Monday, July 28, 2008 Rama: Eskrima, Wekaf and Arpi By Karlon N. Rama Stage Five
THE headline in yesterday’s sports section said it all. We were embarrassed at home.
Team USA captured its third straight win at the Word Eskrima-Kali-Arnis Federation (Wekaf) Championships. This year’s event closed at the Ayala Center Cebu last Saturday.
The Americans, wrote Sun.Star Cebu scribe Marian C. Baring, rallied themselves and harvested 10 more gold medals in day three, bringing their total haul to 44 golds, 35 silvers and 30 bronzes at closing.
Team Philippines could only get 35 golds, 18 silvers and 19 bronzes despite playing at home.
Atty. Dionisio Cañete, Wekaf Chairman Emeritus, was saddened by the loss of the home team but was overall happy that the event was successful.
He admitted that the local Wekaf chapter put a lot of effort in organizing the event and somehow failed to notice that they weren’t actually able to field people in seven divisions. It was an oversight, he said. They had previously announced that all their bases had been covered.
POOR CALLS. Some of the losses, Eskrimador Scott Sleazak said, were because of bad judging. He suggested that officials take a refresher course on the rulebook and lamented how “some decisions were very one-sided.” Organizers, he said, should tape the event next time.
Sleazak, according to Marian’s report, is an American but played for the Philippine Team.
A continued study is always a good thing. In shooting competitions, for example, range officers take regular refresher courses to update themselves with amendments to the International Practical Shooting Confederation rulebook.
Videotaping matches is also a good idea. If not to help judges in determining who wins, then as a solid basis to resolve a ruling that gets protested or scores that get challenged.
MATCH SYSTEM. I intend to offend no one but I am of the opinion that scoring issues will continue to haunt Wekaf competitions, competent judging notwithstanding.
This is because of the way the matches are designed.
Wekaf events follow a 10-point must system. The player who, in the eyes of a judge, won the round, get 10 points, while the loser earns nine; unless he gets “consistently dominated” or disarmed, whereby gets eight.
Blocks and other defensive maneuvers do not directly earn points.
Although defense is to be considered as a basis in scoring, points are still earned only by hits. And the more hits one lands, the closer one gets to that mandatory 10 points.
The result is a flurry of strikes and the corresponding sound of fire-hardened rattan landing on foam-stuffed canvas armor—a difficult challenge it is to determine who struck whom where—as combatants maneuver in and out like prized cocks on a Sunday afternoon derby.
ARPI INITIATIVE. Arnis Philippines Inc. is the National Sports Association for eskrima in the Philippine Olympic Committee.
While Wekaf is an international federation with member-schools in the United States, Europe and Asia, Arpi is, and has been since Jan. 12, 1987, the official governing body for eskrima in the country.
And because arnis, as eskrima is more commonly known in Luzon, is an official medal event for the Southeast Asian Games, Arpi oversees the training of athletes too.
More importantly, it organizes tournaments—like the International Arnis Championships scheduled on Aug. 20 to 23 in Pasig City—under rules that have also been adopted by other members of the International Arnis Federation.
The rules are straightforward and give equal attention to the defensive and offensive component of our indigenous martial art.
Like in kendo and fending, the first to place a legitimate hit scores a point and the first to win five points wins a round. The competitor who wins two out of three rounds wins the match. Because of the system, players are as concerned in preventing the competition from scoring as they are in earning their own point. This, I believe, results in a cleaner and clearer game.
Male participants wear headgear and groin guards, while females wear body vests in addition to the helmets. Padded sticks are used for safety.
Arpi, however, has proprietary over its rules. Still, an organization can have itself affiliated with Arpi to lawfully adopt its system. (knrama@gmail.com)
