Jethro PatalinghugStoryteller | Video Producer | Documentary Filmmaker | Content Producer | Multimedia Specialist

Spider Fights: Childhood Memories & Filipino Traditions #shorts

13 Sept 2025 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

1:14

In this YouTube short, the speaker nostalgically recounts a childhood pastime common in the Philippines (and reportedly elsewhere) where kids would hunt for large spiders in the forest, capture them, and keep them in divided matchboxes for a week or more. The spiders were then staged to fight each other on a stick in a central arena, with peers gathering around, betting, and cheering. The speaker describes the care routine, the variety of spider species, and the competitive aspect, likening the whole practice to a real‑life version of Pokémon where each spider is a prized, skill‑bearing pet. The narrative emphasizes the cultural infusion of the activity, the social bonding, and the tactile, outdoor nature of the experience, contrasting it with modern digital entertainment.

Chapters

But then the shot that they showed was actually two actual spiders. I wanted to ask you about this challenge because every— I love how there's just so much infusion of culture. So they— so, so when they explained it, they said something about like gay spider, but then the shot that they showed was actually two actual spiders. And this has not only happened in the Philippines, I think other countries has this, but I grew up looking for spiders in the forest and we would look for the biggest spiders. And then after we look like at 4 AM in the morning. At around 10, we would all gather and we would let our spiders fight. People would bet on it. Okay, catch the spider and then— so what actually happens? So there's a stick and the spiders meet at the center and they try to kill each other. They're just— they'll just go at each other and one will emerge. Is it a special type of spider or can you just do this? Can be any spider, but I know there are different kinds of spiders. The really strong ones are harder to find. Did you have a pet spider that you'd have to train and like make sure it was really strong? So we have this matchbox and we sort of divide it into compartments. We put each of the spider there, and we would, we would take care of them like for like a week or like a month. This is like Pokémon IRL, real life Pokémon. You're like, I want that spider because I know it's gonna have these skills. That's more technology. No, but it was so much more fun then. You were able to go out, be with your friends in the present, nature, physicality.