The Main Proponents of Chaos – Corruption with its Offspring, Poverty
In the documentary Eskrimadors, one foreign instructor stated that the Filipinos have no time for this kind of thing (FMA). Time, time is the most precious resource. Filipinos who have been living in this country would attest to the truth that a portion of time lost is wealth thrown away (although Filipinos still loose time to other things, but that’s for another article). The instructor who was interviewed in Eskrimadors further mentioned that the youth in the Philippines had to do other things related to ‘more important things in life’ as opposed to foreigners who work eight to five and then be free to do anything after that. So, what is the problem?
I could only point to one of the gravest reasons why Filipinos would not want to invest time in their study of their own arts, or arts in general, let alone their own martial art. The accused is poverty.
The Philippines is one of the poorest countries in the whole world. Most of the youth of today face a myriad of economic problems ranging from their tuition fees to the food they have to eat. Those who are living below the poverty line could not afford to lose time and instead of investing time for other things, they would rather find to ways to fill their stomachs and survive. This leaves no room for interests let alone pursuing the love of learning. Of course, there are exceptional people who would say that poverty is not a hindrance if you want to learn, but think about this, you have read the previous reasons above that detail why the youth and the Filipino people in general have only a little to no interest or memory on FMA, what makes you think these exceptional people would give their time to FMA then?
So, here comes the mastermind – corruption. The late Great Senator, Iron Lady Miriam Defensor-Santiago famously rhetorically asked his fellow senators in a ballistic manner, ‘if we all are clean, then why is the Philippines most often ranked as the most corrupt country in the whole world?’ that, was my eureka.
Think about it, promoting a single art form does not require a very very huge amount of taxpayers’ money. And also notice that all the previously mentioned reasons above tie up with this if not describing this (colonial mentality, crab mentality) it is a result of it (lack of academic funding) but most of all, it causes poverty – a great de-motivator in the learning of FMA.
Corruption in the Government has been rampant in the Philippines since the dawn of the Spanish era. It drained a lot of hopes, divided forces and burned noble causes. Reflecting on the most devastating thing that would cause FMA to lose its youth, I really see it as the bottom-line in this. Even if FMA gets destroyed by the criticism of its techniques, FMA can bounce back if there is ample support from the government. Look at China with its overwhelming government support for its kung fu despite the martial art slowly losing appeal with modern audience and its own critical citizens. They still have it and is still creating a broader impact.
This is the sad reality that the Filipino Martial Arts Teachers should face in time. In line with our identity is the hope of the youth that there is a brighter tomorrow which can give them the freedoms to pursue their passion for I believe that there is a large crowd of young ones out there who are interested but who could not practice because they have to attend to their own needs. There are also teachers who are willing to sacrifice and to teach but could not make both ends meet for them and their families therefore making them do hard decisions to sacrifice one for the other – a trade off of interest over need.
If this problem could be addressed, and if funding could be taken back from unworthy hands, then a just amount of funding could be channeled into the propagation of FMA and of making it sustainable for generations to come: Masters could be recognized and Institutions could be built for them instead of them individually bracing the odds, funding in research and extension could be mandated so that the focus could be in FMA and the promotion of historically and culturally as well as aesthetically pleasing movies or cultural products, the problem of dividedness could be leveled because those in power have been justly stripped off of there unexplained wealth and therefore competing groups could have fair contests and most of all, colonial mentality could be hopefully be lessened since the youth have now been shown a bright future where the stars are their very own Filipinos.
Note:
These reflections may hopefully serve as a reminder that the crises that the FMA Community is facing can be investigated, reflected and discussed. This does not serve as a thorough scientific paper but is only akin to an elaborate educated guess. And if we think about it, the problems run deep and encompassing almost every aspect of the constructed world, so we should look upon at its every part. It also gives us hope that the future is not that dim because we have been directed and the only thing to do is act. May this article shed some light on the complex problems that relate to Filipino identity and FMA and may this show us something about ourselves.
© K.A.L.Cinco
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