The School
Live Blade
The lion-and-shield is our brand — Live Blade, the school and organization, standing authorized within the Pekiti-Tirsia Kali World Federation.
We aim to share the beautiful and brutal Filipino combat system, Pekiti-Tirsia Kali, with the good people of Philadelphia — providing top-quality, authorized instruction for law enforcement and peace officers, personal and family protection, women's empowerment, and youth, with the intent of uplifting humanity.
Top-quality, authorized instruction — the real system, taught right, under living lineage.
Honor, courage, and power — on and off the training floor. No egos. Just the work and each other.
Real self-defense for the real world, pressure-tested for the way violence actually happens.
Violence is unpredictable.
It does not resemble combat sports or choreographed demonstrations.
Are you prepared for a surprise attack with armed, multiple opponents?
Pekiti-Tirsia Kali was developed by indigenous Filipino culture to protect the land from invaders. Its purpose was to prepare practitioners to survive violent encounters through intelligent movement, precise timing, and the effective use of both empty-hand and edged-weapon principles.
Unlike systems that separate weapons from empty-hand training, Kali teaches that the same body mechanics, footwork, and decision-making apply regardless of what is in your hands.
Whether you are a complete beginner or an experienced martial artist, Kali offers a systematic approach to personal protection built on centuries of continuous refinement.
Angola Tafari has trained Pekiti-Tirsia Kali since 2003, studying directly under 1st-generation Tuhon Akmeed "AK" Boouraca — nephew of Grand Tuhon Leo Gaje Jr — and today under Grand Tuhon Rommel Tortal. With over a decade in public education, he founded Live Blade to bring the authentic system to Philadelphia and to raise up practitioners of quality, integrity, and practicality.
The lion-and-shield is our brand — Live Blade, the school and organization, standing authorized within the Pekiti-Tirsia Kali World Federation.
"Everlasting burning fire." The name of our tribe — the community of practitioners who train, grow, and protect together as one.
The art we teach didn't come from a video or a weekend seminar. It runs, hand to hand, from the Grandmaster himself — through his first-generation students, to our training floor today.
Guardian and heir of Pekiti-Tirsia Kali — the source of the system. In 2015, Live Blade was honored to host the Grandmaster here in Philadelphia — and he stayed with us for the year.
A first-generation student of Grand Tuhon Leo Gaje Jr and the first teacher through whom our instructor entered the system.
Heir to the Tortal family tradition and the Grand Tuhon under whom Live Blade trains and stands authorized today.
Two of the gravest dangers to survival are the desire for comfort and a passive outlook. Combat training requires intense mental conditioning and emotional stability — the body will not go where the mind has not been.
Every student starts with a Sunday orientation. No experience needed — just show up ready to learn.
Book Your Orientation →