on behalf of Grandmaster Leo M. Giron and the staff of the Bahala Na Martial Arts Association, we extend our gratitude to Mark V. Wiley and Tuttle Publishing, whose books continue to set the standard of excellence.
▲ Introduction ▲
In the late 1960s, Guro Daniel Inosanto, one of Grandmaster Leo Giron’s early students, set out on a quest to learn about one of the hidden treasures of his heritage, the low-profile existence of an elite number of Filipino-Americans known as masters in the fighting arts of the Philippines. These early escrima masters had long ago migrated to the United States and, under the cover of secrecy, had shared their wisdom with only a select few. From the rare opportunity to meet, observe, and interview these individuals in both California and Hawaii came a published series of articles and, later, a book titled The Filipino Martial Arts. This was groundbreaking research, in some cases revealing the identities, styles, and methods of escrima “play” for the first time to the outside world.
In 1997, Mark Wiley’s Filipino Martial Culture appeared, featuring the complete history, weapons, systems, and masters of the Filipino martial arts in the United States and the Philippines. Grandmaster Giron proudly stands as one of only eighteen masters to have an entire chapter of the book dedicated to him and his art form.
Now at the age of eighty-six years, Grandmaster Leo M. Giron, a native son of Bayambang, Pangasinsn, Philippines, stands virtually alone among his generation as an active teacher of these arts, imparting history and knowledge to his close knit family of students. The time has now arrived to cast light on the substance and depth of the art which the grandmaster has scrupulously held in trust for so many generations.
After meeting Grandmaster Giron for the first time, many people comment on the professorial manner of a man whose skills and knowledge are rooted in deadly combat. Any contradiction is quickly dispelled, however, when Grandmaster Giron deftly demonstrates both in words and deed the direct connections between the beauty and effectiveness of his art and its basis in actual use. “Combat proven” is the operative term as the Grandmaster in a very real sense serves as a professor of living history, reaching into his own past and that of his predecessors to illuminate the present. Such light guides us through the following pages, as we view two of the twenty styles of Giron arnis escrima.
Part One
Background
and Overview
1
Development of a Fighting Art
The history of the Philippines and her martial arts is a history of influences whose origins span the globe—extending from the Malay Peninsula, the Indonesian Archipelago, China, India, Japan, and the Middle East, to Europe and the Americas. These regions have made an impact on the Philippines through centuries of trade, migration, and conflict. The blood and ashes of such conflict has marked the landscape and national psyche of this great land for over one thousand years. This has involved a virtual kaleidoscope of cultural, ethnic, religious, and linguistic backgrounds. Throughout the ages, the people of these islands have observed, learned, and adapted from others where necessary while reinforcing and refining the wealth of indigenous knowledge already in place.
Regionalism
Regionalism in the Philippines evolved from the ancient barangay system of rule where rajahs or kings would exercise direct authority over a virtual city-state, consisting of between thirty and one-hundred families. Often, barangays with common language and customs would confederate with others, forming much larger regional kingdoms. This eventually formed the political-geographic basis of what has become today’s provincial system of government. It was during the period of regional kingdoms that the Spanish first arrived.
As if in a classical morality play, the symbolism of certain events often looms larger than the occurrences themselves. The defeat in 1521 of the Portuguese explorer, Fernando Magallanes, or Ferdinand Magellan as he is known today, while sailing under the Spanish flag, indicated such an event. While attempting to bring the rajah and datus (chieftains) of Cebu under Spanish control, Magellan foolishly assumed a lack of martial capabilities among inhabitants and blundered into a conflict which ultimately led to his demise. His nemesis was a king by the name ofLapulapu. Rajah Lapulapu was named after a colorful and aggressive coral game fish of the area. Lapulapu was not of the people commonly settled in the larger island of Cebu. He was of the Orang Lauts, or man of the high seas, from the southern Celebes.
Magellan had unwittingly encountered a fierce people whose lives were dedicated to freedom and struggle. Magellan’s defeat at Mactan became a symbol representing the inherent power of the people to resist the imposition of foreign rule. It is both ironic and illuminating that notwithstanding the long period of the Spanish rule, some 333 years, a short-lived American period, and an even briefer Japanese occupation, it is the event of victory that stands out when characterizing Filipino history. What Magellan failed to understand was that he was dealing with a people of great variety and complexity who were not unprepared for his challenge. Lapulapu and other leaders of common ancestry and experience shared a tradition of acculturation which included the study and training in the arts of war as well as other facets of life. These martial arts have continued to evolve, resulting in many of the styles and systems found in the central and southern regions of the Philippines today. In some parts of the Visayas and Luzon, knowledge of European fencing techniques generated counter measures to be woven into the fabric of indigenous styles and systems. Examples of successful resistance to foreign rule as in the case of the unconquered Moros of the southern Philippines, further served to encourage the spirit of independence among all peoples of the islands. This spirit frequently surfaced as full-blown revolts throughout Philippine history.
Grandmaster Giron with a panabas
Some ninety years later in a much different part of the islands, it was just such a revolt that proved to be a pivotal factor in the further development of the Filipino martial arts. The location was Pangasinan, Grandmaster Giron’s home province. In 1660, a local leader named Andres Malong proclaimed himself king and mounted a popular but short-lived revolt against Spanish rule. Governor Manrique de Lara learned of the rebellion through the capture of a letter from Malong to Don Francisco Manago. The subsequent suppression of this revolt by Spanish forces, in addition to the capture and execution of Malong, led to a scattering of former rebels under arms into the surrounding hills. From these areas of relative security, members of the disbanded units resorted to banditry, preying on local farmers and villagers. Just as the people of the south in an earlier time were not unprepared to meet the challenge of oppression, these local inhabitants banded together in common defense. For centuries, there had been many personal combat styles commonly employed in this region, all with some general relationship in terms of type of weapon, style of movement, or proximity to an opponent. During this time, however, there developed a “new” style named cabaroan.
Cabaroan was well suited to the working farmer or villager who could not devote long hours to training in the traditional short-weapon, block-and-counter styles of more experienced fighters. This new style which is now more commonly described and referred to as larga mano (or long hand), was developed through the successful use of the panabas and other similar bladed tools used for the clearing of brush or agriculture.
In general, the panabas consists of a twenty-inch blade attached to a twenty-inch bamboo or wooden handle. Although the use of farm implements as a means of self-defense is by no means unique to Luzon, the specific method of employing these tools is what characterizes the larga mano style. The fundamental essence of the style is found in its concepts of fighting range, economy of movement, and its ability to blend with the older styles of arnis and escrima. From this point on both the “old” (cada-anan) and the “new” (cabaroan) escrima and arnis styles continued to grow, often in unison. In fact, Grandmaster Giron, a native of Bayambang, relates that “there eventually came a time when if one was asked what style he played, and he answered both old and new, you would then see the inquirer’s tone and general demeanor turn less arrogant,