FMA and the Spanish American War

[Makalakumu]

I am curious as to the impact, if any, that FMA had on the Spanish American war. My Arnis de Mano instructor said that during the invasion of the Philipines by the US marines, the Americans had to put leather shields on their necks in order to protect themselves against the filipino knife weilders. This is supposedly the origin of the term leatherneck.

 

[arnisandyz]

there are urban (jungle?) legends regarding FMA all over the place. Some can be documented and some are good storytelling, you either believe it or not. Some of the ones I've heard of the top of my head...

"Leathernecks"

"45 Colt developed specifically for use against the Filipino Moros"

"Moro Kris swords cutting through a Springfield rifle"

"the ventenueve balisong"

"amazing stories of anting-anting"

"amazing stories of Hilot"

"supernatural accounts of heroics"

These facts or myths are not exclusive to FMA. I remember as a kid being told Filipino stories like "the lady of the highway", Filipino trolls (can't think of the Tagalog name), and many others. I think in the end, going by Filipino culture, its not if these stories are true or not, but are based on a belief system. The Philippines has been a somewhat suppressed culture, being occupied for so many years, so some stories served at the time, to keep the Filipino spirit alive and to give its people hope. Notice how most stories favor the glamourization of Filipinos? About how one man dispatched 29 foes with a balisong? About how the enemy had to create a leather guard to protect the neck? Rarely about how fearsome the enemy was.

 

[bart]

Hey There,

The rebellion against the Spanish was organized by the Katipunan (Kataastaasan Kagalanggalang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan) and many, if not most, of them were eskrimadors. They effectively defeated the Spanish. In one incident, The Cry of Nueva Ecija, the Katipuneros fought the Spanish with only bolos and sharpened sticks.

Essentially, during the Spanish American War, the US walked into an existing rebellion in the Philippines and made agreements with the Katipunan leaders promising non-aggression. The Katipuneros were betrayed by the United States who reneged on their promises and invaded the Philippines by force. The Katipunan then fought a guerilla war against the US occupying force. Although most of the resistance was quelled after a few years of fighting in 1903, but in some areas the guerilla war lasted for as long as 15 years.

As for the leatherneck thing, I'm not sure, but I believe that they had that particular part in place before that. A bolo might not cut right through the leather, but it would probably still smash a few vertebrae. So it would seem more legend than fact.

Regardless good information can be found in History of the Filipino People by Teodoro A. Agoncillo.

Some other good information can be found here:

http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1160373

http://www.oovrag.com/essays/essay2003b-3.shtml

http://www.historyguy.com/PhilipineAmericanwar.html

http://www.filipino-americans.com/cgi-bin/redirect.cgi?url=filamwar.html

I first learned about this stuff when I was in high school in Manila. Much of it is not taught here in the US and that is a shame.