The City of Dearborn Police Department recently hosted a monumental full-day seminar with Supreme Grand Tuhon Leo T. Gaje of the Pekiti Tirsia system of Kali. Participants included patrol officers, defensive tactics instructors, SWAT members, Canadian metro police and Royal Canadian Mounted Police personnel.
Following an introduction by Guro Jeff Davidson, chief instructor of the Michigan Pekiti Tirsia group, Tuhon Gaje began the seminar with graphic footage of knife wounds from the acclaimed Surviving Edged Weapons training film.
Pekiti-Tirsia and the seminar
Gaje discussed the role of Pekiti-Tirsia in the law enforcement community and its relationship to the Filipino martial arts more broadly. The article describes a full day that mixed discussion, demonstrations, and supervised practice.
One officer remarked at the close of the day "It is such an honour for someone of Grandmaster Gaje’s standing to share this material with us. This experience has opened my eyes in so many ways." Another officer, requesting strict anonymity who regularly trains with the Michigan Pekiti Tirsia group had this to say "It was great to watch Guro Davidson take a beating for a change!"
The seminar was coordinated by Sgt. Jimmy Solomon of the Dearborn Police Department, and facilitated by Cpl. Steve Renico, a Dearborn SWAT operator and senior Pekiti Tirsia practitioner under Guro Jeff Davidson.