While we primarily practice Matsubayashi Shorin-ryu Karate-do and Kobudo which originate from Okinawa, we also practice some Filipino stick fighting Escrima. Escrima helps develop speed, flow and reactions which also help improve your Karate and Kobudo abilities. This great book can help!
In the above video, Master JC Cabiero introduces the 12 Strikes of Escrima that form the foundation of the Cabales Serrada Escrima Filipino stick fighting system. JC Cabiero received many years of private training with the late Great Grandmaster Guru Angel Cabales, the founder of Cabales Serrada Escrima. He took it upon himself to document much of what he learned from Grandmaster Cabales by writing a book, creating videos and giving seminars. Master Cabiero wrote The Pure Art of Cabales Serrada Escrima in order to record and pass down the art he learned in as pure and unaltered a form as possible.

Because of my love and dedication to the Father of Escrima, and out of my concern that the art be maintained in its purity, I have taken full responsibility for promoting Cabales Serrada ng Escrima in its purity. Grandmaster Angel Cabales started promoting his art in 1966 and he has given everything he had for this quest, including molding and developing my fighting skills to closely equal his own. And with his agreement to teach me his fighting art of Cabales Serrada ng Escrima back in 1972, came also my obligation to promote and maintain the purity of his art forever. This I realized was the payment I had to give, but I also realized that it was a very small price to pay for what I had been given.
– Master J.C. Cabiero, The Pure Art of Cabales Serrada Escrima
This inspirational book begins by delving into the formation of Cabales Serrada Escrima by tracing its lineage from current Master JC Cabiero back through his teacher, Great Grandmaster Angel Cabales, to his teacher, the heroic Escrimador Feliscimo Dizon. He recounts the fascinating legends of Feliscimo Dizon’s trials including the cave of doom, cave death matches, the hermit escrimador and the blind moro princess.
Training in the art of “no vision” fighting was done at night in the deepest of all caves, with very little rest in-between practice sessions. Month after month, training continued non-stop. From this training Feliscimo discovered and learned about angles of attack he had never before seen. In time he developed the ability to sense movement in total darkness. Ultimately, he got to the point where he could feel the opponent’s direction of attack and block all blows within just inches of his own body.
– Master J.C. Cabiero, The Pure Art of Cabales Serrada Escrima
The bulk of the large-format 237 page book is packed full of over 300 original photos of Master JC Cabiero showing step by step break downs of many Cabales Serrada Escrima techniques. Some of the techniques include all 12 Angle Strikes of Escrima (as seen in the above video), the 36 Counters to the 12 Angle Strikes, Cincotero, De Cadena Flow, Basic Lock and Block, Basic Sparring and some advanced training. The myriad photos are large and easy to follow. The step by step descriptions are detailed and thorough enough to clearly convey the basic execution of the techniques.
Below is a sample page of photos showing the breakdown for strike #10.

Order a Signed Copy of The Pure Art of Cabales Serrada Escrima Directly from Master JC Cabiero
I had tried to purchase this great book before, but whenever I looked it up on Amazon it was always out of stock because the book is long out of print. The only used copies available were always listed for very high prices due to the scarcity and demand for the book. Fortunately, upon further research, I found that the author has a final batch of books that he is currently selling directly from his Facebook page. [Note: We’re no longer on Facebook. We have moved to MeWe, Gab, Minds, and CloutHub instead. But we temporarily jumped on the old account to take advantage of this special offer.] He is charging a very reasonable amount, includes an autographed copy of the book and even free shipping. I had first ordered a more widely available book on Cabales Serrada Escrima, but this book by JC Cabiero has much larger, easier to view, photos, many more photos and much more detail about how to perform many of the techniques.
Every martial artist with an interest in Escrima should grab a copy of this book while they are still available. They won’t last long!
Enjoy!

The Legacy of Great Grandmaster Guru Angel Cabales – The Bio
In researching this escrima system I came across the following video bio of the late great grandmaster guru Angel Cabales, founder of the Cabales Serrada Escrima Filipino stick fighting system. The video is a tribute to the grand master by one of his high level students, Maha Guru SGMD, who received seven years of private training with grand master Cabales. The video provides an inspirational look into the background of the “Father of Escrima,” and his Cabales Serrada Escrima system.
The Legacy of Great Grand Master Guru Angel Cabales – The Bio
Featuring: Maha Guru SGMD
A Seven Years Private Graduate Instructor of the Legendary ‘Stick/Knife Fighter’ Great Grandmaster Guru Angel Cabales.In 1987, at the “White Tiger Kenpo Karate School” located in Oakland, California, Great Grand Master Guru Angel Cabales, presented one of his last historical Serrada Escrima seminars. This video-documentary is a dialogue breakdown of this Feb. 21, 1987, Angel Cabales Seminar.
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Why Karate Might Be Filipino Martial Arts (Kali)
Jesse EnKamp noticed that a common Okinawan karate drill, is very similar to the Hubud drill used in Filipino stick/knife fighting, Kali. In the below video Jesse explores the similarities and wonders if Okinawan karate may have inherited more from Filipino stick fighting than is commonly acknowledged. Learning some Filipino stick fighting, Escrima, Kali or Arnis, can greatly improve your speed, flow and reactions in Karate.

We Practice the 12 Blows of Escrima from JC’s Book in Our Kobudo Program
Download the 22 Strikes of Escrima reference sheet PDF
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-Renshi Mike Scaramozzino
Great article and videos. I just ordered the book using the info provided on the Facebook page. I also have the book “Filipino Stick Fighting Techniques, The Essential Techniques of Cabales Serrada Escrima” by Mark V Wiley. It will be interesting to compare and contrast the 2 books. Both JC Cabiero and Mark Wiley were Master graduates of Angel Cabales’ academy.
Arigato! Yes JC’s videos are great. There are more on the web. I’ll post more when I get back around to make more posts about Escrima. [I’m currently working on the next in the Still Mind Martial Arts Masters Series. I’m scheduled to shoot a video interview with Hanshi Bernard next week. Stay tuned!] I ordered one of Wiley’s books (The Secrets of Cabales Serrada Escrima) initially thinking it was this one I was looking for. It looked good too. I read the beginning to compare the history/legends mentioned in both. The rest didn’t seem as focused or detailed on the techniques as JC’s book was. Also the format and photos of JC’s book were larger, more numerous, clearer to see and better broken down. In the book JC writes about a falling out between Angel’s top students who wanted to change his teachings and started their own association. It would be interesting to know which side Wiley fell on in that regard. JC said he stuck with Angel and wrote this book to document and present the “pure art.”
Great book for long time has been my bible of CSE ! JC is fantastic teaching it , demo is awesome! Great pic and details
Yes, the book is great! The technique breakdowns with descriptions and photos are great. It’s a great resource for anyone studying escrima and of course especially Cabales Serrada Escrima!