, of still being able to do a slash attack just with the linear motion given in lesson one. All it takes is pressing three of the fingers in the middle of an attack. This further showcases the advantages of the reverse grip since you can actually hook slash the inner arm of your opponent. Ray Floro also introduces variations of defences and blocks using this slash knife movement. At the very last part he introduces the lunging footwork which he adopted almost exclusively from fencing. Coupled with the linear attack thrust of the knife, this linear footwork makes for one of the fastest attacks I've ever seen in martial arts.
Lesson three sort of changes the rhythm a little bit, focusing now on basic unarmed defences. I think this is a great component for the video course, and is what will make it useful for the ordinary unarmed civilian. The "universal shield" is something you can teach to almost anyone, and takes advantage of the flinch response that people have when attacked by surprise. It just needs to be practiced for several weeks to commit it to muscle memory. The more advanced unarmed defense, which is a latch-on variation of the universal block, is definitely harder to do. But Ray Floro clearly shows its advantages, such as when the opponent pins you to a wall and starts stabbing you in the stomach.
Lesson four covers an element which I think few martial arts really deal with in their curriculum, faking and deceiving the opponent. It's such a shame, because fakes often come out during sparring sessions, and also in real life fights. The Floro Fighting System has clear theories in this area. One of the simplest and yet most startling techniques is "the stare" which uses the opponent's tendency to look at your eyes, and use it against him. I think the stare technique plus the non-telegraphic strikes of Ray Floro make his system one of the most unpredictable fighting systems out there. You just can't anticipate what the person will throw at you, because deceiving is part of the very system itself.
The fifth lesson gives some of the advanced concepts of the system, such as the pivot leg movement which completely evades a lunging knife attack, useful when you're facing an experienced FFS fighter. Ray Floro also introduces an elbow and forearm jam which resembles some moves in Wing Chun. And finally my favorite is the shuffling legwork he uses to close very long distances. If I might add, it confuses the enemy too. It's like a faking motion with the legs.
To conclude, I think the Ray Floro Fighting System is really one of the best knife fighting systems out there. You just won't find this kind of simplicity and honest in any other knife system. Others make things much too elaborate to be practical, while others make it too brutal and strength-based to be useful for ordinary people. I highly recommend this video course.
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