Getting the point at the end of the barrels of my toy/replica gun collection in my classroom at the Southwestern University PHINMA (SWU) in Cebú City.
For past few years, I have been teaching my students weapons handling for my assignments in drawing action scenes and action photography.
I discovered that many of my students do not understand proper weapons handle, including knife holding; as they had never had even held a bolo / butcher knife or cleaver for household chores. So, I brought some of my swords, headhunting axes and a spear, from my collection of Philippine tribal artifacts. But I realized that my weapons were not enough, for this exercise.
So last year, I purchased a replica katana sword (刀, かたな), a bow and arrow set, and a replica pellet gun shotgun for my next assignment. With a bigger class this coming 2026-2027 academic year; I bought another toy katana sword, a replica Chinese dāo (刀) sword, and a European cutlass sword to augment my action collection.
And now, I procured another replica shotgun, three pistols, and an “assault rifle” for my next action scene exercises. I also discovered that many of my students never played “Baril-Barilan” when they were much younger, so having these replica guns was a treat for them to play with.
This photo was taken circa 2026
