𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓫𝓮𝓰𝓲𝓷𝓷𝓲𝓷𝓰
When I was in grade school, my mom always encouraged me to engage in social and extracurricular activities. I was a timid and quiet girl, and she wanted me to break out of my shell. With that in mind, she enrolled me in a dance sport program at school. However, my time there was short-lived—I only lasted one week. I felt awkward having a boy as a partner, and the idea of being touched or performing "sexy" moves made me uncomfortable. Thankfully, my mom didn’t force me to continue (thank God!).
When I reached high school, we were encouraged to join academic clubs. I found myself drawn to journalism and radio broadcasting, which became my main focus. But there was another activity that caught my attention: Arnis, a traditional Filipino martial art. To be honest, I never took Arnis seriously as an extracurricular activity. I joined more for the fame (if you can call it that) and the exercise. Winning a district meet? That was never on my radar.
Everything changed when I entered college. Initially, I planned to focus solely on academics and avoid joining any organizations or sports. But life had other plans for me. The monotony of daily routines and staying within the four corners of my room started to feel suffocating. I needed something more.
It was the summer of April 2023 when I saw a poster that would change my life. The university’s Arnis team was looking for new members. I stared at the poster for a while, thinking, "There’s no harm in trying. Besides, I’m getting bored just sitting here every single day." With that thought, I messaged the contact person on the poster and learned about the training schedule.
I showed up to the first training session without any prior experience in Anyo (the exhibition form of Arnis). Little did I know, I was about to face a level of pressure I had never experienced before.
𝓕𝓪𝓬𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓓𝓸𝓾𝓫𝓽𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓡𝓲𝓼𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓐𝓫𝓸𝓿𝓮: 𝓜𝔂 𝓐𝓻𝓷𝓲𝓼 𝓙𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓷𝓮𝔂
When I joined the Arnis team, I quickly realized how out of place I was. All of my teammates had been Arnis players since elementary school. They had competed in local and national tournaments, bringing pride and honor to their communities. And then there was me—a complete novice, a non-achiever in comparison.
On my first day, I met our coach. He asked me why I decided to join Arnis, and I replied plainly, "I just got bored." He smiled bitterly at my answer, probably expecting a more passionate response. But then he asked me one more question: "Do you promise to never leave this team?" Honestly, I didn’t feel good about it, but to keep the conversation short, I simply said, "Yes, okay."