CMAS-MAIN VISITS YASAY SABLE GM

Seated from left: Master Ferdiand Emmanuel "Bobot" Y. Gayoles and Grandmaster Paterno "Pater" V. Yasay. Standing from left: Dante L. Robles, Narciso "Hansy" L. Alojado, James U. Sy Jr., Wilson A. Alvarado, and Moises "Jung-Jung" G. Nifras Jr.

This article appeared in the November 20, 2005 issue of Sun Star Weekend.

Grandmaster Paterno "Pater" Yasay, the current Grand Patriarch of Yasay sable, hosted 5 members of the Conceptual Martial Arts Society (CMAS) on October 29, 2005 in Bago City. The 5 members were all students of GM Yasay’s nephew, Master Ferdinand Emmanuel "Bobot" Gayoles. The visitors were Narciso “Hansy” L. Alojado, Wilson A. Alvarado, Moises “Jung-Jung” G. Nifras Jr., Dante L. Robles, and James U. Sy Jr.

GM Yasay gave the group some demonstrations and taught the finer points of his family’s art, Yasay sable, which specializes in the Filipino adoption/evolution of saber and foil fighting. He also showed the espada y daga (sword and dagger) and pangamut (empty hands) section of the art.

The most verifiable researched information traces Yasay sable to GM Pater Yasay’s grandfather, Great Grandmaster Paterno Yasay, who hailed from the Panay Island, and who passed the art to his son, Great Grandmaster Guillermo “Guimoy” Yasay. GGM Guimoy Yasay then passed on the art to his sons Grandmasters Guillermo Yasay Jr. and Paterno “Pater” Yasay. The art can be as old as a century, perhaps starting sometime in 1900, the earliest.

Several members of the Yasay family and their extended families like the Alvarez and the Suarez Clans helped in one way or the other in the evolution and development of Yasay sable. Sable was the original generic term to refer to the art. Sometime in 2004, Sy, who researches and writes on Filipino martial arts, started calling it Yasay sable to distinguish it from other forms and interpretations of saber and foil fighting prevalent in the Occidental side of Negros.

Yasay sable was informally introduced by Master Gayoles in 2002 in Bacolod at the University of St. La Salle, La Salle Avenue, Bacolod City. Since then he had developed and refined over the years an academically acceptable methodology and system of teaching Yasay sable. Master Gayoles used his academic teaching credentials and MBA studies to derive a progressive and systematic syllabus of the art. Master Gayoles first implemented the systemized Yasay sable on February 7, 2005 when he formally introduced Yasay sable in Bacolod, at the University of St. La Salle.

After the training given by GM Pater Yasay, a photo session followed. The pictorialw as for the upcoming cover story on Yasay sable in Rapid Jounral, the only martial arts resource in the Philippines today.