I will get it started...
I was a Filipino martial artist though I have studied JKD Concepts and Jun Fan Kickboxing, some integrated grappling and some Brazilian Jujitsu, as well as some fencing concepts my father taught me. I trained Inosanto-Lacoste Kali Silat with some Lameco thrown in and went very hard into the Dog Brothers' method of Real Contact stick fighting training, fighting at two Gatherings Of The Pack. For those that don't know, FMA or Filipino Martial Arts are a widely eclectic mix of styles and systems from the Philippines that include a lot of weapons training which in turn inform the empty hand techniques and approaches. You will find many different names for the arts as there are quite a few dialects spoken in the arts' home country. FMA is itself a mixture of a few influences from outside the Philippines, including Western Fencing and Boxing brought there by the Spaniards and the Americans respectively.
For myself, I think a big part of why the art when taught right is so effective is that there are still men who used these methods on a real battlefield alive today. Filipino fighters used their arts in the jungle combat against the Japanese occupation during WWII. As such those men went on to teach others after the war. Unlike many other styles the FMA practitioner is taught in a system that has men alive who guided it's evolution that know real combat. No offense to other systems but I think that is important.
The various styles and systems usually start off with weapon work. The training tool/weapon is usually a rattan stick, with lengths varying. The methods learned are two fold. You learn indeed how to use a blunt impact weapon but it's important to note that most of those same techniques are also used for bladed weapons/Swords. Double weapons like double stick and unmatched weapons like sword and dagger/knife are included as well. In fact it is my opinion that stick/sword and dagger should probably be taught first, despite the difficulty in coordinating "long and short" that puts most people off learning it. Instructors in bringing the arts to the masses in the States adapted the traditional training methods for a new group, usually going single stick/single knife, to double stick to stick and knife and then stick and dagger, but even the most famous FMA teacher alive, Dan Inosanto has talked about that perhaps being a mistake as the coordination built with Stick and dagger is a big part of making the other aspects like double stick and the empty hands component work.
I have found that the method of working weapons first really helps to super charge the empty hands but also allows one to, hopefully, adapt any weapon to one's own use, even improvised ones. Also learning how to use weapons, especially the knife as it is so common, helps you to develop the reactions and tactics necessary to face one yourself if you are unarmed in a violent encounter.
If you are a student of another art I can give FMA no better endorsement than to say that it will compliment any method you are currently studying very well, especially if the art you are doing does not have a weapon component. Let's just say I think someone that has been training in Judo or BJJ and has some FMA in his arsenal has got a lot of bases covered in case of a street fight.
FMA is also an art that can be trained "Hard/External" or "Soft/Internal". Practice it hard core to develop the strong and brutal aspects, and practice it slow to see the way the movements bring harmony to the body and mind.
I recommend as always to check the art out for yourself in person. But if you find a school you like with a system that interests you I think you will find something practical and enriching.
