Different Types of Martial Arts
Balintawak: “economy, elegance, strength, and speed”
Balintawak
A Filipino martial art with the motto “economy, elegance, strength, and speed,” balintawak draws influence from the Doce Pares systems. It is sometimes referred to as balintawak eskrima and is named after Balintawak Street, in Cebu, where the founder, Venancio Bacon, first set up his school and where many of the system’s innovations and developments were created. Bacon studied with a number of well-known practitioners, many of whom had experience of the tradition of fighting death matches with opponents’ schools. Standing just 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m) tall and weighing 120 lb (54 kg), Bacon was the veteran of many death matches himself. During the 1950s and 60s, a period known as the
Balintawak
golden age of eskrima in Cebu, he was involved in many vicious fights and is said to have killed a number of fighters who challenged for the title of the King of the Eskrimas.
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