Cebuano Eskrima

Book excerpt: Cebuano Eskrima: Beyond the Myth boldly unravels with compelling and provocative hypothesis on the Hispanic origins of the Filipino Martial Arts known as eskrima, arnis and estokada The last vestiges of the extinct European medieval fencing could be found indirectly linked to Filipino eskrima The authors present prima facie evidence on the fraud of the supposedly precursor art called kali A more plausible theory on the origins of eskrima are presented in startling detail from its early beginnings as a defense against Moro pirates and slave traders and its later fusion with Spanish fencing through the Jesuit warrior priests during the pivotal years 1635-1644, the height of Spanish rapier fencing in Europe during the Renaissance It also presents a comprehensive chronology on the development of eskrima in Cebu, a meticulous commentary of Cebuano pioneers and innovators of eskrima and elucidates the pre-eminence of Visayans in the art of eskrima / arnis / estokada As both authors are practitioners of this martial art, technicalities in eskrima never before detailed in other materials on the subject are carefully discussed in the book Other interesting topics related to eskrima like the esoteric practices and healing modalities are also explained in fascinating detail.