Yaw-Yan, (from FilipinoSayaw ng Kamatayan, lit. "Dance of Death"),[1] is a Filipino martial art developed by Napoleon A. Fernandez and based on older Filipino martial arts.[2] Since its inception in the 1970s, it has dominated the kickboxing scene in the Philippines and has proven very effective against other stand-up fighting arts[citation needed].
Yaw-Yan closely resembles Muay Thai, but differs in the hip-torquing motion as well as the downward-cutting nature of its kicks, the arm strikes resembling Bolo knife movements,[3] and the emphasis on delivering attacks from long range (while Muay Thai focuses more on clinching).
The originator of Yaw-Yan is Napoleon A. Fernandez or "Master Nap",[7] a native of Quezon province, who originally studied Jujutsu.[8] The name Yaw-Yan is an abbreviation of sayaw ng kamatayan, literally "dance of death" (derived from the last two syllables).[9]
Fernandez is a martial artist by definition, he reportedly had a background in Jeet Kune Do, Karate, Eskrima, Aikido, and Judo. He is said to have modified all the martial art forms that he studied and fused them to create a martial art form that is deadly to opponents and "advantageous to the build of Filipinos".[10] Yaw Yan was introduced to the public in 1972. It includes elements of striking, takedowns, grappling, stick and knife fighting, and additional kickboxing material.[11]
It reflected the growing popularity of kickboxing during the 1970s to 1980s,[12] and from the 1990s to the mixed martial arts in the Philippines as well as worldwide.[13]
Training
Training in Yaw-Yan utilizes drills from Muay Thai and boxing, with heavy emphasis on leg striking, basic combinations, defenses, body conditioning, and footwork. So, a beginner usually first undergoes basic boxing drills for punching and basic Muay Thai for leg strikes. It is also common for instructors today to incorporate training from grappling focused martial arts, most popularly brazilian jiu-jitsu.
The forearm strikes, elbows, punches, dominating palms, and hand movements are empty-hand translations of the bladed weapons.[14] One of the signature strikes of Yaw-Yan are the twelve "bolo punches" (not to be confused with boxing's bolo punch) which are patterned from twelve striking angles of eskrima (specifically, the striking angles from whom Fernandez learned).[15][16][17]
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Philippines