Yaw-Yan

Yaw-Yan

Also known as	Sayaw ng Kamatayan, Dance of Death, Filipino Martial Art
Focus	Hybrid
Country of origin	Philippines
Creator	Napoleon A. Fernandez. Orlando Boy A. Fernandez Sr,
Famous practitioners	Alvin Aguilar, Eduard Folayang, George Estregan, Ruben Sumido, Robin Padilla
Parenthood	Boxing, Muay Thai, Panantukan, Jeet Kune Do, Japanese martial arts particularly Judo, Jujutsu, and two styles of karate: Shotokan Karate, and Kyokushin Karate

Yaw-Yan, also called Sayaw ng Kamatayan (English: Dance of Death),^[1] is a Filipino martial art developed by Napoleon A. Fernandez and based on older Filipino martial arts.^[2] Since its inception in the 1970s, it has dominated the kickboxing scene in the Philippines and has proven very effective against other stand-up fighting arts^{[citation needed]}.

Yaw-Yan closely resembles Muay Thai, but differs in the hip-torquing motion as well as the downward-cutting nature of its kicks, the arm strikes resembling Bolo knife movements,^[3] and the emphasis on delivering attacks from long range (while Muay Thai focuses more on clinching).

Yaw-yan practitioners participate in various Filipino mixed-martial arts tournaments such as the Universal Reality Combat Championship^[4] and Fearless Fighting.^[5][6]

History

The originator of Yaw-Yan is Napoleon A. Fernandez or "Master Nap",^[7] a native of Quezon province, who originally studied Jujutsu.^[8] The word Yaw-Yan was derived from the last two syllables of Sayaw ng Kamatayan meaning "Dance of Death".^[9]

Fernandez had a background in various martial arts such as Jeet Kune Do, Karate, Eskrima, Aikido, and Judo. He is said to have modified all the martial art forms that he studied and fused them to create a martial art form that is deadly to opponents and "advantageous to the build of Filipinos".^[10] Yaw Yan was introduced to the public in 1972. It includes elements of striking, takedowns, grappling, stick and knife fighting, and additional kickboxing material.^[11]

It reflected the growing popularity of Kickboxing during the 1970s to 1980s,^[12] and from the 1990s to the Mixed martial arts in the Philippines as well as worldwide.^[13]

Training

With boxing being the base of the martial art, Yaw-Yan practitioners normally cross train boxing with Muay Thai. Being a modern martial art, local gyms often offer classes and training programs for the martial art. The forearm strikes, elbows, punches, dominating palms, and hand movements are empty-hand translations of the bladed weapons.^[14] There are 12 "bolo punches" (not to be confused with boxing's bolo punch) which were patterned from traditional Filipino martial art of eskrima.^[15][16][17] The body conditioning is similar to Muay Thai and boxing, and it is common to see a Yaw-Yan practitioner shadowboxing with weights and warming up by using heavy bags for striking.

References

1. "Yaw Yan, The Philippine Dance of Death". Inside Kung Fu magazine. Vol. 9, no. 11. November 1982.
2. Crudelli, Chris (2008). The Way of the Warrior: Martial Arts and Fighting Skills from Around the World. Penguin. p. 187. ISBN 9780756651855. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
3. Crudelli, Chris (2008). The Way of the Warrior: Martial Arts and Fighting Skills from Around the World. Penguin. p. 187. ISBN 9780756651855. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
4. Mallari, Perry Gil S. (2007-07-15). "The thrill of the UR CC X". The Manila Times. Archived from the original on 2008-01-11. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
5. "Amurao bags Fearless Fighting featherweight crown". The Manila Times. 2007-03-18. Archived from the original on 2008-01-11. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
6. "Wushu bets dominate Fearless Fighting". Manila Bulletin. 2006-04-16. Archived from the original on 2007-09-11. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
7. "Yaw-Yan 'Texas' opens new gym in Tondo, Manila". Sun.Star Cebu. 2007-07-08. Archived from the original on February 26, 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
8. Yaw Yan, 2011 January 17, 2009, accessed March 20, 2011
9. "Yaw Yan Ardigma Filipino Martial Arts • Martial Arts Nerd". Martial Arts Nerd. 26 January 2018. Archived from the original on September 3, 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
10. Maglinte, Lemuel P. "Legendary Yaw-Yan founder GM Nap Fernandez passes away | The Freeman". philstar.com. PhilStar. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
11. "Yaw-Yan | Hybrid FMA". Archived from the original on August 26, 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
12. Anderson, Corey (1 August 2019). Kumusta, Philippines. Cherry Lake. ISBN 978-1-5341-4948-9. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
13. Wiley, Mark V. (20 December 2011). Filipino Martial Culture. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4629-0347-4. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
14. "About Yaw-Yan – Yaw-Yan ArDigma Sacramento". Retrieved 3 September 2019.
15. Journals, Martial Arts (2018). Yaw Yan Training Journal: For Training Session Notes. Amazon Digital Services LLC - Kdp Print Us. ISBN 9781731238719. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
16. Crudelli, Chris (29 September 2008). The Way of the Warrior: Martial Arts and Fighting Skills from Around the World. Penguin. p. 187. ISBN 9780756651855. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
17. Daan, Eskabo (October 24, 2013). "Yaw-Yan: The Dance of Death". BakitWhy. Retrieved 3 September 2019.