Our Inspiration
Honoring the legacy of the Filipino ancestors
Kumusta! Through our style of Filipino Martial & Performing Arts we hope to convey the rich history, cultural diversity and natural beauty of the Philippines. Our organization’s hopes are that through sharing and teaching our style of Filipino Martial Arts & Performing Arts we can share the beauty and culture of the Philippines with more people. We hope the PaaMano Organization will inspire future generations of Filipinos worldwide to learn more about their history, culture and the natural treasures of The Philippines. And hope we can educate and inspire non-filipinos in this beautiful and effective art.
Jose Rizal wrote a preface of Morga's Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas “If the book succeeds to awaken your consciousness of our past, already effaced from your memory, and to rectify what has been falsified and slandered, then I have not worked in vain, and with this as a basis, however small it may be, we shall be able to study the future.”
PaaMano Eskrima and Performing Arts is committed to sharing, in our small way, Rizal's vision of cultural enlightenment, knowledge and pride.
PaaMano Eskrima
PaaMano Eskrima literally means paa-foot, mano-hand, Eskrima-skirmish. Master Roland Ferrer created and founded this style in 1992. The style combines multiple styles of weaponry with empty hand concepts as well as kicking applications. Elbows, knees, takedowns and disarms are an integral part of the system. Eskrima is a flowing and rhythmic art. Its’ practice was outlawed by the Spanish conquistadores. The Filipino people had to find a way to keep their art alive to pass down to the next generation. They solved this problem by incorporating the martial art into some of their traditional dances.
The martial art was hidden in dance and taught in secret for centuries. PaaMano Eskrima was created to honor all the evolutions and changes of the art throughout the ages. The Sayaws (dance/forms) created for this curriculum are a balance of accuracy and application with flow and artistry. They are a tribute to the fine warriors and performers that for so many centuries kept the art alive for us to enjoy today.
We are grateful for all the different Arnis, Eskrima and Kali, styles, instructors and practitioners for keeping the art alive for future generations and for sharing FMA with the world. Salamat po.
PME and Performing Arts
Our PaaMano Performing Arts Company is a fusion of different styles of dance, martial arts, music, acrobatics and storytelling. PM Performing Arts was created to honor the artists, heroes, legends, historical figures and natural treasures of the Philippines as well as to celebrate the Filipino influences on cultures and artistic styles worldwide.
We have a multi-talented group of performers committed to sharing their love and pride of Filipino culture. The individual members of our performing arts company bring a variety of artistic training and background to our shows. We try to incorporate their artistic diversity into our choreography, music and stories. Sharing the martial as well as artistic sides of Eskrima is an integral aspect of our choreography.
PaaMano Eskrima and Performing Arts has performed live at venues from San Francisco to San Diego. We have also performed for film and for videos.