More Than Styles: How Filipino and Imported Martial Arts Built a Nation of Warriors
By Karl Garcia Ask a Filipino martial artist how they began, and the answer will likely be different depending on the generation. Some first picked up a rattan stick in an Arnis class. Others tied on a karate belt. Many learned Taekwondo in school. Some eventually discovered Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, boxing, or mixed martial … Continue reading
THE GEOPOLITICAL SOUNDTRACK
Music, Power, Coercive Diplomacy and the Filipino Soundtrack of a Multipolar World By Karl M. Garcia Introduction: Every Geopolitical Era Has a Soundtrack Every geopolitical era produces more than treaties, military doctrines, alliances and diplomatic communiqués. It produces a soundtrack. The Cold War had one: the sound of nuclear anxiety, ideological confrontation, Vietnam, civil rights, … Continue reading
PHILIPPINE TOURISM
From Visitor Arrivals to a National Tourism Ecosystem By Karl M. Garcia Introduction: Tourism Is Becoming Economic Infrastructure There is perhaps no sector more misunderstood in national development than tourism. Too often, tourism is reduced to beaches, resorts, airports, hotel rooms, festivals and advertising campaigns. But the Philippines is increasingly demonstrating that tourism is much … Continue reading
THE HOA, THE GATE AND THE COMMON GROUND
A homeowners’ association needs enough power to protect a community—but enough restraint to respect the people who live in it By Karl M. Garcia A homeowners’ association is easiest to appreciate when something goes wrong. The gate is left unsecured. Garbage is not collected. Drainage is clogged. A contractor does poor work. A homeowner stops … Continue reading
FILIPINO GLOBAL CHAMPIONS
From Lea Salonga to Hidilyn Diaz, EJ Obiena and Carlos Yulo: How Filipinos Keep Proving They Can Compete With the World By Karl M. Garcia There is a recurring story about the Philippines that we should begin telling differently. A Filipino rises above the limitations of the country’s institutions, finds an international stage, competes against … Continue reading
