From working in chemical engineering to practicing martial arts, teaching people, and finally writing books, life has been an 81-years-long journey for a Filipino — who left the land of his birth to follow his dreams successfully in America.
Amante Mariñas’ dreams began in the Philippines when – as a youngster — he watched his great-uncle practice martial arts including the Filipino long-pole Pananandata.
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Fast-forward to eight decades later in Spotsylvania, Virginia, USA – where, at 81, Marinas works out skillfully for four hours on hand-fighting, martial arts, throwing knives and axes, blowgun shooting, and archery.
The discipline and work ethic etched in his being witnesses him tracking – through a logbook — every minute spent in his martial arts efforts including throwing knives around 1.5 million times, and shooting the blowgun 800,000 times.
Mariñas’ life’s journey saw him migrating from the Philippines to New York City in 1973, where he progressed from his relative’s training of the long pole martial arts discipline to other fighting styles by using different weapons, newer disciplines, and sources.
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He soon progressed from working out in a basement to the Flushing Meadows Park in Queens, where he began teaching people that were drawn to his martial arts exercises. Physical exercise led to finally penning his thoughts on paper — with the result being seven books on martial arts including never-covered Filipino martial arts styles like “The Art of Throwing,” “Blowgun Techniques” and “Archery for Beginners.”
Today, even as he continues imparting training in pananandata – a martial arts style from Central Luzon in the Philippines, Mariñas continues to be in the news with over 100 articles published in martial arts magazines and some featuring photos of him and his son, Amante Jr., a New York City police detective. (AW)
