Originally posted by arnisador
You'll find lots of info. if you search this forum. The usual translation is "counter-for-counter" and it's a series of drills in Modern Arnis.
Evolution of Tapi-Tapi
Wanna hear something interesting? "Tapi-Tapi" does not actually translate to "counter for counter." I thought it ment that also when Professor was alive, but as it turns out, tapi-tapi doesn't directly translate to counter for counter in Cebueno, Taglog, or in any of the other dialects as far as I know.
In Cebueno (and I think Taglog also, but do not quote me on this) it actually means "to pass." In Cebu specifically, it is generally refered to when you pass the opponents stick hand at the wrist when the opponent is trying to puno-strike you.
Now this makes sense, when you think about it. How did "Tapi-Tapi" start off? It was a drill where you and a partner performed single sinawali w/ one stick (usually...we also had 2 stick against one stick stuff later). Then one person would enter with a puno strike, and the other would "pass" (either in front of their face, or pat down) and counter with a puno. So you and your partner would now be throwing a furry of Puno's at each other while parrying and "passing" each others puno strike, until one person would finally "break" by posting on the attacking hand with the live hand and striking at the knee (#9); which put you back at single sinawali w/ your partner, thus completing the cycle.
Now from that drill, Tapi-Tapi evolved (as Modern Arnis always did). So, after one person enter's and puno's, the other person now counters with a strike (#1 or #2). Then we learned "pre-sets" from the drill. These presets often consisted of us grabing the stick from the #1 or#2 and then baiting with a strike that allows our partner to grab our wrist. Then we would trap or lock from this bait. We had a bunch of different "presets" from this drill.
Now in both methods above, usually one person was "the driver" or the person who dominated the drill. This drill evolved even more, to where there was no driver. Anyone could enter, and anyone could try to counter. This basically turned into a controlled "free sparring" or "free-play" at this point.
Now, the Tapi-Tapi exercise was a great seminar teaching tool. Professor had a horrible time teaching the "countering the counter" concept to people who could only see him a few times a year. Granted, there were some who followed him on his circuit and got more time in then a couple times a year, but this was not the majority. People had a hard time grasping the concept. Tapi-Tapi was exciting to Professor because he could now teach the average Joe off the street with no experience the concept of countering the counter through the drill portion and preset's in one seminar. They might not be able to "free-play" by the end of the seminar, but they will at least understand the basic concept. Professor was very passionate about this exercise because of this. He loved the fact that he could watch his students progress before his eyes like never before.
Now...how do I know...?
How do I know the fact that "Tapi-Tapi" doesn't mean "Counter for Counter?" Simple: I asked a realiable source who speaks both Cebueno and some Taglog. I don't mean to drag him into this, but it was my Balintawak instructor. I was curious one day, I believe it was my 2nd or 3rd session right in the beginning of my training, so I asked what "tapi-Tapi" translated too. Mind you, his English is a bit better then Remy's was. He said it means "to pass." Now, I was confused because I had never heard this before. I figured it ment something like "counter-counter," so I was suprised at the answer. So I asked, "What do you mean?" He said, "like this" and he slowly threw a puno strike at me, and guided my live hand "to pass" his stick hand in both directions (up in front of my face, and down); this was the same motion we did when "Tapi-Tapi" was first used in the drill!!! (Disclaimer: I don't believe the first part of tapi-tapi was always called tapi-tapi when it was invented, but as Modern Arnis veterans will remember with a smile, Professor had a habit of changing names of things all the time. The point here is, that first part was called tapi-tapi at one time, before it evolved to the pre-sets, and the semi-sparring) Now, my Balintawak teacher knew Remy Presas, but he did not know his art, or that his explaination of "Tapi-Tapi" was identicle to how we first learned the drill.
So, I maintain that "Tapi-Tapi" does in fact mean "to pass" or "pass-pass." If you don't buy my story as proof, you can check some of the different filipino dialects. You will be hard pressed to find one that translates "Tapi-Tapi" as "counter-counter."
So...why/how the confusion?
I can't say this as fact, but here is what I believe happened. I believe that Professor invented the drill using the "pass-pass" translation, which is logical because this was the filipino explaination of the movement. As time went on, he never bothered to change it or seperate it after the drill evolved to presets and semi-sparring. Also Professor knew many different languages and liked to play on words, and we all know he had a sense of humor, so the "tap, tap" or clicking of the sticks sounded like "tappy, tappy" so I am sure that he felt this was a fitting name for this reason as well. I actually remember in the beginning of the evolution of this drill people thought that it was named tapi-tapi because of the noise it made. This is funny to look back on today.
Now, the above may be true, but how did things get confused? Well, to help explain, here were some common Professor quotes:
"You will learn the Tapi-Tapi so you can counter the counter!"
"You must learn the counter-for-counter. That is why you must do the Tapi-Tapi!"
"The heart of the art is in the Tapi-Tapi"
I never once heard him say directly that Tapi-Tapi directly translated to "counter-counter," or "counter for counter." I will remind people here, though, that Professor was gifted, but he was not a linguist or historian. He may or may not even knew linguistically how Tapi-Tapi translated and from what dialect, for all we know. But, I do not remember him talking about how it translated, just what he wanted you to learn from the exercise. What we were supposed to learn was the most important thing.
He always stated that the 2 most important things in his art was "The Flow" and "Countering the Counter." It has always been that way. Professor believed that "The art of Tapi-Tapi" could teach someone the concept of countering the counter. So he would say things like what is quoted above, because he was passionate about Tapi-Tapi and the potential it had to teach the beginner the 2 most important concepts of his art. If the heart of the art is in Tapi-Tapi, then what is "in" tapi-tapi? The Flow and Countering the counter is "in" tapi tapi, if learned properly, of course!
What it does NOT mean, however, is that Tapi-Tapi (the exercise) IS the heart of the art. Tapi Tapi is NOT the art itself. This does not mean that you can't understand Modern Arnis w/o Tapi-Tapi, an exercise that was invented earlier, but undeveloped until the early 90's. If it ment any of these things then Professor would have/should have considered changing the name of Modern Arnis to "Tapi Tapi"; however, this idea was never considered. All that it does mean is that through the drill/exercise, you can LEARN what the art is really about.
So, how did this translation/concept get confused? First of all, language barriers played a major role. It is very difficult to decifer that "You will learn Tapi-Tapi so you can counter the counter" doesn't mean Tapi-Tapi = counter counter, unless you know the language ahead of time. Secondly, there are many people out there who NEED Tapi-Tapi to mean counter-counter to fit their own personal agenda. You see, if Tapi-Tapi means counter-counter directly, then that means that Tapi-Tapi IS the heart of the art, and that without it you have no Modern Arnis. They NEED to believe that by perfecting Tapi-Tapi, they have mastered Modern Arnis. Why? I do not know. Needs are different for each individual. People have different needs, and sometimes they let their needs overshadow the facts, and the truth.
So, I have conjectures as to why, but I really don't know for sure why it is so important for people to believe that "Tapi-Tapi" means "counter for counter," but I know that for many, their world seems to revolve around it. I also know that I am exposing myself by posting the facts here to ridicule and hatred by my contemporaries. For some, it is so vital that Tapi-Tapi = Counter for counter = heart of the art, that they are going to vehemently and perhaps angerly oppose everything I am saying. Well, people will have to find the truth for themselves, and I cannot change anyones mind. You can force the student to go to school but you can't make him think. But, for those of you who are just looking to understand, but aren't sure what to think, just look for yourself to see if you can find where "Tapi-Tapi" translated to "counter-counter" in any of the Filipino Dialects. When you find that it doesn't, then this should lead you to some answers.
As for me, I know that some will disagree w/ me, but please understand that I have no Ill intentions. I am just posting here what I believe to be true from what I know.
Thank you,
PAUL
:asian: