About Us

Our Group

The Lapunti Karilyon Family

The group formerly known as Lapunti UP Diliman Training Group, or Lapunti UP

'Karilyon' in Ancient Filipino Baybayin Script

Lapunti Karilyon is the name we chose to represent and identify our group from other groups in the larger Lapunti family. Since 2010, we have been meeting and training regularly within the University of the Philippines Diliman campus, and for nearly two decades, the group was informally known as the Lapunti UP Diliman Training Group, or just Lapunti UP.

The name Lapunti Karilyon not only identifies us but also embodies the spirit of our purpose and history. The word Karilyon is inspired by the iconic UP Carillon Tower, which has served as our meeting place, training ground, and sometimes refuge during the rainy seasons. It stands as a symbol of remembrance, tradition and community, values that continue to define us as a group today.

Lapunti Karilyon is first and foremost a family or community for learning, practice, and advancement in and of the Filipino martial art of Lapunti Arnis De Abanico.

The group began informally as a small circle of Lapunti instructors and students from the old Quezon City Memorial Circle group. In December of 2010 they found the training venue inside the QC Circle to be too busy and crowded with the coming of the Christmas season’s makeshift market (referred locally as Tiangge). Two of the club’s members, Alvin Penaflor and Winston Novo, who both graduated from UP Diliman, suggested an alternative venue inside the campus. They scouted the area and found a good training area within the UP Lagoon. The relative peace and quiet, and close-to-nature ambiance of UP Lagoon proved too ideal that what was supposed to be a temporary alternate venue became a regular meeting place for the group. In January of 2011, the group gained the permission of their mother club in QC Circle and began establishing what was to become the new Lapunti Chapter in UP Diliman.

In 2011, the group became an officially recognized Lapunti Arnis De Abanico Chapter with the personal blessings of the late Supreme Grandmaster Prudencio ‘Undo’ Caburnay, directly under the auspices of the LADAI Main Headquarters in Cebu. The training group began accepting new members in 2011 and in 2012 moved their training area to the open park at the base of the UP Carillon Tower.

The original training group was composed of Senior Masters Buboy Ador and Nonoy Doncillo, Guro Patrick Marquina, Alvin Penaflor, Winston Novo, and Mannix Moya. They were later joined by Emil Penaflor, Ric Tariman Jr., and Eujean Penaflor-Tariman. Together they became the founding members of the UP Diliman Chapter of Lapunti Arnis De Abanico.

Today, Lapunti Karilyon continues to uphold the teachings and traditions of Lapunti Arnis De Abanico while embracing the evolving landscape of Filipino Martial Arts. The group remains active within the University of the Philippines Diliman, where regular training sessions are held for both beginners and seasoned practitioners. Its members come from diverse backgrounds—students, professionals, and long-time martial artists—united by a shared respect for the art and its principles. Beyond technical skill, the group places equal emphasis on community, cultural preservation, and personal growth, fostering an environment where practitioners can learn, teach, and contribute to the ongoing development of Lapunti.

Members of the group during the 2015 Club Seminar and Promotions officiated by SGM Undo Caburnay (6th from right) and GM Jun Igpit (3rd from right) who both visited the club from Cebu.

Members of Lapunti Karilyon in 2025, in front of the UP Theater (Villamor Hall), after a regular Sunday training session.

Our Emblem

The Lapunti Karilyon Emblem

The official emblem of Lapunti Karilyon was conceptualized and designed by Guro Alvin Penaflor and was eventually adopted by the group. It consists of the following elements and their meaning:

Two concentric triangles : Representing the direct line of teachers that Lapunti Karilyon traces its lineage from. These are the two trinities of the art’s founders and our group’s founding teachers. The outer triangle represents the former: Arsenio Caburnay, Felimon Caburnay, and SGM Prudencio Caburnay; and the inner triangle represents the latter: GM Cris Ampit, SM Danilo ‘Buboy’ Ador Jr., and SM Edwin ‘Nonoy’ Doncillo. The triangle and triangle pattern also plays an integral part in Filipino Martial Arts, with many techniques and footwork based on it, as well as serving as the ideal representation of strength, stability, and evasiveness.
The Karilyon Tower : A depiction of the UP Carillon Tower. A beacon that marks the place where we started, and where we still meet to this day. A constant reminder of the principles and values that we hold dear, that not only led, but made it necessary for us, to establish Lapunti Karilyon.
The Year 2010 : The year when our group was formed.
The Philippine Eagle with Stick and Dagger : The main symbols of the art that we practice and promote, Lapunti Arnis De Abanico.
The Lightning Bolt : The eagle in the Lapunti Karilyon emblem has a stylized lightning bolt as its mane. This serves to emphasize, especially to students and practitioners of the art, what should be the main characteristics of Lapunti: swift, precise, unrelenting, and unpredictable. Lightning is continuous and alive, does not hesitate, flows around obstacles, and takes the most direct path towards its target.
The Ancient Baybayin Scripts for ‘Lapunti’ and ‘Karilyon’: To pay homage to the rich Filipino cultural heritage that made it possible for the art to emerge and flourish.

For official use, the Lapunti Karilyon emblem is always displayed together with the Lapunti emblem (e.g., in the club uniform, documents, banners). This is to signify that our group is not separate from the art, and that we are a member of the larger organization that is Lapunti Arnis De Abanico International (LADAI).

Lapunti Karilyon is first and foremost a family, or community for learning, practice, and advancement in and of the Filipino Martial Art of Lapunti Arnis De Abanico.