ON THE EVENING OF JANUARY 27, 2020, I saw two men practicing the traditional Filipino art of fighting with sticks at the Luneta National Park. “Whup-whup-whup! Whup-whup-whup…” The rhythm of rattan sticks slashing air echoed clearly in a secluded spot of the hallowed grounds. “Whup-whup-whup! Whup-whup-whup…” Outside was the familiar traffic noise of metropolitan Manila which were muffled by the trees and the concrete barriers. “Whup-whup-whup! Whup-whup-whup…”
But, on closer look, these two men were not holding rattan sticks that most favored because it is very light, round, friendly to the hands and very easy to control. They were using wooden sticks made in the shape of a traditional Filipino blade which looked like a cross of the Cebuano pinuti and a Waray sansibar. Nevertheless, this is no eye-candy form-lovely dancing-stick style. This could be the real deal! The one art that could still be in its unadulterated medieval form.
During
the break of the practice session, Ramon “Jay Z” Jorge introduced me to Master
Arnold Narzo. I was surprised that he is also a Cebuano like me and we Cebuanos
prided ourselves of having the best schools and the best masters when it comes to
eskrima, arnis or kali. Mention
either terms and the Doce Pares, the Balintawak and the Lapunti, and even
Lapulapu himself; would emerge in a conversation and these are all in Cebu.
Master Narzo explained to me that what he and Jay Z were doing is called the KALIS ILUSTRISIMO REPETICION ORIGINAL. It is a form of kali which the late Great Grandmaster Antonio “Tatang” Ilustrisimo personally taught to only a few disciples like Master Antonio Diego, a Cebuano from Pasil, and Master Narzo, of Malabuyoc, Cebu. After the death of Grandmaster Ilustrisimo, Master Diego took over and documented all the moves into a training syllabus which benefitted Master Narzo, who also learned from Master Diego before he died.
Kali taught by Tatang Ilustrisimo is simply a dangerous form of martial art for it uses real blades instead of sticks and he cannot understand why people would want to learn from him to kill more people? He was the exception, of course. He rejected a lot of them because of that but he is willing to accept a duel from anyone, regardless if it was just for fun or a deadly one. He would always win because his style is very simple and he would even taunt other masters of their propensity to memorize and teach so many number of figure forms.
But
who was Tatang Ilustrisimo really? I found out that he was born in Kinatarkan,
a small islet located off the north of Cebu and is part of the Municipality of
Santa Fe. According to a story published in a blog,
Tatang at age nine, stole away from home without the blessings and approval of
his family, carrying with him his clothes, money he saved, food, a traditional
blade and a small family boat. He rowed alone following his dream of setting
foot in America.
His basic knowledge of stick-fighting, learned from his uncles and his father, emboldened him to go on an adventure which most of the youths of those long-gone days would take, like my own late grandfather who took a one-way trip to Cebu from Iloilo. Unknown to him, he was embarking on his own warrior’s pilgrimage, a personal wanderlust seeking out knowledge in survival through learning of martial arts that only battles and individual duels could give. The most famous warrior’s pilgrimage was made by Miyamoto Musashi in 16th-century Japan.
I have been to Kinatarkan Island many times, especially at the very place where he was born: Sitio Dapdap, in Barangay Langub. A neighboring barangay, Hagdan, has a percentage of its population with Micronesian features of larger body mass and their Cebuano dialect has a sprinkling of Waray. Tatang, at the prime of his life, was extremely tall for a Filipino. He was a six-footer, more or less. That longer reach would figure more prominently in his adult years when fighting was a way of life.
Fate
would always be kind to him. According to one of Tatang’s student, Master Romy
Macapagal, when he was at sea on his small boat and utterly exhausted fighting
physical fatigue, loneliness, hunger, thirst, cold and heat, fishermen who passed
by would toss their catch to him. He ultimately reach the Port of Cebu where
there were many steel-hulled trading ships of whom he thought would be capable
of bringing him to America and smuggled himself into the biggest one where it
brought him to the Port of Zamboanga instead. There he met an acquaintance and
jumped ship.
His friend brought him to Sulu where he was introduced to Islam and adopted a Muslim name of Muntisali. He was entrusted to serve under a very influential person as an adopted son. He took advantage of this privilege to study in a school together with his foster father’s sons and then train with several Tausug warriors as his physical age and growth began to fine-tune him into one of the better warriors under the nobleman’s protection. His learning in academics and the fighting arts began to reach a favorable curve which were greatly appreciated by his patron.
His mastery of kali at the young age of 17 learned under the wings of his foster family enabled him to kill his first opponent during an altercation. Both men drew their barung almost simultaneously but he was more agile and has the longer reach which offset his more experienced opponent. The fight started when he was reprimanded for intoxicating himself with alcoholic drinks, which is totally forbidden in Islam. He was banished from Sulu after his benefactor paid blood money to his dead opponent’s family.
Back
in Kinatarkan Island and reunited with his family, he soon found his old life
boring and the call of individual combat would, once again, beckon him to make
another journey to Zamboanga, this time, teaming up with Pedro Cortes, his
father’s former sparring partner, as bounty hunters in the employ of the
Americans in the early 1920s. Cortes taught him the finer things of the Cebuano
fighting art, which Tatang fused with the fighting art he learned in Sulu. It
was, at this time, that he developed his own style: the economy of movement,
the simple steps and that formidable stance that complement his natural reach
which had ensured him many success.
He was now engaged in a very serious warrior’s pilgrimage in Mindanao and around the Visayas in the 1920s up to the middle of the 1930s, fighting adversaries during barrio fiestas and pre-arranged duels. He would win every match, whether with blade or with sticks, and this journey made him so famous that masters from other countries would come here to seek him out. His opponents would protect themselves with armor and paddings but he fought bare, knowing that, should he lose, it would be the end of his career or his life. His reputation was so intimidating that many grandmasters turned his dares down.
One of the most difficult opponents that he faced was in Bohol. His reach advantage was negated by his rival’s longer weapon, which was in the shape of a wooden pestle. It took him many tries before he was able to subdue the Boholano fighter whose strange technique he called the “inal-ho”. When he ran out of worthy opponents, he tried the big city of Manila and lived on the fringes of the waterfront area where he was contracted as an enforcer for cargo shippers.
For
a time, he found favor with a shipping company where he travelled outside the
country as a deck officer after neutralizing a very problematic hoodlum. Then
World War II came and he offered his fighting skills as a member of a guerrilla
unit. In the 1950s through the 1960s, he was now a revered grandmaster that
other masters would pay him a visit to test their techniques against him. While
they wore protection, he would not, and he would continue to insult them when
they stuck to their age-old habit of memorizing endless fighting sequences
which were useless in fast fluid actions.
In his travel outside the country as a seafarer, he would spar with other fighters. It was at this time that he became obsessed with amulets and incantations. He says that other masters used spiritual warfare to confuse and defeat their opponents. One of those that used this power effectively in tandem with fighting was an Indonesian pencak silat master. During the heat of the duel, the Indonesian lost a thumb and threw the proverbial “white towel”. In the process, Tatang won the $5,000 wager without killing his opponent.
Badgered for ten years by Antonio Diego, he finally relented and shared his technique to him and a few others. Master Narzo benefitted from both when they were still alive and continued the legacy of Grandmaster Ilustrisimo and, to a lesser degree, of Master Diego. He is invited frequently in the US and in Europe to teach foreigners and overseas Filipinos the art of Kalis Ilustrisimo. Since Kalis Ilustrisimo is well-preserved by Master Diego and then to him, this is the Original.
While
other schools-of-thought preferred the rattan sticks as their practice weapons
instead of real blades, Kalis Ilustrisimo
does the opposite. Kalis Ilustrisimo
maintained their fatal-blow accuracy with a correct angle provided only by
holding a real blade or its sword dummies during training. Then it never placed
their style inside a series of templates like everybody are doing and repeats
the same technique over and over again, as in Repeticion, and encourages improvisation and the free flow of
movements based on target opportunities.
Tatang Ilustrisimo made a very small fortune by winning all his fights and through his industry but he died a poor man because he shared what little he had to his needy neighbors, friends and relatives. He was 93 years old when he passed away and his grave was never remembered by his closest relatives and, in fact, his remains were exhumed by the cemetery management when his closest of kin failed to pay for its upkeep and cannot be located anymore. Master Narzo tried his best efforts to locate his remains but all to no avail.
Sadly,
this gifted Cebuano swordsman did not receive any accolade nor words of
appreciation from the place where he was born. His journey of life were fraught
with dangers, real threats and challenges, at a time when lawlessness was
prevalent, and made us all lesser mortals, if we compare our own troubles with
him. His skills, even though demonstrated in bravado and very fatal, was a
deterrent that have benefitted those who may have been under his protection.
Sadly, what Cebu lost, Manila has gained, because it had welcomed him.
Sources:
1. Master Arnold
Narzo
2. Master Romeo
Macapagal
3. Ramon Jorge
4. Tita Rosos
5. Queen City.com
6. Mandirigma.org
7. Kali Filippino.it
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