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Originally Posted by KuKulzA28
And also, what's the level of martial training for these bolo-men? Were they simply familiar with their blades or were they familiar and particularly skilled?
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Looks like most of the Balangiga natives are familiar with martial arts.
We can glean that from the fact that aside from baseball, the US soldiers whiled their time away watching arnis demonstration.
Also, the leader of the attack [Abanador, Balangiga police chief] is known to be a tournament-caliber escrimador. And Abanador was a good chess player, too (his sparring partner in chess is the surgeon Major Griswold, one of those killed in the attack).
And one survivor [Private Gamlin] recounts coming face to face with a native armed with a bolo on one hand and a dagger in another hand.
According to UP Professor Rolando Borrinaga [the person who has done research on this encounter the most], Mariano Valdenor [Balangiga assistant police chief] fitted best this person's description.
Thus it looks
espada y daga was another technique well known to the Balangiga natives.