THE SPECTRUM FEATURES ORIGINAL TAPADO By: James U. Sy Jr.

The Spectrum, the official publication of the University of St. La Salle (USLS), made history anew when it presented its first ever Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) feature in its Vol. 51 No. 17 March 2008 edition. The article was entitled "Tapado, A Negrense Breed of Martial Art" and was penned by Spectrum Magazine Editor Janela Joy R. Libo-on based on interviews and literature provided by Narciso “Hansy” L. Alojado of the Center for La Sallian Ministries (CELAM) and Cheeque Florence M. Lobrido of BN4B.

Libo-on, who once served as a volunteer at CELAM, became curious of the long coffee sticks that Alojado brought to practice every now and then, Alojadoi gave her a backgrounder of the art and referred her to the various blogs and websites maintained by the Conceptual Martial Arts Society (CMAS), Inc. headed by Alojado and James U. Sy Jr. for more info as well as numerous video clips at You Tube (youtube.com and search for “ka69er Tapado”) and some write ups by Alojado in Rapid Journal (see www.rapidjournal.com) and FMA Digest (www.fmadigest.com).

Some of the blogs, websites, and newsgroups maintained by CMAS include
CMAS-USLS Newsgroup, FMA Circle of Negros Island (fmacircle.ph.tc), Hanz Conceptual Martial Arts (http://cmas-bo.blogspot.com), IFFMAS Filipino Martial Arts Blog (http://iffmas.blogspot.com), Original Filipino Tapado Long Stick Fighting Association (OFTLSFA), Inc. (http://oftlsfai.blogspot.com), Original Filipino Tapado Newsgroup, Visayan Filipino Martial Arts (http://visayanfilipinomartialarts.blogspot.com), Original Filipino Tapado Website (http://www.geocities.com/hans00228/main.html), and Western Visayas Martial Arts (http://westernvisayasmartialarts.blogspot.com).

After knowing the rich heritage and witnessing the effectivity and power of Original Filipino Tapado, Libo-on decided to write about it so that the new generation will know that Ilonggos have their own indigenous long stick fighting art at par with, if not better than, Kendo of Japan, Bojutsu of Okinawa, the long staff of china, and Krabi Krabong of Thailand.

The article explains the etymology of the name tapado and its essebce and gives a summative history of how the late Grandmaster Romeo “Nono” C. Mamar founded
Original Filipino Tapado in 1960 in Prk. Langka, Brgy. Taloc, Bago City and passed on the art to his nephew 1st Generation Inheritor Grandmaster Benefredo “Bebing” M. Lobrido. The write up includes 5 full color pictures and 22 illustrations of its techniques.






"Tapado, A Negrense Breed of Martial Art" by Janela Joy R. Libo-on is the first article on Tapado to be published in a school paper in the world. The first piece on Tapado to printed on a national level periodical in the Philippines was “Tapado: The art of the Big Sticks” by Dr. Ned R. Nepangue of Cebu in Rapid Journal Vol. 4 No. 4. The first series of write ups on Tapado was penned by Alojado for Rapid Journal (Vol. 10 No. 4, Vol. 11 Nos. 1, 2, & 4, and Vol. 12 No. 1 & 2).

The first article on Tapado to be published in the world was “The art of tapado” by university professor Dr. Ronald A. Harris of the USA for Inside Kung Fu in 1989. Dr. Harris was the first American certified and authorized to teach this art.

The Vol. 1 No. 17 edition of The Spectrum is a state of the art full color issue comparable to renowned magazines such as cosmopolitan, Entrepreneur, and FHM among others. It is printed on glossy paper and is 118-pages thick. The Spectrum was founded in 1956 as a tabloid, printed on white paper which was the standard during that time. Through the years it had evolved to reflect the changing times.

This school year’s The Spectrum staff are Manuel Jeffrey O. Sistoso (Editor-in-Chief), Arjay O. Solitario (Managing Editor), Janela Joy R. Libo-on (Magazine Editor), Neslie Faith V. Sianson (Asst. Magazine Editor), Andrea V. Derecho, Marcelina V. Yandall, and Celine A. Chua (Magazine Writers), Aries D. Cariño (Newspaper Editor), Allan Gabriel M. Iñogo (Asst. Newspaper Editor), Arthur Jason Javellana, Kathreen Joyce Tubid, John Alexander M. Cuyosa, Epi M. Kassandra A. Dajao, and Randalf T. Aranza (Newspaper Writers), Jaime F. Bentinganan (Literary Editor), Rigil Kent B. Ariola (Layout and Graphics Editor), Timothy A. Escopete (Asst. Layout and Graphics Editor), Jumpee P. Tipon and Mark Romulo Tumbagahan (Layout Artists), Hector Gregory A. Benedicto, Krazelle M. Escarilla, and Paolo Adonis B. Tio (Photojournalists), Patrick V. Ellaga and Jobeele G. Vallega (Illustrators), Regi Joseph B. Arguelles, Mervin G. Vera, and Charmae S. Labao (Editorial Assts.), and Hannah Papason-Mariveles (Moderator).