Date: Mon, 19 Aug 2002 01:28:43 -0700 From: eskrima-request@martialartsresource.net Subject: Eskrima digest, Vol 9 #285 - 1 msg X-Mailer: Mailman v2.0.13.cisto1 MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain To: eskrima@martialartsresource.net Errors-To: eskrima-admin@martialartsresource.net X-BeenThere: eskrima@martialartsresource.net X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.13.cisto1 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: eskrima@martialartsresource.net X-Reply-To: eskrima@martialartsresource.net X-Subscribed-Address: fma@martialartsresource.com List-Id: Inayan Eskrima / FMA discussion forum, the premier FMA forum on the Internet. List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Unsubscribe: , List-Help: Status: RO X-Status: X-Keywords: Send Eskrima mailing list submissions to eskrima@martialartsresource.net To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://martialartsresource.net/mailman/listinfo/eskrima or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to eskrima-request@martialartsresource.net You can reach the person managing the list at eskrima-admin@martialartsresource.net When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Eskrima digest..." <<-------- The Inayan/Eskrima/Kali/Arnis/FMA mailing list -------->> Serving the Internet since June 1994. Copyright 1994-2002: Ray Terry and Martial Arts Resource The Internet's premier discussion forum devoted to Filipino Martial Arts. Provided in memory of Mangisursuro Michael G. Inay (1944-2000). http://InayanEskrima.com/index.cfm See the Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) FAQ and the online search engine for back issues of the Eskrima/FMA list at http://MartialArtsResource.com Mabuhay ang eskrima! Today's Topics: 1. Gaje on kali (bill m) --__--__-- Message: 1 From: "bill m" To: Date: Sat, 17 Aug 2002 11:51:11 -0700 Subject: [Eskrima] Gaje on kali Reply-To: eskrima@martialartsresource.net Ray asked: "Back on the more recent use of the term Kali. Anyone familiar with when Leo Gaje began to use the term?" When I first started training with Leo early in 1975 he was using both "Arnis" and "Kali" to describe the FMA's. His organization was called "Arnis America Organization" (AAO) and he would use the word Arnis at demonstrations to describe FMA as currently practiced. He would also give a speech at demos about the history of FMA's and say that the art was called "kali" before the arrival of the Spanish in the Philippines. He said the art was named after the goddess of violence. My best guess as to where he got this information was that when he was traveling in Indonesia and Malaysia in the 1960's he met some Hindus who told him about Kali. Kali is a Hindu goddess, so perhaps when learning the history of the Majapahit empire (the Majapahit originated in India which is predominantly Hindu) he was told that the worshipers of Kali brought martial arts with them. This is only a guess based on his speeches because when you asked Leo directly about where he got his info he took it as questioning his authority on the subject and wouldn't give you a straight answer. The AAO broke up around '79 or '80 after an unfortunate incident with one of the senior board members caused Leo to disband the organization. In '82, Leo, myself and a few other students moved to Texas. There Leo formed NARAUSA (National Arnis Association of the USA) as the US version of NARAPHIL. I moved back to New York late in '85. Around '87 or '88 Leo had changed the organization again, this time calling it the USKA (U.S, Kali Association). He used this name until moving back to the Philippines in '91. After Leo left the U.S. two other Filipino instructors began to use this name for their organizations. I think Kim is correct when he wrote that Leo used the term kali in a desire to find a non-Spanish term for a Filipino martial art. Whether Leo just traded one foreign term for another I have no way of knowing. Filipino list members have commented that four hundred years of Spanish occupation seems to have wiped out the memory of what the art was called before the Spanish came. One can surmise that it did not have one single name used through out the entire Philippines. Perhaps it was just called something like "sword fighting" in each of the many languages that made up the Philippines at the time. Can the Filipino list members give us some pre-Spanish words used for "sword" and "fighting"? This might not prove exactly what was used, but it might give us a glimpse behind the curtain of time. Regards, Tuhon Bill McGrath Email: tuhonbill@pekiti-tirsia.com PTI website: http://www.pekiti-tirsia.com/ --__--__-- _______________________________________________ Eskrima mailing list Eskrima@martialartsresource.net http://martialartsresource.net/mailman/listinfo/eskrima http://eskrima-fma.net Old digest issues are available via ftp://ftp.martialartsresource.com. Copyright 1994-2002: Ray Terry and http://MartialArtsResource.com Standard disclaimers apply. Remember 9-11! End of Eskrima Digest