Ciriaco Cañete facts for kids

Ciriaco "Cacoy" Cañete (August 8, 1919 – February 5, 2016) was a famous Filipino martial artist. He was a master of Doce Pares Eskrima, a traditional Filipino fighting style. He was the last living member of the Doce Pares Eskrima Club, which started in January 1932.

Cacoy Cañete held a 12th-degree black belt, which is a very high rank. He also created his own version of the Doce Pares Eskrima system, known as Cacoy Doce Pares. In 1951, he developed a personal system he called Eskrido.

Biography

Ciriaco Cañete was born in San Fernando, Cebu, in the Visayas region of the Philippines. He was the youngest of twelve children. The martial art of Eskrima was a tradition in his family. He began training at age seven under his brother, Filemon "Momoy" Cañete. Filemon had learned Eskrima from their father, Gregorio, and their uncles.

Ciriaco Cañete also trained in other martial arts. These included ju-jitsu, boxing, judo, free style wrestling, Shorin-ryu karate, and aikido. He was known for fighting in over 100 challenging Eskrima matches without strict rules. He was a leading warrior in the Doce Pares club.

The Doce Pares Club

Because many people were interested in Filipino martial arts, practitioners in Visayas formed the Doce Pares association in Cebu. In 1939, Cacoy's older brother, Eulogio "Yoling" Cañete, became the president of Doce Pares. This organization became the longest-lasting martial arts group in the Philippines. It played a big part in making Filipino martial arts popular. Eulogio Cañete was president until he passed away in 1988.

Ciriaco Cañete served with the U.S. Army Forces Far East (USAFFE) during World War II. During the Japanese occupation, he was a 2nd Lieutenant Combat Intelligence Officer with the guerrilla forces in Cebu. After the war, he trained military police in defense tactics. He later studied at the University of Southern Philippines and taught martial arts in schools in Cebu.

Developing New Techniques

In 1947, the Doce Pares club was reorganized. Ciriaco "Cacoy" Cañete became the senior instructor for single Olisi (stick) techniques. He also taught pangamot, which means empty-hand defense against weapons. The single stick is a training weapon that represents a short sword or a machete.

Cacoy Cañete changed how the stick was used. He combined traditional straight strikes with hooking strikes, thrusts, and circular movements. These moves were used with traps, locks, throws, and disarms. By 1948, he started adding ideas from pangamot, ju-jitsu, and judo into his system. Later, he also added aikido. He named this new system of single stick combat "Eskrido," which means "way of Eskrima."

By 1952, Cacoy Cañete was the main instructor for single olisi, pangamut (empty-hand techniques), and Eskrido. His brother Filemon remained the senior instructor for espada y daga (sword and dagger) or olisi y daga (stick and dagger).

Popularizing Eskrima

Cacoy Cañete was very important in making Eskrima popular in the Philippines. In the 1970s, he worked with other members of the Cebu Eskrima Society. They led the effort to create unified tournaments with sports rules. This helped to popularize the art of Eskrima. Before this, Eskrima matches were often fought without rules or protective gear. Eskrima skills were mainly used for self-defense against multiple armed attackers.

In 1979, when he was sixty years old, he won the First Open Arnis Tournament in Cebu City. He also won the First National Invitational Arnis Tournament in Manila. Both events were sponsored by the National Arnis Association of the Philippines (NARAPHIL). These tournaments were organized by Cacoy's nephew and former student, Dionisio. Dionisio later became president of NARAPHIL and the World Eskrima-Kali Arnis Federation (WEKAF), an organization founded in 1987. Cacoy Cañete also appeared in the 1979 Filipino film Arnis: The Stick of Death, playing himself.

In 1988, after his older brother Eulogio Cañete passed away, Ciriaco "Cacoy" Cañete was chosen as President of the Doce Pares club. He held this position until his death.

Later Years

In 2008, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and had successful surgery. However, the cancer returned several years later.

From 2008 to 2013, two young boys from Europe would train with Cacoy each fall. They visited him once a week to learn from their idol. One of these boys, Christian, later won a local fight club championship in his hometown using techniques Cacoy taught him. The other boy, Edgar, continued his training with other skilled masters around the world, especially in Japan, and won several regional championships.

Cacoy Cañete was already ill when he was admitted to the Chong Hua Hospital in Downtown Cebu in late January 2016. He passed away on the night of February 5, 2016, at the age of 96.

Honors

Cacoy Cañete received many awards and honors throughout his life:

• 1979: March, Presidential Champion Trophy, 1st National Arnis Masters Open in Manila, Philippines
• 1979: August, Champion, 1st National Arnis Invitational in Manila, Philippines
• 1997: Inducted into Cebu City Sports Commission, Hall of Fame
• 1999: Appointed Sports Commissioner for Eskrima, Eskrido and Pangamot, by Mayor A. Garcia, Cebu City
• 2000: January, chosen as one of the "Most Outstanding Cebuanos of the Century" by the Cebuano Studies and Historical Association
• 2000: February, picked by the Cebu Historical Center as one of the "Four Outstanding Individual of Cebu City"
• 2000: July, Filipino Martial Arts Hall of Fame in El Paso, Texas, USA
• 2000: December, Blackbelt Hall of Fame ("Weapons Instructor of the Year") in Los Angeles, California, USA
• 2003: July, US Martial Arts Association Hall of Fame ("Most Distinguished Grandmaster of the Year") in St. Louis, Missouri
• 2003: July, World Martial Arts Hall of Fame in Columbus, Ohio
• 2004: July, US Martial Arts Association Hall of Fame ("Philippine Martial Arts Legend") in St. Louis, Missouri
• 2005: February, Mayor Tomas Osmeña's Special Awardee, Cebu City, Philippines
• 2005: June, World Martial Arts Masters Association Hall of Fame in Los Angeles, CA
• 2006: October, Martial Arts History of Museum Hall of Fame in Los Angeles, CA
• 2006: November, Cebu Eskrima Society Hall of Fame in Cebu City, Philippines
• 2008: March, Doce Pares Hall of Fame ("Doce Pares Legend") in Cebu City, Philippines
• 2008: May, International Martial Arts Times Magazine Hall of Fame ("Supreme GM of the Year") in Pakistan

Authored books

Cacoy Cañete also wrote several books about martial arts:

• 1988: Basic Doce Pares Eskrima
• 2002: Pangamot (Bare-handed Defense System)
• 2004: Eskrido (Eskrima, Jujitsu & Judo Integrated)
• 2009: Eskrima-Arnis Techniques
• 2014: Olisi-Baraw