7th CEFIMAC Assembly held By: James U. Sy Jr.

The 7th Centralian Fighters Martial Arts Club (CEFIMAC) Annual Assembly was held last March 13, 2010 at the CNC Industrial Center, Central Negros College (CNC), San Carlos City.

Newly elected officers for SY 2010-2011 were Aldrin despi (President), Jovanie Macwel (VP), Geann Rosalejos (Secretary), Rochelle Tayong (Treasurer), Steven Bolatar (Auditor), Wendell Ramas (PIO), Neil Avila and Richard Amante (Sgt. at Arms), Jeneza Caballero (Muse), and Jean Cadallo, Kenneth Cubero, Charlie Lagdamin, Rhea Padillo, John Paul Pasillo, Meryl Pasinabo, Jestonie Repetillo, and Sheva Sordilla.

Outgoing officers were Joseph Paray (President), Aldren Alforte (VP), and Donnabelle Gadiane (Secretary). Alforte and Gadiane are salutatorian and valedictorian respectively.

Founder/Chief Instructor Diomedes N. Mamugay and Principal Horliva Alipio are Adviser/Club Moderator and Coordinator respectively.

The Centralian Fighters Martial Arts Club (CEFIMAC) was founded by Founder/Chief Instructor Diomedes N. Mamugay on April 3, 2003 at the Central Negros College (CNC), Carmona St., San Carlos City. Through the efforts of the first club president, Jonas Palabrica, CEFIMAC was recognized and fully accredited as a non-academic club and the only martial arts club in Central Negros College by School Director Mario S. Ledesma, School Principal Luis N. Dizon, and College Dean Evelyn Caballero in 2004.

CEFIMAC is affiliated with Combat Taekwondo Club-Main (CTC-Main), Conceptual Martial Arts Society (CMAS), Inc., and Intercontinental Federation of Filipino Martial Arts Schools (IFFMAS) through the San Carlos Jungle Fighters Martial Arts Club (SACA JUFIMAC) of Founder/Chief Instructor Diomedes N. Mamugay.

Tribe W.A.R. VI Set By: James U. Sy Jr.

Tribe W.A.R. (Warriors Art Rumble) VI will be held by the Tribu Hangaway Philippines of Founder/Master Roy R. Flores Sr., 6th Degree Black Belt, in cooperation with Aksyon Radio and under the sanction of the Intercontinental Federation of Filipino Martial Arts Schools (IFFMAS) under its President Grandmaster Elmer V. Montoyo, 8th Degree Black Belt, this coming April 24, 2010 at the Casino Filipino, Goldenfields Commerical Complex, Bacolod City.

10 Wushu Sanshou and Submission Grappling bouts are scheduled to be fought by fighters from different organizations. Various martial arts demonstrations are also line up.

Participating teams and the fighters who will represent them are yet to be finalized as of press time but expected teams to compete in the Grappling division include host Tribu Hangaway, Affinity of Coach Chester Laquian, and Submission Sports Philippines (SSP)-Bacolod team of Coach Jek-Jek Ferrer. All three teams had proven their mettle in both the Grappling and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) arena with some of there members competing and/or taking wins in provincial, regional, or national level competitions.

Among the other IFFMAS organization members expected to support the event are Conceptual Martial Arts Society (CMAS), Inc. of Founders/Masters Narciso “Hansy” L. Alojado and James U. Sy Jr. , Original Filipino Tapado Long Stick Fighting Association (OFTLSA), inc. of 1st generation Inheritor Grandmaster Benefredo “Bebing” Mamar Lobrido, Philippine Integrated Martial Arts Academy-Filipino Tang Soo Do Association (PIMAA-FTSDA) of Grandmaster Elmer V. Montoyo, and Universal defensive Tactics Academy (UDTA) of Founder/Chairman Abraham “Abe” Ganzon.

The last two editions of Tribe W.A.R. were held on October 17, 2009, at the Gaisano Bacolod Supermall and on June 6, 2009 at the Negros Occidental Multi-Purpose Activity Center (NOMPAC), both in Bacolod City.

The grapplig division of Tribe W.A.R. has been conceptualized by Master Flores for all those who wants to compete but are tentative in entering competitions involving striking. The set of rules being used is an eclectic blend of established grappling competition rules.

Interested parties may contact Master Flores at 0928-388-5530.

Canlaon Modern Combat TKD Tilt Held By: James U. Sy Jr.

The Modern Combat Taekwondo Club (MCTC) of Founder/Master Lt. Col. (Ret.) Founder/President/Master Epifanio F. Mercado, 6th Degree Black Belt, and Chief Instructor Joerdan Oca, 3rd Degree Black Belt, successfully held the 2nd Modern Combat Taekwondo Tournament last March 13, 2010 at the Canlaon Sports & Cultural Center, Canlaon City, Oriental Negros as part of the annual fiesta celebration of St. Joseph.

Abundio Lagahit Jr., owner of Muscles Smith Fitness gym, was event organizer while CI Joerdan Oca was tournament coordinator.

The Modern Combat Taekwondo Club (MCTC) Team A of CI Joerdan Oca won a 10-5-0 medal tally while Team B had 2-1-0.

The San Carlos Jungle Fighters Martial Arts Club (SACA JUFIMAC)-Main of Founder/Chief Instructor Diomedes N. Mamugay, 3rd Degree Black Belt, took home a 5-11-1 medal haul.

Tournament officials were CI Diomedes N. Mamugay of SACA JUFIMAC (Jury), Michael Aaron Sanchez SACA JUFIMAC (Referee), Fritz Gubaton (Canlaon Sports Chairman), Jack Elmer Marco, Joemarie Oca, Mario Osorio, Michael Pantalita (Judges), Vicente Marte Maquiling (Area Inspector), Fidel Guevarra (Table Official/Emcee), and and Jonathan Lerio (Canlaon Sports committee).

Fight Analysis: Pacquiao-Clottey By: James U. Sy Jr.

The Philippines is once again elated by the victory of Emmanuel “Manny” D. Pacquiao of General Santos City, Philippines, who successfully defended his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title against Joshua Clottey of Ghana in front of a crowd of 50,994 last March 14, 2010 at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas, USA.

But inspite of this victory fans have mixed emotions about the fight. Nobody doubted that Pacquiao made a stellar showing. He no doubt came to fight. However, not the same can be said of his opponent. Clottey simply covered up and rarely threw punches. The CompuBox showed that Pacquiao landed 246 of 1,231 punches while Clottey connected 108 out of 399 punches. It was obviously a one sided fight.

This disappointed the fans who were used to seeing action packed fights of Pacquiao against some of boxing’s most respected champions such as Marco Antonio Barrera, Óscar Larios, Juan Manuel Márquez, Érik Morales, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, and Miguel Cotto.

Many were surprised on how Clottey performed in the biggest fight of his life. Clottey, a former International Boxing Federation (IBF) welterweight champion and African Boxing Union welterweight champion, kept on going forward but engaged Pacquiao only in spurts, thereby making the fight relatively dull.

There were many theories on why Clottey fought the way he did. One was that he had too much respect fear for or Pacquiao. Another is that Clottey just wanted to protect his reputation of not being knocked down by any boxer. Some have speculated that the fight was rigged.

The hypothesis that Clottey had too much respect for the power of Pacquiao has many loopholes. Although Pacquiao convincingly outboxed the Ghanian it was apparent that the Filipino champion didn’t do much damage to Clottey, due in part to the African’s tight defense. Pacquiao did land several beautiful body punches but they didn’t seem to bulge Clottey.

Post fight interviews showed that Pacquiao had a swelling below his right eye while Clottey’s face was clean. Again we can attribute this to his very tight defense. In occasional moments when Clottey hit Pacquiao, he did push him back. Obviously this is due to Clottey’s size advantage over the smaller Filipino champion. Considering this fact, we are left thinking what would have happened if he fought back with all he got, just like what he did when he faced and lost closely to Miguel Cotto.

What if Clottey fought fiercely and got an upset over Pacquiao? Definitely there won’t be a Pacquiao-Mayweather, the biggest mega buck fight everybody is expecting.

From a martial artist’s point of view, I would say going up to welterweight has diminished the relative value of Pacquiao’s natural power when he boxed with bigger guys. Pacquiao had already fought two boxers at welterweight - Oscar de la Hoya and Joshua Clottey - and he beat both of them, but notice that he didn’t get a knockout. We can safely assume that the big boys can absorb Pacquiao’s power shots better than the boxers below their weight division.

This variable of size in a higher division also becomes apparent when you consider that Clottey managed to make Pacquiao’s right eye swell inspite of being passive. Clottey in simply too big.

Going through boxing history, we can remember that Floyd Mayweather Jr. just laughed at the punches of the much smaller but game Juan Manuel Márquez or the much bigger and taller then world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis of Great Britain nullifying the power of the smaller knockout artist David Tua of New Zealand.

In Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), the smaller Royce Gracie of Brazil dominated bigger opponents during the first two editions of the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) but could not continue after fighting and defeating the bigger Kimo Leopoldo in UFC III. In his next outing Gracie managed to submit yet another bigger opponent, wrestler Daniel Severn, but only after more than 15 minutes.

Truth be said here. Although there is truth in the martial proverb that technique can make the difference, it is not the only variable. Size does matter, especially in a sport setting where there are rules and fair play. All other things being equal, the small good man is always fighting at a disadvantage against the bigger man. This is the reason why there are weight divisions in combat sports like Boxing, Wrestling, Kickboxing, Judo, Karate, etc. David did defeat Goliath but with the use of a long range weapon.

After the fight, Pacquiao’s mother, Aling Dionisia, was interviewed over at Aksyon Radio. She expressed her wish for his son to retire after this fight because he had already received enough blessings from the Lord and she can no logner ask for more. As a mother it is understandable that Aling Dionisia is looking after the safety of her son. She knows that as Manny goes higher, the climb becomes harder.

As a nation, we just hope and pray that Manny will be guided by God to make the right deicision as to the next step in his career.

Katipunan Florida 2010 Free Seminar This June

When: June 5-6, 2010, 9:00 AM-4:00 PM
Where: Boys & Girls Club, 1451 SW 7th Street, Delrey Beach, Florida 33444
Instructors:
GM Bram Franks - CSSD.SC
GM Roberto Torres -Talio System
GM Jerson "Nene" Tortal - Dikiti Tirsia Serrada Arnis de Mano
GM Dan Medina - Pulahan Derobio Eskrima
Gat Puno Abon "Garimot" Baet - Garimot Arnis
Guro Chad Bailey - Cadena de Mano/Sinko Teros Eskrima
Guro MIKE SNOW - Dikiti Tirsia Serrada Arnis de Mano
Guro Vicote Rivera - Inosanto Blendimot System
Contact: Supremo 954-432-4433 - 305-788-4403"

URCC “Reckoning” Set on Mar. 27 by James U. Sy Jr.

The 10-fight card Colt 45 Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC) XVI “Reckoning” will be held this coming March 27, 2010 at the A. Venue Events Hall, Makati City.

The main event will have Southeast (SEA) Games Wushu Sanshou champion Eduard Folayang defending the URCC welterweight title against Brazilian Jiu-jitsu exponent and former Korean gymnastics team member Dooje Chung of NEO Fight Korea.

In other bouts, former URCC flyweight champion Richard Lasprilla is making a comeback against newcomer Angelo Estanol of Strike and Shoot. Lasprilla lost his title two years ago to Kevin Belingon of Lakay MMA.

Erwin Focad of Lakay MMA will fight and Hideo Morikawa of Japan. Focad defeated Lando Espinosa of Elorde MMA during URCC XV “Tribal Wars” in November 2009 in Baguio. Meanwhile, Morikawa beat his opponent during his URCC debut at Rogue Magazine’s Black Tie Brawl.

George Lusadan will square off with Joel “Latigo” Taon of Kampilan Yaw Yan. Lusadan is a last minute substitution for Regie “Baby Ama” Amarante of Deftac who pulled out due to a right hand injury. Lusadan defeated Leonard Caliwa of Cavite via rear naked choke during their main event bout at URCC 15.

The event is under the sanction by the Games and Amusement Board (GAB) and is sponsored by Tribal Gear and MyPLDT Watchpad as well as VRP Medical Center, SEAIR, Chris Sports, Yoshinoya and Padi’s Point. Media partners are Solar Sports, Solar TV, NU107 and 99.5RT.

BCC Brings Home Alculympics Arnis Medals By: James U. Sy Jr.

Published in the Negros Daily Bulletin March 22, 2010 issue (http://www.ndb-online.com/mar2210s2)

12 students from the Criminology Department of the Bago City College took home a 7-12-8 medal haul from the 2nd Alculympics last February 28 to March 5, 2010 at the University of Makati (UMAK), Makati City.

Bago City College (BCC) had a total harvest of 30 gold medals, 20 of which came from athletics. BCC also dominated Arnis and women’s badminton.

Arnis Trainor and coach was Randy Alvarado with Wilson Alvarado and Johnson Pagdato as Co-Trainor and Assistant Coach respectively. Colegio San Agustin Bacolod (CSA-B) and University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos Professor Ferdinand Emanuel “Bobot” Y. Gayoles, a Master of Yasay Sable, Lapu-Lapu Viñas Arnis, Oido de Caburata, and Modified Tapado, was the Team Labanan Consultant.

Randy Alvarado has trained under Headmaster "Nonong" E. Viñas, son of the Founder of Lapu-Lapu Viñas Arnis and the Inheritor of his system.

BCC medalists for the Men’s Full Contact event were Bernard Gonzales (Silver), Dave Guarra (Gold), Mon Klair Novales (Gold), Ramonito Amejado (Gold), Rene Abajeto (Bronze), and Tom Serapia (Gold). Medalists for the Women’s Full Contact were Glorilyn Gelogo (Silver), lariane Crisosto (Bronze), Jam Caliso (Bronze), and May Jean Pasa (Bronze).

Male medalists for the Team Anyo event were Bernard Gonzales, Dave Guarra, and Rene Abajeto (all silver - Solo Baston, all gold - Doble Baston, all silver - Espada y Daga). For females, Jam Caliso, lariane Crisosto, and Lovely Jacildo (all bronze - Doble Baston) and Glorilyn Gelogo, Lariane Crisosto, and May Jean Pasa (all silver - Espada y Daga).

For the Individual Anyo, Mon Klair Novales got a silver in Espada y Daga while May Jean Pasa got bronze in Solo Baston. Frawjen Valdevieso was a member of the Soio Baston team.

The Bago City College (BCC) Arnis TeaM sponsors were Hon. Mayor Ramon Torres, BCC College Administrator Ramona C. Lamo, BCC Coordinator for the 2010 Alculympics Jose Neri de la Cruz, ACE-IS Department Head Deborah Natalia E. Singson, and Students' affairs Office Head Sandra E. Locsin.

Alculympics is a sports league and triennial multi-sport event founded in 2009 and participated in by 31 member schools of the Association of Local Colleges and Universities (ALCU). The inaugural event of the Alculympics was hosted by the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Marikina at the Marikina Sports Center on January 19-23, 2009.

Events for this year include Arnis, athletics, badminton, basketball, cheering, chess, dance sport, Mr. & Ms. ALCULYMPICS, Taekwondo, table tennis, and volleyball. Marcial Angeles was the Arnis Commissioner for the 2010 Alculympics.