ABOUT
I began my journey into the art of Kali in July 2016 after visiting my friends martial arts store and seeing Filipino weaponry displayed along the walls. This was the first time I had heard of FMA and was surprised to find out we had a martial art so decided to pursue training in the Kalis Ilustrisimo style and explore it further. I had just completed a Bachelor of Arts majoring in both Indigenous Cultures and Art History and it dawned on me that Kali was possibly one of the greatest arts to come out of the Philippines. This inspired me to create new olisi designs and through my art I wanted to weave a story about our fascinating Filipino culture and history as well as promote FMA to the world. This is my initial project that coincided with my journey into Filipino martial arts. All designs are inspired by indigenous Filipino culture each telling a story of history, people, and country. The olisi are made of a hard Tasmanian oak wood or a Filipino rattan vine. Designs are burned onto the olisi using a pyrography tool, dried with the option to varnish. They are all individually handmade in Melbourne and can take up to 1-4 weeks to complete.