What if we shifted our perspective and embraced each season as an opportunity to renew our devotion to the ancestral altar of our bodies?

An embodied practice will both unravel you and rebuild you -- from your physical body to all your previously held beliefs. It will show you your enmeshment with your ancestors and your complete sovereignty as a unique human being. It will show you that you can fight harder than you thought possible, and that there is also wisdom in surrendering. It will ask you to embrace contradiction and paradox at all stages of the journey.

If you have ancestry from the Philippines and you feel the call to train, then Kali can serve as a dual-purpose vehicle: a deeper spiritual motivator for practical purposes. It taps into ancestral healing and connection, while providing a container and practice that can improve your physical and mental health.

Do you sometimes feel disconnected from your roots? I get it. Growing up, I used to struggle with this constant feeling like I was missing something. I kinda felt untethered. Being biracial with a Filipino father and a mixed European mother, I often wondered where I fit in. My connection to Filipino culture was mainly through pancit, adobo, and other traditional dishes that my dad cooked. It was also through the tidbits of Tagalog spoken at family gatherings, or through quirky customs that weren’t shared by my white American friends – like karaoke on the big screen TV in the basement at my uncle’s house. I wondered what really made up being Filipino? If I could figure that out, did I have enough of it? Would I ever feel Filipino enough?

✨Become the Warrior Your Ancestors Dreamed Of:

Learn how to connect with your ancestors and the power in your body through the practice of Kali, Filipino Martial Arts✨

New Chrysalis Kali merchandise! “I am the Warrior my Ancestors Dreamed of” baby onesie!

What is your definition of freedom when it comes to your body and movement? How do you imagine movement unfolding across your lifetime?

I rediscovered that my belonging extended beyond being solely Filipino, biracial, woman, or warrior; I was a part of the universal human experience. Though I am a student of martial arts and have had many instructors, Mother Nature has always been my Grandmaster. Patiently waiting for me to learn her most fundamental lesson: to trust and surrender back into the flow of life. I know now our warrior ancestors understood this deep wisdom; wisdom that we’re beginning to reclaim.

Anting antings have a long history in Filipino Martial Arts. Escrimadors or practitioners of the martial arts in the Philippines would often carry an amulet or talisman with them for protection. Anting antings are mystical objects of power. They could be anything from a crocodile 🐊 tooth, medallion worn around the neck, or oraccion (prayer) tattooed on the body. There are many stories of escrimadors who claimed their anting anting made them invinsible. These magical tokens would be passed down through the family or from teacher to student. Essentially, it’s something that can focus your will, or something you can draw emotional or spiritual spiritual strength from.

How do you want to feel? How to use movement to bring in more of what you’re longing for.

What if some distant ancestor magically time traveled from hundreds of years ago and appeared on your doorstep to give you a gift… How would you treat that gift? For sure, you'd cherish it like it was some treasure that could never be replaced, and you’d pass this priceless heirloom along to your grandchildren.

Your body, health, and DNA can be seen in the same way.

What if strengthening our bodies was an act of gratitude towards our ancestors? What if our bodies were our ancestral altars, and each bead of sweat shed during exercise, a sacred offering?

What’s your relationship to rest? How do you know your body is actually relaxed? The same way we can identify the sensations and signals our body gives us when we’re in danger (for example: elevated heart rate, sweaty palms, queasy stomach, tightness in chest, etc). Our body also tells us when we’re adequately at rest.

Fear is the body’s most ancient ally.

Self-defense is more than just learning how to fight.

Learning situational awareness, and how to read body language and your environment are self-defense strategies.

Movement has ancestral memory.

Training can act as an amplifier of old feelings, thoughts, and fears that you have stored in your body. Training in martial arts can bring up a lot of our “stuff.” For example, how you physically respond to a punch coming towards your face, your feelings about getting hit, and then the thoughts that follow – can be like little windows into your past.

One of the reasons I love Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) is the adaptability and the resourcefulness of the art throughout history. Kali teaches concepts that can be applied to our everyday lives, concepts that transcend time. For example, once you learn the basic striking angles, you can apply these angles to any weapon. The stick, the sword, your fist 👊🏽, an umbrella, trash can lids — anything can be a weapon.

If you were an ancient warrior of the Philippines, what would your weapon of choice be? Which weapon would call to you? Would it be a heavier dual handed sword like the kampilan, a headhunter’s weapon? Or a bow and arrow, allowing you to stay hidden and shoot from a far? Or would it be a bolo, an all-purpose blade for farming and fighting?

The Filipino Martial Arts was always originally a bladed art, meaning our ancestors used swords, daggers, spears, axes – weapons with a sharp edge. However, after the Spanish colonized the Philippines, they established a law that forbade locals from carrying long blades. Traditional swords that had both practical and spiritual meaning to the community, such as the kris and the kampilan, were banned. That’s when our ancestors who practiced the warrior arts decided to use rattan sticks (like the ones we practice with today ) instead of blades, hiding martial movements in choreographed dance and theater.