We had the good fortune of connecting with Virgil Mayor Apostol and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Virgil Mayor, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Since childhood, it has always been in my nature to create things visually and through my hands. Although I did not understand it as such, it was an expression of the soul. As an older teen onward, I began to delve into research on our cultural practices, especially on the combat and healing arts. This would eventually lead into teaching and writing. The need to create serves as a fuel giving direction to what I am to do with this knowledge. It reflects in the way things are presented, whether on paper, through expression of movement, or even when decorating a space. As co-owner of a school, I am inspired to help open portals of creativity in each student as they discover their potentials. The love for creativity and the arts have become my career.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?

Kaïlūkuän School of Indigenous Science is a brick and mortar school and healing center located in Walnut (East Los Angeles County) conceived by myself and Janelle Corpuz Hethcoat after the latter was seeking teachings specifically from the Ilocos region of northwestern Luzon. The teachings offered are based on an interweaving of the combat and healing traditions. This includes the Ilúko-Pangasinan escrima weapon arts and Ablon manual medicine. The teachings were inherited from my maternal and paternal bloodlines, as well as from other respected elders. Years of study, practice, research, and documentation all back up what is disseminated to our students.

The courses are taught through an indigenous lens on cultural, scientific, and spiritual levels, thus providing a holistic approach. Because I have been associated with various conventional and integrative medical facilities, rehab centers, holistic healing centers, not to mention my own private practices, I also see clients who seek help on an array of imbalances, from physical to psychosomatic concerns. I authored the book “Way of the Ancient Healer: Sacred Teachings from the Philippine Ancestral Traditions (North Atlantic Books, 2010) and I am the co-author “Healing Hands of Hilot” (1998), My research and writings continue to expand, with a couple of manuscripts in the works. I also provide talks at universities and various institutions.

Breaking away from societal compartmentalization, Westerners are not always accustomed to our indigenous approach to health and wellness that are intertwined with the combat arts—two sides of a coin that naturally coexist in Philippine society, yet often overlooked or not even considered here in the US. After all, there is wisdom in understanding how the human body functions from all possible angles. Our method of education is not your typical mainstream approach of study. Rather, it is a holistic one that broadens and influences the students’ way of seeing things and how they navigate through life. It is one thing to conform to the commodifications of capitalism, yet another to remain more true to our traditions in presenting these teachings in a way that sparks the most fundamental and ancestral ways, regardless of gender, ethnicity, or religious beliefs.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
For out-of-town friends who visit, I enjoy taking them to the Griffith Observatory. The highlight, however, would be to explore the numerous ethnic cuisine restaurants available. Who can ever turn that down!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I look to Janelle Corpuz Hethcoat, my cofounder/co-owner at Kaïlūkuän School of Indigenous Science and who also owns and runs KIN Unified Healing next door, as having a great influence on where I am presently. Her background in the world of business start-ups and education, along with our combined passion for our Philippine Ilúko heritage, contributes to the ongoing success of our school that serves as a place where students can receive education in unique cultural practices specific to our ethnolinguistic group, yet beneficial for all.

Website: www.kailukuan.com

Instagram: @kailukuanindigenousscience

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Kailukuan

Yelp: https://www.yelp.ca/biz/ka%C3%ADl%C5%ABkuan-combat-and-healing-arts-walnut-2?osq=kailukuan

Other: LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/kailukuan

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