Martial Arts today, especially the oriental and traditional martial arts, act with an essential philosophy in mind. Many of these styles and systems have philosophies which not only discuss the combative philosophies of their art but also get insight from the culture that created them. That is why we can hear Bruce Lee saying some profound quotes which refer to his Jeet Kune Do (the ‘be like water my friend’ quote) as a way of fighting and then later on discover that the quote he’s talking about really come from Taoist philosophies of life and the universe. It is this interplay of culture, metacognition, physical practice and sometimes religiosity that lends these Martial Arts their depth.
It helps me wondering, do Filipino Martial Arts have some similar kind of depth in its philosophy?
Aside from the ‘dancing with the flow’ kind of thinking (which has an eerie similarity to Tai Chi Chuan and Taoist philosophy), another thing that would emerge from interviews with very old FMA masters is the ‘strike first’ mentality. Though this mentality is more of a battlefield tactic, I would like to think that it is also a way of life philosophy.
If we talk about FMA in practice, there is one thing that is evident, the flowing – almost dancing like fluidity of techniques. This has been discussed in the earlier articles. It shows that Filipinos have an adaptable but resilient quality, and therefore is manifest in our Martial Arts. However, this kind of description could mean and be misconstrued that in combat tactics, FMA would only ‘receive’ and ‘adapt’ rather than ‘take action’ or ‘advance’. For me, this would be a limited view of FMA’s philosophy.
I ventured discussing the ‘striking first’ mentality because in many FMA videos featuring Grand Masters, (talking about Tatang Ilustrisimo-my idol) this keeps on emerging. So I tried to think about it, what is it with striking first and FMA? Does it mean that Filipinos really are violent? Or is there more to it? An interview with an old Isshin Ryu Grandmaster who happen to be taught a very traditional form of FMA when he was a kid, revealed a ‘kill or be killed’ mentality that was passed down to him by his father. It was scary to think that he, as a boy, was given a knife which can easily be concealed and be told that he should use it when bullies harm him again. The look on the face of that master when he was talking about that chapter of his life, showed that his morals did not want him to go down that path. It was understandable since he had found his life’s philosophy which have heavily drawn from Buddhist and Confucian pacifist thinking embedded in his Karate practice.
So, is this ‘striking first’ mentality really a kill-or-be-killed kind of mentality which offers no room for reflection and only exhibit a vengeful kind of moral? I think this is a limited kind of thinking.
However, let me get this straight; as a person and practitioner of the arts, I do not support this kind of thinking IF it was only limited to this notion as it is. But, if we think about it, this ‘striking first’ mentality can be a valid philosophy of life. Let’s take first this philosophy and the idea of violence.
In a self-defense situation, when one is faced with multiple attackers, our decisions could be put to the test. Many oriental martial arts, if put in a self-defense situation, would actually wait first and struggle to look for opportunity. This is evident in misconstrued philosophies such as that of Karate where a master (I forgot the name) supposedly said and I quote ‘there is no first strike in Karate’. So, traditional masters of these styles most of the time ‘wait’ for their opponents to attack and then respond only when the attack is launched. A lot of time is allotted in practicing for that ‘sixth sense’ ability to be developed. You will see in most mainstream Karate styles that in their ‘self-defense techniques’ they would be in the defensive situation and work their way out. I do not really despise this kind of thinking. If it works for them, then it works for them. However, we have to look at a lot of real life situation where this defensive maneuvers have a lot of holes to fill up, and is very dangerous if not applied correctly.
One thing for me is important – TIME and TIMING. As I said, a lot of these styles practice their skills for a very long time. And I think this is because of the culture embedded on it. What do I mean by culture? Number 1 (this I would not discuss thoroughly) these styles have their own guardians and sometimes would refuse to pressure test in order to preserve tradition but I think it is more to preserve the status quo, and Number 2 the culture embedded in their practice is the culture of pacifism – Buddhist philosophies which respect life – for which I am not really opposed to. However, we should understand that in the experience of FMA, the Buddhist thinking and Buddhist society was not the primary movers in the way of life of the Filipinos.
As a country of many nations and a country which has been colonized by many nations, the Philippines did not have the luxury of sitting about and meditating, reflecting about life, recording as with their Eastern Asian counterparts. The Philippine Archipelago has been in constant turmoil, so constant that we do not have time to prepare. That is why we act and react immediately. The many fighters which the country has produced in the ancient times did not have the time to think about their style, because battles were always waged and they have to use what little they know to react, and eventually build from that.
This then, I think, why many FMA masters would say ‘if there is a slightest opportunity, you should strike first’. Why? Because these masters were probably thinking about their family and that a one-on-one stalemate-battle would cost them precious time to return to their loved ones and be able to defend them. And I would also like to think that this striking first does not only mean ‘hitting the opponent first’ but rather, this talks about a holistic idea of self-defense and that includes self-defense even before a self-defense situation – a greater awareness of your environment and yourself – which would push you to think ahead about your protection in your daily life which would mean in practice that you apply preventive measures so that you will not get into a nasty self-defense situation where you only have a fifty-fifty chance of survival. For me, avoiding the dark alleys where potential attackers may lurk or creating distance from yourself and potentially lethal people and groups would mean striking first – it is a way of getting a step ahead of your opponent.
Even if we think that it is terrible that FMA Masters would think in the striking first mentality, we should also remember that they are Filipinos. And Filipinos, and this is somewhat an undeniable truth, would defend you the death if he is your friend. In the words of Doug Marcaida, “because we are a caring people”, that is why those who doesn’t care and would step on our loved ones could sure expect the favor to return.
But this is not revenge, for revenge is not a striking first mentality already. We have to note that ‘striking first’ is not just ‘hitting’ as I have told above. The ‘striking first’ could mean the opponent has laid down his weapons and his view of killing, because he has been struck by the blade of camaraderie, mercy and friendship. Filipinos are friendly and caring. Most of the time, we could not bear the pain when we see some of our friends or even our most hated neighbors suffering, however sharp our curses maybe to them, we will still hand over something in order to help them. And that is also true of the Masters. This is one thing, some popular Martial Arts who only strive for the glory of their egos will not understand. Why do I say so? Because you will not hear a lot of old legit FMA Masters boasting about their wins. They would only be silent and let their moves speak. Friendship and keeping peace are more important to them. And this is also a way of striking first.
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