Some martial arts are universally known in the mainstream, while others are a bit more obscure and best known to people deeply involved in the martial arts world. Others still are lamentably barely known to the general public and even to many martial artists, if at all, an unfortunate reality, to say the least. That has long been the case for the Filipino kick-oriented martial art of Sikaran, but it has gradually grown more renown in the 21st century. We at KFK, of course, are more than happy to do our part in sharing the beauty and power of Sikaran with the world, so let’s dive in KFK readers for our latest Martial Art of the Month column, Sikaran!
Origins
As a martial art much less known in the mainstream, the origins of Sikaran are much more difficult to pinpoint definitely. Nevertheless, the lineage of Sikaran can be traced back to the town of Baras, located in the Rizal province of the Philippines. Sikaran’s origins also have a somewhat more playful basis than many other martial arts, being originally conceived as a game.
According to the art’s history within the Philippines, Sikaran began as a competition among farmers, in which competitors would exchange kicks with one another. This can be seen in the name Sikaran itself, which derives from the Tagalog term Sikad, which translates as “Kick”. Over time, the kicking techniques found with Sikaran grew more complex and moved out of the realm of mere play and into a full-blown system of martial arts, and one with a strong emphasis on a particular methodology of striking.
Techniques
In the martial arts world, many first think of Taekwondo as the art most renown for its kicking techniques, but Sikaran is possibly the most kick-heavy martial art in the world. Owing to its name and origins, Sikaran uses every kind of kicking technique in the book – roundhouse kicks, front kicks, side kicks, spinning kicks, and every kind of variation thereof.
As with most kick-oriented martial arts, Sikaran also places its own unique spin on its kicking techniques, some quite literally so. Sikaran’s most well-known kick, the Biakid kick, is known to martial artists of different disciplines as the basic spinning heel kick. Sikaran places great emphasis on the Biakid kick in training, recognizing its power and effectiveness, with a well-placed Biakid capable of delivering a knockout strike with ease.
Practitioners You May Know
Given that it is a far lesser-known martial art in the mainstream, there aren’t as many well-known practitioners of Sikaran compared to other martial arts. However, some of the most important figures in its development nonetheless are highly revered in the Sikaran world. One of them is Meliton Geronimo, who helped spread Sikaran as a martial art throughout the Philippines as a structured system, and is widely recognized as one of the most pivotal Sikaran masters to contribute to the art’s popularity in the Philippines.
Carlito Lanada is another important Sikaran practitioner, one who brought the art to Canada and established a network of schools to pass Sikaran onto martial artists outside of the Philippines. Nestor Principe is also another of the world’s better known Sikaran teachers. Despite passing away in 1973 at just 28 years old, Principe served as a bodyguard for the government of Malaysia, and soon began teaching Sikaran to his fellow bodyguards and other students, which further helped spread Sikaran into the wider world.
In more modern times, Hari Osias Banaag has also spread the teachings and kicking skills of Sikaran to the world in his role as founder of the Global Sikaran Federation. Through the contributions of each of these outstanding Sikaran practitioner, the Filipino martial art of Sikaran has gradually spread throughout the world, and hopefully will one day as recognized in the mainstream as other forms of martial arts.
That about wraps up KFK’s Martial Art of the Month column for Sikaran. Stay tuned for next month’s column, but while you’re waiting, check out one more Sikaran demo video below to see the amazing kicking skills of Sikaran utilized by its devoted practitioners!
