Philippines the Title Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) Refers to Several Styles, Methods, and Systems of Self-Defense That Include Armed and Unarmed Combat
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now internationally known system of training performers using the princi- ples of techniques of Asian martial and meditation arts as a foundation for the psychophysiological process of the performer (see Zarrilli 1993, 1995). One example of the actual use of a martial art in contemporary the- ater performance is that of Yoshi and Company. In the 1970s Yoshi Oida, an internationally known actor with Peter Brook’s company in Paris, cre- ated a complete performance piece, Ame-Tsuchi, based on kendô. Yoshi used the rituals of combat and full contact exchanges as a theatrical vehi- cle for transmission of the symbolic meaning behind the Japanese origin myth that served as the text for the performance. Of the many examples from Asia per se, during the 1980s in India a number of dancers, choreographers, and theater directors began to make use of martial arts in training their companies or for choreography. Among some of the most important have been theater directors Kavalam Narayana Panikkar of Kerala, who used kalarippayattu in training his company, Sopanam, and Rattan Theyyam in Manipur, who made use of thang-ta. Among Indian choreographers, Chandralekha of Madras and Daksha Seth of Thiruvananthapuram have both drawn extensively on kalarippayattu in training their companies and creating their contemporary choreographies. Phillip Zarrilli See also Africa and African America; Capoeira; Form/Xing/Kata/Pattern Practice; Japan; Kalarippayattu; Mongolia; Thang-Ta References Elias, Norbert. 1972. “The Genesis of Sport as a Sociological Problem.” In Sport: Readings from a Sociological Perspective. Edited by Eric Dunning. Toronto: University of Toronto. Ghosh, M. 1956. Natyasastra. Vol. 1. Calcutta: Manisha Granthalaya. Lawler, Lillian B. 1964. The Dance in Ancient Greece. Seattle: University of Washington Press. Schechner, Richard. 1983. Performative Circumstances from Avante Garde to Ramlila. Calcutta: Seagull Books. Zarrilli, Phillip B., ed. 1995. Acting (Re)Considered. London: Routledge Press. ———. 1993. Asian Martial Arts in Actor Training. Madison, WI: Center for South Asia. Philippines The title Filipino martial arts (FMA) refers to several styles, methods, and systems of self-defense that include armed and unarmed combat. Mostly, FMA are just “Filipino fencing,” because they include personal armed com- bative techniques that emphasize weaponry skills over skills in empty hands. Unarmed combat is practiced in FMA, but is traditionally studied after weaponry training. This training sequence sets FMA apart from other martial arts, especially Asian, that initiate with empty hands. 422 Philippines Filipino armed combat is known variously as arnis, eskrima (fencing; Spanish, escrima), and kali. Arnis derives from the Spanish word arnes, meaning “armor.” Arnis, or “harness,” no doubt also refers to the battle harness worn by Filipino soldiers under Spanish command. Arnis-de-mano, or “harness of hand,” denotes the deft hand movements made by Filipino grooms working for Spanish officers. Lightning-quick hand movements were alleged to be native martial arts techniques in disguise. Forbidden by the Spanish to practice indigenous martial arts, defiant Filipinos purport- edly retained their fighting skills in secret by hiding them inside dance forms called Santikan, Sayaw, and Moro-Moro. An alternative thesis pro- poses that FMA is classical fencing that evolved with incipient nationalism. Hence, FMA is the modern expression of fencing evolution. Other etymologies have been suggested for the names of the various Filipino arts. The Spanish term esgrima (skirmish) has entered the Pilipino language. Kali, according to some accounts, might be named after the Hindu goddess of destruction. Internationally recognized FMA master Dan Inosanto contends that Kali is the conjunction of the first syllables of two words from the Philippine Visayan language—kamot, meaning “hand,” and lihok, meaning “motion.” Thus, Kali means “hand motion.” An ex- amination 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,” which was written in a shipboard chronicle of Magellan’s voyage in A.D. 1534. Unarmed combat is mano-mano (Spanish; hand-to-hand), but is also kuntao and silat. To describe the plethora of FMA styles, methods, and sys- tems is arduous; some—Doce Pares, Lacoste, Modern Arnis, and Pekiti Tir- sia—are publicized through seminars and are associated with particular in- structors 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 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 are larger in area than Great Britain, but smaller than Japan. Those 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 eighty-seven different dialects of Pilipino (Tagalong), the national language. English is the language of business and education, and Spanish is spoken to a lesser extent. Foreign languages are remnants of immigration to and colonization of the Philippine islands, which influenced native Filipino martial arts. It is of- Philippines 423 Warrior tribesmen of the Philippines with swords and woven shields, ca. 1900. (Hulton Archive) ten said that Filipinos have Malay ancestry, Chinese culture, Spanish reli- gion, and American education. Mestizos are racially mixed Filipinos with Chinese, Spanish, and American bloodlines. The varied cultural milieu fa- cilitated the blending of FMA. Filipino martial arts are a blend of at least Indonesian, Malaysian, Chinese, Spanish, American, and Japanese origins. Filipino martial culture has both tradition and history. The tradition 424 Philippines is oral and the history is written. The culture was alternately destroyed and created by foreign colonization. Martial fiestas offer keys to understanding Filipino martial culture. For example, the mythical meeting of the ten da- tus (chiefs) of Borneo with the Negritos of Panay is celebrated annually at the Ati-Atihan in Kalibo, Aklan. 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 the Santo Niño Fiesta, which marks the introduction of the Catholic faith to the Philippines. Theory posits that in a prehistoric period, aboriginal Negritos (Aetas), a pygmy race, crossed over a land bridge from mainland Asia to become the first settlers of the Philippine islands. Next, waves of immigrants from the area called Malaysia colonized the islands, around 200 B.C. Anthropo- logical evidence shows that the prehistoric people of Southeast Asia all be- longed to a single population. They were later divided into cultural groups (i.e., Filipinos, Malaysians, and Indonesians) in accordance with territorial boundaries established by their European (i.e., Spanish, British, and Dutch) colonizers. In the ninth century A.D., trade relations began with China. Colonies were established in the Philippines during the Song dynasty (A.D. 960–1127). Kuntao, an FMA with empty-hand movements similar to taiji- quan, has been traced to Kuntung province. Chinese rivalry with the Hin- dus and Javanese continued into the Ming period (A.D. 1402–1424). An- cient civilizations—the Sri Vishayan and Majapahit—are prominent in Filipino history. Hindu influence includes the Tantra: a form of yoga that includes sexual magic and celebrates the feminine force. Tantric influence could explain the prominent role of women in Filipino society. Visaya means “slave” to the Moros, Muslims who dominate the southern region of the Philippine Archipelago, and refers to people of the central region whom the Moros frequently captured or killed. The Majapahit Empire was formed in Java around the twelfth century in the area of modern Indone- sia. This ancient Islamic empire included Burma, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Madagascar, and the Philippines. The martial arts from these countries, such as Muay Thai, bersilat, and pentjak silat, have techniques, such as silat, that are similar to FMA. Islam came to Mindanao in the south around A.D. 1380, spreading to the Visayas and Luzon. These Muslim Malays ventured north from Borneo (Kalimantan) led by the ten datus (chieftains), the most important of whom was Datu Puti. Datu Puti, “the Great White Chief,” traveled from Borneo to Panay, from Panay to Luzon, and from Luzon back to Borneo, after helping the datus to settle other islands. In A.D. 1433, Datu Kalantiyaw, third chief of Panay and descendent of Datu Sumakwel from Borneo, is- sued or codified civil and social orders called the Kalantiyaw for guiding Philippines 425 his people. Although its authenticity is questionable, the eighteen com- mandments of the Kalantiyaw code may be one of the few written records surviving from pre-Spanish times. Western history of the Philippines 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. The name Philippines comes from the Span- ish version of “Philip’s Pines,”