Kalis Ilustrisimo is a style of

Eskrima Arnis, also known as Kali or Eskrima/Escrima, is the national martial art of the Philippines. The three are roughly interchangeable umbrella terms for the traditional martial arts of the Philippines ("Filipino Martial Arts", or FMA), which emp ...

founded by Antonio "Tatang" Ilustrisimo.

Name

''Kalis Ilustrisimo'' means "The Bladed Art of Ilustrisimo": ''calis'' (or ''caris'') being another term for sword, blade and knife in Luzon and the Visayas and its usage as ''esgrimir'' and ''esgrima'' (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

for fencing/sword fighting) as defined in Spanish-era Ilocano, Pampango, Tagalog, Bicolano, Ilonggo, Waray & Cebuano dictionary/vocabulary recordings dating back to 1512, as the art of Tatang is more blade-oriented than stick-oriented.

History

The Ilustrisimo clan from

Bantayan Island Bantayan Island is an island located in the Visayan Sea, Philippines. It is situated to the west of the northern end of Cebu (island), Cebu island, across the Tañon Strait. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of . The island is ...

in the Northern part of the Cebu region was known for their Eskrima and has practiced its own traditional stick and sword fighting style for over five generations. Its first known practitioner was Pablo Ilustrisimo who passed it on to Juan de Dios Ilustrisimo, who then passed it to the brothers Isidro, Melecio and Regino (the better known of Tatang's uncles). Tatang was mentored by his father Isidro as well as by his uncles. Another ancestor was Agapito Ilustrismo, a rebel against the Spaniards who escaped to

Mount Banahaw Mount Banahaw (; also spelled as Banahao and Banájao) is an active complex volcano on Luzon in the Philippines. The three-peaked volcano is located at the boundary of Laguna and Quezon provinces. It is the highest mountain in both provinces an ...

and established a religious cult. Tatang retained his family style while he lived a long, storied, and tumultuous life and refined his fighting style from the influences of at least Pedro Cortez, a Zamboangueño bounty hunter, and a Tausug family who adopted him from age 10 to 17. He had his experiences as an eskrimador in various matches, as a seaman going around South-East Asia and as a security-enforcer for business establishments in various areas of the Philippines, including the Tondo-

Binondo Binondo () is a district in Manila and is referred to as the city's Chinatown. Its influence extends beyond to the places of Quiapo, Santa Cruz, San Nicolas and Tondo. It is the oldest Chinatown in the world, established in 1594 by the ...

areas of

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

. He faced numerous duels, challenges as well as "death matches" with live blades. Family members that Tatang taught were his cousin Floro Villabrille (1912-1992) and his grandnephew Samuel Ilustrisimo. Throughout most of his latter life, Tatang was secretive about his methods of fighting for they had kept him alive and undefeated for decades. It was only in 1976 that Tatang started openly teaching his refinement of the family style to "outsiders", with Antonio "Tony" Diego (1946-2014) and Epifanio "Yuli" Romo as his first students in Manila where he had migrated. Other notable students were Christopher "Topher" Ricketts (1955–2010), Romeo "Romy" Macapagal, Pedro Reyes,

Edgar Sulite Edgar Sulite (September 25, 1957 – April 10, 1997) was a teacher of Filipino martial arts. He was the creator of Lameco Eskrima and trained such notables as Dan Inosanto, Ron Balicki, Larry Hartsell, Fred Degerberg, and Diana Lee Inosanto ...

(1957-1997),

Rey Galang Reynaldo S. "Rey" Galang is a Filipino martial arts teacher and author. He is one of the chief founders and head instructors of Bakbakan International. History and experience Rey Galang was born in Manila. Losing his father at an early age, ...

, Norman Suanico, Inocencio Glaraga, Roberto Morales (deceased 2010), Mark V. Wiley and Ernesto Talag. Prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Tatang had also privately taught a contemporary, Timoteo Maranga (later on Major Maranga of the Cebu police force). Even at his advanced age, Tatang retained the respect accorded him as a fighter in the tough streets of Tondo where he resided. As a testament to his reputation, archive footage of Ilustrisimo taken well into his 80s show his speed, control, timing and accuracy with sticks, blades as well as empty hand disarms against live blades in spite of his failing eyesight. After Tatang Ilustrisimo's death in 1997, Tony Diego was elected the head of ''Kalis Ilustrisimo''. Tony Diego later added a descriptive to the system which became known as ''Kalis Ilustrisimo Orihinal Repeticion''. This was on the suggestion of the late Pedro Reyes—that the senior students of Tatang should set up their own schools. Thus, there were Bakbakan Kali Ilustrisimo by Rey Galang, "Kali Ilustrisimo" by Topher Ricketts, ''Tagpas Kalis Ilustrisimo'' by Romy Macapagal, ''Luneta Kali Ilustrisimo'' by Pedro Reyes and Samuel Ilustrisimo and ''Olistrisimo Eskrima'' by Roberto Morales. Romy Macapagal, as archivist of the Kalis Ilustrisimo system and not founding a school, dropped “Tagpas” and retained Kalis Ilustrismo. Romy Macapagal went on to archive the whole system on a historic project wit
The Immersion Labs Foundation
Diego had named Tom Dy Tang as successor of Kalis Ilustrismo twelve years prior to his death (2002). Diego died on August 25, 2014. Peachie Baron teaches Diego’s “Punta y Daga” style. Arnold Narzo was appointed as Kalis Ilustrisimo Chief Instructor by GM Diego two years (2012) before his death (2014).

Influential & famous practitioners

* Christopher "Topher" Ricketts *

Miguel Zubiri Juan Miguel "Migz" Fernandez Zubiri (; born April 13, 1969) is a Filipino businessman and politician serving as the Senate President of the Philippines since July 25, 2022. Since 2016, he has been on his second stint in the Senate, first servi ...

References

Bibliography

* Antonio Diego/Christopher Ricketts (2002) ''The Secrets of Kalis Ilustrisimo'', {{ISBN, 0-8048-3145-9.

External links