Katipunan ng Kalis, the practitioners.
Katipunan in Tagalog means a fraternity or brotherhood. Kalis refers to the blade or sword in relation to the Filipino combat arts. Katipunan Ng Kalis roughly translated means “Brotherhood of the Blade”- the name of the organization, given by Edgar Atienza, consisting of his sons and their students.
In 1991, Guro Carl began attending S.U.N.Y Stony Brook for his undergraduate degree. Being so far from home he couldn’t easily train with his father, so he spread the word that he was going to make lessons available to the student body. The first to answer this offer was Rue Reynolds. After seeing a short demonstration, Rue immediately signed up and would prove to be one of Carl’s most industrious students. Running or cycling three miles to Guro Carl’s off campus house, Rue would put 100% into training. Training 4 to 5 days a week after classes, Rue quickly excelled in the knowledge Guro was passing to him. Rue Reynolds would be the first to receive the rank of Instructor in Atienza Kali under one of Edgar Atienza’s sons.
They would train in the main gymnasium on the Stony Brook campus in the view of many other students. Many campus students would watch what they were doing and develop an interest in the Filipino Arts. As a result, Guro Carl would steadily gather more students. This would be the first group to hold the name Katipunan Ng Kalis and the group that Guro Carl considers the “Original Katipunan”. Guro Carl held classes 3 or 4 times a week in the main gymnasium or in dormitory lounges, training his students with the intensity that was reflective on his own training. He trained them in all aspects of Atienza Kali such as Atienza Kali Punyal, Isang Kalis and special weapons. In return Guro Carl would use his developing students as training partners further advancing his own skills.
Leo Manalo heard many stories of the Atienza brothers and their “real” approach to teaching and began to seek them out for instruction. Through mutual friends was able to meet Guro Carl but was not allowed to join the Katipunan Ng Kalis because of certain activites he was involved with that Guro Carl did not approve of. Instead, Guro Carl gave an introductory course to Atienza Kali to Leo, with the hope that the training and education of Filipino culture would pull him away from his current activites. Leo gave his full attention to Atienza Kali and had abandoned his other activities. He was then allowed into the Katipunan Ng Kalis.
Leo was fascinated by Guro Carl’s skill and his approach to street fights through the Filipino Martial Arts. He would take trips on the weekends to Stony Brook from Westchester County just to train with Guro Carl. Leo was the second student of Guro Carl that had a passionate appreciation for Atienza Kali. He had taken Filipino Martial Arts in other schools but none of his previous training was like Carl’s. He had heard of the street encounters that the Atienza family had faced and finally got to see their skill first hand. Leo was a Filipino American and was never really educated in Philippine history. Long talks with Guro Carl after training sessions would open his mind to true Filipino culture. Leo Manalo would become Guro Carl’s second student to become a Full Instructor in Atienza Kali.
Spending only two years in S.U.N.Y Stony Brook, Guro Carl transferred to C.U.N.Y Hunter College. At this time Leo worked at Hunter College and helped Guro Carl start another training group. This was a group of about 10 students (including his original students who traveled from Stony Brook) that met 3 days a week to take lessons from Guro Carl. They would meet at the end of the day after classes and train for a few hours. The students from Stony Brook would come up once every two weeks to keep the skills fresh. Most of the students left the Katipunan Ng Kalis after graduation to pursue their respective careers. The only two students that stayed were Rue Reynolds and Leo Manalo.
Right now they hold the highest rank in Atienza Kali under Guro Carl and have kept very loyal to Guro Carl over the years. Currently Leo Manalo lives in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, but takes trips back to New York once a month to train with Guro Carl. He is also the second student to have Guro Edgar oversee his ranking tests. Rue Reynold lives in Connecticut and once a month attends Guro Carl’s Sunday training sessions in Jersey City to keep his skills fresh.
Currently Guro Carl runs training sessions 3 days a week in Jersey City. Ten new members have joined the Katipunan Ng Kalis since his arrival to Jersey City and have trained loyally for almost two years.
“I always try to start training groups every time I move, which was a lot over the last 10 years. It’s the best way for me to keep my training active. All of students come from referrals from friends or current students. Sometimes students leave. What can I say, that is the nature of martial arts. That’s really no problem for me because the students that stay train hard and receive high quality instruction. In return, I also learn. That’s what it is all about.”
Guro Carl Atienza
