Some online articles

I just found three short articles from two instructors in Cebu that are worth taking a few minutes to read. The first two discuss the relationship between stick training and empty hands and how this is misunderstood by most martial artists, including many in the FMA.

The last article is about how Tagalog terms have become intertwined with systems from regions of the Philippines other than Luzon. The authors rightly (in my opinion) point out that this is a form of cultural cleansing not so different than under Spanish occupation, imposed by the cultural elite of Manila, and that slowly there is a return to recognizing the diversity of expression that exists in the Philippines.

This is not unlike the underlying premises in the book "Cebuano Eskrima", which attempts to correct cultural myths not just about the FMA but also how those pertain in certain ways to the broader political culture of the country.

Little Manila: Filipinos in California's Heartland

I just caught Little Manila: Filipinos in California's Heartland tonight, a half hour program on public television. Focusing on Stockton, it covers the immigrant Filipino experience from the early 20th century through the farm labor movement of the 1960's (the United Farm Workers Union would not have existed without Filipino activism).

"In its heyday in the 30s, the lively area of Little Manila in Stockton had the largest population of Filipinos outside of the Philippines. Narrated by famed Filipino-American producer Dean Devlin this documentary tells the immigrant story as Filipinos experienced it."

This webpage includes photos, preview and a transcript of the show. If you want a DVD, you can order it here for $14.95. It's history worth watching!