A History of Stockton Escrima: Requiem for an Escrimador

by Michael J. Ryan

An ethno-historical account of the origins and development of Filipino martial arts in Stockton California. Drawing on interviews, archival sources and secondary accounts this work seeks to identify and describe the status of Filipino martial arts in the late 19th century. Here a special attention is placed on the political-messianic movements of the time as they were known for their reliance on reliance on swords in combat and they have been overlooked in the existing literature on martial arts. Next, an investigation seeks to uncover the history of one of the great escrimadores of his time Felicizmo Dizon. Here the book uncovers his life and his association with other seminal and mysterious figures of the time such as The Hermit, The Blind Moro Princess, Floro Villabrille, Antonio Tatang Ilustrisimo ,Angel Cabales or secret socities such as the Doce Pares de Mt. Banahaw or the Doce Pares of Mt. Sudlon.. From here the work follows Angel Cabales as he apprentices himself with Dizon, until Angel leaves for the US in 1939. At this point the work switches to investigating the history of Filipino martial arts in Central California, with a focus on Stockton. Here the book identifies and explores the lives of Angel Cabales and the many other largely unknown escrimador contemporaries of Angel. Here we turn to the life histories of Max Sarmiento, Dentoy Revillar, Leo Giron, Johnny Lacoste, Gilbert Tenio and others. This work examines their teaching and their life histories as well as their top students until coming to an end in 2020. Not just a list of biographical events this work looks at the political, social, economic and ecological forces that shaped the events and environment around these men's lives to place their arts and their lives in the greater events both natural and man-made that shaped their lives resulting in the worldwide popularity of these arts.

670 pages, Paperback

Published November 27, 2024