von Marco Librera

Ars Martialis Stuttgart
Das vorliegende Interview wurde im Rahmen eines USA Aufenthaltes im Dezember 2006 geführt. Die Balintawak Gruppe NYC von Master Zack Taco trainiert nach der Velez Linie des Balintawaks. Wie im Balintawak üblich handelt es sich um eine kleine begeisterte Gruppe, die jede Gelegenheit nutzt um backyard miteinander zu trainieren. Gäste und Freunde sind jederzeit willkommen und man ist mit Herz und Begeisterung dabei anderen das Balintawak zu erklären. Wer sich in New York oder Nähe befindet, sollte die Gelegenheit nutzen und mit den Balintawaks um Master Zack eine Trainingssession einlegen. Bei Interesse an den Autor wenden.

Interview and training session Dec. 14th 2006– Balintawak New York City/USA Master Zack Taco (MZ); Marco Librera (ML)

ML: Could you tell me a little bit about the History of Balintawak and how it is organized today?

MZ: Balintawak, according to my experiences, was developed by Anciong Bacon after he learned from Loring Saveedra. His classmates were Doring Saveedra, Yoling and Momoy Canete. After a falling out with the group, Anciong decided to separate from the club and start his own training group. They used to call him Anciong Buang – which means crazy Anciong. He used to twirl his stick everywhere he went. It was like his 3rd arm. This is why he was so skilled. Balintawak was his life. He did not have an education.
Many of the senior students, like Teofilo Velez, Villasin, and Jo Go supported Anciong in order for him to teach and survive. Also, many of Anciongs students were already proficient in other style of FMA, boxing, grappling, etc., before they started learning under the old man.
They saw something special, usually after they challenged him
and were sorely defeated. Some of his first students were Delfin
Lopez, Vicente Atillo, Eduardo Baculi, Timoteo Maranga, Arnulfo Mongcal and others.
The second generation included Jo Go, Villasin, Teofilo Velez, Ted Buot, Tinong Ybanez, Ising Atillo, etc. Now there are many Practitioners including the Velez brothers, Bobby Tabimina, Bobby Taboada, and Nene Gabucayan.
Many practitioners cross trained with many different Balintawak Masters including Anciong Bacon. Unfortunately politics comes into play with many groups. If I have missed anyone, please forgive me, I may have forgotten many names and events. Just train hard and keep an open mind.

ML: What does the term “Balintawak” mean?

MZ: Balintawak is simply the street name they used to practice on. Eskrimadors back then were not much for names, they simply referred to their styles based on unique trademarks – Serrada, Pekiti(close quarters), Kabaroan (old style), or based on region – Ilongo style, Cavite style…..Some people confuse this with the
Cry of Balintawak which was during the revolution of the Philippines against the Spaniards.

ML: Is there a special tactic or weapon Balintawak is known for?

MZ: Balintawak is a specialty art. It specializes in single stick. Double stick is used mainly for coordination and conditioning exercises. Balintawak uses the single stick as a tool to understand how your body moves and its principles, like many other FMA’s, can be transferred with most other impact weapons. Balintawak, IMO, is unique because it emphasizes certain body mechanics that assist in the generation of power and manipulating distance/timing in close quarters. Anciong Bacon was a very small man and would not have been able to defeat many of his larger, younger opponents if he did not understand these principles. Timing is also another aspect that is strongly emphasized in our system of Balintawak. Speed is a great attribute but declines as one ages, whereas timing can be trained until the end of our days. If you understand timing, you can manipulate your opponent’s speed like a magician.

ML: Is there also self defense against knife or blade weapons taught in the system and what do you personally think about that topic?

MZ: All FMA can fight and defend against a blade. But Balintawak is an impact weapon art. Not an edged weapon art. Like I mentioned earlier, principles can be transferred, but you must also understand the differences. There are many things we do in Balintawak that I would not do with a blade or sword. Maybe before the Spaniards arrived, FMA was mainly knife and blade fighting, but the arts have evolved into different things. Some arts have become more stick oriented and safer to teach the public. You must be honest with what you are training and what you can do.

ML: Could you explain a training method or exercise for generating hitting power?

MZ: There are many ways to generate striking power. Striking the tire or heavy bag is indispensible to learn impact power and conditioning for your wrists, fingers, and total body. Balintawak, however, emphasizes accuracy and control as opposed to power
striking. Power is much easier to come by since we are all so preoccupied with strength and power. Learn to understand how to control your strikes with accuracy and „softness.“
Piloy (Teofilo Velez) and his sons can strike the tip of your nose with such speed and accuracy – I would be frightened to know what could do with a power strike. As for power there are many ways to develop, very hard to write in words. Splitting or opposite power is another way. Leaning into your strike is another method.
Sinking/dropping into the strike can aid in your delivery. You can also assist the strike with your free hand.

ML: How do you spar or test your skills in Balintawak, is there a special format or drill?

MZ: You start with creating a solid foundation so when you spar it does not become barabara (brawling/hitting).You must be able to show the essence of your style for it to truly be an art. Start off with basic agak, then palakaw, then feeding other. Once you start feeding others, it becomes almost like semi sparring against a resisting opponent. Then you start adding in footwork and distancing. Eventually, you should spar.
Balintawak favors limited to no gear when sparring, but this can lead to many injuries. Times are different and we must adapt with the future generations. Gear is okay as long as you understand what you are training and it doesn’t become pillow fighting.

ML: How was your training in the Philippines like?

MZ: Training was harsh, everyday for about 4-5 hours a day. I was in charge of training the beginners once I became proficient. I am a very slow learner, so it took me a long time to understand the intricacies of the art. I used to be fed by everyone in the club and we were very much like a family. We would train, then eat, drink San Miguel, then train again. It was this way everyday. No
rest. No head gear. A lot of pain, it is the only way to learn. We got hit on our fingers, head, legs, arms, everywhere. But most of us were street kids and we were used to fighting and living a hard life. If you got hit and started bleeding, you would just keep going. Many times, especially after drinking, the training would become a real fight and we would go at each other for real! But at the end of the day, brother fight and then make up. Like a dysfunctional family.

ML: Who (master) had the most influence on your training progress?

MZ: I would say Teofilo Velez. He was like a father to me. He trained us everyday along with his sons, Chito, Eddie, and Mony. They were like my older brothers. Anciong Bacon would come by occasionally to check up on us and test us. Also, my training brothers had much influence on me and my learning. Bobby Taboada, Nene Gabucayan, Nick Elizar….I learned much from all of them. They are all very skilled Eskrimadors.

ML: What are the main (technical) differences between the existing Balintawak methods?

MZ: Each group of Balintawak has evolved differently depending on the instructor. Everyone’s body moves differently, and everyone has different flavors. If you are Anciong’s size like me, you must emphasize timing and body mechanics. Strength and power may not work against my larger opponents. Physics is physics. My 140 lbs. is no match for your 200 lbs. If you are strong, you can strike with more power and take more punishment. If you are fast, it is very hard to catch you. So in this way, everyone’s system will emphasize different tools. But of course, you must train everything to be a well rounded practitioner.

ML: In few words: what does Balintawak mean for you?

MZ: Balintawak is my first love, but don’t tell my wife that!

ML: What advises do you have for the Balintawak beginner?

MZ: Train hard, but train smart. Focus on your basics and you will be able to achieve great skill! Don’t forget your body movement. And keep your guard up.

ML : Master Zack, thank you very much for your time and the very impressive training.

Text: Marco Librera, 25.02.2007
Ars Martialis Stuttgart – Kampfkunst und Interkultur
Kontakt: Balintawak@email.de