En garde, Rizal!

We are celebrating the 150th birthday of national hero Jose Rizal and what better way to mark the day than with a Monday holiday that’s a welcome extension of the weekend.

The Inquirer ran stories on Rizal’s valor and contributions.  The accent was on his patriotism and courage as well as on his immense talents.  His prolific pen crafted the novels that would wake up the country but lead to his martyrdom.  Rizal was also a sculptor, linguist, poet and physician all rolled into one.

His short life is as intriguing as his accomplishments and have encouraged scholarship into many other areas aside from his nationalism.  One such intriguing book on the subject is “Love, Passion and Patriotism: Sexuality and the Philippine Propaganda Movement, 1882-1892” by Raquel A.G. Reyes (NUS Press, 2008).

Purists who want to safeguard the national hero’s image may scoff at the title and slant of the book because it investigates the lives of the Filipino propagandistas in Europe.  Reyes contends that the group that produced La Solidaridad and other propaganda material  were not only patriots, writers and artists but also adventurous young men that absorbed the best that Europe offered.

The point of this piece is not to pursue the investigation of Reyes on the merry lives of the Pinoys of the era but to share that Rizal and company did engage in fencing, pistol shooting, weightlifting and gymnastics.  Reyes reports that Rizal and the Lunas had actually began fencing when they were still in school in Manila.

The objective of the sporting endeavors in Europe was not merely to be physically fit but to be ready to engage in duels or battles with the Spaniards who often looked down on the intellectual skills of the Filipinos.  Fighting discrimination for them was a daily battle for the Pinoys in the cafes or streets of Madrid and duel challenges were not uncommon.

Rizal was true to his renaissance man calling.   If there were other sports to pursue during that era, he probably would have attempted to learn them.  I recall that Rizal had also dabbled in chess. He was not one to fall behind his contemporaries and wanted to be involved in anything for self-improvement.  How good Rizal was as a fencer is worth investigating and it wouldn’t be a surprise to find out that he excelled in the sports as well.

Rizal’s inspirational life also invites us to include sports in our lives regardless of our age or gender.  Sports complete us and allow character, values and physical strengths to be honed.  We may not be able to write novels like Rizal, build a community like he did in Dapitan or create poetic masterpieces.  But we can sure pick up a sport and be passionate about it like the national hero.

A picture in the book shows Rizal, Juan Luna and Valentin Ventura in fencing attire in Luna’s Paris home.  They look youthful and dapper in their European apparel and hairstyles.  Yes, they were young and adventurous but they were also in the sport of fighting for their country.