I never imagined I could actually wield a pair of bamboo sticks (yantok) properly. When I was a child, I had been interested in martial arts a la Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, Jet Li and even Disney’s rendition of Fa Mulan.

 

Kung fu, karate and wushu appealed much to me. Weapons such as the katana, knives, daggers and the famous “Chako” did not grab my attention at all. Little did I know that sooner or later, I would be hitting those tires in the future.

 

Before the start of summer, I passed the garden area of my school and heard the sound of tires being whacked. It made quite a distinct noise that broke through the silent, studious atmosphere within the school grounds. Curious about what the commotion was all about, I decided to check it out.

 

Others, too, got riveted by what they saw: bamboo sticks bobbing up and down in the air, slicing through, poking forward, in rhythmic motion, as if in a dance. It was arnis, the national martial art and sport of the Philippines. (Yes, it is not basketball, despite what you hear.)

 

You might be surprised to know that our Philippine Constitution recognizes this under Republic Act 9850. As time passed, I grew accustomed to the song of the sticks hitting the empty air and the graceful movements of the anyo sequences.

 

Before I knew it, I had applied for a few trial sessions with the coach of the ICA Arnis Team, Jemn Nuñez Baxafra, along with her husband, Master Rolando Serrano Baxafra. Both of them were the heads of Baxafra Armor, founded in September 1998 and established a year later at the Philippine Normal University.

 

“When I found out about the modern arnis system,” says Master Baxafra, “I surrendered to training.” I did the same, and faced similar hurdles. At first, eskrima proved to be a challenge since I was too tense while performing anyo sequences, especially the redondas and sinawalis.

 

After the first session, my body was battered and I was very tired. Unlike aikido and wushu, martial arts that I had taken in the past summers, this indeed proved to be challenging. I did wonder if I was capable of succeeding in this endeavor. You could say I lost hope in myself for a while.

 

Radically transformed

 

However, it was through the support of my arnis teammates and coach that I managed to get past that stage and continue practicing. That was the time I actually started appreciating arnis, not only for the techniques and strategies that I’d gained from it. It had become a part of me. It radically transformed my personality. I used to be very meek, soft-spoken and shy.

 

Because of the confidence I developed from the knowledge that every strike I made was accurate and precise, I became a better and a more outspoken person. Slowly, I had gotten obsessed with it, as I’d train every day even without my coach.

 

I quote what Angelica Yang (yes, she’s my namesake!), the previous captain of the ICA arnis team, told me: Arnis definitely requires a lot of willpower and strength. Staying true to that belief, she bagged the gold medal in last year’s San Juan Division Meet. She continues to take up different kinds of sports to enhance her abilities.

 

You could say arnis has made a great impact on my life in many ways: I’d become assertive, and started to stand up for myself. But most precious of all were the times when Coach Jemn, who personally trained me, shared anecdotes, jokes and touching stories that broadened my perspective on the outside world.

 

It was only then I realized that she and Sir Rolando Baxafra (fondly called Sir Bax by his students in Philippine Normal University) had really been on a long and hard journey to make their organization, Baxafra Armor, what it is now. It holds tournaments regularly, where Baxafra Armor gets to fulfill its goal of promoting arnis.

 

It had recently held the Baxafra Armor 3rd Invitational Kali Arnis Tournament on October 7, where 264 combative participants and more than 30 anyo competitors got together.

 

“One thing I love about arnis is the thrill of being able to make something simple into something more complex, says Kevyn, first-time participant in the Invitational Baxafra Armor Tournament. “There’s no end to learning it; there is always something new to do.”

 

The tournament was my first, so I can’t really compare. Many of the competitors looked like they have been doing arnis all their lives, in comparison to what my friends and I had done. Some of them even had a cheering squad (I don’t know, I find it weird to have a cheering squad in a combat sport. It actually unnerves me). It actually showed me that I still had a lot to work on before jumping in.

 

“Arnis is a very unique sport,” says Hillary Chua, incumbent arnis captain of the ICA team. “I love it. Anywhere we can do arnis. No need for a court or a gym, you can even do it outside in your own backyard and, compared to other combat sports, arnis is indeed an art of self-defense, and there are many tricks to learn how to counter an assault. I also like it because every person who tries arnis and continues with the eagerness to learn, often changes. For me, it made me expand my thinking.”

 

Sometimes, it really takes a life-changing hobby and supportive people to mold you into a better person. This one did it for me as well—both the sport and the masters who guided me through what I call “the song of the sticks.”