Informative Issue No. 75 2013

2013 Stick Fighting/Open Weapons Division Competition Grand Championship Kali Stickfighting Rules

Each issue features practitioners of martial arts and other internal arts, other features include historical, theo-retical and technical articles; reflections, Filipino martial arts, healing arts, the culture of the Philippines and other related subjects. The authors, publisher and owner of this online magazine are not responsible for any injury, which may result from the instructions contained in this online magazine. Before embarking on any of the physical activates described in the magazine, the reader should consult his or her physician for advice regarding their individual suitability for per-forming such activity. The ideas and opinions expressed in the FMA Informative online magazine are those of the authors or instruc-tors being interviewed and are not necessarily the views of the publisher, editor or owner of the FMA Informative. The articles are the property of the author’s that wrote them and cannot be used without the permission of the author. The FMA Informative is for the promulgation and promotion of the Filipino martial arts and the Culture of the Philippines. NO issue can be printed and Sold for Monies, without the express permission of the Owner and Publisher of the FMA Informative.

Rules Drafted By: Grandmaster Narrie Babao

(619) 980-6144 narrie_b@hotmail.com

Fifteen years ago Master Thomas Georgion had a dream. That dream grew out of twenty years of judging martial arts tournaments. His dream was based on the concept of competition with fairness of judg-ing. Not all judges are qualified to judge all styles of competition and it is not fair to the judges or the com-petitiors to ask them to. Master Georgion grew up in San Diego and understands what a great town it is to live in and espe-cially to visit: The Zoo, Wild Animal Park, Sea World and more... with water sports, the mountains, snow sports in the winter and all the other endless recreational events that can be done. The tournament grew of the desire for top and fair competition to all and the respect shown to the judges that are needed. With the idea on the greatness of the San Diego area and the competition, this year was designed with a one day tournament that not only showcased the competition but gave each competitior the chance to enjoy the Sna Diego area. Over the years the new people that Master Georgion met and the old friends that he gets to see each year have more than made the efforts worth while in trying to give all the best arena to compete and enjoy the time with memories. Respectfully Master Thomas Georgion

The FMA Informative wants to thank Zena Sultana Babao for sharing the experience of the San Diego Grand Internationals Martial Arts Competition - Filipino Martial Arts DivisionGrandmaster Narrie BabaoA little about Narrie Babao the practitioner in charge of the Stick Fighting/Open Weapons Division of the San Diego Grand Internationals Martial Arts Competition Narrie Babao had about a dozen of students at the Naval Training Center gym in the mid-seventies. The cur-riculum then consisted of Arnis and the barehanded Kuntao. Joining the now defunct San Diego County Martial Arts Alliance, Narrie Babao told the president that his style was a mixture of Arnis and Kuntao, the president who was a Lima Lama Black Belt instructor queried, “What kind of animal is that?” The members of the Alliance finally saw their first glimpse of the Filipino martial arts when Narrie Babao started competing in tournaments. Stickfighting contest was still unheard of at that time, so Narrie Babao had to contend in joining the Weapons Forms events. Most of the time, Narrie Babao and Ted Tabura, the Kama king, would vie for the championship trophy. In the history of Ed Parker’s Annual Long Beach Internationals Tournament, Narrie Babao was the first practitio-ner to demonstrate the use of the balisong knife in the weapons form competition. In July 1978, Narrie Babao became the first Weapons Sparring Champion at a tournament sponsored by Kyukushinkai instructor Ben Singleton of Vista, California. This type of competition was the first of its kind in the American martial arts scene. The head referee was Solomon Kahewalu of the Hawaiian Lua system. Narrie Babao defeated other fighters who used esoteric weapons like the Nunchakus, Bo, and Shinai.Narrie Babao is a 10th grade Grandmaster in the Cacoy Doce Pares Eskrido Eskrima World Federation. He is the husband of FMA Informative contributing writer Zena Sultana Babao.Zena Sultana Babao has a hard-hitting no-nonsense to the point brand of journalism. Currently, she writes the weekly column “Light & Shadows” for the Asian Journal, an award-winning newspaper in San Diego (www.asianjournalusa.com); writes feature articles for the Elvis International Magazine (www.ElvisTheMagazine.com), an internationally-acclaimed magazine officially licensed by the Elvis Presley Enterprises; as well as two other international magazines: the Lady Luck Music (www.ladyluckmusic.com), in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and the ETA Zone (www.etazone.com) here in the USA.

2013 Stick Fighting/Open Weapons Division of the San Diego Grand Internationals Martial Arts Competition

For the second year in a row, Ross Makoske captured the title of Weapons Fighting Grand Champion in the San Diego Grand Internationals (SGLI) Martial Arts Competition held at the San Diego Concourse Golden Hall Saturday, April 27, 2013. Makoske is a stu-dent of the Babao Arnis System. In this year’s SGLI tour-

nament, promoted by Master Thomas Georgian, there were nine martial arts systems compet-ing against each other during the whole day event: Wushu, Taiji, San Sao, Kung-Fu, Kenpo, Hawai-ian/Polynesian, Knife Fighting, FMA Stick Fighting, and Open Weapons Fighting. The Filipino martial

arts Fighting was coordinated by Grandmaster Narrie Babao and Master Narrison Babao. The Filipino martial arts Fighting had seven divisions: Novice Forms, Advanced Forms, Weapons Fight-ing, Single Stick Novice, Single Stick Light Heavyweight, Single Stick Heavyweight, and the Long Weapons Advanced Division.

Group photo before the start of the Filipino Martial Arts Division.

The Filipino Martial Arts Fighting Division started with the Novice Forms with the following result: 1st place - Allen Dela Rosa; 2nd - Deborah Clem; 3rd - David Headley; and 4th - 9-year old Kai Whennen, the youngest competitor in this division. In the Advanced Forms, Robert Herndon used two machetes to win first place, while Rick Rober-shaw, who used espada y daga, was the runner-up. The Weapons Fighting divi-sion had two main categories, the Short and the Long Weapons. Any hand-held weapon shorter than 30 inches falls under the Short Weapon. Anything longer than 30 inches is classified as a Long Weapon. Anybody using two weapons competes in the Long Weapons Division. An administrative error occurred in the Single Stick Novice Division which was overlooked until the event was over. Daniel Murray, who registered to fight in the Advanced Division was listed under Novice. He easily won the Novice Division. Murray, who is a United States Navy Chief from Guam temporarily in San Diego to attend

the Navy’s Shipboard Security and Combative Training, is a student of Guro Tim Kashino and is under Grandmaster Vic Sanchez of Manila, Philippines. Results of the Novice Division: 1st - Daniel Murray; 2nd - Allen Dela Rosa; 3rd - David Martin; and 4th - David Headley. Unlike in 2012, there were no women fighters in the Weapons Fighting Division. The Single Stick Light Heavyweight Division was won by Erik Buenaflor, a deputy sheriff who flew in from San Antonio, Texas. A student of Grandmaster Bert Labitan, Buenaflor announced this was his last Filipino martial arts tournament. He said he had been competing for 18 years. Now 55 years old, he said he had just completed the Sheriff’s SWAT Academy in San

Antonio. The runner-up in the Light Heavyweight Division was Rick Robershaw. It was interesting to watch this fight for the title: Buenaflor representing the San Diego Sheriffs with Robershaw representing the San Diego Harbor Police. Third place went to Marcus Hawkins, and fourth was Darrell Yamane. In the Heavyweight Single Stick Division, Don Dizon easily defeated his schoolmate Ross Ma-koske. Chris Montano also domi-nated his opponent Ryan Quisumb-ing. Dizon then defeated Montano for the gold. Dizon recently retired as a Commander in the United States Navy. His final duty sta-tion was in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, where he met a lot of Filipino-Hawaiian Eskrimadors. Ross Makoske won third place in the Heavyweight Division, while Ryan Quisumbing, who was then nursing a broken hand, was fourth. The much-anticipated Advanced Long Weapons Divi-sion had six competitors. Paired by twos, the winners who emerged in the first set of bouts were Erik Buenaflor, Darrell Yamane, and Ross Makoske. Makoske, who used a bangkaw, dropped his op-ponent Marcus who used a pair of tonfas, with a side kick to the solar plexus. Out of breath, Marcus laid on the floor for a while before he was finally able to stand on his feet. Makoske then went toe to toe against Buenaflor for the first place trophy. Buenaflor asked for timeout, complaining that Mako-ske’s rattan bangkaw was so thick it was denting his helmet. Mako-ske was then given a thinner but longer rattan staff, while Buenaflor

Competition

Winners of the men’s novice fighting division (L-R) Dan Murray (winner), Allen Dela Rosa (runner-up), David Martin (3rd place),

and David Headley (4th place)

The stick fighting started with the novice division. Joe Abueg was center referee

Novice forms contestants (L-R) David Martin, Kai Whennen (4th place), David Headley (3rd place), Deborah Clem

(Runner-up), and Allen Dela Rosa (Winner)

Nine year old Kai Whennen was the youngest entry in the competition

Allen Dela Rosa performing his Bangkaw Sayaw

The judges of the Eskrima forms (L-R): Dave Modzak, Erik Buenaflor, Joe Abueg Romeo Delos Reyes and Eric Punsalan

used his own thick sinawali sticks. Buenaflor was outscored by Ma-koske for the title of Long Weap-ons Champion. Darrell Yamane won third place when the now-weakened Hawkins forfeited the bout.

Grandmaster Narrie Babao was the referee for the open weapons fighting. The main floor of the humongous “Golden Hall” was for the contestants and various officials. All spectators were seated at, the balcony level.

Don Dizon being checked by EMT for the sustained cut on his scalp. Dizon is

holding his fencing mask with the “hello kitty” design at the front

On the left is Ross Makoske with a Bangkaw against Marcus Hawkins, who used two tonfas

The Heavyweight Division winners (L-R) Don Dizon (winner), Chris Montano (runner-up), Ross Makoske (3rd place) and Ryan Quisumbing (4th place)

Grand Championship

Only three Division win-ners remained to fight for the Grand Championship plaque: Ross Makoske - Long Weapons Cham-pion; Don Dizon - Single Stick Heavyweight Champion; and Erik Buenaflor - Single Stick Light Heavyweight Champion. Novice Division Champion Dan Murray had to leave early to stand duty at the Naval Base. Makoske, Dizon, and Buenaflor drew lots as to who would be the “bye”. Makoske won the draw, so Dizon and Buenaflor fought first. Buenaflor won the

bout, but he was so burned-out that he withdrew, leaving Dizon and Makoske to fight for the Grand Championship. The final bout was delayed. Blood was observed seeping out from the top of Dizon’s head. He sustained the injury from an earlier bout with Buenaflor. Dizon was the only competitor who used a fencer’s mask instead of the stan-dard Filipino martial arts helmet. The tournament’s first-aid person, who happened to be a State-qual-ified EMT, was summoned to the ring.

After he was tended on, Dizon decided to fight despite the cut on his scalp. Makoske, who took advantage of his staff’s extra length against Dizon’s sinawali sticks, won the match. Later during the night, Dizon realized that his scalp continued to bleed. He then went to the Bal-boa Naval Hospital and

received four staples to completely shut his wound. In addition to the Grand Championship plaque awarded to Ross Makoske as the 2013 SGLI Champion, Master Narrison Babao of Babao Arnis, also presented him a Kris sword.

Marcus Hawkins laid on the floor after receiving a side kick from Makoske

Grandmaster Narrie Babao and co-owner Zena Sultana Babao with the Babao Arnis fighting team

San Diego’s finest was represented by the ‘”Intrepid Arnisadors (L-R) Deborah Clem, Rick Robershaw, Guro Romeo Delos Reyes (SDPD Sergeant), David Headley and David Martin

The Babao Arnis fighting team was composed of Don Dizon (Heavyweight Champion), Ross Makoske (Grand Champion), Chris Montano (Heavyweight Runner-up),

and Darrell Yamane (long weapons third place and fourth. In the Light Heavyweight Division)

A parting group shot at the conclusion of the stick fighting and weapons fighting

Stick Fighting / Weapons Fighting RulesI The Ring: measures approximately 20’ x 20’.II The Ring Officials: the referee and two (2) or four (4) judges, timer, and the scorer.III To Win:

(a) Twelve (12) points, or the highest accumulation of points within five (5) minutes. (b) When a fighter shows sign of surrender. To signify surrender, the fighter will drop the weapon(s) to the floor, and hold both open hands overhead. The referee will immediately declare the other fighter as the win-ner.

IV Weapons Allowed:(a) No metallic, nor metal tipped weapon(s) allowed. (b) Wooden weapon(s) must be light in weight, and preferably flexible. (c) Personal weapon(s) must be approved by the officials.

1 - Single Stick (overall length not to exceed 30”) - Nunchaku - Tonfa - Eskrima Stick - Short, Knife length Stick(s) 2 - Long Weapons (singular or double weapons longer than 30” in length) - Jo Stick - Nunchakus - Latigo - Eskrima Sticks - Shinai -Bo (staff) - TonfasV Time Limit:(a) Five (5) continuous minutes per match.

(b) The match can only be stopped by the referee, by calling “time out”, or blowing the whistle. The referee makes sure that the timer visually acknowledges the time out command. (c) To continue the match, the referee will then command “continue”, or blow the whistle, and the running time will continue. (d) A referee’s command to “break”, or blowing of the whistle while the fighters are engaged, does not stop the time. It merely means that the fighters will stop action, and disengage. (e) In the event a fighter will ask the referee for “time out” to fix the helmet or any protective gear, that fighter will raise the weapon hand, with the non-weapon hand clasping over it on top of his/her head.

VI Scoring the Points:(a) The fighters will be separated, when the referee sees a point was scored. The referee will ask for a simul-taneous verification by the judges. (b) To verify a point, the judges will raise either the white or red stick. (c) None of the judges will initiate a point call. (d) In the event of a tie in the judges’ decision, the referee may break the tie. (e) When the referee see two undefended hits, a secondary point call will be initiated by following the above procedure. (f) In the event of a secondary point call, the referee will combine the points, and will clearly announce it to the scorer. (g) For one point, the scorer will write “1”. For two points, the scorer will write “2”. For a half point, the scorer will write a small “½”. (h) In order to score a kick to the trunk, the kicking foot should make a momentary indentation on the body armor.

VII Legal Targets & Point(s) –(a) Wooden Weapon:

1. Head – front, top and sides - 2 points 2. Trunk-front and sides - 1 point 3. Weapon hand - ½ point • A weapon hit to the non-weapon hand has no merit. • A weapon hit to the kicking leg has no merit. (b) Fist: 1. Head – front, top and sides - 1 point 2. Trunk –front and sides - 1 point • A palm heel strike will be classified as a push, and has no merit. (c) Foot: 1. Front and sides of head, trunk, and groin - 2 points

VIII Illegal Targets:a. Back of the head b. Back of the trunk c. Groin (if hit with a weapon or fist)

IX Illegal Techniques:a. Weapon thrust to the face. b. Finger thrust to the face. c. Butt strike to the head. d. Any elbow break technique. e. Any grappling or wrestling holds. f. Any throws or takedowns. g. Grabbing the middle, or tip, of opponent’s weapon, that may represent a blade.

X Disarming:a. The match continues, even if one fighter was disarmed. However, no point will be awarded to the one who disarmed. b. The disarmed fighter will defend and can score, with punches or kicks. c. Only after a point(s) is scored, that the disarmed fighter will be allowed to recover his/her weapon.

XI Clashes:a. Simultaneous attacks to the same target area will be voided by the referee. b. Simultaneous weapon hits between weapon hit to the head vs fist to the head, the weapon hit will be awarded one (1) point. c. Simultaneous hits between weapon hit to the weapon hand vs a punch to the trunk or head, the punch will be awarded a half point.

XII Disqualification: The referee has the option of giving a warning or disqualifying a fighter based on the following:

a. Disrespect to the referee or judges. b. Any unsportmanlike conduct. c. Any violation of the illegal techniques and illegal targets.

XIII Divisions: FMA (Filipino Martial Arts) Forms (sayaw or carenza):

a. Novice (less than 2 years of fma training) - psf-1 b. Advanced - psf-2

Short Stick Fighting (30” or lesser in length) c. Men’s, lightweight, 150 lbs & below - psf-3

d. Men’s, middleweight, 151-175 lbs - psf-4 e. Men’s, light heavyweight, 176-200 lbs - psf-5 f. Men’s, heavyweight, 201 lbs and above - psf-6 g. Men’s, novice (open weight) - psf-7 h. Women’s 18 years old & above, open weight - psf-8

Long Weapon(s) Fighting (more than 30” combined length)i. Novice, open weight (less than 2 years training) - psf-9 j. Advanced, open weight - psf-10

The Grand Championship Eliminations will be as follows:- Long Weapon(s) Advanced - psf-10 vs Men’s, Heavyweight - psf-6 - Long Weapon(s) Novice - psf-9 vs Men’s Light Heavy Weight - psf-5 - Men’s Lightweight - psf-3 vs Men’s Middle Weight - psf-4 - Men’s Novice - psf-7 vs Women’s - psf-8

Rules Drafted By:Narrie Babao Arnis-Eskrima Grandmaster (619) 980-6144 narrie_b@hotmail.com

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