# Filipino rubber



## Arnisador78 (Apr 10, 2013)

One of my students from Arnis brought me a gift today! This is apparently what he and others use to use as a child for band sets in the Philipines. They are about 4' each! Not sure what its made of. They don't seem super snappy, but I'm excited to try it! I wish I didn't have to go to work today. I am also waiting for a package from Flatband, I should be getting two gum rubber sets, and a linatex set! So much for me to play with! I also have alliance 107's, theraband gold, golds gym green latex band, and a couple of sets of natural latex I got from my trade. I need to make more sling shots.


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## Dr J (Apr 22, 2013)

Great ! have you found out what they were used for as yet, it would be interesting and informative to know. also how the shoot and how long do they last.


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## Porkneck (Jun 8, 2013)

I too am interested to know. Those are the kind of bands I used back in the mid 80's. Everyone in the Philippines used that for slingshots and for "Pana" (flechette SS stick with steel bolts as ammo....note: these were used on people and not animals) That was the only thing available aside from inner tubes. The widest I have seen was probably 2" but usually sold at around 1/2" to 3/4".


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## Arnisador78 (Apr 10, 2013)

Porkneck said:


> I too am interested to know. Those are the kind of bands I used back in the mid 80's. Everyone in the Philippines used that for slingshots and for "Pana" (flechette SS stick with steel bolts as ammo....note: these were used on people and not animals) That was the only thing available aside from interior tubes. The widest I have seen was probably 2" but usually sold at around 1/2" to 3/4".


Do you remember what they are for? I have heard story's about the "pana". It means bow right? I guess it was a Filipino sling bow.



Dr J said:


> Great ! have you found out what they were used for as yet, it would be interesting and informative to know. also how the shoot and how long do they last.


No... All he told me was it was sold at hardware stores? He brought some back because he uses it to tie his paint brushes for art. That's all I know. Hope some one else chimes in. He said they used guava branches. I have spoken to people from Cuba, Brasil, and the Philipines now and they all say they used guava! I want guava now!


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## Porkneck (Jun 8, 2013)

Yes we used forks mainly made from guava or jack fruit if available or a store bought fork similar in looks to the wham-o but smaller. But guava will always be the first choice. The wood is hard and seems to be springy but you'd hardly notice it. I say springy because no matter how hard you try to break off a branch it's just going to bend and bend. There seems to be 2 popular types, one with big fruits and the other with small fruits. The later is the better of the 2.

The "pana" actually became popular back in the martial law in 70's during the regime of Pres. Marcos. Guns were banned. I'm not sure if pana" means bow. From what I know "pana" means arrow or the whole weapon as a whole like "bow and arrow" or "flechette stick and arrow". These were used by most fraternal gangs and street gangs. Imagine being on the wrong turf and 15 to 20 or more guys shooting at you at the same time in every direction...and the arrows had barbs/double barbs to make things worse. But these were the go to weapons because they were quiet and gave you distance when going against an opponent. Up close they would use "balisongs" or ice picks.


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## Dr J (Apr 22, 2013)

As a youth our first choice was White Cedar because their near perfect forks,then Guava, Tamarind, Genip, Cashew, and a lot of others. Our method of tying was around the fork with the tabs on the outside. Pouches were from shoe tongues, old leather belts, or purses. the first choice was red inner tubes if you could get a section without a patch. I must say they did the job then this is now. good luck with whichever method you decide to use.


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## Porkneck (Jun 8, 2013)

Forgot about tamarind...that too was used. Tying method in the Philippines is almost always OTT.


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## Arnisador78 (Apr 10, 2013)

I aked my friend more about the rubber. I suspect it might be gum rubber. This was what he told me."The primary use for those bands were for slingshots when I was growing up in the 60's & 70's. We typically would buy that in the "palengke" or fish/meat/vegetable market in the provinces (in stalls where kids can buy cheap toys). Street gangs also use it in the 70s. If I remember correctly, their slingshots were not in the shape of a "Y" but a single short stick ("I" shape). There was a movie that came out around 1978 titled " Boy Pana" starring Bembol Roco. I was checking Youtube to see if they have the movie there but didn't see it. I did find two movie posters which I'm attaching here... I again saw these bands in the year 2006 when I visited the Philippines. I saw it in the toy section of a grocery store. I bet it can still be found everywhere in the country. "


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## Dr J (Apr 22, 2013)

Thanks for the information!


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## Porkneck (Jun 8, 2013)

That is correct. They still sell them in the "palengkes"...(similar to the farmers markets we have here but less appealing) and hardware stores sell them too as it is used by plumbers or "diy" home owners as a temporary fix for leaking water pipes or for binding things together.

I am curious about them due to the fact that the last time I shoot a slingshot besides the past 2 months was about 30 years ago. Back then I was satisfied with the performance but now, without anything to compare it to, I can not say the same.

As for the photo of the "pana" you posted, that looks pretty compared to the ones I have seen back then...which were actually used on people and the barb end was usually kept rusty (for tetanus). What's funny is most of the guys who shot these things had a scar or 2 on there arms or hands due to the rebound of the arrow, instead of releasing away, it hits them right back.

Arnis, Ask your friend to translate the poster...it's hilarious!


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## DaveSteve (May 16, 2012)

This rubber you get at the market I s not worth the money. I used it. I can tell you that I can throw a rock faster than this rubber shoots. I have seen it used on homemade harpoons though.?


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