Also appeared in Rapid Journal Vol. 9 No. 2
and in BLITZ (Australasian martial arts magazine) March 2005 Issue

Warrior and Scholar of the
Combat Arts of the Philippines
October 2004

One of the most respected masters and promoters of the Filipino martial arts in the world is Master Reynaldo S. Galang.

Stringently dedicated to the promotion and propagation of the warrior arts of the Philippines, Master Rey is truly a man who accomplishes his goals with a non-political approach and the aim of promoting unity and brotherhood.

As a master of Filipino martial arts, he is respected throughout the world for his skills, knowledge and ability to transmit his knowledge to students.

Additionally, the volume of quality work he has produced in the literary sphere of martial arts would be the envy of any aspiring writer of martial arts literature. His contributions include many articles published in some of the world's leading martial arts publications, as well as numerous well-received books including the much anticipated and recently published, `Classic Arnis - the Legacy of Placido Yambao'.

Recently I was afforded the honor to finally meet this man of many accomplishments and to discuss his martial arts history, views and the remarkable project he is now working on.

(Q) Master Rey, when did you commence your martial arts journey?

I started martial arts in 1962 mainly because of my interest in visual arts. I was heavily into photography and I just chanced to pass by the YMCA and they were having a judo tournament with demonstrations. While there I started photographing the demonstration of the 7 katas of judo and I was impressed, awed and inspired by the beauty of the art itself. That was my first stepping stone into the martial arts.

I lost my father at an early age, hence the father figure(s) I had were mainly my maternal uncles. I hounded my uncles to pay for my uniform and dues to let me get started in martial arts. Once you get into a group of martial artists one will discover that everyone has different styles they are into or are from. Like at the YMCA, although I was enrolled in judo, we were also doing what is known as combat judo or jiu-jitsu .At the same time, on the second floor there was a group practicing Sikaran and the instructor was also an arnis expert. In an environment such as this, it is unavoidable to start studying or blending multiple martial arts and in eventually branching out without you actually seeking these things. The martial arts I studied were combat judo, kodokan judo, and various styles of karate, aikido, tae kwon do, jiu-jitsu and arnis.

(Q) When did you first learn arnis?

While I was studying aikido under Master Ben Galarpe and my senior, Ernie Talag. An older man who we knew as Maestro Carunggay was teaching at the Manila Aikido Club.

(Q)How did you come to specialize in Filipino martial arts?

After training and experiencing all these martial arts I mentioned, the Filipino martial arts started making more sense to me because the reality of combat is that you try to have as much of an advantage as you can. There is no such thing as a noble art when you get into a street fight. The Filipino martial arts start with a system which is already at an advantage. We found that it was more practical to engage in a fight or combat with any available weapon rather than to try to tackle and engage the opponent with just your bare hands. Digging deeper into FMA, this wealth of versatile weapon techniques can and actually do translate into effective empty hand tactics. Nothing is lost and, as a matter of fact, it is actually enhanced.

(Q) You are well known as one of the senior masters of kali Ilustrisimo. How did you come to learn this system?

My start in kali Ilustrisimo was basically via my friend and mentor Christopher Ricketts. He was the one who first made contact with them and he introduced me to the group. We came from different groups before we came to kali Ilustrisimo. Edgar Sulite for example, was introduced to Antonio `Tatang' Ilustrisimo through his scheduled Arnis match with Yuli Romo. That was his stepping stone. In our case, Topher was introduced to Tatang by Ang Wah Kun who was with the Go Cho group in Chinatown. Topher, because of my interest in the FMA, then introduced me.

We all came from different backgrounds, but we became the five pillars of Ilustrisimo. Everybody claims now to be a leader or a master but at the time there were only five of us.

(Q) Could you please name the gentlemen who were referred to as the five pillars of the Ilustrisimo system?

Tony Diego, Yuli Romo, Edgar Sulite, Christopher Ricketts and myself. That is it. We were known as such because each and everyone of us were already instructors in our own right and had our own group of students .

Tony Diego has always been our elected and selected leader of Kali Ilustrisimo with him being the most senior and spending the most time with Tatang. Next is Yuli Romo because he delved further into Tatang's concepts and philosophies. After that, I would put Edgar Sulite, Topher Ricketts and myself equally, although Topher spent a lot more time, than Edgar or myself, with Tatang training and archiving a lot of Tatang's techniques. He has the most extensive collection of video footage on Tatang and is definitely the true archivist of the Ilustrisimo system.

(Q) One person was attempting to coerce people into believing Yuli Romo was not a master of kali Ilustrisimo. What is your opinion?

Yuli Romo started shortly after Tony Diego and is definitely one of the five pillars of Kali Ilustrisimo. Yuli has this unique ability to dissect and further expand a technique. Although he always has this light hearted approach to things, if you look and listen to what he says you would agree that it is definitely profound and detailed. The mind boggles because here is a guy taking things lightly but there is so much substance in what he is saying. You know that many people have put him down for his seemingly casual attitude and have simply not looked at his skills. If anyone were to look at his skills they would see a person who is far more skilled, experienced and intelligent than all his critics combined.

(Q) Could it be that they do not want to recognize his seniority in the system, as well as his unique ability and skills?

The particular person doing this malicious attack on Yuli is actually trying to position themselves ahead of the other seniors in Kali Ilustrisimo. That is all there is to it. They are trying to alter history and records to make it seem like they are the primary students and not the ones who were there before them. Like any other system, you have the Johnny come lately and wannabes who want to break into the system and manipulate and establish themselves as the sole or premier authority.

(Q) Filipino martial arts teach weapons before empty hands. Now you mentioned the fact weapons training enhances empty hands. Why do you believe weapons are taught first?

Remember the Filipino martial arts are traditional warrior arts which were actually used in combat and battle. So therefore, you train your soldiers to fight with weapons. Even now, you do not train soldiers to fight with empty hands. Empty hands are their last resort, not their first objective. If you are a true combat art you go out there with weapons since you are trying to gain as much advantage as you can over the enemy. Any advantage no matter how small is a valuable leverage. So going into combat empty handed and fighting without weapons is definitely not military nor is it true warfare.

(Q) What benefits are derived from training weapons before empty hands?

Empty hands in FMA is similar to the idea in karate where your hands are your weapons. It is really the same concept. Your hands become spears, your hands become knives, your forearms become clubs and your legs become thrusting or kicking weapons. And even in the absence of weapons, you start looking for weapons of opportunity. So whether you have a stick, a rolled-up magazine, a sturdy pen or even just a pencil, you still have a weapon and can make use of it. You do not want to use flesh and bone against flesh and bone. You want to use an inanimate object against flesh and bone first because once you destroy your hands it doesn't matter if there is a weapon available if you cannot hold or manipulate it. Once you lose the use of your hands, you are practically weaponless.

(Q) Through the years, yourself and Bakbakan have become synonymous in the promotion of Filipino martial arts.

What I would like to touch on is the continued promotion, propagation and the development of the warrior arts of the Philippines because that has been the focus of most of our efforts. And in this pursuit we have been among the prominent standard bearers for projects that promote the warrior arts of the Philippines. Ever since we started, that has always been our focus, our mission, and our covenant.

(Q) You are the Chief Instructor of Bakbakan. What can you tell us about this well respected group?

Well let me clarify the point regarding being chief instructor of Bakbakan. Basically the overall chief instructor for Bakbakan world-wide and the Philippine Headquarters is Christopher Ricketts. I am the chief instructor for the world headquarters (WHQ) which is in New Jersey and am the chief instructor world-wide for the arts of Hagibis, Tulisan knife fighting and Sinawali. Those arts are my forte and my strong points. However, whenever Topher is at the WHQ, he takes over as Chief Instructor so that the instructors and students under me can take advantage of his skills and experience.

Our group is really a fraternal organization. Bakbakan is not a style; it is a brotherhood that represents various martial arts disciplines and styles. Bakbakan describes the group and not the style that we practice.

Lately though, the term Bakbakan Kali has come into preeminence and has gained recognition and respect in the FMA. Before, the FMA system we practiced was simply known as Kali Ilustrisimo. We, however, wanted to distinguish ourselves from the other Ilustrisimo groups mainly because of their lackadaisical and crude performance. We didn't want to be associated with nor identified with the mediocre Ilustrisimo groups. We wanted to protect and promote the legacy and renown of Tatang and to show that there exists an Ilustrisimo system with a high level of skill, not only in teaching, but even in competition or combative application. Thus was born Bakbakan Kali (Ilustrisimo).

(Q) So these were the reasons you established Bakbakan kali?

One of the reasons why we established Bakbakan Kali rather than simply refer to what we do as Kali Ilustrisimo is because some of the Ilustrisimo group have started all this nonsense about Tatang's baby step footwork and other impractical techniques that they have added and fostered as Ilustrisimo which were never practiced nor taught by Tatang. This footwork does not exist, at least not in combat application, because Tatang only did this when he was horse playing and having fun. When it was time for serious training or fighting, you will never see Tatang do this. Proof of this is in the Lameco Eskrima system itself. Edgar Sulite gave tribute to Tatang by interchangeably naming the Lutang footwork as Ilustrisimo. This is the recognized signature footwork of Tatang and richly deserves the name Ilustrisimo. In Bakbakan Kali, we don't even call it Lutang anymore, we simply call it Ilustrisimo.

(Q) There was also a claim that Tatang taught thrusting to one student and slashing to another. This sounds like the script from Hong Kong kung fu movie.

Yes, that is the same thing. It is illogical that a master fighter like Tatang would separate a thrust and a slash. That is a combination in any knife fighting or edged weapon art. There is no way that you could isolate them. The people who are claiming this are trying to make exclusive rights for certain areas of Tatang's expertise. A master fighter can never isolate his techniques because they all have to work in combination. Simply stated , this claim is a lot of nonsense.

(Q) What do you feel is the essence ofBbakbakan?

Let me take you back to the Bakbakan salute. We have a tri-step salute which heralds karunungan (knowledge), katapatan (loyalty), and katarungan (justice).Basically the combined elements of the tri-step salute would be the essence of Bakbakan.

1) knowledge - We seek knowledge of the art(s)

2) loyalty - We are dedicated to discipline and training of the art(s)

3) justice _ we prove and do justice to the art(s).

In short, we are knowledge seekers, we are dedicated and we prove ourselves. Of course, we have a contemporary interpretation of this salute. It goes - learn well, train hard, fight easy!

(Q) I believe that you infused techniques and synthesized Bakbakan kali. What are the differences between Bakbakan kali and the kali Ilustrisimo you originally practiced?

Well Bakbakan Kali as you mentioned has been synthesized from different systems and styles. One of the things which is like a signature identity of Bakbakan Kali is that we are heavily into double sticks because of the influence of Sinawali which is my mother art and hails from the region I come from. Another difference is our heavy emphasis on knife fighting which is known as Tulisan and is a sub set of Kali Ilustrisimo. And then we also have the sword and dagger techniques that are similar and at the same time unique from the original Ilustrisimo because we have incorporated some of the Sinawali and the Yambao techniques. The Yambao techniques are basically from the Sinawali system and so we just reinforced this particular aspect of the Bakbakan kali. We also train the long sword and the long pole.

(Q) What are the combat strategies of Bakbakan?

Like any martial art worth its name, the first strategy is to not to be hurt; you need footwork, you must be able to nullify an attack and be in a position to counter. Without these elements, you are just a target.

Actually there are no secret techniques. The secret is in the training to develop eyes, reflexes, footwork for offense and defense. If you get down to it, most people use the same weapons.

You must have strong basics, to make strong combinations. So that would be the secret. Develop strong basics and then developing training methodologies to make it a reflex action and part of your repertoire. One must train until thought and action become one.

(Q) Bakbakan stresses skill and fighting ability over rank and certificates. Has this seen many people quit due to this approach?

The thing is the attrition rate in Bakbakan is very high at the initial stage. Definitely, the training is hard and people that enter our training sessions realize that we are not a diploma mill. And so, you get a lot of dropouts, specifically people that wanted the glory of a certificate to "authenticate" their skills, regardless of its being apparent or even present. They find themselves disappointed because we do not give out certificates that easily. You have to earn it. Although our attrition rate at the start is high, once the candidates discover what we really are and what the values we stand for are, the retention rate is phenomenal. We are talking of people who have been with us for over 15 years. This is unlike some other systems where only the established instructors will dedicate themselves to that. Even our ranked and non ranked students are still with us.

(Q) This is remarkable when you think about it.

In any other systems if you look at who has been there the longest, they are usually at the top. The rank and file has gone as this keeps changing. But in our case, even the rank and file has a high retention rate.

(Q) In my training under Master Topher, he constantly stresses the basics and drills them until they are second nature. Is this a hallmark of Bakbakan?

Let me say it is not the exclusive hallmark of Bakbakan Kali or of Bakbakan. The heavy emphasis on basic techniques and basic training is the hallmark of proven combat and martial arts systems. If you look at the arts of muay thai, boxing, BJJ, catch wrestling, or Bakbakan, you will find that they are all proven systems who would come to the challenge at any time. And this is because they are confident with their basics.

Just to show you how important basics are, I have been watching these exotic martial arts championships on dvd. After all the kata or forms demonstrations and fancy moves, when they have the fighting tournament look at their stances and look at the hands. They all revert back to basic fighting. So why waste all this training and techniques, poses and combinations that can never be used in actual combat. I do not have enough time to become perfect, so I do not want to waste time on things that I would never use.

(Q) So the techniques that Bakbakan train, are the techniques that you would use in combat?

Yes, that's what it is and that's what it should be. Anything you cannot use, you are wasting your time.

(Q) Master Topher and Bakbakan emphasize sparring and applying techniques against an opponent resisting. What progression do you follow in introducing a student to sparring?

Initially we introduce them into what we call limited target sparring. This is like hand targeting or hand/forearm targeting and this is basically to make the student aware of what they have and what they don't have. Now they are facing someone who has been training and it becomes a rude awakening for the neophyte to realize that these guys have techniques and timing that the novice probably doesn not have. If they do have some of these attributes, it may show lack of refinement. This is a good awakening for them because then they realize what areas they are weak in and what areas they are strong in. From then on, we constantly get them to spar but of course this is always after basic training.

We do a lot of round-robin sparring. After a minute or two depending on the length of the sparring session we keep moving the line. This means you are facing a new opponent with each new round and you have to react and assess your new opponent immediately within the two minutes. Then it repeats itself.

(Q) What do you believe are the myths of edged weapon defense?

Some of the myths that you will see, specially in knife fighting, are all the long winded attacks and counterattacks that happen. Condescendingly we refer to it as the teppan-yaki (Japanese cooking on a hot plate where the chef demonstrates their cutting skills in front of the customer) or Benihana technique. It is superfluous and fancy, but it is not reality.

In fact, all these multiple cuts will result in mutilating a person and in the presence of blood all over the place. If this happens, there is a chance you are going to lose your weapon because it has become slippery. Actual combat is simple and straight to the point. Most fatal knife attacks are stabbings. Ask anyone who has been in prison or familiar with knife attacks. Rarely are the attacks slashes, they stab. They will take any spiked weapon or implement and kill you with it. They do not have the opportunity to have a razor sharp tanto. But even with a tanto the squared edge at the tip is for stabbing and not slashing. It was to penetrate the armor and tanto techniques were performed mostly as thrusts, not multiple cuts. You want to make it simple.

Exception to this are the long edged-weapons such as the itak, tabak, katana or the sabre which are primarily slashing weapons. Even with kendo, efficency is the hallmark; one or two slashes and that's it. They do not do up to twelve techniques simply because the guy is already dead with the first few blows.

(Q) How do you approach teaching students to defend against edged weapon attack? What are the important points?

To defend against an edged weapon attack, firstly you need to know what the edged weapon's abilities are, what's its advantages and disadvantages. An edged weapon is only lethal if the person using it knows which side is the edge side and where the tip is. The moment they move it in such a way that it is not pointing towards you or is not positioned to cut you, then you can approach.

For you to defend against a weapon, first you must know the weapon. This is why we teach the weapon first and then we teach how to defend against the weapon.

If somebody is threatening you with a weapon and the weapon edge is facing toward himself and the tip is not towards you, you can immediately jam the weapon and hurt the person wielding it. This is because the lethal edge is towards him. It is the same when the tip is not towards you; it means he cannot simply execute a thrust as you approach because he has to re-point it towards you.

(Q) Master Topher Ricketts is known as the warrior behind Bakbakan? What would you like to say about him?

He has always been the driving force especially here in the Philippines because he has proven himself in numerous tournaments. But more than that, he has proven himself in numerous fights. He has even had school challenges or organizational challenges and he is never one to back off from these things. He is truly the warrior behind Bakbakan and that says it all.

Q) You have been very instrumental in your collaboration with Master Topher and are looked upon as driving force of Bakbakan.

My title is the force behind Bakbakan because I am the person who took care of all the structure, promotion and in some cases, the unification with other systems in term of social support and promotion.

(Q) Tulisan knife fighting. What can you tell us about it?

During my time training under Tatang, we did everything everyone else did, but he spent most of the time teaching me knife fighting. It was this specialized training with him that saw me specialize in knife fighting and eventually formulate and develop the subset we call Tulisan; the knife fighting art of Kali Ilustrisimo. Again it emphasizes the simplicity, efficiency and effectiveness of Tatang's strategy and concept and is straight to the point. No pun intended, but that's what Tulisan means, pointed or as a noun, outlaw. So it is clearly an outlaw art.

Tony Diego and Topher Ricketts contributed some insights and techniques, but the bulk of the material was directly from Tatang. Actually I have an official document that was signed by Tatang naming me the heir and chief instructor of Tulisan knife fighting. This fact is not widely known, since I prefer for my own skill, character and reputation to speak for me. I have no need to post my certificates on the web to establish my credibility.

(Q) Another of your contributions to Bakbakan and FMA was the development of hagibis. What exactly is it?

Hagibis, is basically concentrating on throwing and maiming techniques. We have been doing throwing and grappling, but Hagibis is our emphasis now for combative practice because we do not really believe we can grapple in a street fight. This is due to being prone to attacks from other people and the possibility that the other guy may have a knife must also be considered since he could pull it out while one is engaged in grappling. You need to be aware of these things.

As a sport, I love grappling and we practice it a lot. But for self defense, I think we would rather stay on our feet and fight; with a clear vision and mobility due to the possibility of facing multiple opponents.

(Q) So hagibis is primarily stand up grappling?

Yes, it is disarming and maiming techniques. Our throws are designed to do damage to the joints so that the result is one opponent less with the successful execution of the techniques.

(Q) Your book `Complete Sinawali' is the most comprehensive book on this aspect of FMA. What led you to conduct so much research into this area?

Well most of the training you see is one sided and biased. This is not good in combat because you could encounter a right or left handed opponent. Or even a person who will use both hands. So where does that leave you? You have to be able to react to both left and right attacks. The best training for this is Sinawali because it is not biased and your are required to perform the same technique from both sides. Equal skill and competence must be shown on the left and right sides. Recognizing the importance of that, we then established that Sinawali has to become part of our system and our training.

(Q) Filipino martial arts are becoming very popular throughout the world. Why do you think this is?

Well I guess people are starting to realize nobody actually attacks you empty hands and in most cases, everybody attacks with weapons. So you might as well learn how to defend yourself with a weapon too and I think this is a simple fact of life. All these nice empty hand poses are impressive but one really would prefer to have a weapon in hand. Empty hands are only a last resort and not the first priority.

(Q) You recently published your latest book, `Classic Arnis: The Legacy of Placido Yambao' which has been very well received. What led you to undertake this project?

I started on `Classic Arnis' back in 1990 when I started translating the original book. Due to other commitments and project, it was shelved and then I picked it up again. We then submitted the documents themselves and the photos from the original book to Tuttle. However, Tuttle didn't like the quality of the photos because they were taken from the original book, but not from the original photos, which are no longer available. Tuttle decided that it wasn't up to their quality.

In hindsight that was good as I reviewed the documents and I saw that in doing a translation and using the real photos by themselves, I just translated something that was disorganized and badly presented in the original language into a disorganized and badly presented English equivalent. I did not do anything to benefit the reader. Remember it was written in Tagalog and even those who could read it were confused by the documents. So by simply translating it into English, it would have confused the English reading people.

I wanted to complete the project and share Placido Yambao's legacy with the general public so I had to continue. I then decided to use some of the old photos but to detail and expand the techniques using additional and new step by step photos. My finished book contains in excess of 500 photos, whereas the original book contained less than 100.

(Q) I have a copy of both, but for those who do not could you please outline the differences?

We expanded the contents of the book. Not only did I expand the presentation, I also detailed the individual techniques. For example, Yambao would show the tail-end of a specific technique. In the Classic Arnis book, I set them out step by step, so you would do it like you are being guided and tutored through the techniques. In the addendum, I show the actual drills that develop these techniques. It makes it a lot easier for everyone and it gives the book a new life. I guess it made Yambao's techniques popular again and it allowed people to actually get into their mind what they were trying to share.

(Q) What can you tell us about Placido Yambao?

The book `Mga Karunungan Sa Larong Arnis' was written by Yambao prior to the 1950's,. It was, however, actually published in 1957. So the book is basically over half a century old.

Yambao was a proven fighter as he fought in many tournaments at the Olympic Stadium, which is now called Rizal Stadium. This was where they used to have full contact matches and we are talking about people who were doing this in the 1920s-1930s before WWII. Unfortunately we could not discover the exact date he died. Yambao and most of his compatriots were all well-educated. These were not just people who learnt from experience, but actually conducted research and formed groups and schools to promote and perfect the art. You will discover that Buenaventura Mirafuente did the research on the history of arnis and wrote it many years prior to the book's publication in 1957. So it was an old manuscript they had which was written long before the book came into being.

Lastly, a piece of history for the readers which is in line with the saying that what goes around comes around. Placido Yambao was awarded his teaching diploma by the Magtanggol (Defender) Sporting Club and under the auspices of Juaquin Galang. Juaquin Galang is one of my great-grand uncles, the lineage from which the interest in Sinawali stemmed from. And now a Galang has embarked on the translation and publication of Placido Yambao's classic book on Arnis.

(Q) You recently returned to the Philippines to conduct research for your forthcoming book. What can you tell us about this new book?

This new project that I am launching, `Warrior Arts of the Philippines' came about because of the cancellation of another project. I was actually going to re-edit and update Edgar Sulite's book `Masters of Arnis, Kali, and Eskrima'. So I started the project and begun gathering material from the students of acknowledged masters because I wanted them to give their insights or point of view on their respective teachers, system etc. As such I purchased the copyright for the book, designed the layout and even informed the widow of the late Edgar Sulite, Felisa Sulite of the endeavor. I informed her of the project and several days later she called back and informed me that she did not want the book altered or changed in any way.

So, here I was with all of this research that I had already gathered and I had already finished 1/6 of the book. Rather than turning my back on the project, I decided to do a new book, so I started `Warrior Arts of the Philippines'. We started contacting people for materials and for submissions, and it started rolling. We received more materials than we expected and it is going to be a big book. There are going to a lot of photos, step by step sequences as we took a lot of detailed shots of the techniques the masters were presenting; not just the main points, but even the transitional shots so the reader can get a clearer picture of how the techniques started from and ended in a certain position.

(Q) I believe the book will be featuring many styles and historical photos?

Yes definitely. Our primary cover is Anciong Bacon and it has been by chance or by fortune, that we have received a lot of response from the Balintawak people. So the book is going to be like a tribute to Anciong Bacon and then followed by all the others.

We are not presenting a biased book featuring only Kali Ilustrisimo, Bakbakan. It is not biased at all. It truly represents the Warrior Arts of the Philippines. Because of the amount of materials, I will need to be a multi-volume work to give equitable representation to all major systems.

(Q) What a lot of people may not be aware of is that you and Bakbakan were instrumental in promoting Edgar Sulite and assisting with the publication of his books.

Yes and as a matter of fact, even with the first book of Edgar I was already helping him out. Included in this new book is a photo of a video cover Edgar signed. In the dedication he wrote how he valued our friendship and the support I gave him.

(Q) Long before Lameco eskrima was world famous, wasn't Edgar Sulite was a member of Bakbakan?

Yes. Back in the 1980s when I organized the Masters of Arnis tour of Australia, Edgar Sulite and Tony Diego were both wearing Bakbakan uniforms. This was because their individual systems were not known yet and we were helping them promote it. Later on, of course, as things happened, Kali Ilustrisimo and Lameco both became popular. As Lameco Eskrima became more well known, it also promoted its parent arts Kali Ilustrisimo and De Campo (Caballero). Remember that before Lameco Eskrima, Caballero's style was virtually unheard of. It was Edgar's efforts that made it well known and popular regardless of what other people say.

(Q) Bakbakan is concerned with practical skills. What are your views on the various competition formats of arnis?

Bakbakan is concerned with becoming skilled fighters. In competition we see a venue for proving our skills and we do this not by just holding tournaments to prove our skills, but attending other people's tournaments. This way regardless of whether they are our rules or their rules, we prove our ability to fight and the effectiveness of our skills. This is good and it makes me feel good.

(Q) How about the differences in training and applying those skills in a real situation?

If the practice in the school environment is reality based and is full contact (though we do encourage the use of protective equipment), the training will be reality based. Once you lose the essence of the true nature of combat or violence, then you are just going through the illusions of confidence and competence; you think you are good, but under stress you might find that things may not work out for you. So you always have to train under combat conditions. Full contact sparring should really be full contact and with maximum or near-maximum impact.

(Q) What attributes do you feel are important for a student to have to be a better fighter?

Firstly, lose the ego and have an open mind. Also learn to analyze and not take anything for granted. Although the techniques that we teach in Bakbakan have been proven, the students must prove it themselves. They must acquire it and prove it themselves. Again, simply put, thought and action must become one.

(Q) You mentioned lose the ego. Could you please elaborate further?

We get a lot of people that come in who have a black belt etc., and they all talk about these paper mementoes they have as proof of skills. When you actually have skill, you do not need these paper things. When I say lose ego I mean this; from day to day your performance will change so the rank that you have now, is not going to be a guarantee ten years from now. It is not going to protect you. What will protect you is continual development and preservation of your skills. Lose the ego and keep on learning

and training.

(Q) Is Bakbakan now established around the world?

Yes and it is something which we are proud of. However, we always maintain that we do not lower our standards but rather maintain it. This holds true even as we embark on spreading the reputation and integrity of Bakbakan across the globe.

(Q) What are the qualities you try to pass onto your students?

One thing you would have noticed in Bakbakan, is everybody helps everybody. This is because it is to our benefit that each and everyone become a good fighter. So there is no ego or selfishness in Bakbakan as everyone is brethren or brothers. The better your training partners are, the better you will become. So therefore you cannot isolate new people and look at them as fresh meat in sparring. They are fresh new warriors to be developed.

(Q) We were discussing respect and I believe there is another topic you would like to touch upon?

This latest influx of insults on one of the martial arts forums is a topic I would like to discuss. The only thing I can say is that those guys hide behind computer monitors and talk big. They never use their real names and probably have never been in competitions nor real fights. Whatever they claim, it is a dead issue and they are not even worth the time.

(Q) You are referring to the insults and pathetic attacks against legitimate masters of kali Ilustrisimo?

I guess you could put it like that. These are people making half ass statements on things they want to put down so they can try raise themselves up. When people have to step on other people to put themselves up then they really do not have anything. They should be able to stand on their own skills and reputation.

(Q) So maybe they should be asking themselves what have they done for kali Ilustrisimo.

I guess you could ask that and also, why have they been using the Ilustrisimo name after they failed in the system they created. They go running back to kali Ilustrisimo because their system did not have the credibility, exposure or even the foundation that it needs to become an established and accepted system.

As a matter of fact, these people who claim to have modified the tulisan system and improved it, failed miserably in their encounter with some intermediate level students during one of my seminars. They were caught by surprise that I was going to have sparring as part of the workshop. I was prompted to do this because I was annoyed at their lack of manners with their sideline demonstrations while I was conducting the workshop. The poor performance and showing of this so called senior instructors were a disappointment and shock to the students. To be honest, the students felt good because they were successfully applying their techniques on these people, but they felt bad because they used to think so highly of them. They had heard so much of these people and their claims, but they performed miserably during sparring. I do not know what they modified it into, but I am glad they don't call their modification tulisan because it's definitely not tulisan nor does it have the concept and strategy of Tatang Ilustrisimo. They have devolved the art and made it useless. I was even accused of having set them up when I decided to have open sparring. One can only set up when one knows that the other camp is coming. If one is not aware of the visit of the opposing camp but nevertheless wins, then it is not a set-up nor ambush but simply being trained and ready.

Right now, this is a dead issue to us and we really do not want to go down to their level. We have proven ourselves and are recognized by all the major Filipino martial arts systems in the world and even in other arts. So, we have nothing to prove and it is they, in fact, who have to prove themselves. They know where the Bakbakan headquarters are in the USA and the Philippines if they take offence with these statements.

(Q) If you could pass on one piece of advice to your students, what would it be?

Never accept anything at face value. Even if you are taught a technique, always test it and prove that it works or prove that it doesn't work. Before you discard something, make sure that the technique failed not because you haven't developed the skill yet. Give it the time and opportunity to prove itself. If after all that and it doesn't work then it probably will never work anyway.

If it was demonstrated to be effective, evaluate who it was effective against. Is it against someone of equal to the skill to the demonstrator and if so, is it against someone from within the same system or from without. Restricting one's sparring and proving grounds to one's backyard does not guarantee reality nor effectiveness. It must be tested not only merely within the tenets of the system but against others in the non-partisan field of combat.

(Q) As a former Australian resident, when will you be returning for seminars?

I was in contact with the Australian chapter and we are looking at either the later part of this year or next year. Usually I return every two years.

(Q) Lastly anything you would like to add?

I hope we have been able to present what Bakbakan is all about and what our point of view is on the martial arts in general. Let's face it; there are a lot of illusions of competence where people sell ranks and certification. It may make money for the gym, but it leaves the students with a false confidence which will get them in trouble.

I would just like to warn people that ever since the Ilustrisimo system came into popularity there are a lot of diploma mills out there and making money on the name of Antonio Ilustrisimo. This should not be the case as the focus should be preserving his legacy. If you are claiming to impart the knowledge make sure that you do impart the knowledge and not just the illusion of having been touched by Tatang. The art of Antonio Ilustrisimo is combative, lethal, and powerful and a certificate will not make you that; only training will.

I generally am able to produce champions within six months. Training an instructor, however, takes much longer. On the average I would say no less than three years. Not because of lack of fighting skill but because teaching ability and acquisition of material and teaching experience takes much longer to acquire. I am therefore surprised at people receiving their instructorship after a weeks or months of training. Even geniuses take a few years to finish their accelerated studies. It makes you wonder what these "instructors" will be teaching their students. Consider this analogy: We can make soldiers with a few months of basic training. Officers take a lot longer.

(Q) Master Rey, thank you for such an informative interview. It has been an honor for me.

David, it has been a pleasure.

© 2004 David Foggie, Bakbakan International