Cabales Serrada Escrima

Angel Cabales (1917–1991) was born in the Philippines and is commonly described as coming from the province of Antique on the island of Panay, in the Visayas. He is widely credited with learning his close-range art from the eskrimador Felicisimo Dizon.

Like many Filipinos of his generation he later settled in Stockton, California, home to one of the largest Filipino communities in the United States. For decades eskrima was taught there privately, inside families and among trusted friends.

In 1966 Angel Cabales opened a school that is widely regarded as the first public eskrima academy in the United States. By teaching openly he helped bring the Filipino martial arts to students of every background — which is why he is often called the “father of eskrima in America”.

His students, among them his son Vincent Cabales, carried the system forward after his death in 1991. Today the Cabales lineage is practised in clubs around the world.

The name comes from the Spanish cerrada, “closed”. Serrada fights at close range: the practitioner steps in, closes the line of attack and keeps the opponent's weapon under control instead of trading blows from a distance.

• Economy of motion — short, direct movements; the stick rarely travels further than needed.
• Angles of attack — strikes and thrusts are trained as a structured set of numbered angles, each with its defensive answer.
• Checking hand — the empty hand constantly checks, pushes and traps the opponent's weapon arm.
• A shorter stick than many long-range styles, suited to fighting inside.
• Counter-for-counter drills in which partners flow from attack to defence and back without stopping.

In the Filipino martial arts the weapon is an extension of the hand. The angles learned with the stick (baston) are the same angles used with the sword (espada), the dagger (daga) and the empty hand (mano-mano). Training usually begins with the single stick — solo baston — and continues with espada y daga, stick and dagger together.

Because the stick stands in for the blade, the sport and training forms of eskrima keep the lessons of the historic weapons while using rattan sticks and protective equipment for safety.

Grandmaster Anthony Davis — known throughout the Serrada community as “Grandmaster D” and by the title Maha Guru — is the founder of the United World Serrada Escrima Federation and the principal heir of the Cabales Serrada tradition outside Stockton.

Early training

He began martial arts at the age of 15. His first instructors were John K. Wong (Tai Chi Chuan), Jesse Lopez (boxing) and Phil Cornin (Kajukenbo). Over more than 45 years he studied Kajukenbo, Chinese Kempo, Thai boxing, Tai Chi Chuan, Western boxing, Kali and Serrada Escrima.

With Angel Cabales

In 1984 Supreme Grandmaster Angel Cabales personally invited him to train in Stockton, California. Davis later merged the Cabales teachings with the Filipino Kali/Escrima Association, and it was through him that Graciela Casillas began her formal training with Cabales in 1986–1987. On 3 June 1990 he recorded a special interview with Cabales at his home — one of the last documented conversations with the founder.

Davis/Cabales Serrada System

Davis developed an eclectic combat style that blends Cabales Serrada Escrima with his decades of experience in other arts. At its heart is “Presence of Mind” — the ability to respond spontaneously and intelligently under pressure. As the Davis/Cabales Serrada System of Escrima it has spread to many countries.

In 2003 he founded the federation with Professor Leo T. Fong.

Full biography, timeline and lineage →

The line of Cabales Serrada Escrima goes back to Senior Grand Master Felicisimo Dizon, known as “Dequerdas”. His student Angel O. Cabales brought the art to Stockton, California, and trained the students who carry it on today, among them:

• Grandmaster Anthony Davis (Grandmaster D)
• GM Graciela Casillas
• Professor Sultan Uddin
• Master Jerry Preciado

Angel Cabales encouraged his students to find their own way within the art: “Any student whose primary focus is to be a carbon copy of his teacher is doing themselves a disservice.”

The federation was founded in 2003 by Grandmaster Anthony Davis and Professor Leo T. Fong. Its mission is to preserve the combative, scientific, philosophical and spiritual applications of Great Grandmaster Angel Cabales' Serrada system.

Professor Leo T. Fong, a student of both Bruce Lee and Angel Cabales, incorporated the Cabales system into his own art, Wei Kuen Do.

Guru Michael Schwarz serves as president for the Midwest and East Coast. He began Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido in 1979 under Master Changhee Jhoon, holds a 6th-degree black belt in American Tang Soo Do and sits on the boards of the WMAF and WMAU.