The Art of the Blade

We are very fortunate to have an instructor of this caliber here in Stirling. Guro Archie Luz was the head instructor and coach of Undisputed Martial Arts & Fitness in Toronto. He left the big smoke to come raise his family in Stirling-Rawdon. We are very grateful he has made this decision.

Guro Archie Is a former 2 time national amateur Boxing champion with over 40 years of experience in Martial Arts and Combative Sports. He is a registered Muay Thai Kru, a Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts coach, and a certified Guro in Kalis Ilustrisimo Repeticion Orihinal (KIRO).

Guro Archie travelled back to the Philippines to earn the title of Guro under the tutelage of the late Grandmaster Tony Diego. Currently he trains under Master Arnold Narzo in Manila, Philippines at the famous Binondo gym and Luneta Park. He was also part of the inaugural KIRO Instructor’s Workshop in Bukidnon, Mindanao in the Southern Philippines.

Guro Archie has led his own athletes to win well over 30 Provincial, National and World titles in the sports of Muay Thai Kickboxing, K1, Boxing, MMA and Kali, Arnis, and Eskrima.

Through small group and personal training, he has helped his clients exceed their Martial Arts and Fitness goals. He has also helped address specific client goals such as achieving various instructor's certification for specific disciplines, pass the physical testing for Police, Fire and Military services, as well as those of special forces units.

He is a certified Use of Force instructor for Law Enforcement Officers, Military and Security Personnel. He has instructed members of the Canadian Armed Forces, the Ontario Provincial Police, Metro Toronto Police and has certified private security professionals in Use of Force.

Today Guro Archie is dedicated to advancing the art of Kalis Ilustrisimo Repeticion Orihinal which is at the core of much of the success he has achieved.

Credentials of Archie Luz:

Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) Kali/Arnis/Eskrima; Guro (Instructor) - Kalis Ilustrisimo Repeticion Orihinal Tagpasanay (Trainer) - Babakan International Canada

Muay Thai/Kickboxing: Kru (Instructor) - CAMTAO (Canadian Amateur Muay Thai Association of Ontario) & MTO (Muay Thai Ontario) K1 Coach - CASK (Council of Amateur Sport Kickboxing)

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA): Coach - Combat Sports Canada

Boxing: Coach - Ontario Boxing Association and Boxing Ontario

Kettlebell: Instructor - Agatsu Kettlebell Certified

Use of Force - Law Enforcement/Military/Security: Instructor - ASP Baton and Handcuff Certified

For many people when they are thinking about Filipino Martial Arts what comes to mind is stick fighting using short rattan sticks. Some use two sticks and others just use one.

The tropical forests of the Philippines has a large supply of rattan which comes from Old World climbing palm. This means these weapons are readily available throughout the 7,000 islands that makes up the country. The two common names for the fighting arts that use these sticks are Escrima and Arnis depending on the region of the country you are in. A more modern term for this art is Kali which originated after the art was introduced to North America.

Self defense with these sticks is very effective by someone with the skills to use them. The history of those skills was actually developed from the use of a short sword. The Spaniards occupied the Philippines for 600 years and during that time they banned the Philippinos from using weapons. This is how the transition to stick fighting came about.

The styles of Arnis and Escrima mostly focus on the use of the sticks but the techniques can be applied to knife and sword as well. The KIRO system is unique in that it starts training with the sword. To move from the sword back to the sticks or empty handed is an easier transition than going in the other direction. Knowing where the edge of the blade lies is essential to mastering the techniques.

There is a certain level of risk when training with swords. We don't start training with swords that have a live edge. That is reserved for highly skilled students. We do use steel swords but they are not sharpened. We will also use wooden replica swords or even the rattan sticks. Much of it is up to the student and what level they want to train at. Safety is always the first priorty.