Andrew and Eric founded Seattle Escrima Club in 2008. Both had long histories in the martial arts, and both felt that Rene Latosa’s Escrima concepts provided the best foundation upon which to start a new training group. We agreed on the following principles for the new club:
- Rene Latosa is our inspiration and guide. We teach his concepts.
- We teach only what works. Latosa’s practice is grounded in reality.
- We are adults and as such, expect mature, adult behavior from our participants.
- We are style- and org-neutral. As an independent and local Seattle training group, we welcome potential members from any style or organization. We are open to assimilating information from any source.
- We are non-profit.
- We follow a coaching model of teaching. In this model, the coach provides 1) the expectation that participants will work; 2) a mix of simple, structured activities to help build specific skills; 3) actionable feedback; and 4) encouragement.
- We are beginner-friendly but provide an environment in which fighters training for competition can gain useful skills.
- We do not award ranks, buy in to or ask our members to buy into any authoritarian hierarchy, or have a formalized curriculum of specific forms, techniques or levels.