Swordsman's Journey

  Cordilleran Fighting Arts is Filipino?     In 2019 before the spread of the fear of the COVID-19 Pandemic, some practitioners of Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) started to use Kalinga head axes, as well as some practitioners started to make a replica of Kala-sag (wooden shield) for market. I said, wait, they're going to be fashionable again. And it will be mentioned that the head-axe particularly the one in Kalinga is used in FMA.   Source: Andrea Bugnosen and the Kanana Kanu Community Film Let me give the reader a little glimpse of what exactly is called Cordilleran Fighting Arts, based on the research and training that we did to codify the methods of the famous Mengors in the Cordillera in their way of warfare, Mengor Mengor is one of the many expressions of the Cordillerans and the Ybanags pertaining to a warrior of a tribe or typical community of these natives. Every single man of proper build and age is expected to be a mengor of their ili (native commun...

  Cordillera Fighting Arts is FMA?          Taong 2019 bago lumaganap ang sindak ng COVID 19 Pandemic, ang ilan sa mga practitioners ng Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) ay nagisismula ng gumamit ng mga head-axe ng Kalinga, gayundin ay may mga practitioners na sinisimulan gumawa ng replica ng Kala-sag. Sabi ko, teka, may ipapauso na naman ang mga ito ah. At ipangangalandakan na ang head-axe particular ang sa Kalinga ay gamit sa FMA.                                       Source: Andrea Bugnosen and the Kanunu Kanu Community Film Itong sanaysay na ito ay isinulat ko sa wikang Filipino, saka na muna yun English, lagi na lang banyagang salita ang gagamitin para magsulat, mahirap naman lagi tayong mag-express ng ating pananaw sa wikang banyaga na ang kalalabasan ay mas sila pa ang makakaunawa kaysa sa mga kapwa nating Pinoy. Balik tayo, sa tagal na rin ng pags...

                                                         Paglilimi ng Isang Walang Magawa  Sino Siya? Sino sya? Siya ba si Ci Lapu-Lapu, Rajah Sulayman, Sultan Kudarat. Walang nakakaalam maliban sa nagdrawing nito kung sino ang gusto nya ipakita ayon sa kanyang imahinasyon. Wala pa naman kasing camera noon, o kayay pintor na babayaran para ipaint ka. O kaya ay walang sulatin kung ano ang itsura nya. Maliban kung paniniwalaan at gagamitin ang ilustrasyon na ito, at sa matagal na panahon ay magiging totoo sa isipan ng mga susunod na henerasyon. Tulad ng mga larawan ni Jesus (peace be upon him), maraming naniniwala na ganito ang itsura nya, kung paano ang isang imahinasyon ng pintor kung paano nya inilarawan ang mukha ng isang tao batay sa haka haka kung walang batayan. Gayundin may mga larawan na ibinase lang sa mukha ng isang totoong ta...

  An Essay on Arnis Anyo by Joel Anajao y Daddon               Watching an anyo performance during an arnis competition draws various reactions and comments from the crowd, for the younger generation of sports arnis practitioners this is really a superb performance, some of the audience may say it’s too acrobatic and over-acting; I asked an arnis practitioner who is not into sports arnis but a traditional arnis practitioner on what he can say about it, he said ‘it's not arnis.’ Why did he say it is ‘not’ arnis? Probably anyo is not in his training routine. This polemic motivated me to write an essay exploring the issues regarding the existence of ‘anyo’ in the community of arnis practitioners. Arnis was declared the national martial art and sport of the Philippines by virtue of the Republic Act 9850. Arnis is the Philippine martial art using sticks, bladed weapons, and bare hands, and one of the popular forms of practice of arnis is t...