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Thread: Kali/escrima - filipino

  1. #31
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    Balintawak Eskrima

    Sci-fi film ‘Dune’ features Filipino martial art Balintawak Eskrima, director says
    By Catalina Ricci S. Madarang - October 26, 2021 - 4:42 PM

    Science fiction film “Dune” featured a combat style based on a Philippines’ martial art, according to its director.

    The director mentioned this in a video released by The New York Times on October 23, ahead the movie’s theatrical release in the country on November 10.

    “Dune” had already premiered overseas last September.

    The movie was adapted from the 1965 science fiction novel of the same title written by Frank Herbert.

    The epic follows a boy named Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), son of a noble family, who was destined to lead the fictional planet Arrakis and gain control over its powerful spice.

    Balintawak Eskrima in ‘Dune’

    The two-minute video showcased a scene where a character named Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin) was training Paul on a particular fighting style.



    In a voice over, French-Canadian director Denis Villeneuve credited fight coordinator Roger Yuan for the choreography shown in the scene.

    Villeneuve added that Yuan developed the “Atreides fighting style” by borrowing from a martial art technique called Balintawak Eskrima or Balintawak Arnis.

    Balintawak Arnis is a Filipino martial art that was developed in in Cebu during the 1950s.

    This fighting style became popular overseas, particularly in Hollywood films like “Dune.”

    Villeneuve also briefly explained the technique in the NYT video.

    “It’s a style that involves blocking the opponent’s attach with both a weapon and the free hand,” he said.

    Villeneuve then described how the technique was applied to Paul’s training in the movie.

    “Each opponent is trying to distract his adversary by doing very fast moves in order to create an opportunity to insert slowly a blade inside the opponent’s shield,” he said.

    The filmmaker also shared that he and cinematographer Greig Fraser shot the scene in a combat training room similar to how they do it with a dance performance.

    “The goal was to embrace the complexity of the movements with objective camera angles. We tried to make sure that the audience will understand the nature of this new way of fighting,” Villeneuve said.

    ‘Teach arnis to kids’

    A Reddit user posted the video on Tuesday, October 26.

    In the comments section, some Reddit users expressed hopes that FMA, especially arnis, would be taught in schools again.

    “Bring back Filipino martial arts in PE classes please,” one user said.

    “It’s one of those arts that can be flashy or simple, depending on how you want it. People thinks it’s all flares and sticks but it really isn’t. I hope more Filipino kids learn it because it’s one of those rare things that we can actually be proud of,” another user said.

    One Reddit user, meanwhile, cited the popularity of arnis in superhero movies and shows.

    “DC loves Eskrima. Nightwing, Batgirl/Oracle and Deathstroke all use it as their primary martial art. Almost everyone in the TV Arrowverse as you’ve mentioned, study/use eskrima. Marvel doesn’t have its shortage of users too, you have Mockingbird, Deadpool, Nightcrawler, Daredevil being the most popular ones,” the user wrote.

    Villeneuve’s view on the book

    In a statement, Villeneuve said that he had read “Dune,” the book, when he was a teenager.

    He said that he was “mesmerized” by Herbert’s view of nature.

    “Frank Herbert’s view of nature was absolutely mesmerizing—all those beautiful ecosystems he created. His exploration of the impact and chaos caused by colonialism was a portrait of the 20th century that is still relevant today,” Villeneuve said.

    “And through all of this was a young man struggling with his identity, trying to find his way in the world, as I was doing myself. The way Paul discovers his identity through another culture was, for me, amazing,” he added.

    Aside from Chalamet and Brolin, Dune’s star-studded cast include Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Zendaya and Jason Mamoa.
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    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  2. #32
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    FMA rising?

    More in the wake of Dune, et.al.

    Filipino martial arts isn’t as widely known, but that could be changing
    “By training, we’re evoking and connecting with our ancestry that go back centuries,” one martial artist said.

    Camille Sibucao showing a lock with a knee strike.Baylan Megino / Global Dream Makers
    Oct. 30, 2021, 1:30 AM PDT
    By Agnes Constante
    Gregory Manalo was in the midst of a personal renaissance in the late 1990s when he discovered Filipino martial arts (FMA).

    “I didn’t find eskrima,” he told NBC Asian America, referring to a style of Filipino martial arts. “Eskrima found me.”

    For Manalo, who has been training in FMA for about 25 years and teaches it in the San Francisco Bay Area, FMA was an entry point into learning more about his identity as a Filipino American that allowed him to tap into his culture and ancestry. He said performing moves makes him feel meditative and empowered.

    “By training, we’re evoking and connecting with our ancestry that go back centuries,” Manalo said. “And just knowing that I can be directly tapped in by doing these movements is real meaningful for me.”

    Filipino martial arts aren’t as widely known as other Asian martial arts such as karate and kung fu, but they’ve been practiced in the United States for decades. Yet even with less visibility than other martial arts, some practitioners say they see signs of FMA gaining popularity and are hopeful that it will continue to become more widely known.

    FMA instructors who spoke with NBC Asian America all pointed out that the martial art can be seen in Hollywood films including the Bourne films, “The Book of Eli,” “Daredevil,” “Dune” and the Star Wars series “The Mandalorian.”

    “I think in the last 10 to 20 years, we realized that in order for Filipino martial arts to grow and to proliferate, we all need to work together and learn from each other and share our arts,” said Mel Orpilla, a historian and martial artist who has been practicing FMA for more than two decades.

    Joseph Bautista, a Filipino martial arts instructor at Eskabo Daan in San Francisco and practitioner for more than 30 years, said the changes he’s seen in FMA throughout the last 20 years, including more instructors willing to teach it more widely, makes him hopeful about its future. Orpilla said the featuring of FMA in Hollywood, the ability to share it more widely through social media, and the increase of FMA seminars and tournaments in Northern California have also been helpful.

    Orpilla said that Filipino American martial artist Dan Inosanto, known for being one of Bruce Lee’s training partners, is a critical figure in FMA. He added that Inosanto taught Lee the FMA used in a dungeon scene of the 1974 film “Enter the Dragon.”

    “The teaching methodology of Filipino martial arts is the basis for teaching choreography when it comes to weapons, or stand up punching and kicking,” said Elrik Jundis, who has trained in FMA for more than 30 years and has done extensive research on it. “That’s the bread and butter of all Hollywood action movies.”

    There are three main styles of FMA: eskrima, arnis and kali. While there are nuances among the three, they’re often used interchangeably, said Elrik Jundis, who has trained in FMA for more than 30 years and has done extensive research on it. It’s a martial art that’s unique from others because training immediately begins with weapons, whereas others such as karate and taekwondo start out empty handed, Orpilla said.

    “[A] Filipino martial artist’s main purpose in a fight is to end it as quickly and efficiently as possible using offensive, defensive and counterattack movements depending on the weapons being used and their fighting distance to each other,” he said.

    Despite its presence in Hollywood, FMA isn’t more popularly known for a number of reasons. Orpilla said that practicing the martial art was banned in the Philippines during Spanish colonial rule from 1521 to 1898 because they did not want Filipinos to use it to revolt.

    Jundis also noted that more popular Asian martial arts have roots in countries that have had a longstanding national identity.

    Meanwhile, the concept of what it means to be Filipino is still forming, he said. The Philippines has been an independent country for less than a century. It gained independence in 1946 after nearly 400 years of colonial rule under Spain and the United States.

    Bautista said that the Philippine islands operated separately rather than as a single country prior to Spanish colonization. Orpilla said that the islands were vulnerable to invasion from other countries and had to fight to protect themselves, their tribes and families.

    Jundis added that FMA isn’t as big of an organized sport the way martial arts like taekwondo and judo are — both of which are categories at the Olympics.

    He also said that specifics about the history and origins of FMA vary depending on who is asked due to a lack of documentation.

    The popularity of FMA occurred in the United States rather than in the Philippines, practitioners and historians told NBC Asian America. It’s not clear exactly where or when in the U.S. it started, but they said its presence in the U.S. is linked to the immigration of Filipino plantation workers in the early 20th century. They also said that FMA was first taught publicly in Stockton, a city in California’s Central Valley, which birthed a number of grandmasters of the martial art, including Inosanto.

    Orpilla said that another reason knowledge of FMA isn’t so widespread is because it historically has been kept within families, and people did not want to teach it to others.

    “I don’t know about Filipino martial arts in the mainstream in my lifetime, but [there’s] been a good push towards Filipino martial arts,” Bautista said.

    FMA is also gaining traction beyond the United States. Manalo said one of his instructors has held seminars on it in Europe, where he said it has been well received.

    For Manalo, FMA has not only been a way to protect himself, but a fulfilling practice and a source of pride for his culture.

    “To know that we have something and say this was ours made me feel proud because a lot of people all over the world at this point valued Filipino martial arts, specifically the knife fighting and sword fighting,” he said. “It was something that people recognize in a world where people don’t even know who Filipinos are. It was a good entry point to really just dive deep into history, culture, arts and practice.”
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

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