Philippine Combat Arts School: Bahad Zubu Kali - Stick fighting - Boxing

09/02/2026

08/29/2026

His name was Vicente Macanaya.

In the 1860s, American adventurer Frederick Townsend Ward organized a foreign force to fight alongside the Qing government against the Taiping rebels.

Among Ward’s most important recruits were the “Manilamen”—men from the Philippines living in Shanghai. Chinese records referred to Ward’s Filipino-heavy troops as the “Luzon Braves.”

Macanaya became Ward’s trusted aide-de-camp and commanded Filipino fighters within his force.

They took part in some of the most intense fighting around Shanghai. In one battle at Paihokang, historical accounts record Macanaya leading a charge against the Taiping forces and killing their commander.

When Ward was killed in battle in 1862, Macanaya was reportedly expected to succeed him.

But that did not happen.

Command instead passed to Henry Burgevine and eventually to the British officer Charles Gordon.

Still, Macanaya's story is remarkable.

While the Philippines was still under Spanish colonial rule, a man from the Philippines had risen to become a trusted military leader in one of the most famous foreign armies fighting in 19th-century China.

08/28/2026

08/26/2026

Teaching how authentic Philippine history, culture, and tradition is embedded in the dugo(blood) of our arts is based on the living teachings of our teachers, the community in the Philippines, as well as extensive academic research. Context that bridges both the modern and the traditional.

08/03/2026