Been training with GM Alfredo for about a year and a half and all I can say is my short experience so far has been amazing. He has incredible fight IQ, very knowledgeable and creative, and most of all, he makes it fun. read more

Just a few years ago, GM Alfredo walks in to our Kali USA dojo, and that was when my whole journey began with Balintawak eskrima. In a short amount of time, I've noticed that my skill-level and intellect of eskrima elevated to a higher level. I know it sounds very bias that I am reviewing GM Alfredo, who I share a dojo facility at Kali USA, but truly, GM Alfredo has help me developed into a better eskrima student. So, I just want to thank GM Alfredo for this opportunity, his wisdom, and for teaching me a deeper knowledge to Balintawak eskrima. I am truly blessed to have GM Alfredo has my Balintawak eskrima teacher. read more

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I've been studying this form with instructor Alfred for only a brief while now and have loved it thus far. Having studied Kajukenbo, judo, and Kenpo Kung Fu as a youngster, later studying Wing Chun, Krav Maga, and ninjutsu briefly as an adult, I highly recommend this style for daily street self defense over any other I've tried. I first learned about Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) while at a law enforcement academy when a Sergeant of mine recommended we all study FMA given its real world applicability. As it turns out, our baton strikes and many defense tactics came from the Escrima stick fighting and empty hand systems. For those tired of expensive schools with hidden fees, with FMA there are no expensive belt fees, no uniforms to buy, no hidden fees and annual contracts like most schools and you progress at your own rate. He offers classes and very reasonably priced private lessons. If you do some research you'll find that many in law enforcement and military study this form in an effort to work on their disarming skills, baton strikes, and even takedowns and holds. Give instructor Alfred a call to ask more about class times, or even private lessons, you won't regret it. read more

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Grand Master Alfredo is a great teacher with great teaching abilities with patience and great skills in his craft. read more

Parayno Balintawak - Me and the group training and having a good time. - Martial Arts Near Me - West Covina, California

Really good martial artist and instructor. Has a very high fight iq and knows how to correct forms and what is wrong with the body mechanics and knows how to fix it. Also very handsome and charismatic read more

Learned more in my first month with Guro Alfred than in my whole year in big corporate karate/Kung fu. Everything is straight up and practical. Guro will explain to you thoroughly the techniques and will answer every question you have. Super passionate and knowledgeable! I definitely plan to be a student for years. *Update* 1 year later and I still have that same hunger and desire to learn more. Practical art and great instructor that's open minded to his students' input and "what if's" read more

One of the best teachers of this style of Eskrima in So California. His dedication and passion for this art is evident during every class. He teaches a practical and effective method to use the PMA's weapons and knife defense. Far more practical and useful than Aikido knife defense. No comparison. I will write more soon. read more

I like the fact that this is close range combat and very fast and that is works well with almost any style. This focuses on speed and natural reflexes so that you learn how to react to anything that comes at you. i recommend that if you are looking for a new style that you give Balintawak a try. Alfred Parayno is a great teacher and is very good at taking his time and taking what you have learned from previous styles and making it all come together to make you a more well rounded martial artist. read more

Anyone interested in practical, reality based weapon training or self-defense should consider Alfred's class whether to build a martial foundation, to round up an existing one or just expand horizons (or just have fun with sticks and all!). I only have very superficial knowledge of Escrima but from the press it has, it seems to be a very effective and battle tested art, including in fairly recent times. It also seems that proficiency can be achieved fairly quickly to the dedicated student given the practical and highly methodical training approach. For full disclosure, this review is solely based on a 1.5 hours trial class with my 11 year old son. While I very much want to pursue, we're not signing up because my son, who I intended to practice with is already struggling with homework and engaged in other activities and ultimately decided he wanted more free time rather than more structured activity. I have a combined 7 years of experience in various martial arts (Judo, Karate, Aikido, and Chinese internal martial arts) and have accompanied my son during 3 years of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu so I have some sense for techniques and training methods of that art as well. During our session Alfred was methodical and particularly adept at connecting weapon practice (stick in this instance) with empty hand techniques giving us a sense that the whole system and practice are tightly integrated. He showed how very basic and easy to learn movements, first defenses, then attacks can then be fairly fluidly integrated in drills where the student just reacts to situations and chains movements fairly naturally (so forms exist but aren't emphasized, they are immediately put to practice and reinforced by it; on the other hands the drills really emphasize building automatic reactions and "flow"). Alfred underscores that the dedicated students can learn the whole foundations in a fairly short time, how integrated the system is (defense / attacks, weapon / empty hand technique) makes this sounds credible. Alfred was friendly and seemed willing and able to be flexible and adapt his teaching to individual needs. Given the small size our group (4), he was also able to give quite a bit of personal attention. He was also generous with his time, extending the lesson beyond the allocated time. read more

I have been seeking a system that would help me in my duties as a law enforcement officer. Since then, I've trained in boxing, muay thai, and krav maga. These are great, but under stress you revert to your training and instinct. The only problem is that there is no weapon defense with these arts with the exception with Krav. I wanted something that could allow me to apply defensive tactics including disarms of impact and edged weapons. In this increasingly violent society, the need for law enforcement to practice in a martial art that focuses on weapons is required. In my experience, anyone can legally carry some sort of knife and the majority of violent attacks uses an edged weapon. The fact that FMA teaches you to stay calm in a knife or weapon based encounter just makes sense. This is perfect for anyone wanting to learn a weapon based art form that was created purely for survival hundreds of years ago. I love the concept of the being taught in the stick (baton) first, then knife and finally open hands. The same movements are applied whether you're holding a weapon or not, which makes it one of the most natural reflexes you can learn. If you are looking for a practical art that will increase your awareness, speed, reaction time, and reflex, you've found the right place and the right teacher. Thanks Alfred! read more