On the Value of Arnis

Came across this comment on the article of William Esposo on Values Reform in the Philippine Star (for the full article, click here). 

How I hope I can continue my training even when the academic school year starts :)

For UP-D students out there, you might be interested in joining Sangkil Karasak, the arnis org.

noypibone  (posted on May 21, 2009 03:56 AM) 
Member since Feb 07, 2009

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Mr. Chairwrecker,  I share your sentiments regarding the overhaul of Filipino values. Problem is, we don’t seem to have anything to build on. The Church would love to have us believe that they are our hope for salvation and prosperity. We know how that’s turned out after 500 years. The pontifications and grandstanding righteous indignations of our leaders have all turned hollow and trite. Most of the ideas, high-minded or simplistic, seem to be just dreamy abstract concepts. We think there is one Filipino treasure we can utilize. ARNIS. A few of us bloggers in the sports section have been advocating for the revival, promotion and elevation of Arnis to harness it’s values and virtues for nation-building. Think Bushido (samurai, karate, judo) for Japan, Taekwondo for Korea and Kung-Fu for China. What these martial arts contributed to the character, identity and spirit of their respective countries, Arnis will do for Pilipinas. The movement has slowly been gaining traction. Sen. Zubiri has introduced a bill (not because of our blogs) to institute Arnis as the national sport and Mikee Romero, owner of harbour centre, has thrown his support. For now, Bill Velasco seems to be the only media practitioner campaigning for Arnis. I’ve repeatedly asked, what do we have that is unequivocally Filipino to the bone, recognized, appreciated and even admired all over the world, requires and instills discipline, exhibits bravery, creativity and determination, deeply rooted in our history and reflects all that is good in the Filipino?  Arnis may not, and is not, the only answer but it is a damn good start and foundation.

U.P. Sangkil Karasak: Singaporean Visitors

A couple of fellow LSAI arnis practitioners from Singapore came over to train with the club this past week. Here are a few pics from Thursday's training session (I just dropped by the dojo for several minutes, didn't train because I had to run to Kuya Armin's recital, NOLI ME TANGERE).

U.P. Sangkil Karasak

http://sangkil.org
Our club's web site. Do check it out!

U.P. Sangkil Karasak Graduation 2007 (Beginners' Arnis)

Our induction video. :) Starring: myself (haha!), JJ, Jere, Jacq, JP, (hmmmm notice a trend yet?) Sir Jocano aka Sir Bot, Mich, Miko, and EG.

You can learn all this in just one short sem!! Join U.P. Sangkil Karasak na!

Thank you so much to the great Marga for the video!! (Visit her website at http://faiyah.multiply.com)

Arnis Induction

A couple of action shots taken by moi (sorry, amateur! amateur!!).

After one sem (and for the others, half a sem) of training, ordinary UP students can do the following.

Mabuhay ang UP Sangkil Karasak!!!

Which is the best martial arts form to take up?

A considerable part of my life was devoted to Taekwondo. I recall a time when I thought of little else. I loved everything about it... the sparring, the camaraderie amongst teammates, the discipline, even the bruises that came with the territory. And of course, the fact that I was learning self-defense was a major factor in my taking it up in the first place.

~~ The crime rate in the country (even back then) was enough to make anyone paranoid.~~

Enter college, a whole new world... Bombardment with new ideas, some "heretical" by my Catholic high school's standards. A new life.. new priorities.

There was a choice to be made... and come 3rd year of college, I made it. "Sacrifices must be made..." said the Pharoah in The Prince of Egypt. :(

Two years went by, and on my second-to-the-last-sem in UP, I heard about UP Sangkil Karasak from a collegemate.

Two years without an exercise regimen took its toll on my body... my muscles weren't toned, my immune system suffered, and I felt so darn heavy and tired all the time.

So I decided to GO FOR IT! (It helped, of course, that the training schedule fit my own already-hectic schedule perfectly)

And now I wonder why it's taken me this long to discover this amazing martial art form. Best of all, its OUR OWN!

Taekwondo has its merits, but I have to say that from a practical viewpoint, arnis is far superior. Heck, a taekwondo jin can't even come close enough to an arnisador to do any real damage! Plus, taekwondo (being a sport) instills all these rules inside a student's head (no kicking there! that's illegal! you'll be disqualified from a match!) such that when the student encounters a real-live street fight, said student might even hesitate to strike in vital areas (and we all know what that means...).

However, there is another form of martial arts that I am interested in taking up. The following was taken from that most reliable of sources (cough, cough!), Wikipedia:

"Krav Maga ("contact combat") is a self-defense and military hand-to-hand combat system developed in Israel, which assumes no quarter, and emphasizes maximum threat neutralization in a "real life" context. It came to prominence following its adoption by various Israeli Security Forces and is now used by military and law enforcement personnel, as well as civilians, around the world.

In some countries, a simplified version is often taught in civilian self defense classes. This excludes numerous 'more lethal' or forceful techniques taught in a military or police context, because of legal proscriptions restricting the teaching of hazardous or life-threatening techniques without appropriate legal authorization."

Basic principles

In Krav Maga, there are no hard-and-fast rules, and no distinction in training for men and women. It is not a sport, and there are no specific uniforms, attire or competitions. All the techniques focus on maximum efficiency in real-life conditions. Krav Maga generally assumes a no quarter situation; the attacks and defenses are intended for potentially lethal threat situations, and aim to neutralize these and escape via maximum pain or damage to opponents, as rapidly and safely as possible. Crippling attacks to vulnerable body parts, including groin and eye strikes, headbutts, and other efficient and potentially brutal attacks, improvized use of any objects available, and maximizing personal safety in a fight, are emphasized.

The guiding principles for those performing Krav Maga techniques are:

• Neutralize the threat
• Avoid injury
• Go from defending to attacking as quickly as possible
• Use the body's natural reflexes
• Strike at any vulnerable point
• Use any tool or object nearby

According to a description written for the self-publication media site Associated Content, the basic premises of Krav Maga are:

You're not going to care how much damage you're going to cause.

• Cause as much damage as possible and run.
• Do not try and prolong a fight. Do what needs to be done and escape.

The basic idea is to first deal with the immediate threat (being choked, for example), prevent the attacker from re-attacking, and then neutralize the attacker, proceeding through all steps in a methodical manner, despite the rush of adrenaline that occurs in such an attack. The emphasis is put on taking the initiative from the attacker as soon as possible.

Darn, I wish the sem break were here, so I can practice arnis! It's so embarassing, for the past couple of months the only time I get to practice is when I am in the arnis training room at the DMST.

I look forward to learning more techniques, and eventually, be good enough to apply them in a sparring session.

Oct. 4, '07: Whattaday!!

What. A. Day.

Woke up at 5 a.m. (as usual) so I could get to the CS on time for our 7 am killer exam in Biology (2nd part of NatSci 2). There were THINGS in the exam that the prof didn't even mention! Grrrr.

10 am: Exam in STS class. This was easier... thank goodness for essay-type tests!

The next several hours were spent taking care of several recital-related chores (Aaaaa the stress.....) as well as cramming for the Noli recital later on in the evening.

4 pm: Arnis! Yay! Look at the birthday card (more like, birthday BOARD) we prepared for Sir Jocano. :-) Dedications were written in silver ink at the back.

6 - 8 pm: Attended the NOLI ME TANGERE opera rehearsal (composed by Felipe Padilla de Leon) for Kuya Armin's grad. recital. It's on the 20th already!?!?!?

Whew. Am drop dead exhausted. Tomorrow is another day...

Belle Canto Awards / Sir Jocano's Birthday

A few pics from last Friday's Belle Canto awards. Congrats to all the winners!

Last week, Sir Jocano told us to come on Monday, because he had a "surprise." Turns out today's his birthday! He treated us to brownies (aaaaaawwwwww so sweet). We were so touched, grabe. He's the best arnis / anthro prof, perhaps the coolest prof in UP!