The fighting arts of the Philippines are so vast and dynamic that few are able to grasp the true scope and essence of their training methods, techniques and fighting strategies. With this in mind, Mark V. Wiley, a renowned expert on Filipino martial arts, set out to write a book on the Filipino systems that would offer a structured comparison of 27 Filipino systems in terms of their training methods and progressions, fighting concepts, theories and strategies. In researching this book, Mark traveled to the Philippines a dozen times to meet and train with the masters and to uncover the secrets of these deadly arts.

Profusely illustrated with nearly 500 photographs, this book reveals the incredible diversity of the martial arts which thrive today in the Philippines and around the world. Many of the photographs and much of the information in this book have never before been presented to the world at large.