Thursday 22 December 2011

What's Fantastic About This Kali Club

By Dale I. Fisher


In the University of the Philippines, Diliman, there's one organization called the UP Sangkil Karasak which is devoted to the study of a special brand of escrima or arnis, the LSAI style of arnis.

LSAI was in turn founded by the late grandmaster Benjamin Lema Luna, who hails from Capiz, Philippines. His particular style of arnis is characterized by long-range and high-powered strikes, along with the utilization of the major parts of the body, such as the legs and the torso, to generate power for the stick strikes. Its other specialty is called the espada y daga technique, which uses both a long stick weapon and a shorter weapon such as the knife, or the open hand. This combination of weapons is able to form a quick chain of alternating attacks.

It was the most trusted student of Mang Ben, Guro Elmer Ybaez, who really spearheaded the UP Sangkil Karasak in its earliest years. Sadly, Guro Elmer passed away in 2004, only one year after the death of the beloved Granmdaster Benjamin, who died in 2003. Guro Elmer more than anyone worked hard at propagating the art to an international audience, and he was even for a time based in Seattle.

After the death of Guro Elmer, the UP Sangkil Karasak was then headed by his top students, including Master Felipe "Bot" Jocano, an anthropology professor in the University of the Philippines and perhaps the foremost scholar on the history and different styles of arnis and escrima. Until today the club seeks to propagate the knowledge of the art of escrima, through exhibitions and free training trials.

Most of the students of the UP Sangkil Karasak have been ordinary college students, who do not have the opportunity to train full-time. That is why the training system has been fine-tuned, and is still being improved, to be able to get the most out of every training session. However, the teachers in the club also accept private students for a reasonable fee. Training is usually done in true Filipino style, improvising with tires for practice, in an old classroom.

From personal experience, I can say that training with the UP Sangkil Karasak can help improve character and discipline, especially since learning the martial art of arnis or escrima is a long-term goal which requires years of training before seeing significant results. If you ever find yourself in the Manila area of the Philippines, maybe you can pay this club a visit!




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