REPRESENTATIVES FROM the Kali Arnis Martial Arts Organization (KAMAO) competed in the 2015 World Martial Arts Festival in Chungju, South Korea from August 21 to 30. The festival was hosted by the World Martial Arts Union, in partnership with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

The main event of the festivities was the International Martial Arts Competition, where roughly 400 entries from 29 different teams showcased their martial art in an exhibition competition. Antonio Daniel Bernas (AB PSY ’13) made it to the semifinals of the single-person weapons exhibition category while Ryan Gialogo (AB POS ’01), and Alesandro Antonio Valencia (AB PH ’08) both made it to the semifinals of the two-person weapons exhibition category.

Through the trio’s efforts, the Philippine team was awarded 500,000 won  (Php 20,000) as consolation. The team would then donate the money to Georgia Uy (AB COM ’13), who had to extend her stay in South Korea for surgery after injuring both her anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament during the festival.

Aside from Bernas, Ry. Gialogo, Uy, and Valencia, the Philippine delegation included a bevy of Ateneo alumni: Marie Kristine Crespo (BS LM ’05), Elizar Ryan Bermase (BS CS ’08), Jefferson Phil Tan (BS MGT ’10), Hannah Concepcion Donato (BS COMTECH ’12), and John Christian Donato (BS MIS ’14). Arnis Varsity Women’s Team Captain Yzabela Kristinelle Palecpec was the lone Ateneo undergraduate who represented the Philippines this year.

Richardson Gialogo (BS MIS ’96), the department head of the Loyola Schools Physical Education and the head coach of the Ateneo Arnis Varsity team, also competed with the Philippine delegation but played an additional role in the festivities: He presented a paper entitled “Relationships of Educational Theories with Learning Martial Arts” during the World Martial Arts Academy International Congress, an annual congregation where martial art scholars meet in an effort to preserve the various martial cultures throughout the world.

KAMAO is Ateneo’s official arnis organization, which is composed of alumni and undergraduate members. The Ateneo Arnis Varsity team, which is composed solely of undergraduates, falls under this group.