Yesterday, while getting my hair cut, my trusted barber also told me about Mr. Philippines.
Even though he couldn’t immediately remember his name, he knew that he was an accomplished bodybuilder and a very skillful FMA practitioner.
So, I simply set out to find some more information on Mr. Philippines, who was considered a National Treasure of the Philippines.
He was Rolando Pintoy Dantes, born June 15, 1944 and unfortunately died way too young on March 16, 2009.
Rolando Dantes was an international action movie star as well as a Filipino martial artist who trained with the legendary Grandmaster Remy Presas for over 30 years.
Furthermore, he trained in Filipino stick fighting with other highly acclaimed masters such as as Cacoy Canete and Edgar Sulite.
As one of the best-known Filipino actors, Rolando Dantes had leading roles in movies including “The Pacific Connection” and “Arnis: The Sticks Of Death.”
Dantes was a bodybuilder who won the “Mr. Philippines” title five times between 1969-1980 and placed in competitions for the titles “Mr. Universe” and “Mr. World”.
I have expressed my appreciation of FMA (Filipino Martial Arts) several times before. And today is no exception.
FMA are generally referred to as Kali Escrima Arnis, depending on whom you are talking to.
Practitioners of FMA with a high level of proficiency really know their stuff when it comes to stick fighting. Sometimes it’s single and sometimes it’s double stick. And of course, handling sharp blades (long and short), too.
But there is a tool that can become a vey painful weapon in its own right that I didn’t even think of before doing some research.
Are you ready for this?
It’s the ‘latigo’ or simply, horse whip.
The demonstration in the following video clearly shows the accuracy and slashing effect this basic age-old tool can have in the hand of proficient practitioner of Filipino Martial Arts.
Do not try this at home without sufficient training and professional supervision! No kidding!
You are always welcome here at TheMartialArtsReporter.com
Today, I am introducing something here for the first time and I hope you enjoy it:
A Weekly Review Of The Preceding 6 Days – Just Click On The Link Of The Post You Missed Or The One You Liked So Much That You Just Have To Read It Again.
Also, I would like to introduce an inspirational quote that I just know you’re going like.
When the topic of martial arts comes up, I have noticed that the majority of people immediately make the connection with Far East Asian countries such as China (kung fu), Japan (karate, judo, aikido) and maybe Korea (taekwondo).
Make a connection with Southeast Asia, not so much.
When you think of the Philippines nowadays in terms of fighting, you most probably think of the Filipino boxing hero, Manny Pacquiao, who has been dominating the World Light Welterweight division for some time now.
Or some of us might even remember or at least have heard about “The Thrilla in Manila”, the epic boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, which is sometimes even referred to as the Fight of the Century and took place in the Philippines on October 1, 1975.
But Filipino Martial Arts, aka FMA, are not necessarily on most people’s radar, right?
The Philippines is a country in Southeast Asia consisting of over 7,000 islands and a total population of over 90 million (U.S. population is around 300 million).
An amazing fact I found out is that there are over 10 million overseas Filipinos which represents a whopping 11 percent of their total population.
The Philippines used to be first a Spanish colony, named after King Philipp II (hence the Philippines) in the 15th century, and then later a U.S. colony after the Spanish-American War (1898-1902).
During WWII, with the help of some very brave and tenacious Filipinos the U.S. was able to drive the Japanese out of the Philippines.
The Filipinos have a long heritage of martial arts that dates back to when Lapu-Lapu and his warriors fought against the Spanish invaders in the 15th century and even killing the famous Portuguese explorer Magellan, who is known for discovering the Pacific Ocean. Only when the Spaniards came back with guns were they able to conquer the Philippines.
These fierce Filipino warriors were known to be extremely skillful in a number of aspects of jungle warfare (armed and unarmed fighting) and throughout time their skills were passed down to the next generation.
Some of the great Filipino Martial Arts legends that have become household names are Dan Inosanto, Atty. Jose Villasin, Cacoy Canete, Elmer Ybanez, Tony Diego, Teofilo Velez, Richard Bustillo, Edgar Sulite, Leo Gaje, Armando P. Angeles, Leo Giron, Mike Inay, Ernesto Presas, Remy Presas, and Angel Cabales.
Filipino Martial Arts, aka FMA, basically consist of the following:
- Panantukan (empty-handed techniques)
- Eskrima/Kali/Arnis de Máno (blade and stick fighting)
- Pantadyakan (kicking).
Every well-rounded martial artist should seriously consider FMA as part of their martial arts repertoire.
How about some appetizers to get you started today? Enjoy!
