arnisador
06-18-2008, 11:04 PM
Fightin’ Jose’ (http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/june/12/yehey/life/20080612lif1.html)
He was a doctor, a novelist, a poet, a sculptor, a painter and a lothario. He was also a swordsman, deadly with both rapier and arnis sticks; a highly regarded pistol marksman; a body builder with experience in wrestling and judo; a freedom fighter and a wanted man. Our National Hero Dr. Jose Rizal, hailed, as “The Pride of the Malay Race” was a Renaissance man. Yes, Rizal honed his brawn and his blade as much as he did his wit and his word.
Rizal did not become a superb physical specimen overnight. He was frail and sickly as a child. This probably prompted him to study the art of buno (wrestling) from his uncle Manuel to strengthen his body. This skill he once used to defeat a bully in class.
Rizal’s love for the combative arts stayed with him until he became an adult. At 18-year-old, in a letter to Enrique Lete, dated November 27, 1879, he says, “My hands are shaking because I have just had a fencing bout; you know I want to be a swordsman.”
He was a doctor, a novelist, a poet, a sculptor, a painter and a lothario. He was also a swordsman, deadly with both rapier and arnis sticks; a highly regarded pistol marksman; a body builder with experience in wrestling and judo; a freedom fighter and a wanted man. Our National Hero Dr. Jose Rizal, hailed, as “The Pride of the Malay Race” was a Renaissance man. Yes, Rizal honed his brawn and his blade as much as he did his wit and his word.
Rizal did not become a superb physical specimen overnight. He was frail and sickly as a child. This probably prompted him to study the art of buno (wrestling) from his uncle Manuel to strengthen his body. This skill he once used to defeat a bully in class.
Rizal’s love for the combative arts stayed with him until he became an adult. At 18-year-old, in a letter to Enrique Lete, dated November 27, 1879, he says, “My hands are shaking because I have just had a fencing bout; you know I want to be a swordsman.”