Eskrima in Cebu

– A Filipino Martial Arts Journey –

The Initial Project – Eskrima Carin

In 2017 Martial Arts Thailand traveled to Cebu, the cradle of Filipino Martial Arts, to document and to help promote one particular system of Eskrima – Eskrima Carin.

What we found in Cebu was two sons attempting to preserve and develop their father’s Eskrima legacy: The Carin Brothers.

The following video consists mainly of personal memories by Alfredo and Jun Carin. They tell the story of Vicente “Inting” Carin and the preservation of his legacy.

Discoveries in Cebu

We quickly realized that we needed more voices and that there were many other untold stories. More material will provide a wider context to make the whole project more interesting and complete.

Therefore, we plan to go back to Cebu to gather more information and to shoot more material. This would be to produce a documentary, not just about the Carins but about Eskrima in Cebu post WW2.

We want to include voices of lesser known but excellent local Eskrimadors. People may not have heard of them often because of their lack of marketing or English skills.

Jun Carin training Eskrima, arnis, Kali with Leigh Harris on seashore rocks in Cebu — Jun Carin training Eskrima with Leigh Harris in Cebu

Many of these Eskrimadors stories are interconnected. Their testimonies lead to a better understanding of the history of Eskrima in Cebu. We truly believe that their history needs to be shared to a wider audience

Collection of historical pictures of Eskrima Masters and students by Carin brothers in Cebu

Our New Goal: The Hidden Masters of Cebu

We self- financed our first trip to Cebu and spent four days with the Carin brothers. They were extremely generous donating their time for the first stage of this project.

For the second phase of this project we need funding to cover: travel expenses, accommodation and to give some renumeration to those we interview.

Many Cebuano Eskrimadors struggle financially and would probably appreciate some recognition of the time they spend sharing their knowledge and experience.

The Carin Family in Cebu. Vincent "Inting" Carin sitting in the center with Alfredo behind him and Jun in the foreground — The Carin Family in Cebu. Vincent “Inting” Carin sitting in the center with Alfredo behind him and Jun in the foreground

You can help us by contributing with donations directly via PayPal or via our GoGetFunding page where you can also follow the development of this project.

Of course we will itemize and keep records of all expenditure and this will be available for all who contribute.