GUAZÁBARA

WHAT IS GUAZABARA? 

Guazábara™ is a 21st century weapons based martial art system with origins in the pre-Columbian Caribbean islands. Introduced as a modern martial art by Maestro Edgardo Pérez, Guazábara™ is a dynamic weapons based fighting system that is genuinely unparalleled. Its conception and development are rooted in the study of the Caribbean Taino Indians and their combat tactics. In fact, the word Guazábara means “war or combat” in the Taino language. 

The art of Guazábara™ is a hybrid fighting system that combines elements of the Puerto Rican Taino Manaya (Ax), Macana (war club)  fighting and the Jibaro combat machete.

 

Basic training in Guazabara starts with the use of a stick. In Guazabara, the proper term for a fighting stick would be "macana". The word macana comes from the Taino word that literally translates into war club. Therefore any stick that is used in fighting can be considered a macana. For that reason, in Puerto Rico,  the police baton utilized today is often referred to as a macana. Other names for Macana can be Stick, Palo or Baston.

 

The training begins by targeting vital spots of the body to break limbs and incapacitate the opponent. The training is then followed up with the use of the long and short blade and later the manaya (ax).

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THE WORLD GUAZABARA FEDERATION

The Federation was originally designed to keep track of all the members training in Guazabara both at DTI and and at all our affiliate locations.

Today, Federation membership is mandatory and is used to track the training and progress of all members.