Bolo
A precolonial Filipino single-edged chopping knife with a blade widening toward the point, the principal weapon of the Katipunan in the uprising against Spanish rule.
Quick Facts
PhilippinesAbout the weapon
Bolo is a collective term for traditional precolonial Filipino small and medium single-edged swords or large knives, which served at once as tool and weapon. We have not been able to establish their time of origin in the sources. Characteristic is a wide curved blade that narrows toward the hilt. The steel blade widens and curves toward the point, so the centre of gravity shifts as far forward as possible and the bolo gains greater momentum when chopping. Handles are usually of hardwood or carabao horn, sheaths of the same materials. The bolo was the principal weapon of the Katipunan in the uprising against Spanish rule. In the Philippine-American War it was used by Filipino guerrillas and the so-called bolomen, and the American army had it in its arsenal from 1897 to 1918. Henry Johnson fought with it at close quarters during the First World War, and Filipino units earned the nickname Moro Bolo Battalion during the Second World War. The bolo remains an integral part of training in Filipino martial arts. Monuments to Andrés Bonifacio depict him with a bolo in one hand and the flag of the Katipunan in the other. From military slang comes the expression "to bolo" for failing a shooting test, and in boxing an arcing punch imitating the bolo's motion is called a bolo punch.