GIDIGBO: YORUBA MARTIAL ARTS

PART 1 BY AWO FALOKUN

In traditional Yoruba the spiritual discipline

of Ifa includes a martial art called either gidigbo, aki or akin. The word
gidigbo loosely translates to mean let’s fight. The word aki means
bravery and the word akin means brave man. In simple terms aki is the
goal, gidigbo is the discipline and akin is personal transformation that
comes through the discipline of studying the art.
I have not spoken about this art in public for a while because for some
reason there is resistance to the idea that Ifa has a martial art. I am
breaking my silence based on the interest and kind questions from Rich
Johnson who is making a serious and informed study of African martial
arts. I believe the case can be made the martial arts originated in Africa
and they exist in virtually every culture on the continent.
My first experience of training with a gidigbo master was in 1989 in Ogun
State Nigeria. The master was approximately five foot five, and weighed
approximately one hundred and fifty pounds. I was a foot taller, and at
least a hundred pounds heavier. I have trained martial arts all my life and
my initial thought was this guy is so small I don’t want to hurt him. Odu
Ifa calls that Obara in Ibi in English my impression is called arrogance.
We meet to train in a soccer field. I remember he approached me and
extended his hands. I remember him grabbing my hands and then I think
I blacked out for a moment. The next thing I remember was being
airborne. I had the thought; “If I have not hit the ground yet, this is going
to hurt.” Then I had the thought; “If I still have not hit the ground this is
going to really hurt.” Then I had the thought; “If I still have not hit the
ground I am going to break something and I hope there is a hospital
nearby.” I know that sounds funny, but the point is that if I had time to
think these thoughts I had to have been at least 20 feet in the year.
The feeling was very distinct. The gidigbo master accessed earth energy
in the form of a spiral vortex. He stepped into the vortex and guided me
to ride the wave. The way this is done is based on the ability to go into
an altered state. From an altered state if you place your heals firmly on
the ground you can channel earth energy through your body as long as
your head and heart are in alignment. If you are angry while you fight the
ability to access earth energy is non-existent.
In addition to being a martial art, gidigbo can be used for practical issues
of survival. Let me give a number of examples. Araba Adesanya
Awoyade who initiated me took me for a walk one day. We approached
a bridge. There was a vicious dog barking at the entrance to the bridge.
Baba picked up a handful of dirt, marked an Odu in the dirt, said a brief
oriki (invocation) onto the dirt then blew the dirt towards the dog. The
dog rolled over and fell asleep.
On another occasion he took me hunting. He stood at the edge of the
forest raised one hand, tilted his head and started saying invocations.
Within seconds a bird landed in his hand and we took it home for lunch.
I travel to Nigeria with an American martial arts expert who did a
demonstration in front of Baba’s house. The demonstration included the
use of a rubber knife which Baba thought was real. As the demonstration
started Baba was seated in a chair fifty feet away. Baba thought the
knife was real. At the time he was almost ninety years old. He literally
teleported from his chair to a position in front of the martial artist based
on his belief one of his children was about to be stabbed. I saw him in
his chair, I saw him in front of the martial artist. I did not see him move
from one place to the next. It was mindboggling. Fortunately for
everyone, someone told Baba the knife was made from rubber and it
was a demonstration not a fight. If nothing else it was a clear
demonstration of aki (bravery) by an akin (brave man.)

In traditional Yoruba culture gidigbo wrestling matches are often staged

in honor of Ogun. A giant circle is drawn and the participants enter the
circle where the toss each other to the ground. When you hit the ground
you step out of the circle until there is only one man standing. When the
winner emerges, the village Oba enters the circles and the winner of the
competition takes a fall to symbolize the superiority of the influence of
the Oba on the spiritual well-being of the community.
Some thirty years ago I sponsored a gidigbo event at an initiation in
Cleveland. There was a Nigerian born gidigbo master at that event who
simply stood in front of his opponents and spoke words that rendered
them unconscious. They would literally drop to the ground until they
regain consciousness. The gidigbo master never touched anyone. It was
inspiring.
The most impressive demonstration of gidigbo I witnessed was a fight
between an unarmed gidigbo master and an opponent with a machete.
The machete has a short wide blade. The blade was about ten inches
long. I saw the fighter with the blade plunge the blade to the hilt into the
stomach of the unarmed gidigbo master. He removed the blade and
there was no blood, no scar and no indication of a wound. It could not
have been a trick knife because the blade was larger than the handle.
Students of gidigbo sometimes use their skills for hunting. I saw a
gidigbo master lead a water buffalo in the village. A water buffalo is a
huge animal larger than a bull. The gidigbo master spoke into the ear of
the bull and said something. The bull immediately dropped dead in
preparation for skinning and butchering to feed a large crowd. I asked
the gidigbo master how he learned the word he used to kill the bull
without dying himself? He said he walked to a safe place in the forest
while his teacher walked backwards towards him and told him the first
syllable on Monday. They repeated the process one syllable at a time for
the next five days.
Through my own study of gidigbo I have gotten to the point where I can
knock people down without touching them. This is a style of fighting that
is consistent with the Chinese art of chi gung. This process involves
going into possession with the spirit of Ogun and uses this altered state
of consciousness to amplify the natural earth currents that surround us in
every moment. Possession is usually the consequence of lengthy
invocations. In the discipline of invoking possession it is possible to
trigger possession by programing body signals. For example you can
develop the ability to go into possession immediately by slapping your
bicep. This is a tactic that can be used in a real self-defense situation to
go into possession immediately which is a powerful tool in a real fight.
On my next post on this subject I will explain the metaphysical principles
that make the art of gidigbo possible.
Ire,
Awo Falokun
GIDIGBO PART 2: THE
METAPHYSICAL FOUNDATION OF
IFA MARTIAL ARTS

Agbo ato.
In part one of this series I shared my personal experience of the
remarkable skills demonstrated by Gidigbo masters of the African
martial art developed by traditional Yoruba culture in Nigeria Africa.
Most Westerners do not believe the things I described are humanly
possible. I believe that the ancients developed skills based on their
understanding of science and the paleo science of ancient cultures
was far more advanced and far more sophisticated than the science
embraced by contemporary Western culture. These means they are
not using magic, they are using an extremely complex and finely
tuned perception of self and world to create a system of self-
defense.
I want to give a brief description of the science developed by the
ancients as it applies to the skill sets found in most African marital arts.
My explanation will be based on the Yoruba spiritual discipline called Ifa
which is both a system for spiritual growth and a system of ancient
science (paleo science) that explains the relationship between self and
world in a way that accurately reflects the world we live in. Western
science is so afraid of the occult, meaning the invisible influences in the
world, that Western science is an inaccurate description of the Universe
we live in.
The first important principle of Ifa paleo science is that everything in the
Universe is created by consciousness called Ori in the Yoruba language.
The second important principle is that all consciousness is connected to
a common universal source called Iponri in the Yoruba language. In
English we could translate Iponri as the mind of Creation or the
consciousness of the Creator. The third important principle is that
conscious shapes the universe and exists in a primal form called Ala that
can be molded into aspects of Creation that emerge as a consequence
of evolution.
The Ifa principle that informs Gidigbo as a martial art is that the Ala or
the unformed light of consciousness flows between the Invisible Realm
called Orun and the visible realm called Aye. The flow of Ala between
these two realms occurs through sacred portals called odu meaning
womb. According to Ifa pale science these portals or odu exist in atoms,
exist in planets, exist in stars, exist in galaxies and as it relates to martial
arts exist in the human aura. The flow of Ala is the source of what Ifa
calls ase or spiritual power. In the Eastern marital arts ase is called
either chi, ki or prana. The human aura is called emi in the Yoruba
language. The emi forms a torsion sphere around the human body. This
torsion sphere is like a giant donut with an opening at the feet and above
the head. Ase flows through the torsion sphere from the inside out and
covers the circumference of the sphere. If you were to dissect the sphere
at the equator and track the flow of energy from that point you diagram
would look exactly like the yin yang symbol used in Asian martial arts.
According to Ifa paleo science the torsion sphere of the emi or human
soul is supported by a structure the ancient Egyptians called a merkaba.
A merkaba is two three sided pyramids within the torsion sphere. The
apex of one of the pyramids is touching the North Pole with its base
below the equator and the apex of the other pyramid is touching the
South Pole with its base above the equator. These two three sided
pyramids spin in opposite directions creating what Western Science calls
gravity. In the Yoruba language gravity it ge which is also a reference to
the power of the feminine meaning the ability to create new forms in the
Universe. Gravity gives shape to electromagnetic force. Without gravity
or ge there would be no form in the Universe only beams of light.
If you can visualize the merkaba you will notice there are eight points of
contact between the two three sided pyramids and the surface of the
torsion sphere. These points of contact are the location of odu or the
portals between Orun and Aye, the portals between the invisible realm
and the visible realm.
In humans these portals open and close in reaction to the emotion state
of the ori or consciousness of the person within the merkaba structure.
An open portal allows for the flow of ase or spiritual power into the emi or
aura giving added strength, endurance and vitality. When all of these
portals are closed the person inside the merkaba will experience illness
and eventually death. In additional to these portals allowing for ase or
spiritual power to touch the physical body from the invisible realm, they
also allow the ori or the consciousness of the person to flow outside the
emi or aura and explore the transcendent consciousness of Creation or
Iponri.
The first step in preparing for a martial arts encounter is to open all eight
portals or odu of the human emi or aura. In the top pyramid there are 16
combinations of sequences of openings for each of the odu or portals. In
the botton pyramid there are 16 combinations of sequences of openings
for each of the odu or portals. This gives a total of 256 combinations of
open and closed portals. In Western science human consciousness has
five senses. In Ifa paleo science human consciousness has 256 senses
related to access to different kinds of information and energy flow related
to all the possible combinations of open and closed portals. In Ifa paleo
science the 256 senses have specific names and they have ofo ase
meaning words of power used to invoke those senses as they are
needed.
Using Western language Ifa teaches that the light of consciousness is a
giant sign wave at a specific frequency. Each of the combinations of
open and closed portals or odu creates a range of frequencies. Some of
these frequencies take us out of the physical realm and place our mind
and body into what could be called the invisible realm. When a martial
artist is able to shift dimensions at will based at access to the full
spectrum of 256 human senses several things occur. Using the full
spectrum of 256 human sense the physical body can place itself at a
vibration rate where it is unaffected by bullets and blades. The physical
can also become a portal for huge amounts of ase that can have a
tremendous physical impact on the physical world. The is the basis for
levitation and teleportation which is a real element of human potential.
Opening these sensory portals can also give the mind of the martial
artist total access to the thoughts and intentions of their opponent. Once
you open the sensory portals that allow you to read the mind of your
opponent the fight is over. This same link gives the martial artist the
ability to influence the decisions of their opponent again leading to the
end of any confrontation.
In my next article I will explain how to train access to the 256 sense
available to human consciousness.
Ire
Awo Falokun Fatunmbi
GIDIGBO PART 3 TRAINING
BY AWO FALOKUN

In the first segment of this post I described

my experience with Gidigbo masters from traditional Yoruba culture in
Nigeria. Gidigbo is a martial art associated with the spiritual discipline
called Ifa. In the first segment I spoke about seeing Gidigbo masters do
things that at first glance did not seem to be humanly possible. This
suggests that Gidigbo taps into hidden abilities that are not easily
accessible to anyone not trained in the system. Western culture calls
these abilities occult and Christianity specifically has demonized these
abilities by associating them with the Devil. I believe this association has
unnecessarily blocked human access to its full potential in the Western
World.
In the second segment of the article I explained the Ifa metaphysics that
provides a conceptual foundation for explaining what appear to be
supernatural skills. I suggested that according to Ifa the human body is
surrounded by an aura shaped like a merkaba and that this geometric
pattern is used as a framework for opening portals to invisible
dimensions that both give the Gidigbo master access to supernatural
forms of energy that enhance fighting skills, and that can be used to
access an understanding of the opponent that renders the opponents
attack ineffective.
In this segment I want to discuss how these skills are acquired and give
the serious student some sense of the spiritual discipline required to fight
at the level of a Gidigbo master. It is important to understand that if
someone is interested in studying Gidigbo it is not the kind of discipline
that can be acquired by taking a class two or three times a week.
Gidigbo, like its Asian counter parts, is rooted in a spiritual discipline.
This discipline is the foundation of the skill set needed to practice
Gidigbo effectively and the martial arts aspect of the spiritual discipline is
one small component of broader life style rooted in a metaphysical
understanding of self and world.
To understand what all of this means in practical terms requires an
understanding of Ifa spiritual discipline in the context of traditional
Yoruba culture. First unlike the pop culture, new age forms of spirituality
that are frequently based on individual needs and self-regulated
discipline with no guidance from elders, Ifa is first and foremost a
communal spiritual discipline. The process of communal support starts
with a naming ceremony where a child will be identified as having
potential in the martial arts. Once this destiny is identified the child will
spend time with the communal martial arts masters as part of their
childhood training and development. That specialized training will occur
in the context of the larger issue of spiritual growth and discipline that is
rooted in the Ifa concept of iwapele. The word iwapele is often
mistranslated to mean good character. It has that connotation but is
more accurately translated from the elision iwa ope ile meaning I come
to greet the earth. The word is a reflection of the Ifa metaphysical idea
that good character comes through living in harmony with the Earth and
that living in harmony with the Earth is the result of being in
communication with Forces of Nature through altered states of
consciousness.
In order to facilitate the ability to communicate with Forces of Nature
called Orisa in the Yoruba language, students of Gidigbo engage in the
traditional Ifa prayer cycle. That means that the student of Gidigbo does
daily divination to determine what issues are at play during the day that
will facilitate the development of iwapele. Then the student of Gidigbo
will engage in a four day prayer cycle which involves developing a
cohesive and elevated relationship with members of the student’s
biological family. This is then supplemented by a 16 days prayer cycle
that involves the entire society of Gidigbo students who come together to
understand their collective responsibilities to the defense of the
community and how to maintain the integrity of the group. The student
will be part of a large community that comes together to do divination for
the seasons and to give guidance for spiritual issues that affect the
entire year.
The students of Gidigbo can have different responsibilities depending on
very specific forms of initiation that provide training for specific
communal tasks. The skill set of Gidigbo is associated with protecting
the family and protecting the village. It is also associated with tracking
and hunting. In the communal judicial process the skill set of Gidigbo is
associated with identifying those who are responsible for committing
crimes and it is associated with the process of punishing those crimes
including the process of capital punishment which in traditional Yoruba
culture is a ritual act designed to elevate the soul of a person who has
engaged in serious criminal violations of communal protocol. All of this
requires learning the art of divination and requires guidance from elders
who monitor the development of iwapele. In other words certain occult
aspects of Gidigbo are not taught until the student clearly demonstrates
their internalization of the cultural expectations of good character.
The training itself includes rituals that give the martial artist access to
what could be described as animal powers. The master of Gidigbo can
project their vision into the spirit of a bird and view a confrontation from
the sky downward given them a perspective and potential attacks from
all 350 angles of the circle. The master of Gidigbo will also have access
to various animal spirits that have the function of waking the master
when danger approaches while they are asleep.
In order for these various animal powers to be effective the master of
Gidigbo must first develop the skill set needed to communicate with
Primal Forces of Nature called Orisa. In simple terms these Forces are
associated with the elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Martial arts in
traditional Yoruba culture are generally associated with the element of
Fire and access to this Force involves the daily access to altered states
of consciousness that occurs during morning divination. This ability is
further developed during daily training of the art, and is especially
enhance during rituals that occur every sixteen days. In Ifa spiritual
discipline the training of the ability to enter altered states of
consciousness involves lengthy invocations called oriki, songs related to
warrior spirits called Orin Ebora and dances that mimic the movements
of a particular force of Nature called Langlu.
Some training sessions will involve the deliberate invocation of ancestral
Gidigbo masters so the student can the feel the movements of well-
trained elders who have transitioned but who continue to give guidance
and wisdom. While the student is engaged in the study of the actual
techniques of Gidigbo they will be periodically given medicine to
enhance their abilities. This medicine will either be in the form of a keloid
scar marked on the body or an incision in which powdered medicine is
introduced into the blood system of the student.
The art of fighting has a wide range of variations just as there is a wide
range of variations found in Gung Fu and Karate. So instead of
describing all of these variations I want to address the issue of the
philosophical approach to engaging in combat. The first step in engaging
in a real martial art confrontation is to enter what is called an eji ogbe
state of being. That means the master of Gidigbo will open all eight
portals of the merkaba that is imbedded in the human aura. In order to
do this the master of Gidigbo needs to have complete and absolute
balance between the head and heart. This balance only comes by being
fully in the present moment, with no fear of the outcome, no regrets from
the past, no emotional agenda like jealously, greed or revenge and no
investment in judgments or personal feelings towards the opponent. The
words eji ogbe are from the elision eji o egbe meaning the first Spirit of
consciousness it is a reference to being in complete alignment with the
Source of Creation or Olodumare in the Yoruba language. The only way
to access the eji ogbe state of alignment is through the development of
good character. No amount of physical training in the fighting arts will
automatically open the door to access to this fundamental state of being.
It is and likely always will be a function of spiritual development related
to access the principles of good character.
In the eji ogbe with all eight portals of the human aura open the first step
of engagement with an opponent is empathy. The eji ogbe state of Being
allows the master of Gidigbo full access to understanding their
opponents intentions. Once you have determined the opponents
intentions you have easy access to counter measures. From the eji ogbe
state of Being the student of Gidigbo can learn to shift their aura to
accommodate any of the 256 human sense taught in Ifa spiritual
discipline. These shifts are designed to have a specific consequence in
combat. For example if a student wants to knocked down their opponent
without touching them they will invoke a pattern of the aura called Osa
meji which closes the portal at the top and bottom of the merkaba.
Closing these two portals will concentrate all the students’ spiritual
energy at their core which is then projected outward through the hands
rather than through the head and the feat.
When a student wants to use incantations to defeat an opponent they
will invoke Ika meji which concentrates all the spiritual power in the
region of the mouth. There are patterns of the aura that enhance astral
projection, teleportation, levitation and the ability to vibrate at levels that
are immune to blades and bullets.
The basic premise of Gidigbo as a fighting art is never losing your
balance. Maintaining balance is a function of keeping your head in
alignment with your spine, keeping your spine in alignment with your
pelvis and keeping your pelvis connecting to your heels which are fully
rooted in connection with the earth. This alignment is not only the
preferred fighting stance, it is absolutely essential to the process of going
into altered states of consciousness. I said earlier that altered states of
consciousness are trained through the use of invocation, song and
dance. This obviously is not possible during a real fight. The master of
Gidigbo has trained their mind to go into full possession as a result of
what I call body triggers. The most common of these body triggers is to
slap your bicep in preparation for real combat. In training you use
invocation, song and dance in association with the body trigger so that
the body trigger can eventually be used by itself to access the altered
state.
From the altered state time and motion slows down. This gives the
master of Gidigbo the ability to doge blows without using the arms to
block an attack. If you doge a blow and still have both hands available as
weapons the fight is all but over. The ability to doge in Gidigbo is similar
to the ability to doge in Tai Chi. With hands free, any attack is initiated
from the core. It is very similar to the Bruce Lee concept of the three inch
punch. You lock your arm to your shoulder your shoulder to your pelvis,
push off from the heel and deliver the punch by turning your hips with
your arm locked in connection to your heel. There are no punches based
on arm movement or arm strength. Physical strength in this system is
largely ill relevant. There is also the concept of catching an opponent’s
momentum and then simply using it to throw the opponent off center.
This process is similar to Akido. There are a wide range of moves that
can be generated from these perspectives.
When the master of Gidigbo is in an altered states they can use that
state to enhance the power of the word and to use that enhanced power
to influence the thoughts and actions of their opponent. This process can
involve everything from encouraging the opponent not to fight, to causing
the opponent to faint or even cause the termination of the life force.
When Gidigbo is demonstrated as part of a public ritual, the students will
stand in a circle and dance in honor of the Spirit of Ogun who is the
warrior Spirit who makes weapons from iron. In the midst of the dancing
someone will yell Gidigbo, Gidigbo and the dance will morph into a
martial arts competition which is essential a version of king of the
mountain. It is a giant wrestling match and each time someone hits the
ground that person will leave the circle until there is one man left
standing. At that point the village elder will enter the circle and the last
man standing will take a dive symbolizing the superior strength of
community over the individual. As the wrestling match begins the
contestants will either square off by standing with the back of their palms
touching while mirroring each other until they find an opening, or they will
square off like line men in a football game.
In some regions of Ogun state there are Gidigbo students who are
initiated into the Orisa Agemo. The Agemo means Chameleon in
Yoruba. The responsibility of the songs of Agemo is serve as
bodyguards to the village Oba or king. When the sons of Agemo have a
public demonstration of their power they will form two lines face each
other and hurl incantations at each other until some of them start to drop
to the ground unconscious. The reason they are initiated into the spirit of
Agemo is because when the Oba is in public the sons of Agemo blend
into the crowd where they are unseen and unnoticed until they are called
action. There is a female equivalent to this as a subgroup of Iyaami
Osoranga. The women who guard the entrance to the sacred grove of
the ancestral mothers have the ability to render a person unconscious
simply by touching them on the shoulder. Their ability has absolutely
nothing to do with size or strength.
The reason much seems strange or unfamiliar to most people who live in
the West is because Western consciousness has been dumbed down
through social conditioning that allows the few to control the many. I
believe that the value in bringing this art to the West is to give Ifa
devotees the tools needed to break the social conditioning that has
sustained a long history of racism, sexism, homophobia and
fundamental social injustice.
Ire,
Awo Falokun