Wednesday, February 13, 2008 Rama: In my sights, 'On Sight' By Karlon N. Rama Stage Five
CABLE television subscribers with interests that include things that burn gunpowder and goes bang would do well to check out RCTV on Channel 36 on Friday and catch the maiden episode of On Sight, a show hosted by my friend Julius Legaspi.
The show aims to introduce firearms and shooting to channel viewers and, according to the show’s host, will have, among other segments, short features on gun safety, firearm laws and the Firearms and Explosives Division (FED) policies.
In each episode, the hosts will also be featuring a particular firearm. I’ve seen some of the materials the producers are preparing and I know features on the M14 battle rifle and the Tommy Gun are being lined up for airing.
On Sight is a joint production between Julius and RCTV’s Mike Solon. It will air every Friday and, because RCTV’s programs are run on a loop, the show can be seen four to six times a day, albeit with no fixed timeslot.
The show, I’m sure, will be welcomed by Cebu’s very vibrant shooting community.
At the very least, people can get their weekly dose of the tales from the range from two sources.
This Friday’s episode will feature a lady shooter from Kamagong Gun Club —Ma. Victoria Gonzales.
Vicky has been competing for close to two years now and, using a Para-Ordnance P16.40, a nineteen-eleven chambered for the .40 cal., drops targets in the Standard Division down with as much ease as she does young hearts with her drop-dead-gorgeous looks.
Speaking of drop-dead-gorgeous, Julius will also be featuring the Micro Galil on his maiden episode.
Developed in Israel and still in use by certain branches of its military, and at one point by the South African Armed Forces who produced their own and designated it the R4, the Galil is one of the more iconic guns ever built.
I would be guilty of oversimplification if I called it a derivative of the Russian AK 47, although it does have some similar features. Mainly, the gun is patterned after the Finnish Valmet rifle and carbine that, in turn, was modeled after the AK 47.
The Galil, according to Combat Guns authors Chris Bishop and Ian Drury, has proved itself to be very effective in action and has attracted a great deal of overseas attention.
It has been produced for both the 5.56mm and 7.6mm round and the micro version, the one what will feature Julius carrying on the firing line, shoots the former.
LOST IN LOCATION. A segment of our last edition got cut because of lack of space. With my editors’ permission, i would like to reproduce it now.
“I was as crazy about Wushu a few years back as I am into the shooting sports now.
“Our group at the Chian Hsi Chuan Internal Arts Society gave performances whenever we could.
“Many of my co-practitioners then remain active up to now and the society continues to hold sessions every Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturday night at the Cebu City Sports Complex.
“But Wushu, during my time, wasn’t that much of an accepted sport. Competitions were already being held abroad but the Philippine Wushu Federation never looked beyond its Manila-based walls.
“Wushu enthusiasts are fortunate that there now is a federation chapter here in Cebu City. The chapter, led by the very able Francis Onglantco, is accepting people who want to train.
As an aside, I would like to say congratulations and be prosperous to two friends of mine. First to Baraw Sugbo’s Romy Kho who celebrated his second 20th birthday last Feb. 7 and to Nigel Paul Villarete who finally stopped running around long enough to get hitched a day after.”
On the other hand, I would like to extend my deepest sympathies to one of my first shooting mentors, Adrian Gregory Tadena of the Department of Justice’s Witness Protection Program, whose mother, the poet Gemma Racoma Tadena, died last week. Idol, you are in my prayers. (knrama@gmail.com)
