Arnis keeps Zubiri company during quarantine
NOW on his 13th day of self-quarantine, Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri has turned to arnis, his beloved martial art, to strengthen his body against the dreaded Covid-19.
Arnis is an ancient, weapons-based Filipino martial art known for its deadly use of bladed and impact weapons. Arnis is a complete fighting system that also employs empty hand techniques like striking, throwing and grappling.
Zubiri believes he contracted the disease on March 11, the last session day of the Senate, which he described as a particularly busy and crowded day. He was tested for the disease on March 13, after displaying mild symptoms and was confirmed Covid-19 positive on March 16.
“Puma palo rina kong a rn is, at al am mo an gk ag and ahanng arni sayp we de kangmakapag- training nangmag-isa (I still practice arnis strikes, and the beauty of arnis is you can practice it alone),” said Zubiri, a champion arnisador whose arnis teachers include the late Edgar Sulite and the venerable
Antonio “Tatang” Ilustrisimo.
His love for arnis, also known as eskrima and kali, led Zubiri to become the author of Republic Act 9850 or Arnis Law, declaring arnis as the Philippines’ national sport and martial art.
“Anggi na g aw akod ito, na gl ala gay —tu waly angnak as ab it,‘yunang pin agp apr a kt isanko. Palo lang nang palo para lu makasyung upper body strength ko, more on upper body strength, more on stretching, flexibility — training lang (What I do is I hang a towel and use it as a target. I just keep on hitting it to develop my upper body strength. I focus more on stretching and flexibility. I just train),” the senator described his solo training routine.
He explained that space limitation made him focus more on speed, snap and forms rather than power.
“Hindi nam anak om aka palo nan gm alakas,m ali it lang‘yung ku wartoko,bak amata ma an‘yung bubong. So ‘yung speed training lang,yungpitik lang, na gpipitik po tayo,nag- training tayong forms, pin ap ag and akolang‘yung forms ko paramykonting exercise yung mgabrasokoat upper body, ‘yung ating lower and upper backs para mapalakasnatin (I can’t swing fullpower because my room is small and I might hit the ceiling so I just focus on speed and snap. I practice forms, too. This workout benefits my arms, upper body and lower back).”
Zubiri is also the chairman and president of the Philippine Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation (PEKAF), the national sports association for arnis.
The Philippine Arnis Team, under the PEKAF, dominated the 30th Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) in Manila last December, winning 14 of the total 20 gold medals at stake plus four silver and two bronze.
Arnis was featured as a demonstration sport during the 1991 Manila SEAG and had its second appearance in the biennial meet in 2005, which the Philippines also hosted.