The stick carries the blade’s legacy 🥢

In our post-training discussion last session, we explored how and why Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) adapted to stick training—transitioning from blades to sticks as a means to preserve the art during colonial rule.

Colonial authorities imposed restrictions, but they did not erase our warrior traditions. When the Spanish prohibited Filipinos from carrying full-sized swords or openly practicing their martial arts, our ancestors refused to let their knowledge disappear. Instead, they adapted, disguising movements in plain sight—whether through sticks, everyday tools, or even in dance.

This adaptation didn’t weaken the art—it ensured its survival and continued evolution. Through every historical challenge, FMA has adapted—expanding across regions, generations, and circumstances while staying rooted in its warrior traditions.

We reflected on how imposed limitations don’t always mean the end—even in our own lives. Instead, they can push us to see new possibilities. Even when options are taken away, we instinctively find ways to adapt and innovate—preserving what’s essential, often in ways we never could have imagined.

How have limitations in your own life pushed you to find new ways to thrive?

We’ll be continuing our double-stick training in tomorrow’s online Decolonization Dojosession in the Chrysalis Kali online membership. Looking forward to seeing members there!

Doors for online membership are currently closed, but I have some exciting things happening this spring—stay tuned! 

For those of you local to NYC, our next monthly in-person training will be in mid-March. More details coming soon!