Dumog (Filipino Wrestling)
Filipino wrestling that Green counts among the unarmed components of Filipino fighting. In Antique it is still played as a folk wrestling game at Easter and the fiesta.
Quick Facts
PhilippinesCharacter & Origin
Training
Who It Suits
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
Catalogs & Databases for Dumog (Filipino Wrestling)
About Dumog (Filipino Wrestling)
Dumog is Filipino wrestling. The encyclopedia Martial Arts of the World (Green 2001) states that native wrestling methods are called buno on Luzon and dumog in the Visayas, and counts them among the unarmed components of Filipino fighting, alongside kicking, boxing, trapping and disarming. In its article on wrestling it names dumog as one of the better-known Filipino wrestling systems. How far the term extends differs by source. The Cultural Mapping of Panay and Guimaras project of the University of the Philippines Visayas describes dumog as a traditional wrestling game in barangay San Pedro in San Jose de Buenavista, Antique. An ethnographic study from the University of Washington (McClung 2014) writes of a wrestling of the mountain tribes of the northern islands, built on quick jerks, pushing, pulling and unbalancing, and states that elements of dumog are built into most Filipino martial arts. The project's website speaks only of a long-standing tradition, without dates or origin. None of the sources gives any grades.
History
Green (2001) states that native wrestling methods are called buno on Luzon and dumog in the Visayas. He counts kicking, boxing, trapping, wrestling and disarming among the unarmed components of Filipino fighting. According to him, Filipino wrestling includes throws, trips and locks. McClung (2014) writes that the mountain tribes of the northern islands practice a wrestling called dumog and that elements of kuntao and dumog are built into most Filipino martial arts. The FMA Pulse website links dumog with the Visayas, especially the island of Panay. It quotes Tranquilino Solanoy, a Visayan amateur boxer and dumog player whose grandfather was a dumog champion. According to Solanoy, matches were held at town festivals on dirt ground and for a cash prize.
How it differs
What is meant by dumog depends on the source. The University of the Philippines Visayas project describes a folk wrestling game in Antique, Green and FMA Pulse the wrestling component of the Filipino martial arts, and McClung the wrestling of the mountain tribes. According to FMA Pulse, dumog in eskrima is a term for wrestling techniques and is often taught together with silat, kali and arnis. According to the same website, buno is today often taught as part of some arnis and eskrima systems on Luzon. McClung states that his Balintawak Cuentada Eskrima system uses many basic elements of dumog.
Technique
McClung describes dumog as work with quick jerks, pushing, pulling and drawing the opponent off balance. FMA Pulse lists pushes, pulls, weight transfers and locks and adds that the techniques can also be performed with a weapon, for example a stick. FMA Pulse gives the goal as pressing the opponent's back flat to the ground. The winning rule is also described by the Cultural Mapping of Panay and Guimaras project for the folk game in Antique, where the winner is the one who presses the opponent's back to the mat.
Today
The Cultural Mapping of Panay and Guimaras project describes dumog as a traditional wrestling game in barangay San Pedro in San Jose de Buenavista, Antique. It is played on Easter Sunday and at the barangay's annual fiesta on 29 June. Mostly men of all ages wrestle on an area of 10 by 10 connected squares called Luna. A match lasts 3 to 5 minutes, the winner is the one who presses the opponent's back to the mat, and when there is no clear winner, the prize is shared. The events are paid for from community donations and a hat collection. The project's website also mentions the lack of official permits and the absence of medics. English Wikipedia states that dumog is most often used on Mindanao and in the Visayas and buno in the southern Tagalog provinces as far as Mindoro. According to it, Antique, Iloilo and Capiz have their own traditional sport called dumog.
Did you know
FMA Pulse states that dumog was brought to the American martial arts scene by Dan Inosanto and that Paul Vunak made an instructional video about it for jeet kune do. Green (2001) mentions the Filipino bultong, a wrestling that served as trial by ordeal: the opponents wrestled until the winner proved the other side guilty.
Frequently asked questions
Is dumog the same as buno?
Green (2001) states that native wrestling methods are called buno on Luzon and dumog in the Visayas. English Wikipedia places buno in the southern Tagalog provinces as far as Mindoro.
How is dumog won?
According to the Cultural Mapping of Panay and Guimaras project, in San Pedro the winner is the one who presses the opponent's back to the mat. A match lasts 3 to 5 minutes and without a clear winner the prize is shared.
When is dumog played in Antique?
According to the Cultural Mapping of Panay and Guimaras project, on Easter Sunday and at the annual fiesta of barangay San Pedro on 29 June.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.