In Balintawak eskrima the stick is used as the primary training tool to familiarize the students with weapons and blows. It is believed that familiarity in confronting weapons reduces fear and panic in actual combat. It is a combat both with weapons and bare hands. The theory is that the stick is only an extension of the arm and that the human body can only move in so many normal ways. This the development of certain basic blows to illustrate the source and direction of blows. Beneath the wide swinging, flashy and visible blows are the sophisticated secret moves, dynamics in balancing, holds, parries, clips, ruses, feigns, tripping, sweeping, kicking, trapping, reversals of motion and direction, blows with simultaneous offense and defense and a myriad of combination blows with the stick, fist, elbow, knee, foot or head butt. There is no limit on where and what to hit except in friendly workouts where injury is avoided and safety is imposed. As a matter of fact, what is considered foul in many arts, is what is taught and mastered in Balintawak. It is combat, street fighting and self-defense. In Balintawak, the student is taught that there is a counter to every counter and that continuous research and discovery is the basis of knowledge. The comes the training and workouts, where only those with the fastest reflex, coordination and agility will prevail. There is no emphasis on acrobatic, strenuous and abnormal movements of the human body. It is an art that can be practiced by children, women and older men. Eskrima does not claim to know it all. Bobby strongly believes that it has something to contribute to the world of martial arts. He advises to "pick one good move from any art, master it and make it a part of your arsenal at any instant and you will grow and mature in your knowledge." It is easy to hit but difficult to defend. Thus he emphasizes a strong defense for all beginners, mastery of the defensive stage of the art and then the incorporation of speed in the hand-eye coordination through reflex and flexibility in the body movement.