Emmanuel ES Querubin
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Emmanuel del Espiritu Santo Querubin, Head Instructor of SIKAP, met Meliton Geronimo, in 1958 when the former affiliated his school Samahan sa Ikauunlad ng Karate sa Pilipinas (SIKAP) later renamed Sikaran Pilipinas (SIKAP) with the Karate (Sikaran) Brotherhood of the Philippines, headed by Meliton Geronimo.
Querubin was appointed Director for Research and Standards of the Karate (Sikaran) Brotherhood of the Philippines. Part of his duties was to undertake a research in Sikaran and related Filipino Fighting Arts. After a painstaking quest that took him as far north as Batanes and as far south as Jolo, he ended back in the town of Baras, in the Province of Rizal the hotbed of Sikaran. There he met septuagenarian Cipriano Geronimo, the last Sikaran Hari of Baras. With Cipriano Geronimo were octogenarians Manuel Ocampo and Melencio Bigasin, elder Sikaran contemporaries and Haris turned Guros. Also present were long time inactive Sikaran Guros Aurelio Cabacob, Angeles Pilapil and Servillano Javier.
Querubin met some practitioners in the neighboring towns around Baras, who trained in Sikaran at one time or another. For some reason they have not attained the status of Hari (champion) or Guro (teacher) and therefore were not considered valid and legitimate authority to pass on Sikaran. They were, however, an invaluable source of information.
In the 1950’s, Meliton Geronimo, under the tutelage of these last living Masters of Sikaran, Cipriano Geronimo, Melencio Bigasin, Manuel Ocampo, Aurelio Cabacob, Angeles Pilapil and Servillano Javier, started formulating the curriculum of what is now present day Sikaran.
The website, (www.SikaranPilipinas.com) based on the book, ‘Sikaran Fighting Art of the Filipino Farmer’ the result of the persevering efforts of Emmanuel del Espiritu Santo Querubin, is a record of the evolution of Sikaran from a system to an art. It came into reality with the encouragement of Meliton Geronimo, Jimmy Geronimo, Cipriano Geronimo, Melencio Bigasin, Manuel Ocampo and Daniel Rendal. Work on this book started in 1960, but due to unforeseen circumstances, publication was postponed until more than 47 years later.
Learn more about Emmanuel Querubin, the History of Sikaran and the PKA:
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