The Lost Lineage of Filipino Martial Arts 

The downside of being friendly ☹️ Filipinos are so trusting, it’s been exploited again and again.

Sikaran is a Filipino Martial Arts still practiced to this day. I am even teaching them in our channel. It originated in Baras, Rizal in the Philippines which started of as a typical game or sport of the farmers even before the Spaniards came. And now being recognized globally. Our aim is to propagate Sikaran all over the world. It has its own distinctive fighting technique and art.

"They kill the knowledge" And now, sadly, us Filipinos are slowly forgetting who we truly are

Oh my ... That is more than just martial artists gone. That's generations of knowledge and experience passed down from master to disciple, the constant struggle to achieve the pinnacle, everything from the progenitors of the styles... just gone. Literally an erasing of an entire timeline of history.

This is why as an Indian, I love Philippines and the people so much

The knowledge that must have been lost. Family styles, styles with only one carrying master. Unbelievable. Myself being a Filipino veteran and a follower of your channel for a long time GN. I would love to see more on this. Specially with Dan Inosanto and Diana I could literally listen to them talk about how ice melted in the Philippines. GJ

"They kill the knowledge" hit me so much, it really makes me sad:( because as we can see right now there's a lot of changes we as a Filipino.

Japanese merchants were already in the Philippines in the 17 and 18th century already integrate as businessmen and had families with them and the children acquired the knowledge of martial arts and brought it to Japan and managed to showcase and improved. Also, when the Emperor of China invited the King of Sulu, he was so impressed how skillful the natives were in handling weapons and their capabilities of sharp targets.

This makes me so unbelievably sad knowing this. In terms of war, the Japanese knew how to hit us the hardest, and that was taking away our ability to fight.

i would really like to see something longer on this

And still Japan says SHOTOKAN-KARATE originated from Okinawa. When in fact we originally call it SUNTUKAN, from "suntok" meaning punch or mostly used in reference to a closed fist or hand combat or empty hands leading to "HUBAD" or bare/naked, which is initially the form of training knife and sticks (arnis) but without knife and sticks. They STOLE the idea and OWN it for them.

OHHH GOD, NEVER KNEW THAT HAPPENED. ITS SO SAD THAT OUR FILIPINO MARTIAL ARTIST PERISHED FOR BEING TOO FRIENDLY.

Same in Indonesia, especially in Mandor, west Kalimantan. More than 21.000 peoples were slaughter; many of them are intelectuals and martial arts masters.

Thanks inosanto family ....

Filipinos are a lovely kind people.... the angels are watching....

Thank you for Sharing this Lost Treasure of Knowledge about the Ancient Filipino Warriors!!!

Awesome and yes!!! Diana you make Danny so very proud! Thank you and thank you to your family!

I just learned something new today, this hit me hard.. I was born back home but grew up here in the U.S., for me to just find out now that means no one's talking about it. We're forgetting our past/history.. My Grandfather "Lolo" taught me Kali when I was younger before i came to America. I can't help but wonder how much knowledge we've lost, how much it probably changed, is it the same Art, style, and technique as our Ancestors knew n' practiced?

The history and knowledge will never die it’s in our DNA Filipino Martial Arts will live on.

Thank you for sharing this story Diana-Guro Dan and your family have so much knowledge and otherwise hidden historical events that is Filipinos have experienced. It’s is truly amazing on how Well read he is in on Filippino culture.

They did similar things in Korea too and destroyed their traditional martial arts as well.

First time i heard this. It was troubling.

Heartbreaking to think of the knowledge and culture that was lost on that one ship.

Wow what a tragic story. Thanks for sharing part of my cultural history.

That's amazing story. ...I never know that before & very sad. When is the full video coming out?

This revelation is new for me. Thank you sharing. I hope Guro Dan Inosanto and family would visit the Philippines and all the FMA dojos in Manila, Bagiuo, Cebu, Panay and Mindanao.

The land of the Samurai is now the land of Anime and porn TV.

Imagine how much was lost during spanish invasion

the knowledge and wisdom of the traditional Filipino martial arts is unique and is embedded to every Filipinos' DNA...

Heart cries out for justice

Somewhere out there I know that someone is mastering the art of Kali and I know its still on top

🙏Maraming pong salamat sa bidiyo na ito. 🇵🇭

Magistrate! Much respect for your representation and skill!

this days philippines military train Filipino martial arts called Kali, Kali is not used in sports because it's too lethal and there are some martial artist in the world teach Kali for self defense

Thank you for keeping this truth alive.

so sad.. in my bloodline seeking for a missing history

Thank you for this history lesson. It's sad that Japan took away our Kali Martial Arts, made it their own and renamed it Karate.

The another reason why they destroyed them is because Filipino marital arts are one of the deadliest martial arts

This is to remind us how cruel the Japanese was but most Filipinos forgotten this

Can I ask something where did they get those info? Can you provide us an specific book or any reference not coming from any modern day FMA practitioner. I mean when I say modern, people practicing fma at the present including from those masters and grandmasters that are still alive and those recently pass away. It would be more interesting if it is coming from a foreign historian.

The daughter of great grand master of filipino martial arts who taught Bruce Lee how to use arnis.

We would love to see and learn more about this. I hope there's a documentary film about this.

Thank you for sharing our history and our culture. MABUHAY ANG ATING MGA KABABAYANG SUMASARIWA SA ATING KASAYSAYAN \m/

I never heard of this since I took up hoplology in my college days. Was this just a hearsay? Word of mouth? How reliable is this story? I need citations.

this is the reason why you will see Filipino martial arts movements or techniques in karate. Karate actually originated from Filipino martial arts.

We should practice and love FMA and it will live forever... All thanks to our ancient grandmasters❤

So I checked this story out with my teachers, as many were upset that someone would come up with this tall tale to begin with. At first someone said that the Inosanto's could have gotten their story mixed up with the time Tokyo canceled their Olympic martial arts event when they found out that some of the Philippinos who were going to compete were once assassinators of the Japanese during the war. However, there is no public record of this. It's something that was rumored in the Philipines. And the event was merely canceled. No one was killed. Either way, the story makes no sense. If all the great master's died, who taught the Inosanto's their art? Did they make up this story to make it look as if they are the only true masters? That would be a pretty low marketing ploy, especially since they make the great Philipino fighters out to be hapless victims. So great masters such as Angel Cabales and Tatang Illustrisimo who were undefeated or feared vigilantes and lived on to teach well into their 90s count for nothing? Daniel Inosanto asked to train with these men, though they never ordained him a master under their system, like they did my teacher. Not that anything is wrong with this. I understand that some people prefer to practice with many teachers and create their own method rather than master one style, but don't make yourself out to be the ONLY master and disrespect those who gave you that knowledge. My father know's arnise and used to fight in tournaments to the death. He was a frightening man. If the art died with the Japanese, who taught him? Here are some other points made by my teachers and myself: 1.) Eskrima was underground and not taught or shown to the public until the 1960s!! Everyone kept it so secret their kids didn't even know about it sometimes! The whole teaching to the public and having open competitions didn't pop-up until Bruce Lee came around and made martial arts cool. So how was anyone going to "observe" this martial art, let alone convince someone to show it? If you were "shown it", most likely you were on the receiving end of it, and therefore dead. Before Bruce Lee, few martial artists taught to nationalities other than their own. Bigotry was still rife and why would someone teach it to their enemy? 2.) There are as many styles as there are islands in the Philippines... Danny wrote a book about a few big names (and a few fakes) all of which were still alive in the mid to late 90's... The Verdugos (Illustrisimo, Dizon, Villabrea, and several other badasses) were famous for fighting the Japanese and still alive in the 90's. The South, where a lot of the legendary badasses learned their arts, boast to this day that they have never been conquered by a foreign invader... So what "Masters" were wiped out? 3.) Everyone is extremely bitter about what the Japanese did during the war... There are books, movies, and oral stories passed down by the old folks, detailing every atrocity that the Japanese committed. So why is this event never mentioned? You can look up the death marches, and the babies being thrown onto bayonets, but nothing about martial artists being killed on a boat.

Then it's time to bring this back. Teach the new generation. Incorporate this in P.E curriculum. Never too late.

This is so so sad. If only we could turn back time and be able to reserve our culture, our heritage our identity.

It's not lost..the art has been passed on to the Japanese Masters..What they can do is give it back to the Filipinos where they originally belong to pay back what their ancestors took from the Philippines..This is a sad story indeed but because of the generosity the Filipinos have many benefited from it. This lost knowledge that we Filipinos have should be given back and teach the younger generations the essence of culture and heritage.

Wow. Good to know. Thank you very much Ms. Inosanto. Yes, Filipinos are very trusting. Back in the day, the Japanese were very calculating and treacherous. They saw life as a zero sum game, i.e., they win and everyone else must lose. Thank God that their military was defeated along with that kind of thinking. The defanging of the Japanese military is the best thing that could have happened to Japan because now they are an industrial behemoth due to the redirecting of their martial instincts to much more peaceful pursuits. I hope that their martial instincts never get resurrected ever again because that would be a huge problem for the rest of the world. Japan is now a shining example to the rest of the world of civility and order. God bless them and God bless the Filipino people.

Wow.. Yes, I would like to see a full documentary on this.

Strong countries really don't want our country become strong country because Filipinos are different in a battlefield and if Marcos didn't take down by strong countries I think no one can bully us anymore

They probably took the information to make their own martial arts and call it Karate

There is an old saying that: "No matter how much they destroy knowledge there will always be a man that will learn it by heart not by the ways that someone taught them but he taught to himself by trial and error and through the experiences of one's life"

Filipino, Dayak & Malay are close brother.. Not forgetting other indigenous people of SEA..

0:20 right here, I knew exactly where this story was going. So tragic.

Had no idea. Very happy my grandfather showed me old ways.

this isn’t true, it’s a story. This is not recorded anywhere in Philippine history. Dan Inosanto, God bless him, he is trying to promote arnis/eskrima/kali to a worldwide audience and instill Filipino pride but as a natural born Filipino and having grown up there I can tell you this is simply a story and not real history of Filipino Martial Arts. Mahilig lang talaga mag kwento lol

This is amazing, but sad. The people who destroyed the ship, did they know the martial artists were on it? :(

Fakta sebenarnya, katanya, bahwa para pejuang philipines sebelumnya adalah kesatria dan pejuang-pejuang muslim dari penjajahan spanyol hingga Portugis ? Mereka petarung eskrima dan kali yang mumpuni di zamannya

Past is past.. damage has been done.. I as a Filipino.. don't hold grudges on Japanese people..we've been exploited, used and abused but then again we still forgive those atrocities..

Hope the students they left behind can transmit the art

À new light on history.....for me.

These are our O.G.'s ; youngsta's better recognise! .•°○●Respect●○•‧.

Yes that's very true but some of the province they have knowledge of martial arts specielly hunting close combat techniques in northern part of luzon in mountainous part has thier blade martial Arts they we're known hunting head but they were civilize today but the old culture remains in them.We the blood of warrior our great great grand father teaches us to be a humble warrior a peace maker we have different tribes in philippines but in the past they respect each other.

Seriously, the cultural mind-set of pre and wartime Japan was supreamacist, and is only exceeded by an IS level Jihadi. Moral reletavism is not just a crock, it's evil.

The b&w picture of the three warrior tribesman are Indonesian not Filipino... they’re Nias warriors.

Thankyou from Alaska History Repeats

They might killed those Filipino martial art masters but being a Filipino the blood of being warriors is always there and it will come out when it need it

Diana Lee was great as the Magistrate in The Mandalorian.. That beskar spear.. FMA needs to have more exposure in popular video streaming like Netflix.. Malungkot na kabanata ang nangyari sa atin sa kamay ng mga Hapon noon.

our master kali. killed in the sea,i salute our ancestors who are brave and defend our countrty Philippines. 😍😍😍😍🙏🙏🙏🙏

If Arnis/kali/eskrima was preserved thru generations, I wonder what type of martial art was lost during that time? I feel sorry the knowledge of those martial artist were not preserved.

Guess what Filipinos are back stronger and with more knowledge than what was lost. With a very solid base, it allows forever evolving styles depending on the opponents.

SAD :( Crying :( :(

My life has gotten destroyed several times because I tried to help someone.......never again , most people just don't have a sense of personal honor even those who you would think should, now I simply don't have friends not for at least six years now and that's how it has to be ,you just can't really trust anyone anymore

I would like see a full documentary on this..

Greetings from Venezuela, I have to be honest. I discovered Kali/Eskrima recently and I think some ideas from the Spanish Fencing are within the style, like the influence of the traditional style of the country. I have a list of every country I want to visit in Asia, The Philippines is one of the top. And I know how merciless was the Japanese Army during the late 19 century and the 20 century, but it's time to move on. Well some people in Latin America still cry from what happens during 1492 but forget about everything about the cup of Hugo Chávez to name something more close to our date

Karipas Takbó ang aming iwas sanggalang ( in B Lees’ words ,’fight without fighting’)

I heard that it heppened in indonesia as well, many old masters have been murdered. The fact to destry the culture is damn true. Especially burning books, old biblios, etc.. i know something ever in my land

See filifinos are great in everything they do whether be it in marts arts or talent from famous boxers to talented singers and dancers they have great personalities too... they we're the most friendly people but don't mess with them. They won't back down when pushed.

its in my bucket list as a fil am to live in the pines for some years and learn the native warrior arts , i have already practice modern arnis, but i want to learn how our ancesters fought with spear and sheild.

Ima try my best to find atleast any knowledge of the art. Even if it means going to japan.

If possible on my country to bring back Martial arts and add it to our school as a subject ..

1400's -1540's We are Ninja.. Filipino are Ninja before

That explains why Eskrima has so much similarity with Karate

Sources anywhere?

Could we get more historical references to this (Documents/évidences)? Do you have the name of the ship? The name of the teachers? The year of this “cultural” event ?It’s quite difficult to believe in the context of WWII in the Philippines when almost all country was in resistance...Japanese army was more interested by petrol, food, raw materials for industrial arm production than knowledge to fight with hands...

we want more pls.

Let's share this history in other country to know that kali martial arts is to philippines not to them... We lost our culture because of being friendly so sad

Kali a martial arts originated in Bisaya, kali was not lost in Bisaya but they lkeep it secret.

May great grand father ones a great bolo fighters member but history denied and bieng forgotten..bolo fighting is the native way of selfdefense in my homeland SAMAR .northern samar ,sad to say,marami ang hindi cla kinilala!

The winner is the king while the loser is vilified...What sad me the most is many of us does'nt share the same sentiments towards the invader and colonialist.We've been glorifying the fact that we lost our roots of knowledge and history,and everything we know about the Phillipines is been lies that invader taught us.I dont know what to say anymore Filipinos lives slaves forever until someone or somebody saves us.

Do you have another long story ABOUT this ?

Good day to you.... Ma'am/Sir, I wouLd Like to share some videos with you... I hope you Like it...

Lesson learned.

Also imagine what the Spaniards erased in our history for being here for 300+ years. May be not only martial arts, but our whole cultural identity. "Philippines" should not be the name of the country in the first place.

well, Arnis, Kali, eskrima, sundangan, Kampilan, Panantukan, Sikaran are still Present

FMA practitioners who know the spear and shield are rare. I've only seen practice of spear from the Mountain Provinces.

. . .empathy is a ship’s rudder 🀄️