sunday roast chicken

12.12NOON. my wife is fussing over the roast chicken (garlic, rosemary and thyme) while i fussed over the local channels looking for where i may be able to view the donaire-montiel showdown.



i had just finished reading through jingo quijano's insightful last round column today and stoked at being able to witness this fistic fest, i turned to tv. alas, my skills on the computer keyboard are no match at searching through channels and decided to wait out for the results. while my wife's roast chicken was still in the turbo broiler, i indulged in some little mma reading.

boxing and mma are just of two sports that enjoy a strong following in the country, and especially in cebu where there are numerous boxing, yaw-yan or kickboxing, arnis and mma gyms and schools around metropolitan cebu. if you're a fan of at least two of these sports, it wouldn't be a surprise to you that cebu is rich not only in cultural and social history, but in the martial tradition and heritage, as well.

i had come across an interesting essay about the philippine yaw-yan foot boxing league, which caught my attention as urcc was starting to gain more and more attention and i was looking for more information about the then-fledgling domestic mma competition.

among the sports that were featured were boxing and yaw-yan -- yaw-yan being a filipino kickboxing style that has made a successful transition into mma, just as boxing had. there is one team that has had a lot of crossover success in the leading domestic mma competition.

in boxing, cebu has become the center for serious professional boxing training. the island cosmopolitan is where one of the most successful boxing gyms outside of the capital is based, and has produced many champions and boxers in both on the international and domestic level.

the success that our filipino athletes have showcased on the international stage is something we are all proud of, and do expect and look forward to continued success. personally, i believe that filipino mma athletes are very, very capable of competing in the international stage, and have done so in many mma and bjj competitions. for ufc president dana white to say that the philippines may be the first to hold the very first TUF International Series is an opportunity for the country to showcase the best of what our mma athletes.

already, the cultural exchange of martial styles has been well-received, if not in the country, here in cebu. there are two schools of brazilian jiujitsu in Cebu city, both in my home city of talisay --john acosta's gracie jiujitsu school in robinson's lawaan -- and deftac in asiatown it park.

i've been able to visit both schools and was most impressed with them. to be there personally and to see how the teachers and students interacted was a great experience and i hope to be able to enrol in a class soon -- something that many fans of the sport should one day take to enhance their knowledge and passion for the sport. who knows, it may just add to your experience of watching mma on tv and enjoying home-cooked garlic and rosemary chicken.






(penumbra: thanks, by the way, to friends, rob carin, and the sports alchemist for the donaire-montiel update!)