Tribute to the Living legacies of arnis .......

Tribute to the NARAPHIL Grandmasters
by Junch Martinada

In 1989, the NARAPHIL Board approved the project proposal of Dr. Leo Estepa (NPAC Executive Director) to stage the Grandmasters Cup Arnis Tournament to honor the “Living legacies” of arnis.

Out of the nine NARAPHIL grandmasters only three heeded the call for it and launched the project in cooperation with the Nayong Pilipino Foundation, Inc., Liping Maharlika Inc., Nayong Pilipino Arnis Club and some private corporations like Del Bros, U-Freight and individual kindhearted persons.

It was planned as a biennial tournament in addition to the annual national team tournament of NARAPHIL. The three grandmasters were: GM Benjamin L. Lema, GM Jose G. Mena and GM Antonio Ilustrisimo.

2nd "Mang Nonoy" Mena Grandmaster's Cup
Arnis Tournament
(March 1993)

1st "Mang Nonoy" Mena Grandmaster's Cup
Arnis Tournament
(September 1992)

1st Maesto Lema Grandmaster's Cup
Arnis Tournament
(August 1991)

1st Kali Ilustrisimo Grandmaster's Cup
Arnis Trounament
(December 1991)

Grandmasters giving complimentary to one another. GM Antonio Ilustrisimo awarding GM Benjamin Lema his Plaque of Recognition for his contribution to the Filipino martial art. The award was a compliment of the Nayong Pilipino Foundation, Inc. headed by their Executive Director - Atty. Apolonio Anota.

"The Legacy left by our forebears .......... shall run into the blood of the generations to come"

Second NARAPHIL Interclub Arnis Competition

"2nd NARAPHIL Annual Inter-Club"
Arnis Competition

Gymnastics gymnasium, Rizal Memorial Sports Complex
Vito Cruz, Manila
March 8, 1981

NARAPHIL Executive Director - Dir. Romeo C. Mascardo acknowledging BGen Wilfredo Estrada (NARAPHIL Chairman for Membership & Accreditation Committee - seated far left) before delivering his Welcome Remarks during the event. Five trophies are at stake with 14 teams participating.

Col. Arcadio S. Lozada (Guest Speaker) delivering his speech during the event. Seated in the presidential table are from far left with dark glasses is BGen. Wilfredo Estrada, Dir. Romeo Mascardo, Maj. Leonardo Maddela (MMBTAA President), Dante de Jesus and Dr. Meneleo Estepa. Standing at the back is the Chief of NARAPHIL Corps of Instructor - Fernando Vinculado.

Guest Speaker having a chat with Dir. Romeo Mascardo upon his arrival for the event together with some of the MMBTAA Officers.

Welcome banner for the Guest Speaker with Instructors Jun Martinada, Leonardo Punzalan (with hand crossed over chest) and Virgilio Cruz (partly hidden by Jun Martinada) supervising the usherettes for the Guest Speaker and party.

Formal Opening of the event

Parade of the participants with their corresponding muses. Above is the PUP Arnis Club headed by their Adviser - Mrs. Ma. Luz S. Arroyo.

"Arnis diwa ng kalinangang Pilipino"
(by PHILMAT)

NARAPHIL First Arnis Tournament

"1st NARAPHIL Inter-Club"

Arnis Exhibition/Competition
Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, Gymnastics Gym
(July 1980)

In September 1979, the “1st Arnis Grandmasters Tournament” was held at the Philippine Normal College gymnasium along Taft corner Ayala Avenue, Manila.


It was participated by 8 grandmasters and eventually won by GM Ciriaco “Tiyo Cacoy” Cañete (Doce Pares – Cebu). The 1st Runner-up was GM Florentino “Tino” Pecate of (YMCA Manila) and the 2nd Runner-up trophy went to GM Benjamin "Mang Ben" Lema. It was a hotly contested fight because the name of their group was at stake but one thing came out from the grandmasters personality, their true of being a gentleman and an arnisador. It was their followers who were more of the problem than the GM's.

That was the very first full contact ever sponsored by the NARAPHIL and probably the last for that category since it did not really achieve the goals intended for the tournament. It further enhanced the rift and differences of the different followers instead of uniting them and bringing them closer together under the umbrella of the organization. So the organization concentrated for the meantime on the non-contact type of tournament like the one pioneered by the PHILMAT.


The PHILMAT pioneered the very first non-contact type of arnis tournament dubbed as the “1st NARAPHIL Inter-Club Arnis Exhibition/Competition” on July 1980 at the NARAPHIL Central Office at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex. Eight groups participated in that event namely: Don Honorio Ventura College of Arts and Trade (DHVCAT Pampanga), Makati Polytechnic Community College (MPCC), Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), Esteban Abada High School of Manila, Nayong Pilipino Arnis Club, Rizal Memorial Sports Complex Arnis Club, Araullo High School and Emilio Aguinaldo High School. PUP Arnis Club won the very first championship trophy. Two more succeeding tournaments were held before finally changing the format into a full contact type when Nayong Pilipino Arnis Club took over the sponsorship from NARAPHIL.


The "3rd NARAPHIL Inter-Club Arnis Exhibition/Competition" was held at the PUP Sta. Mesa Gymnasium on August 1983 and was participated by 26 arnis clubs affiliated with NARAPHIL, four of which came from nearby provinces - Pampanga, Bulacan, Cavite and Laguna.

The succeeding 4th-9th NARAPHIL National Team Tournament was held in Nayong Pilipino. The 4th and 5th was an experimentation on the use of padded sticks but came out unimpressive due to the impact of its softness. Since they don't feel any pain when they are beaten, players become callous and the art looses its form. So the Rules Committee decided to use the real stick for the players to be more cautious when they get hit because of the pain. This is the same method used to this date with the advent of safer proctective devices developed.

Presentation of the participants by Dante de Jesus
- NARAPHIL Press Relation Officer

"2nd NARAPHIL Annual Inter-Club"
Arnis Exhibition/Competition
Gymnastics gymnasium, Rizal Memorial Sports Complex
Vito Cruz, Manila
March 1981

The Rizal Memorial Sports Complex Arnis Club showing their basic arnis lessons as part of their presentation to the exhibition/competition.

The DHVCAT of Pampanga showing their basic techniques in striking and blocking as part of their number in the competition.

Defending Champion PUP Arnis Club performing their different pattern of the basic lesson. They eventually placed 1st Runner-up with the "Cruz na Ligas Elementary School Arnis Club" of Quezon City winning the championship trophy.

The MMBTAA winning the 4th Runner-up Trophy



The new Champion "Crus na Ligas Elementary School Arnis Club"
of Diliman, Quezon City defeating the PUP Arnis Club.



Itaguyod natin:
"Arnis de mano - Larong Pilipino"
(by Liping Maharlika)

NARAPHIL Official Training Manual

"Arnis book for P.E. Teachers and Students"

Official NARAPHIL Training Manual
(1977)

A training manual was published in 1977 as a result of the rapid expansion of the NARAPHIL Corps of Instructors and the continuous "Summer Arnis Workshop/Seminar for P.E. Teachers". The demand for a standard Program of Instruction among the teachers and the Corps prompted the publication of this book authored by NARAPHIL Executive Director - Dir. Romeo C. Mascardo.

This manual is a Basic Arnis Course designed for P.E. Teachers who undergone the course and serves as a guide in the process of their teaching in their respective schools. It was designed even for students who wants to learn it through this book and follow them with ease.


Thousands of this book were distributed among the different school libraries even until to this date. The association is in the process of publishing the 2nd edition of this book.


Another manual that was published in 1979 in conjunction with this was a Basic Arnis Testing Manual wherein the examinee is guided in the mechanics of the grading/promotion. It consists of simple instructions and official documentation of the course in the first part. Majority of the content of this manual is mostly an illustration sequences of the different basic arnis technique undertaken and how they will be done or executed during the examination. It also includes the measurement of the examination area and position of the three examiners. The last page comprises the result of the grading/promotion - detail of performance on each technique and overall assessment.

Inside NARAPHIL

NARAPHIL President in action ..........

In 1982, the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development (MYSD) Region III Office launched a massive promotion of arnis for the entire Region III with the establishment of the different school-based clubs and the creation of the NARAPHIL regional chapter and subsequent election of their regional officers. A mass demonstration of arnis culminated the affair with Gen. Fabian C. Ver as the Inducting Officer and Guest of Honor. Seven regional chapters were created subsequently following the region III format. They were Region I, II, IV, V, VII, IX and XII.

It is a very rare opportunity and honor for most of the inductees to see their president in action since he was a very busy person in his position then as AFP Chief of Staff. He was successful enough to unite the different arnis clubs and groups in the country, which no personality has ever done.

His only vision was to unite all groups and clubs into the umbrella of NARAPHIL but not to curtail their own styles and practices. He further stressed to help them preserved their own styles and help NARAPHIL for the propagation and promotion of arnis through the archipelago and abroad.

"Regional Sports Meet"
San Fernando, Pampanga
(September 1982)

Gen. Fabian Ver conferring with Dir. Romeo Mascardo
before the beginning of the arnis activities at the Pampanga
Regional Sports Meet.

NARAPHIL Executive Director - Dir. Romeo Mascardo together with some
of the Regional Sports Officials before the arrival of the Guest of Honor -

Gen. Fabian Ver.

P.E. Teachers Summer Arnis Training

P.E. Teachers Summer Arnis Training Course
Gymnastics Gymnasium, Rizal Memorial Sports Complex
Vito Cruz, Manila
09-23 May 1981

From L-R: BGen. Wilfredo Estrada (NARAPHIL Chairman for Accreditation),
Dr. Aparecio Mequi (Guest Speaker), Romeo Mascardo (NARAPHIL Exec. Dir.),
Fernando Vicnulado (Chief Instructor), Dante de Jesus and Dr. Leo Estepa

Graduation Rites
"P.E. Teachers Summer Arnis Training Course"
24 May 1981

This was the 5th Batch of P.E. Teachers undergoing a regular "Summer Arnis Training Course" at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex since NARAPHIL was invited by the (NCPE) National College of Physical Education and presently called Philippine Institute for Physical Education and Sports (PIPES) to handle some of their summer classes in arnis. Messrs. Anacleto Rous and Generoso Martinada were the instructors assigned to handle them since they are both in the field of Physical Education.

Majority of this P.E. Teachers who took part of the program were from the provinces and were expected to conduct the same arnis course program to their respective schools. The huge problem of echoing and monitoring their program was resolved when the "Siglakas Project" came into operation. NARAPHIL Instructors were sent to the different provincial schools where requests for grading/promotions were conducted including some request for the same "Summer Arnis Training Course" in their respective schools or communities.


Although NARAPHIL had never had a huge financial resources to finance most of their projects especially the monitoring and echoing part, they were able to pursue those programs through a good management opportunities and dedicated manpower resources. The continuity of events leading one to the other made the NARAPHIL Arnis Training Program a concrete and most successful arnis promotion program ever handled by an organization that has never been surpassed or duplicated to any present day organization in arnis.

Participants with Messrs. Jun Martinada and Anacleto Rous
(NARAPHIL Instructors) infront of NARAPHIL Office parking lot
Track and Football Field Arena
RMSC, Vito Cruz, Manila

NARAPHIL Senior Instructor Jun Martinada supervising their
return demonstration at the NARAPHIL Office parking lot.

Training the Grassroots

"Going to the Grassroots Level"

Graduation Rites

"Metro-Manila Barangay Tanod
Arnis Trainers Course"
17 February 1981

NARAPHIL launched a massive training of "Arnis Trainers Program" in 1976 in anticipation of the demand for arnis instructors in the future. The first part of that program was the upgrading and retraining of the 46 existing instructors of the defunct Maharlika Arnis Sikaran Association and other groups into a fully able and qualified instructors.

The second part of NARAPHIL Arnis Trainer's Program was the training of the P.E. Teachers to help the organization in its grassroots level program especially in the school level.

And the third part of their program was geared towards the out-of-school youth and community level where the Kabataang Barangay and Barangay Tanod came into play.

The annual "P.E. Teachers Summer Arnis Training Course" was initiated in 1974 by the Maharlika Arnis Sikaran Association in cooperation with the SPODEPHIL Foundation of "Ka Doroy" Valencia (a notably well-known editor of the Philippine newspaper - Manila Bulletin). NARAPHIL pursued on this worhtwhile program and provided a strong backbone of qualified instructors of that project especially to present day arnis practitioners.

All of that NARAPHIL undertakings were usually done in cooperation with other government and private agencies such as the Ministry of Education and Culture, Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Ministry of Local Government, Ministry of National Defense, Rotary and Jaycees.

With the advent of the "Siglakas Project" in 1978, the NARAPHIL was able to pursue and continue again their grassroots program nationwide that started in 1976.