Black Saturday is the Saturday after Good Friday. This day commemorates Jesus lying in the tomb until his resurrection on Easter Sunday. It is a day of great mourning. It is called as such because Black is a symbol of death and mourning.
Liturgical Color(s): Violet (Purple)
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My first orientation of the art was a training with my close friend in the Lapunti Arnis de Abanico style which features the technique of the double stick amara, wielding it as if you are waving a hand fan. Its grace and art propelled me to let my love for the art grow. I also learned other techinques like Balintawak Eskrima. But let me gear you towards the focus of this article as I won’t be talking about the art itself. I would in some other time, considering the growing popularity of this art around the globe, thanks to the Filipino Grand Masters who introduced it outside the Philippines.
Anyway, because of my love for this martial art, I did my in-depth researches. And with my personal searches, I have come across a very good piece of information that once, a very influential man of this country was also a practitioner of this art that I so love.
Rizal: More than Just a Doctor and Writer
151 years ago on this date (June 19, 1861), Francisco Rizal Mercado and Teodora Alonzo y Quintos welcomed their seventh child into the world at Calamba, Laguna. They named the boy Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda. Of course, we all know him as our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal. His writing and his devotion to the country has led him to become the Philippine national hero, opening several debates as to why this wasn’t given to Andres Bonifacio or those who really shed blood for the country.
Unknown to some, Rizal was not just a doctor and writer. He was also a sculptor, a painter, a novelist and most especially, he was also a swordsman and a highly-regarded one at that. He was a body builder with a vast experience in wrestling and judo. These might come out as great physical achievements coming from a child who was regarded as sickly and weak. Rizal got his first orientation on martial arts from his Uncle Manuel. He taught Rizal the art of buno, a Filipino-style wrestling.
Rizal Against Bullying
In his “Memorias de un estudiante” Rizal described how he beat a bully in their class despite his being short on height. Rizal wrote: “The son of the teacher was a few years older than I and exceeded me in stature … After beating him in a fight, I gained fame among my classmates, possibly because of my smallness.”
Rizal’s Gentlemanly Duel for Lovel
Rizal honed his skill on fencing and shooting while he was a student at Madrid practicing with the Paterno brothers Maximo, Pedro and Antonio. Rizal’s mastery of sword and as a marksman was put to the test when he challenged Antonio Luna on a duel. Rizal having lost Leonor Rivera entertained the thought of courting other ladies.
While a guest of the Boustead family at their residence in the resort city of Biarritz, he had befriended the two pretty daughters of his host, Eduardo Boustead. Rizal used to fence with the sisters at the studio of Juan Luna. Antonio Luna, Juan’s brother and also a frequent visitor of the Bousteads, courted Nellie but she was deeply infatuated with Rizal. In a party held by Filipinos in Madrid, a drunken Antonio Luna uttered unsavoury remarks against Nellie Boustead. This prompted Rizal to challenge Luna into a duel. Rizal made Luna to choose his weapon of choice be it a gun or a sword. Knowing Dr. Jose Rizal as a master in both weapon and with intervention of their compatriots, Antonio Luna apologized to him thus averting tragedy for the both.
Rizal the Martial Arts Tutor
While adept in western arts, patriotism of our National Hero was apparent as far as martial art is concerned. While being exiled at Dapitan, on the island of Mindanao, Rizal stayed there for four years, teaching at schools and encouraging agricultural reforms to the natives. As an expert on the art of stick fighting, Dr. Jose Rizal taught arnis, known also as kali or eskrima-- a weapon- based training that uses stick (rattan) as a primary tool. This was one of the subjects he taught to the young boys of Dapitan during his last days.
It was also in Dapitan where a Frenchman, Juan Lardet, was challenged by Dr. Jose Rizal in a duel after the Frenchman accused him of cheating in a business deal. However the Frenchman declined in accepting the challenged and retracted his accusation after being advised by a Spanish Commandant of Dapitan who knew well of the fighting capabilities of our National Hero.
Rizal's words-- Pen is mightier than the sword, is in fact, a credence on both accounts to Rizal. In my humble opinion, he might have chosen to fight with blood-- he could if he would. But being the gentleman that he is, the strength of his pen and his words did a lot to this country far more than we can imagine.
As a proud practitioner of the art, I am proud to say that Rizal is my idol, for all he did for this country and so much more. On your birthday today, we, the future eskrimadors, raise our bamboo sticks in adoration and pure pride to our national hero.
In behalf of iSTORYA.NET, Happy Birthday to our National Hero, Dr. Jose Rizal.
By: Diego Salvador
iSTORYAn League of Writers: Culture & History
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