Informative Issue No. 119 2014

Maestro Danilo Rossi Lajolo Di CossanMaestro Danilo Rossi Lajolo Di CossanMaestro Alan SaittaMaestro Alan Saitta

Host By: Master Lee Lollio

Introduction Brief History of Italian Martial Arts Training with Maestro Danilo and Maestro Alan A Final Word

Each issue features practitioners of martial arts and other internal arts, other features include historical, theo-retical and technical articles; reflections, Filipino martial arts, healing arts, the culture of the Philippines and other related subjects. The authors, publisher and owner of this online magazine are not responsible for any injury, which may result from the instructions contained in this online magazine. Before embarking on any of the physical activates described in the magazine, the reader should consult his or her physician for advice regarding their individual suitability for per-forming such activity. The ideas and opinions expressed in the FMA Informative online magazine are those of the authors or instruc-tors being interviewed and are not necessarily the views of the publisher, editor or owner of the FMA Informative. The articles are the property of the author’s that wrote them and cannot be used without the permission of the author. The FMA Informative is for the promulgation and promotion of the Filipino martial arts and the Culture of the Philippines. NO issue can be printed and Sold for Monies, without the express permission of the Owner and Publisher of the FMA Informative.

Host Lee Lollio with his wife Elisa Miranda Lollio and Maestro Danilo and Maestro Alan

The Author: Lee Lollio is a Filipino martial arts practitioner and teacher, International certified 4th and 5th degree blackbelt, a senior instructor and disciple under founder Grandmaster Leo Fong in Wei Kuen Do, Chi Fung and LF Modern Escrima, Lajolo Knife Fencing System USA, California representative, Certified MMA striking and boxing coach and also Found-er of his own methodology Bo Jin Tao (Way of Modern Kombat).

To contact Maestro Danilo visit his websites: www.calixworld.com or www.lajolosports.com

The FMA Informative is fortunate to have Lee Lollio who is a Filipino martial arts practitioner and teacher host Maestro Danilo Rossi Lajolo Di Cossano Founder of Lajolo Knife Fencing System and his Chief Instructor Maestro Alan Saitta both from Italy and provide the FMA Informative with the information in this issue. The FMA Informative was fortunate in the past to publish a article about Maestro Danilo in the FMA Informative newspaper “Interview Maestro D’Armi Danilo Rossi Lajolo di Cossano” by the FMA Informative, (Issue Vol2 No.10 - 2013 - Click Here)

As stated by Mr. Lollio: What I really respected about Danilo and Alan were their humility and integrity, which seems to always follow a true fighter that I have experienced. The first day I met up with Danilo and Alan later that day we went to the martial arts school where I teach at and both Danilo and Alan sparred full contact with me and my students for hours with no ego whatsoever and was more than willing to mix it up with great skill, which is a rarity for some Masters in the arts. The FMA Informative highly suggests when Maestro Danilo returns to the United States be sure to attend his seminars or workshops. In fact this is suggested anyway throughout the world that Maestro Danilo maybe having a workshop. The FMA Informative is hoping that it will be able to provide more information on Maestro Danilo in a future issue.

Introduction

I had the opportunity to host Maestro Danilo Rossi Lajolo Di Cossano Founder of Lajolo Knife Fencing System and his Chief Instructor Maestro Alan Saitta both from Italy who came over from there to America for the first time arriving in California. Prior, I have corresponded with Danilo for a couple of years on the internet and email sharing pleas-antries and cross sharing period-ically our philosophies in sharp edge Kombatives in our chosen arts and methodologies. I have always had a pas-sion and deep interest besides martial arts in knives since I can remember and was taught how to care and respect a knife at an early age. Later on when I start-ed studying the Filipino martial arts seriously in several Escrima systems and reality based weapon combatives, I married into a proud Filipino family who my wife’s father knew how to wield a blade also. His grandfather where he grew up was a known Escrimador and Master of the cane/stick and tabak, which functions in the same manner as a machete in the Philip-pines and I was taught his family

tradition of the blade/Tabak. Over the years training and sparring with some of the best Punong Guros and instructor train-ing partners in the Filipino martial arts for whom I am very grateful for in stick and knife that has con-sumed me, my passion has grown, especially for the blade, more so then the stick, which is more cumbersome and less practical in modern society. What drew my initial interest in Danilo besides our mutual passion for martial arts and sharp edge combatives and of course his obvious high level skill set from his various training and sparring videos I gleaned from was our same nationality we shared. My ancestral home, which is in part in Palermo Sicily in the south and Genoa and Bergamo Italy in the far north and myself being a long time martial artist who predominately studied the Asian arts in between competi-tive western boxing, which I also consider an art form and science for now thirty plus years, I have always wanted to study in depth my ancestral martial arts of Italy and Sicily. Besides just the basics of how to respect a knife and care

for one from several family mem-bers and being schooled in the art of boxing from my one uncle who was an accomplished boxer in the ring and known feared street fight-er in Detroit where thirty years later I had the honor and good for-tune of training under my uncles head boxing trainer like some of my other brothers, I had no serious training in Italian martial arts. I didn’t realize the gravity of Italian martial arts, its great tradition, and extensive history that demands respect that can rival any time in history by any other nation or tra-dition. Only after partaking an in depth research study in Ital-ian martial arts preparing for my friend Danilo’s arrival in the USA from Italy who is a legitimate Maestro in Italian martial arts who I will write more about later, that I discovered the great and expansive history of Italian martial arts and the blade. Prior to that, I have just read glimpses of its history after years of studying the Pinoy, Malay and Indo China history of the blade and cultures and marrying into one.

Brief History of Italian Martial Arts

To touch on and give a brief introduction of the history of Italian martial arts, specifically the blade, a lot of people don’t know that to this day Italy has one of the strongest knife cultures in the world, besides being one of the best knife makers. A history of the blade and martial arts that only the Greeks have a more ancient histo-ry dating all the way back to the Romans through the great Italian fencers who inspired the world in modern fencing with the renais-

sance and the baroque era. “Soldier of fortune, Master Fiore dei Liberi wrote a manual Flos Duellatorum or “the Flower of Battle” in 1410, illustrating a repertoire of tech-niques for many different weapons and for unarmed combat” that is one of the oldest books ever writ-ten on martial arts that still exist.

The Italian Arditi Assault Storm Troopers formed from 1917 to 1920 of World War I are of leg-end how they stormed the trenches

with only their short daggers on various missions and the Germans who were their enemy’s in the first world war still to this day write about their exploits of courage and expert specialized fighting prow-ess with a knife. Knife duels that ended up in death too frequently

were performed in the early 1900s in Italy and Sicily and were carried over by the co-morra the Ital-ian mafia to the United States in secret Even to this present day with the environ-ment of Italy with strict anti-gun laws whatsoever for the Italian citizen,

the knife is still after thousands of years the weapon of choice and rul-ing provider for the Italian man for self-defense, handling disputes or unfortunately committing violent crimes. Family’s in Sicily and Italy have had their own tradi-

tional knife/stick fighting and martial art systems very similar to the Filipino family martial arts systems in the Philippines for gener-ations over centuries that the Comorra the Italian mafia have practiced for their own benefit and exploitation. Only the last twenty years or so that the Ital-ian knife family fighting

systems have been more openly taught to the general pub-lic and accepted by them, because of the taboo and negative reputation that the Italian knife fighting systems had with the criminal underbelly and specifically the comorra and was kept very close to the families and not generally wel-

come to outsiders. Maestro Danilo is leading the way with other Italian knife Maestros and families to share their beloved Italian martial arts and the blade that is traditional and very progressive in functionality for the modern times

Young Italian Comorra street Mafia member in the early 1900s

Italian Arditi Assault Storm Troopers

Training with Maestro Danilo and Maestro Alan

Training with Maestro Danilo and Maestro Alan for a week was an amazing experience I will never forget in brotherhood of the arts. I was honored that they would care so much to share their beloved art of the blade of Italian martial arts with myself over a weeks’ time before and after the seminar where they taught my students and fellow colleagues. Maestro Danilo is a twenty second family generation practitioner of the Knife and one of the leading authorities of expert sharp edge combatives in Europe. Besides his own rich family knife fighting system Lajolo history he has stud-ied with all the major family knife

fighting systems all over Italy and Sicily and is the only one to have permission from all the families to teach their beloved family knife fighting systems to the general public. Maestro Danilo also makes frequent trips on a monthly basis to war torn Eastern European countries and Russia to teach their special forces and has schools in some of the most violent areas in the world. Maestro Danilo who is for-mer military is also one of the most demanded personal protection agent body guards in Europe who has protected some of wealthiest people in Europe and also the who’s

who of “A” list actors from Hollywood while in Europe. Maestro Danilo besides being the founder if the Lajolo Knife fighting system is the President of the Italian International Short Fencing Association where people from all over the world come to com-pete in full contact fencing tournaments using official Lajolo sparring quality gear that is some of the best in the world in his events with a culmination of the Championship hailed at different locations throughout Europe and Australia where Maestro Danilo has affiliate Lajo-lo Knife Fighting Fenc-ing schools. I hope in the very near future to have a Lajolo Knife Fencing tournament in the USA, specifically in California where I reside. Maestro

the Spanish conquistadors who had great fencing skills that later influenced Filipino martial arts. This article will not explore the debate on how much influence the Spanish had on the Filipino martial arts that has been written and debated many times now, but there’s no doubt even with the name escrima that is Spanish derived, that it obviously had an influence, how big or small I will leave that for others

to debate. That’s why I think the Filipino martial arts are so rich in history and depth with its martial arts from all of its influences from the various colonialists and settlers like the Chinese and Malays for an example. I also feel with the great history of Italian fencing that a lot of the Spanish settlers in the Philip-pines were quite possibly been in-

Italians in 1960 working on knife drills

fluenced by the Italian fencers. The Italian Combat and Fencing book one of the oldest still in existence by Italian Master Fiore dei Liberi Flos Duellatorum or “the Flower of Battle” in 1410 predates the Span-ish famous Fencing book Treatise on Arms was written by Diego de Valera between 1458 and 1471 by fifty years or so. Also by the 18th century the Italians were the great modern fencers with the French in the renaissance era and later with the Spanish schools all but pretty much nonexistent and faded in history. It would be foolish to think that the Spanish settlers over the centuries in the Philippines were not in some way by some capacity influenced by the Italians in fenc-ing with no difference with their influence all over the world.

Italian fencer performing a similar roof block that you would see in the Filipino martial

arts in the Italian renaissance

Alan is an accomplished Champi-on Muay Thai Fighter who speaks Thai with over fifty professional fights and has trained and fought in Thailand and Europe and also is a Muay Boran instructor who later

Maestro Danilo protecting Nicholas Cage

to the world at large. I myself am happy to be a part of this great pro-gressive movement of my culture in Italian Martial arts and the blade and support Maestro Danilo and Lajolo KFS and also be interna-tional partners with them to the best of my ability with honor. Ferdinand Magellan land-ed in the Philippines in 1521 with

Maestro Danilo protecting Ewan Mcgregor

Maestro Danilo protecting Johnny Depp

Maestro Danilo protecting Ethan Hawke

this year will be honored in Thai-land by his Kru Master from the Muay Thai University for his acco-lades and study ship over the years in Thailand. With great respect for Maestro Danilo, Maestro Alan a Master in his own right became a direct student of his and years later became his chief instructor in Lajo-lo Knife Fencing System, which is the ultimate respect. What I quickly noticed in Italian knife fighting, especially Maestro Danilo’s Lajolo Knife

Maestro Alan in one of his full rules professional Muay Thai bouts

Italians who have no awareness of Fil-ipino martial arts in 1960 performing a drill that is similar to tapi tapi

Maestro Danilo’s Russian Lajolo KFS affiliate School in Russia

Fencing System like some of the corto Filipino martial arts Escri-ma and knife systems are the very tight close quarters knife thrusts and slashes, that for an example like the slashes are just a few inches vertical or lateral with level changes from the legs with the knife hand elbow in and tight stay-ing in a non telegraphic position almost like Wing Chun’s immov-able elbow not flaring out at all from both sides. The reason why is that Italy and Sicily is very urban

and congested like the Philippines and the methodology is based on the urban environment with prac-ticality and survival at its utmost importance. There are ten strikes and counters to the Lajolo Knife Fencing System and low kicks are utilized also for destruction or distraction. Lajolo Knife Fencers pride themselves being proficient with both hands and trickery and sleight of hand movements are taught and encouraged. Foot work and distancing is also important

with the right timing to close the gap at the right time. Maestro Danilo has some noticeable scars on his body from his line of work in the protection industry and also real live blade challenge knife duels that is very common in Italy and Sicily. If agreed upon between both parties before the knife duel the first person to be cut wins and keeps the others knife and let’s just say Maestro Danilo has a nice trea-sure collection of knives… (LoL)

Maestro Danilo’s Lajolo KFS affiliate Australian School headed by Master John Martini

Maestro Danilo showing Boris Fritz with Anthony Tesoro behind them the Lajolo non telegraphic elbow that creates short economy of motion strikes

Maestro Danilo working with Anthony Tesoro with his back to the camera

Maestro Danilo performing a low line kick on Koki Wong while Boris Fritz is watching on

Maestro Alan performing a modified 2 handed ripost

Maestro Danilo defending against a low forward thrust with a finishing downward stab and slash

Maestro Danilo defends against low forward thrust from Maestro Alan Maestro Danilo defending the high line forward thrust with a finishing modified high line ripost

Maestro Danilo defending against a number one strike with a mid level finishing modified ripost

A Final Word

What I really respected about Danilo and Alan were their humility and integrity, which seems to always follow a true fighter that I have experienced. The first day I met up with Danilo and Alan later that day we went to the martial arts school where I teach at and both Danilo and Alan sparred full contact with me and my students for hours with no ego whatsoever and was more than willing to mix it up with great skill, which is a rarity for some Masters in the arts. From my exceptional experience train-ing and sparring for a week with Maestro Danilo and Maestro Alan I was asked to be their first US representative and I was honored to accept and also be a direct stu-dent of Maestro Danilo to further my education in the Italian knife fighting and also the Italian martial arts culture. I was taken back and blown away by a gift given to me

by Maestro Danilo from one martial artist to anoth-er with respect when he gave me one of his limited designed fixed knives by the world renown knife maker Frank Beltrame one of the finest gifts I have ever received by anyone and will cherish it for the rest of my life and make sure I leave it to someone worthy with honor when my day comes. This expe-rience will be a memory that will last a lifetime and I am grateful for everything from Maestro Danilo and Maestro Alan, but most impor-tantly I feel I have two brothers in the arts that our brotherhood will endure forever and the value to our international partnership is priceless. I plan to visit Italy in the near future to study with Maestro Danilo and Maestro Alan and other Maestros of the Italian

1st USA, California Chapter newly appointed representative and host Lee Lollio

knife fighting families and to visit my own family where I have a lot of cousins who I stay in con-tact with and do some of my own extensive family research into the Italian martial arts and nobility I belong to, but know nothing about it in depth at this time besides my own Lollio family coat of arms and a family villa my great grandfather built in the early 1900s where his picture still resides in.

Maestro Danilo and the host Lee Lollio’s friend Kenny with Danilo holding his new Bowie American

replica knife he received from Lee as a token of respect

The host Lee Lollio handing Maestro Danilo a gift of a replica America Jim Bowie knife

Having lunch and exchanging gifts with the host Lee Lollio, Maestro Danilo, Grandmaster Leo Fong and Maestro Alan

Having diner after the seminar

If interested in training in Lajolo Knife Fencing System in the USA Maestro Danilo and Maestro Alan will be back October of 2014 for more workshops in the Los Angeles, California area where Lee Lollio resides and rep-resents Lajolo Knife Fencing System Chapter as a dynamic supplement to his other fighting methods of choice and also in Las Vegas, Nevada where Anthony Tesoro currently represents a chapter at his school.

For more information on Training or Hosting a Lajolo KFS workshop in the United States you can contact Lee Lollio at: Email: LeeL210@yahoo.com or his Website: bjtonline.vpweb.com

To contact Maestro Danilo visit his websites: www.calixworld.com or www.lajolosports.com

The Host Lee Lollio, Maestro Alan Saitta, Grandmaster Leo Fong, Founder Maestro Danilo Rossi Lajolo Di Cossan

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