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The Latosa Weapon System Escrima |
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 The philosophy behind the Latosa Escrima system is very simple; the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. For example, a technique does not work by itself unless combined with the concepts of balance, power, speed, focus, timing, and attitude. When combining these elements, the outcome or whole is far more effective then what would normally be the sum of the parts.
This is the reason techniques, as practiced in the system, are only tools used to understand, accept and retain these ideas. The number of different techniques mastered by an individual does not increase his level of competence in this system. Techniques are only practiced moves until combined with the proper fighting concepts.
The ultimate goal of the martial arts is to make your mental, physical and technical skills work as one. The goal of Latosa Escrima is to do this while producing a quality Escrimador who can think creatively and react responsively rather than giving people information overload. Escrima was the original name used under the flag of the Philippine Martial Arts Society. The name changed to Combat Escrima as the system was influenced by the concept of using power and combat reality. Combat Escrima relied on a single goal; winning. This goal proved to be a very valuable asset.
The intimidation factor of the name "Combat Escrima" was something the students felt they had to defend. However, just the goal of winning actually proved limiting in the progression of the system and future instructors. PMAS produced excellent fighters and world champions but failed to produce very many well-rounded instructors. PMAS had the box recipe for producing competent fighters but failed to isolate the individual ingredients that make up the end product. Latosa spent his time developing training methods used to understand the reasoning behind the techniques and isolating the concepts of Escrima.
Present Focus
In the early stages of developing Latosa's Escrima Concepts, the movements or techniques were considered key, and the idea of using concepts was secondary. This early stage of the Latosa's Escrima Concepts was effective and contributed to the fighting reputation of Rene's students. However effective the system seemed, Escrima Concepts, was not complete. There was a missing element that distinguishes the Filipino art from the other martial arts. It was not the techniques that set apart the Filipino arts since most systems utilize techniques. It was not the ability to change from empty hand to sticks. What exactly was it? This search for the answer became the driving force in the developing of Escrima Concepts. The answer was the fighting concepts, and how they play an equal role in the effectiveness of the Filipino martial arts. As the concepts of power hitting, blocking hard, balance, and attitude, became more dominant, the system developed a new focus. Rene restructured his technique drills to impart the importance of concepts.
The basic principles of the system rest within the concepts of balance, speed (timing and distance), power, focus, and transition. The bare bone of the systems techniques is known as the box. The box system consists of five interrelated movements, not blocks, but offensive and defensive movements. These movements may seem as if they fall into the definition of blocks, but they actually are interference strikes. The idea is to understand the movements of a technique then relate this to every concept studied in Latosa's Escrima Concepts. With only five main movements the approach is simple yet the variety is endless.
A person must understand the various risks in thinking in "perfect world" terms; hit me here and hit me perfectly. Through years of teaching, testing and developing fighting concepts, Rene has always been a firm believer in "using what works" in real life situations. It is very important to feel positive and confident that your knowledge will prove to be an advantage in a real situation.
Conclusion
 Latosa, as an instructor was never one to hide or refrain from teaching what he had learned or developed. There are no secrets, nor any hidden agendas in LATOSA ESCRIMA. He believes that if one person holds back information, and the next person he teaches holds back information, eventually there will be nothing substantial left to teach. Rene feels that the idea to hold back information has to do with an instructor's insecurity. The instructor would always have something to use against his student. The students of LATOSA ESCRIMA strive for creativity, innovation and working hard. LATOSA ESCRIMA shall always be in the constant state of development. As long as students continue to learn quality LATOSA ESCRIMA, the system will continue to develop. It's a progressive, challenging and adaptive system. The simple approach of learning conceptually will help the Filipino martial arts produce top Escrimadors for the future.
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