{"id":1273,"date":"2015-02-21T17:30:22","date_gmt":"2015-02-21T22:30:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tambulimedia.com\/?p=1273"},"modified":"2023-07-24T15:06:55","modified_gmt":"2023-07-24T19:06:55","slug":"the-legacy-of-balintawak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tambulimedia.com\/the-legacy-of-balintawak\/","title":{"rendered":"The Legacy of Balintawak Eskrima"},"content":{"rendered":"

How does an eskrimador insure his legacy? Some form large organizations and teach seminars\u00a0the world over. Others put their personal history and their art down in writing. Sam Buot,\u00a0the author of the Tambuli Media book, Balintawak Eskrima<\/a>,<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0did just that\u2014and there was so much to share, it took him 20 years\u00a0from start to finish! Buot’s book, which comes out on February 28, 105,\u00a0is the work of decades of preparation. Little by\u00a0little Manong Sam wrote down his stories, remembrances and the nuances of every technique\u00a0he could recall.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>In this dense 260-page volume featuring 700 photographs, Grandmaster Sam Buot takes the reader on a deep journey into the belly of Balintawak Eskrima, laying the foundation with a look at Philippine martial history before jumping right\u00a0into the formation of the Balintawak style in the 1950s. That was an important yet volatile time\u00a0in Eskrima history, especially in Cebu, where entrenched eskrimador clans like the Saavedra,\u00a0Romo, Ilustrisimo, and Canete families tried to stake their claim of prominence. One name\u00a0rose from these times, and that is Anciong Bacon and his Balintawak Eskrima, an art that has\u00a0had many fabled masters, including Bacon himself, as well as his top disciples Jose Villasin,\u00a0Teofilo Velez, Ted Buot, Delfin Lopez, Bobby Taboada and Sam Buot, among others.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After enticing the reader with an intimate discussion of the history of eskrima and Balintawak\u2019s place in it, Buot tells the stories of the great masters of the art. He was a participant observer\u00a0and is uniquely qualified to set the true history. His narrative style is compelling and makes\u00a0the reader feel like they are by his side hearing tales of old first hand. We feel like we are in the\u00a0old clubs, watching the masters perfect their skills. Their poverty and dangerous living quarters\u00a0bringing us chills and a close look at the many rare historical images reveals the conditions.\u00a0We are then treated in several chapters to Manong Sam\u2019s eskrima secrets: the principles and\u00a0strategies he has developed and perfected over a half-century in this dynamic art.<\/span><\/p>\n

While no book can hope to be \u201ccomplete,\u201d this book by Sam Buot is comprehensive and\u00a0does more than any other to establish the legacy of Anciong Bacon, Balintawak\u00a0Eskirma and the book\u2019s author, himself. Balintawak Eskrima<\/a><\/strong><\/em> by Sam Buot\u00a0is available now.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Balintawak<\/a><\/p>\n