OFW’s, History, and Heroes
By Willie A. Samson, Mar 2, 2009
What you will find below is the final chapter of a book entitled, “Bound to an Empire, The United States and the Philippines” written by H.W.Brands in 1992. This chapter outlines his discussion on the issue: was the US occupation of the Philippines from 1989 to 1946 good for the Philippines and Filipinos? Although Mr Brands tries to present an objective analysis, it is still an attempt to rationally deliver a conqueror’s point of view. His conclusion is a clear “yes” American occupation was good relative to all the other colonial experiences of other surrounding Asian countries, like Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
Rizal, Martial Artist, Gym Buff, Hero!
There have been many things written about Rizal but most of them focus on his intellectual and political activities. Here is one article entitled: RIZAL: ZEN LIFE, ZEN DEATH by Rene J. Navarro, Dipl. Ac, which gives us an insight into the physical concerns of our national hero. He was both a martial artist and a gym buff! Can you ever imagine Rizal as a gym buff! He learned Arnis, fencing, Ju-Jutsu, and pistol shooting; and he also went to the gym to pump iron. He was described as a vigorous man, small but all muscle and sinew because he never missed out on his exercise. Rizal was born sickly and was small in stature. But instead of lamenting his physical limitations (like so many people I know), he did something about it, by building up his body through exercise and learning martial arts and pistol shooting for self defense and self discipline.
