In today’s discussion, Mystic Mag delves into the profound teachings of the Kailukuan School of Indigenous Science with Virgil, co-founder and co-owner of this unique institution based in Walnut, California. Discover the holistic approach of this school, which intertwines traditional combat and healing arts from the Northern Philippines. Virgil shares insights into the curriculum, the transformative experiences of students, and the importance of maintaining trust within therapeutic relationships.
What is the Kailukuan School of Indigenous Science?
The Kailukuan School of Indigenous Science offers a unique approach to health and wellness by featuring interrelated elements from both the traditional combat and healing arts from the Northern Philippines. These practices are based on maternal and paternal lineages of combatants and indigenous healers, as well as from over 25 years of extensive field research, writing, hands-on practice, and teaching. The school, which is located in Walnut, California (East Los Angeles County), was cofounded and is co-owned by myself and Janelle Corpuz Hethcoat.
What services do you offer?
We offer two main programs consisting of the combat and healing curriculums. The combat curriculum guides the students through a four-level (eleven sublevel) system, initially beginning with the art of Didya Mudgara Warrior Club Calisthenics, using a pair of pang-or (clubs) that gradually leads into the weapon art of escrima, but only after individual progress and assessment. The healing curriculum, titled as the Ablon Therapist Certification Program, is a comprehensive course that guides the students into nine modules, which include sciences that are taught through both a contemporary insight and an indigenous lens.
How would you describe your holistic approach?
Our holistic approach does not conform to the westernized concept of compartmentalization. Students are required to undergo practices that strengthen the physicality through movement arts, which, in turn, help each student attain firsthand experience in understanding biomechanics, basic laws of physics, brain development, physical imbalances, and coordination skills. This body of knowledge is then made relevant when undergoing either the combat or healing programs. As each student progresses in their respective programs, they will learn to appreciate the importance of seeing things from a root foundation, rather than symptomatic, and how it influences the mind and body.
What can a person expect from your classes?
Students learn the importance of being present with an empty cup, in order to transition into an unconventional approach to education. Their perspectives broaden as they begin to comprehend the interrelation of things. Those in the combat program will undergo the execution of a series of movements that are recorded into muscle memory, instilling the necessary mechanics required in the system taught, along with the weapons used. These involve movements from low-impact yoga-like postures to powerful strokes that require proper execution and how to receive them. They will also learn aspects of themselves that they may have not been aware of, their manner of performance, and any psychosomatic correlations.
In the healing program, students learn core foundational teachings that educate them through animistic, cultural, societal, and medical anthropological views. They are taught the complex, yet simple approach to Ablon manual medicine and adjunct therapies, focusing on the relationship of structures that integrate the musculoskeletal and neurovascular systems. They also learn the use of various implements that are complementary to the hands-on approach to healing. Lecture material can be taken virtually, while hands-on teachings are in-studio.
I believe in the law of “like attracts like.” There are those who would rather focus on one aspect, not really seeing the necessity of learning another. However, our school tends to attract those with inquisitive minds who enjoy learning the science and principles that constitute the arts. One may just want to bang sticks, while another may just want to learn how to heal. Both, however, are like two sides of a coin, since we are dealing with the same anatomical and physiological structures.
What is the most important detail in maintaining a relationship of mutual trust with clients?
Perhaps the most important detail is that they feel safe in coming into this space, receiving therapies from myself or the current batch of students that are completing their practicum hours. They may be in a vulnerable state, whether on a physical, emotional, or psychological level, and clients understand that we operate with integrity, working within the scope of our complementary and alternative medical practice.
What is the best part of your job?
The best part is witnessing how the lessons unfold with each student and seeing their transformation as they gain new knowledge and skill sets that are based on ancestral traditions. Furthermore, it is an awesome feeling to see the effectiveness of these teachings when applied to others.
