Filipino Kali Hubud Fundamentals

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Hubud is one of the most popular and used exercises of the Filipino Martial Artist and many would say it is one of the most important. It is the Chi Sao (From Wing Chun) of the Filipino Martial Arts. The full name of Hubud is “Higot Hubud Lubud”, which means To tangle and untangle. Hubud is used to teach one of the 5 sectors of knife combat, and it teaches you how to pass a attack to the other side of the body to get to the other side. The importance of Hubud is also understanding of Energy, and the exchange of pressure. From Hubud many attacks can be employed or deployed. I call the exercise also busy hands. It teaches tactile reflexes or spider-sense. You are learning what your opponent or in training partner is doing, and where they are going in the drill. 

This has nothing to do with application to combat, and more to do with the attribute building of combat. Why? Because it teaches;

  1. Motor – Mechanics 
  2. Body Mechanics
  3. Redirection
  4. Resistance
  5. Energy
  6. Pressure
  7. Range

There is a greater understanding of Hubud or any exercise like this. For instance; Pummeling from Wrestling, Neck pummeling tie up from Muay thai, or Chi Sao from Wing chun. The importance is to first learn how to do Hubud properly, and then start to throw different attacks inside of it. Attacks like; 

Empty Hand

  1. Strikes
  2. Throws
  3. Traps
  4. Body grabs
  5. Takedowns
  6. Locking
  7. Dumog (Pushing & Pulling)
  8. Pummeling
  9. Drawing a weapon (like: Knife or Firearm)
  10. Foot Sweeps
  11. Kicking
  12. Other Hubuds

This will help you with your training. Check out the video to learn more. 

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