Top 10 personal favorite mixed martial artists, pound-for-pound

Now this isn't a ranking system to be debated about. These are my personal favorites, maybe not exactly the best fighters in the world but they have led themselves into my heart as unforgettable, in and outside of the ring/cage. And here we go, in no particular order...

Alistair "The Demolition Man" Overeem

The current Strikeforce heavyweight champ, The Reem is one funny guy outside the cage. I once saw a video of him making a toddler girl hold up a large pad, while he kicks it. Though he's a stand-up kind of guy, Overeem is as successful in his submission offense, having finished most of his opponents through this method.

Mirko Cro Cop

Were this post done 2 months ago, Cro Cop would've landed higher in the list. But because of his lackluster performance in his fight with Frank Mir in UFC 119...

Nevertheless, this is Mirko Cro Cop. A kickboxer and knockout artist with devastating head kicks. Who can't love him after hearing him say "Left leg: hospital. Right leg: cemetery," huh? Sad to say, I have to admit he's in the twilight of his career, and his dominance in Pride has been replaced by back-to-back defeats and lackluster wins in the UFC.

Forrest Griffin
When you watch the FoGriff's fight with Stephan Bonnar at the first The Ultimate Fighter Finale back in 2005, you'll immediately fall in love with this guy's mindset, no homo. He is a relentless, never-back-down ape of a man who always fights great fights. His dry humor and blunt attitude makes the books he has written such a treasure to read again and again. And so I quote from FG: "I'm just a dog, I fight."

"The Prodigy" BJ Penn

One of the two UFC fighters to have captured two title belts in as many weight divisions. BJ Penn is first and foremost a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu artist, but you may argue when seeing him in his stand-up. Legendary coach Freddie Roach once said that BJ has the best boxing in the UFC. In the cage, it's always all action, whether in the stand up or grapple game. His long and dominant title reign has been halted by Frankie Edgar, who beat him twice consecutively. However, to me he is still the greatest lightweight in mixed martial arts, and just needs to get his head in the game.

Anderson "The Spider" Silva

Anderson is dominant in every aspect of the fight game. He has dangerous Muay Thai, excellent takedown defense, and when that doesn't work, has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He is just the most dominant middleweight fighter I have ever seen. Jesus, he even plays with his opponents with flashy, nonsense moves just to show how much he doesn't care about the unfortunate contenders. And damn he somehow makes these moves effective. Aside from being physically gifted, he also knows how to play with his opponent's minds. Because of this, he has utterly dominated almost everyone in his division, and even some in the upper weight classes.
 

Georges "Rush" St. Pierre

The man to beat in the welterweight division in the UFC. We all know about how this guy with zero wrestling credentials came to be a takedown artist. While most think this is a boring way to fight, "Rush" always looks for a finish, usually by submission. It's always a pleasure watching him dominate those with strong wrestling backgrounds in their strengths (Jon Fitch, Matt Hughes, Josh Koscheck). He's also a nice guy, and kind of reminds me of Manny Pacquiao, who's also dominant in a fight but shows good morals and mannerisms outside.

Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell
Although not the first poster boy and icon for the UFC, he certainly is the best and most popular. At his peak, he was knocking people out left and right, at once going on a seven-fight knockout/TKO win streak. When he moves on the offensive, he delivers. Even when he moves back he still manages to suddenly leave his opponent drooling on the ground. In his last UFC fight, he even "came out like Chuck Liddell always does," says Dana White, who believes The Iceman has lost his once-indomitable chin. Still, no one can forget the mohawk + trucker 'stached legend for who he really is.

Fedor "The Last Emperor" Emelianenko
Never look into the eyes of this being. You will cry, shiver, and crawl into a fetal position before you die a painful and excruciating death. Look inside him and you will see nothing. No emotion, no soul, just the fall of countless men who tried standing up against him. Seriously, though, this man has a pre-fight staredown that will mess your mind. And to top that, his Sambo background couple with his knockout power makes him a devastating all-around fighter, so don't screw yourself and pick a fight with this guy. He was the man to beat in Pride, even surpassing others such as Cro Cop or Wanderlei Silva. Plus, he has the coolest nickname in all of MMA.

Jose Aldo
Explosive, explosive, explosive. During his reign in the soon-to-be-defunct World Extreme Cagefighting, he has knocked out several challengers in the most brutal fashions, including a flying double knee strike to the head. When he doesn't knock people's brains to space, he shows his dominance in the Featherweight division by displaying all sorts of wickedness, such as in his five-round dominance of Urijah Faber, who couldn't do anything on the ground or standing up (well, he was barely standing thanks to Aldo's sick leg kicks).  He is now officially the UFC Featherweight champion and will be fighting under that title soon.


Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva
The meanest face in MMA, the most dominant light heavyweight of Pride, the Muay Thai specialist with razor sharp knees, knockout power, and grade-A soccer kicks and stomps. He never was one to take a step back in a fight. Always forward, always pushing, never relenting until one of the two fighters succumb. Even when he loses, he loses with dignity and pride, because he knows he put on a great show for the fans and watchers. And that's his primary goal coming into fights: put on a great one. Fighters often come up with these post-fight sayings that they did their best for the fans and all, but don't really back it up as well as Wanderlei does. Consistently too. UFC color commentator Joe Rogan states that outside fighting, he has such a humble and kindhearted mindset. If ever I start drinking, it would always be with this guy. Everyone loves him, and I am no exception.

Pacquiao vs. Margarito, head-to-head

KNOCKOUTS

Pacquiao - 38

Margarito - 25

Advantage: Pacquiao

PUNCH POWER

Advantage: Even, leaning towards Margarito

SPEED

Advantage: Pacquiao, by a mile

QUALITY OPPONENTS FACED

Pacquiao: de la Hoya, Cotto, Morales, Barrera, Marquez

Margarito: Williams, Mosley, Martinez

Advantage: Pacquiao

WINS OVER COMMON OPPONENTS

(Clottey; Cotto)

Pacquiao: UD; TKO round 12

Margarito: UD; TKO round 11

Advantage: Even

ENDORSERS

Pacquiao: Nike, "aybupropen parasetamol Alaxan ep-ar," McDonald's, Xtreme Magic Sing, PLDT, San Miguel Beer, etc.

Margarito: LOL NONE

Advantage: Pacquiao

NICKNAME ORIGINALITY-COOLNESS SCORE

Pacquiao: "Pacman"

Margarito: "The Tijuana Tornado"

Advantage: None

SINGING ABILITIES

Advantage: None

HAILED AS...

Pacquiao: Arguably the greatest boxer in the history of the sport

Margarito: "hand-wraps controversy guy"

Advantage: Pacquiao

BEARD LENGTH

Advantage: Margarito, by a mile

WIFE

Pacquiao: Jinkee

Margarito: Michelle

Advantage: David Beckham

CATCH PHRASE

Pacquiao: "You know?"

Margarito: "I didn't know!"

Advantage: Margarito

Add the tally up and input the results in my program, which translates the results to...

1st-2nd round:

Feeling out process. Pacquiao gets the better of Margo through his speed and adaptability, and Margarito can't land any significant hits.

3rd-5th round:

Margarito finds the pace and range and begins to lure Pacquiao into his powerful body shots. Pacquiao stupidly tests Margy's strengths like he did with Cotto and Clottey, which results in him cringing for a few seconds to those body shots. Pacmehn starts to lose his game plan and decides to bang with him.

5th-9th round:

Coach Roach tells Pacman to stick to the plan, and MP agrees. Pacman gets back his flow and picks his shots, moving with silky smooth fluidity you'd think he'd Vaselined his entire body.

10th-12th round:

Pacman tries to pretend he's not tired. Starts to regret his sucky training camp and wished he put more time in. Margarito, sensing weakness, goes for the kill, but P-dude ain't giving up just yet. Margarito swings at Pacquiao, who is now just  running at pure heart alone. Exciting final seconds closes the championship rounds.

Judges declare it... A DRAW, LEADING TO AN UNPRECEDENTED 30 SECOND SUDDEN DEATH MATCH

13th round:

PMeister charges for his special move: The Manila Ice mark III. Margo charges with his Tijuana Tornado X2000. In one final blow, the spirit of all the Philippines and the tenacity of Mexican blood clash in the center of the ring, from which the entire Cowboys Stadium explodes. And when the dust clears, only one man is seen standing...

Manny Pacquiao by Doctor Stoppage RD13

Fable III is my Game of the Month

And every Game of the Month of mine shalt be reviewed.


Fable III is the third installment of, well, the Fable series. It's a role-playing and action game released for the XBox 360 and later, the PC. The story is set 50 years after the events of Fable II, and you are the son (or daughter, depending on which gender you choose) of the last Hero of Albion. Unfortunately for you, your tyrant of a big brother became King after your father died, and he isn't exactly a nice guy. So as the Hero (the game's "Chosen One"), your job is to dethrone him. Doesn't come that easy, though, because you need to gain allies and win the people over before a revolution can start. And so, your story begins.


Gameplay: 8.5/10


Just like a typical role-playing game is, you do quests, fight peons and bosses, and explore the world. It wouldn't be fun if everyone just said "Yes!" to a revolution now, would it? What sets this game apart is that the decisions you make in the game affects the very world of Albion. Being King isn't enough, and on your way to the throne, you would have made promises to the people who fought for you. Will you keep your promises, sacrificing a deal of finances that are supposed to be used for the greater good of the entire kingdom, or will you detach from them, holding and possibly gaining even more wealth for the protection and safety and security of your kingdom?


Most of the time, I did not feel as much weight in my decisions as I thought I would. More decisions over life or death would've been better, like in the first part of the story where your bro the King would force you to choose between the life of your heart's desire or the lives of the prisoners whose pleas just wanted to be heard by King Bro. Instead, most of the time, you will be treated to choices such as building brothel to gain an amount of gold, or building an educational center, which will lose gold. While this seems alright, the gold can easily be re-attained by renting your land, managing your shops, or doing certain quests. It would've been better if decisions made could not be reciprocated or made up for, and had real consequences not just to the world, but to yourself, and not just in terms of your morality level. It also would've been better if some decisions in the game were not as clear as black and white (ie. brothel vs. educational center).


The second Fable was menu-heavy, and couple that with noticeable lag, it was an irritating aspect of the game. Fable III, however, was almost menu-free, and that's such a big improvement. Instead of piles and piles of menus and sub-menus, you are led to an interactive interface. Traveling, purchasing, and upgrading are no longer a drag. You still "pause" to change equipment, clothing or to view the map (also vastly improved and more user-friendly), but although real time in the game is stopped, you don't pause the game per se. Instead, you are transported to a place called "The Sanctuary," where you are treated to an interactive (there's that word again, see what I mean?) gallery of your items, from which you are to choose freely from. After you're done with whatever, you would resume from your last position, be it in a fight with Balverines in the forest or in a shop in the Market section of Bowerstone.


The weapon system allows you to change the appearance of the weapon of your choice through your actions. This was really good for your default weapons, where your decisions affected its look (bloody for bad, glowing for good, etc.) but for the other store-bought or "legendary" weapons, you are just made to go on certain quests (ie. Kill 500 of (insert type of enemy here) to get + x% damage) There was nothing wrong here and it's certainly an improvement from the last installation, but the developers of the game have hyped up its new weapon system so much that my expectations rose for it. Sadly, it didn't live up to its hype. Also, I rarely had to switch weapons in the game, and didn't buy any at all for the entire playthrough. It didn't feel like a necessity, because the game's overall difficulty isn't exactly catered to the hardcore gamers. While the difficulty level of the game was purposefully done easy for better accessibility, switching weapons has been rendered almost useless in the game.

The battle system is nothing innovating, but also an improvement. It's still melee (sword/axe), ranged (rifle/pistol), and magic (four elements +blade), but slow-mo God of War-esque scenes for Flourishes (extra-strong attacks) are a welcome addition, and makes fighting fun. There's not much strategy going into a fight, but it's still fun.


To monitor your progress, you are also presented with the Road to Rule, which tracks how far you have gone in the game. In the R2R are also weapon/magic and expression upgrades which you can purchase with Guild Seals (the "experience points" of the game) which you earn through fighting, questing, or making new Albionian friends. This might be unnecessary to some, but it's still a good addition to the game.


There will be noticeable glitches in the game when it comes to the physical aspect of things. One example is your trusty dog companion who helps you search for treasure, from chests or from under ground, which you will have to dig for a moment. There are times your dog will have a hard time navigating his way to treasure, especially in small passageways to go through or obstacles in the way. Sometimes, he even points to treasure that isn't even there! It's noticeable and oftentimes irritating, because it takes long, wasteful seconds for doggy to realize that there's a rock in front of him and he can't go through it.


Glitches aside, the gameplay is a vast improvement from Fable II, and although there are minor fixes needed to be done, and upgrades I'd like to see in the future (such as a battle system that employs strategy, maybe, and not just a shallow strength vs. weakness kind) this is still one of the best role-playing games I've played in the XBox 360 and a gratifying game to experience.


Graphics: 8/10


Graphics are also a major improvement from Fable II, although it's still just above-average for such a high-budget game. Characters now appear more textured, but what really caught my eye is the design of each of the places you travel to. The atmosphere is stunning and the places feel unique wherever you go. Sunsets are very, very dazzling, especially in one of the places inside a Demon Door. You'll know what I mean when you see it. And every place looks just as well as night as it does in daytime.There are also CGI cutscenes now, but they are rare. I wish there were more of those.


Oh, and now, everyone has well proportioned bodies. No more extremely buff bodies and small heads.


Sound: 9.5/10


Background music and special effects were appropriate and complement each place you travel to. The voice acting was very well done and felt natural, as if I was really immersed in the conversations. Oh, and the main character now can talk, and not just pull caveman grunts and other sounds in his conversations unlike in previous games. It didn't feel like the main character was of much importance to the plot though, because if he can talk, at least make him talk as much as the others do.


Replayability: 6/10


Well, there's not much you can do on a second playthrough, except maybe play as a different gender or be on the other side of the morality level. Playing as a different gender won't change the dialogue conversations, though, or change the story for that matter. It doesn't really matter, because one playthrough already packs a lot of hours thanks to exploration and questing. If you do a second, then it's probably just to see the outcome of the other decisions.


Overall: 8.5/10


The games many glitches have brought the game's score down when it could have been higher, but this game is still more than worth the money. It's not about the repetitive fetch quests or the typical fairy tale story, it's the vast world of Albion and what you can do with it, and the consequences it faces with your actions. It's about the role-playing, the immersing, whose essence the game perfectly captures.

Semestral Break is OOOOVEERR

Well. That went by slower than I thought, fortunately. Nothing much happened the last three weeks. But here's a rundown anyway.

- Put up the Christmas tree (it's already 18 years old and still standing, albeit barely).
- Visited EB during her school hours and after.
- Danced the worst Thriller ever for this Halloween event (presentation was for charity, so no, I'm not intending to go pro).
- Took a "vacation" to Misibis Bay, Bicol.
- Sparred with my brother.

And that's pretty much it. I wish it were more uneventful. I just wanted to lie back and do some occasional Muay Thai and EB visitation.

 Some good MMA news landed. World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) will now merge with the UFC, this means that the featherweight and bantamweight divisions will get as much spotlight as the others. Good thing, because there are lots of fighters worthy of our undivided attention. The coming months will be defining for them, yes.

Pacquiao seems to not be taking his training seriously, reports mentioned. He's been doing all these unnecessary events that stray him away from boxing. Meanwhile, contrasting reports of Margarito's training camp have emerged, saying Margarito is in top shape. You better be ready Pacman. Please please please.

Oh no I've been enrolled in Tae Kwon Do for PE. Stupid online enlistment process. Sigh. I wanted something like Judo. Or if not, Track & Field or Weight Lifting. I need to increase my conditioning and strength, or perhaps my cardio. But no. I'm getting the one PE class I wanted so badly to avoid. Ah never mind. Will just make the most of it.

Need to crap. And I'm in school. Shoot.

Network Marketing vs. Pyramid Schemes

Oh boy. So some endorser from Global Fusion, Inc. tried talking me into joining his company which employs a multi-level marketing strategy. In a nutshell, MLM strategies gain profit not just from product sales, but also through sales from recruiting more endorsers of the company's products.

MLM, as some may know, is criticized mainly about it being a cover-up for a pyramid scheme, which is illegal in many countries (including the Philippines). What the pyramid scheme basically does is hire recruiters who give a certain amount of money, and those recruited will gain more recruits for a certain amount of money, profiting everyone from a percentage of that money, and so on BUT the number of potential new recruits will eventually run out, meaning those in the top tier of the pyramid will be the only ones benefiting, while those at the bottom are left without profits. My explaining sucks so you guys can gain a better understanding with this chart. Anyway, without any potential new recruits, who pay to join the company, and whose payments are the profits of the company, the company will just go bankrupt. As aforementioned, those in the top tiers are the only ones benefiting.

The guy who talked to me about this was a good speaker. He knew how to lure me in, but of course I'm not stupid and I realized his Wall Street hook, line, and sinker kind of talk immediately. I'm not accusing GFI of employing the pyramid scheme, but it does look like a scam at first, too good to be true and all. So yes, I did some research on some of the terms he mentioned while speaking. It made me double-take on the matter but, well, Esther wants to join, and I'm doing this for her. I love her so much, and I'm willing to make this work. I want her to be happy, even if this means I'm going to be taking a big risk with my moolah.

PSP Stuff.

I'll be selling my PSP-3000 later tonight for P6000, which is about (130 USD). This guy's a good friend of mine (without him I wouldn't have passed High School) so I'm selling it to him at a fairly large discount (a PSP-3000 would originally set him back some P8500 (170 USD).

I'll probably wait for the rumored PSP2 which reportedly will come out on Spring 2011, right with the Nintendo 3DS. Hope it isn't much of a flop as the PSP Go. I hope it'll come out with custom firmware so I can play pirated games and homebrew a music and video player, like the the previous generation's PSP.

Have a Break, Have a Sky Flake.

Ah finally, my semestral break has arrived! This slice of heaven ends on the 8th of November though so oh well. But still, I'll make the most of it! Hour-and-a-half train riding to Esther as much as possible! I'm here now actually, waiting for her classes to end so we could hang out a bit.

Other plans include Muay Thai training, resting, looking for a job, enrolling for the next semester, being with Esther, and a lot more. Hope I can make this worthwhile.

Christmas break's in a month and a half anyway. Excelsior!

I do hope I passed my finals, and ultimately the semester. If not, then I'm just gonna have to do better than my best (since I already did my best last sem and well, if that didn't work...).

My Dream Alienware

Processor:  
Intel Core i7 980x Extreme 6 Core Processor (3.33GHz, 12MB Cache) for my ultimate gaming needs, obviously.

Operator:  
Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit because why choose a Mac. Yuck
.
Video Card:  
Dual 1GB DDR5 ATI Radeon HD 5870 CrossfireX Enabled. Hmm, although there are better options, it requires me to upgrade to a Chassis with 1.1 KW. A part of me says it's worth it, but... oh well.

Memory: 
6GB DDR3 1333MHz (3x 2GB) Tri Channel Memory. Surprisingly, 6GB was the lowest they had to offer. Since I'm no multitasker, I'd stick with this.

Hard Drive:  
1TB (at least).

Optical Drive:  
Blu-ray Disc Combo (reads BD and writes to DVD/CD. In case there's ever a time we buy Blu-rays. I'm always stuck with Standard-definition TV's so, yeah, it'd be a cool experience.

Speakers:  
Altec Lansing Expressionist Ultra MX6021. Because I'm a bit of an audiophile.

Sound Card:  
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Series. See above.

Keyboard:  
Alienware TactX Keyboard

Mouse:  
Alienware TactX Mouse

Office Software: 
Microsoft Home and Student 2010

Monitor:  
Dell Ultrasharp U2711. 27 inches of gaming goodness.

Semestral exams (also known as the torture before the release)

My Literature, Filipino, and Math exams are coming up on Thursday, October 14. Last few days have been hell, what with all the late nights and the cramming and the what not. I had to finish 5 papers yesterday, and that was not cool.

At least after this it's 3 weeks of rest and relaxation. Semestral break, baby.

Also hoping to take the TOEFL test so I can get a part-time job some time in the near future.

In school right now, finishing up on most of my projects. I still have my Laboratory Investigatory Project to finish, and it's due tomorrow. However, my groupmates are kind of in a scuffle amongst themselves. Egos bursting, immaturity flaring.

I'm in the first batch of next semester's online registration? That would be cool if I could pick my Natural Sciences subject. But no, I'm stuck in BS Biology for the time being, meaning the only subject I can pick for myself is Physical Education. Judo or BJJ? I wish they had Wrestling. Being in the first batch, what a waste.

Reminder: Must get an Dell Alienware Area-51 desktop computer. Saving up 200,000 Php starting NOW.

First Amateur Muay Thai Spar Aftermath: Well That Certainly Didn't Go As Planned.

Yesterday, I was supposed to soldier my way through my sparring partner but no. Here's a play-by-play recap of what happened. I'll try to remember as much as my beaten up noggin can.

Round 1:

Traditional Muay Thai ring-sealing. Staredown with opponent, John. Round one begins. Quick one-two scuffle. Espa kick to knee, John falls, fight resumes. Another quick scuffle and John lands a good right to Espa's nose.

This is where it gets ugly.

Ref halts the bout to check on my already-bleeding nose. Fight resumes. Espa can't breath through nose. Loses technique, defense, and just about everything else as John pummels me for the rest of the round. Espa accidental (?) low blow ends the first.

Ref (who is also our instructor) comes to red corner and tries again to stop the bleeding. Appears stable, but Espa bleeding inside rather badly and his phlegm started to kick in. 

Round 2:

Start 2nd round. John landing more punches to Espa's face. John senses for the kill, advances. Ref halts fight, gives Espa the eight count. Fight resumes. John lands more and eventually, fight is stopped for good, but not before and Espa high kick attempt.

Winner: John by TKO, 1:59 Rd 2.

Oh well, I learned a lot at least. Like, clear phlegm before fight, especially when down with the fever. 

And uh, stick to the game plan ("Mayweathering", supposedly). But I lost myself and decided to bang with him like in Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung which probably wasn't a good idea. Oh well, at least I know what it's like to get hit with one hundred percent strength.

And I also learned that I'm a bleeder! I'm not sure if he hit my nose directly, and I think he just rocked my head which already caused me to bleed.

Well whatever I'm still young and this was a learning experience. It was fun getting hit and hitting back at least. Really fun. I needed that. I hope I could do it again with him.

Other fights of the day:

My blockmate, Dale, by TKO in the opening seconds of the fight. The only blow he landed was a low one, if you get what I mean.

Muay Thai classmate Tonio wins by points. His midkicks were damn smooth, and his opponent was fun to watch to, especially in the second round, as he kept charging and going on the offensive.

Krispy Qui from another class, by points, or TKO, or whatever. It was a dominant one. Only person who successfully landed those brutal head kicks. Thrice. It was a mismatch.

There was another fight from an afternoon class which featured a girls' sparring match. Like woah, the girl in the red corner has more balls then most other guys. She kept charging and charging and charging like a jackass on high. Even after they both fell outside the ring. Even when her opponent was down. Even when she was knocked over. Crazy. When the winner (her, by sheer jackassery) was announced, she still threatened her opponent. I say this girl didn't wear a toga nor was she accompanied by her parents to her high school grad, she must've worn a straight jacket, and four security guards must've been her company, in case she decides to go bloody the school principal.

Well that's about it. Took me quite a bit to get over the loss but it's okay, whatever. Hope to have another fight soon.

The Saga of Cadet Soldier: Cadet Captain

"Although the end may seem near, and a cadet may slack off, we are reminded that the yearling if ever he turns into a cow can easily rot and waste his training with his own overconfidence by reaching what he may think is near the finish line. All is not over."

-Cadet Trainee 1st Class, Vincent Aureus

Chapter 7: Cadet Captain

Right now, people would tell me that my journey is finished. I've finished my Cadet Officer Candidacy Course, and the struggles have ended. I would reply back with a simple "No," and move on, thinking that these people may be too shallow to grasp my explanation, or that the said explanation would be too long to keep them entertained, because when I talk about a part of my life, especially something as significant as this, I'd like to explain it in as much detail as possible, so as not to exploit possible misinterpretations by the audience.

As of June 2009, I am now Corps Adjutant and Cadet Captain Espadero. It wasn't the kind of induction I had hoped (Adjutant Yucoco just told us somewhat informally during one of our meetings minutes before being presented to the whole batch) but it was an honor. I'm quite disappointed that I was not able to attain the designation of Corps Commander, but I still got what I wanted as a second.

Here are our current positions:

Corps Commander and Cadet Major Lorenzo Miguel Samonte
ExecutiveOfficer and Cadet Captain Jason Patrick Martinez
Corps Adjutant and Cadet Captain Joseph Wihelm Espadero
Logistics Officer and Cadet Captain Melandro Lopez
Intelligence Officer and Cadet Captain Michael Brilliantes II
Operations Officer and Cadet Captain Deriq David
Logistics Officer and Cadet Captain Melandro Lopez

I'm disappointed with Adjutant Yucoco and Commandant Santos for choosing Samonte as Commander based on seniority alone. Sure, he was in the COCC the longest, but quality over quantity any time. I guess it's also a big plus when he always sucks up to "The Man" every chance he gets.

So what does an "Adjutant" do? Basically, he is the face and the voice of the officers, directly commanding the cadets. I'm fine with the officers taking over my job once in a while, but Jason Martinez always insists that he command the cadets. Obviously he likes the spotlight. I'm quite peeved by that, but I let him do what he wishes anyway.

I haven't seen Retired Cadet Colonel Rendor or Retired Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Thomas ever since. I saw some of the retired Master Sergeants and 2nd Lieutenants, but I'm really interested to see how he will react to our being officers already. Taking advantage of our not-anymore-so-professional relationship, I added him as a contact in the social networking webite, Facebook. Sure enough, he accepted my invitation request. Seeing his images, wall posts, and comments, one can hardly find a trace of his days as a CAT officer. He (literally) outgrew his 3x4 white side wall military haircut and leads a very jolly life. As for the others, I heard they're doing just as well and grew just as much hair too. Occasionally they come back to the High School and check out how the CAT is doing. A talk with them about things of the yesteryear would always take place every time they pass by. Those who used to punish me with intense physical training are now my good friends. Besides, they would always remind us last year that whatever they made us do is "nothing personal."

This year, the effects of the slow demilitarization of the Ateneo cadet Corps can clearly be seen. The maximum amount of physical training we, the officers, can give is merely nothing compared to last year, and the CAT is more focused in being a righteous citizen than a disciplined man trained in the military ways.

It feels good to be an officer, mainly because it's what I worked so hard for. People sometimes harmlessly tease me about my being an officer, but it's fine as long as they don't go overboard. During CAT time held every Friday after classes, I do my usual roaming around the classrooms and stop by mine to watch how my classmates are doing under Cadet Trainee 3rd Class Aquino, a member of the NCOCC (Non-Commissioned Officer Candidacy Course). My classmates happen to form the noisiest class in the whole batch, during and outside of CAT. Sometimes I get a kick out of it whenever they joke around, and sometimes I tell them enough is enough.

I now handle the next batch of the members of the COCC, while the others handle the Medics, Air Police, NCOCC, and Honor Guards. It is my job to shape them up into formidable officers for next year. They would have to be as physically, mentally, and psychologically strong as we are, perhaps even more, to lead next year.

My journey isn't over. With the way things are going, I hope it will never be. The Saga lives on.

The Saga of Cadet Soldier: CAT Graduation

"Often the struggler has given up
When he might've won the victor's cup"

-Don't Quit, COCC Plebe Knowledge

It's been 26 months since I joined the Cadet Officer Candidacy Course, or COCC for short. 26 months of trials, tortures, and tribulations. This is my story.

Chapter 6: CAT Graduation and the Aftermath

From January until the end of February, COCC was already difficult to balance with other aspects of my life. There was training every Recess period, everyday, held by the Honor Guards. I don't get the point of this. Sure, it's probably another loyalty test from Sir Rendor, but come on, why force fatigue right before the second batch of classes start? I was barely able to keep my grades within the passing range, and I'm pretty sure my comrades had a hard time, too.

Around February, my comrades, along with the Honor Guards-turned-Technical Sergeants practiced our silent drill for CAT graduation. During one of these days, Sir Rendor gave me my most painful activity I have ever experienced in my cadet life: knuckle hops. The objective of this "PT" would be to hop using our knuckles while in push-ups position. Simply said, right? Well, easier said than done. When knuckle hopping, one should also advance forward. I could get a good 6 inches to a foot in my hops. However, after 10 of those, I started feeling exruciating pain. I saw that my knuckles were bleeding, so I forcefully pushed myself to the beyond my limit and kept going until I could finally go no more. As I stopped in a pyramids position, I looked back at my trail and saw blood at the last few of my hops. Finally, Sir Rendor told me to stand up and get back in line. Yeah, I was the ONLY one who had to go through that.

This affected my performance in my individual rifle exhibition which I worked so hard to perfect. I couldn't get a good grip on my rifle; and thus it flew away from me while I was about to throw it above my head. The silent drill continued, with me being rejected to do my individual rifle exhibition.

Around 2 hours in training, I saw an old friend of mine who just came from the States. We call him Orvz, and he was being accompanied with two of his bosom buddies who were equally surprised to find him here. Obviously, I wanted to greet him, but of course, I was bound tightly to my training, and all I could do was watch as more of his friends surrounded him. Eventually, they all looked at me and teased me from afar. The temptation to just run over there and talk to them was growing by the minute. I had to supress them, and soon, their group went their separate ways.

February 20, 2009. CAT Graduation. It was a day where the regular cadets didn't care diddly-squat about CAT, just like every other day. Honestly, ever since Ateneo High School CAT has been demilitarized, the regular cadets didn't give shit about the this.

First in the graduation program was the presentation of each flights' (regular and special) silent drill. No one brought much to the table, except for a few flights who did some extreme dancing. But other than that, nothing special.

Then came our silent drill. Everything went smoothly until someone gave the cue to do our special move at the wrong time, and everything wrong followed. Well, at least hardly anyone noticed.

A merienda break followed. Special flights were given an exlusive room with called the Alumni Lounge to eat in a special buffet. That, to me, was already a highlight. Sir Rendor, Sir Thomas, the Honor Guards, NCOCCs, Medics, Air Police (let me remind you, all of whom are officers at this point) and the COCCs ate side by side as sort-of-equals (they still ordered us to do stupid things, but it was all for fun).

I'm not sure what happened next, because Mio and I were given a post to guard the gates of the venue. All we did was guide the parents to their sons and warned people who were just "passing by" not to cross the venue again.

And then, the graduation itself.

Then recognized as Cadet Major Rendor, now Retired Cadet Colonel Rendor. Then recognized as Cadet Captain Thomas, now Retired Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Thomas. The Honor Guards, Medics, and Air Police were promoted to Cadet Master Sergeants in their retirement, while the NCOCCs became 1st Lieutenants.

A year of taking shit from them. A year of practically swallowing the phlegm they spat on us. And still, I salute to them? Maybe because that year will be the last year I will ever see them. Maybe because uner all the shit-taking and phlegm-swallowing, I had accomplished something more. A year of memories. A year of physical, mental, and psychological self-improvement. A year never will I regret.

Of course, our training wasn't over yet, and it still isn't. At March, the Summer CAT was held, for those who didn't pass and for those who were in varsity teams. I was in charge of flight Bravo, a mix of jocks and student officers. Under my command, I feel they've become the finest among all five Summer CAT flights. I've pushed them hard, and I've gained their respect; and because of that they followed my every order. I could tell they didn't follow me because of fear. Sure, I gave punishment to those who don't do my orders well. But still, I could tell. They were flight Bravo, and for the five days I've stuck with them, I had a tremendous amount of fun.

After a Summer CAT session, my comrades and I would hide from training while the officers were distracted by the other cadets. This brought my famous (ehe) quote: "COCC training is applied to avoid itself." citing the stealth techniques we were taught before. We weren't always successful, as we were caught a number of times trying to hide. Narrating how exactly we were caught that one time would just ruin how extremely funny it was.

Ahh, life.

Soon it was time for OUR "private" graduation, called Recognition Night, or "Recognight" for short. There are two versions: "Rendorognight" which should be held by Sir Rendor in secret (epic PT, and more epic final tests), and "Yucocognight" which should be held by Adjutant Yucoco (graduation rites, and that's it). By the way, Sir Yucoco doesn't and should not know about Recognight. Because CAT was demilitarized, this type of Recognight was banned.

Unfortunately, Sir Yucoco DID find out, thanks to Samonte. We went through with it anyway, and we were caught the same place we had Combat PT, only this time, Sir Rendor was no where to be found. Moments before our doom, Flashlights and motorcycle headlights were advancing toward us. We were already sure of our being captured, yet we remained down as a last desperate attempt to hide. And so we were caught and brought to a room in the faculty lounge ironically named "Salvation Heights." Here we were questioned about our actions. They considered suspending us, but decided not to in the end. We found out the next week, the week the COCC would practice bearing the colors (bringing the flags) in the Batch 2009 High School Graduation, that Sir Rendor as well as a number of Honor Guards were suspended for trying to go with the Rendorognight. It was also this week that Sir Rendor talked with me heart-to-heart for a few minutes about our thoughts of Rendorognight, this year's CAT program, and next year's CAT program.

Everything went smoothly in the bearing of the colors during the CAT Graduation. We were commanded by Retired Cadet Major Martin, who left for the States shortly after being promoted to office and thus never was able to participate in the colors.

There was no training ever since, and up to now. Here I am, narrating the saga of my life in the cadet corps, waiting to be initiated to office, myself. My saga still isn't over yet. I will continue writing about it until my connections with the Ateneo High School cadet corps have disappeared. By now, this should be needless to say, but this means my story will continue long after I graduate.

I hope someday I to come back to CAT as a retired cadet officer to observe and teach the new generation of special flights. This way, my connections will never sever, and my saga will live on.

The Saga of Cadet Soldier: A-Run

"Buddy System"

-#6 of the 15 Standard Operating Procedures, COCC Plebe Knowledge

It's been 26  months since I joined the Cadet Officer Candidacy Course, or COCC for short. 26 months of trials, tortures, and tribulations. This is my story.

Chapter 5: A-Run
 

Around this point, my overall morale was at an all-time low. For the first time, quitting was an option.

Then came our promotion chance to Cadet Trainee 1st class. All we had to do was accomplish a somewhat different version Combat PT, called the A-run. It comprises mostly of endurance tests such as jogging around the Ateneo campus.

It was time. All things went as usual, but then halfway around the campus, just 20 minutes after our jogging, things went haywire. First, it started raining. This slowed us down quite a bit. Second, Mio couldn't keep up. Slowed us down even more. Then, a student of the ROTC, probably an officer, yelled some very encouraging words at us.

"Ambagal niyo puta!! Bilisan niyo!! (You're too damn slow! Faster!)"

Well, that strengthened my zeal. It didn't matter anyway. I knew we were all breaking down. The clincher that ended all would be Jason's injury in his ankle. Right there, almost done with our first lap, Sir Thomas, the one in charge of us, called our A-Run off for another day. But training isn't over yet.

Cadet Technical Sergeant Adrian Bautista continued training from there. He made us do laps around the high school field, but let Jason sit out. The Gatorades we were assigned to bring were left under the Soccer goal post, but Thomas stole them while we weren't looking. Fuck him. That's just low. FUCK him... Jason got back up and did some sprinting laps to make up for the lost training. A few more doses of PT, and then we were dismissed.

Back then, I thought that accomplishing A-Run would be my last hurdle I have to overcome in the COCC, because I thought of quitting after the ordeal was done. My friends kept telling me to back out, and it seemed their words seeped into my mind. My fellow COCC thought my quitting as a joke. Since I said it, I understand them not believing me. Hehe.

The day to make up for our loss arrived. Before the A-run, which was after dismissal time, I drank about 8 bottles of Lipovitan in 2-hour shifts. Our second attempt at A-Run began with stretching and a few words of inspiration from each of us.

The jogging began. Halfway through, we noticed signs of tiredness from Sir Thomas. This boosted our morale quite a bit, for some reason. In the end, the first lap was a success. But of course, it doesn't end there.

PT in the field. Mostly push ups. This is when the fun time started. Sir Thomas was being his usual self and joked around. Here are a few dialogue highlights I previously posted in one of my Multiply blogs:

Captain Thomas: Honestly, sino dito bisexual? (Honestly, who here is bisexual?)
(the rest has been edited for the sake of those who answered this question)

----

Captain Thomas: 1 plus 1.
Deriq: 2!
Captain Thomas: 2 plus 2.
Deriq: 4!
Captain homas: 4 squared.
Deriq: 2!

Captain Thomas:Ti'nan mo 'to. Tatawa si Martinez... (Check this out. Martinez will laugh...)
Jason: *straight face*
Captain Thomas: Pebbles.
Jason: *straight face*
Captain Thomas: Bam-Bam.
Jason: *straight face*
Captain Thomas: Pebbles & Bam-Bam.
Jason: (laughs)

Captain Thomas: Isa pa. (One more time.) Pebbles & Bam-Bam.
Jason: *straight face*
Captain Thomas: Flintstones.
Jason: (laughs)

Captain Thomas: May joke ako. (I have a joke.)
Joseph: Ginoo, ano po, Ginoo? (Sir, what, Sir?)
Captain Thomas: Gwapo si Brillantes. (Brillantes is good-looking).

Captain Thomas: Samonte mukha kang Orangutan seryoso. (Samonte, seriously, you look like an Orangutan.)

Captain Thomas: Recognize yourselves.
Miko: Sir, Cadet Trainee, Second Class, Brillantes, Sir!
Samonte: Sir, Cadet Trainee, Second Class, Samonte, Sir!
Joseph: Sir, Cadet Trainee, Second Class, Espadero, Sir!
Jason: Sir, Cadet Trainee, Second Class, Martinez, Sir!
Deriq: Sir, cadet in training, Second Class, David, Sir!

---

So after the last one, we were told that we were stupid for not recognizing ourselves as 1stclassmen.

'nuff said.

Quitting wasn't an option at this point. It made me realize the good times I have underneath all of the ordeals I go through. And so began our long wait for officership...

The Saga of Cadet Soldier: Secondclassman

"But as long as you are part of the institution,
Do not condemn it."

-Loyalty, COCC Plebe Knowledge

It's been 26 months since I joined the Cadet Officer Candidacy Course, or COCC for short. 26 months of trials, tortures, and tribulations. This is my story.

Chapter 4: 2ndclassman
 

Training resumed immediately after Holy Week. The coming of the holidays made me restless.

Sir Thomas was abusive with his power. Little by little, all of us special flights dissed him as an officer, and eventually, we lost many of the special flight cadets on account of their shared perspectives about him. Even Diego, the one who had persuaded me to join COCC in the first place, quit under these circumstances. The NCOCC was down to seven, the Honor Guards were down to seven, the Medics, once a flight of twenty four, were down to five, and the Air Police were down to 5 as well.

These were desperate times for Sir Rendor. He had to do something before everybody quit; thus, their promotion was moved early. All they had to do was survive Combat PT. Yeah, same as what we did, only they instantly became officers afterwards.

By the way, Mio and I were there to supervise and help out with the Combat PT. The Communication Arts Cluster Night was held on the same date, so we decided to go for kicks. It was the first time for us to talk to Sir Rendor eye-to-eye. Very unusual. Since there were about twenty or so cadets in the CAT Shack, we decided to divide them. Mio and I handled the Medics. I was personally in charge of Poblete, a large man with fluent English skills, and Sy, who was in the same Organization as Sir Rendor: InDAK, a dance performance group.

All I had to do to them was make them go through what I did in my Combat PT: torture.

An hour passed and Sir dismissed us so that we could return to our Night.

The next week, the special flights attended the raising of the flag. Unusual, since it was only the COCC and the officers who were supposed to attend. After the flag ceremony ended, Sir Rendor introduced to us the newly promoted officers: the Honor Guards, Medics, and Air Police were now Technical Sergeants, while the NCOCC were Master Sergeants. We had to obey them now. Fine with me, I thought.

Initially, training under them was fun. the Honor Guards taught us new rifle tricks (We had recently been told that we're worthy of rifles), while the NCOCC handled PT. All was going well for me until one CAT session, which were held every Friday. Sir Rendor put me to the test, making me do tasks and PT. It seemed that I failed to live up to his expectations and stripped me of the title of Flight Sergeant. Things went downhill from there.

Sir Rendor came to a training session one day and told us whoever can hold one hand knuckle pyramids the longest will be deemed Flight Sarge. Samonte was taken out first, as he had stupidly switched hands. Deriq, Mio, then Jason followed. It was down to me and Brillantes. I looked at him, and saw him praying. I figured he wanted this more than I do, so I dropped out anyway. It didn't matter, because I knew Sir Rendor's strategy already: make a cadet feel good about himself, then bring him down when he's at his peak confidence level. It's devastating when morale so high crashes so low. That's what happened to Samonte and I when we were still Flight Sarge. I realized this the day after I was, well, devastated.

More misfortunes. The newly ordained officers became cocky and abusive. I know it's all part of training, but sometimes they tell us to do things they can't do, like recite certain codes in plebe knowledge, or do PT that would be difficult for us, but impossible for them. At least Sir Rendor can manage everything he told us to do. That's why I respect him. My hatred towards certain officers grew.

Soon, it was time for the COCC to get promoted, at least to 1st class.

What did we have to do? What did we have to accomplish? My mind raced as we prepared for the challenge, expecting something as grueling as Combat PT.

The Saga of Cadet Soldier: Combat PT

"Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid"

-Invictus, William Ernest Henley

It's been 26 months since I joined the Cadet Officer Candidacy Course, or COCC for short. 26  months of trials, tortures, and tribulations. This is my story.

Chapter 3: Combat PT

More months have passed. It was then a chilly October.

Besides Comrade Enzo Samonte, Jason Martinez, and Michael Brillantes, we also were able to recruit two more. They were Melandro Lopez and Deriq Mercado David.

Melandro, or Mio, was my recruit. He was a chubby person who was often ridiculed by his confusing heritage. He's a He's an American born from Filipino parents, yet he looks Chinese. He's also in the same school organization that I am in: The Nihonggo Dantai (Japanese Club) or Nihon-dan for short. The personification of multiculturalism, he would describe himself. He had a hard time doing physical training, because of the iron rod on his spine, placed there surgically because he had scolliosis. He was also the heaviest among us. He joined because, like Jason and me, he has bored.

Deriq was Mio's close friend, so he probably decided to tag along. He would later have the hardest time among us because he was, honestly, slowest among us. He had a hard time when it came to speech and physical training. His speech would be the ridicule of all officers in the months to come. He had a hard time talking in Filipino, and his English was like he came "from the province," as Sir Thomas would say. Doing physical training was hard for him, too because he had thick build, which he couldn't lift after a period of time. Nonetheless, I had great respect for him as a friend because he was the most, well, friendly outside COCC.

These new recruits had a merry first day compared to mine. For their first day, they had to do a set number of push ups. Sir Thomas was in charge, so he occasionally asked them how many they've done already. I was absent that day, so forgive me if I get the facts wrong. When they've been asked to do a count-off of their push ups, both said "dalawan' libo (two thousand)," which got everyone laughing because first of all, that's impossible for ANY of us, and second of all, they were speaking in an awkward manner (double the awkwardness for Deriq, because of his speaking debilities). Next, they were told to shout to the cafeteria something embarassing. I'm sorry I forgot, but it might be "Nagjajakol ako (I jack off)!" It just so happened that Commandant Santos was in the vicinity, and soon, Sir Thomas was reprimanded.

Time passed, and Sir Rendor announced our promotion chance to 2nd class. We had to pass Combat Physical Training, or Combat PT for short.

For that day, he told us to bring our own food and drink, yakult, a Liter of fresh milk, and liempo. We had to wear our fatigues and bring all our bearing. He then told us to recite the code of Secrecy.

"What I hear
What I see
What I feel
When I leave
I leave it here"
 

Before he let us fall out, he told us never to mention this to anybody. I didn't understand why at first. Turns out we aren't allowed to do these things without permission. I still didn't understand then.

The day comes. Before reporting in the "CAT Shack," as the venue was called, we made all preparations under the locally famous mango tree, situated about 150 meters from the meeting place. We tried to keep everything a secret from anyone. That's why we dressed up only when it was dark, and moved as stealthily as possible to the border of the Ateneo grounds, where the Shack was located.

An hour passed. It was already dark. All of us took the time to upate our tickler notebooks, which also served as our journals (It's required to do this), in case he checks it.

Then a figure appeared just a meter away from me. It was Sir Rendor, and although I knew who he was, I just kept staring at him out of surprise.

"'tsun" he said. We formed and stood at attention. Before doing anything harsh to us, he told us to lie down belly-down, take out our rosaries and pray. I wasn't much about religion, so I just meditated to attain inner balance.

The next hour was just pure PT. During the course of the night, I kept asking myself when the "combat" of Combat PT would start. Turns out, there was hardly any. Just PT.

To test our loyalty, he made us seperate into different groups. I remember Jason and two others had to go to a distant place. Sir Rendor came back to tell us that they quit. In my mind, I didn't know if this was a test or if it's for real. It didn't matter. Samonte and I were just speechless.

They came back after around thirty minutes. I was relieved, even though I expected their return. Still more PT. push ups, mountain lunges, mase-mase, and jumping jacks were the dominant part of our PT that night. But the worst was yet to come.

And then it came. Rather, THEY came.

Former officers from recently graduated Ateneo High batches arrived. They were Retired Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Berdan, Retired Cadet Captain Aureus, and Retired Cadet Major Tseung, and they were taking no prisoners.

Extreme is a word that came to my mind today after thinking about their arrival back in Combat PT. They gave us mixed signals, telling us never to quit, then later asking us to just quit because "we're worthless." They pushed us to the limits of our already weakened bodies. My morale was slowly diminishing. I broke into tears. After another hour of torture, the officers huddled. We were given a brief moment to breathe. The former officers then left, leaving Sir Rendor again solely in charge.

He told us to lie down in a line and roll over one another from the starting from the last element, who had to roll over all of us until he reaches the flight sarge, which was me, and told us to say "I love you, comrade," as we rolled over each person. As he rolled over me and finally fell to the ground, the next element rolled over us, and so on. Sir Rendor then went about 50 meters away and told us to baby crawl our way to him. The grass was wet with dew, so out of desperation, I sucked water from them as I swiftly crawled my way, using the ground's moisture as an advantage to slide my limbs without having to lift them.

As we reached him, he told us once again to lie down on our backs. He then poured Yakult over us, told us to stand up and recognize ourselves, and finally, after five hours of Hell, we were promoted.

We were ordered to then fall out. He then left the premises.

We retreated back to the CAT Shack, where all our stuff had been brought. We didn't use most of the things we were recquired to bring, and my liempo was being devoured by ants.

There was just silence, except for a few swear words and the heavy breath of my comrades.

Just then, a security guard was patrolling the grounds. We immdiately lied down to cover ourselves . However, our attempt to hide was unsuccessful. We were caught. To make matters worse, the irritating ants climbed on us and bit us all over. Yes, ALL over. Not thinking straight, I poured Gatorade on Mio's back in an attempt to remove the insects. Bad idea.

I was scared, and my body and mind had endured more than enough troubles for one day. Thankfully, the guard was lenient and all we were told to do is leave the premises immediately.

Every part of my body was numb. As I went home, my attempts to unbutton my fatigues and untie my shoe laces were unsucessful. Ants were still all over me. My eyes were bloodshot, and sweat covered my water-resistant fatigues. I could barely walk.

The next day was the start of our Semestral Break. We had one week to rest. Throughout the week, my body went from numb to half-numb. I could type with more than two fingers again! I could button and unbutton myself once more. I could use the controller of my Playstation 2 or flip through channels with ease.

In time, my body was healthy again. Then recognized as Cadet Trainee 2nd Class, I was proud of myself, and proud of my comrades. Seriously. Not everyday can I be so proud as to declare it publicly. This feeling of accomplishment I would carry on until today... It was worth the pain and torture of just one night. Very well worth it.