Kalis Ilustrisimo
Filipino art of Antonio Ilustrisimo, known as Tatang. Wiley describes it as a blend of eskrima from the Visayas and kali from the Sulu archipelago.
Quick Facts
PhilippinesCharacter & Origin
Training
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 Kalis Ilustrisimo
About Kalis Ilustrisimo
Kalis Ilustrisimo is a Filipino martial art named after Antonio Ilustrisimo, known as Tatang. In his 1997 book Filipino Martial Culture, Wiley writes it as kali Ilustrisimo and counts it among the systems named after their founder. According to Wiley, it combines eskrima techniques from the Visayas and kali from the Sulu archipelago. According to Wiley, Ilustrisimo was born in 1904 on the island of Kinatarcan and from the age of seven learned from his father Isidro and his uncle Melecio. English Wikipedia states that the Ilustrisimo family of Bantayan Island passed its style down through five generations. Wiley captured him teaching at ninety on a Sunday morning in Luneta Park in Manila. According to Wiley, instruction covers one and two sticks, one and two swords, sword and dagger, pole, scarf and the empty hand. Wiley sees the secret of the art not in techniques but in combat concepts, for example enganyo and cadena real. Wiley named Antonio Diego and the senior students Yuli Romo, Christopher Ricketts and Ray Galang as the future of the system.
History
Wiley states that Ilustrisimo trained kali in Jolo under master Pedro Cortes and learned there, among other things, cadena real, combate general and media fraile. By his own account in Wiley, he fought as a guerrilla in the Sierra Madre during the war. English Wikipedia and FMA Pulse state that in 1976 he accepted his first students, Antonio Diego and Epifanio Yuli Romo. According to Wiley, Christopher Ricketts first met Tatang and Diego in the early eighties. According to Wikipedia, Ilustrisimo died in 1997 and Tony Diego was elected head of the system, who according to it died on 25 August 2014.
How it differs
Ilustrisimo says in Wiley that he does not specialize in any fighting distance and everything depends on the opponent and the course of the fight. Wiley writes that the secret of kali Ilustrisimo is not techniques but combat concepts, which distinguish its use. According to English Wikipedia, the Lameco eskrima of Edgar Sulite includes kali Ilustrisimo as one of its sources.
Technique
Wiley lists as technique styles of kali Ilustrisimo estrella bartical, florete, boca y lobo, Batangueño serrada, de cadena, media fraile and warwok, and among the favorites of Ilustrisimo were pluma and cruzada. The concepts, according to him, are enganyo or deception, prakcion, cadena real as the chaining of the main techniques, reloj de arena in the shape of an hourglass and dakip-diwa as spontaneous action without conscious thought. Ray Galang explains in Wiley that prakcion is a counterstrike without a preceding block, half a beat faster than the opponent's attack. English Wikipedia describes the art as focused more on the blade than on the stick.
Training
According to Wiley, Ray Galang states that practitioners drill all known variations of movements until they perform them automatically in free sparring, and they sort possible changes of angles by the reloj de arena pattern. Edgar Sulite says in Wiley that kali Ilustrisimo was learned by someone attacking Ilustrisimo while the students analyzed his movements.
Today
English Wikipedia lists the schools of senior students: Bakbakan Kali Ilustrisimo of Ray Galang, Kali Ilustrisimo of Topher Ricketts, Tagpas Kalis Ilustrisimo of Romy Macapagal, Luneta Kali Ilustrisimo of Pedro Reyes and Samuel Ilustrisimo and Olistrisimo Eskrima of Roberto Morales. According to it, Tony Diego added the designation Kalis Ilustrisimo Repeticion Orihinal to the name. Bakbakan International lists Tony Diego, Topher Ricketts and Ray Galang among its senior members on its website.
Did you know
Wiley states that Ilustrisimo refused to compete under the rules of the first national arnis tournament in Manila, saying that whoever wants his reputation must fight him with a sword. According to Wiley, he had an orasyon tattooed on his chest and believed in anting-anting. Green derives the word kali probably from Visayan kalis, meaning sword.
Frequently asked questions
Who was Antonio Ilustrisimo?
A master known as Tatang, born in 1904 according to Wiley, who learned the art from his father Isidro and uncle Melecio.
What weapons does Kalis Ilustrisimo use?
Wiley lists one and two sticks, one and two swords, sword and dagger, pole, scarf and bare hand.
Who led the system after Ilustrisimo died?
According to English Wikipedia, Tony Diego was elected head, whom Wiley had already called in 1997 the protégé and legal heir of Ilustrisimo.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.