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GM Jose MENA was
appointed as Grand Master of Arnis
Kali Eskrima in 1970, along
with GM Antonio Illustrissimo, GM Ben Lema, The Canete brothers, Floro Villabril and few
other legends of the Filipino Martial
Arts. GM Jose Mena is recognized as one of the
greatest Masters ever and he hold the title of
Dakilang Guro, 12th Degree. Read
more |
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Genesis
of a Warrior
| GM
José Mena is famous in the Philippines because like
most Arnisadore from his generation, he has accepted all the challenges and street fights since 1934. His
experience is based on survival, duels and war.
Grand
Master Mena
went thru WW2, the Japanese occupation and rebellions
in a century full of violence and fury. He descends
from a lineage of Eskrima Masters from Ilo-Ilo in
the Visayas and do owe his
life to his knowledge in Arnis Kali Eskrima. Grand Master
Mena likes to remind that he had only one teacher:
His father, Professor Patricio Mena.
His
father started to teach him the family style when he
was 10. As a kid, he remembers his father training
with some neighbors and friends of their village and
his grand-father teaching Patricio Mena in the
family backyard. Back then Doblete Rapilon was just
self-defense and survival. |
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Fight
to the Death
In
1934, as he was only seventeen, he is taken in
hostage by Muslim pirates from the Sulu Sea in
southern Philippines. At that time, the authorities
do not control the region at all: The Sulu islands
are still under the control of several warlords. He
is then sold to a Sultan qui who quickly discovers
his fighting abilities. Each new moon, a gladiator
tournament is organized and sultans send fighters to
represent them in death matches. Combats are hold in
an arena and bets are the rule. Barong’s blades
are coated with cobra venom, to make it more
spectacular and exiting.
José
Mena does not have any choice: To fight or be
executed. During its entire captivity, he will have
to eliminate his adversaries to save his life in
death matches before being declared winner and earn
its share of gold and jewels. They treat him as a
hero and he receives the title of Datu (war chief),
but remains a slave under strict surveillance until
the next tournament, as the new moon will come
again. After more than a year in captivity, he
finally finds a way to still a boat and escape to
avoid putting his life in danger again. This type of
extreme experience forges the character and
influences strongly the approach of fighting
techniques and attitude.
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The
Price Fighter
During
the coming years, José Mena came to work in Manila.
Curious,
he studies Boxing, Karate and Ju-Jitsu or Combat
Judo as it was called at that time. |
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During
WW2 he fought against Japanese who occupy his
country during and continued to prefect his art
of Arnis in duels and guerilla fights. |
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He fights
against other masters of Arnis Kali Eskrima, Penchak
Silat and Japanese Kendoka to measure his Arnis
against other systems. He
engages in many Arnis full contact tournaments and
built a reputation as a fierce fighter. This image
of GM Mena is still present in the memory of
today’s Arnisadores and few dare to spare with
him. |
Master Mena does not have the
attitude of a sport champion; he is a warrior, a
fighter. If he accepts to fight it can only be to
defend his reputation but not
for sport. His generation does not practice
Arnis as a sport but as a combat art. For him,
boxing is a sport, not Arnis. |
Aside
from his many duels and challenges, GM Mena also
participated in several tournaments. We must
acknowledge that the rules of these tournaments were
much wilder and violent than today and mortal
accidents did occurred in the past. This is Jose
Mena’s verified curriculum attested by his pairs
and by Doctor Estepa, member of the National Arnis Association of the Philippines (NARAPHIL) in 1970.
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1934
- Do or Die – Jolo Sulu Real Fight – Champion
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1936
– Jr. Instructor Division – Olympic Stadium
Manila – Champion
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1943
– Master Championship – Rizal Stadium – Champion
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1949
- Master Championship – Rizal Stadium – Champion
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1950
– Samahan ng Master sa PI – Rizal Stadium
– Champion
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1953
– Elimination of Master - Rizal Stadium –
Champion
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1960
– Mabalakat Master Tournament – Mabalakat
– Vice champion
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1965
– Batangas Master « Elimination »
- Batangas – Champion
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1970
– Master Category – Rizal Stadium – Champion
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1979
- Master Category – Manila Philippines Normal
– 3rd
A
total of 45 years testing his skills in challenges. For
which reason ?
When
I asked him the question, GM Mena answered to me
with a big smile: “I love to fight and it
does’t matter if the guy in front of me is one
meter bigger than me, I’m not afraid… and there
are too much people bragging. If somebody wants to
try, I am ready, even today (he was 84 at that time).
Anyway, I should have died long time ago, so I do
not have anything to loose, but they do!"
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The Master & Teacher
In
1951, GM Mena opens the first school of Arnis to the
public in Manila. The Tondo Arnis Club and
latter the Black Eagle is situated in Tondo,
the notorious and dangerous area of Manila Docks.
He
is invited with his association Black
Eagle to visit several Asian countries and
meet fighters from other systems; In Japan,
Indonesia and Thailand. He receives the title of
Grand Master in Arnis Kali Eskrima from the son of
President Marcos in presence of four Filipino
Generals. Today, he is granted the ultimate title of
Supreme Grandmaster. |
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Like most Arnis
Master, GM Mena was a close-combat instructors for
the Police and the Philippines Army Forces as well
as the US Army based in the Philippines. Read
more |
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expertise and knowledge in combat is universally
recognized by the community of Masters of Filipino
Martial Arts throughout the world and many
federations of Kali Arnis and Eskrima. In 2001, he
received a nomination in the Martial arts All of
Fame in the USA. GM Mena appears in numerous books
and articles: Arnis and Filipino Martial Culture from M. Wiley, Masters of
Kali Arnis Eskrima by PG
E. Sulite. |
Aside
from being an exceptional expert and skillful
fighter, GM Mena also had, a good level of
education and this has allowed him to organize his
system, to classify the techniques and
elaborate a teaching progression with 52 steps.
His very good English had
a positive impact because he was able to share his
knowledge with many foreigners and martial art
experts who came in the Philippines to study under
his guidance. His friendly attitude, mark of his Ilongo origin, could not hide however his fiery temper. And as he used to say: "who ever wants to fight me, 6 foot, 7 or 9 foot tall, I will fight. bring them on!" |
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We can regret however that GM Mena
never put any formal organization to develop his
system to an international scale. This task will be
the responsibility of his students so that we can
conserve and make the best of his lifetime’s
contribution to the Philippine Art of Arnis Kali
Eskrima. Doblete Rapilon however remains a family system and GM Mena's son Mario Mena remains certainly one of the best expert of his family's system.
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The
Faith Healer
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