Cruel and Swann win two golds each at PEKAF Arnis tourney

Two  Ateneo Senior High School (ASHS) students- Travis Cruel of 12-Daniel and Daniel Swann of 11-Campion- each won two gold medals at the Philippine Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation (PEKAF) NCR Familiarization Tournament held last January 27, 2019 at the Ateneo de Manila University College Covered Courts. Cruel’s two golds were for the single stick (65kgs) and double stick (65kgs) events, while Swann’s two golds were for the single stick (60kgs) and knife-fighting (60kgs) events. 

Three other ASHS boys- Luis Albar of 12-Gonzalez, Padraic Sia-Velez of 11-Nakaura and Gio Fernandez of 12-Ogilvie- each won a gold medal from the same competition. Albar’s gold was for the knife-fighting (55 kgs) event while Velez’s was for the sword & shield (70kgs) event. Fernandez’s gold was for the single stick (70 kgs) event. The boys were coached by Grand Master Richardson Gialogo, moderator of the SHS Arnis Club.

Twenty-three teams participated in the competition, namely Arnis Pasindo Eskrima, Ateneo Arnis Team,  Baxafra ARMOR, City of San Fernando Knights, Claret Kali Arnis Team, Colegio de Sta. Ana, Kali Arnis Hirada Batanguenyo, Kali Arnis Serrada System, Kalis Illustrisimo, Marikina Arnis Team, Muntinlupa City Arnis Team, Kidlat-Taguig City Arnis Team, Philippine Council of Eskrima Arnis, Philippine Science High School Arnis Club, Police Arnis Akademiya, Poveda, PSA SSO, Rizal Technological University, St. Paul’s Pasig, Tayabas-Quezon Arnis Club, University of Asia & the Pacific, University of the Philippines Arnis Kali, and US Autoparts Self-Defense Club. More than 260 individuals took part in the tournament.
 
The events played were Single and Double Padded Sticks (Blade Concept), Single and Double Live Sticks (Stick Concept), Sword and Shield (Bladed Concept) and Knife-Fighting (Bladed Concept).