so you've come to learn the ways of Arnis. the fighting art of your ancestors. 
you think you deserve
to hold this stick and knife
and call yourself a warrior? sportsman?
I ask you,
were you there when Magellan landed on our shores
savage colonizers who claimed these islands
were you there when our hero Lapulapu
led his forces, wielding spears and daggers and stones
were you there when blood
dripped onto sand
mixed with the saltwater
were you there when we fought for our lives
to the bitter end
now you step on rubber gym mats, blue as the ocean
and call it holy ground.
now you scream and search, desperate to find meaning
in this joyless earth
fear not, little girl
the fight has only just begun.