Manila Times: Martial Talk

Educator and ‘arnisador’

by Perry Gil S. Mallari


Manila Times Sports - Martial Talk by Perry Gil S. Mallari: Educator and 'arnisador'

THERE is now a noticeable and continuous shift in the Filipinos’ perception of the native martial art of arnis. Arnis and the Filipino martial arts (FMA) in general used to bear a “plebian” label. To the majority of Filipinos, arnis is the martial art of the poor and the uneducated. Not anymore.

In the last two decades, I have seen a growing interest for the FMA among the middle class. Some intellectuals and members of the academe also embraced it. I am always happy whenever I meet educators who are passionate with the idea of integrating arnis into our education system. I believe these people are important catalysts in the effort to popularize arnis in its homeland.

Sunshine Facto is both a professional teacher and FMA instructor. He made an impression on me during the Manila premiere of the documentary film Eskrimadors. During the post-screening program, he stood up and related to the crowd how the film made him more proud of being an arnis practitioner.

Facto who was trained in various martial arts that includes tae kwon do, boxing, karate, aikido, konkado and mixed martial arts admits that he only discovered the FMA after graduating in college. His FMA credentials came from three sources: his training in Sayoc Kali, founded by Grand Tuhon Baltazar Sayoc, his training in Modern Sinawali, founded by Master Garitony Tonypet Nicolas and his training in Arnis Professional Course offered at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila.

While acknowledging the lethal potency of the blade and stick fighting systems of the FMA, Facto is for the creation of safety rules and regulations for the promotion of arnis both as a sport and as part of curriculum of Philippine schools, “We don’t need to kill each other,” he says, adding, “No parents in their right mind would send their children in martial arts schools that allow its students to hit each other with real weapons.”

Facto’s passion for the FMA eventually resulted to his founding of Synthesized and Integrated Nomenclatures of Arnis Groups (SINAG). He explained that SINAG is not a new style or system but an institution whose aim is to unify the FMA, “We believe in the concept of a congruent whole, that there is a common thread connecting all the FMA,” he says. Like most arnisadors, he is happy that the Arnis Bill authored by Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri was finally enacted into a law. Facto believes that unity among FMA practitioners is the only way to succeed in promoting arnis both as a national sport and a martial art.

For more information on SINAG visit http://sinagfma.blogspot.com/

Manila Times Sports - Martial Talk by Perry Gil S. Mallari: Educator and 'arnisador'