Personal Tactics specializes in teaching Sayoc Kali – a modern Filipino martial art.

Sayoc Kali is a modern Filipino martial art with an emphasis on edged weapons (i.e. knives). Sayoc Kali is a highly evolved system that is not intended to be used in bar fights or playgrounds; nor should it be used to impress friends—the techniques taught here should only be employed when an attacker is trying to kill or injure you.

Personal Tactics is located in New York City, a place with unique benefits and challenges. Whether taking a long jog, exploring a new neighborhood with your family, or going out on the town, the city is certain to surprise you with its rich diversity.  Unfortunately, the surprises of the big city are not always limited to unexpected street performances or a delightful new restaurant. New Yorkers must take daily steps to remain safe. Personal Tactics offers a full program of methods and tactics for achieving and maintaining superior self-defense within the most chaotic and challenging of environments—the urban jungle. 

Sayoc Kali is a refined martial art involving controlled information—this is not a system that is taught casually. Personal Tactics teaches only students who are committed to learning this method with the respect and diligence it is due.


Why weapons?
Crime statistics indicate that if someone attacks you for the purpose of robbery, abduction, or rape, they will most likely use a weapon—and they will often be part of a group.  Attackers also target individuals whom they think will be easy for them to subdue, meaning people who are smaller, lighter, and weaker. Even trained individuals can struggle to defeat a person who is substantially bigger and stronger than they are. However, edged weapons easily nullify any advantages of size, speed, or even cardiovascular fitness that attackers may have. 

Defending yourself with a knife does not require great strength or stamina; it allows practitioners to use skilled, practiced movements that take into account the often sudden, unexpected nature of a real street fight.  With correct instruction and training, using a knife can become second nature, allowing a quick, accomplished, experienced response to any threat.

If you are already a martial arts practitioner, you will find that Sayoc Kali complements any previous or current training. We believe in the advantage of knowing other systems and encourage practitioners to cross-train in other techniques.  Sayoc Kali can supplement as well as improve your current methods, making them more effective. 

A holistic approach to self-defense
In a total wellness approach to health, daily regimens are recommended in order to prevent illness. Similarly, in terms of personal safety, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  Attending Personal Tactics training will reduce the chance of conflict by instilling awareness and teaching harm-reduction methods—so you can avoid confrontation altogether. In addition, the training bestows a calm and confidence that will allow you to navigate social aggression gracefully, safe in the knowledge that you can end a confrontation at any time.  

Many knife-based self-defense classes are taught by instructors with no real-life experience with knife attacks. Sayoc Kali has been practiced by the Sayoc family for generations, and every technique we teach has been applied in real-life situations. When the technique used was not the most effective, people died or were injured, leading to the highly perfected methods of the current system.

Personal Tactics Sayoc Kali School offers the benefit of many lifetimes of real-world weapons-combat experience.  When you practice Sayoc Kali, every time you draw your knife you draw the experience of the generations of practitioners who have come before you.

Guro Andreas Badian was a private student of Tuhon Chris Sayoc and has been training in Sayoc Kali since 1997, when he attended the first public Sayoc Kali seminar in over ten years.  He is responsible for teaching Sayoc Kali to the German-speaking sections of Europe.  He also holds a black belt in Nabi Su Kung Fu, an eclectic style which training includes the Shao Lin five animal forms, Wing Chung sticking hands, Escrima, both the empty-hand and sword forms of Tai Chi, and straight fighting.