Boondocks

From An Avalanche of Anoraks

(1) Reading material comes from Malay bamboo, “a large, hollow bamboo.” The young shoots are eaten
as a vegetable or are pickled and candied. Some species of bamboo grow to a height of 120 feet.

(2) Boondocks (1944), a remote rural area, back country, an isolated or wild region filled with dense brush,
comes from Tagalog bundok, “mountain.” An “s” was added, since English has the tendency to affix that
letter to locations, as in the sticks (a synonym for the boondocks), the damps, and the woods. While the
word means “mountain” to the people of the Philippines, American soldiers extended the meaning to any
kind of rough country or out-of-the-way locale. Used by servicemen during World War II, the word
boondocks first came to the attention of the American public during an investigation into the brutal
methods of training used by the Marines at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. According to the official
records, young recruits were regularly subjected to forced night marches “into the boondocks” (of places
like Paris Island), which included some low-lying swampy areas where at least one Marine recruit died.
The investigation ended, but the word remained. Its infamous history all but forgotten, the word
boondocks is now synonymous with any rural area distant from the excitement of big cities or large towns.
By the 1950s, shoes suitable for rough outdoor use were regularly called boon dockers, as can be seen
from Leon Uris’s adventure packed novel of World War II Marines, Battle Cry: “Andy Hookans was
dumping a can of foot powder into his boon dockers.” About the same time, boonies had become the
slang equivalent of the boondocks.

(3) Caddy (1792), a small box, or chest used for keeping tea leaves, is borrowed from Malay kati, a weight
used in China and the East Indies equal to slightly more than a pound avoirdupois. A tea caddy probably
derived its name from the fact that the little box or chest that held the measure (approximately one and
one-third pounds of tea) was confused with the measure itself. The caddy that carries tea leaves is in no
way related to the caddy (or caddie) who carries clubs and balls for a golfer. The latter caddy is derived
from French cadet, as in a military cadet.

(4) Camphor (1313), derived from Malay kapur, “chalk lime” via Arabic kāfūr, is a whitish, translucent,
tough, volatile, pleasant-smelling crystalline compound obtained from the wood and bark of the camphor
tree. Camphor is used primarily as a moth repellent in the manufacture of celluloid; and in medicine as a
liniment, a counterirritant for infections, and a mild antiseptic. It used to be taken internally as a heart
and circulatory stimulant, and as an antidiarrheic; it is no longer taken internally, since it is mildly toxic,
and indigestion may produce harmful effects, especially in infants and children. It is also no longer used
as an anti-aphrodisiac – something to counteract sexual desire.

(5) Cassowary (1611), a large flightless bird of Australia, New Guinea, and the neighboring islands, related
to the ostrich, is borrowed from Malay kasuari. Cassowaries often weigh as much as 140 pounds and are
dangerous. Capable of killing even full-grown men, these sometimes-pugnacious birds usually leap feet
first on their adversaries and then attack with their claws. Their wings, completely useless for flight, are
covered with stiff, featherless quills, like spines, which also serve as weapons. Females lay three to eight
green eggs at a time, which the males incubate.

(6) Gingham (1615), a cotton or linen cloth, woven of dyed yarn, often striped or checked, comes, via
Dutch gingang, from Malay genggang, meaning “with space between,” hence, “striped” or “checkered.”
Because the colored lines of gingham are always on the grain, gingham fabrics have no right and wrong
side in terms of color. Gingham was memorialized in “The Duel,” one of the most popular poems written
by Eugene Field (1850-1895) for children. It begins: “The gingham dog and the calico cat/Side by side on
the table sat.”
 Months of the Year
JANUARY

When the clock strikes twelve on New Year’s Eve and December passes into January, we say farewell to
the year just gone and we hail the New Year ahead. It is fitting that this first month should be called
January, for the Roman god Janus who gave this month its name was always represented with two faces,
one that gazed at the past and one that looked to the future. However, before the name January was
adopted in England, this month was called Wulf-Mōnath, or “wolf-month,” because at this time of the
year the bitter cold brought wolves into the villages to forage for food.

FEBRUARY

The middle of the month of February was marked in ancient Rome for a religious ceremony in which
women were beaten for barrenness. This was called the festival of Lupercalia and was held in a cave by
the river Tiber. Two youth were selected to play the leading role in the celebration. After the goats were
sacrificed, thongs were cut from their hides and given to the youths. These thongs were called februa, or
“instruments of purification,” and should they strike a woman, she would no longer be barren. The two
young men in question would run around the city with the sacred thongs and give smart and “curative”
slaps to any barren girl they saw. No one knows just how they knew whom to hit although the barrenness
of a woman would probably be common knowledge in any village. However, this may be, the magic power
of the thongs came from Juno, whose epithet as the goddess of fertility was Februaria, and from this word
we took the name of our month. February had 29 days, but the Roman Senate took one away and gave it
to August, so that August would not be inferior to July. It’s a long step down from all this romance to the
original native name for February. The factual English simply called it Sprote-Kalemonath because the
cabbages were sprouting.

MARCH

Before the time of Julius Caesar, the Roman New year began in the month of March. This was not only
the beginning of the year but was the open spring season for waging of war, so the month was dedicated
to Mars, the god of war, and was named after him. Its Old English name was HlydMōnath, that is,
“boisterous-month,” because of the winds. And, by the way, the expression “mad as a March hare” comes
from the fact that March is the mating season for hares, and they are supposedly full of whimsy all month.

APRIL

This was the month of the first flowers in ancient Italy, as it is with us, and the opening spring buds gave
the month its name. The Roman name was Aprilis, based on the Latin word aperio which means “open.”
The early Britons, on the other hand, lacked the poetry of the Mediterranean. They rather flat-footedly
called April Ēaster-Mōnat, or “Easter-month.” Of course, April brings in April Fool’s Day, and this recalls
the festivities held by all ancient peoples at the vernal equinox, beginning on their New Year’s Day, March
25th, and ending on April 1st. It was not until the 18th century in Great Britain that April Fool’s Day, as we
know it, was created. The theory about this day traces the tradition back to the medieval miracle plays
that used to represent the sending of Christ from Pilate to Herod.

MAY

This is when “the time of the singing birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.” Sir
Thomas Malory called it “the lusty moneth of May.” It is strange that the romantic time of May has always
been considered unlucky for marriage. The Romans objected to it for the quite understandable reason
that it contained the feast in honor of Bona Dea who the goddess of chastity was. Also, the festival of the
unhappy dead fell in the month of May. The name May, in Latin, Maius, is believed by many to have come
from Maia who was the mother of the god Hermes. The native English had a less romantic but much more
practical name for the month. They called it Thrimilce because, in the long, spring days, the cows could
be milked three times between sunrise and evening.

JUNE

This name is probably from Junius, the name of a Latin family to which the murderers of Julius Caesar
belonged. Some scholars believe, however, that the name June came from the goddess Juno who was the
protectress of women since June has been the favourite month for marriages all the way down from
earliest Rome. It can be that the ancient taboos against May marriages are responsible for our modern
June rush to the altar. The English name for June was Sēre-Mōnath, or “dry-month.”

JULY

The name of this month was proposed by Mark Antony, the Roman general and famous lover of
Cleopatra. Antony suggested that this birthday month of Caius Julius Caesar be named Julius in his honor,
and the name came into use the year of Caesar’s assassination. In English, the spelling became first Julie,
then July. But before the English adopted the Latin name, they had called the month Mæd-Mōnath, or
“meadow-month,” since the meadows were in bloom and the cattle were in pasture.

AUGUST

Octavian, the first Roman emperor, was the nephew of Julius Caesar, and longed to gain the fame and
power of his uncle. He wanted, among other things, to have a month named after him. His birthday was
in September, but he selected what is now known as August, for this particular month had been fortunate
one in his career. The Senate had given Octavian the official title of Augustus in honor of his distinguished
services to the state, so the month he had chosen became Augustus, which we have shortened to August.
The prosy and downright English had called this the Wēod-Mōnath, or “weedmonth,” although, in
fairness, the word “weed” then applied to greenery in general.

SEPTEMBER

In as much as the Roman year originally started in March, September was their seventh month, and the
name is taken from the Latin word septem which meant “seven.” When the calendar was changed, and
September became the ninth month, the name was not altered. Charlemagne, who was Emperor of the
West at the beginning of the 9th century, refused to accept the Roman name and called September the
“harvest-month.” England followed suit, and for a long time September was known as Hærfest-Mōnath.
The harvest then was largely barley, which the thirsty English promptly converted into ale.

OCTOBER

This is the season when the smoke of burning leaves is apt to be in the air. Even the Roman poet Martial
called October “fumosus,” or “smoky,” because the time for lighting fires was at hand. Officially though,
the name remained October from the Latin octo, “eight,” for this month was the eighth on the list before
the calendar was altered. The Roman general Germanicus Caesar wanted the month named after him,
but he never got very far with his wish. The English first gave the name Wīn-Mōnath, or “wine-month,” to
October, and probably a little elderberry wine and such were concocted, but the real preoccupation was
the “Brown October Ale” that we still sing about today

NOVEMBER

Since the Emperor Augustus had his month and Julius Caesar his, the polite and politic Romans thought
it only proper to propose that November be renamed for the Emperor Tiberius. But Tiberius objected and
said rather wittily, “What will you do if you have eleven Caesars?” So the name remained November, from
the Latin novem, “nine.” To the forthright English November was the Blōt-Mōnath, or “sacrifice-month”
as it was the time when the heathen Anglo-Saxons sacrificed cattle to their gods. Sometimes they called
it the Wind-Mōnath, for obvious reasons.

DECEMBER

Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus, Emperor of Rome toward the end of the 2nd century, once asked his
mistress how she would like to see her name on the calendar. “Amazonius,” was the name the emperor
had in mind, since the lady had once been painted as an Amazon, but the Senate was not sympathetic and
apparently told him to go watch the gladiators and lions instead. So, December went on being called by
its old name from decem, “ten,” since December was originally the tenth month. The common name
among the English for December was Mid-Winter-Mōnath, although the Christmas of the day called it
Hāligh-Mōnath, or “Holy-Month,” because of the birth of Christ.
 Days of the Week

MONDAY

In mythology, the moon was the wife of the sun, and so had to have her day in the week, which in Old
English was Mōnandæg, or “moon day,” a translation of the Latin luane dies, “day of the moon.” In the
superstitious England of those times people believed that the phases of the moon affected crops and
disturbed the potency of medicine, and they were sure too that bacon killed on the old of the moon would
shrivel in the pan.

TUESDAY

In Norse mythology, there was a god named Tyr. A wolf spirit called Fenrir was troubling the world and
Tyr volunteered to bind him. He used a chain made of strange substances, the footsteps of a cat, the
beards of women, the roots of stones, and the breath of fishes. Tyr put his hand in Fenrir’s mouth and
bound him, but his hand, in the process, was bitten off. In Old English the god’s name Tyr appears as Tiw.
He was really a Germanic deity, one very much like Mars, the Roman god of war, and his name gave us
the Old English word Tiwesdæg, “the day of Tiw,” our Tuesday, which is a rendering of the Latin dies
martis, “day of Mars.”

WEDNESDAY

In Old English Wednesday was spelled Wōdnesdæg, which was the day of the great Germanic god
Woden, who corresponded to the Roman divinity Mercury. Both were swift in movement and noted for
their eloquence. Woden was the father of Tyr, who gave us the name Tuesday, and was the god of storms.
He welcomed brave warriors to the heaven of Valhalla and treated them to the pleasures that they most
loved on earth. He also slew Chaos and created earth from his body, his flesh making the dry land, his
bones the mountains, his blood the sea, his skull the vault of the heavens. In Latin “Woden’s day” was
Mercurii dies, the “day of Mercury,” and the French took this over as Mercredi, their name for Wednesday.

THURSDAY

Thor was the strongest and bravest of the Norse deities, and corresponded in the heavenly hierarchy to
the Roman god Jupiter, who also handled the lightning bolts. Thor, you see, was the god of thunder which
he made with a chariot drawn by he-goats across the sky. Thor owned a massive hammer which the giant
Thrym once stole from him and refused to give up unless Freya, the goddess of love, world marry him.
Thor dressed up in her clothes, wheedled the hammer from Thrym, and then slugged his host. It was the
name of this same Thor that formed the Old English word thūresdæg, or Thursday,: the day of Thor,”
which equals the Roman dies jovis, or “day of Jupiter.”

FRIDAY

In Old English, Friday was frīgedæg, the day of the Norse goddess Frigg, wife of Woden and the goddess
of marriage. She was the Norse counterpart of the Roman goddess Venus, and her day, Friday, was like
the Latin dies Veneris, or “day of Venus.” Wednesday and Thursday had been named for her husband
Woden and her son Thor, so Friday was assigned to her as appeasement. The Norsemen regarded Friday
as their lucky day, but not so the Christians since the Crucifixion took place on Friday.

SATURDAY

In Old English sæternesdæg, merely “Saturn’s day,” is a half translation and half-adoption of the Latin
Saturni dies, or “day of Saturn,” the Roman god of sowing.

SUNDAY

Sunday replaced Saturday as the Sabbath because the Resurrection took place on a Sunday. It was around
the 4th century that the church made it a holiday and forebade anyone to work. In Old English it was
spelled sunnandæg, literally the “sun’s day ,” a translation of the Latin dies solis, or “day of the sun.”
 Fusion vs. Fission Excerpt from Tomorrow’s Energy Isaac Asimov

(1) Suppose we could find a source of energy as vast as that of the sun, one that will also be less dilute
and, most of all, less geographically lopsided? Such an energy source does exist in the form of nuclear
fusion. Not fission - but fusion!

(2) The two are quite different. In nuclear fission, very large atoms are broken into somewhat smaller
ones. In nuclear fusion, very small atoms are combined into somewhat larger ones.

(3) In nuclear fission, this chief energy source is uranium, a rather rare metal, which exist s in useful
quantities in only a few places on Earth. In nuclear fusion, the chief energy source is a form of hydrogen
called “deuterium”, which is found wherever water exists.

(4) In nuclear fission, large atoms are broken into very dangerous radioactive atoms. In nuclear fusion,
small atoms are combined into helium, the safest substance known.

(5) In nuclear fission, large quantities of uranium must be used. If something goes wrong and the process
gets out of hand, the uranium could melt and radioactivity could escape into the environment. In nuclear
fusion, tiny quantities of deuterium will be used at one time. If anything goes wrong, the process simply
stops.

(6) In nuclear fission, there is considerable energy produced per pound of fuel. In nuclear fusion, there is
four times as much energy produced per pound of fuel.

(7) It would seem, then, that every possible factor is in favor of nuclear fusion – but there are some
drawbacks.

(8) First, while helium is the chief product in fusion, some quantities of mildly radioactive materials are
also produced. These will have to be kept out of the environment, but the problem is expected to be much
less difficult than in the case of fission.

(9) Second, and more annoying, scientists have not yet succeeded in setting off a controlled fusion
reaction. That trouble is that to get the small atoms to smash together with enough force to allow them
to coalesce and fuse into larger atoms, the temperature of those atoms must be raised to more than
100,000,000 degrees C. High temperatures for this purpose can be found in the center of the sun, which
runs on the energy of nuclear fusion; the enormous gravity of the sun can hold such unimaginably hot
material in place while it is fusing, but what can be done on Earth?

(10) For a quarter of a century, American, British and Soviet scientists have been trying to design and
produce strong magnetic fields that will hold electrically charged atom fragments in place while the
temperature is raised to the necessary high figure to start fusion going. Some of the most advanced
devices for producing such magnetic fields can be found at Princeton University. Here and elsewhere on
Earth, scientists have come steadily closer to their goal, but even now are quite not there.

(11) Another kind of attack on the problem has been to use a laser beam. Lasers can concentrate large
amount of energy into a tiny area. If that energy is concentrated on a quantity of deuterium, the
deuterium may be heated to a high enough temperature to begin fusing before its atoms have chance to
move out of the laser beam.

(12) What is needed right now are magnetic fields that are just a little stronger, a little more subtly design
perhaps. Or else what is needed are laser beams a little stronger, a little more tightly focused, a little
better adapted for the specific purpose of initiating fusion.

(13) In each of these two directions, scientists are on the edge of success. It may not come till 1980; it
may, just possibly, come tomorrow.

(14) Even after the solution arrives, however, it may well take thirty years to solve the engineering
problems of setting up large power stations, of designing methods for keeping a constant source of fuel
moving into reactor, for maintaining the lasers in action or the magnetic fields in being, and for guarding
against radioactive pollution.
 Ketchup
(1) The sauce that is today called ketchup (or catsup) in Western cultures is a tomato-based sauce that
is quite distinct from the Eastern ancestors of this product. A sauce called ke-tiap was in use in China at
least as early as the seventeenth century, but the Chinese version of the sauce was made of pickled fish,
shellfish, and spices. The popularity of this Chinese sauce spread to Singapore and Malaysia, where it was
called kechap. The Indonesian sauce ketjab derives its name from the same source as the Malaysian sauce
but is made from very different ingredients. The Indonesian ketjab is made of cooking black soy beans,
fermenting them, placing them in a salt brine for at least a week, cooking the resulting solution further,
and sweetening it heavily; this process results in a dark, thick, and sweet variation of soy sauce.

(2) Early in the eighteenth century, sailors from the British navy came across this exotic sauce on voyages
to Malaysia and Singapore and brought samples of it back to England on return voyages, English chefs
tried to recreate the sauce but were unable to do so exactly because key ingredients were unknown or
unavailable in England; chefs ended up substituting ingredients such as mushrooms and walnuts in an
attempt to recreate the special tastes of the original Asian sauce. Variations of this sauce become quite
the rage in eighteenth-century England, appearing in a number of recipe books and featured as an exotic
addition to menus from the period.

(3) The English version did not contain tomatoes, and it was not until the end of the eighteenth century
that tomatoes became a main ingredient, in the ketchup of the newly created United States. It is quite
notable that tomatoes were added to the sauce in that tomatoes had previously been considered quire
dangerous to health. The tomato had been cultivated by the Aztecs, who had called it tomatl; however,
early botanists had recognized that the tomato was a member of the Solanacaea family, which does
include a number of poisonous plants. The leaves of the tomato plant are poisonous, though of course
the fruit is not.

(4) Thomas Jefferson, who cultivated the tomato in his gardens at Monticello and served dishes containing
tomatoes at lavish feasts, often receives credit for changing the reputation of the tomato. Soon after
Jefferson had introduced the tomato to American society, recipes combining the newly fashionable
tomato with the equally fashionable and exotic sauce known as ketchap began to appear. By the middle
of the nineteenth century, both the tomato and tomato ketchup were staples of the American kitchen.

(5) Tomato ketchup, popular though it was, was quite time-consuming to prepare. In 1876, the first mass-
produced tomato ketchup, a product of German-American Henry Heinz, went on sale and achieved
immediate success. From tomato ketchup, Heinz branched out into a number of other products, including
various sauces, pickles, and relishes. By 1890, his company had expanded to include sixty-five different
products but was in need of a marketing slogan. Heinz settled on the slogan “57 Varieties” because he
liked the way that the digits 5 and 7 looked in print, in spite of the fact that this slogan understated the
number of products that he had at the time.
 Mercury Pollution
(1) When most people think or talk about dangers to our environment, they focus on general terms like
“pollution,” “smog,” and “acidrain.” Also, they often focus on the impact of supposedly man-made
chemicals and compounds. But to truly understand the risks to our environment, it’s helpful to focus on
the danger of specific chemical, which are often otherwise naturally-occurring elements that have been
spread harmfully by man. One of the largest threats to our environment is mercury: Hg on the periodic
table of elements.

(2) At room temperature, mercury, a metal, exists as a silvery-white liquid. However, it vaporizes readily
when heat is applied, and can stay suspended in the air for more than a year. The largest sources of
mercury pollution in the United States are coal-fired power plants. Emissions from these plants account
for 70 percent of the mercury that enters our oceans, lakes, and streams. Air currents carry these particles
far from the source and are capable of polluting bodies of water thousands of miles away.

(3) Mercury particles released into the air fall into these waterways and quickly enter aquatic food chains.
First, mercury attaches to sediments (fragments of organic and inorganic material that settle to the
bottom of the body of water). Second, bacteria change the mercury into methyl mercury, a highly toxic
substance. Third, phytoplanktons feed on the organic matter in sediments and absorb the methyl
mercury. Fourth, fish then eat the mercurycontaminated phytoplankton; the larger the fish and the longer
it lives, the more concentrated the methyl mercury in its system becomes. The mercury can then move
higher up the food chain when humans eat fish that have absorbed high amounts of mercury.

(4) Studies indicate that mercury levels in U.S. waterways have increased anywhere from 100 to 400
percent over the course of the last century, and no river, lake, or ocean seems immune. It is important to
note that, thanks to the U.S. Clean Air Act and efforts by industry to curb unnecessary discharges as well
as better sewage treatment methods, the levels have been in slow decline since the 1970s. however, this
minor decline is relatively miniscule in comparison to the major increase in the years prior.

If you’ve ever experienced that “rotten egg” smell during low tide at a coastal area, you’ve seen (or
smelled) methylation in action. Methylation is the conversion of mercury in sediments to methyl mercury
by sulphatereducing bacteria. While this methylation is a natural process, the industrial discharge of
mercury has greatly accelerated the process beyond what the ecosystem is able to absorb safely. This
methylation not only impacts aquatic species, but also harms humans and other land-based wildlife. (6)
Most of the fish and shellfish that humans eat live solely in coastal areas or frequent coastal areas and
feed on the fish that live there. At the same time, most methylation takes place in coastal areas. Therefore,
methyl mercury moves up the food chain from plankton to lobster, bluefish, winter flounder, tuna, and
many other species eaten extensively by man. The methyl mercury binds to the protein in fish, residing in
the muscle of the fish. This muscle is exactly what we eat, the fillet.

(7) The short-term impact of digestion of toxic methyl mercury is obviously a concern. More troubling,
however, is its long-term impact on species up and down the food chain. In Wisconsin, scientists have
studied the decline of chick production in loons (aquatic birds). They have made a positive link to
mercury concentration in eggs which exceeds the concentration found to be toxic in laboratory studies.
Through that example, the lasting impact of methyl mercury far from the source of the pollution can be
seen.

(8) One of the great wonders of the Earth is the interconnectivity of all the world’s ecosystems. This
interconnectivity gives us the range and diversity of wildlife that we all enjoy and it also allowed life on
the planet to endure through cataclysmic events, such as asteroid impacts and the ice ages. However, it
is this very interconnectivity that makes our ecosystems so vulnerable. Mercury pollution is unfortunately
one of many examples of an environmental impact far removed from the source of the pollution;
understanding the process by which the pollution spreads up the food chain is one of many steps to
ameliorate the impact of such pollution.
 Our Very Own Arnis Pepper Marcelo

(1) When it comes to martial arts, there are several styles of fighting which are recognized all over the
world. From Asia, these include Japan’s Karate, Korea’s Taekwando, China’s Wushu and Thailand’s Muay
Thai.

(2) Filipino martial arts have been growing steadily in popularity in recent years. Starting with a minor,
underground cult appeal, it is poised to break out as a sports phenomenon not just in its full-contact
incarnation, but as an exhibition and display of Pinoy culture as well.

(3) Known by many names, styles and formats, including eskrima (as it’s known in Cebu and parts of the
Visayas) or the more controversial moniker of kali, its official practitioners have preferred the name arnis,
short for “arnis de mano,” which is derived from the Spanish phrase “harness of the hand.” Arnis has
become the de facto umbrella term.

(4) Referring, but not limited to stick fighting, arnis consists of weapons training utilizing a rattan stick,
also called a baston, which is approximately 28 inches in length. It also encompasses empty-hand
selfdefense, including punching (suntukan), kicking (sikaran), locks and submissions (dumog). Besides the
baston, a variety of impact and bladed weapons are also used, the latter of which Pinoys are considered
the best in the world.

(5) A milestone in the fighting style was marked last December when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
signed into law declaring arnis as the country’s official martial art and sport. Republic Act 9850 requires it
to be a Physical Education course in all schools in the country as mandated by the Department of
Education (DepEd). Previously, the unofficial sport was sipa or sepak takraw.

(6) “Arnis is one sport which truly originated in our country, a part of our rich culture and tradition,” says
Raymond Velayo, president of Arnis Philippines Inc. (ARPI). “First and foremost, I’m very elated at the
developments because we’ve worked for so long for this.” (7) ARPI had persistently lobbied for the bill in
both Houses of Congress since 1995, garnering support from a number of politicians, including then
Senator Orly Mercado, the late Senator Robert Barbers, and then Congressman and now Senator Miguel
Zubiri in 2001.

(8) “We had to stress to lawmakers that the Philippines had not declared a national sport,” adds Velayo.
Sipa was unofficial. If you look at the history books, sipa doesn’t exist, but arnis is part of our history.”

Before the Spaniards colonized the country, many indigenous tribes practiced and exhibited some form
or variant of the technique and using it to fend off invaders. With the colonization of the country, first by
the Spaniards and then the Americans, Filipino martial arts and arnis slowly diminished in status.

(10) In the 1970s, with the rise in popularity of foreign martial arts, spearheaded by Kung-Fu and ninja
movies, there became a renewed interest in arnis and in its history and cultural significance.

(11) In recent years, Filipino martial arts have been appropriated by a number of Hollywood action films.
Tom Cruise (Mission Impossible 2), Angelina Jolie (Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life) and Matt Damon (Bourne
series) utilized the Pinoy fighting form or one of its many variants.

(12) Considered the greatest martial arts action star of all time, Bruce Lee hinted at the impending
greatness of arnis in his last movie before his untimely death. “In Game of Death, he was using two stick
against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, instead of the nunchaku,” notes Velayo.

(13) According to Velayo, one of the significant problems of reintroducing arnis to the general population
is that there is not one technique or school in Filipino martial arts. It is as varied as, some observers say,
as the archipelago’s 7,100 islands.

(14) “There was resistance from groups that felt threatened that the umbrella group ARPI would change
their system,” he says. “Filipinos are clannish. We have different dialects and a ‘mine-is-better-than-yours’
mentality. We don’t want these various styles to disappear; all styles must coexist and be preserved.”
(15) He emphasizes that ARPI’s goal is to provide strong leadership in order to hold together and
consolidate the different schools and to wholly preserve their heritage and culture. Without a strong and
consistent hand, he says, the Filipino martial arts’ 400-year-old history will fade away.

(16) Amid the division, bickering and politicking, arnis’ sheer number and variety can be maximized to
their fullest. Aside from its inclusion as a distinct event in the annual national amateur sports competition
Palarong Pambansa – where before it was only an exhibition event – arnis is also featured in half a dozen
local and international events, showcasing the myriad styles, forms and strains from regions and clubs all
over the country.

http://planetphilippines.com/sports/our-very-own-arnis/#sthash.UsjIKxGz.dpuf