Many people were asking as to why we (Celestino Macachor and I) bothered to write another book on the Filipino Martial Arts? Why do we “rock the boat” by including, among other things, controversial topics? What is in arnis or eskrima worthy of deep discussion?
Well, my co-author and I feel that it is high time to expose the truth and to discuss neglected topics relating to FMA. Now is the time, to produce another kind of book to be considered worthy enough in the shelves for high scholarly studies. Nobody did, so we decided to produce it. And there it is now.
The following short discussion may sound like an advert of our work, Cebuano Eskrima: Beyond the Myth. But then I feel that I rather discuss few points here to sum up the whole idea as to why Celestino Macachor and I worked hard to produce this. You don’t want to miss this, I suppose.
The book, Cebuano Eskrima: Beyond the Myth, is our contribution to the FMA and to the Filipino culture. The same small book, we hope, will stimulate the interests of the martial artists on FMA, arnis and eskrima; and at the same time inspire fellow Filipinos to learn and to be proud of this interesting aspect of our culture.
The book is not about the technical matters pertaining to arnis or eskrima. Instead, this work includes other topics, seemingly off-tangent, but significantly related to FMA in general---like history, language, esoterica, etc.
Books on FMA or eskrima that are currently available in the bookstores, in general, are either promotion/advertisements for certain styles or simply photo albums. We are trying to detach from those concepts. So we generously included substantial amount of text and old photos, introduced less-known personalities in the contemporary eskrima never available in books and magazines before. Of course, let me make this clear; we don’t know everything and everybody in the Cebuano eskrima.
We are writing this book to demystify everything about eskrima, to stop the monopoly of some eskrima styles, and to inform the world that eskrima or arnis is alive and actively practiced in the Philippines, at least in Cebu Province, contrary to the greedy announcement by the so-called FMA authorities abroad, that arnis is no longer being practiced in the land of its origin. Many established eskrima organizations have conspired to hide important information about other eskrima schools currently practiced in the Province of Cebu, for greedy reasons. We are trying to neutralize that by writing the book, Cebuano Eskrima: Beyond the Myth, to answer that need. Both Celestino and I, hope that this same book have truly helped some people in their research on eskrima or arnis.
Well, my co-author and I feel that it is high time to expose the truth and to discuss neglected topics relating to FMA. Now is the time, to produce another kind of book to be considered worthy enough in the shelves for high scholarly studies. Nobody did, so we decided to produce it. And there it is now.
The following short discussion may sound like an advert of our work, Cebuano Eskrima: Beyond the Myth. But then I feel that I rather discuss few points here to sum up the whole idea as to why Celestino Macachor and I worked hard to produce this. You don’t want to miss this, I suppose.
The book, Cebuano Eskrima: Beyond the Myth, is our contribution to the FMA and to the Filipino culture. The same small book, we hope, will stimulate the interests of the martial artists on FMA, arnis and eskrima; and at the same time inspire fellow Filipinos to learn and to be proud of this interesting aspect of our culture.
The book is not about the technical matters pertaining to arnis or eskrima. Instead, this work includes other topics, seemingly off-tangent, but significantly related to FMA in general---like history, language, esoterica, etc.
Books on FMA or eskrima that are currently available in the bookstores, in general, are either promotion/advertisements for certain styles or simply photo albums. We are trying to detach from those concepts. So we generously included substantial amount of text and old photos, introduced less-known personalities in the contemporary eskrima never available in books and magazines before. Of course, let me make this clear; we don’t know everything and everybody in the Cebuano eskrima.
We are writing this book to demystify everything about eskrima, to stop the monopoly of some eskrima styles, and to inform the world that eskrima or arnis is alive and actively practiced in the Philippines, at least in Cebu Province, contrary to the greedy announcement by the so-called FMA authorities abroad, that arnis is no longer being practiced in the land of its origin. Many established eskrima organizations have conspired to hide important information about other eskrima schools currently practiced in the Province of Cebu, for greedy reasons. We are trying to neutralize that by writing the book, Cebuano Eskrima: Beyond the Myth, to answer that need. Both Celestino and I, hope that this same book have truly helped some people in their research on eskrima or arnis.
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2 comments:
ned, how can I get hold of your book. i have asked my friend, james to furnish me a copy but until now i havent received it yet.
regards,
hansy
you can get the book from here: www.pangamut.aom3.info
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