THE ART OF COCKFIGHTING

A Game of a Million Thrills

by Arturo M. de Castro
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Atty. De Castro is a lawyer by profession, and a
cocker for recreation. He is an Honor Graduate from the UP College of Law
(cum laude and 1970 Class Salutatorian) and a Bar Top Notcher (3rd Place,
1970 Bar Examinations) and presently a Professor of Law at the Ateneo de
Manila School of Law. He has Masteral (LIM) and Doctoral (SJD ) degrees in
law from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. As a cocker,
he has garnered numerous championships in big time and international
derbies. In this article, he offers gems of tips and lessons he acquired from
his lifelong experiences in the sport.
COCKFIGHTING BUILDS CHARACTER
Cockfighting is a pastime to a great majority of Filipinos who find infinite
fascination in the sport, which has been aptly described as a game of a
million thrills. The deadly game brings out good qualities that mold the
character of men. The raw courage of the roosters has inspired bravery and
perseverance. It could be recalled that the great Napoleon Bonaparte stage
cockfights before major battles to inspire his soldiers to emulate the courage,
bravery and perseverance of the feathered warriors which taught them to
fight to the bitter end at all costs, mindless of victory or defeat.
The law o life governs cockfighting which is but an aspect of life itself. Good
faith is rewarded with good luck, while bad faith is punished. This is the
immutable

law

of

nature

enshrined

in

the

laws

of

men.

Cockfighting has also been described as hazardous to ones wealth. One

valuable lesson that a cockfight aficionado must learn is the virtue of
self-control and self-restraint. This author, a cockfight aficionado all his life,
has written this article to share with others the valuable lessons he learned
through the years, by way of paying his debt of gratitude to the sport which
has brought honor, thrills, joy and benefits, both the tangibles and the
intangibles.
THE ART OF SELECTION
What is the best cock?
A good cock has speed, power and accurate cutting ability.

1) A speedy cock is one that has balance and stability in its stance, with legs
far apart, which would enable the cock to pivot or turn around faster in a
close fight. It is more ideal for the cocks to have longer drumsticks (hita)
than shanks (part of the leg with scales). Roosters with long shanks and
short

drumsticks

are

slow.

2) A powerful cock should have a neck that is not stiff because if it does, it
could not pivot well and would usually have breasts hat are exposed and that
would be easy target for opponents. A strong rooster has developed bones
with longer and thicker breastbone. The bones at the end near the scrotum
and the bones at the base of the legs and at the end of the breastbone at the
back must be hard, that it cannot be moved by the mere pressure of the
hand. To find out if the front breastbone is long enough, hold the rooster
with your two hands, with the head facing your body. If the front breastbone
does not reach your small fingers, the cock is not powerful, although it may
be

good

flyer.

The front breastbone of a powerful cock rests on the small fingers in the
above-described position. The more important criterion is the hardness of
the end of the bones at the back immediately below the scrotum, at the
inside base of the legs and side lower ends of the bones at the back. If the
side lower ends are thick and hard and stationed close to each other with the
ends pointing inward to each other or positioned closely together, you have
a hard-hitting rooster on the ground with deadly accuracy. If the ends are
protruding outwards, you have a strong flying cock, packed with a lot of
power.
3) Accurate cutting abilities in roosters could be seen in the sharpness of
their

eyes

and

with

the

way

they

stretch

their

legs.

a) THE EYES The eyes should he healthy, with wide and dilated pupils.
Generally, red eyes are sharper. Black eyes are like wearing eyeglasses,
which are not good at night when derbies are generally held. White eyes are
like the eyes of people afflicted with albino, which are too sensitive to glares
and are usually dull and dim. A rooster with sharp eyes always watches his
opponent and its movements. It can evade fatal thrusts and it could hit his
opponent accurately, without wasting blows which do not usually connect.
Clever

roosters

have

shard

eyes.

b) GOOD LEG STRETCH This quality is the most guarded secret for success
of famous cockers and is well-known among the reputable breeders and
cockers

from

Bacolod

and

elsewhere.

The rooster should have long, loose stretch of legs in front. You can this
during sparring. The delivery of the blow reaches the opponent. The body of
the rooster hardly moves and several blows may be delivered even when the
body

does

not

move.

A rooster with poor leg stretch is a short cutter and incapable of delivering a
fatal

blow

with

single

stroke.

Hold the rooster facing your body. Stretch the leg slowly downward and
forward and you will know whether the rooster has loose and long leg stretch
or not. Just be careful that when you stretch legs forward, the rooster is
relaxed and doesnt give resistance. To do this, bring down the leg being
stretched slowly and then forward, the rooster is relaxed and doesnt give
resistance. To do this, bring down the leg being stretched slowly and then
forward very gradually while the rooster is not resisting or holding back the
leg

until

you

get

the

full

front

stretch.

A perfect stretch is a semi-circular outside stretch of the leg from the body
towards the front. A rooster with this kind of loose stretch hits the opponent
even

on

striking

position.

A good test to find out if a rooster has a good frontal leg stretch is to insert
the palm of your hand sideways at the base of each leg of the rooster. If the
side of your palm can easily enter the gap between the inner leg and the
breastbone, you have a good cutting rooster. If the rooster has tight and
short cutting legs, it

has no deep and wide gap in

this

area.

Front leg stretching, one in the morning and one in the evening, is a good
exercise and should be made a part of training fighting cocks for battle.
GAMENESS
Gameness, courage, bravery, strong fighting spirit and durability are
desirable qualities that depend on a number of factors, such as bloodline,
upbringing and good conditioning. These are outside the scope of this article
and should be read in other literature on cockfighting.
CHAPTER TWO
ART OF BETTING
A.

Big

Capital

Is

Not

Necessary

One does not need much capital to be a millionaire in cockfighting. all you
need are good roosters. With a capital of only P1,000.00, If you roll your bet
on

up

with

P1,024.000.00

if

all

the

ten

roosters

win.

Now that big time derbies are in vouge with pot money Prize as high as P5
Million Pesos, if your roosters are financed and your entry emerges solo
champion, you shall earn P2 Million for being the owner of the roosters and
P1 Million for the Gaffer (P250,000.00 or 5%) and P750,000.00 for the
Handler.
As owner of financed roosters, you do not even have to bet, or betting is
optional on your part.
B.

Progressive

Betting

In cockfighting, there is such a phenomenon as a Good Day or a Bad Day. On

a bad day, you should know how to quit, cut down or control the losses. On
a good day, you should know how to maximize your winnings.
When you join a derby, you have to put up the entry fee or pot money, and
the

individual

bet

on

each

rooster.

In a 5- cock Derby, you can maximize your winnings through the scheme of
progressive betting. If the minimum bet is P11,000.00, you set aside
P11,000.00 for each rooster. For the first fight, you bet P11,000.00. If you
win, you have P20,000.00 (P11,000.00 plus P10,000.00 ) winning on the
first fight plus P11,000.00 set aside a minimum bet for the second fight. You
may add P1,000.00 to make the bet P33,000.00 for the second fight.
If the third fight wins, you have P158,000.00, to which you add P7,000.00
minimum ` bet for the fourth fight and you can bet P165,000.00 on the
fourth

fight.

Now comes the championship. So far you have won P261.000.00 on four
fights on a minimum bet of P11,000.00 per rooster. You may bet only
P11,000.00 minimum bet on the 5th cock since if it wins you get the pot
money or championship prize, with honors attached to it. Or you may bet
1/5 of the expected championship prize on the opponent by way of
insurance, if such prize is big enough, so you can add more to your winnings
if the last cock loses. If it wins, you emerge a champion and you only throw
away

small

portion

(1/5)

for

the

insurance.

On a bad day that you lose all the five fights, you lose only P55,000.00 and
the pot money. Even if you lose the first 2 fights, and win the last 3 fights,
you shall still be ahead in the money under the Progressive Betting Scheme.
The art of progressive betting may be put to good use while betting in the
trabesya,

or

while

playing

the

game

without

an

entry.

The trick is to bet progressively four times in a row while winning.

Start with a base of P5,000.00. If you win on the first bet, double the bet on
the second bet which is P10,000.00, assuming that your first is on even odd,
without a logro. If you win the second bet, bet P20,000.00 on the third and
if the third wins, bet P40,000.00 on the fourth. If the fourth wins, you have
so

far

won

P75,000.00

on

starting

capital

of

P5,000,00.

Should you now quit? It is up to you. If you are content with P75,000.00,
less 10% or P7,500.00 for the kristo, then quit. If you want to win more,
don't

quit.

Since you have now a bigger capital, you may raise your base to P10,000.00
and roll the bets 4 times while winning. Why roll the bets for four times only?
Because the statistical probability of the fifth time is difficult to hurdle, old
timers

in

cockfighting

call

this

El

Quinto.

When you start, say P5,000.00 and you lose on the first bet or even the
second bet, you go back to the base bet, or P5,000.00 and roll it again four
times. Everytime you lose, you go back to the base, and then roll your bet.
If you win four times, choose a higher base than before and roll the bets
again

four

times.

One fallacy in cockfighting is to bet progressively when losing to recoup the

losses, and to bet regressively when winning in the fear of losing. In
cockfighting, there are good days and bad days. Without self - control and
self- restraint, one can lose all his possessions on a bad day.
Be
C.

heavy
Even

bettor
Betting

only

from
Based

your
On

winnings.
Trends

A bettor that adopts this technique of even betting has a high probability of
going

home

ahead

in

the

money

from

any

cockfighting

day.

There are only 2 choices in every cockfight- the llamado, which is the
estimate of the crowd is likely to win, hence the favorite of the betting public
and

the

dehado.

When you enter the pit, se if the winner in the preceding fight is a llamado
cock. If llamado, then bet on the llamado cock on the next fight, say with
P1,000.00 and as long as the llamado is winning, bet P1,000.00 on the
llamado

cock.

When a dehado cock wins, then you shift your bet of P1,000.00 on the
dehado,

and

so

on

while

the

dehado

is

winning.

You shift to llamado only when a llamado cock wins, and you stay betting on
the

llamado

cocks

as

long

as

the

llamado

is

winning.

It seldom happens that the winnings go from llamado to dehado then to

llamado then to dehado alternately. But when this happens, you will know
the trend and you can bet accordingly. In this technique, you are likely to
end with some winnings, although not much. The usual trend is that several
llamados win successively before shifting to dehado, and vice versa, several
dehados win successively before shifting to llamado. You have more wins
than losses, and if you bet the same amount on each fight, then you shall be
ahead in the money when you go home.
CHAPTER THREE
LUNAR HOROSCOPE
There is a degree of plausibility to the view that the behavior, and even the
fate, of people on earth on in a great measure are affected by the position of
the moon in its four quarters. From this belief, and from experience and
lessons handed down from generation to generation, the following Lunar
Horoscope, based on the colors of the feathers and legs of the roosters, and
the position of the moon in its respective quarter is evolved.
COCKFIGTHING HOROSCOPE BY SCALES OF PROBABILITY BASED
ON THE POSITION OF THE MOON, COLORS OF FEATHERS AND LEGS
OF ROOSTERS.
Rooster's

Jan-Ma Apr-Ju Jul-Se Oct-De

Color

Pula

11

15

Tubaon
(malatuba/lig

11

15

10

14

Talisain

10

14

Boyogon

10

14

Abohon

12

Ugis (White)

10

17

11

18

12

11

10

14

17

14

17

10

10

12

11

10

11

10

12

ht red)
Inislagon
(White
Talisay)

Tabas
(Lemon with
White Spots)
Bakiki (Black
Bulik)
Kabilyada
(Gold Abuhin)
Banogon (Red
Abuhin)
Binabaye
(Hennie)
Bulanting
(Lasak)
Kanowayon
(Hiraw)
Lambohon
(Itim)
Bangkas
(Sinibalang)
Black Legs

White Legs
The

probability

of

winning

6
ranges

13
from

15
a

scale

of

to

18

As a general rule, during new moon and first quarter when the night is
generally dark, dark legged and dark feathered roosters are top winners.
During full moon and last quarter of the month when the moon is bright at
night, the yellow legged or white legged and light colored roosters are top
winners.
From the experience, the Horoscope is 80% accurate. A rooster with the
right color under the Horoscope may lose, if the other rooster, with wrong
color, has superior kaliskis or other pre-ordained sure winning qualities.
CHAPTER FOUR
THE WINNING SCALES (KALISKIS) AND OTHER PRE-ORDAINED WINNING
QUALITIES
There is also in some measure a degree of plausibility to the view that the
fate and fortune of the roosters, as with men, are pre-determined and
written in their scales, as in the palms of the hands of men, and in other
signs

of

other

A.

pre-ordained

winning

Winning

qualities.
Scales

1. The whole unbroken scales at the knuckles, (buo sa kamao), found after
the fifth scales downward from spur level. These should be balanced in the
two feet, and the more whole scales downward the better. Roosters with this
scales

become

multiple

winners.

2. Whole-unbroken scales at the level of the spur or at the last upper scale
covered

by

feathers.

3. Tres Siete - With three scales at the outer fingers, with the third scale
upward in level with the seventh scales at the middle finger counted
downwards. By far, this is the most superior scale that has never lost in
battle.
4. Diamond inset scale (sudya) embedded anywhere in front or back of the
legs in the front knuckle or upper part of middle fingers and inside fingers, or
after the first of the middle finger. This is bad if embedded after the fifth
scale (el quinto) of the middle finger unless both fingers have it. This is also

bad if located at the outer finger, particularly after the 3rd of the 5th scale,
unless

balanced

in

both

outside

fingers.

5. Double inside scale in front of the leg touching the spur as if supporting
the

spur.

6. Tres Andanas - Front leg scales with 2 unbroken lines from top to bottom
7.

Three

(3)

8.

Broken

scales

scales

only

on

on

the

the

last

small

scales

back

fingers.

all

fingers.

of

9. Uno y media - Broken scale or diamond inset (media) after the first scale
of

the

middle

or

inner

fingers.

10. Baretahan - A post-like composite of downward unbroken scales in the

middle of the leg separated by two downward lines from the side scales. It
looks
11.

like

an

unbroken

With

no

longer

post
inner

in

the

fingers

middle
than

of
the

the

front

outer

leg.

fingers.

12. A rooster with black balls. This character is carried in the bloodline.
13. A rooster with a small feather in the middle of the hole at the end of the
inner

wing.

14. Dagit Lawin - A rooster dropped by the hawk while still a chick.
15. A rooster with a large feather in the middle at the back of the ass (the
heart shaped structure where the tail feathers are attached).
CHAPTER V
The Art Of Heeling
Heeling is the important aspect of cockfighting. It is the knife (tari) tied to
the gamecock that kills the opponent. It spells the difference between
victory

and

defeat.

The most important lesson, which practically all big time heelers know, is to
use short and long blade. The measurement of the length of the blade should
be limited only to the shank of the leg and should not include the ball joint of
the

leg.

A shorter blade kills faster than a longer blade, especially in drag fights and
close fighting. A short blade has no disadvantage in air combat because the
vital organs of a rooster is not far from the outer part of its body.
The position of the knife depends on the character of the legs, whether it is
tihaya, regular, or kubkob or piki. But in any kind of legs, one rule of thumb
based on geometrical precision should be followed. The direction of the
blade should be aligned with the direction of the inner left leg to which the

blade is being attached. When brought downwards with the nails of two
inner finger touching, the end of the blade should be pointing to the base of
the right leg. Pushing the leg a little forward to bend the knee, the end the
knife should be aligned to the middle of the body starting from the scrotum.
Pulling the leg backward and elevating it higher, the direction of the blade
should be aligned with the direction of the left leg. If the points to an upward
direction to the left when raised upward, it should be aligned to the direction
of

the

inner

leg

by

lowering

pillow

(paunan

).

When standing with the knife already attached, the direction of the blade
should be in-between the direction of the outer and middle left leg finger
opposite the blade. If it is aligned to the middle finger, then it is placed
too-inclined inside (masyadong pasok ). If it is aligned to the middle finger,
then it is diretsa. If the tip of the blade is pointed to the left, then the sight
is out (labas). All these types should be avoided. If the blade is too inclined
inside, it is poor in killing in the exchange of blows on the ground. If it is
diretsa or labas, it does not produce deep wounds. To check if the inclination
in the correct position, put a string from the front leg across the left and the
middle finger to the back and on the top of the knife (tari). The string will
show

the

proper

alignment

of

the

direction

of

the

blade.

The tip of the knife (tari ) should be horizontally on the same level of the
spur.
CONCLUSION
Cockfighting, being a favorite national past time in the Philippines is here to
stay, with it's intense thrills , joys, and pitfalls. It is hoped that above lessons
could be of help to other cockers, big or small, now and in the generations to
come.