Synergy Self Defense

My son and I took classes at Synergy Self Defense for a year and a half. He was 9 years old when he started. He was interested in martial arts, weapons and play fighting with sticks. I’m half Filipino, and so when I saw a poster for Synergy Self Defense, which included Filipino Martial Arts and Kali (fighting with Rattan sticks), I thought it would be a good way to teach my son about one aspect of Filipino culture as well as respect for fighting with sticks and other weapons.
When I took him the first day, Shermie, the instructor, talked me into taking the class with him. Shermie and her assistant were excellent at explaining the basics of Kali and Escrima to us. She amazed us with her expertise and ability to break down complex moves into simple steps that we could follow. We learned about the 12 angles of attack, corresponding blocks and coordinating footwork. We learned how to fight with different types of weapons, such as one stick, two sticks, one knife, two knives, open hand, etc. We learned several routines and were able to flow through them over and over which helped teach muscle memory. We also learned what to do in a real fight or real self defense (vs. practice fighting) and how to alter moves to be effective for your size. She taught us step by step, building each week so we could easily do many routines together.
I really enjoyed the stick fighting — the rhythm of hitting the sticks together in various routines was fun and taught us how to respond to various angles of attack. My son enjoyed the hand to hand combat and enjoyed learning how to fight against people bigger than himself. Unfortunately, we had to take a break from class since we had to move away for a couple years, but when we come back, we’ll start up again.
We highly recommend this class to anyone who wants to learn about Filipino Marital Arts, how to protect themselves, get some exercise and have some fun. Shermie is very good teaching the techniques of Kali, Escrima and Self Defense in a calm, personalized, atmosphere.