Japanese author to write second eskrima book

CEBU, Philippines -  A Japanese author from Tokyo is back in town to write his second book on eskrima.Oshima Ryosuki was here for the first time in 2011. During his three-month stay, he visited several arnis clubs as part of his resource materials for the 200-page book he will be writing when he goes back to Tokyo this week. That gave him a chance to observe the systems of the Balintawak and Maranga clubs as well as trace their roots.

The 42-year-old Ryosuki said his Cebu experience is a lot different this time because of the 7.2 magnitude earthquake and super typhoon Yolanda that battered the Visayas region.

Ryosuki, whose first book on eskrima was entitled "Filipino Martial Arts," said it's a big honor for him to have befriended Supreme Grandmaster Ciriaco "Cacoy" Cañete, who had given him a certificate of completion during his extensive training at the Doce Pares World Eskrima Federation headquarters located along C. Padilla Street.

Ryosuki, a jujitsu champion who owns the Fuji Arnis Club based in Tokyo, is the second Japanese national to have trained at Cacoy Doce Pares after Shikiro Kameda, who was here in 1960. (GGM) (FREEMAN)