Arnis As The New National Sport Of The Philippines

A few months ago, I was talking to a non-Filipino friend who is into martial arts. He asked me if I have heard of Kali and if it is indigenous to the Philippines.

It did not occur to me right away that Kali is one of the terms applied for the more familiar-sounding Arnis. I have definitely heard of and know a bit of information about Arnis, but I did not know that it is also interchanged with other names such as Escrima and Kali. So could you guess how the conversation went?

Foreign friend: I am into aikido...I am interested in martial arts...Have you heard of Kali? Is it really a Philippine sport?
Me: (grappling) You know, honestly, I know of Arnis as being a form of martial arts that is indigenous in the Philippines. Kali? I do not know? Is it Indonesian?

It was embarrassing, this rather unceremonious revelation of my ignorance of my own country's local sport.

A few weeks ago, I remember this conversation as I came across an article which states that Arnis (or Escrima, or Kali) has been officially declared last year as the new national sport.

Arnis is the traditional martial arts indigenous to the Filipino and said to be the type of combat employed by Lapu-Lapu's troops during the fateful encounter with Magellan and the Spanish troops in Mactan (resulting in Magellan's death). It has replaced Sipa (literally translated to "kick") as the national sport.

A good number of quarters hailed this decision. I personally think that a combat sport like Arnis (in spite of my limited knowledge of the sport) should embody the Filipino competitive spirit. This is not to take away any merits from Sipa. I have nothing against Sipa, which I think though should undergo some updating (Like maybe device some extreme Sipa competitions? Quite possible.),

For those who are novices to the game, please check out the following links:

http://www.visayanmartialarts.com/

http://www.maelstromcore.com/history/index.html

http://www.unitedarnis.com/Arnis-10-radical-truths.html

Photo from this site.

The Philippine Elections 2010: The Nation Awaits

The Philippines had its first automated elections last May 10, 2010. For the first time, the Filipinos had a taste of a computerised tallying of votes, in contrast to the previous elections wherein the voter has to write ALL his chosen candidates on the ballot. With one presidential position, one vice-presidential post, 12 senatorial slots, a slot for governorship, congressman, mayor, vice-mayor and a few more to vote for, the voter is faced with the dilemma of having to write at least 15 names on his ballot. Simply having to shade circles has made things easier for the voter and has even given a good number of disabled citizens a chance to exercise their right of suffrage.

At this point, nearly 80% of election returns have been accounted for. The presidential race shows Noynoy Aquino, the son of Corazon Aquino, first woman President of the Republic, roughly 5 million votes ahead of former President Joseph Estrada who was deposed last 2001 and jailed because of unsettled cases of plunder. The vice-presidential race is tighter, with the top two candidates only a few hundred thousand votes apart from one another.

This has been another interesting election as yet, being the first automated election in Philippine history. Aside from that, though, the profiles of the candidates are equally beguiling. The presidential candidates alone are a study of personality and background contrasts. A son of a former President, a former President himself who was charged with plunder, a senator who during his stint in the congress was responsible for elevating the impeachment case against the said former president to the senate, a cabinet member of the present administration, and a leader of a Christian movement, among others.

Outside the race for the top slots the view is a lot more mind-boggling. A world boxing champ running for congressman, the present (yep, the incumbent) President of the Philippine Republic running for a seat in the congress, wife of a gambling lord, athletes, many show business personalities...the list goes on and on.

Elections in this side of the world often conjure images of fraud and violence, such as ballot box snatching, killings on either side of the political fence, and vote- buying. Such occurrences still occur but so far the publicised incidents have not been as much compared to the past elections.

The Philippines is sorely in need of a massive overhaul. It is a witness to political upheavals, economic and moral degradation, and financial depreciation. The turn-out of this year's elections reflect the faith that the Filipinos still have in the democratic process, and a desire for REAL change.

Hopefully both the elected and the rest of the nation are ready for this change.

Sources and photo of PCOS machine from this and this site.

Pambansang Halalan 2010: 3 Araw Na Lang

LABOR DAY 2010 IN THE PHILIPPINES: THE SEEN AND THE UNSEEN

(Photo taken near the intersection of Makati Avenue and Buendia Avenue, 1 May 2010)

Labour Day, or International Workers' Day, is celebrated every 1st of May in the Philippines, as in more than 80 countries around the world. As has always been the case for the past years, militant workers marched and converged to protest anti-labour practices by the government. This year, the rallyists burned the effigy depicting the incumbent president (Ms. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) inside the detention cell.

What made this year's observance of Labour Day here in the Philippines a little different are as follows:

1. This is the last Labour Day celebration of the present president of the republic.

2. This celebration was marked by the unveiling of the bas-relief of the late Crispin Beltran. Mr. Beltran, leader of the left-wing workers organization called Kilusang Mayo Uno who passed away last 2008 due to head injuries which he sustained from a fall, is regarded as the icon of the Philippine labour movement.

3. This year's Labour Day precedes the National (Presidential) elections which will be held on May 10.

I was walking along Ayala Avenue (located in Makati, the financial capital of the Philippines), another popular converging zone for rallies, yesterday, May 1. It was a quiet sunny Saturday afternoon, not too many people, and very few vehicles (wow!) plied the streets. Hopefully, this is not an ominous sign, the "calm before the storm", so to speak. The Philippine elections is often marred by incidences of vote-buying, ballot-snatching, cases of killings and acts of violence, among other instances of ciolence.

And much as I want to avoid discussing politics-related topics on this blog, it cannot be helped. The elections is a reality, the problem of the labour sector is a harsh reality of Manila and Philippine life.

*****

If you plan to vote on May 10 (granting that you are a Filipino citizen), it would be very good to know what each candidate has to say about individual issues.

This article (click the link here) may serve as a primer to the platforms (of the lack of it for some) of the presidential candidates on how to generate jobs. Read on.

(Photo of Ka Bel Beltran from this site.)