The KUNTAO System

KUNTAO is a Southern Chinese term literally translated as “way of the fist”, or “fighting art.”

KUNTAO is a martial arts system dating back to the Southern Shaolin Temple of Ancient China. Through trade it migrated through Indonesia and later into Mindanao [Philippines].

Our system of KUNTAO is based on Traditional Wing Chun kung fu and Filipino Kali. Wing Chun was the only martial art system created by the five Grandmasters of the Shaolin Temple some three centuries ago and Kali is an ancient martial art of the Philippine Islands.

KUNTAO is a complete system which covers all aspects of combat from hand and foot techniques to ground fighting to pressure points to weapons.

Our KUNTAO system also has elements of Indonesian Silat and Spanish sword.

STEP 1 Fundamentals: New students are brought through an educational process that involves the development of the mind and body. A curriculum is given to a new student which explains the KUNTAO System from Level 1 thru Level 10. Through this curriculum and special instruction time with instructors the student learns the foundation principles and physical movements of the system. Over a 2-3 week period the new student is slowly integrated into the general class where they are always paired with a student two levels higher than their status.

In this phase the student will learn Levels 1 & 2 which includes:

Correct warm up and flexibility.

Basic hand and foot techniques.

Basic Stick and Knife techniques.

Correct body movement [Zoning].

Coordination through key drills.

Wing Chun Sil Lum Dao form and dynamic application of basic Si Lum Dao techniques.

12 Angles of Attack and Defense.

Physical conditioning training to strengthen the endurance, core and limbs of the student.

Basics of Self-defense.

Basic Mandarin and Tagalog languages

History of the Wing Chun and Kali systems.

STEP 2 Intermediate: The student is now ready at this phase to dramatically improve speed, coordination and endurance.

At this phase the student will learn Levels 3 to 5 which include:

Application of Intermediate techniques from the Si Lum Dao form.

Application of Wing Chun Wooden Man.

Pressure point use.

Weapons disarming.

Chin Na [Seize and control tactics].

Improvement of coordination through the use of multiple weapons.

Improvement of speed and agility.

Self-defense against weapons.

STEP 3 Advanced: At this phase in the student’s development complex multi attack drills are used to increase speed and agility. Endurance is now improved through extensive body conditioning.

The student now moves into Levels 6 to 9 which include:

Sparring [empty hand and with weapons].

Advanced Weapons disarming.

Self-defense against multiple attackers.

Advanced Chin Na.

GURO Level 10: At this phase of development the student has been chosen to be an Apprentice Instructor at the Intermediate or Advanced stages. Level 10 when passed bestows on the student the title of Guro [Teacher / Instructor].

This test challenges the students mind and body through a lengthy testing process which involves a written essay, sparring / techniques demonstration session and demonstration of teaching ability.

Once the student has completed this process they are officially a First Level teacher [Guro] under MG – Sifu Dale Yeager.

The student then begins the journey to MATAW GURO which has 9 more levels.

TESTING: Students of KUNTAO are tested 3 times per year. Tests are done in small groups. This allows for support of the student as they learn about their skills during the testing process.

KUNTAO is under the supervision of Master Keith Mazza