Pekiti-Tirsia Kali
Filipino system of fighting with blades and sticks, tied to the Tortal family and to Leo Gaje, who spread it in the USA from 1972. The Philippine Marine Corps teaches it.
Quick Facts
PhilippinesCharacter & Origin
Training
Who It Suits
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
Catalogs & Databases for Pekiti-Tirsia Kali
About Pekiti-Tirsia Kali
Pekiti-Tirsia Kali is a Filipino fighting system that, according to a 2008 US Marine Corps article, uses blades and sticks. The same article says the system was founded in 1897 by Norberto Tortal. English Wikipedia also places its beginning in 1897 with Norberto Tortal and says his grandson Conrado Tortal developed the system between 1930 and 1936. Black Belt writes that Leo Gaje, born in 1938 on the island of Negros, studied from the age of six under his grandfather Conrado Tortal. According to English Wikipedia and the Alberta Filipino Journal, Gaje moved to the United States in 1972. The encyclopedia Martial Arts of the World (Green 2001) lists him as a spreader of Filipino martial arts in Australia, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and the USA, and counts Pekiti-Tirsia among the systems spread by seminars. According to Green, Pekiti-Tirsia practitioners always carry three knives. In 2008 the US Marine Corps wrote that the Philippine Marine Corps had included Pekiti-Tirsia in recruit training. We have not found which grades the system uses or how expert sources say it differs from other Filipino systems.
History
A US Marine Corps article of 31 October 2008 says that Pekiti-Tirsia Kali was founded in 1897 by Norberto Tortal. English Wikipedia regards Norberto Tortal as the starting point of the family system and writes that his grandson Conrado Tortal developed the system between 1930 and 1936. Black Belt, in an article from December 2024, says that Conrado's brothers observed Spanish fencing and developed their own methods of close combat. The Alberta Filipino Journal writes that the system was founded in 1897 by the Tortal family. The sources thus agree on the year 1897 but name differently who stood at the beginning. According to Black Belt, Leo Gaje was born in 1938 on the island of Negros and from the age of six studied under his grandfather Conrado Tortal. English Wikipedia calls him Conrado's grandson and heir. According to Wikipedia and the Alberta Filipino Journal, Gaje moved to the United States in 1972, according to the latter to New York, where he says he founded the system.
Technique
A 2008 US Marine Corps article describes Pekiti-Tirsia Kali as a combat-focused Filipino martial art that uses blades and sticks. According to it, American Marines learned to cover, strike and carry out killing techniques with blade and stick and to work their feet in close combat. According to a March 2010 article, the lesson included jab and hook strikes and stabs, began with a demonstration and continued with partner drills. Black Belt explains the name pekiti tirsia as close-combat techniques. The encyclopedia Martial Arts of the World (Green 2001) says that Pekiti-Tirsia practitioners always carry three knives. It links this to the principle of equalization: the student carries two or more knives in case the opponent has a larger knife.
Training
Black Belt says the system has twelve methods, one for each month, divided into four three-month phases: skill development, specialization, mastery and testing. In the same article Leo Gaje claims that training in the Filipino army begins with the stick and continues with the knife and that hard wooden sticks were used in it. The 2008 US Marine Corps article says the instructors had trained it for only three months. According to the 2010 article, instruction was led by instructors from the Philippine Marine Corps Martial Arts Program.
Today
According to the 2008 US Marine Corps article, the Philippine Marine Corps included Pekiti-Tirsia in recruit training, so the whole corps, officers included, is supposed to learn it. Instructor Staff Sgt. Carlito Englatiera says in the article that the system was used against rebels in the south of the Philippines. In 2010 instructors from the Philippine Marine Corps Martial Arts Program taught US Marines of the BLT 2/7 battalion during the Balikatan 2010 exercise. Lead instructor Tech Sgt. Manuel S. Prado Jr. then said that man-against-man fighting is a primary part of Filipino Marine training. Outside the military, according to English Wikipedia, there operates Pekiti Tirsia International, which formed in the USA in 1995, has gone its own way since 1997 and is led by Bill McGrath. Green (2001) counts Pekiti-Tirsia among the systems spread by seminars.
Did you know
The 2010 US Marine Corps article writes the name of the system as Pekithtirsia. In a Black Belt article Leo Gaje says that the techniques of the system were tested in fights with the Spanish. This is his own claim, which we have not verified with another source.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Pekiti-Tirsia Kali?
A 2008 US Marine Corps article names Norberto Tortal as the founder and gives the year 1897. English Wikipedia credits the development of the system between 1930 and 1936 to his grandson Conrado Tortal.
Who brought Pekiti-Tirsia to the United States?
Leo Gaje, who according to Black Belt was taught by his grandfather Conrado Tortal. According to English Wikipedia, Gaje moved to the USA in 1972.
Why do Pekiti-Tirsia practitioners carry three knives?
The encyclopedia Martial Arts of the World (Green 2001) links it to the equalization principle: the student carries two or more knives in case the opponent has a bigger one.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.