Curriculum
The Five Groupings, and how progress is tracked.
Purpose of the Roadmap
The annual curriculum gives every student and instructor a shared direction. The first phase slows the learning down so structure, perception, reaction and rhythm become dependable habits. The second phase progressively increases freedom, variation and pressure so the student can express the same principles without abandoning the basics.
The Core Learning Architecture
PLKL: the continuous fighting process
Every lesson returns to four interconnected questions: Is the structure right? Is the movement alive? Is the student recognizing what is available? Can the student find the responsible way through?
STAP: the quality standard
Speed - Timing - Accuracy - Precision are developed deliberately, not rushed. Visual acuity supports speed; proximity and rhythm sharpen timing; repetition refines accuracy; disciplined correction builds precision.
Rule: speed is earned through correct habits. It is never used to hide weak structure.
EDAC: the Pedagogy in Every Class
Every topic, grouping, variation and special skill is taught through the same four-part instructional cycle.
Purpose, concept, language and safety.
Show structure, rhythm and mechanics clearly.
Guided repetition, partner work and contextual use.
Correct, refine, retest and return to basics.
The Four Focus Sequence
Visual acuity, crosshair focus, quadrant awareness and reading movement before reacting.
Build dependable response through correct repetition, reset habits and economy of motion.
Develop sensitivity to distance, pressure, balance, contact and changes in the opponent's intent.
Integrate flow, timing, undayag, duyan-duyan and good habits until response becomes natural rather than forced.
The first five months seriously cover the first four Groupings while continuously revisiting fundamentals, the Five Forms, PLKL and STAP. Students learn the science behind the movement – kinesiology, balance, range, timing and combat judgment – before being asked to move freely.
- Five Forms and basic positions
- PLKL orientation
- Pathway of the stick
- Body alignment, balance and power chain
- Train the Eyes
- STAP at slow speed
- Correct hitting mechanics
- EDAC correction culture
- Close-quarter structure and centre awareness
- Right-hand / left-hand coordination
- Balance shifts and controlled recovery
- Economy of motion
- Train the Reaction
- Reset time and good habits
- Timing through proximity
- Accuracy before speed
- Line, angle and spatial awareness
- Thrusting principles and controlled targeting
- Contact sensitivity
- Close-to-middle-range transitions
- Train the Senses
- Feel pressure and release
- Develop cuentada
- Precision through repetition
- Structured variations
- Range adaptation
- Footwork and body-line changes
- Kinesiology under movement
- Rhythm, flow and timing
- Undayag and duyan-duyan
- Combat IQ: see, feel, decide
- Maintain STAP under complexity
- Return to Five Forms and PLKL
- Range review: close, middle, long
- Powerblow mechanics without sacrificing elegance
- Foundational No-Mind habits
- EDAC evaluation
- STAP benchmark
- Corrective review
- Readiness for Padagan
Palakaw principle: Ayaw pag-una kay maulahi ka. Do not rush ahead of understanding. Slow work creates fast, reliable work later.
Padagan is not abandoning form. It is proving that the form can survive movement. The student becomes brilliant with the basics, applies special skills without losing structure, becomes articulate with variations, and learns to connect combinations with rhythm, timing and control.
- Drive-test Groupings 1-4
- Keep Five Forms alive under motion
- Refine stick pathway to powerblow
- Reduce unnecessary movement
- Structure survives speed
- Reaction stays controlled
- STAP remains measurable
- Critique immediately
- Apply approved special skills to familiar groupings
- Preserve PLKL under change
- Strengthen left-hand contribution
- Test timing and recovery
- Skill serves the principle
- No technique shopping
- Use economy and control
- Return to basics when quality drops
- Recognize different answers to the same problem
- Move between ranges
- Maintain rhythm through change
- Develop articulate, teachable understanding
- Variation without confusion
- Accuracy under changing context
- Good habits remain visible
- Explain what changed and why
- Link compatible principles naturally
- Use footwork, rhythm and range intelligently
- Blend offense, defense and recovery
- Maintain elegance while increasing power
- No forced combinations
- Timing governs sequence
- PLKL remains continuous
- STAP under sustained movement
- Integrate all Five Groupings
- Test principles, concepts and techniques contextually
- Demonstrate judgment and adaptable flow
- Return to Palakaw for correction and refinement
- Brilliant with the basics
- Artful with combinations
- Calm under complexity
- Ready for the next annual cycle
Padagan principle: speed, variation and combination are not the destination. They are the road test of fundamentals.
Five Groupings: Annual Role
Foundation, dependable basics, structure and power generation.
Close-quarter coordination, centre awareness and body relationship.
Line, thrusting principles, spatial judgment and sensitivity.
Structured variation, transition, range adaptation and refined timing.
Advanced integration with special skills, variations, combinations and contextual expression.
The Groupings are taught progressively but never as isolated boxes. Every Grouping is revisited through PLKL, STAP and EDAC.
Kinesiology and Combat Intelligence
Body Mechanics
Students learn how shoulder rotation, elbow drive, hip and knee action, pivot, wrist transmission and balanced footwork cooperate. Power is transferred through a connected chain rather than produced by isolated arm strength.
Range Intelligence
Training moves from close range to middle and long range – and back again – so distance becomes something the student reads and manages rather than memorizes.
Combat IQ
Students learn to observe intent, telegraphing, rhythm, openings, balance and timing. The goal is not reckless anticipation but informed recognition: sabta, cuentada and appropriate response.
Elegant Power
From the pathway of the stick to the powerblow, efficiency matters. The mature movement is powerful because it is connected, accurate and well-timed – not because it is forced.
End-of-Cycle Outcomes
Explain PLKL, STAP, the Five Forms, the Groupings and the purpose of each phase.
Show dependable fundamentals, body mechanics, rhythm, timing and range awareness.
Use principles under guided variability without losing structure, control or judgment.
Recognize breakdowns, accept critique, return to Palakaw and rebuild quality deliberately.
The Annual Rhythm
Palakaw builds the road. Padagan road-tests it. The cycle never truly ends: every advanced student returns to the fundamentals, and every fundamental becomes more meaningful after it has been tested in motion.
Balintawak Canada standard: powerful but elegant, disciplined but alive, rooted in Cebuano heritage and expressed through understanding.
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