Yaw-Yan
Encyclopedia
Yaw-Yan, also called Sayaw ng Kamatayan or "Dance of Death" is a Filipino style of kickboxing
developed by Napoleon Fernandez.
Since its inception in the 1970s, it has dominated the kickboxing scene in the Philippines and has proven very effective against other stand-up fighting arts.
Yaw-Yan closely resembles Muay Thai
, but differs in the hip-torquing motion as well as the downward-cutting nature of its kicks, and the emphasis on delivering attacks from long range (while Muay Thai focuses more on clinching
).
Yaw-yan practitioners participate in various Filipino mixed-martial arts tournaments such as the Universal Reality Combat Championship
and Fearless Fighting.
Fernandez had a background in various martial arts such as Jeet Kune Do, Karate, Arnis, Aikido, and Judo.
He is said to have modified all the martial art forms that he studied and fused them to create a martial art form that is deadly to opponents and "advantageous to the build of Filipinos". Yaw Yan was introduced to the public in 1972.
It includes elements of striking, takedowns, grappling, arnis
stick and knife fighting, and additional kickboxing material.
It reflected the growing popularity of kickboxing during the 1970s to 1980s, and from the 1990sl, Mixed Martial Arts
, in the Philippines
as well as worldwide.
A modern, "holistic" style based on the traditional Yaw-Yan, known as Hybrid Yaw-Yan, was developed by Sir Henry Kobayashi in 2000. "Yaw-Yan Buhawi", wasalso developed by Sir Reynaldo Yap in 2003.
Students must learn 40 basic kicks, before advancing to more complex trick kicks.
Yaw-Yan practitioners also train with Philippine bladed weaponry such as Balisong
and bolo knife
.
The forearm strikes, elbows, punches, dominating palms, and hand movements are empty-hand translations of the bladed weapons.
There are 12 "bolo punches" which were patterned from Arnis
.
Kickboxing
Kickboxing refers to a group of martial arts and stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching, historically developed from karate, Muay Thai and western boxing....
developed by Napoleon Fernandez.
Since its inception in the 1970s, it has dominated the kickboxing scene in the Philippines and has proven very effective against other stand-up fighting arts.
Yaw-Yan closely resembles Muay Thai
Muay Thai
Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...
, but differs in the hip-torquing motion as well as the downward-cutting nature of its kicks, and the emphasis on delivering attacks from long range (while Muay Thai focuses more on clinching
Clinching
Clinching may refer to:* Clinching , a method of fastening sheet metal together* Clinching position, a grappling position.* Clinching , To bend and hammer the protruding point of a nail so it cannot be removed....
).
Yaw-yan practitioners participate in various Filipino mixed-martial arts tournaments such as the Universal Reality Combat Championship
Universal Reality Combat Championship
Universal Reality Combat Championship is the first professional mixed martial arts event based in the Philippines. Its inaugural event was held at the Casino Filipino Amphitheater in Paranaque City, Philippines on November 23, 2002...
and Fearless Fighting.
History
The originator of Yaw-Yan is Napoleon A. Fernandez or "Master Nap", a native of Quezon province, who originally studied jiujitsu. The word Yaw-Yan was derived from the last two syllables of Sayaw ng Kamatayan meaning "Dance of Death".Fernandez had a background in various martial arts such as Jeet Kune Do, Karate, Arnis, Aikido, and Judo.
He is said to have modified all the martial art forms that he studied and fused them to create a martial art form that is deadly to opponents and "advantageous to the build of Filipinos". Yaw Yan was introduced to the public in 1972.
It includes elements of striking, takedowns, grappling, arnis
Modern Arnis
Modern Arnis is the system of Filipino martial arts founded by the late Remy Presas as a self-defense system. His goal was to create an injury-free training method as well as an effective self-defense system in order to preserve the older Arnis systems...
stick and knife fighting, and additional kickboxing material.
It reflected the growing popularity of kickboxing during the 1970s to 1980s, and from the 1990sl, Mixed Martial Arts
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
, in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
as well as worldwide.
A modern, "holistic" style based on the traditional Yaw-Yan, known as Hybrid Yaw-Yan, was developed by Sir Henry Kobayashi in 2000. "Yaw-Yan Buhawi", wasalso developed by Sir Reynaldo Yap in 2003.
Training
Practitioners use a Yawyan striking bag, up to 50 times heavier than a western punching bag.Students must learn 40 basic kicks, before advancing to more complex trick kicks.
Yaw-Yan practitioners also train with Philippine bladed weaponry such as Balisong
Balisong (knife)
A Butterfly knife, also known as a fan knife or Balisong, is a folding pocket knife with two handles counter-rotating around the tang such that, when closed, the blade is concealed within grooves in the handles. It is sometimes called a Batangas knife, after the Tagalog province of Batangas in the...
and bolo knife
Bolo knife
A bolo is a large cutting tool of Filipino origin similar to the machete, used particularly in the jungles of Indonesia, the Philippines, and in the sugar fields of Cuba...
.
The forearm strikes, elbows, punches, dominating palms, and hand movements are empty-hand translations of the bladed weapons.
There are 12 "bolo punches" which were patterned from Arnis
Arnis
Arnis may refer to:*A Filipino martial art, see Eskrima**a modern version of the traditional martial art, see Modern Arnis*Arnis, Germany, a small town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany...
.