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This most basic information must be determined in an instant when an attack is imminent. In the event of a conflict, even if no weapon has been deployed, you must always assume one could be. You can also assume that if they do deploy a weapon, they will keep it out of view so as to maintain the surprise factor for the assault (unlikie in the movies). When they strike it will be violent and fast with no warning.

When someone attacks another person with a knife, he has all his focus on planting that weapon into his target as quickly as possible. Self-defense styles that require specific set-up scenarios for an attack make the defense of this situation seem relatively straight forward on the mat, but in reality, dangerous situations like this are never straight forward. If all you do is block the swing or manage to grab the arm wielding the knife, his focus on stabbing you hasn’t changed and he will continue until one of you is incapacitated.

• Do you know that an assailant has a weapon and if so what type is it (gun, knife, club, machete, etc.)
• Has the weapon been deployed?
• What distance is your attacker?
• Can you successfully negotiate (e.g. give them what they want) with or outrun them?
• Do you have a weapon, can you successfully deploy it and should you?
• Do you know the strategic target points on the body that will stop the attack?

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."

Gauzabara is a culmination of a lifelong study by founder Maestro Edgardo Perez of how pre-Columbian warriors dealt with edged weapon attacks. 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. Historical records clearly indicate that Tainos preferred to fight in close quarters.  Accounts of man-to-man combat detail that Tainos were exceptionally talented and tenacious fighters often heard shouting the war cry "guazabara" in battle. Their warrior spirit and close quarter battle tactics remain as relevant today as they did 500 years ago.

Any violent encounter with an attacker can be a life threatening, emotionally panic ridden experience. Add to that mix a psychopath with a weapon and you have many factors that you must be able to assess quickly:

In Guazabara you will learn how to handle  evasive movement, techniques in falling and striking, defense against armed threats and how to handle multiple weapons.  You will learn how to properly use an edged weapon (such as short knife, machete and sabre,) as well as learn how to disarm an attacker(s). 

From day one the student learns and practices close quarter battle (CQB) tactics utilizing sticks as first weapons learning various exercises, control and disarmament techniques. The student then moves through multiple levels of various sized edged weapons, where their use and also their defenses are discussed and practiced working both with a weapon and with "Empty Hands." Maestro Perez, a retired police officer in Chicago has included aspects of police tactics as well as drawing from some of the more simple and effective Hapkido techniques. The end result is a very realistic system that readies the student through simple but effective defensive methods for real world attack scenarios.​

Guazabara Black Belts

• 1st Degree Scott Smasal 2016
  
• 1st Degree Emma Smasal 2016
  
• ​1st Degree Stafford Conway 2016
  
• 1st Degree Wendy Conway 2017
  
• ​1st Degree Vanessa Pilsipher 2018
  
• 1st Degree Danny Callahan 2020
  
• 1st Degree Johnny Frojen 2021
  

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