Footnotes to Every Day

The analogy between the Bahay Kubo and principles of Kali as explained by Tuhon Jay Bataclan is such a powerful concept. It is rich in meaning and insights, and lays down a lot of the foundations of the art.  The Bahay Kubo analogy underscores the simplicity at the same time the complexity of how our forefathers developed and taught the art, especially during a time when they were prohibited by colonizers to practice any form of martial discipline.  The way our forefathers hid concepts and techniques of Filipino martial arts in everyday objects and activities demonstrates Filipino ingenuity, resourcefulness and resilience.  Take for instance our cultural dances, which were used to learn and develop footwork and body mechanics. The famous tinikling is one great example of how triangle footwork can be developed through dance. There is also the maglalatik where the placement of the coconut shells served to teach students vulnerable targets relative to the Spanish soldier...

Our past faults should not define us, instead these should build us up to become better. I know this for a fact, I am a product of my many mistakes, and I know that I am a better person for it.  Thirty years ago, when we were 15 and 16 year olds, our barkada did one of the gravest offense our high school's history. We set an improvised bomb in the Science faculty room.  But before I proceed, just a quick disclaimer: we did it when no one was there, at night, so there was no intention to hurt anyone.  It was meant to be an act of defiance, a misplaced one at that. Yes it was foolish, and yes we paid for it, in more ways than one.  Why did we do it? Long story short, we were boys who wanted to accelerate our manhood. We thought we were being cool, but we were really just being reckless and we didn't know any better.  How did we do it? That is a story best told over bottles of beer, not here.  We almost got away with it too, but we learned early in life that ...

My Beta Sigma journey began 28 years ago, when I made what I consider as my first adult decision. As a college freshman, despite the disapproval of my parents, I joined the Fraternity. I was 16 years old.  It was one of the best decisions of my life.  Beta Sigma was the best training ground for young men like me, the Fraternity prepared us well for life. It set us up for success no matter the path we chose. It provided learning experiences and gave us skills that proved very valuable as soon as we joined the workforce.  Key competencies like interpersonal communication skills, problem-solving, critical thinking, decision-making, negotiation skills, teamwork and leadership. All these I learned from the Fraternity, all these became part of my strengths as a manager, as a leader.  But more than the skills and leadership training, what was even more important was embodying the doctrines of the Fraternity. Foremost among these were our Betan Principles.  The five pr...