From   Alain Burrese:  Your Warrior's Edge
November 13, 2013

The Fighting Footwork of Kuntao and Silat Workbook by Bob Orlando contains a detailed explanation of the footwork to these formidable self-defense arts.  Orlando's ability to teach principles and techniques of Kuntao and Silat shine through in all mediums: live classes, DVDs, and written materials.  This workbook, and it is a workbook to be studied and used, not just read, is an excellent resource for anyone wanting to improve their Kuntao and Silat, or to incorporate the principles and footwork into their style.  (With that said, this workbook will be most beneficial to those who practice Kuntao and Silat and also have Orlando's Fighting Footwork DVD.)

If you have already studied Orlando's DVDs, you have been introduced to Kuntao and Silat legwork already.  There was a segment on this aspect of the art in his video Fighting Arts of Indonesia: Combat Secrets of Silat and Kuntao, and then much more detail on legwork in the footwork focused DVDs The Fighting Footwork of Kuntao and Silat: A Complete Guide to the Tactical Legwork of Kuntao, Silat, and Kuntao-Silat.  (Both of these video programs are excellent resources for anyone wanting to further their study in these arts.)  This workbook expands on what was taught in those videos and works together with them to provide an even better learning experience.  (The workbook is designed to complement the Fighting Footwork video set, but there is also a video component to this workbook if you have the special iPad version.)

This workbook came about because Orlando continues to research, train, experiment, and improve his teaching methods to better serve his students and the arts he teaches.  According to him, this growth means he needs to share more, and thus he wanted to supplement his previous works with new findings through this workbook.  For anyone practicing Kuntao and Silat, you'll be glad he did.  This workbook contains some of the same information as the DVDs, but in written form, but also some additional instruction and information not contained in the video program.  Again, they are meant to compliment each other and be used together.

After a brief introduction of the books purpose and why it was written the way it is (like why he used stick figures instead of photos), there is a section on definitions and terms to refresh the reader and make sure everyone is on the same page so to speak.  The book then contains detailed instruction on Langkahs 1-6.  This largest section of the book is meant to be followed along with and used, not just read.  I found the descriptions to be easy to understand, and if you also have the DVDs (which I recommend since the book was designed to be used with them) you should understand easily how to perform the Langkas.  That does not mean they are easy to perform though, you need to put in the practice.

The book concludes with a couple of helpful tools, or charts, to remember the different Langkas drills, a recommended way to teach and study the drills, a brief conclusion, and a little about the author.  The workbook is just under a 100 pages long.  Since I don't have an iPad, I can't comment on the videos that are included with that edition.

If you have the Fighting Footwork DVDs, I strongly encourage you to add this workbook to your resources in order to get the most from your training.  If you want excellent instruction on Kuntao and Silat, I strongly recommend all of Bob Orlando's DVDs, books, and classes.