Eye Square Martial Arts

Cultural Preservation… with Bruises (sometimes).

Tag: Cultural Preservation

  • The Filipino Martial Arts Bookshelf: An Annotated Reading List

    The Filipino Martial Arts Bookshelf: An Annotated Reading List

    If you’ve ever been cracked on the knuckles during a sinawali drill and thought, “There’s gotta be a story behind all this,” you’re absolutely right.

    Filipino Martial Arts—Arnis, Eskrima, Kali—are more than just sticks and strikes. They’re deeply rooted in the history, culture, and resistance of the Philippine islands. Whether you’re new to the arts or have been swinging a baston for years, understanding where it all comes from adds depth to every movement.

    Here’s a handpicked, annotated list of books and films to deepen your knowledge of FMA and the cultural forces that shaped it.

    🗡️ Historical and Cultural Foundations

    1. Barangay: Sixteenth-Century Philippine Culture and Society – William Henry Scott
    A must-read for precolonial Filipino life. It covers warfare, social classes, and how early communities functioned. Great for understanding the roots of indigenous martial traditions.

    2. Looking for the Prehispanic Filipino – William Henry Scott
    Debunks colonial myths and gives voice to what pre-Spanish Filipino life may have really looked like. Think of it as the historical groundwork beneath your footwork.

    3. An Anarchy of Families – Edited by Alfred W. McCoy
    Less about martial arts directly, but packed with insight on how power, violence, and family dynasties shaped Filipino society. It gives context to how martial skills were preserved and used.

    🏋️️ Martial Arts-Specific Studies

    4. The Filipino Martial Arts – Dan Inosanto
    The book that opened Western eyes to FMA. A solid intro with history, technique, and personal stories. If you train, you should own this.

    5. Filipino Martial Culture – Mark V. Wiley
    Part cultural anthropology, part martial arts tour. Interviews, system overviews, and an honest look at how the arts have evolved.

    6. The History of Filipino Martial Arts – Felipe P. Jocano Jr.
    An academic and practitioner’s view. This one digs into the historical transitions FMA went through—from tribal warfare to colonial resistance.

    🌍 FMA in the Modern World

    7. Kali’s Odyssey – Christopher Ricketts (interviews)
    A look at how FMA traveled with the Filipino diaspora, especially into the U.S. You’ll get a feel for how the art continues to evolve abroad.

    8. RA 9850 (2009): The Arnis Law
    Not a book, but an official recognition by the Philippine government naming Arnis the national martial art and sport. A big deal for preservation and legitimacy.

    🎥 Documentaries and Oral Histories

    9. Eskrimadors (2010, Dir. Kerwin Go)
    A well-produced doc on Cebu-based masters and their systems. Solid footage and interviews. If you want to see FMA in action, start here.

    10. The Bladed Hand (2012, Dir. Jay Ignacio)
    Explores the global reach of FMA with interviews from masters around the world. Shows how the art thrives far beyond the islands.

    Final Thoughts

    You can swing a stick without knowing the history. But once you do know the history? Every strike hits different.

    Whether you’re building your bookshelf or your footwork, these resources will help you connect the dots between the blade, the hand, and the culture that shaped them both.

  • Part 6: Preservation and Progress – The Future of Filipino Martial Arts

    Part 6: Preservation and Progress – The Future of Filipino Martial Arts

    Today, Filipino Martial Arts stand at a crossroads. They’ve survived colonization, revolution, war, and globalization. They’ve been featured in movies, adapted for law enforcement, and spread to every corner of the world. And now, with a growing generation of modern practitioners, FMA faces two big questions: how do we preserve what matters, and how do we keep evolving?

    The National Sport (Sort Of)

    In 2009, Arnis was officially declared the national martial art and sport of the Philippines (RA 9850). This was a big win for visibility—but it also came with a twist. Sport Arnis is often different from traditional or combative FMA. With padded sticks, headgear, and point systems, it focuses on speed and scoring rather than real-world application.

    That’s not a bad thing—it gets kids involved, builds pride, and creates structured exposure. But the challenge is keeping the deeper knowledge alive: the blade work, the body mechanics, the cultural roots.

    The Preservationists

    Some schools, families, and organizations have made it their mission to preserve the old ways. They focus on blade-first methodology, traditional drills, and lineage-based instruction. For these groups, the art isn’t just about self-defense—it’s about honoring ancestors, respecting culture, and transmitting wisdom that’s too important to lose.

    These practitioners are often cautious about modernization. For them, losing the cultural backbone of the art is a greater threat than losing students. And they’re not wrong—without context, it’s just choreography with sticks.

    The Innovators

    On the flip side, you’ve got the evolution crowd. They’re mixing FMA with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, firearms training, and more. They see the art as a toolkit—built for adaptation. Their goal is practicality, efficiency, and survivability in modern conflict scenarios.

    They’ve helped bring FMA into the tactical world—training law enforcement, military, and private security. They’re forging new drills and rediscovering the old in light of modern challenges. And they’ve got the bruises to prove it works.

    Cultural Renaissance

    Thanks to social media, documentaries, and a growing interest in indigenous knowledge, FMA is having a cultural moment. Young Filipinos at home and abroad are starting to reconnect with the art. They’re digging into history, learning from elders, and sharing their journey online.

    It’s not just about technique—it’s about identity. About reclaiming something that was almost lost. And about saying, “This is ours. This matters.”

    Where It’s Headed

    The future of Filipino Martial Arts isn’t about choosing preservation or progress. It’s about balance.

    It’s about keeping the blades sharp, the stories alive, and the community growing. Whether you train for tradition, for self-defense, or for the love of movement, you’re part of something bigger. Something old. Something alive.

    And if we do it right, the next generation will inherit an art that’s just as effective, just as rooted, and just as proudly Filipino as ever.

    Because the real weapon has always been the will to pass it on.