Elmer’s Fire

History Channel’s series on the top martial arts around the world – “Human Weapon,” has become a huge hit in the United States, especially its documentary movie of the Filipino martial art of Eskrima or Arnis. The documentary-movie which also showcased Thailand’s Muay Thai, Japan’s Karate and Judo, China’s Kung Fu, Silat of Malaysia, Cambodia’s Bokator and many more, has given pride to all the Filipinos not only in America but the whole world as well. It has been replayed in a regular basis on the History Channel in the U.S.

The show, which stars mixed martial artist – Jason Chambers and former professional football player and wrestler – Bill Duff, featured the biggest and oldest arnis group in the world, the world renowned Doce Pares, was filmed entirely in the Philippines, particularly in Cebu City and neighboring provinces. Substantially, its opening and closing sequences were filmed in Cebu, Philippines. The docu-movie opened in Carbon market in Cebu City and ended in Badian, Cebu.

This is the fourth TV documentary featuring the Filipino martial art and Doce Pares as the central performer. The first one was “Way of the Warriors” which was produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in 1982. The Discovery Channel’s “Asian Hot Spots” by Beyond International in October 2003 was the second one. The third, was in 2004 with “Kicking Ass” Martial Arts, within which Doce Pares was one of the featured martial arts.

Due to the film’s success, Doce Pares in Cebu received numerous phone calls and emails for bookings to study the art in Cebu. Student admissions for other arnis clubs all over the U.S. have also increased by 30% due to the show. After a recent 30-day seminar in the U.S. which were all fully-booked, Doce Pares International Supreme Grand Master Dionisio Canete (seen below handing me my 2nd Dan black belt in Doce Pares) revealed that majority of the participants joined his seminars after watching “Human Weapon.” SGM Canete added that during his seminars in Denver and Milwaukee, several students came from far away states, like Tennessee, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana and more.

Due to The History Channel’s insistence to include arnis in “Human Weapon,” Canete finally approved the inclusion of the world famous Filipino martial art on the documentary after believing in the show’s objectives which are to show to the world how eskrima/arnis started, assurance of a great exposure and excellent promotion of the art. The film also featured several other Cebuano arnis masters such as Val Pableo, Gerald Canete, Michael Canete, Bonifacio Uy, Albert Sales, Rudy Rey and Jose Borces.