About Our Valencia Eskrima Program
MDI's
Valencia Lameco Eskrima
(VLE) program is a
comprehensive combat system
utilizing long, medium and short range tactics from the
Felix Valencia Lameco Eskrima System.
The tactics in this system have been used successfully on the
streets by both law enforcement and military personnel and in the
famous Dog Brothers full combat knife fighting tournaments by both
Felix Valencia and a number of his students.
Our
VLE program
covers
all ranges
of combat equally, whereas some arts specialize in close range
(wrestling, Jujitsu, Wing Chun), or long range (Tae Kwon Do, Sport
Karate). Unlike some systems that focus exclusively on unarmed
self-defense techniques (for example, Judo, Sport Karate,
Kickboxing or weaponry), our students learn to interchange
empty hand
and
weaponry
techniques depending on the situation and circumstance.
As a result, a VLE student is just as capable wielding a weapon as
he is when unarmed.
Course Description
MDI's VLE
program is modeled after
Guru
Felix Valencia's
system of
Valencia Lameco Eskrima
and is based on three major areas of study:
- Long Range (kicks)
- Medium Range (hand strikes and kicks)
- Close Range (knees and elbows)
- grappling techniques
- joint cranks/wrenches
- takedowns
- chokes
- sweeps
- throws
- pressure point strikes
Brief History
Lameco Eskrima
Lameco Eskrima
is a contemporary fighting art developed by the late
Edgar G. Sulite. It is composed of eleven Filipino martial arts,
of which the major systems are: De Campo Uno-Dos-Tres Orenehal
(from Jose Caballero), Kalis Ilustrisimo (from Melecio and Antonio
Ilustrisimo), Moderno Largos (from Jesus Abella), Pekiti Tersia
(from Conrado Tortal and Leo Gaje) and the Sulite family system
(from Luis Sulite). As an underlying philosophy, the system embraces
the "flow of nature," the "intergration of mind, body and spirit,"
and technique principles for the three main regions in the Philippines
(Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao).
The term "Lameco" is derived from the first syllables of the three
fighting ranges: la for largo or long range, me for medio or medium
range, and co for corto or close range. The combat strategies
employed in Lameco Eskrima are likewise applied in terms of their
ranges.
The Lameco system is Punong Guru Sulite's distillation of techniques
and theories from the above-mentioned styles, tempered by his years
of experience as a student, fighter, and teacher.
Valencia Lameco Eskrima
Valencia Lameco Eskrima
is the interpretation of the Lameco system
by Guru Felix Valencia. Guru Felix was one of PG Edgar's exclusive
core group of students and he is recognized in the weapons fighting
community as one of the leading experts in edged weapons training.
Felix has been referred by some, as the most respected
"street fighting blade man" on the planet. Felix has trained in a
variety of martial disciplines including: Indonesian Silat, Jujitsu,
Muay Thai, Hawaiian Lua, Shooto and a variety of Filipino Eskrima and
Arnis systems including Edgar Sulite's Lameco Eskrima.
In his
twenties, Felix became known as "Edgar's Brawler" in full contact
knife/stick matches. Felix is undefeated in the famous Dog Brothers
full contact stick/knife fighting matches. Now retired from fighting,
Felix continues to train fighters for full contact fights and recently
two of his students fought at the Dog Brothers match and were undefeated.
Felix is also a two time inductee into the Filipino Martial Arts Hall
of Fame and was recently inducted into the Karate Martial Arts Hall
of Fame. He is the founder of "Defensive Edge" which is an
organization dedicated to training law enforcement and civilian
personnel in high risk positions (pilots, security screeners and
other non-enforcement personnel) in defensive techniques from edged
weapons.
With his vast knowledge of a variety of systems and first hand
experience at real life applications, Guru Felix has chosen the
most street applicable systems of thought, techniques and
philosophies to comprise Valencia Lameco Eskrima. Valencia Lameco
Eskrima utilizes a volatile arsenal of techniques that allow the
practitioner to flow without interruption between various ranges of
combat and be effective in both armed and unarmed conflicts. The
effectiveness of Valencia Lameco Eskrima has been recognized and
embraced by both the military and law enforcement communities.
Felix has become known in the military and law enforcement agencies as one
of the premier, most sought after instructors in close quarters
weapons instruction. Felix has trained some of America's elite,
including CIA, FBI, U.S. Marshalls, LAPD, SWAT and numerous other
agencies around the country. He is a certified Close Quarters Battle
instructor with the Police Combative Training Academy in Arizona.
In addition, Felix has taught at a number of tactical weapon
schools, including the FARM in Utah, Blackwater in North Carolina,
Frontsight in Nevada and HALO in California. As a result of this,
Guru Felix has become one of the few martial artists to earn a
reputation in both the martial arts and law enforcement communities
as one of the most versatile and effective martial artists alive.