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VSCK Membership
Get access to all of the curriculum courses, including the Pendulum, single and double baston, pinuti, larga mano, pangamot, sikaran, and much more! Learn at your own pace with video-on-demand courses. You’ll have access to the instructor, monthly seminars, in-person classes and more.
One time drop-in class.
Teaching methodology
Fighting is messy and chaotic. As your trainer, I help you see what is happening, teach you the skills to fight, and coach you to transfer those skills into live applications.
The Rooted School Curriculum Path
Each stage of training is more than technique — it is a step in becoming a caretaker of Visayan Style Corto Kadena Larga Mano Eskrima, Maestro Sonny Umpad’s living art. Through this path, students deepen cultural identity, strengthen wellness, and grow in skill. Fight IQ develops progressively — from awareness to embodiment — always grounded in rhythm, responsibility, and community.
Level 1 — Initiate
You are an Initiate of VSCK, entering the practice for the first time. This stage is about orientation and awareness: noticing how strikes move, how rhythm feels, and how training connects you to Filipino culture. The focus is grounding — in body, identity, and community. Fighting skill and fitness are introduced gently, supporting wellness and confidence.
Level 2 — Steward
As a Steward, you begin to take responsibility for your training. Awareness turns into application: you act with intention, striking and defending with flow. The goal is to build consistency, confidence, and rhythm while deepening cultural practice. Wellness grows through stronger movement, and fighting skill begins to take shape.
Level 3 — Custodian
As a Custodian of VSCK, you adapt. Training becomes more alive — you make choices, change tactics, and respond with creativity. The goal is adaptation: learning to adjust without losing flow, developing resilience, and carrying the art with care. Fighting skill and fitness naturally grow as your ability to adjust strengthens both mind and body.
Level 4 — Guardian
As a Guardian, you practice control — not only of range, timing, angle, and pace, but also of your responsibility to others. You set rhythm, create openings, and support the growth of newer students. The goal is control: guiding exchanges, protecting the art, and refining your discipline. Fighting ability sharpens, but so does your role as cultural protector.
Level 5 — Keeper
As a Keeper of VSCK, you embody the art fully. The flows merge, choices feel natural, and the practice becomes part of who you are. The goal is embodiment: living the art as identity, culture, and wellness — ready to pass it forward with integrity. Fighter skill, fitness, and flow are fully integrated, but they exist in service of something deeper.
You can purchase individual courses if you’re not ready to commit to a membership. For absolute beginners to FMA and martial arts in general, I highly suggest receiving guidance from a membership. If you’re more advanced and want to learn specific VSCK concepts to add to your fight game, these courses are perfect.
The stretches are intended to warm you up and, more importantly, teach you to evade, get off the centerline, and take an angle. The stretches and postures will also get your body acclimated to the various body angulations used in VSCK.
The Pendulum is the oscillation of forward and backward movement. Cooperatively recycling your entries and exits. Learning timing and range. Learning on to be on beat so we can later break the beat. All of our training mounts onto The Pendulum. You can do the Pendulum with or without a partner
The single baston 1 class will cover the basic 5 strikes and blocks we primarily use in the system. We'll also show you the footwork, how to move with your strikes, and how to evade. The focus here will be on mechanics and precision, not power and speed just yet. At the end of the class, you will be able to trade strikes and apply blocks.
Swordplay
Larga Mano 1
Pangamot
