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By Rome Jorge
TO the uninitiated, Alvin Aguilar looks like the
poster boy for the explosive new world of Philippine mixed martial
arts. An instructor in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as well as in Filipino
knife fighting and kickboxing, he has also made great strides in
getting no-holds barred fighting competitions legitimized and
recognized. The organization he belongs to professes to discourage
street fighting and strives to give fighters a venue to settle
matters fairly and man-to-man inside the ring.
But the fact that he has a bullet lodged
somewhere near his spine from a gangland style drive-by shooting
that left one person dead underscores that the world of Filipino
martial arts is still far more than friendly competitions.
Most people know Ronnie Ricketts as an
accomplished action star. In the world of martial arts, he and his
brother Topher are revered as pioneers who have extensive knowledge
of karate, kung fu and our very own eskrima and kickboxing. They are
also known for their caring paternal touch with their students. But
come up close and one can see scars upon scars that attest to the
brutal street fighting roots of these noble arts.
Fraternity violence, drugs, party-list politics
and territorial street brawls: these are all part of the Filipino
martial arts scene. But so too is the nationalistic rediscovery of
indigenous martial arts, the quest for glory in international
arenas, the empowerment of men and women through self-defense and
the refinement of the local action movie genre. As some of the most
respected names in Filipino martial arts concede, the various
communities of fighters cannot be pinned down with just one
characterization and that comparisons between one school of combat
to another are pointless. All the same the world of Filipino martial
arts is expanding as its leading proponents are tugging at it in
different directions.
From a culture of violence
By his own admission, Aguilar comes from a
culture of violence. Once a Grand Triskelion of the Tau Gamma Phi
fraternity of De La Salle University, he remembers being called upon
on by his ‘brads’ to unleash his combat skills in numerous
fights. He freely admits taking drugs even while he was very much
into martial arts and notes that many of his peers fell by the
wayside because of this.
But now that he is a family man versed in the
ethics as well as the combat skills of Brazilian Gracie Jiu-Jitsu,
Sayaw ng Kamatayan (Yaw-Yan) kickboxing, and Pekiti-Tirsia Kali
knife fighting, he asserts that he has turned his life around and is
now devoted to legitimizing no-holds barred fighting as a sanctioned
and regulated sport. Defense Tactics Center or Deftac, the
organization that he is a founding member of, emphatically states
that it does not produce thugs nor does it tolerate fights outside
the ring by its members.
In the ring
Aguilar, along with television channel Solar
Entertainment and events organizer NBK, has organized the highly
successful Universal Reality Combat Championship matches. Other
groups have also held similar events such as the Fearless Mixed
Martial Arts Championships.
Patterned closely after the well-established
tournaments in the United States and Japan, these local competitions
are one-on-one unarmed matches where any combination of martial arts
can be used and victory is achieved only by knockout or submission.
Submissions often occur when an opponent is on the verge of
incurring grievous bodily harm such as fractures and multiple
dislocations or when his threshold for pain is overcome. At that
point they tap out or verbally indicate their submission. There are
rules to these bouts such as no eye gouging, no crotch grabbing and
no hits to the spine. Ideally, there should be medical personnel on
standby at all times. Organizers stress that opponents are required
to be good sports and salutations of one kind or another are
exchanged before and after each fight. Cussing or disrespect of any
kind is never tolerated. It is to their credit that fighters show
genuine camaraderie before and after fights despite the punishment
they inflict upon one another.
From French Savate to Brazilian Capoeira to
Filipino Sagasa, mixed martial arts championships bring together
disciplines from across the globe. Competitive fighting can be
credited for spurring development in the different martial arts as
outdated philosophies are proven ineffective in the ring and
techniques from other martial arts are adapted as counter measures.
Bouts typically start with thundering kicks and
punches such as those found in Muay Thai, Wushu and boxing. But as
soon the opponents close in, grappling techniques typical of
Jiu-Jitsu or Greco-Roman wrestling are most often utilized. Because
competitions are one-on-one, it becomes possible for fighters to
lock on to their opponents with ground fighting techniques without
fear of simultaneous attacks from other combatants. Any ringside
spectator will realize that these duels are a brutal chess game that
requires as much brainpower as it does brawn and where the pieces
one moves are one’s own limbs. A misstep can find a combatant
twisted in a bone breaking lock or helplessly open to a barrage of
crushing blows.
These competitions have proven to be a financial
success for local organizers and have gained the approval of the
Games and Amusement Board. Participants as well as spectators
include the entire economic, social and geographic spectrum of the
Philippines. One can see brawny kickboxers from the Cordilleras duke
it out with steely grapplers for Greenhills. PhD holders and
ex-bodyguards all have just as much chance inside the ring. The
tenacity as well as the humility of some of the fighters is
inspiring to say the least.
Turf wars
Now that there are numerous venues for fighters
to prove their superiority fairly and safely in unarmed combat, one
might think that martial artists resorting to fully automatic
weapons in a nighttime ambush would be self-defeating and
unnecessary. But that is exactly what happened when three M-16
bullets ripped through Aguilar’s abdomen. According to Aguilar,
his alleged assailants were former martial arts students who, at one
time, were close friends of his. He describes them as those who
haven’t graduated from that “culture of violence”.
Word out on the street is that the attackers saw
the northern half of the Metro as their own territory and that
Deftac was perceived as encroaching upon it. Aguilar finds this
delineation childish and absurd, and postulates that perhaps his
involvement in getting a party-list organization called “Bagong
Tao Movement” off the ground in time for the next elections may
perhaps also have prompted the attack. At present, the suspects have
been identified and charged but are still at large.
As for Aguilar, he was up and about in just
three weeks after his near fatal encounter, valiantly sparring
despite a bullet lodged in his lower back. He remains undaunted in
his quest to develop the sport and resilient in his conviction to
rise above the culture of violence.
Back to reality
Bakbakan International, as its name implies,
concerns itself with realistic and straightforward techniques for
surviving in the streets. It has a clear disdain for what it calls
“paper masters” and has shown little if any fondness for the
contrived environs of the ring. Fighting for them is not about
fairness or proving one’s superiority but rather is a means of
practical and justifiable self-defense. Students are taught that
everything counts in street fights and are encouraged to use
unorthodox means to gain an advantage. The element of surprise, the
use of superior numbers and found weapons are both anticipated and
exploited in combat situations.
Bakbakan is a global brotherhood that is by
invitation only and whose members include well-known personalities
such as action star Ricketts, journalist Mon Tulfo, and
Representative Miguel Zubiri among others. The Bakbakan organization
encompasses several martial arts that include the Kali Ilustrisimo,
Tulisan knife fighting, Sinawali double weapon fighting systems as
well the Sagasa kickboxing, Hagibis grappling and Ngo Cho Kun Kung
Fu. The impressive roster of veteran martial arts that make up its
founding members bolster Bakbakan’s claim that its fighting
techniques have been tested by time.
Father figures with muscle
Despite tough appearances, the brothers Topher
and Ronnie Ricketts both display great attention to their individual
pupil’s development with near paternal bearing. As with other
reputable Martial Arts organizations, the Ricketts stress that value
formation goes hand in hand with combat skills and that the
knowledge they impart is only for self-defense.
Ronnie admits that in his younger years, he
would entertain anyone’s challenge for a bloody fight. These days,
he and his brother feel they have nothing to prove and are happy to
see promising martial artists further the community. All the same,
they are still constantly developing their martial arts to better
themselves and their organization.
It is quite noteworthy that a number of their
newest members are women and ground-fighting techniques,
specifically against rape situations, are taught. That martial arts
can be geared towards such real life situations demonstrates this
organization’s openness to adapt to the needs of its members and
the continuing relevance of martial arts in our lives. But it also
underscores the kinds of dangers we all may face in today’s world.
A balance of body and soul
As comforting as it may be to have some
knowledge of self-defense, it is equally distressing to realize that
the same set of skills could be used to perpetuate a culture of
violence. Though the criminal acts of a few street fighters cannot
be said to be symptomatic of the local martial arts community as a
whole, it still is a wakeup call that character building be given as
much if not more emphasis than perfecting combat skills.
Martial Arts itself is a contradiction in terms.
It seeks to transform the body into a weapon while attempting to
mold the mind into a temple. Lethality and restraint are necessary
in equal parts for martial arts to be any good.
But though martial arts schools profess to
create ego free environments for self-discovery, the possession of
any sort of deadly skill has the potential of changing one’s
character as resorting to violence becomes an option. It is with
some relief to know that martial arts in this country is led by the
likes of the Ricketts brothers and Alvin Aguilar who with their
collective experiences can help a new generation of martial artists
become role models as well and avoid the pitfalls of street
fighting.
Pinoy Martial Arts: from Lapu-Lapu
to Balikatan
Filipino martial artists are acknowledged to be
the best knife fighters on Earth bar none. Locally developed street
fighting styles have proven to be brutally effective within the ring
in fighting competitions and out in the dark alleyways of cities.
Proven in combat and honed in the streets, our indigenous fighting
systems have garnered for our race respect and recognition the world
over.
Our martial arts have always been a tool for
resisting foreign oppression and liberating our own people. From the
time of our first hero Lapu-Lapu to the Moro uprisings against
American subjugation, foreigners have chronicled with grudging
respect the skill as well as the ferocity with which Filipinos have
fought with their unique fighting systems.
It is not without irony that with today’s war
on terrorism, our martial artists are much sought after by Special
Forces of various nations such as the US marines and Korea’s 707
brigades to train them in knife fighting and other disciplines.
This 500-year-old heritage of self-defense
continues to evolve as more and more ordinary Filipinos rediscover
their indigenous martial arts.
Knife and stick fighting systems. Kali,
Eskrima, and Arnis are some of the names for the same machete,
knife, and stick fighting art. Doce Methodos, Kali Ilustrisimo and
Lameco Eskrima are just some the many variants that have origins
from the different islands of the archipelago.
These fighting systems are unique in that armed
combat is given precedence in its teachings and that even its
unarmed techniques are derived from strikes and blocks used for
bladed weapons.
Fighting styles range from the double bladed
sinawali and espada y daga, to the use of a free hand for grappling
and strikes called solo baston or bantay kamay to empty handed
combat or mano mano.
Kick boxing systems. Filipinos have
developed their own kickboxing techniques such as Sagasa and Sayaw
ng Kamatayan or Yaw-yan. These primarily deal with striking
techniques with hands and feet. Precisely coordinated footwork,
dynamic stances as well as effective blocking and redirection all
play an integral role in these disciplines.
Grappling Systems. Grappling techniques
and ground fighting systems need to complement striking techniques
if a fighter is to survive encounters in mixed martial arts duels.
Fighting systems such as Hagibis and Dumog fill this role. Close in
fighting with locks, chokes, and holds are extremely effective in
one-on-one combat.
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