"Bakbakan International is a brotherhood of martial artists from different disciplines of martial arts. It is not a style nor representative of any single style. It is a center for the sharing of ideas, techniques and knowledge." - from the Bakbakan International Member's Handbook.

An exclusive fraternity of martial artists with its headquarters located in Metro-Manila, Philippines, Bakbakan proudly carries on its covenant of promoting and developing the Warrior Arts of the Philippines. From its early beginning as an informal gathering of champions from different disciplines of martial arts, the brotherhood of Bakbakan has now grown into a literal "Who's Who" in Filipino martial arts. Fostering friendship, brotherhood and support of many activities that promote the Warrior Arts of the Philippines, the name Bakbakan has become a byword in serious martial arts circles.

Recognized as founder and Chief Instructor of Bakbakan is Christopher Ricketts, a well- known martial artist both in the Philippines, Australia and the United States. Topher, as he is called by his peers, is an experienced tournament (both full-contact and point system) and street fighter. Known for his strict emphasis on basics and regular contact sparring, Topher has produced many champions, many of whom have become part of Philippine teams in Asian and international competitions.

Aside from his duties as Chief Instructor, Topher assists his brother, Ronnie Ricketts, a Philippine action star, in choreographing action scenes in movies. Numerous Bakbakan members have played cameo roles in Ronnie's movies, lending credibility to the action sequences as well as drawing crowds to the theaters because of the authentic fight scenes.

Bakbakan has chapters in Australia, Canada and the United States. It was Bakbakan that promoted the "Masters of Arnis" tour in Australia that featured Christopher Ricketts, Antonio Diego, Edgar Sulite and Rey Galang. The "Masters" as they have been nicknamed both within and outside of Bakbakan, share their knowledge and experience with each other, thus continuously improving Bakbakan's teaching methods and curriculum.

Grandmaster Antonio "Tatang" Ilustrisimo is the revered head of the Kali Ilustrisimo system. It is this system that is the basis of Bakbakan's Kali system now referred to as Bakbakan Kali Ilustrisimo. This name change does not purport to take credit away from "Tatang" Ilustrisimo but to identify the system developed and structured by Bakbakan based on Grandmaster Ilustrisimo's concepts and strategy. It is these training methods and structure that differentiate the Bakbakan Kali Ilustrisimo practitioner from any other Kali Ilustrisimo claimant. The effectiveness of Bakbakan's system of training has been proven many times in many competitions both local and international.

Tulisan Knife-Fighting System, an off-shoot of the Bakbakan Kali Ilustrisimo system, is another of the arts practiced within Bakbakan that is fast growing in popularity. Based more on basic knife-fighting techniques and constant sparring rather than memorized pre-planned drills, Tulisan has proven its mettle in many sparring matches against knife-fighters from other systems.

Recognizing the need for ambidexterity and fluidity in the mastery of weapons, Bakbakan's research into the Philippine martial arts found its answer in the ancient system of Sinawali - a fighting style popular in the Central Luzon plains. Although not exclusively a double weapon system, Sinawali emphasizes double weapons training for obvious advantageous reasons.

Bakbakan's Sinawali Fighting System is a major stepping stone into the realm of Espada y Daga (Sword and Dagger). Once familiarity and ambidexterity has been achieved, it is a simple progression to switch from equal length weapons to short and long armaments. Research and development of Bakbakan's Sinawali system is credited to Rey Galang, with contributions from Antonio Diego and the late Edgar G. Sulite.

Antonio Diego, the recognized and designated heir of the Kali Ilustrisimo system, is Bakbakan's official chief instructor for the Bakbakan Kali Ilustrisimo system. Known for his well-rounded expertise in both long and short weapons, Diego has proven his worth with the blade in many street encounters and contact sparring matches.

The late Punong-Guro Edgar G. Sulite of Lameco Eskrima is another of the first-generation Kali Ilustrisimo masters that helped develop the structure of the Bakbakan Kali system. Punong-Guro Sulite's Lameco System is part of Bakbakan's repertoire of fighting arts. It was the close fraternal ties with Bakbakan that prompted Edgar to have his Masters Tour within Bakbakan premises and with Bakbakan Masters and guest instructors from other systems conducting workshops for his Lameco students.

Developed from drills and concepts formulated by Dr. Guillermo Lengson of the Karate Federation of the Philippines, Sagasa Kickboxing System has progressed into its present form through the efforts of Christopher Ricketts and senior members of Bakbakan. The intensive drills, known as SERIES, develops coordination, power and reflexes. Dr. Lengson, though no longer active, is regularly consulted for his expertise and in-depth knowledge of body mechanics and training methods. Many of the developments in other facets of Bakbakan's repertoire of fighting systems owe their structure and development to Dr. Lengson's timeless concepts.

Hagibis Combat System complements Sagasa as combat evolves from long and mid-range into close-quarters fighting. Developed primarily as throwing and tripping techniques, Hagibis also includes grappling and submission arts. Emphasis, however, is to throw or disable an opponent in such a way, that one is able to continue fighting multiple opponents which is the likely situation in a street confrontation.

Hagibis takes into consideration that a majority of street attacks are usually multiple and armed and therefore grappling, although studied and practiced, is only an option and the practitioner should always be wary of multiple armed assailants. Bakbakan's combination of Sagasa and Hagibis systems has qualified its members to participate and represent the Philippines in San Shou competitions internationally.

The art of Ngo Cho Kun Kung Fu is another of Bakbakan's repertoire of fighting systems. Incorporated into Bakbakan by Alex Co and Christopher Ricketts, the expertise of Bakbakan members in this particular art has developed to a point where a Bakbakan Ngo Cho team is a regular part of festivities in Manila's Chinatown. Ngo Cho helps develop power, stamina and concentration, qualities of enormous value to the martial artist.

Visitors and students from Okinawa, Japan, Australia, Canada and the United States have attested to the fame of Bakbakan. Entry into Bakbakan, however, is no easy matter. Clinging to its fraternal roots, no Bakbakan aspirant is allowed entry without any referral from an active full- fledged member. This guarantees that all candidates are known personally to the responsible "sponsoring" member. Where a candidate has no patron, the aspirant is then subjected to a minimum of six months probationary period before even being accepted as an Associate Member.

Although seemingly unnecessarily strict and elitist, this practice is embraced by the newly inducted members with fervor and they equally carefully watchdog any aspiring candidate with zeal and close scrutiny. Realizing that the strict screening process weeds out the undesirables, any time spent in training, teaching and grooming accepted candidates is unlikely to be wasted. It is because of this fraternal bond that the Bakbakan brethren display a close fraternal link above and beyond training sessions.

Last 'Masters' group picture with Edgar Sulite taken March 15, 1997
Tony Diego, Edgar Sulite, Topher Ricketts, Rey Galang and Alex Co
Photo by Steve Tarani