Tres or three is synonymous to triangle in Filipino philosophy and traditional martial arts. Lethal and immobilizing points in the body are in the clusters of three and in the forms of triangle. There are wet triangles for weapons such as spear, knife,and sword and dry ones for impact strike from stick, kick or punch.
A strike on a wet triangle usually targets veins, blood vessels, or arteries. On a dry one focuses the impact towards internal organs such as heart, lungs, kidney, liver, etc. Attacking dry triangles is usually done first to immobilize an opponent. That is the rule, so that one has time to think if he wants to finish his opponent off by using weapons to thrust, cut, or slash his opponent who is down and in pain. His opponent can also rethink if he needs to continue fighting.
People who go directly with the lethal wet points usually regret after killing their opponents. They forget the rule of killing, which is to think twice before doing it. A good martial artist should know how to control his rage. If anything can control him like fear, rage, and vengeance, then he is weak, coward, and dumb.
Those who are controlled by their feelings usually end up in hospital, cemetery, or jail. Fighting also belongs to the realm of the mind. One should think before he hurts someone. That's why there are mapped out lethal points in the human body, so accident can be avoided and dumb killing won't happen. Killing should be done when one really knows what he is doing and if he really thinks about the consequences. Blaming adrenaline rush and psychological blackout is a weak reason. A real martial artist knows how to control his feelings because he uses his mind.
Even the triangles of death have points that are semi-lethal or not lethal at all. Their role is for warning. If continued, stabs, slashes or cuts to other adjoining points would result to death. A good example is the belly-femoral triangle. Stabbing the belly area is not always deadly. The adipose tissues or fats in that area are thick and slippery. That belly point serves a good warning though to a fallen opponent that his attacker can still continue and complete the triangle by doing the same thing to both femoral veins.
Uno, dos, tres attack is basically a controlled way to kill. Uno is a warning, dos is to kill, and tres is to overkill. Counting uno, dos, tres in relation to trouble, fight, or fisticuff is common in Philippine culture. We count one, two, three to warn bullies, calm down our obnoxious brothers, and give our enemies time to shut up, leave us alone or run as fast as they can. Intelligent killing requires time for both individuals in a fight to really make sure that one is ready to kill and the other to be killed.
Had that Filipino guy who killed a club bouncer in New York learned Uno-dos-tres attack, dry and wet triangles, and warning and killing points, he would not have been in jail full of regrets and suicidal thoughts. If you look at it deeper, Filipino martial art is not senselessly savage. It warns and gives time to someone to stop the fight, run, and go to the nearest emergency room. Uno as an expression in Philippine languages is synonymous to warning. Yes, a Filipino warns before he unlocks, flips, and thrusts his balisong.
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