FILIPINO MARTIAL ARTS the Filipino Martial Arts
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Ronald A. Harris, Ph.D. FILIPINO MARTIAL ARTS The Filipino martial arts (FMA) can be called Filipino fencing, because they are methods of personal armed combat that emphasize skills in weaponry over skills in empty hands. Unarmed combat is practiced in FMA, but is traditionally studied after weaponry. This training sequence sets FMA apart from other martial arts that initiate with empty hands. Armed combat is known as Arnis, Eskrima (fencing, Spanish), and Kali. Arnis derives from the Spanish arnes meaning armor. It also comes from “harness,” referring to the battle harness worn by Filipino soldiers under Spanish command. Arnis-de-mano means “harness of hand”, referring to deft hand movements of Filipino grooms for Spanish officers. These lightning fast hand movements were native martial arts techniques in disguise. Forbidden by the Spanish to practice martial arts, defiant Filipinos retained their fighting skills in secret by hiding them in dance forms called Santikan, Sayaw, and Moro-Moro. Other etymologies have been suggested for the names of the various Filipino arts. Dueling an opponent is “to skirmish”. The Spanish term Esgrima is in the Pilipino language. Kali might be named after the Hindu Goddess of c:\mars\clio\fma 1 Ronald A. Harris, Ph.D. Destruction. Dan Inosanto says Kali is the conjunction of the first syllables of two words from the Philippine Islands Visayan language--kamot meaning “hand” and lihok meaning “motion”. Thus, Kali means “hand motion”. An etymology of the Pilipino language indicates otherwise. In the Hiligaynon dialect of the Western Visayas, the term kali means “to dig”, as with a shovel (pala). A shovel is a spade and the word for sword is espada. Kali probably derives from the Visayan word kalis, meaning “sword” and was written in a shipboard chronicle of Magellan’s voyage in 1534 A.D. Unarmed combat is Mano-Mano (“hand-to-hand”, Spanish), but is also Kuntao and Silat. To describe the plethora of FMA styles is arduous, but some: Doce Pares, Lacoste, Modern Arnis, and Pekiti Tirsia, are publicized through seminars and are associated with particular instructors such as Ciriaco C. Canete, Dan Inosanto, Remy A. Presas, and Leo T. Gaje, Jr., who spread the FMA in Australia, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, and in the United States. Geographically situated at the crossroads of Southeast Asia, the Philippines are located near the equator above Borneo and below Taiwan. With a population estimated at 60 million, the Philippines is larger in area than Great c:\mars\clio\fma 2 Ronald A. Harris, Ph.D. Britain, but smaller than Japan. Those readers unfamiliar with the 7,107 islands and three major regions of the Philippine Archipelago: Luzon (North), Visayas (Central), and Mindanao (South), may be confused by the 87 different dialects of Pilipino, which is the national language. Besides dialects, English is the language of business and education. Spanish is spoken--to a lesser extent. Foreign languages are remnants of immigration to and colonization of the islands, which influenced native Filipino martial arts. Ostensibly, Filipinos have Malay ancestry, Chinese culture, Spanish religion, and American education. Mestizos are racially mixed Filipinos with Chinese, Spanish, and American bloodlines. This cultural milieu facilitated the blending of FMA. Thus, FMA are a blend of martial arts having Indonesian, Malaysian, Chinese, Spanish, American, and Japanese origins. Filipino martial culture has both tradition and history. Tradition is oral, and history is written. Their culture was destroyed and created by foreign colonization. Martial fiestas offer keys for understanding Filipino martial culture. For example, the mythical meeting of the Ten Datus (“chiefs”)of Borneo with the Negritos of Panay is celebrated annually at the Ati-Atihan in Kalibo, Aklan. c:\mars\clio\fma 3 Ronald A. Harris, Ph.D. Similarly, the defeat of Captain Ferdinand Magellan by Datu Lapu-Lapu of Mactan Island is celebrated at the Sinulog in Cebu. This is in conjunction with Santo Nino Fiesta marking the introduction of the Catholic faith to the Philippines. Theory posits that in a prehistoric period the aboriginal Negritos (pygmies, Aetas) crossed over a land bridge from mainland Asia, first settling the islands. Next, waves of immigrants (from the area called Malaysia) colonized the islands around 200 B.C. Anthropological evidence shows that the prehistoric people of Southeast Asia all belonged to a single population. They were later divided into cultural groups (i.e., Filipinos, Malaysians, and Indonesians) in accordance with the territorial boundaries of their European (i.e., Spanish, British, and Dutch) colonizers. In the 9th Century, trade relations began with China. Colonies were established in the Philippines during the Sung Dynasty (960-1127 A.D.). Kuntao, a FMA with empty hand movements similar to Taijiquan, has been traced to the Kuntung Province. Chinese rivalry with the Hindus and Javanese continued into the Ming period (1402-1424 AD). Ancient civilizations--the Sri Vishayan and Majapahit--are c:\mars\clio\fma 4 Ronald A. Harris, Ph.D. prominent in Filipino history. Hindu influence includes the Tantra and could explain the prominent role of women in Filipino society. Bisaya purportedly means, “slave” and was used by Moros to refer to people of the central region whom they frequently captured or killed. The Majapahit Empire was formed in Java around the 12th Century in the area of modern Indonesia. This ancient Islamic Empire included Burma, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Madagascar, and Philippines. The martial arts from these countries, such as Muay Thai, Bersilat, and Pentjak Silat, have techniques that are similar to the FMA, such as Silat. Islam came to Mindanao around 1380 A.D., spreading to the Visayas and Luzon. These “Malays” ventured from Borneo (Kalimantan) led by the ten datus (chieftains), the most important of whom is Datu Puti. Datu Puti traveled from Borneo to Panay, from Panay to Luzon, and from Luzon back to Borneo, after helping the datus to settle other islands. In 1433 A.D., Datu Kalantiyaw, the third chief of Panay and descendent of Datu Sumakwel from Borneo, issued civil and social orders called the Kalantiyaw for guiding his people. Although its authenticity is questionable, the eighteen commandments of the Kalantiyaw code may be one of the few written records surviving the pre-Spanish times. c:\mars\clio\fma 5 Ronald A. Harris, Ph.D. Western history begins with Captain Ferdinand Magellan landing on the Island of Cebu in the central Visayas on April 15, 1521. The conquistador was circumnavigating the globe and claiming lands for the Spanish Crown. Philippines is “Philip’s Pines” named after King Philip. In the Battle of Mactan, Captain Magellan was killed while retreating from an attack on the native forces led by Datu Lapu-Lapu. According to the shipboard chronicles of Antonio Pigafetta, there were 1,050 Filipinos against forty-nine Europeans. European weapons are identified as lances, hackbuts (i.e., firearms), crossbows, artillery, and armor. Filipino weapons included poisoned arrows, lances of bamboo tipped with iron, javelins; unbound wooden shields; fire hardened pointed stakes, and hurled stones. The Spanish colonial period brought Catholic religion to the islands and unified the islands into a single nation. Independence from Spain was declared June 12, 1898. The Filipino revolution for independence was led by secret societies, such as Katipunan. Most Katipunan members were freemasons following pre-Spanish traditions and were known to practice both Filipino Martial Arts and Spanish swordsmanship. After the Spanish-American War, the United States got Puerto Rico and the Philippines as booty. c:\mars\clio\fma 6 Ronald A. Harris, Ph.D. The Americans fought a guerilla war against the Moros in Mindanao to claim the islands. Fierce resistance from local Muslim tribes caused the United States to recall the .38 cal. revolver and issue the .45 cal. revolver to increase stopping power. Moros tied tourniquets on their limbs and charged into the American trenches. The nickname “leatherneck” refers to the United States Marines’ wearing leather gorgets around their necks to stop the Moros from cutting their throats. Japanese Imperial armed forces invaded the Philippines and occupied the islands from 1942 to 1945. An ideological battle was fought for the soul of the Filipino people, who were reminded by the Japanese that despite their history under Spain and America, they were oriental not occidental. The Japanese encountered fierce guerilla resistance in the islands from Filipino nationalists and their American allies. Following General Douglas MacArthur’s historic return landing in Leyte, the Philippines headed for self- determination. There is an indelible mark on the Filipino psyche from the Japanese occupation in World War II. Some of the two handed stick fighting styles, such as Dos Manos in Doce Pares Eskrima, were developed to encounter Japanese swords. After the commonwealth ended in 1946, the c:\mars\clio\fma 7 Ronald A. Harris, Ph.D. Philippines developed like other former Spanish colonies as an agricultural society. Nowadays, the Filipino arts include many types of skills, but not all styles are versed in the entire range of them. Inosanto classifies Filipino weapons into twelve categories (1) single stick, sword or axe, (2) double stick, sword or axe, (3) single stick, sword or axe and dagger or shield, (4) double knife, (5) single knife and empty hands, (6) empty hands, (7) short stick, (8) flexible weapons, (9) throwing weapons, (10) archery and blowgun, (11) spear and staff, and (12) double handed long stick. The latter category can instead include healing arts and metaphysics. The single stick (Solo Baston, Garote, Olisi) category includes the axe and sword--when used singly. A single cane refers to a wooden weapon--about one-inch in diameter ranging from twenty-two to forty-four inches in length. Sticks are used to practice and are often made of rattan for safety.