By Anthony Golez
The Right Move

THERE are already a lot of stories we hear in Bacolod about cell phone snatching or holdups that preys on young students going home from school.

In Manila, those who fight back are either stabbed or shot at. This is how one might think that life is too much cheaper now. Police visibility on the street definitely deters these kinds of crime, but most of the times, they just come very unsuspecting. The comfort of our citizens seeing law enforcers or barangay tanods in every street and corner of our city would be a winner. The vigilance of every man and woman on the street regarding these crimes and their involvement whenever help is needed would be very comforting.

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But to be involved is also to be educated. If we put more barangay tanods or make ourselves vigilant and helpful for these problems, at least we ought to know some basic moves on how to defend ourselves, and to physically control and apprehend the attacker. Organizers of such a movement most of the times resort to foreign martial arts to train themselves. Most of the time, they import Japanese (karate) and Korean (taekwondo) technology to educate and train themselves. Why do we have to go too far when we can defend ourselves using our very own and the world-renowned Pekiti Tirsia?

Pekiti-Tirsia's movements are based on the traditional blade art of the Philippines - Kali, which involves slicing swords in a circular motion, symbolic of the orbits of the moon and the planets. It also incorporated triangular movements symbolic of constellations. In ancient times, Kali was taught in rituals that were then used pragmatically to survive against adversaries and wild animals.

Pekiti Tirsia has five main weapon categories, namely: 1) solo – single stick, sword or spear. 2) doble - double stick or sword. 3) espada y daga - sword and dagger. 4) daga y daga - knife to knife 5) mano y mano - hand to hand. But of course, in our case of discussion, the use of sticks and empty hand combat will just be the focus of teaching for our tanods and the civilians.

Pekiti-Tirsia Kali specifically was a family system that goes back at least four generations, starting with Norberto Tortal. It was further developed and improved during the years 1930-36 by his grandson Conrado Tortal. The Tortals were from Negros and Panay islands that the chieftains from Borneo settled on when Kali came to the Philippines. The system is now headed by Leo Tortal Gaje Junior, the grandson of Conrado Tortal.

This ancient Ilonggo martial art, if thought in its entirety and with mastery, is considered as one of the world’s best and deadliest martial arts. This is the system that the U.S Secret Service and the Navy Seals are taught to master. In the Philippines, only the AFP and PNP Special Forces are trained to be proficient at this. Our law enforcers, tanods and civilians can be trained on how to defend themselves and their properties, but only using the Pekiti Tirsia techniques of a stick and hand-to-hand.