Guazabara Edged Weapon Defense

Guazabara is a 21st century martial art system with origins in the pre-Columbian Caribbean islands. Introduced as a modern martial art by chief instructor Maestro Edgardo Perez, Guazabara is a dynamic weapons based combative system that is genuinely unparalleled. Its conception and development are rooted in the study of the Caribbean Taino Indians and their combat tactics.  The art of Guazabara is a hybrid system that combines elements of the Puerto Rican Taino Manya (axe), Macana (club), Daga (short Knife) and Jibaro (machetes), influences from Police close quarter battle (CQB) tactics and Kali stick work along with several components of Hapkido itself.

Although Taino indigenous peoples were known for their peaceful nature, they were also warriors who fought to protect their nation.  Particularly, Puerto Rican Tainos were the most warlike because of their proximity to the fierce Carib Indians who occupied the islands of the Lesser Antilles and Vieques.Indeed, the indigenous name of Puerto Rico is Borikén, which means “the land of the valiant and noble lord”.  Historical records clearly indicate that Tainos preferred to fight in close quarters.  Accounts of man-to-man combat detail that Tainos were exceptional and tenacious fighters often heard shouting the war cry "guazabara" in battle.  

During the conquest of the Caribbean, the Taino believed the outsiders to be gods! Once it was realized that they were human beings like themselves these warriors valiantly fought the outsiders with their inferior weapons, but ultimately, were defeated due to overwhelming force and decease brought by the outsiders.  Nevertheless, their warrior spirit and close quarter battle tactics remain as relevant today as they did 500 years ago.  

Nobody wants to be faced with a situation that requires going head to head in a knife fight. As we teach in all of our classes including in our Innocent Warriors© self defense seminar series, no matter how well trained in edged weaponry fighting techniques a person is, avoidance of such a scenario is first priority. If you do come face to face with someone wielding a knife then you should always value life over property and give the attacker what they demand given it is possible. It is only when they demand something that cannot be given does dealing with the situation head on come into play. For most people, defense is just not possible as they have not been trained in how to handle someone with a knife and physical assault, rape, and even death cannot be stopped. 

Guazabara training begins with stick work to get the student used to handling a weapon. Various exercises and disarmament techniques are taught right from the start of your training. Training then progresses to edged weapon defense with the student working both with a weapon and with "Empty Hands". Again, in an attack situation your primary objective is to remove yourself from the situation unharmed or at least sustaining minimal damage while doing so. We train for the purpose of understanding the dynamics of edged weapon defense and offense.  This takes situational awareness, having a detailed understanding of anatomy and keeping a clear head in order to make the best decisions possible in a conflict. Guazabara is one of the few systems that takes this approach to survival on the street..

For a real world example of Guazabara in action, check out this Article on our blog.

A quote from one of our female Guazabara students..."As a strong believer in women’s self defense, I enrolled in Guazabara as a way to expand my knowledge.  I was at first  feeling completely out of my element but through great instruction in technique and with practice am learning to overcome this challenge. This class is empowering and a fun and exciting way to practice physical and mental defense."