The Russian House 2023 was in collaboration with the Department of Tourism Central Visayas, geared towards gaining a better understanding of the Filipino culture and traditions, to train with well-known FMA Grand Masters.
It was in 2011 when the Russian House was founded, and this year was its 11th installment of the martial arts training series. Alexander Pisarkin, co-founder of the Russian House in the Philippines, said that even though there are fewer participants than before, he still looks forward to seeing more participants in the following year.
Filipino Traditional Blades (FTB), an organization that seeks to collect and preserve the regional “sundang” or forms of swords in the country, was also invited to take part in the multi-disciplinary training with its session at the Fort San Pedro on Jan. 29.
Randy Salazar, administrator of FTB, explained that the blades used by the participants in the “cutting party” were all collected from the different regions in the Philippines, from the locals in Cebu City, to Moro blades from Sulu.
Meanwhile, Maul Mornie, Bruneian Silat Master and instructor in the camp, said it’s a big opportunity teaching in the Philippines and being able to share aspects of Silat, a form of indigenous martial arts in Southeast Asia.
The Russian House started as a small gathering of Pisarkin’s friends, but eventually became international with participants from all around the world.
There were around 30 participants this year coming from Russia, USA, Canada, Australia, Poland, France, Czech Republic and Indonesia.
Pisarkin said the Russian House is envisioning FMA as a national treasure, and be a way for Russia and the Philippines to know each other better culturally.
“We’re looking at developing FMA as a national treasure, and also as a cultural and tourist activity… It’s also cooperation between our countries, like Russia and Philippines. We should know each other better, and be closer, because our cultures are actually similar,” Pisarkin said.