Ang Kalatas Volume V June 2015 Independence Day Special Edition | Page 28

Arnis in Hollywood… The arnis and Filipino martial
arts techniques had appeared in some of the most popular
movies in recent years. Among stars showing Pinoy fighting
form were Tom Cruise (Mission Impossible 2), Angelina Jolie
(Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life) and Matt Damon (Bourne series).
Decades before them, the great Bruce Lee used arnis in his
last movie – ‘In Game of Death’ – in a fight scene. Arnis was
declared the Philippines national martial arts and sport in
2009. http://planetphilippines.com

Balintawak
in Sydney
IN the years when the Philippines was a colony
of Spain, the Filipinos – the ‘Indios’ – were banned
from carrying blades. Our resourceful patriots
carried rattan sticks, in lieu of a bolo, to use it as a
training instrument to familiarise themselves with
the proper use of the bolo. Soon the art of fighting
with sticks was developed. Arnis today is the
Philippines national martial art and sport.
ARNIS has a small band of disciples who
meet regularly to master the techniques
of this unique form of Filipino martial arts
deeply rooted in the country’s history.
“We are a small group. There are
currently eight regular practitioners
who train as often as their work load
allows. The training is intense in a sense
that the new learner has to control the
stick,” explains Mitchell Badelles, a senior
student cum assistant trainer at the NNG
Balintawak Arnis. Their group is headed
by Oscar Mistula.
“One of the controls is to stop the
counter-strike strike an inch away
from the head. Another is to learn the
footwork, which is to walk normally as if
one was walking on the footpath.”
The Sydney arnis practitioners trace
their training school to the original

28

JUNE 2015

Balintawak Arnis (Balintawak Eskrima)
s tarted in the early 1950’s by Venancio
“Anciong” Bacon. In their discipline, the
theory is that the stick is an extension of
the arm and that the body can only move
in so many ways.
Anciong’s style was known to be a
“cuentada” (counting) system. This means
that the martial art involves calculating
and like maths, precise. Balintawak can
be like a dance - elegant, balanced, and
sometimes baffling.
Balintawak Arnis practitioners, in their
early days, were taught to be fighters. Part
of the knowledge imparted to them was
psychological warfare even ignoring pain
when hit. Training meant a lot of sacrifice
so much so that it was shunned by some
because it was considered to be a brutal
way of learning a martial art.

www.kalatas.com.au