53IB Conducts VIP Training Class 02-21

The Philippine Army’s 53rd Infantry “Matapat” Battalion (53IB) conducted Very Important Person (VIP) Training Class 02-21 to 21 CAFGU Active Auxillay (CAAS) participants on May 26, 2021, at 53IB Headquarters, Camp Maj. David Sabido, Guipos, Zamboanga del Sur.

The training included the Dekiti-Tirsia self-defense, an ancient Filipino combat and survival system indigenous to the island of Negros in the Visayan Region.

“This fighting art is very combative with emphasis on impact and bladed weapons as well as empty hand techniques and even firearms that could help the participants in defending themselves as well as defending the important person assigned to them to protect,” Training Facilitator Sgt. Francisco Remotigue Jr. said.

Dekiti-Tirsia self-defense has been proven effective many times in actual combat. The name of the system consists of three words from the Ilonggo dialect. Dekiti translated into the Tagalog dialect is “Malapit” of “Dekit,” very close or near in English.

“Its emphasis is on close quarter fighting in which you corner the opponent in an area, to close and devastate the enemy,” Sgt. Remotigue said.

Tirsia means “gua sa wala” or “sa tuo” or quartering in fighting, “pasulod”. It means to push the enemy to a corner or an area with a three-corner side preventi escaping or running away from multiple deadly blows and thrusts. Siradas means to stop the opponent from getting in or out, for the opponent not to be able to penetrate in any angle of attack.

53IB NCO Sgt Jesus Sumagang assisted Sgt. Remotigue in the VIP Training. This activity is part of the 53IB’s drive to pursue transformation to become a world class Army that is a source of national pride by 2028 in line with the Army Transformation Roadmap (ATR).