Three-Step Drill
A partner drill that builds the timing of a strike, block and counter into a single response.
The art
What Is Cabales Serrada Escrima?
Cabales Serrada Escrima is a close-range Filipino martial art built around the stick, the knife and the empty hand. Angel Cabales introduced it in Stockton, California, in 1966, and his family line has taught it ever since.
Where Serrada Escrima Comes From
Filipino stick and blade arts developed over centuries across the islands of the Philippines, often as family or village systems kept private within one region. Escrima, Arnis and Kali are the best-known names for these arts, and each family style trained differently, some with one long stick, others with two.
Serrada takes its name from the Spanish word for close. The system works at medium to close range, uses an arm-length stick and a short stick or dagger, and draws on the Spanish-influenced espada y daga, or sword and dagger, method.
Who Was Great Grandmaster Angel Cabales?
Angel Cabales, born in 1917 on the island of Panay in the Philippines, founded Cabales Serrada Escrima. At 17 he moved to Cebu, where he worked on the docks and trained under his friend and mentor Felicisimo Dizon, who practiced with a small group in the alleys and rooftops of Cebu City.
Cabales later emigrated to the United States, introduced his system in Stockton in 1966 and became known as the Father of Serrada Escrima in America. He passed away in 1991. His son, Grandmaster Vincent Cabales Sr, has led the art since 1989 and trained Master Edward Garcia.
How Serrada Escrima Training Works: 12 Angles and Three Core Drills
Felicisimo Dizon's system used 56 angles of attack. Angel Cabales removed the overlap and condensed the art to 12 angles, each with multiple counters.
Lock-and-Block
A continuous flow of blocks and checks that trains hands and stick to work together at close range.
Free-Flow Sparring
Unscripted exchanges that test the angles and counters against a live, moving partner.
Why Serrada Escrima Works for Real-World Self Defense
Serrada Escrima was designed as personal defense and as a way of training critical thinking under pressure. The blocks, angles and counters learned with the stick translate directly into empty-hand fighting and knife defense, so students build one skill set that covers several real situations.
The art is known for countering, the ability to answer an attack with a faster, tighter response. You can train it with Master Edward in Lodi, Oakdale or Santa Clara; the Escrima class schedule lists times and directions.
Common Questions
Escrima, Arnis and Kali are names for related Filipino martial arts that train with sticks, blades and empty hands. Different regions and families developed their own systems under these names. Cabales Serrada Escrima is one specific system, founded by Angel Cabales and known for its close-range countering.
Serrada comes from the Spanish word for close, and it describes how the system is fought: at medium to close range, often called corto range. Escrima itself also comes from Spanish. The name tells you the style stays tight to the opponent rather than fighting from a long distance.
Serrada Escrima was designed as personal defense. Its stick techniques carry over to empty-hand fighting and to knife defense, so one set of skills covers several situations. Training at close range with fast counters also prepares students for the short distances where most real confrontations happen.
Learn Serrada Escrima from a Cabales Master
Classes in Lodi and Santa Clara, plus private training by appointment in Oakdale.