SHOOTING, JETHRO AND THE FILIPINO LOVE OF GUNS
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 20 Aug 2011
Jethro Dionisio.
Just what is it about the seeming love affair of firearms and the Filipinos? Is it due to our revolutionary and colonial past that makes a firearm part of the Filipino cultural security blanket? Owning, having or being around firearms may seem the monopoly of government officials and politicians, but it?s surprising that private ownership is prevalent in other sectors of society as well. And among this sub-strata of enthusiasts is the Filipino marksman.
Love it or hate it, but the one positive thing that comes out of this fascination is the remarkable success of Filipinos in the field of sport shooting and the honor it brings the country.
In the late 80?s and early 90?s Jethro ?The Jet? Dionisio blazed into prominence by dominating World Speed Shooting Championship in the US. Otherwise known as ?The Steel Challenge?, the gun game was where a competitor would shoot at a steel targets in the fastest possible time. This earned Jethro the title of ?The Fastest Gun in the World?, beating many prominent US shooters such as Michael Voigt and Jerry Barnhart. In later years, ?The Jet? would also reap honors in IPSC Shooting (finishing 3rd in World Shoot XII Cebu in 1999) and went on represent our country in the Beijing Olympics for Trap Shooting.
Filipino dominance is sport shooting will once again take center stage this coming October when the IPSC World Shooting Championship takes place in Rhodes, Greece. More popularly known as ?World Shoot?, the event is the highest level of competition for the Practical Shooting discipline and is under the auspices of the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC).
IPSC is promoted in the country by the Philippine Practical Shooting Association, (PPSA), under the helm of founder & President Congressman Jack Enrile and Secretary General Rommel Cabungcal.
For the 16th World Shoot, the PPSA will be fielding 16 of it?s best marksmen to compete for World Divisional and Category honors. Among them are top shooters Jethro Dionisio, Jag Lejano, Jay Morales and Capt. Ed Martin of the Philippine Army.
The shooting sports does not command the same popularity as boxing or billiards and therefore gets little support from the national government. Yet, despite the lack of resources to properly train our shooting athletes, it has brought honor to the Philippines. Similar to boxing, the Filipino marksman is well respected in the international sport shooting community as one of the best.
In recognition of this potential for honors, it is indeed a boost to the sport that SMART Communications decided to support what is now known as the SMART-PILIPINAS Shooting Team.
Epoch Quimpo of Smart Sports says that ?in shooting, you don?t need height or strength to dominate other competitors, just nerves of steel and great hand-eye coordination. And the Filipino seems to have a natural talent for the game.?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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