Banaag bats for Pinoy ‘Sikaran’

MANILA, Philippines - Hari Osias Banaag, a US-based Filipino Sikaran grand master, is confident the sport will gain a mainstream appeal it deserves even as he vowed to push for its inclusion in the Filipino school curriculum and its recognition as a national sports association.

Under Banaag’s leadership, the ancient art of Filipino foot fighting has gone global with headquarters in Canada, Australia, Algeria, Korea, Sri Lanka, India, Italy, Mexico, Argentina, Burundi, Saudi Arabia and the US with instructions done in Filipino.

“Sikaran is totally different from other martial arts forms. While karate employs hands for punching and chopping, and kung fu uses the feet and hands. I would say that taekwondo is the closest when it comes to the use of kicks, but the style and center of power is different. Sikaran is the ancient art of Filipino foot fighting. It is pure Filipino,” said Banaag.

Inspired by what he has learned from his father in Baras, Rizal, and the potential for the sport, he put up his martial arts school in September 1976 which he named Foremost Sikaran brotherhood.

In 1997, he attended the World Martial Arts for peace event in Washington DC, representing Sikaran. He also decided to migrate to the US to bring the sport abroad, starting with training relatives and friends. By 1998, he was able to establish the Global Sikaran Federation DBA, a Sikaran-Arnis Academy in California.

As news of the new form of martial art spread, Hollywood luminaries and martial arts experts such as Cynthia Rothrock, Jerry Fisher, Don “The Dragon” Wilson, and Eric Lee soon met up with him. He was also awarded by the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame as the Sole King of Sikaran in 2004, and received a Presidential Active Lifestyle Award by George Bush in the same year. By 2008 he was inducted into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame and awarded a Doctorate of Martial Arts.