A show of force and unity in Philippines arnis

CEBU, Philippines — The highly anticipated International Festival of Eskrima Kali Arnis this weekend at the Mountain Wing atrium of SM Seaside City promises to be 'a show of force and unity' in Philippine arnis.

Doce Pares Supreme Grandmaster Dionisio 'Diony' Cañete said some 40 grandmasters from all over the country including the top guns in Cebu eskrima will showcase their individual styles before the public.

"This is the first gathering of its kind in the history of Filipino martial art. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event, a great collection of highly excellent skills by experts," said Cañete in a press conference presided over by SCOOP-Cebu President Robert "Bobby Knight" Inoferio at Hotel Fortuna.

Others present were Philippine Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation (PEKAF) Executive Vice President Gerald Cañete,  Lorenzo 'Chao' Sy of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), Cebu City Sports Commissioner Alan Borres Delantar and Mon Borromeo of the Department of Tourism (DoT).

"It's easy to say that this is a very significant moment for Filipino martial art because we are able to gather such a huge number of arnis masters not only here in the Philippines but also from other countries. This is something that has not been done before," said Master Gerald Cañete.

Among the renowned Cebuano arnisadors who will demonstrate their skills are GMs Silvano Maranga, Felix Gutang, Jr., Cris Cordezar, Nick Elizar, Jonas Goc-ong, Danilo Jorquia, Tyke Abella, Andres Cañete, Rodrigo Maranga, and Allfredo Carin.

"We are exerting extra effort to showcase our native art of stick-fighting on the world stage," said GM Abella.

"We may have different styles, but though this endeavor you will see that we are united in the promotion and development of our own Filipino martial art," said GM Danny Jorquia.

Arnis masters Eunseob Kim and Eunjung of South Korea, Kenth Nakamura of Japan, and Ivan Doyle of Texas Doce Pares in the United States are also in town to grace the ground-breaking event.

"Taekwondo is very popular in Korea but it is more on punching and kicking," said Eunseob Kim." What I like most about arnis is that it uses weapons and applies multi-style techniques. It's quite interesting. You will learn self-defense as technical as possible."

Nakamura, a bemedalled karateka in Japan, shares the same sentiment. "In arnis, there are many kind of techniques. I highly respect and appreciate its multi-style system."

Also coming over are noted eskrimadors from Europe and US led by New Jersey-based Cebuano Grandmaster Arnulfo 'Dong' Cuesta. A champion in the historic 1st Philippines Arnis Championship in 1979 at the Cebu Coliseum as well as in the 1st World Eskrima Kali Arnis Championship in 1989, Cuesta is the only man teaching Filipino martial art in a prestigious school in the US. He has been teaching  art at the New York University for almost seven years, and also in some schools in Jersey City.

The two-day spectacle will start this Saturday with a tournament dubbed as the Battle of Champions, which the grandmasters will supervise and officiate.

In this competition, the winners of previous qualifying events will vie for spots in Team Philippines that will compete in the upcoming 15th WEKAF Championships on July 19-25 at the Lahaina Civic Center in Hawaii.

On Sunday, an arnis clinic will be conducted by all grandmasters from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. It is open free to the public. The first in Cebu, the public will have the chance to personally learn from these top GMs some good defensive techniques or even fundamental self-defense moves.

The highlight of the momentous undertaking is the showdown of GMs starting at 1:30 p.m. and to end at 6 p.m. Each participating grandmaster will perform in demonstrations, showing off their unique set of skills.