The Tim Waid seminar May 15-16 in Berkeley was a resounding success.

Students from San Francisco, San Jose, Berkeley and as far as Seattle WA were in attendance. There were also representatives from several Bay Area Law Enforcement Agencies.

This is the 2nd time PTKSF has hosted Tim in Berkeley. Last June at our very first seminar we had 9 people, this time there was almost triple that number. I’m pretty happy with that kind of growth. People are starting to find out about us.

I’d like to offer a very special thanks to Ralph Gracie, Big Dave, Pete, and Eduardo for use of their world class training facility - Ralph Gracie Berkeley Academy.

For this seminar Tim expanded on areas introduced at previous seminars - the 5 attacks method which emphasizes fast fluid footwork and proper striking mechanics. Expanding on that knowledge Tim offered insights into set ups and introduced the Contradas system to seminar participants.

Next up was a 5 attacks drill with the knife using a hockey mitt as a target to explore the concepts of Tirsia Largo - attacking the mitted hand with contact at distance and Tirsia Corto - closing the distance and jamming the attack by trapping the arm at close quarters. Note the lack of a Tirsia Medio - medium range is where the opponent has a chance to attack you as well. A strategy in PTK is to stay at long range and use distance or blast through medium range to control the fight from close quarters with trapping and locking.

Pekiti Tirsia is know for it’s close quarters blade fighting. A foundation set of movements for close quarters is the Mano y Daga lock flow - emphasizing realism and flowing out of the resistance or counter of one lock into the next. Several blade reversals or ‘return to sender’ techniques were part of this flow as well. This lock flow provides a solid vocabulary of locking. More importantly this method shows how to use the resistance of one lock to help flow into the next.

The difference in the Filipino locking from most martial arts that use locking is in the emphasis on the flow/transition from one lock to another. As any good grappler will tell you you have to be able to flow from one move to another. It’s the same thing when you are grappling standing up against a knife. If you can’t flow from one lock to another against a strong, resisting opponent you got nothing.

Tim passes on the details of the Pekiti Tirsia system, the intellectual property that was given to him by Grand Tuhon Gaje in the Philippines. PTK is a complete Filipino Blade Fighting system developed by Grand Tuhon’s ancestors through countless real life blade encounters. This is the warrior art Grand Tuhon Gaje was trained in from childhood by his grandfather Conrado Tortal. The art has resisted commercialization and remains a true combat fighting art.

Here are some testimonials of students who attended the May 15/16 seminar.

“Excellent seminar. Tim Waid’s style of teaching is clear, succinct, and very dynamic. I came away with much to think about and a lot of material to practice. I also enjoyed Tims sense of humor.”

“I have been training in martial arts for over fifteen years, and when one experiences simplicity and clear application of technique it is always a blessing. Tim Waid is truly amazing in openly sharing his vast knowledge and experience to empower you with knowledge that may just save your life.”

“This is the second Tim Waid seminar I’ve attended and it was just as awesome as the first. I personally feel he’s an excellent instructor in PTK; he’s patient and exacting, making sure you understand the techniques and its applications before going further. Maginoo Tim Waid goes around and personally does partner drills with everyone and stays with you until you got it before moving to help another student, which to me is pretty amazing because it was a really large group.

We count ourselves very fortunate to have an PTK combat instructor like Maginoo Tim to come and teach this seminar in the Bay area. The same intensity in training can be found regularly in Mike’s classes. I highly recommend anyone who can make it to attend his classes as well.

Pekiti Tirsia Kali is not sport… it is lethal and efficient combat.”

Thanks to Jenn for taking the time to shoot pictures of the seminar - I will post them to the photo album soon.

Thanks again for everyone who was able to make it to the seminar. If you couldn’t make it - don’t worry Tim will be back a couple times next year.. And we have Grand Tuhon coming up in August - which I’m about to post..

The rest of the pictures can be found here.