No practice...

Last week, Ma'am Peachie of Kalis Ilustrisimo told me that even though sometimes when it rains during practice, they still continue it. So even though the sky is shady gray this Sunday morning, I still went onto the practice. It poured hard rain after I ate breakfast at Jollibee near LRT United Nations station.

Meanwhile, while sitting, holding an umbrella and having a Khadaffy Janjalani impression, this is what happened...:

I went there at around almost 10 AM and waited until 11:30 AM. Nobody shows up. 

I think rainy season is the perfect time to practice using eskrima sticks while trying to fight off the rain and the wind blows. It can serve as a training for your arm strength, balance and coordination. Also, there's a possibility that you can meet your enemy during a rainy weather. So I think, Kalis Ilustrisimo members should show up today because of those reasons. They should just keep their personal belongings especially their electronic gadgets from getting wet.

Next time I see a shady/dark gray sky in a Sunday morning even if it's not raining and especially if I don't see the fucking sun, I won't leave my house.

Kalis Ilustrisimo...

Today, I woke up early even though I slept late around 2 AM. I found the Kalis Ilustrisimo in Katigbak Ave. Rizal Park Luneta, Manila. I got some information about the group. They are teaching only every Sunday 10 AM until afternoon there. Tuition fee is PHP250 every session. The FMA group is solid blade-based meaning they are gonna teach you bladed weapons first before moving to sticks. They hold sticks at the bottom part of it. There's no allowance in the stick because it will be easily disarmed. The teacher told me that they also teach Filipino dirty boxing that is different than Panantukan. I wish they also teach dumog or Filipino wresting and grappling but they lack clean floor to do it (since it's in a park) . Dumog is essential when fighting 1 on 1, when both you and your opponent lost/drop your weapons and you want to win the fight through submission. The primary instructor has a background in Pekiti Tirsia Kali so that's a plus. The grandmaster Tony Diego was there and I'm able to talk to him personally. It's essential because he checks and instructs the trainers if they are teaching/doing the right stuffs. This is the real thing. And last, the most important inspiration for me to always go there every week is- one of the instructors is a sweet, hot, badass, sexy cougar- Ma'am Peachie.

I'm able to talk to her today closely and she told me she's studying Kalis Ilustrisimo since 1989. Wow! That's 24 years now. It's really her passion and I wanna learn from her. She told me that "Kalis" means blade (I really thought it's the sting ray logo on their shirts). She gave me some pointers on how to wisely buy an unsharpened bolo knife but I insisted to her that I want to buy a Panabas sword for practice. I really got inspired to join the group after seeing her awesome YouTube videos.

After the session, I just ate fish lauriat at Chowking outside Rizal Park near LRT. then I went to Quiapo to buy another item. This time, a bahi wooden knife and a case that holds 8 sticks and 2 blades.

Lastly, some hairclips and bands for practice.

The men in the group would probably be shaving their hair this week after seeing my long hair so they could influence me to cut it. There's a mentality here: "Proper grooming is the best policy" but I'll decide if I want to cut my hair or not. I'll be joining next week.

Visited Lapu-Lapu Shrine...

This afternoon, I went to Lapu-Lapu shrine inside Rizal Park Luneta, Manila.

I went there to find the group who teaches Kali Ilustrisimo. I read on their website that their session is free every Sunday in Luneta. I didn't know there are other Kali martial arts there aside from Ilustrisimo.

This is Kiathson Martial Arts. 

I thought this is Kali Ilustrisimo and their performance is free... but they are just showing off. When I inquired about their headquarters, they said it's in San Andres Bukid. As I checked google maps, it's in Mandaluyong City. The master told me that their style is traditional and their moves is up to 14 body strikes (compared to most FMA body strikes which is just 12) (I just read/watched that in martial arts, fewer techniques beats the many techniques). He also said he's teaching Aikido. He showed in front of me some disarming stick moves. Training is PHP500 monthly.

I also saw another 1: 

They are called Aikiyoi Martial Arts. Their kali sticks are as long as (or slightly smaller than) a bokken. I think it's a mix of Kali and Aikido.

There's a guy wearing a shirt of Laraw Kali Pamuok and as I check on the internet, their base is in Parañaque. 

The others are one on one sparring training with sticks or an umbrella. 

In the end of my search here in Luneta, I didn't able to see Kali Ilustrisimo. 

I think most of them are just showing off to attract potential students to support the financial needs of their martial arts club.

I think I'm just gonna stay in AKETS for a while since it's near my house and the master already responded to my text message inquiry. Lifetime membership is PHP500. Uniform is PHP1,000. Training is PHP100 per session, twice a week (Saturdays and Sundays). I just hope he has proper equipments and well ventilated training place. 

After that, I just went to Recto to buy new Kali sticks. It's called bahi. 

Bahi sticks

They cost PHP330 there with the bag. 1 stick costs PHP150. It's a fibrous wood made from an endangered palm tree here. Its weight is heavy and its strength is more durable than kamagong that's why most FMA practitioners use it. 

Kamagong sticks

I just need to know what kind of oil for wood should I use for maintaining the wood strength of these sticks?

Before I went home, I went to the Mechanical Engineering review center (near Recto) I'm currently enrolled in to get some hand-out notes to review for licensure exam.