-I wrote the following reply before I read your follow-up. And I'm thinking that I would not have a much shorter reply, but for what it's worth, I'm posting it anyway. - Michelle
Hi Steve,
I cannot speak to a direct Chinese influence, because really only Tuhan can answer that. It is his style. But I can tell you that having done this style for 12 years watching as it evolved and going around and seeing other martial arts styles, I find myself at times feeling more akin to choy li fut and tai chi.
One of the concepts in this style is to absorb, to be water, to blend to the opponent.
I remember a story Tuhan told about the Grandmaster Ben Largusa about how he had a sparring partner who practiced Choy Li Fut. They were well matched. The partner then went to China to practice I believe it was elephant style, one of the highest forms. When he returned, they sparred again and despite not having seen any of the moves before, the Grandmaster Largusa matched him once again. It didn't matter what the other person did, if they had one technique then he had one technique, if he had 10,000 then he had 10,000.
And as much as 2nd generation Filipinos who live outside the Philippines would like to contextualize the Filipino culture as this jungle/native/tribal/pre-colonization culture, there is an aspect of the Filipino culture, usually seen as a detriment, of the way in which Filipinos take on the culture of others so readily. As a culture and a country influenced by Asia, America and Europe, it has somehow found a way to blend these cultures and influences together.
I attended a poetry reading of Fil-Am authors, and poet Joel B. Tan quipped, "we (Filipinos) are no one yet everyone".
I believe Tuhan has taken this theory and concept of water and blending much much further than what he learned from his own teacher of simply matching technique for technique. For him there are no boundaries. He picks up different weapons as if speaking to them. And while he may not use 3-sectional staff in a "traditional" way (I'm not really sure what commenters mean by "traditional"), it is in using this theory and concept of blending of being water that allows him to uncover new techniques.
In the school we do teach particular techniques and basics, sure. But the hardest lesson to learn I've found, is really how to take the theory and concepts you've been taught to find your own techniques.
Having said that, this is an evolving style in the same way in which culture evolves by and through its interaction in communities. We don't purport to be "traditional" Filipino martial arts, although we can always return to that movement quite readily.
When Tuhan went to Greece, he told the Greeks, I'm here to teach you Greek martial arts. When Tuhan went to Rome, he told the Romans, I'm here to teach you Roman martial arts. Why? Because it's the Spanish influence that brought Greek and Roman ideas to the Philippines. These cultures shaped how the Spanish moved which shaped how the Filipinos moved. A balisong class I took at camp, the instructor mentioned the oldest found balisong was found in France, yet the butterfly knife is known as a Filipino weapon.
So, back to the question about bagua influence. After reading people's reactions and comments to the various videos from Kamatuuran, I think it's similar to looking into a body of water, at times we see our own reflection what we already understand and know, at others the water is so deep, we see nothing.
As a writer I have struggled trying to explain to people who and what we do. But words are used for things that we have already defined, and what my teacher has always done and what he has taught his students to do is to seek out what he does not yet know and to re-examine and test what he does know to find what is truth. I have used the word Bagua to define us before, but that's only because it seemed close enough, but not quite, but for the function of communication and conversation, I'll go with that.
And perhaps this rather long story and explanation also comes down to "maybe".
